These Crispy Chicken Thighs are so easy to make and with no dirty skillet or grease splattered all over your kitchen! They are a frequent weeknight meal in my house because everyone loves baked chicken thighs and it is definitely kid friendly. They are the perfect low carb dinner…and so much easier than making keto or low carb fried chicken!
These crispy chicken thighs are definitely budget friendly. I bought a 4 lb bag of frozen chicken thighs at the grocery store for $4.98. That was cheaper than the fresh chicken thighs
I also like to buy frozen chicken thighs so I don’t have to cook them right away if I change my mind on what I want to make for dinner. Most grocery stores run sales often on fresh chicken thighs though, so watch out for that!
The method I used to accomplish these crispy chicken thighs (and I mean super crispy!) is to shake them with baking powder and my seasonings in a bag before they are baked. This method makes the skin so crispy! I’ve cooked chicken thighs in cast iron, I’ve grilled them, and I’ve baked them in the oven with just salt and pepper, and they have never come out this crispy!
When I pulled these crispy beauties out of the oven I was so excited!
They are amazing dipped in ranch!
HOW LONG TO BAKE CHICKEN THIGHS:
- Preheat the oven to 250F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray a wire rack with cooking spray. lay out the chicken thighs on the wire rack skin side up and place inside the baking sheet. Dry the chicken thoroughly with paper towels.
- Place the chicken in a bag or a bowl with a lid and toss the chicken in the baking powder and spices and then put the chicken back on the rack.
- Bake the chicken in the center of the oven for 30 minutes. Increase the heat of the oven to 425F and move the oven rack up one spot then bake for an additional 25-30 minutes or until brown and crispy. Chicken is cooked through when an internal temperature of 165F is reached.
I also use this method to make my Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings.
If you want to be extra frugal, you can cut all of the chicken off of the bone and put the bones in the freezer. When you have a nice size bag full, make your own bone broth!
To make these “no mess” you need to line your sheet pan with foil, then just throw the mess away! I figure the water and soap and scrubbing used to clean the nasty pan more than makes up for the cost of the foil. The only things left to clean up is the wire rack, but we spray it with cooking spray so it should clean right up! So much easier than frying chicken!
I have used this same method to make super crispy skin chicken legs and they were amazing as well!
HOW TO BAKE CHICKEN THIGHS VIDEO (1 MIN):
I love to cook with chicken thighs! Here are some other chicken thighs recipes that you should check out: Low Carb Chicken Noodle Soup and Chicken Cauliflower Fried Rice Casserole
These budget friendly crispy baked chicken thighs recipe is so easy to make and with no skillet or grease splattered all over your kitchen! Perfect low carb dinner and so much easier than making low carb and keto fried chicken!
- 4 lbs Bone in, Skin on Chicken thighs
- 2 tbsp baking powder (not baking soda!)
- 1/2 tbsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Oregano
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
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Preheat the oven to 250F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray a wire rack with cooking spray. lay out the chicken thighs on the wire rack skin side up and place inside the baking sheet. Dry the chicken thoroughly with paper towels.
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Place the chicken in a bag or a bowl with a lid and toss the chicken in the baking powder and spices and then put the chicken back on the rack.
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Bake the chicken in the center of the oven for 30 minutes. Increase the heat of the oven to 425F and move the oven rack up one spot then bake for an additional 25-30 minutes or until brown and crispy. Chicken is cooked through when an internal temperature of 165F is reached.
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Serve with my Ultimate Creamy Bacony Cheesy Cauliflower!
- The baking powder is essential to making these chicken thighs extra crispy. I like to make sure it is distributed evenly by shaking the chicken with the baking powder and seasonings in a bag or a large bowl with a lid.
- I have made this recipe with frozen and fresh chicken thighs. The frozen chicken thighs are more wet before cooking than fresh but they yield the same crispy results.
- I have also used this recipe to make crispy chicken legs. They were just as amazing! Just make sure you keep an eye on them in the final cook because they can cook a little quicker than the thighs.
⭐ Did you make this baked chicken thighs recipe? I want to see! Tag me on Instagram @lowcarbwithjennifer
These were so good. Crispy but juicy and very Lorie mess!!
I’d like to make this recipe tonight. It looks and sounds wonderful. Would this turn out crispy if I used my broiler pan to bake them? I don’t have a cooking rack. Thanks so much.
Mary Ann
That should work just fine
Thank you so much for this. Now making it for the third time this way to get the skin low carb crispy. The first time I did it as recipe called for. Second time I layered the inside with seasoning and Parmesan cheese. This time I stuffed with creamed spinach.