Disclosure: Nordic Ware sent me the free product (the beautiful 10 inch braiser pan you see on the photos) to try out - I'm loving my new pan and providing a brief review of this pan in this post. I was not compensated for this post other than receiving the 10 inch braiser pan for free! All opinions are my own.
RECIPE: Garlic Thyme Chicken Thighs with a flavorful gravy - this chicken is baked in the oven, is super easy to make and takes only 35 minutes from start to finish, with just a few simple ingredients. I use 20 garlic cloves and fresh thyme. Your whole family will love this dish!
These BAKED chicken thighs are so GOOD! I use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs. You're basically roasting whole garlic cloves together with the chicken thighs, and the chicken gets infused with the garlic flavor! In the end, you have about 20 delicious cloves of roasted garlic - just enough to go with the each bite of chicken. And adding fresh thyme to the garlic chicken gravy just makes everything even better and even more flavorful! Comfort food made completely from scratch at its very best!
Ingredients you need for garlic thyme chicken
- olive oil
- chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on
- Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- 20 cloves of garlic (2 full heads), separated and peeled
- 2 tablespoons flour (for gluten free, use gluten free multi-purpose flour)
- chicken broth
- fresh thyme leaves
Cooking pan I used to make this dish
To make this dish you'll need to use an oven-proof pan, such as cast-iron pan or an oven-proof braiser pan. I've used 10 inch braiser pan from Nordic Ware - it cooks just like cast iron, but is much lighter in weight (it's cast aluminum) and much easier to handle. It's also non-stick and is very easy to clean! 10 inch braiser pan makes just enough food for 2-3 people - excellent choice if you're cooking for a small family or a small company.
Nordic Ware was very kind to send me this pan for free to use and to review, and I love this pan! I've already used it to make several dishes. You can use this pan on the stove top, and in the oven (up to 500 F). It's very pretty, too:
How to cook garlic thyme chicken
- Heat the oven to 400° F.
- First you need to pan sear the chicken to give that nice golden crust:
- Season the chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper.
- In an oven-safe braiser pan or big, oven-safe skillet with a lid, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Cook the chicken thighs skin side down on medium-high heat until well browned, for about 5 minutes, then flip the chicken thighs skin side up and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove the chicken thighs to a plate.
- Then, cook the garlic cloves:
- Reduce the heat to medium, add 20 garlic cloves to the same pan, and cook garlic for about 3 minutes, occasionally turning, until garlic starts to soften and brown.
- Finally, bake the chicken:
- Return chicken thighs to the braiser pan, cover with the lid or aluminum foil, and bake for 15 minutes in the pre-heated oven at 400 F.
- Remove the pan from the oven and put it on a stove top - the pan will be very hot, be sure not to touch it, including the lid. Remove the chicken thighs and garlic from the pan to a plate.
- Make the gravy:
- Remove all but 2 tablespoons of oil from the pan. Over medium heat, whisk in the 2 tablespoons of flour in the 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan. Over medium-high heat, gradually whisk in the chicken broth and fresh thyme leaves for 1 or 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Remove the pan from the heat, and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Add the roasted garlic and chicken thighs back to the pan to reheat the chicken.
I hope you'll try this delicious BAKED CHICKEN RECIPE:
Garlic Thyme Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
- Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- 20 cloves garlic (2 full heads, separated and peeled)
- 2 tablespoons flour (for gluten free, use gluten free multi-purpose flour)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 10 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400° F.
Brown chicken thighs to golden crust
- In an oven-safe braiser pan or big, oven-safe skillet with a lid, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Season the chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken thighs skin side down on medium-high heat until well browned, for about 5 minutes, then flip the chicken thighs skin side up and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove the chicken thighs to a plate.
Cook garlic
- Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic to the same skillet, and cook, occasionally turning, until garlic starts to brown, 3 or 4 minutes.
Bake chicken thighs
- Return the chicken to the braiser pan, cover with the lid or aluminum foil, and bake for 15 minutes in the pre-heated oven at 400 F.
Make the gravy
- Remove the pan from the oven and put it on a stove top - the pan will be very hot, be sure not to touch it, including the lid.
- Remove the chicken thighs and garlic from the pan to a plate.
- Remove all but 2 tablespoons of oil from the pan.
- Over medium heat, whisk in the 2 tablespoons of flour in the 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan.
- Over medium-high heat, gradually whisk in the chicken broth and fresh thyme leaves for 1 or 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
- Remove the pan from the heat, and season the sauce with salt and pepper.
- Add the roasted garlic and chicken thighs back to the pan to reheat the chicken.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Disclosure: Nordic Ware sent me the free product (the beautiful 10 inch braiser pan you see on the photos) to try out - I'm loving my new pan and providing a brief review of this pan in this post. I was not compensated for this post other than receiving the 10 inch braiser pan for free! All opinions are my own.
Love this recipe; so easy! We didn't have fresh thyme on hand so used dried; the fresh thyme will be much more flavorful, but it was good even with the dried. Next time I may use half broth and half white wine for the liquid. Overall, this was delicious; my son devoured it (so did I). Thank you!
Yay, Mary, glad you enjoyed it!
This is a frequent go-to recipe. It’s delicious.
I loved this recipe! I might add some mushrooms to my gravy next time, but other than that, it was a hit! 🙂 Looked, smelled, AND tasted delicious.
This is the second or third recipe of yours I've made and it's another winner. Your spaghetti, chicken, spinach recipe is on a rotation in our house. I have thyme I need to use up and Googled recipes, and this one popped up. Since I love the spaghetti recipe, I was excited try another of your dishes. This was so good! My husband really liked it a lot. I didn't have bone-in thighs, but boneless skinless, and this turned out great. I actually used the same cook time as the directions and it all worked out. Keep up the great work!
Hi! So I made this recipe with big boneless skinless chicken breast! Baked for the 15 minutes . And it came out wonderfully! I’ve never made roasted garlic like that before and it’s quite simple and delicious. The only thing is in the picture you post the is so light looking like it has more oil in the pan while mine was thick and darker looking. Nonetheless it was still great. Just wish it looked like the picture.
I am glad you tried this recipe and enjoyed it! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your comment.
This recipe was super good and easy. I followed just as written and turned out delicious. I made mashed potatoes to go along with for the gravy. Yum! Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it! Mashed potatoes sound delicious as a side dish!
Excellent! I made the recipe as written and it was so savory. I served with fingerling potatoes, roasted with red onions and a crusty baguette. A nice Pinot noir compliments the dish.
Could I use thin boneless breasts instead of thighs? If so, do you think I could skip the oven?
Yes, you can use boneless chicken breasts instead of thighs. You might have to reduce the cooking times. Skip the oven and maybe cook a bit longer on the stove top, until the chicken breasts are cooked through.
This was a big winner for my family! Making it for the second time tonight! It is fun using thyme from my garden!
Lucky you - using thyme from your own garden! I am glad you've been enjoying this recipe! 🙂
I made this last night and it was so good and easy! Hubby gave it a "two thumbs up" and asked that we add it to our rotation of recipes. He even got to take a leftover chicken thigh for lunch today which did not disappoint. Thank you!
Hi Julie! So glad you liked it! 🙂
Was wondering about the last ingredient in the recipe....2 Tbsp butter. Is it used only if you need to thicken the sauce a bit more? There's nothing listed in the recipe (that I see anyway) showing it's use at all. Thanks.
I noticed that, too. Disappointing that you haven't received a response since your post in December 🙁
I haven't used 2 tablespoons of butter in this recipe at all - I have updated the recipe, so now it should read correctly.
Hi Julia, what an amazing way to enjoy chicken. Looks delicious!