Oven Fried Chicken Thighs

Simplify your dinner with this Oven Fried Chicken that comes out crispy & delicious in about an hour. Less mess & clean up, the best-baked chicken recipe. Ever!

My mom was a baker. She did a great job making sweets. But that is where it really ended for her in the kitchen. She didn’t really cook much that I can remember & so when I got out on my own I lived on things like toast & hamburger helper. Easy stuff.

So when I met the hubs we ate a lot of what he calls bachelor food. But I knew we couldn’t live on that forever.

So I started learning the basics & one of the first things I perfected was fried chicken. I make it in a handful of different ways – all equally as good as the next.

But the one that I make the most – this Oven Fried Chicken.

It’s so simple to make. I like to coat my chicken using a zip-top bag. Just toss in there with my favorite flour– close & shake. It keeps the mess to a minimum & it does a great job.

I have been making this recipe for 20 years & I can tell you that each & every time we marvel at not only how easy it is to make but just how tasty it is after a long day.

Oh & did I mention that it takes less than 10 minutes to prep & a little over an hour to cook? That’s it! I told you it was easy!

oven fried chicken recipe

It really is no wonder this recipe has been pinned millions of times & shared on Facebook over 1 MILLION TIMES. It is CRAZY EASY!

This recipe is the one that even my son makes now that he’s out on his own. He can cook once & live off the leftovers all week, which is so great considering how busy he is with work and classes.

Love easy chicken recipes? If you want to make a traditional but simple pot pie, check out my Easy Chicken Pot Pie recipe.

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Here are some commonly asked questions

What is oven-fried chicken?

Oven-fried chicken is a healthier alternative to traditional fried chicken. It’s baked in the oven but prepared with a crispy coating that mimics the texture and flavor of deep-fried chicken.

Can this be made with drumsticks?

You can do that. Just cook for about 40-45 minutes, turning them over after about 30 minutes. You’ll know they are done when the meat is no longer pink at the bone and the juices are clear. A meat thermometer inserted near the bone should register 165 degrees.

Do I need to marinate the chicken first?

Marinating is optional but sometimes recommended for flavor and juiciness. This particular recipe doesn’t call for it. Common marinades include buttermilk, yogurt, or a mix of seasonings and oil.

How do you think this would be using Almond Flour to make this recipe Keto-friendly?

I don’t think it would hurt to give it a try. If you make it, please let me know how it turns out. I have tried it with egg white protein powder and most of the time it turns out great with that.

What is the best way to store leftover oven-baked chicken thighs?

After serving, place the leftover chicken in a shallow airtight container. Be sure to label with the date before refrigerating.

The chicken should keep for up to 2 days. As with most things, it is important to get food into the refrigerator within 1 hour after serving to prevent bacteria growth.

What temperature should I bake oven-fried chicken?

Bake at 400–425°F (200–220°C). This high temperature helps achieve a golden, crispy coating while cooking the chicken evenly.

Why use a shallow container to store the leftovers?

Well, when the container is shallow, the contents chill faster than if you were to use a large, deep container. Ideally, you don’t want it to take too long for the leftovers to get to their chilled/stored temperature.

As I mentioned, if the food remains above about 35 degrees for more than 1 hour after cooking, the bacteria starts to grow.

So, if the deep container of food takes several hours to finally get to that 35 degrees, the bacteria has been growing in your leftovers for those several hours. Not exactly what you want to happen.

How long does it take to bake oven-fried chicken?

Cooking time varies depending on the size and cut of the chicken:

• Bone-in chicken: 40–50 minutes. (I have this recipe at 1 hour total)
• Boneless chicken: 20–30 minutes.
  Always check for an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C).

Can you convert this recipe to a convection oven? 

Yes – typically with convection you would reduce the temp by 25 degrees OR reduce the time by 25% but I’m not sure about the timing as I have never tried it with convection.

I have a convection chart here but it has been many years since I have updated it and I need to add several more categories. 

You might need to use one of the many online free convection converters to get more accurate instructions for this.

Can I use boneless chicken for oven-fried chicken?

