If you've ever made chicken thighs in the oven and ended up with rubbery skin, this method fixes that. I use a simple trick to dry out the skin so it roasts up crispy while the inside stays juicy. It's an easy, repeatable way to get really good chicken without needing anything complicated.
When I am in a time crunch, I will opt for my Air fryer Chicken Thighs recipe because it can be finished in around 40 minutes and the skin is just as crispy.
How I get crispy chicken thighs in the oven
These baked chicken thighs come out with crispy skin and juicy meat every time using a simple two-temperature method. The baking powder helps dry out the skin so it roasts instead of steaming, which is what gives you that crispy texture without frying. Once you try it this way, it's hard to go back.
This is one of those recipes my whole family will actually eat without complaints. The crispy skin is the best part and it's hard not to pick at it straight off the pan. I usually make extra because it disappears fast.
What you'll need
Here's everything you need to make these crispy baked chicken thighs. It's all simple pantry spices and bone-in, skin-on chicken. Nothing fancy, just ingredients that work.
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (trimmed of excess skin and fat so they crisp instead of getting chewy)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (helps dry out the skin for crispiness)
- Seasonings: ½ tablespoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon onion powder
How I make crispy baked chicken thighs
This is a simple two-step baking method that gives you crispy skin and juicy chicken. Starting at a lower temperature helps render the fat, then finishing at a higher temperature crisps everything up.
- Preheat the oven to 250°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. Spray the rack with cooking spray so the chicken doesn't stick.
- Trim the chicken. Use a sharp knife to trim off any excess skin or large pieces of fat. This helps the skin crisp up instead of turning chewy.
- Season the chicken. In a small bowl, mix together the baking powder, salt, and spices. Place the chicken in a bowl or bag, add the seasoning, and toss until everything is evenly coated.
- Start low. Place the chicken thighs skin side up on the rack. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes.
- Finish hot for crispy skin. Increase the oven temperature to 425°F and move the rack up one level. Bake for another 25-30 minutes, or until the skin is golden and crispy.
- Check for doneness. The chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. I usually let it go a little longer for extra crispiness.
Tips from Jennifer's Kitchen
- This method is what I use anytime I want crispy chicken in the oven. It works just as well for chicken legs and wings, not just thighs. The baking powder is the key here. It helps dry out the skin so it crisps up instead of steaming.
- If you've never tried it before, don't skip it or swap it for baking soda. It won't work the same and will affect the flavor.
- Make sure the chicken has a little space on the rack and isn't crowded. Airflow is what helps the skin crisp up, so if they're packed too close together, they'll steam instead.
- I use this same method for my garlic parmesan chicken wings, and they come out just as crispy without needing to fry them.
How I make my plate
This is one of those dinners I keep really simple. I usually do a couple of these chicken thighs with something easy on the side.
Most of the time, I'll pair it with my cauliflower casserole if I want something more filling, or a simple coleslaw to balance out the richness.
If I'm keeping it really easy, I'll just do a quick vegetable on the side or something I already have prepped in the fridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but they won't get quite as crispy since they don't have the skin. They'll also cook faster, so keep an eye on them.
If you want crispy skin in the oven, I recommend it. It helps dry out the skin so it roasts instead of steaming.
Usually it comes down to moisture or overcrowding. Make sure the chicken is dry, evenly coated, and has space on the rack so the air can circulate.
Yes. Store them in the fridge and reheat in the oven or air fryer to bring the crispiness back.
They're safe at 165°F, but I usually let them go a little longer so they're more tender and the skin gets extra crispy.
Recipe Card
Crispy Chicken Thighs (Easy Oven Baked Recipe)
Ingredients
- 8 Bone in, Skin on Chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (not baking soda!)
- ½ tablespoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
Method
- Preheat the oven to 250F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and a wire rack. Spray the wire rack with cooking spray.
- Trim each chicken thigh of any excess fat or skin with a sharp knife.
- Combine all of the seasonings and baking powder in a small bowl.
- Place the chicken in a bag or a bowl with a lid and top with the seasonings. Secure the bag or bowl and shake vigorously, being sure the chicken thighs are evenly coated in the seasonings. Remove the chicken from the bag and place on the rack, skin side up.
- 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.
Elisa says
Can I use skinless thighs? Do you think it will crisp up at all? And if I make it in the morning, how would you suggest I warm it up at night?
jenniferbanz says
I would not use this recipe for skinless thighs
Meg says
Umm.... this was amazing. I can’t beleive that I was able to do this! Usually all my Pinterest recipes fail, but this was SO FREAKING GOOD. Perfectly cooked. Perfectly tasty. I’m so excited! Thank you!
