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!
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.
Table of Contents
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!
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.
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.
- Simple Kale Salad
- Simple Arugula Salad
- Easy Green Salad
- Roasted Green Beans
- Roasted Carrots
- Roasted Broccoli
- Twice Baked Potatoes
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes
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.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
- Teriyaki Chicken
- Honey Mustard Chicken
- Lemon Butter Chicken
- Baked Chicken Tenders
- Honey Mustard Sheet Pan Chicken with Brussels Sprouts
- Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken
Easy Skillet Chicken Thighs
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet (I LOVE my Lodge skillet)
Ingredients
- 6 boneless chicken thighs, about 1 ½ pounds*
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- Freshly chopped parsley, for garnish
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
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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Delicious! I didn’t want to chop anything so I left out the garlic and shallot, don’t like red pepper flakes so I left that out, and didn’t have any heavy cream so I left that out too. I realize this is a bit silly because that kind of makes it not really the same dish but I followed the bones of the recipe and it was still super delicious even with me being lazy and leaving out half the ingredients.
How can you rate a recipe when you’ve taken out main ingredients? “Easy Skillet Chicken Thigh recipe with a simple garlic cream sauce”. Hmm, you took OUT the GARLIC. You also took out the heavy cream – “Heavy cream– to finish the sauce, don’t skip it!” What you made doesn’t come close to what the recipe makes. Sure MAYBE what you made was good, but it certainly wasn’t THIS and shouldn’t have been rated, good or bad.
Hahhah!! Thanks for the laugh!
I’m speechless, so I’m not going to comment other than to say that it gave me a good laugh. I’m sure it was good, but…
This is the funniest comment. I’m going to make this tonight
Thank you for this recipe!
I did not have heavy cream so I improvised with milk & butter, but it was not the same texture. My kids loved it!
Glad your kids loved it!
These chicken thighs were GREAT! Thank you. They were certainly easy and as you suggested they were fine coming out of the refrigerator to heat and serve the next day! Also, thank you very much for putting the recipe on your site and not sending me to Pinterest. I avoid recipes that are only present there. Oh, and I need to say the very picky husband liked them, too.
You are welcome!
Amazing!! Thank you so much for this awesome recipe 🙂
You are welcome!
Not a fan….
Why?
Recipes is simple but full of flavor..me n hubby .enjoying the kitchen as we’re now retired..
We love chicken.. different recipes for s fun..glad have those spices..but some need to get some… what’s missing is a skillet..we put away our old one..time to get one.
This is amazingly delicious. Make this chicken! We put it over white rice and dipped some Naan in the sauce. My kids and husband inhaled it.
Yahoo!
This is delicious. I cooked the chicken yesterday and made the sauce tonite. Added the chicken and sauce to a large cast iron pan, covered with parchment and foil and baked at 285f for 40 mins. Turned out beautifully with the chicken super tender and falling off the bone.
I used a clean cast iron pan to make the sauce (i.e. I would have cleaned it after frying the chicken as there was too much grease and the recipe didn’t specifically address this.)
I did use dried chives and thyme which also worked well. Served with whipped russett potatoes. Yum!!
Thanks for sharing!
It came out perfect. My husband is on a salt-free diet, and I used all the same ingredients minus the salt, and it still came out delicious. I will make this again. It would also go well with rice or potatoes.
Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Tried this tonight for the first time. My husband LOVED it! So delish and so easy. Thank you
I am glad you loved it the first time you made it! It’s a regular at our house!
A very delicious, friendly and uncomplicated recipe. I found your receipt last night an hour before I needed to prepare dinner for the family and I had most of the ingredients except heavy cream/shallots. A simple fix with an onion and cream cheese. Very appetizing and can definitely be carry out many different ways! Thank you Maria! Will be a staple in my cookbook!
So glad you loved the chicken!
Wonderful dish with great flavor! Thanks for the recipe!
You are welcome!
Even after 10 minutes skin side down, I still didn’t spget a good crust on it, and it took much longer to cook it through. The sauce was good, but I don’t think I’ll made it again: I can make some other chicken dish that’s just as good, that doesn’t take all the prep chopping.
Excellent! Easy to do. It took me about 35 minutes to get the chicken to around 160. I advise getting out of the fridge and get to room temp for an hour before cooking. Remember to scrape the goodness and deglaze!
