Easy Skillet Chicken Thighs

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Quick Summary

This Easy Skillet Chicken Thigh recipe with a simple garlic cream sauce is the perfect chicken dinner for easy weeknights or entertaining. Everyone loves this juicy chicken dish and it takes less than 30 minutes to make!

chicken thighs with cream sauce in skillet with spoon.

I have a winner, winner chicken dinner for you! This Easy Skillet Chicken Thigh recipe is a family favorite and takes less than 30 minutes to make!

We make this chicken recipe all of the time because it is so simple and the chicken is SO juicy. It turns out perfect every single time.

If you don’t cook with chicken thighs very often, you have to give them a try. Thighs are versatile, full of flavor, and absolutely delicious. They stay super juicy, no matter how you cook them. Plus, they are usually less expensive than chicken breasts.

For this recipe, we season the chicken thighs with a simple spice rub and cook them in a hot cast iron skillet. We also whisk together a simple garlic cream sauce to serve with the chicken. The sauce is INCREDIBLE, don’t be embarrassed if you lick every last drop off of your plate. It happens all of the time:)

This one-skillet chicken meal is the BEST! Make it for dinner tonight. I guarantee it will be a regular meal at your house.

chicken thighs in cast iron skillet with spice rub.

Key Ingredients

The ingredients are simple, but put them all together and you will end up with the most amazing chicken dinner!

  • Chicken thighs– you will need about 1 ½ pounds of chicken. You can use skin-on or skinless chicken thighs, whatever you prefer. Chicken thighs with the skin will have more flavor and the skin will get nice and crispy. Technically, you can use chicken breasts, but we recommend thighs because they are juicier.
  • Spices– onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika create a great rub for the chicken.
  • Olive oil– for cooking the chicken.
  • Butter– to create a rich and delicious sauce.
  • Shallot– look for shallot by the garlic at the grocery store.
  • Garlic– for flavor!
  • Chicken broth– for the sauce. You can also use white wine.
  • Lemon juice– to brighten up the sauce.
  • Thyme– fresh thyme goes so well with the chicken.
  • Crushed red pepper flakes– for a little heat.
  • Heavy cream– to finish the sauce, don’t skip it! It takes the sauce to the next level.
  • Parsley– for garnish!
cream sauce in cast iron skillet.

How to Make Skillet Chicken Thighs

  • Use a paper towel to pat the chicken thighs dry. Don’t skip this step! You want to remove excess moisture so the chicken will brown and crisp up nicely.
  • In a small bowl, combine the spices, salt, and black pepper. Rub the seasoning mixture all over the chicken thighs, on both sides.
  • Heat a large cast iron skillet to medium heat and add the olive oil.
  • Place chicken thighs skin side down in the hot skillet and cook, until skin is crispy about 5 minutes, flip chicken thighs and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes or until internal temp is 165 degrees. Transfer chicken to a plate.
  • Add the butter, shallot, and garlic to the skillet. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in the chicken broth, lemon juice, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low and stir in the heavy cream. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until sauce thickens up a bit.
  • Place the chicken back in the pan with the sauce. Garnish with fresh parsley.
  • Serve the chicken warm with the sauce.
easy skillet chicken thighs in skillet with cream sauce.

Side Dish Suggestions

We highly recommend serving the skillet chicken thighs with crusty bread or garlic bread to soak up all of that delicious sauce. If you want a few other side dish ideas, here are a few of our favorites.

How to Store & Reheat

Leftover chicken thighs will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To reheat, preheat the oven to 325°F and place the chicken in an oven safe dish. Cover with foil and bake until warmed through. You can reheat in the microwave for 1 minute or until hot, but we prefer using the oven.

chicken thighs on plate with salad.

More Easy Chicken Recipes

Easy Skillet Chicken Thighs

This Easy Skillet Chicken Thigh recipe with a simple garlic cream sauce is the perfect chicken dinner for easy weeknights or entertaining. Everyone loves this juicy chicken dish and it takes less than 30 minutes to make!
4.53 from 899 votes

Equipment

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Use a paper towel to pat the chicken thighs dry.
  • In a small bowl, combine the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper. Rub the seasoning mixture all over the chicken thighs, on both sides.
  • Heat a large cast iron to medium heat and add the olive oil.
  • Place chicken thighs skin side down in the hot skillet and cook, until skin is crispy about 5 minutes, flip chicken thighs and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes or until internal temp is 165 degrees. Transfer chicken to a plate.
  • Add the butter, shallot, and garlic to the skillet. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in the chicken broth, lemon juice, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low and stir in the heavy cream. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until sauce thickens up a bit.
  • Place the chicken back in the pan with the sauce. Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve the chicken warm with the sauce.

Notes

You can use skin-on or skinless chicken thighs, whatever you prefer. You can use chicken breasts, but the thighs are juicier.
Store leftover chicken thighs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. 

