This sweet baked boneless chicken thighs recipe cooks up in less than 30 minutes! A chicken recipe that is loaded with flavor like sweetness, salty, and garlic! Learn how long to bake boneless chicken thighs for the juiciest and tender chicken dinner.
Baked Boneless Chicken Thighs
My family loves this chicken recipe, so I make it often! I love how easy and budget friendly it is. If we’re entertaining it still looks like a beautiful dish and the taste is incredible, but it’s a fraction of the price compared to chicken breast. They’re full of flavor too! By the way, if you go to the popular burrito bowl chain and get chicken, that’s chicken thighs, not chicken breast. I always make our baked chicken thighs boneless as bone-in chicken takes a bit longer to cook and it can be difficult for your guests to get the meat off the bone without using their hands.
How Long to Cook Boneless Chicken Thighs
This is really going to depend on how large or small your chicken thighs are. The larger they are the longer they’ll need to cook, smaller will cook up in less time. We usually cook for 20-25 minutes. Thighs cook up quickly at 425 degrees F, whereas a piece of meat or poultry with a bone will take a bit longer to cook. We’ve had a few emails asking us ” How Long to Cook bone in Chicken Thighs ?” and with bone-in chicken thighs, you’ll want to increase the cooking time to 35-40 minutes.
What Temperature to Cook Chicken Thighs Until
The USDA states that chicken breasts, drumsticks, thighs, and wings reach the safe minimum when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. So make sure your boneless chicken thighs internal temperature is 165 degrees F.
Tip for Baking Boneless Chicken Thighs
Boneless chicken thighs are dark meat so they will definitely release a bit of fat while cooking. Also, since we’re using brown sugar it’s important to have something protecting your sheet pan. Baking boneless chicken thighs in the oven is a really easy way to prepare boneless chicken breasts. You’ll appreciate the ease of cooking and how much you can cook, great for meal planning or making a larger serving size.
Not in the mood for sweet? Sometimes I’ll make chimichurri chicken thighs but these brown sugar chicken thighs are a hit here.
AmazonBasics Silicone Baking Mat – 2 Pack
I’ve been making a ton of one sheet pan meals and I finally invest in silicone baking mats! They’re great for recipes like this baked boneless chicken thighs especially since I use brown sugar which can really stick to the baking.
When you use them there’s no need for oil! They’re non-stick, oven-safe silicone up to 480 degrees F. It fits the pan perfectly too 🙂
You can use this for making dinner or even baking cookies. I’ve been using it for chocolate as well!
I bought them and love that it’s a two pack. One for cooking dinner and the other one is for desserts and baking. 🙂
Baked Boneless Chicken Thighs are always a hit if they’re made right. Thighs are dark meat, and they’re so juicy. If you overcook it a little, you’ll be okay, whereas if you overcooked a chicken breast you’d be reaching for the water.
More boneless chicken thigh recipes
Whenever I make this my entire family gobbles it up. If you make these Baked Boneless Chicken Thighs, there will be no leftovers unless you make a big batch! Even when I make a large batch, we rarely have leftovers. The sticky sauce on top is so delicious, and it’s perfect with white rice and a green veggie.
This chicken has almost an Asian flavor my husband said, but it doesn’t have all the salt, just sugar. 😉
Baked Boneless Chicken Thighs Recipe
Baked Boneless Chicken Thighs (sweet)
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Print Pin Recipe 🖤 SaveIngredients
- 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2-1 teaspoon parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl mix the brown sugar, garlic, salt, and parsley.
- Place the chicken onto the lined cookie sheet and sprinkle with the sugar mixture.
- Put the chicken into the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until done.
Video
Nutrition
The nutritional information is automatically calculated and can vary based ingredients and products used. If the nutrition numbers are important for you we recommend calculating them yourself.
Ellen
This is delicious…my only tip is…fix it and put it in the oven immediately after applying the topping. I was trying to be proactive and fix the chicken ahead of time and put it in the fridge with the topping already on it. Well, it sort of melted into the chicken in the refrigerator, and when I baked it, it tended to burn a bit. This is one of my favorite recipes…lesson learned. Hope to help others with this info. My fault.
Courtney Lopez
Oh no, sorry that happened, Ellen! This is definitely a recipe where you want to sprinkle it onto the chicken right before you bake. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the recipe!!
Gloria
I totally love the “thighs”. They are so juicy and flavourful. This looks like a great recipe…and maybe I will the the dark meat haters to turn around. But on the other hand, it works for me. Come turkey time I don’t have to fight over the breast/white meat.
