Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs in Creamy White Wine Sauce rely on humble ingredients and just a single pan to bring out the most delicious flavors. These chicken thighs are juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. So deliciously tender! What an easy one skillet chicken recipe!
Tender chicken thighs with crispy golden skin in amazing herb flavor! And the creamy white wine sauce is silky, smooth & simply addictive. This baked chicken thigh recipe is simple, one pan dish.
Tips on baking your chicken thighs
- First things first, pat the skin of the chicken thighs dry with paper towels in order to prepare the chicken skin.
- Use a cast iron skillet as we are going to make this recipe with a very hot cast iron skillet.
- Once again, the chicken skin needs to be very dry and the pan needs to be very hot to get the best color and texture.
- Use tongs to handle the chicken so you don’t have to touch it.
- Make sure to brown chicken skin side first on medium high heat and brown it well. Resist the urge to move the chicken thighs while it’s being browned.
- How long does it take to cook chicken thighs in the oven? About 35 minutes at 400 F.
- Can I use boneless chicken thighs instead of bone-in thighs? This recipe is designed for juicy chicken thighs that do need a bone to bring out the extra juices and flavor.
- Lastly, make sure to use good quality drinking wine.
Cooking chicken thighs with wine
I love cooking with wine. It has to be one of the best cooking ingredients out there, providing so much flavor with so little effort. And baked chicken thighs are no exception. They are full of flavor and taste as a restaurant dish, yet the preparation is so simple and basic. For wine I used a regular drinking dry white wine. The good choices are Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay or Riesling. But for this particular recipe I used Pinot Grigio.
So with a bottle of wine in one hand and a bunch of herbs in the other, a humble chicken thigh can become the most decadent item on your weekly menu! But how about if you are unable to tolerate alcohol, can you still enjoy this herb roasted chicken?
Wine substitutions if unable to tolerate alcohol:
- Chicken or vegetable stock. Substitute stock for white wine entirely if not a fan of vinegar or sensitive to sulfites in vinegar. For extra flavor, try mixing a tablespoon of lemon juice per cup of stock.
- Lemon. Squeeze 2 wedges of lemon (1/2 a lemon) into the sauce.
How to lighten up this recipe
Use half-n-half instead of heavy cream, or omit it altogether and replace with chicken broth.
What skillet to use for herb roasted chicken thighs
It’s important to use a good heavy skillet to brown chicken thighs, such as cast iron and a large one too. I used 12 inch Lodge Pro-Logic Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet in this recipe – it’s well designed, has a helper handle and sloped sides – very sleek looking for cast iron!
I have other cast iron skillets, but prefer this one due to its size (it’s very large with even more space due to its sloped sides), it also never sticks or leaves weird black dots on meat like other cast iron skillets do. And it’s one of my most used kitchen tools!
How to make creamy sauce
- Start by adding butter and chopped onions and sauté until the onion is browned, 3-4 minutes. Next add chopped garlic and Italian seasoning, and cook for another minute.
- Besides Italian seasoning, I also frequently use Sicilian seasoning in this dish. It has all the usual mixed spices of Italian seasoning (fennel, oregano, thyme and basil), but also includes red pepper flakes, roasted garlic and sea salt. This is the base of the Creamy White Wine Sauce, that will give it such a wonderful flavor.
- Now add flour and cook it in the oil of the pan for only a minute, until it’s no longer white.
- Next pour the wine slowly to the hot pan, increasing heat from medium-high to high and cook for a few minutes.
- Add chicken stock and heavy cream. And you know what? Creamy white wine sauce is almost ready! Stir to combine and let everything cook until it reduces slightly, about 5 minutes.
- Taste the sauce and add fresh thyme, salt and pepper, to taste.
If you enjoy wine in your cooking as much as I do, I have a number of recipes on my site with wine in it for you to enjoy:
- Italian Chicken Pasta
- Pasta Da Vinci
- Chicken Pasta in White Wine Sauce
How about cooking with vodka:)? There you go: - Creamy Vodka Sauce Pasta
Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs in Creamy White Wine Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 lbs chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
- Salt and pepper
- Italian seasoning (divided)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- 3-4 thyme sprigs (leaves only)
- 1 tbsp flour for thickening the sauce
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken thighs with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.Cook chicken thighs on medium-high skin side down first to brown it for 4-5 minutes. Flip and cook on the next side for about 4 minutes, for a total of 8-10 minutes. Remove chicken from the skillet.
- Add 2 tbsp butter, onion and sauté until the onion is browned, 3-4 minutes. Add chopped garlic, thyme and 1 tsp Italian seasoning and cook for another minute.Next add 1 tbsp flour and cook it in the oil of the pan for only a minute, until it’s no longer white. Add the wine slowly to the hot pan, increasing heat from medium-high to high and cook for a few minutes.Now add chicken stock and heavy cream. Stir to combine and let everything cook until it reduces slightly, about 5 minutes. Make sure to taste the sauce and add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Return chicken thighs back into the pan with sauce. Put in the oven uncovered and cook at 400 for 35 minutes. Once time is up, take the pan out of the oven, check if chicken thighs are done. Sprinkle with fresh thyme and serve with roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes or rice.
Notes
For other popular chicken recipes see Balsamic Chicken with Brussels Sprouts and Apples and Chicken Pasta in Creamy White Wine Parmesan Sauce.
My eyes are wide-open and I’m drooling over your chicken thighs and white wine sauce. I can’t wait to try it. My
kind of recipe! Thank you for sharing!😁
I hope you made it and enjoyed it as much as I did:).
Comfort food at it’s best. This recipe was very easy to make followed the recipe as written and I am very pleased with the out come.
This was packed with flavor and as I was tempted to make mashed potatoes I settled for angel hair pasta and it did not disappoint.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Thank you, Pauline, for your sweet comment!
This was delicious. I made this as written-just a bit less time in the oven. Served with mashed potatoes and my husband loved the whole thing. Thanks.
Sounds so DELICIOUS with mashed potatoes!
This recipe was easy to follow and didn’t take too long as long as you get your ingredients measured beforehand. That helped put it together quickly. The chicken roasted up nice and juicy with a crispy skin and the gravy was perfect for mashed potatoes. I only had red onions, so I just went with it. It tastes great, perfect comfort food with mashed potatoes and peas.
Very smart move with measuring ingredients beforehand, Amy!
Hello I don’t have a cast iron skillet . Only stainless steel and non-stick skillets. For the oven-cooking part, could I just transfer sauce and chicken to a deep baking/roasting pan? Thank you for this recipe and for your help!
Absolutely – you can transfer to the roasting pan. Or, you can use stainless steel skillet in the oven.
I didn’t have thyme sprigs so I used rosemary sprigs and dried thyme and it turned out so good. My new favorite dish.
So glad it worked with rosemary!
Ok, I had 4chicken legs that I needed to cook, so I broke out Pinterest to see what I had saved for such a special occasion. This recipe even though called for thighs, seemed like it would fit the bill. I had all ingredients mainly…and, I could add a thing to the sauce, potatoes. In doing so, they were a pleasant surprise addition! Will definitely make this again, although no promises that I will use all ingredients as mentioned in the recipe, but then again I just might! This recipe had a great flavor, I used Pinot Grigio, and only had dried Thyme, but seemed to work out, no matter what changes you might add, or drop to the O/R.
Chicken legs are perfect for this recipe as well as potatoes:)
Very, very good. Cooked exactly as the recipe 10/10. Will cook again.
Thank you for a clear, simple to follow recipe – with no mistakes – a bit of a rarity with recipes on the internet!