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One of my favorite weeknight meals is this pan seared chicken thighs that takes 15 minutes from preparation to serving. The seasoning mix I use gives the chicken the best flavor, and I’ll share some tips for how to make sure you don’t overcook the chicken so it stays tender and juicy!
These pan seared chicken thighs are easy enough to make for a weeknight meal, but they are also perfect for a more formal dinner. You can easily double and triple the recipe, but just be sure not to over-crowd the pan when doing so. I usually serve the chicken with some simple Lebanese rice and green beans for a nutritious well-balanced dinner!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chicken thighs: Use boneless skinless thighs for this recipe. We rub them with seasonings before searing for a really flavorful bite.
- Seasonings: I use a mix of onion powder, cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, salt and pepper.
- Garlic: Slice rather than mince the garlic so that the flavor is milder.
- Broth: Use chicken broth to create the sauce. You can also use vegetable if that’s what you have.
How to make pan seared chicken thighs
Start by measuring the spices and mixing them all together. This combination of spices is one of my favorites. I use equal amounts of onion powder, paprika, cumin and coriander and then a little less of turmeric. The spice mixture gives it a beautiful color when cooked, and it adds a wonderfully sweet and smokey Mediterranean flavor.
Next, pat the chicken thighs very dry with a paper towel. Since we’re pan searing the chicken, we want to make sure that they are dry so they get crisp when they hit the hot oil instead of soggy. Then use your hands to rub the seasoning on the dry chicken thighs.
When you’re ready to cook the chicken, make sure that the olive oil coats the bottom of the pan, usually 2-3 tablespoons will be sufficient. And then make sure the oil hot.
Next, place the chicken thighs with the smooth side down first and don’t touch it or move it until at least 5-7 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken. You will know when it’s time to flip it when it easily releases on its own. It will lift easily off the pan and nothing will be stuck to the oil.
Then flip it and cook it until the juices run clear or a a thermometer inserted into the chicken reads between 160°F and 165°F.
Finally add the garlic and cook it until it’s golden and fragrant. It only needs about 30 seconds. Then add the chicken broth to deglaze the pan and let it cook for an extra couple minutes until the juices get a little thicker.
What to serve with chicken thighs
- Grains: We love serving this with Lebanese rice, risotto, cauliflower rice, or even a rice salad.
- Potatoes: Chicken thighs are so delicious with potatoes. Try it with my healthy mashed potatoes, garlic roasted potatoes, or even air fryer potatoes.
- Vegetables: Add some vegetables to the grains and/or potatoes to make it a full meal. This goes great with pan roasted Brussel sprouts, sautéed green beans or sautéed mushrooms.
- Salads: Lots of salads work with this. I prefer Mediterranean salads to complement the spices I use. Try it with Mediterranean chopped salad, Couscous Salad, Kale Tabbouleh or Fattoush.
Tips for pan searing chicken thighs
- Allow time to marinate the chicken. Since this is a dry rub, the marinating time isn’t crucial, but it never hurts and the flavor will only enhance if you let it sit with the seasoning. I recommend at least 30 minutes, but up to 24 hours works fine.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan. You want the chicken thighs to brown and cook evenly. Otherwise, the juices from the nearby chicken may create steam which will affect the searing process.
- Don’t turn the chicken while they’re cooking. This is especially true if you are using a non-stick pan like I did. Once the chicken is fully cooked on one side it will self release effortlessly, without anything sticking to the pan. Plus this helps to get proper browning on both sides.
- Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before cutting. This allows the chicken a chance to absorb the juices to become more juicy and tender.
Frequently asked questions
It’s important to remember, that unlike chicken breasts, thighs can look pinkish-brown even when cooked through. To test for doneness, press the meat, there should be resistance, if it is still very soft it is not cooked. Pierce the skin with a skewer or fork and the juices should run clear. If you have an instant read thermometer, it should register between 170ºf and 180ºf.
I prefer to eat the chicken as soon as it is cooked, but if you have leftovers you can reheat them once and the leftovers must be eaten in one sitting. You can reheat them in a frying pan, microwave oven or the barbecue. Leftover cold cuts can be kept in the fridge for 2 to 3 days and can be enjoyed cold on a salad.
This recipe is easily adapted to use with chicken breasts if you prefer. The recipe remains the same, but the cooking time will be slightly less.
These easy pan seared chicken thighs are one delicious and quick weeknight meal. Serve with all your favorite sides for a flavorful dinner that the whole family will love.
For more chicken recipes:
If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Pan Seared Chicken Thighs recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
Pan Seared Chicken Thighs
Video
Ingredients
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1.5 pounds chicken thighs boneless, skinless
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- Salt and pepper
- 4 cloves garlic clove sliced
- ½ cup chicken broth
- Chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towel. Season chicken thighs with onion powder, cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, salt, and pepper.
- Add seasoned chicken thighs to the skillet, smooth side down; cook for 5-7 minutes without moving, and then flip when the chicken easily releases on its own. Cook until the juices run clear, an additional 7-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken thighs.