April
I LOVE chicken thighs! This will be a huge hit in my house. 🙂
Denay DeGuzman
This baked boneless chicken thighs recipe is fabulous! Your recipe turned out just as you described: tender and juicy. I look forward to making this delicious recipe again next week.
Brandy Myers
I’m pretty new to baking chicken thighs over breasts and this recipe is perfect! I love that it comes together quickly with just a couple of ingredients that I always have on hand. My kids love the addition of the brown sugar of course 🙂 .
Sarah
I haven’t baked chicken for a long time, but I love all these tips! Mine seemed to always get dried out unless I smothered it in sauce- this looks awesome!
Annemarie
We cook a lot of chicken thighs around here – they are so forgiving and flavorful. And what could be simpler than a sheet pan dinner? Love the glaze you put on them!
Amanda
We buy boneless chicken thighs often, so I’m always looking for new recipes to make with them! I love the sweet and savory flavors you’ve used in baking these! They look so juicy and perfectly-cooked. What a great dinner for a busy night.
Tina
I thought this would be too sweet but we loved it!
Courtney Lopez
Yay! Isn’t it delicious?!
Breeze
Delish… oh so good. And very very quick. Thank you Courtney , will be on the lookout for more of your recipes.❤🙂
Courtney
Aww, thank you so much, glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Tracy Koslicki
I LOVE delicious and budget friendly! And what great tips, too! I just bought a bunch of chicken thighs for the freezer, will definitely try this out – pinning!
tina
I love your tutorials. Your answers are always so helpful and applicable. This chicken recipe might just end up in my weeknight repetoir. It looks delicious and easy. Thank you!
Britt
I’m always looking for tasty and quick chicken recipes and this definitely looks like a winner! I’m especially liking the brown sugar addition. Totally saving this recipe!
Amy Nash
We love chicken thighs at our house but I’ve honestly never baked them! I’m going to have to make these really soon!
Lisa
Chicken thighs have always been my favorite part of the chicken — they’re just juicier and more flavorful than the breast. This recipe looks so easy, I’m putting in rotation this week — maybe with a little cayenne pepper for heat! Can’t wait to try it…
Julia
I so wish my husband liked savoury and sweet together. These chicken thighs look so delicious with this sticky and garlicky glaze. I, too, love using boneless chicken thighs when entertaining. They are, as you said, affordable and very tasty, I find that they taste so much better than chicken breast. And if there’s no skin then they are also pretty healthy.
Anna
Baked chicken thighs are one of our favorites weekend dinners! So delicious! They have so much more flavor that chicken breast.
Helen
I love chicken thighs here and we have a thigh one pot bake at least once a week. The meat is so much more tender and moist than breast. I do confess that I buy with the bone and then (badly) butcher them ourselves as our hound is raw fed and has the raw bones!
Miranda
These are some amazing looking chicken thighs! Plus thigh meat is so tender and flavorful compared to the breast. We are a family of sweet and savory lovers!
Cheri
In love with this very simple recipe! So much flavor and juicy. I did food prep for my husband’s work lunches so I can’t wait for him to try it. I set it for 21 minutes and turned off the oven and accidently left in the for about another 5-7 minutes and they still came out juicy
Courtney Lopez
So glad you like it, thanks!! It’s such an easy recipe and thighs are definitely okay to be a little overcooked without getting dry. 🙂
Cindy
Delishous. I cut the recipe in half since I just cooked them for myself. I had leftovers so the next day I sauted some onions, chopped the chicken into chunks and threw them into a flour tortilla. Delishous again. Thank you for the recipe.
Courtney Lopez
Thanks so much for commenting! 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed our recipe, Cindy!
Megan
Can I use aluminum foil to line the sheet or does it need to be parchment paper?
Courtney Lopez
Yes, you could use aluminum foil if that’s what you use. 🙂
Susan H
These are FANTASTIC! Everyone who got to try them (made them at lunch, so the entire family was not here) loved them. My son wanted to know what I did, so we are making them together tonight for dinner so everyone gets some. Will serve with buttered noodles and sauteed green beans.
Courtney Lopez
Aww, thank you so much for the comment and so glad you enjoyed! My daughter loves making them with me and they’re her favorite too! Hope you guys have fun making and enjoying them! 🙂
Michael
WOW!
Courtney
Thank you!!
Mary
I followed the recipe exactly, but make the mistake of walking away from the kitchen. Unfortunately, when the buzzer went off after 20 minutes, the brown sugar was hopelessly burnt and blackened all over the chicken and lined pan. I sprinkled the brown sugar on just before popping in the oven. What did I do wrong??
