Easy Rosemary Lemon Chicken Thighs
Juicy rosemary lemon chicken thighs is the kind of recipe that’s perfect to make for a quick weeknight dinner. Serve with simple sides for a delicious meal.
Chicken thighs really are the perfect weeknight protein. Who can say no to crispy skin and juicy meat? Flavor them with aromatic rosemary and zippy lemon, add some wine and garlic and you have a guaranteed home run. The simple pan sauce is perfect to drizzle over creamy mashed potatoes or steamed rice but I most often just serve the chicken with simple vegetables and drizzle the sauce over everything on my plate because YES PLEASE!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chicken thighs. I love using bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs but any chicken pieces will work well here.
- Fresh lemon juice.
- Fresh rosemary.
- Fresh garlic cloves.
- Butter. Olive oil or Avocado oil can be substituted.
- White wine.
- Salt and black pepper.
How To Make Lemon Rosemary Chicken
Season the chicken thighs then brown in a large skillet. Remove then make the sauce, pop the chicken back in and allow to simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Serve with your favorite sides.
How long to cook chicken thighs
Depending on their size, chicken thighs should take around 25-30 minutes to cook. Brown them well on both sides until the skin is golden brown and crisp then make a simple pan sauce and cook the chicken in the sauce, covered, for another 15-20 minutes until the chicken reads 73°C/165ºF on a meat thermometer or until it is cooked to the bone.
Alternatively, you can brown the chicken on the stove then transfer to a preheated oven to bake for 15-20 minutes.
Can I Make This Ahead?
Any leftovers can be kept in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge. To reheat I would suggest baking or air frying to allow the skin to crisp up again.
Serving Suggestions
We love this easy lemon rosemary chicken with a variety of side dishes for an easy weeknight dinner. Serve with broccoli or a simple salad for a gluten free or low carb meal. Add some crispy potatoes or hearty vegetables like butternut squash and spinach for a cozy dinner at home.
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs (skin-on, bone in)
- 2 tbsp fresh rosemary finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2-3 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup white wine Chicken broth or stock can be used as substitute
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp butter olive oil/avocado oil can be also be used
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pat the chicken thighs dry on both sides with paper towels then generously season with the chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. Press the seasoning into the chicken thighs.
- Place the chicken thighs, skin-side down into a cold skillet or frying pan. Set the pan over medium-high heat. This allows the fat to render slowly out of the chicken and will result in crispy skin.
- Once the chicken is golden brown and crisp, turn over and cook for another 3-5 minutes on the other side until golden brown.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Add the butter then fry the garlic in the butter and chicken fat left in the pan until fragrant. Add the wine and lemon juice. Scrape any sticky bits off the bottom of the pan. Place the chicken back into the sauce then reduce the heat and allow to simmer and cook for another 15-20 minutes, topping up the cooking liquid with water or chicken stock if the pan becomes dry. The chicken is cooked when it reaches 73°C/165°F on a meat thermometer.
- Season the chicken and sauce to taste then serve with the pan sauce.
Very good, made with a combination of breasts (since most of family likes white meat) and thighs for me and to provide more flavor overall for the dish. Great fall meal, served with mash potatoes (good combination with the chicken pan sauce!) and roasted acorn squash.
Best simple chicken dinner with ingredients I had on hand. So flavorful!
And I’ve learned the trick of starting the chicken in a cold pan to get it perfectly browned and crispy.
Definitely good enough for a special dinner for guests; I predict this will soon become an old favorite!
Perfect so easy to do every one loved it thank you
If finishing in the oven, which temperature should I use? 400?
Yup! A nice high heat to keep the skin crisp.
I followed your directive to put skin down in a cold frying pan/skillet. Unfortunately, there was nothing about adding oil, or using a seasoned pan, therefore, my chicken skin although crispy did not stay with the thighs, so maybe you can alter this or what am I missing?
Hi Karen. I have never had this issue – the fat renders out of the chicken fat slowly and then crisps up and releases easily from the pan, usually. Perhaps you tried to turn it too early?
When do you add the butter?
I’ve amended the recipe – you add it to the pan with the garlic.
I’m SO glad I found this recipe for Easy Rosemary Lemon Chicken Thighs. I have made it 3x in less than 2 weeks and I & my 20-something sons love it. It really is easy, but moreover, it smells heavenly when it’s cooking. I substituted chicken broth for the wine because I didn’t have wine on hand. Still perfect! I served with Jasmine rice. Love, love, love this recipe. Thank you!
Loved this. The skin stayed nice and crispy by not covering the pan while cooking. The recipe didn’t mention when to add the butter, but I added it to the pan sauce just prior to plating to give it a glossy finish. I also added a handful of cherry tomatoes at the same time as the garlic to give a pop of color and literal pop in my mouth.
So happy to hear that. 🙂