- Add garlic and cook until garlic is golden and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour chicken broth to deglaze the bottom and sides of pan with the crispy browned bits until they’re no longer sticking to the pan.
- Remove from heat, spoon sauce over chicken. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
It was delicious
So happy you liked it, Madan!! Thank you!
I should have listened to Joyce but I deglazed with white wine and added cream. Came out…..different. I think the sauce needs something sweet to make it enjoyable.
I find that the chicken broth brings enough of a sweetness. I recommend trying the recipe as is to see if you like it!
So delicious and easy to make!!
Yay, so happy you enjoyed the recipe and found it easy!
Wonderful spice combo. Served with basmati rice with the recipe sauce. Yum!!
Thank you!! So happy you liked them, Bob!
I made this Pan Seared Chicken today. It was delicious. I love the aroma. Thank you so much, Yumna.
Yay, so happy you loved it! Thanks, Catherine!
Excellent! Other reviewers: don’t mess with it. Thank you!
Haha thank you, Joyce!!
Great recipe. Juicy and delicious. I made slight modifications. Used a whole cup of broth instead and added mushrooms and onions. Once cooked, added a sprinkle of flour to create a wonderful mushroom gravy.
Yum, that mushroom gravy sounds perfect!! Love your tweaks, thank you for sharing!
Sounds super yummy! Is the nutrition facts for per piece?
Yes, the nutrition facts are for approximately 1 thigh. Hope you enjoy!
I cooked the pan-seared chicken today. It was soooooo delicious. Thank you so much for your generous hospitality by sharing the recipe with us! God bless!
You’re welcome, Catherine! I’m so happy you liked it!!
Outstanding and quick! Perfect for a weeknight meal, and elegant enough for company.
So glad you enjoyed!! Thanks, Dawn!
This chicken tastes fantastic! I used boneless thighs. I served the chicken with basmati rice and poured some of the sauce over the rice. This recipe is so easy to make. I highly recommend it!!
Thanks, Kathy! Love that you found it easy to make!!
Excellent recipe! Followed exactly and turned out fantastic. Good flavor and you end up with “skin” without actually having skin on the chicken. Yum!
Yay, so glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks, Tonya!
Nice recipe! Quick to prepare and came out great!
Thanks, Brian!
This was such a fantastic recipe. I don’t usually cook with tumeric.. so it was outside my comfort zone, but dang was this super yummy! The skin is crispy, the garlic is yummy.. I only had bone-in thighs and a bone-in breast, both worked out great! I’m talking finger-licking, eat everything on the plate good! TRY THIS.
Thanks for this kind feedback!!
Amazing!! So happy I decided to look up a recipe. Great directions and super simple. My husband loved it. Will definitely be making again.
So glad to hear!
Can you please confirm how many thighs in a serving? Thank you
One thigh!
WOW! You made me look good–Becuase they came out so good!!
Dinner turned out to be a success—It was a 10 for the recipe! ((Great directions.))
Thanks so much. It was a hit.
I’m so glad I looked for a recipe before starting!
Aww thanks so much!
Not great! We didn’t like it at all. Sorry I tried it. Aw well! So much for trying new recipes.
So sorry to hear, would love to know what wrong so I can help troubleshoot!
Lovely easy method. I used dry sherry and tossed some sliced shallots to deglaze. I cooked the chicken with four sprigs of thyme in addition to the dry rub gave nice savory and flavor.
Sounds so good, thanks for sharing!
Good recipe! I didn’t have any garlic cloves so used garlic powder with the other spuces instead
Still flavorful and juicy!
Thanks!
So glad to hear, thanks for sharing!
Super delicious and easy. Cooked in a cast iron. Thanks!
You’re so welcome!
Well I just made this for dinner and it’s easy to prepare and so delicious! Thank you Yumna for another wonderful dinner.
You’re so welcome, Char! Thank you for making my recipes for dinner!
This recipe resulted in a yummy entre. Cooked it on a weeknight. I did not have to monitor it much. I used an iron skillet. Later covered it with the iron lid and simmered.
So glad you liked the chicken thighs! I bet the cast iron skillet rendered a beautiful (and delicious) sear on the thighs, great idea!
This recipe will be in the weekly rotation! I love the spice combination (and even added a touch of fresh turmeric I had laying around). The crispy outside yet juice and tender inside lead my son to have whatever was a potential left over! I paired this with garlic basmati rice and oven roasted organic carrots. As Yumna says on her reels, “So good.”
I’m so happy to hear it! I love how much you enjoyed it. Thank you!
I only had a nonstick pan, and feel as though I did t get the desired outcome. When adding the broth, there wasn’t much of anything going on in terms of deglazing the pan. Any suggestions?
What did you have the heat on when deglazing the pan? I wonder if all of the chicken broth evaporated, so there was no deglazing.
Quick, easy, and tasty!
Thank you so much!
Super tasty! I marinated the chicken in plain yogurt since I had some laying around. I LOVE recipes that require lots of spices, and this recipe delivered! Super super easy when the hardest part is just chopping garlic, haha! It’s going in with my other saved recipes.