Courtney Lopez
Oh no, Mary! I’m so sorry. We make this recipe at least once a week, so my thought is your oven may cook hotter than others. I’ve had this happen in my previous house. Because of that, I use an oven thermometer to make sure that my oven temperature is always accurate, especially with me sharing recipes. 🙂
If it’s accurate you may have had super tiny chicken thighs, but I don’t think that was it. It seems like the oven cooks hotter than most. I would try 400 degrees F or 375 and see how that goes if you can’t get a thermometer. Higher temperature would definitely cause the brown sugar to burn much more quickly. Ours usually doesn’t burn as you can see in the video and picture it’s more caramelized.
Please let me know if you have anymore more issues, we definitely want to make sure you can enjoy this delicious baked chicken thigh recipe, it’s our favorite! 🙂
Kim
Made this exactly as directed and they were delicious. The grandchildren and the rest of the family devoured them.
Courtney Lopez
So glad you guys enjoyed! Thanks for letting us know 🙂
Judith
Quick. Easy and tasty. Will make again.
Courtney Lopez
So glad you enjoyed!
Monique
I have 2 questions-
1- Does the juice and sugar get all over when cooking with a regular cookie sheet??
2- if using a baking dish, do we need to put something in pan like oil or spray so it doesn’t stick? (I have a temptations pan)
Courtney Lopez
Hi Monique!
Yes, it does spread onto the pan which is why we recommend using parchment paper or a silicone liner. The chicken thighs have their own “grease” so you shouldn’t need to add any fats or oils. Hope that helps! 🙂
Jess
Can I use chicken breasts with this recipe? MY hubby isn’t a fan of the thighs:( I loved it with the thighs though.
Courtney Lopez
Hi Jess! I recommend thinly slicing the chicken breast. We’ve also used on drumsticks too!
Cindy
This was fantastic!! I did make a bit of small changes. I did not have parsley on hand and I like paprika in/on my chicken so I added a teaspoon of paprika and I didn’t have parchment paper so I used a rack that I lightly sprayed with olive oil. I loved it my husband did as well and he usually wants to drown his in barbecue saice but he said I’ll try it without and saud OMG this is so good!!! This will be a regular recipe from your table to ours.
Courtney Lopez
Oooh, love the paprika addition! So glad you guys enjoyed!!
Alice
Can I use the air fryer for this instead of using the oven? How long for boneless and skinless chicken thigh? Thanks.
Courtney Lopez
It could get a bit messy and sticky from the brown sugar, which is why we do it in the oven. This is how we cook chicken thighs in the air fryer though 🙂 https://www.courtneyssweets.com/air-fryer-chicken-thighs/
Alex
Just made this and was hesitant to try it but than ended up almost licking my plate! SO GOOD. Question, have you tried making this on the grill? I would think at 425 on the grill with foil it would work same way. Let me know if you have, would love to have an alt option for summer cooking
Courtney
So glad you enjoyed it! I would think with tinfoil you could totally grill it, but we haven’t tried since the oven is so easy. Grilled would be fantastic!
Donna
I made this using swerve brown sugar, will definitely make again!
Hannah
I see you mentioned to use Garlic. I do love garlic myself, I was just curious what type of garlic are we talking about?
Garlic Powder,
Garlic Salt,
Minced Garlic, or
Garlic Cloves
Courtney
The recipe calls for garlic powder
Devon
Omg I did not expect this to be THIS GOOD. I normally do something different with boneless skinless thighs and wanted to try something new. I used turbadino brown sugar and followed the recipe. I used a porcelain baking dish uncovered at 425 preheated and baked for 25 minutes. I turned off the stove and let it sit for 10 minutes and made stove top stuffing. My husband took one bite and said “Whoa!”. Definitely keeping this recipe. I was afraid it would be too sweet but it surprisingly was just right and made a nice glaze!
Courtney
We’re so glad you guys enjoyed our recipe! It’s definitely one of those recipes that surprise you in such a good way! It’s still one of my top favorite ways to make chicken thighs, so so good!
Josie
This looks great! Will dried parsley work?
Courtney
Yes! We use dried or fresh 🙂
Stacy
Thank you, undoubtedly this is the best recipe. It’s quick and easy to make, and my family loved it. Thanks for the recipe.
argentina
Is this recipe good for meal prepping? or will it not taste or reheat the same?
Courtney
It’s usually good the second day, but we haven’t had it after. Always the best the first day of course.