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Perfectly golden, tender, and juicy boneless skinless chicken thighs prepared on the stove top. These delicious pan seared chicken thighs make for a wonderful meal that’s surprisingly easy, and the pan sauce is amazing!
Quick enough for a weeknight dinner, or even a dinner party, this stove top chicken thighs recipe is all about the technique. If you’re wondering how to cook chicken thighs in a pan, this method, using olive oil and finishing with butter, garlic, and chicken broth, results in crispy yet tender, finger-licking good chicken thighs.
Pan-seared chicken often ends up dry and flavorless, but not so with this recipe! The meat is tender and juicy. Chicken thighs have a rich and hearty taste and are tastier than chicken breasts, in my opinion. The dark meat of the thigh contains more fat than the breast, which gives it a deeper flavor.
Why I Love This Boneless Chicken Thighs Recipe
- Easy. Just season your chicken then cook it up in a skillet. No complicated techniques or fancy ingredients here.
- Quick. Start-to-finish this recipe is ready in 20 minutes! How’s that for the perfect weeknight dinner?
- Flavorful. Boneless skinless chicken thigh recipes should be juicy, tender, and moist when cooked properly. This recipe delivers on all of that.
- Flexible. Both boneless and bone-in chicken thighs can be used in this recipe; however, remember that bone-in thighs will take longer to cook.
Looking for more ways to cook chicken thighs? Check out my air fryer chicken thighs or these instant pot chicken thighs.
What You’ll Need
- Olive oil: You could also use avocado oil.
- Boneless chicken thighs: We’ll need about 6 thighs. You can also use bone-in thighs but they will take a bit longer to cook.
- Seasonings: Onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper.
- Butter: You can use unsalted or salted butter, whichever you have on hand.
- Garlic: A couple cloves of garlic adds flavor to the the butter.
- Broth: I used low-sodium chicken broth, but vegetable or bone broth also works. If you want, you can also use your favorite white wine or apple juice.
How To Cook Boneless Chicken Thighs
Cooking chicken thighs in a pan is a simple and easy method. Here’s a quick look at how to do it:
- Heat the oil: Similar to my garlic sauce chicken thighs, sans bones and skin, this recipe starts with a wide, deep 12-inch skillet and well-heated olive oil.
- Season the chicken: In the meantime, we will season our chicken thighs with a mix of garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt, and pepper.
- Cook: Add chicken thighs, smooth side down, to the skillet and sear for about 5 minutes, or until you can easily flip it over.
- Turn over and finish cooking: Flip the chicken thighs over and cook for 6 more minutes. Add butter and garlic to the pan and cook for a minute before adding chicken broth to scrape up all the delicious bits on the bottom of the pan. This will also create the sauce to go with the chicken thighs.
Tips for Cooking Chicken Thighs
- Use a large skillet: To make the most perfect pan fried chicken thighs, use a large skillet that comfortably fits 4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- Use the right temperature: Cook the chicken thighs over medium heat so to allow the lower heat to evenly cook the meat. This helps ensure that you know exactly how long to cook chicken thighs on the stove for the best results.
- DO NOT move the chicken thighs around. Let cook for 5 minutes or until you can easily flip them over.
- Do not overcook the chicken thighs. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness; chicken thighs are cooked through when the internal temperature registers at 165˚F.
How To Store Extras
- Store in the fridge: Refrigerate chicken thighs within two hours of cooking. Make sure that they are completely cooled. Store chicken in airtight containers, and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- Freeze it: Transfer completely cooled chicken thighs to an airtight container OR freezer bags. Label the bag or container with name and date, and place it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Serving Suggestions
Wondering what to serve with your delicious chicken dinner? I have some ideas:
More Chicken Recipes
- Honey Sriracha Chicken Recipe with Cauliflower Rice
- Grilled Chicken Thighs with Brown Sugar Glaze
- Garlic Butter Chicken and Rice
- Saucy Skillet Chicken with Lemons and Olives
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Juicy Stovetop Chicken Thighs Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds (about 6 chicken thighs) boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth, you can also use dry white wine or apple juice
- fresh chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Season chicken thighs with onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, salt, and pepper.
- Add seasoned chicken thighs to the skillet, smooth side down; cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until you can easily flip over the chicken. Flip and cook for 6 to 7 more minutes or until no longer pink.
- Add butter and minced garlic; cook for about 20 to 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add chicken broth and stir around to scrape up all the crispy bits on the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve.
Video
Notes
- Use a large skillet that fits 4 to 6 boneless chicken thighs.
- Do not move the chicken thighs around; let them cook for 5 minutes or until you can easily flip them over.