Lori McBride says
It was easy and so delicious
Patty Scott says
This was SOOO good. We just had it tonight with a side of crockpot macaroni and cheese and salad. The one change I made was to pour a dash of liquid smoke into my hand and rub it on each thigh before putting it into the seasoning bag. The flavors in this sing and it was so good my whole family complimented it the whole meal through. Not just another Pinterest chicken recipe.
Cathy Moody says
Adding this to my repertoire!! Thanks!!
Valerie J Patterson says
What is the nutritional information? Carbs?
jenniferbanz says
It's just chicken and some spices so I would say max 1 carb per piece
Lisa K Cowan says
Thank you for this fabulous recipe . I used it last night for bone in, skinless chicken thighs. I used 1 Tbsp of baking powder and they turned out great. So good in fact. I am using this recipe tonight using skin on bone in chiken breast. I am going to check the temp in the second stage of baking. This recipe is a keeper thank you Jennifer.
Nani says
Ah sounded good but did not work form! After 30 min at 250 chicken looked pretty raw. 30 minutes at 30 min uncooked and dried out.
Sarah says
No mess In the kitchen, grease disaster in the oven. But DELICIOUS - so, worth it.
Kat says
My family raved about this delicious chicken recipe. It was crispy and tasty! My son asked what the secret recipe was! ?
Ashleigh says
I meal prep alot so always finding new and different ways to cook with chicken. Was a bit hesistant on how it was going to turn out. But it turned out amazing, juicy and crispy!
Thanks!
K Smith says
So good and easy. I skipped the step of lining the pan with foil tho and nearly had a fire from all the grease in my gas stove! So don’t skip the foil ha ha and I may need to figure out what else to do so it doesn’t happen next time. Slightly reduced the baking powder due to the reviews and skin was perfectly flavored and crispy - thanks!
Byenia says
Made this recipe last night and loved it! Super crispy skins! 🙂 Used slightly less baking powder since I had only 3.6 lbs. of meat to season, and I did wind up needing to cook the chicken in the oven at 425 degrees for an extra 16 minutes in order for it to cook fully through, but otherwise didn't change a thing. Will definitely save and share this recipe. Thanks!
Courtney says
YOU ARE A FREAKING GENIUS!!!! I have been searching for a skin-on chicken thigh recipe like this forever. Tried multiple other recipes, and the skin is still rubbery and soggy. Not this one. It cracked when I cut into it. The skin was perfectly crispy, the chicken was juicy, and the flavor was spot on. I can't thank you enough for this recipe. We will be using this same technique for thighs, wings and drumsticks for the rest of my life.
Ahava says
Amazing ! So crispy and moist and delicious- my husband said best chicken he ever had ! And my kids loved as well -
Thank you!
Gigi says
Hi there! I‘d love to make this recipe tonight - I am in Germany by the way, so mind the time difference 🙂 - and was wondering whether you defrosted the chicken thighs overnight first or just marinated the frozen thighs and popped them into the oven frozen? If it’s the latter, what would the cooking time be? Thanks a lot!:)
jenniferbanz says
They should defrosted
Yvonne says
I’m trying this again , but with chicken legs. This is the best recipe. The chicken was delicious. Doing keto you miss that fried chicken crisp taste. Loved the recipe!
Lisa says
I made these with Cajun seasoning and dipped them in a mixture of 1/2 Franks and 1/2 butter. Yummmy. You have made my buffalo wing dreams come true. More meat!
jenniferbanz says
Sounds amazing!
Doug says
This recipe is amazing. I honestly didn’t think it was going to work as advertised, sorry for my cynical nature, but I was definitely proven very happily wrong. You definitely have talent Jennifer. Thank you very much for this wonderful site.
Sincerely
Doug
Krissy says
Sooooooooo good. Did not taste any baking soda. My hubby said it was better than kfc ? and my toddler liked it. Thanks for the recipe!
jenniferbanz says
Now that's a compliment! So glad you liked them!
DownSouthDiva says
These were Amazing! The people complaining about tasting baking powder had to have used too much...I've put these in my weekly menu rotation. I don't even like thighs but since I'm doing Keto these were the better choice. With this recipe I look forward to chicken thighs. Thanks for sharing!
jenniferbanz says
Yay! So glad to hear that!
Gina says
I cook my chicken like this all the time. I have been doing it long before I read this post but wanted to say that if you season well, you won't taste the baking powder. Also, Morton's Season All tastes just like Shake-n-Bake seasoning. Like, seriously. It's also good on pan fried pork chops.
