Spiced Roast Chicken Thighs
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I first spotted this recipe on Bakin’ and Eggs and it sounded right up our alley. We love roast chicken & we love the spices used in this dish, too. And I particularly love easy recipes these days. Plus, with a ringing endorsement from Ruth Reichl (who claims it’s one of her favorite weeknight meals), how could I not want to try this?
This is one of those meals that packs maximum flavor in minimal prep/ingredients. It smells delicious as it’s roasting away and, more importantly, it tastes as good as it smells. I used chicken thighs instead of breasts (personal preference as well as what I had in my freezer) and doubled the spice mixture (except the salt). Depending on your taste preferences, you may not need all the spices doing it this way, but it is much less difficult than trying to 1.5x the mix. 🙂 I served this with some mushroom bulgur pilaf and a salad.
Spiced Roast Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. coriander
- 1/2 tsp. ground pepper
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. canola oil, divided
- 3 Tbsp. chicken broth (or water)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 450. Pat the chicken dry. Mix together the spices and 1/2 Tbsp. canola oil. Rub all over the chicken.
- Heat the remaining oil in a heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Brown chicken on both sides, about 8 minutes.
- Transfer skillet to oven and continue to cook, skin-side up, until done, about 12-18 minutes.
- Remove chicken and place skillet on stovetop over high heat. Deglaze pan with broth, scraping up browned bits, and pour juices over chicken.
I can imagine that these are tender as well as tasty Elly!!!!
Sounds like an easy and flavorful weeknight meal! Anything Ruth Reichl recommends is good by me.
I love the way the skin finished up. We do love our chicken thighs, don’t we? 🙂
Elly…Yiasou from a fellow (Greek) blogger!! I have to say, your recipes are amazing!! Keep up the good work. I always get hungry when I read your posts but, more importantly, I get motivated to get in the kitchen. Kali Oreksi!
Elly – thanks so much for the shout out! I thought this chicken was awesome (especially given how easy it is) and I’m so glad you enjoyed it too.
I am definitely a fan of chicken thighs … meaty, affordable and quite flavorful! And I am a really big fan of these spices: cumin, coriander and cinnamon flavor some chicken perfectly.
gorgeous chicken thighs!! the thigh has always been my favorite piece of chicken so much flavor and much more moist than the breast! Great job with the spices!
I love all these spices too – looks like an easy go-to chicken recipe!
Sounds delicious. I have some chicken tenderloin strips in the freezer that would be perfect for this recipe. Thanks for the great post!
We made these last night! Yum. Great recipe. Glad I found it here.
This has become a regular dish in our family! That spice mix is INCREDIBLE!!!! Tonight we threw in brussel sprouts to the pan to roast in the oil and chicken grease. Oh my.
Thank YOU!!!
Glad you like it, Deb! It’s a great go-to dish for us since we always have the ingredients!
i am really wanting to try this for dinner tonight, but i only have skinless bone-in thighs. will it make much of a difference, you think?
Sadie, you won’t get the crispy skin (obviously) but otherwise it will be fine. You may want to stick them under the broiler at the very end just to get a little char/crisp on them.