- Both boneless and bone-in chicken thighs can be used; however, note that bone-in thighs will take longer to cook as the bones add mass. Use a Meat Thermometer to check for doneness – chicken is cooked through when the internal temperature registers at 165˚F.
- After adding in the butter and garlic, a splash of chicken broth will help to scrape up all the bits from the bottom of the pan.
- You can use chicken breasts in place of chicken thighs.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
I actually used this recipe for the cooking directions, not the seasoning. I had marinated some chicken thighs to bake, then my oven keypad stopped working so I couldn’t turn the oven on! I had to figure out a way to cook them on the stove top, which I haven’t done before. I used my largest pan and fit 7 thighs in snugly at a time (I was doing a large batch). My chicken, which was marinated in BBQ sauce, dijon, and spices, turned out perfectly! The timing was exactly right, even with the different seasonings and a large batch. I put in a bit of butter while heating the pan, then just plopped them in there. If timing didn’t work for your BONELESS, SKINLESS chicken thighs, I imagine your stove doesn’t heat at a true medium heat. I did cover mine, however, so that may have helped with timing. Try covering it if yours isn’t cooking quickly enough!
What a delicious Juicy Stove Top Chicken Thighs! I simply cannot wait to try it! Very interesting combination of ingredients. I am saving this recipe for later.
Thank YOU! Hope you enjoy it! ๐
Easy, super tasty and should be fool proof. If you have problems with undercooked chicken or any other problems with this recipe you should probably stick to McDonald’s because it doesn’ t get much easier than this.
Quick, easy (for a not so great cook) and delicious! My daughter loved it too!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I made these and more than doubled the cooking time and they were still raw inside. Yes, I used bone in chicken thighs. But I kept cooking and cooking and nothing. I ended up having to put them in the oven for 40 min because they wouldn’t cook in the middle. Maybe this recipe would work with super thin skinless thighs but do not try this if you have thicker bone in thighs.
Hi! The recipe calls for boneless and skinless chicken thighs, not bone-in. It says it in the list ingredients within the recipe box. Bone-in thighs take much longer to cook.
Because of comments like this, I cooked my boneless chicken thighs a few minutes longer. They were thoroughly cooked and still very tender and juicy. I’m not sure if the extra time was necessary, but the end product was very good!
It calls for boneless thighs, that is why. This recipe works perfectly when using the appropriate ingredients ๐
My husband loved this so much that he wants me to make it tonight again! Thank you!
My boyfriend and I LOVE this recipe. Have been making it weekly for the past two months. The cook times are perfect for me every time- cooking on a cast iron at medium high heat. Thank you!
I’ve made this recipe and variations on it (with different spices) several times now and it always turns out great! Super easy to follow and very delicious too.
everything is still pink after increasing cooking times by 10 minutes.
Hi! Did you use boneless chicken thighs or bone-in? Bone-in thighs take longer, but boneless should be done within 12 to 14 minutes on the stovetop.
Soo glad I found this recipe! All of the spices mixed together made my house smell so good! Haha and the chicken was great.
I should have read the comments. After following the timing directions my chicken is still pink in the middle.
Hi! I’m so sorry it didn’t work out for you. Did you use boneless thighs? Bone-in thighs do take longer to cook, but boneless thighs shouldn’t take longer than 12 to 15 minutes, tops.
HOW MUCH LONGER IF I USE BONE IN SKINLESS CHICKEN THIGHS?
They will most likely need at least 20 more minutes. I advise to brown them on the stove top – about 5 minutes per side, and then finish them off in a 425หF oven for about 22 to 25 minutes longer, or until juices run clear and internal temperature registers at 165หF.
Yep. Increased cooking time by 15mins and still very pink inside. Only used 4 small boneless thighs. Something is not right.
Very simple, quick and delicious. I served them with chicken stock infused long grain brown rice, roasted garlic butternut squash cubes, and roasted carrots, onions and garlic cloves.
I’ll definitely make these again.
Excellent recipe. So very delicious and easy to make. So easy, that it was fun!
My family did not enjoy this recipe tonight. Maybe it was my fault. I had 3 lbs. of chicken and I doubled everything else. It was way overpowering in spices. I hoped to have extra for lunches the rest of the week, but no.
This was super delicious!! I’m in love! I put my own little twist of the herbs and spices because I like to cook that way but I followed the other directions to T. I’ll be doing this again for sure.
Absolutely delicious, the chicken just melted in my mouth and I made it with sautรฉed spinach and seasoned rice. I used white wine to deglaze instead of chicken broth and it made a nice sauce to go along with everything. I will definitely be making this again!