Kim says
Made this tonight and OmG it is so yummy!! Definitely a keeper!
Jenny C says
I made these tonight, the thighs looked beautiful. Mine tasted to much like baking powder, then I realized your only supposed to use 2 tbsp. Make sure you read the recipe all the way down to bottom. I didn’t see the full recipe until after I reread it.
I actually used baking powder as if was flour. That is a no no. Lol
Shelly says
If cooking from frozen would you cook longer?
jenniferbanz says
You would definitely need to cook them longer. I'm not sure cooking from frozen would work as well though.
Pollie says
This did not work at all. I followed the recipe exactly and all you could taste was the baking powder. My daughter had no idea how I made it and she actually asked me if there was some kind of powder on it. It wasn’t edible.
Mir says
There was a comment above that said they didn’t read the recipe and used it like it was flour, but it was supposed to only be 2 tablespoons... sounds like you did the same thing.
JP says
I had the same issue...baking powder taste. I followed the recipe exactly, except for having slightly less chicken...but there was a bit of seasoning left in the bag.
CeriAnn says
Theses thighs have become a staple in my home. We eat them at least once a week! Thank you for sharing!
I'm prepping some freezer meals and I'm wondering if it would work to season the thighs and then freeze them, or of there would be too much moisture as they defrost?
I love having a freezer full of seasoned meat, but I'm just not sure this one would work. What do you think? (I realize I'm asking a question that you can likely only answer with guess, I'm OK with that : )
jenniferbanz says
I have used frozen thighs to make this recipe with no problem. I'm not sure if anything would change with the added seasoning, though.
Shari says
I fixed this recipe and it was amazing --- thank you so much for this!!
My daughter really likes chicken breasts. Can you tell me if this recipe can be adapted to chicken breasts? If so, what time/temperature should I use and should I adjust the amount any of the seasonings?
Megan says
I just made these with boneless, skinless thighs, so it's similar to breasts. I did them at 250 for 30 minutes just as instructed, then bumped them up to 400 (my oven runs hot) for another 15. They were a tad overdone ( internal temp 170). I suspect 12 minutes would've been enough. I finished them on high broil for one minute for crispiness. Delicious!
Shari says
Thank you so much for the recipe --- cooked these last night and they were amazing!! My daughter is a fan of chicken breasts. Can you tell me if this recipe will work for chicken breasts and if so, what the cooking times/temperatures would be?
donna quixote says
At the moment, this recipe has 30 reviews of 5/5 stars. I concur. This recipe has definitely met and exceeded my level of enjoyment of the modest chicken thigh. I change the spice from the oregano and smoked paprika to ground rosemary leaves and mustard seeds (in a mortar and pestle). The rest I left the same. The result? It was a mouth watering, juicy crisp texture and gorgeous color. My only thought was maybe use a little less Baking Powder, as you can taste it a little. So good! No one even spoke at dinner, we kept eating... and eating...
Lila Joe says
Can I use skinless, boneless chicken breast?
jenniferbanz says
You could but this process would be pointless without the skin
Shari Wolfe says
Hi Jennifer - this recipe was amazing with chicken thighs. If we use chicken breasts, what would the baking times be and would we need to increase the spices, etc for the larger pieces?
jenniferbanz says
I would only use bone in skin on chicken breast and I would double the spices but not the baking powder if you are doing 8 chicken breast. I would do the same time a temperature but make sure to check for doneness with a meat thermometer.
Nancie says
Absolutely delicious!! Whole family declared it best chicken they've ever had! This will be a regular for us. Many thanks.
Alison says
Would boneless chicken thighs work? These look delicious and I have some boneless thighs on hand
Kellie says
Made this tonight for the first time & my family loved it! So crispy! So tasty! Thank you for sharing!
Anna says
I have never left a review for a recipe until today! Me and my family could not believe how amazing this chicken came out. Thank you!!!!!! This is going to make my Keto journey well worth it!
Tina Courtois says
I want to Mae the trite what spices do you use?
jenniferbanz says
The same spices in the recipe
Evan Halperin says
This method works awesome with regular wings.
Angel Butler says
Omg!! This chicken is amazing! I love the crispy skin and juicy meat. Well done ! From now on I will beusingthis technique for baked chicken. Thank you!!
Maria says
WOW. This recipe is simply amazing! The chicken is juicy, the skin is super crispy...all in all, it is absolutely DELICIOUS! New family favorite!
Erin says
These were so good. Crispy but juicy and very Lorie mess!!
Mary Ann says
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
jenniferbanz says
That should work just fine
Lily says
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.