Sticky Baked Chicken Thighs is what you make when you need an unplanned, quick and easy recipe for boneless skinless chicken thighs. It’s incredibly simple, made with pantry staples and uses a highly effective method for cooking chicken thighs in the oven.
The sweet-savoury glaze tastes like your favourite country-style rub, and the sauce is so good for drizzling over everything on your plate. Also – see how to use this as a marinade for Sticky GRILLED Chicken!
Boneless skinless chicken thighs in the oven!
We all love chicken thighs that have been cooked so they’re beautifully caramelised on the surface – like with everybody’s favourite pan seared Garlic Chicken Thighs.
But we all have those days when we don’t want to deal with the spitting and splutter of chicken thighs in the pan.
And we all also have those days when we haven’t planned for a particular recipe for that pack of chicken thighs in the fridge.
Enter – Sticky Baked Chicken Thighs.
Boneless skinless chicken thighs cooked in the oven that practically look like they’ve been seared on the stove made with ingredients I bet you already have!
The country-style glaze: pantry staples!
Made with basic pantry staples with plenty of substitutions possible, this country-style sauce is adapted from these Baked Pork Chops. It’s savoury and a bit sweet, with great layers of flavour. Here’s what we’re using:
Worcestershire sauce – packs a ton of savouriness, plus you can give yourself a pat on the back for using it for something other than Bloody Mary’s 😂;
Soy sauce – the “better than salt” way of adding salt to anything (more flavour);
Ketchup – OR Aussie tomato sauce, BBQ sauce or other similar type sauces;
Brown sugar – or honey or even maple syrup. Corn syrup, golden syrup or other such sweet things in liquid form should work just fine too;
Garlic – because it makes everything better;
Vinegar – because where we have sweet, we must balance with tang. Use apple cider vinegar if you have it, otherwise any other clear(ish) vinegar; and
Oil – just makes the sauce a bit more interesting. You can skip it if you want.
Cooking boneless skinless chicken thighs in the oven
These baked chicken thighs are a mix, drizzle and bake job.
The key here is baking on a high heat to get nice caramelisation – I bake the thighs at 220C/425F.
For the best result, bake it for just over half the time, then finish with a broil/grill. This caramelises the surface really well, and this is my preferred method for baking chicken thighs.
What temperature should boneless chicken thighs be cooked to?
Boneless chicken thighs are cooked when the internal temperature is 75C/165F. However, because thighs are far more juicy than breast, they are more forgiving so don’t fret about exact cooking times.
Can this be made with chicken breast?
Yes, but the caramelisation isn’t as good. Directions in recipe notes!
Plenty of sauce for drizzling!
The other nice thing about this recipe is that there’s plenty of a lovely syrupy sauce to spoon over the chicken and everything else on your plate.
The sauce is the reason why I like to bake AND broil/grill chicken thighs. While you get better caramelisation by just broiling, you don’t get pan juices.
And for this quick meal, I want sauce because then it minimises the effort I have to go to for the sides! Mop all the sauce up with some crusty bread, or for something a little different, try this speedy Garlic Mashed White Beans (pictured below). ~ Nagi x
More quick Chicken Thigh recipes
These are all boneless chicken thigh recipes that don’t require any marinating time.
Garlic Chicken Thighs – crispy surface, fabulous garlic flavour
Chicken Stroganoff – everything you love about Beef Stroganoff, but with chicken!
Bacon Wrapped Chicken – Bacon. Chicken. You know it’s a winner!
One Pot Chinese Chicken and “Fried Rice” – it’s fried rice and Chinese chicken, all made in one pot
Honey Garlic Chicken – the 5 ingredient sauce is outrageously good!
Oven Baked Chicken Breast – dry rubbed then baked, this recipe works 100% perfectly with thigh as well
Sticky Baked Chicken Thighs
Watch how to make it
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Sticky Baked Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 700g / 1.4lb chicken thighs , skinless boneless (5-7 pieces), Note 1
Glaze (Note 2 for subs):
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 3 tbsp brown sugar , lightly packed
- 1.5 tbsp soy sauce , all purpose or light (NOT dark)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 clove garlics , minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220°C/420°F (200°C fan).
- Pan – Use a pan large enough to fit the thighs lying flat (not bunched up/folded). Line pan with foil (you'll thank me later), place thighs in pan.
- Glaze 1 – Mix Glaze ingredients together. Spoon over about 2/3 of the Glaze on the surface of each (not underside), reserve rest.
- Bake 15 minutes, remove pan.
- Flick to grill/broiler on high, adjust shelf to be 20cm/8" from heat source.
- Glaze 2 – Spoon pan juices over chicken. Then spoon/dab remaining Glaze onto chicken.
- Broil chicken for 8 to 10 minutes until surface is nicely caramelised.
- Rest – Remove and stand for a few minutes (uncovered) before serving with pan juices.
Recipe Notes:
- Cut each breast horizontally to form 2 steaks;
- Oven: Spoon ALL the sauce over one side. Bake for 18 minutes at 425F/220C, do not remove for basting, do not broil.
- Broil: Spoon bit of sauce on one side. Broil on high 3 minutes. Flip, spoon over remaining sauce. Broil 6-8 min, watch carefully to ensure it doesn’t burn too much.