This recipe uses bone-in with skin thighs – not drumsticks. I have not found boneless chicken with the skins remaining.

I have not tried it with breasts – it would have to be bone IN, skin ON for the recipe to work – but it still might not turn out right as this recipe relies on the moisture content of chicken thighs.

Breasts will be different with the juices they release and they would take much longer to bake – which would result in a dryer end result. I don’t recommend for this recipe.

How many can this serve?

This will depend greatly on portion sizes & the appetites of your crowd. I typically buy a large pack of chicken thighs that contains 8-10 pieces. So if all 5 of us in our family have 1-2 pieces each, it can feed us for 1 dinner.

Can I use a baking sheet pan or a cookie sheet pan?

I don’t recommend doing that because you need the taller sides to hold in the juices – that’s what helps to make the skins crispy and crunchy.

Can this recipe be doubled?

Yes, you can double this recipe. But due to constraints on how much the pan can hold, you might have to do 2 baking pans and bake them side-by-side.

Can I make it without paprika?

Yes, of course. You can always add other seasonings if you like. Pick your favorites and swap those in or add them in addition to the seasonings listed here.

HOW DO YOU MAKE OVEN FRIED CHICKEN?

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Spray a 9×13 metal, stoneware or enameled cast iron baking dish with cooking spray & set aside. (please see notes in the post about using Pyrex or clear glass dishes)
3. Combine the chicken, flour, paprika, salt and pepper in a large gallon-size zip-top bag-. Seal the bag & shake well until chicken is coated in flour.
4. Remove each piece of chicken from the bag & place skin-side down in the prepared baking dish.
5. Sprinkle with additional seasonings to taste if desired.
6. Bake 30-35 minutes.
7. Remove & turn each piece of chicken over so they are skin side up and then sprinkle with more seasonings.
8. Bake an additional 30-35 minutes.
9. Remove from the oven & transfer the chicken to a plate lined with paper towels.
10. Sprinkle with additional salt if desired.

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Can this be made with frozen chicken?

I don’t recommend trying to make this oven fried chicken thighs recipe with frozen chicken. It would drastically increase the cooking time and result in the skin burning while trying to get the internal temperature to a safe level.

***NOTE: Due to some safety concerns with baking glass cookware at high temperatures, please use a Metal Baking Dish, Corningware or Enameled cast iron dish.

Can you tell me about the concern with clear glass bakeware?

NOTE- one of the videos we made of this recipe shows us using a glass pan. This was MANY YEARS AGO and PRIOR to learning about the issues with these pans. We had used the glass pan for many years and never had a problem. However – our son used a newer one and had the pan explode. (we did an updated video on Instagram showing a different pan)

There have been countless reports of the glassware exploding – I even had one of my readers tell me that when she was pulling out the dish at the end of baking, the whole thing exploded, sending glass & all the hot juices all over her oven, kitchen & herself.

I don’t recommend using them for baking over 350 degrees. Some say that it is because they set the hot dish on a cool countertop, but many people report that it happened when they were pulling it out before it left the oven, and in some cases, when it wasn’t even being touched with the door closed.

You can see more information here and there are many images on the internet if you search glass bakeware exploding.

ALSO – you can watch this TikTok video I found that explains that the OLD glass dishes with the all-caps logo “PYREX” (made by Corning) are the older version that is made with borosilicate and are safe to use.

The ones with the lowercase logo “pyrex” (made by Corelle) are made by the new company since it was sold in 1998 and those are the ones made without borosilicate (the new ones are made with soda lime – which isn’t as durable or resistant to large fluctuations in temperature) which makes them so durable.

So – that is how you tell which dishes are good to use.

How to Oven Fry Chicken

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Ingredients for oven-fried Chicken Thighs

• chicken thighs with skin
• all-purpose flour
• salt
• pepper
• smoked paprika

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If you love this easy fried chicken recipe, you’re going to love these other delicious recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

 

Crispy Oven Fried Chicken

If you love this easy Oven Fried Chicken recipe as much as I do, please write a five star review, and be sure to help me share on facebook and pinterest!
 

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