Thank you! That’s a great idea. Hope you continue to enjoy it!
Super easy and incredibly flavorful and delicious! Easy to make with ingredients already in the pantry. I used cooking wine instead of broth and added a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce a little.
Thank you so much! That’s perfect.
This dish was delicious! Fast, easy and flavorful. The entire meal came together in 30 min. Served with easy to make sides that I cooked while waiting for chicken to cook. Microwaved a frozen Trader Joe’s Rice medley (3 minutes). Microwaved steam in the bag River Gold potatoes (8 minutes), buttered them and added parsley flakes. Sautéed pre sliced baby bellas. The only change was that i cooked bone in thighs as I think the bone adds more flavor and I added 1/2 cup of dry white wine in addition to the 1/2 cup of chicken broth for a little more sauce.
Ben, if you preheat the pan (I use a heavy bottom aluminum pan) on low heat until a splash of water bounces in the pan about 5 minutes from (I did this while I was preparing the chicken), then add the oil and make sure the oil is hot but not smoking hot (takes about 1 1/2 minutes), you should have no problem.
Thank you so much! That’s perfect. Glad you enjoyed!
The seasonings are OK.
The cooking instructions are BOGUS! I followed the cooking time and method methodically. After heating the pan over medium heat for about 1.75 minutes. Placed the (completely dried and rubbed) thighs into the pan. Within 3 to 4 min. the smoke detectors went off.
Ì removed the pan for about 1 min., turned off the alarm, returned it to medium low…
Bottom line, the chicken was seared but quite edible EXCEPT even though my digital thermometer registered 170 the blood was not entirely gone.
I recommend cooking at medium, pre-heated for 3 minutes each side for a nice sear and finish in the oven at about 315 for 20 minutes. Should remedy.
Thank you for your feedback! The cooking temperature must’ve been too high for the chicken, but I’m glad you were able to figure it out!
OMG, this was so easy and soooo delicious! The garlic slices deglazing sauce brought it to a whole new level.
Thank you so much! I love that!
Very flavorful and super easy to make. My son and I loved this chicken dish.
Thank you so much! That’s great to hear!
Delicious! I replaced the tomato paste with Sundried tomato paste. Seasoned the chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, Tony’s Creole seasoning (just trust me) and pepper. Subbed the olive oil for oil that comes in Sundried tomatoes and it was amazing!!!
Love that! It makes so happy to hear!
Tomato paste? There was none in this recipe.
You’re so welcome!
No way to print, especially without pictures and not using 22pieces of paper. Had to write out. Sounds easy.
If you scroll to the recipe card, there’s a printer icon. When you click on it, I have it formatted in a way to print on 1-2 pages maximum with no images, no large font or anything that takes up too much ink. Can you try that? It should work fine.
Oh my gosh reviewed the wrong recipe. How embarrassing
No worries about that!
Pretty dang easy if I do say so myself. I’m a bit new at cooking chicken in a pan and it was a good bases for how to cook a similar dish in the future.
I love that!
Last minute search for thigh recipe. This was fab. And only had the seasoning on for a couple of minutes. Don’t go crazy on the heat, give it time and check the temp. Great bookmark !
I love that! Thank you!!
Quick and easy recipe, you can switch out ingredients for the rub.
You definitely can! Thank you!
Made this a few times loved it! Tonight I added sliced mushrooms and some broccoli to the garlic at the end for a one pot dish Over rice. So good
Love that idea! So glad you like the recipe 🙂
These were amazing. I’ve made them twice and they’re now a family favorite. Have you used this message for breasts as well?
So glad to hear it! Yup, it works really well for chicken breasts too, but they may need less time depending on their size.
Burnt on the outside, raw on the inside. Followed the recipe perfectly.
So sorry to hear that! I wonder what happened? It’s possible the chicken thighs were too big or the heat was too high?
I don’t think you did mate, I think you left your chicken cooking on high heat when it was supposed to be simmering. And hot oil does not mean as hot as it will go and let it smoke. I think you need to figure out cooking temperatures if you’re going to cook proteins in the future
Love this recipe. It’s a favorite recipe in our home now. Flavors are amazing and chicken remains juicy. Thank you for amazing recipes!! 😊
So glad to hear it! Thanks so much for sharing!
Was inspired around 7am today watching your Instagram story and made that plus veggie stir fry for husband’s lunch and he loved it! Making it again tonight for his lunch tomorrow per his request 😛
Yay, so glad to hear! Thank you!
Delicious pan seared thighs! Delicious! Even pleased my father-in law’s strict taste buds! I served it with some quinoa & potatoes. Thanks for the recipe 😍
Yay, I’m so happy to hear that!! Thank you 🙂
Very easy to make and delicious. Thank you
Thanks so much!!
I made you your pan seared chicken thighs tonight! Hubby gave it a high five! Thank you for your delicious recipes! ?
So glad he liked it. Thank you!!
Soooo good, new favorite chicken recipe!
Yay! Glad to hear it!
Juicy tender chicken in a skillet. Yes and yes. Love your blog
That’s awesome!! So glad he liked it!!