- Ketchup – Aussie tomato sauce, BBQ sauce or other similar sauces
- Brown Sugar – white sugar, or 2 tbsp honey, maple syrup, or any other sweet thing in similar liquid form
- Soy Sauce – light or all purpose soy sauce, don’t use dark it will be too intense. Fish sauce would also work but reduce to 1 tbsp.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – sub with any clear(ish) plain vinegars eg plain white vinegar, white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, champagne vinegar etc.
- Worcestershire sauce – add 1/4 tsp black pepper then add an extra dash of all the other ingredients. A sprinkle of onion and/or garlic powder on the chicken before coating in sauce would also help.
- Add ins – dash if your favourite hot sauce wouldn’t go astray! Pinch of herbs (mixed, oregano, thyme), cayenne pepper for heat, sprinkle of paprika for warmth, cumin or coriander for South-West edge.
- Foil – Sauce will caramelise on edges and adhere firmly to pan. Takes intense scrubbing to remove, so use foil. DO NOT use parchment paper (will catch fire under grill).
- No point putting glaze on underside, it doesn’t stay on. Underside gets flavoured because it ends up cooked in the sauce. Also want upper side exposed to heat the whole time for best caramelisation.
- Pictured in post with speedy Garlic White Bean Mash
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
One of his best features 😂
This recipe is absolutely delicious and instantly became a firm favourite in our house! I love how easy it is to make and that you can serve it with so many things.
This was so good, Thankyou it will be in our regular routine meals.
I made these tonight for dinner, they were loved by all, I have made them before as well, I will be making them over and over again
My go-to chicken thigh recipe now! Working on a remote cattle station, I’m regularly feeding 10+ people each night so having recipes like this that are super easy to scale up and require minimum effort for maximum results is amazing!!
So quick, easy and delicious!
Made this recipe tonight this is a keeper!
Nagi you have excelled again. Fantastic recipe
I used chicken nibbles taste was amazing and I could throw everything together in between meetings.
It’d be great if you could add some recipes for people who work from home and have trouble walking away from the laptop until late. This is one of those great recipes. I threw it together to marinate in between meetings late afternoon and put it I. The oven when I finished work. Thank you
It’s time I say thank you, Nagy; for your vocation to bring us the best tested recipes, and for yet another winner dinner on my family’s plates tonight.. No leftovers, using a 900g package for 3 people! I will double or even triple next time, and freeze some in the marinade for even quicker nights..
Love everything I have tried on your site, huge thank you for the toggle for keeping screen active while cooking (brilliant!!), and I always enjoy seeing how Dozer gets included! With gratitude!:)
Shockingly good for so few ingredients. Definitely a keeper. So easy to make. Broiling the sauce made these so tasty.
I have just started cooking myself, and this, by far has been the best chicken recipe I have come across. From a beginner cook, it was fast and easy and oh so yummy. I will be trying it again soon.
💥 FLAVOUR BOMB ALERT! 💥 This sticky chicken is next-level delicious! A total crowd-pleaser with all of the family licking their plates clean! I served it up with jacket potatoes and green beans. SO easy, SO tasty, and absolutely going on repeat!
Thanks a million, Nagi xx
I cooked one thigh and one drumstick in the microwave. They didin’t get crispy but they did get sticky, Very good. It is 88 F and I am not about to turn on the oven
Delicious and so easy A+, a new favorite! Pairs perfectly with sweet potatoes.
Excellent, quick recipe. I’m in my first trimester of pregnancy and have been too sick to cook, until tonight. I was able to whip this up super fast with ingredients I had on hand and it was delicious. Feels good to eat a nice home cooked meal again lol! This will be added to our regular rotation
Simple yet delicious! I paired it with your mashed cannelloni bean recipe, corn salad and brussel sprouts. That sauce is delicious on the brussel sprouts too!
Had a large pack of thighs (cheaper than the small pack at Coles). Made Nagi’s schnitzel (Scrumptious) for two nights and still had 600g left. I have been making Nagi’s recipes for 8+ years now and have never seen this one. It was perfect as I had all the ingredients. With double the sauce I baked it in my airfryer oven. It was super delicious. Served with mash and salad. Plates were licked clean. Thank you Nagi for all of your hard work and gifting us with so many wonderful recipes. ❤️
Forgot to leave the stars! Love love love! 😋
Mm mm mm! Can’t stop licking my lips! OMG!!! To die for….seriously! Thank you so much Nagi, you changed my life! 💕
Easy, great for last minute, and delicious….I skipped the broil step….I know, missed out, but….the things were delicious, moist and to me just as wonderful. The skin did crisp. This will be a keep and repeat!!!! I was even thinking of the possibilities like mixing it in with browned ground meat, and a chicken stir fry…yum. I had all the ingredients on hand. Dozer…..OMG….just wanted to kiss that nose. What a great picture. I have several of those and a print of my dog’s nose. His nose never stopped moving when we were outside. I have videos of it. Love Dozer!!!!Thank you for sharing that picture.
Love this recipe. I followed the recipe especially the glaze to a T! One regret – I should have at least added another half portion. My family especially loved the sweet sticky sauce. It made the dish! Thanks Nagi for this delicious recipe and the tip on lining the baking pan with foil. ☺️