Crispy chicken thighs with caper sauce

Juicy chicken thighs with perfectly golden, crispy chicken served with lemon caper sauce. So simple but so absolutely delicious. It’s the perfect easy weeknight dinner and requires only a large skillet or pan and a bowl for the sauce. What’s not to love?

Ingredients

These crispy chicken thighs couldn’t be easier to make. The chicken itself requires only salt and pepper. The lemon caper sauce is also super simple and consists of capers, lemon, herbs (chives and parsley), olive oil, garlic, salt and black pepper. I cook the chicken on the stove top but you could finish the thighs in a hot oven or air fryer if you preferred.

• Bone-in chicken thighs. I used skin-on chicken thighs but any cut of chicken will work, the cooking time will just need to be adjusted. I wouldn’t recommend using skinless chicken breasts as the flavor won’t be as good as when cooking with dark meat.
• Salt and pepper. Other seasoning like smoked paprika, garlic powder or dried herbs like oregano and basil can also be used but I chose to keep the chicken simple to allow the sauce to be the star of this dish.
• Lemon caper sauce.

How to make crispy chicken thighs

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels then season generously with salt and pepper. Place the chicken, skin-side down, in a cold pan or cast iron skillet.  Set the pan over medium heat and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes until the fat has rendered out. This is the best way to cook chicken if you want golden, crispy skin. Cooking the chicken from raw over high heat will result the chicken skin too darken too quickly without having sufficient time to crisp up. Flip the thighs over and cook for another 10 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked and tender. This time may vary depending on the size of the chicken thighs.

Prepare the sauce according to recipe instructions while the chicken is cooking and set aside. Serve the chicken with the lemon caper sauce and side dishes of your choice.

How long to cook chicken thighs

Chicken thighs will take approximately 20-25 minutes to cook on the stove over medium heat. The meat is cooked when it’s white all the way through to the bone or when the internal temperature reaches 73.8ºC/165ºF on a meat thermometer.

What to serve with crispy chicken thighs

This chicken recipe works well with a variety of side dishes. Potatoes, rice or a salad will all be delicious as will crusty bread to mop up all the sauce.

• Almond, lemon and parsley pilaf rice
• Rosemary butter hasselback potatoes
• Easy green salad with lemon Parmesan dressing

Chicken thigh recipes

1. Bacon creamed corn with crispy chicken thighs
2. Lemon Rosemary Air fryer chicken thighs
3. Chicken thighs in creamy garlic Parmesan sauce