Nutrition

Calories: 360kcal, Carbohydrates: 3g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 30g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 13g, Cholesterol: 131mg, Sodium: 380mg, Potassium: 281mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 440IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 26mg, Iron: 1mg
Keywords chicken, dinner

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Maria

I'm Maria and my husband is Josh. We share a love of cooking, baking, and entertaining. We enjoy creating recipes that are simple, fresh, and family friendly. We love sitting around the table with good food, good conversation, and good friends and family! Our kitchen is always open!
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  1. 5 stars
    Nice flavor and easy. Crispy skin is my favorite . Only had white onion, no shallot but it worked fine..and only had milk, no cream, so I added a tad of cornstarch. Very nice!

  2. 5 stars
    This was amazing. I did cook my chicken in the oven at 400 for 35 minutes, but the sauce was incredible

  3. 4 stars
    Very delicious, sauce is so good over a bed of egg noodles!! I added frozen spinach and thickened sauce with corn starch – an entire meal – fast and delicious- oh I put it in the oven for 20 mins on 375 to thicken the sauce!! Thanks !!

  4. 5 stars
    This was soooo good. Doubled the sauce because my kids love it. Used skinless thighs, yellow onion, and dried thyme and it was still delicious. Adding it to our rotation!

  5. 5 stars
    This recipe was delicious. I used both shallots and yellow onions and threw in some mushrooms.

    Can this dish be frozen? I was thinking of using a glass Pyrex container to go from freezer to oven or microwave. It would be great for one of my meal prep dinners.

  6. 5 stars
    We loved this chicken. The sauce over mashed potatoes was delicious. I’ll add this recipe in my regular rotation. Thank you for sharing.

  7. This recipe was delicious. The sauce and the chicken had so much flavor. I served it with yellow rice and broccoli . Everyone loved it..

  8. 5 stars
    I used olive oil in place of the butter and coconut cream in place of heavy cream due to intolerance to dairy protein- very easy and tasty!

  9. The recipe was very tasty. I actually used a combo of half & half & sweetened condensed milk. NOTE: The cook time is WAY understated in the recipe. I cooked the thighs for over 25 minutes in a Le Creuset (covered for most of the time), and they were still pretty raw when I cut into them. I would suggest sous vide the thighs beforehand.

  10. 5 stars
    Quick easy and delicious! Plus I had everything on hand, only change I made was I used 1/2 and 1/2 instead of heavy cream

  11. 5 stars
    Such a delicious and quick dish to make. I doubled the recipe this time so we can have left overs for another dinner and lunch for work. I only had half and half available so that’s what I used. It worked great. Paired this with garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed kale. It’s a winner! Thank you.

  12. 5 stars
    Delicious recipe! Easy to make, and it is so flavorful. I accompanied it with rice because I’m Cuban so rice is a staple in our cuisine, and it was the perfect pairing because of the delicious sauce.

  13. 5 stars
    Made this tonight. Super simple. Left out the red pepper flakes to omit a little heat. This was very flavorful. Will make again.

  14. 5 stars
    Throughly enjoyed this dish. And what I did was increase the amount of double cream, added some sliced mushrooms and cooked some pasta.
    When all was cooked, removed the chicken, added the cooked pasta, and stir ensuring its fully coated. Serve and place a couple of tasty thighs on the top.
    Yummy

  15. Made this chicken today. Simply delicious. Substituted heavy cream for milk and start and came out good. Thank you for your receipt..

  16. 5 stars
    I don’t always review recipes but I felt compelled after eating this! The sauce is absolutely delicious. I didn’t have everything on hand so I substituted skinless thighs, dried thyme for the fresh and garlic powder for the cloves. Smoked paprika instead of plain because, why does the plain stuff even exist when smoked is so much better? I used 1.5x the spices. I don’t like to cook olive oil at high heat so I substitute butter when frying the chicken. O.M.G. I could drink the sauce! Soo flavorful and creamy. Thank you for the recipe!

  17. 5 stars
    This was so so so good and it had a little kick. Incredibly easy to make. Will include this in our dinner rotations for sure! Thank you!

  18. 5 stars
    Wow what a great recipe! I made this for my husband and he loved it. I love that it’s pretty straight forward and uses pantry staples. I made it with garlic mashed potatoes and rolls of course to get all of the delicious sauce! A definite keeper.

    1. I recommend getting a meat thermometer because all chicken pieces are different in size and thickness.

  19. 5 stars
    Quick and easy, tastes great. Used boneless skinless thighs and put it over spaghetti noodles. I used cajun seasoning instead of red pepper but otherwise by the recipe. Will definitely cook again, boys loved it

  20. 5 stars
    So flavorful!!!!! I added a little bit of Parmesan cheese while adding the cream/half and half. I recommend cooking the thighs in the liquid for a extra 10-15 minutes if you have larger sized chicken thighs.

  21. 5 stars
    Made this for the first time this evening and my wife and I LOVED it! No shallots at my grocery store, so I used some chives I had on hand as a sub and added some chopped mushrooms. Had brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes as sides. Winner!

  22. 5 stars
    One of our go-to week night meals! I double the liquid to get enough sauce to go over some rice and add a bag of spinach! So easy and delicious and a household favorite!

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