Food and Recipes Meat Chicken 17 Baked Chicken Thigh Recipes That Prove It's the Only Cut Worth Buying By Mary Shannon Wells Mary Shannon Wells Mary Shannon is an Associate Digital Editor and has been on the Southern Living team since 2017. She helps run the brand's social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok, where she's happily behind the scenes. When she's not ruffling feathers with an etiquette poll via Instagram Stories, she's writing content for the website and assisting in various print projects like gift guides and home stories. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on June 22, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Torie Cox Chicken is the ultimate protein for weeknight meals. It's budget-friendly, healthy (depending on the cooking method, of course), endlessly versatile, and basically foolproof. Though we love picking up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store for quick meals, chicken thighs are the most flavorful cut you can buy to bake yourself. Small and easy to portion and serve, baked chicken thighs are the star of some of our go-to dinner recipes. Ready for the good news to get better? With most of these baked chicken thigh recipes, you only need one dish to get dinner on the table. Pull out your beloved sheet pan for our Rosemary Chicken Thighs with Summer Vegetables or Baked Chicken Thighs with Dressing. Grab your go-to Dutch oven for our One-Pot Hot Honey Chicken and Rice or Cajun Chicken Cassoulet. Be sure your cast-iron skillet is seasoned for our Crispy Chicken Thighs with Pasta and Pesto or Lighter Pan-Fried Chicken with Green Beans and Tomatoes. Whatever baked chicken thigh recipe you choose, every family member at the table will be satisfied. 01 of 17 Rosemary Chicken Thighs With Summer Vegetables Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner Recipe: Rosemary Chicken Thighs With Summer Vegetables There's nothing we love more during a busy week than a sheet pan supper that makes dish duty a piece of cake. This healthy dinner is the perfect example of "eating the rainbow" with your veggies. 02 of 17 Braised Chicken Thighs with Spring Vegetables Johnny Autry; Food and Prop Styling: Charlotte L. Autry Recipe: Braised Chicken Thighs with Spring Vegetables All you need to get this gorgeous Spring dinner on the table is an oven-proof Dutch oven. In one pot, you get a full, healthy meal with protein, veggies, and good-for-you carbs. 03 of 17 Orange-Rosemary Roast Chicken Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Orange-Rosemary Roast Chicken Our Test Kitchen manages to pack so much flavor onto your sheet pan with this chicken supper that masters the balance between sweet and savory. Drizzled over warm chicken and veggies (don't skimp on the olives!), the vinegar, honey, and orange dressing is truly a game-changer. 04 of 17 One-Pan Hot Honey Chicken and Rice Recipe: One-Pan Hot Honey Chicken and Rice This budget-friendly supper feeds the whole family in 45 minutes and the honey-chile sauce will have everyone going for seconds. If you have leftovers, make better-than-takeout chicken fried rice the next night for dinner. 05 of 17 Baked Chicken Thighs with Dressing Recipe: Baked Chicken Thighs with Dressing With fresh veggies, juicy chicken, and toasty chunks of cornbread, this sheet pan supper is almost like a deconstructed, roasted Panzanella. The key to this dish is cutting your veggies evenly so that everything cooks in the same amount of time. 06 of 17 Lemon-Rosemary-Garlic Chicken and Potatoes Becky Luigart Stayner Recipe: Lemon-Rosemary-Garlic Chicken and Potatoes Lemon, rosemary, and garlic are staple seasonings and flavors that will win suppertime anytime. Fragrant and flavorful, this recipe is literally nicknamed "Anytime Chicken" in our Test Kitchen. 07 of 17 Crispy Chicken Thighs with Pasta and Pesto Greg Dupree Recipe: Crispy Chicken Thighs with Pasta and Pesto When it comes to pesto, don't go for the jarred stuff. If you have a food processor, making your own arugula-parsley pesto is so incredibly easy, and the fresh taste shines through in this recipe. 08 of 17 Cajun Chicken Cassoulet Photo: Iain Bagwell Recipe: Cajun Chicken Cassoulet Our Southern take on the classic French dish is chock-full of Cajun smoked sausage and okra. Also, it comes together in only one pot and much quicker than the original for a weeknight-friendly spin. 09 of 17 One Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta Jennifer Causey; Food Styling: Loren Wood; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Recipe: One Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta This one-dish dinner couldn't be easier. Kid-friendly, so-quick (like 35-minutes quick!), and using just one cast-iron skillet, this mash-up recipe will satisfy your carb and Tex-Mex cravings at the same time. 10 of 17 Chicken-and-Collards Pilau Greg Dupree Recipe: Chicken-and-Collards Pilau Chicken and rice are suppertime staples in our kitchen, and they star in this version of Lowcountry-favorite pilau. Cajun smoked sausage adds just the right amount of heat and smoke to this one-pot dinner. 11 of 17 Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken Recipe: Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken Tender and juicy, this BBQ chicken will satisfy even the pickiest eaters at your table. A simple homemade barbecue sauce is easy to throw together and has less sugar than its bottled counterparts. 12 of 17 Lighter Pan-Fried Chicken with Green Beans and Tomatoes Photo: Stephen DeVries, Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Lighter Pan-Fried Chicken with Green Beans and Tomatoes This recipe has all the taste of old-school, deep-fried chicken, but it finishes cooking in the oven for less grease without losing the crunch. Try using an air fryer for this recipe for an additional healthy shortcut. 13 of 17 Oven Baked Chicken Thighs with Vegetables Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Oven Baked Chicken Thighs with Vegetables Bright lemon, fresh rosemary, and a homemade honey mustard mixture add so much flavor to a simple chicken-and-veggies supper. Our Test Kitchen recommends smaller chicken thighs, which tend to be juicier. 14 of 17 Faux Cassoulet PHoto: Alison Miksch Recipe: Faux Cassoulet Juicy chicken thighs and country-style pork ribs make a hearty, savory dinner with veggies and beans. The crispy breadcrumb topping adds just the right amount of crunch. 15 of 17 Chicken Thighs with Tomato-Caper Sauce Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Christina Daley Recipe: Chicken Thighs with Tomato-Caper Sauce Classic tomato sauce is elevated by the addition of one ingredient: capers. Serve this simple and savory sauce over chicken thighs and a bed of grits to prove that there's no need for an onslaught of fancy ingredients to turn out superb supper. 16 of 17 Chipotle-Maple Chicken Thighs with Candied Acorn Squash Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Recipe: Chipotle-Maple Chicken Thighs with Candied Acorn Squash Sweet and spicy, this glazed chicken recipe pairs chile powder and adobo with maple syrup and squash to create a well-balanced flavor explosion. Here, the trick to crispy chicken thighs is a quick stint in the broiler after baking. 17 of 17 Lemon-Dill Chicken Skillet Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Lemon-Dill Chicken Skillet Light, acidic, and herbal, this chicken thigh dish is perfect for warm days but tender and starchy enough to make you feel pleasantly warm inside, too. Plus, it comes together in just 40 minutes, so dinner will be on the table in no time. 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