My thighs were still pretty frozen in the package. I put them in a bowl and ran some warm water over them to thaw before drying. I know there is a long time between your post and mine but a helpful tip is a helpful tip whenever it arrives.
This is outstanding!! I used a tiny bit more spices, maybe a teaspon of garlic powder, onion powder and paprika. 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper. Added 2 tablespoons wine along with the lemon juice and broth. Served over linguini. This is now a standard recipe in our house. A Go-to standard. It’s best cooked in a cast-iron frying pan.
So happy you loved the chicken.
This is pretty similar to a recipe I already use but the lemon added a nice touch. After seasoning the thighs I tossed them in some cornstarch and fried them in some butter and olive oil for a crispier texture. I doubled up on the garlic and shallot since it adds so much flavor to the dish. My daughter hates red pepper flakes so I opted out of that but I def feel like that would kick this dish up a notch. Will make again!
I am so glad you loved it!
Easy & delicious!!! My 3 kids and hubbs ate it up unsolicited. Nice wholesome meal, served with roasted broccoli & green chives!
I am glad your family enjoyed the chicken!
SOOOO GOOD!!
Thank you!
I tried this tonight and did it with skinless, boneless thighs and I really liked it. Because I didn’t have the skin I used ghee and was careful of the browning process. I got the desired fond and browning on the chicken. Really simple was able to do the dishes while monitoring it and I will definitely cook it again. I had it over a bed of egg noodles.
So good with noodles!
very good and easy! next time I will add a little white wine during the simmering process and mushrooms
OK, a bit of honesty, I started with frozen chicken thighs! It cook less than 30 minutes, to 155 degrees. Followed the rest of the recipe and had a wonderful result.
Glad you loved the recipe!
Amazing recipe. I have made it 3 times in the last month. I serve it with penne and throw a few sundried tomato’s and Feta on top. My family loves it.
I am so glad you are loving this recipe!
The family loved it. We had it over penne pasta. Made 50% more sauce because of serving over pasta
Nice!
Good. Mine looked pretty close to the recipe photo. Didn’t have a shallot so I used diced onion. Also added a splash of white wine because I’m trying to use it up. Also I didn’t have thyme so I used a little rosemary which probably changed the flavor but no one knew because I was the only one looking at the recipe.
Thank you Alexa for your review. Kim is trolling you and their comments are not welcome nor do I agree with them. Many families today are in a crisis of budget and time and often affordability of a well stocked pantry is challenging. Bravo for using what you could and still taking a moment to add a positive and helpful review. It makes me more likely to try this recipe even though I may not have all I need to make it perfect this time around.
I made this recipe tonight & I can’t get over how delicious it is! Like others suggested, I added spinach & mushrooms at the end, and it just made it even better, plus added color, flavor & veggies. Yum.
Oh, I did leave out the red pepper flakes as we don’t like the heat. But even my picky husband who doesn’t much like chicken thighs loved this.
Thanks for sharing! Glad you loved it.
Sooooo Good!!
Thank you!
I made this for my girlfriend following the directions exactly. Omg! That first bite..and the last..and everything in between! This recipe brought the wow factor! Thanks for this!
So glad you loved it! It is always a WOW!
What happened to the ingredients no amount s of anything did I miss them didn’t make it
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Made this for my son and daughter and myself, and it was a HUGE hit. I made 9 thighs thinking I could make lunches or something out of the leftovers, but they absolutely devoured it all. And my daughter is a light eater. I had to double the ratio for the spices in the rub (I think skin-on requires a bit more), but otherwise followed this recipe pretty well. Matched with a romaine salad and french bread and it was amazing. We did clean up all the sauce with the bread, like they mentioned. Heavenly!
I am so glad everyone loved it!
Made mostly the same… just added dried thyme instead of fresh… sooooo tasty and easy peasy to make! Served over basmati rice…,it’s a keeper! First time making it and it was a big hit!
Glad you loved it!
This was soo good and easy to make. I did increase the dry ingredients to 1 teaspoon each, and I added some sun dried tomatoes. It was very tasty. Will definitely make again.
Yay! Glad you will make it again!
I made this tonight, OMG it was DELISH!!!!, never had the parsley but ….boy oh boy this was tasty!
It is a dinner winner!