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 (½ 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 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 lbs chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
- Salt and pepper
- Italian seasoning (divided)
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- 3-4 thyme sprigs (leaves only)
- 1 tablespoon 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 tablespoon 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 tablespoon butter, onion and sauté until the onion is browned, 3-4 minutes. Add chopped garlic, thyme and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning and cook for another minute.Next add 1 tablespoon 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.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only. This information comes from online calculators. Although whatsinthepan.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Notes
For other popular chicken recipes see Balsamic Chicken with Brussels Sprouts and Apples and Chicken Pasta in Creamy White Wine Parmesan Sauce.
Delicious!!! Easy to make but elegant enough to make for company. I didn’t have heavy cream so used half & half and it was great!!
Good choice on half & half instead of the heavy cream!
Can I use dried tyme instead if so how much?
Yes, I’ve trie dread time – I would recommend 1 teaspoon. If using more chicken – add another teaspoon.
Just made this recipe for dinner. Too hot for oven use, so I just used a burner to cook . Came out wonderfully. Thanks for the great recipe. Easy and good My kind of recipe !
Thank you Shannon
Delicious recipe. Like Jimmy I also used Herbs de Provence and bake them in my Dutch oven. Italian seasoning would taste just as good. I added extra stock and wine so there was plenty of gravy for the mashed potatoes. This recipe is a keeper. A lot of flavor for a little time spent on preparation.
Brenda – thank you so much for sharing your experience! Love the addition of mashed potatoes!
I recently stumbled across your website while looking for a new recipe for chicken thighs. I had a pack of thighs in the freezer and company coming for dinner. I am one of those people who try out new recipes on company. I was torn between HERB ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS and SKILLET CHICKEN THIGHS IN CREAMY MUSHROOM PAN SAUCE. I decided on the HERB ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS while borrowing some from the other recipe. It turned out to be one of the best dinners I have ever made! My guests bragged on it and my picky eater exclaimed about how good it was. I followed the recipe pretty closely with a few minor adjustments. I used a 12″ cast iron skillet as suggested. I added a half pound of sliced mushrooms when I put the onions in the pan. Instead of the Italian seasoning and thyme I used Herbs de Provence thinking that added a slight level of sophistication. This recipe called for chicken broth and the other one called for beef broth so I split the difference and used vegetable broth. I used half and half instead of heavy cream which worked perfectly in the sauce. I have cooked a lot of dinners in my time and this ranks right up there as one my best ever. 5 Stars are not really enough. Thank you for your recipes, I know I will enjoy trying other ones from your website.
P.S. Your recipes are very well written and clear in the instructions.
Thank you Jimmy for such a detailed review. I love reading the variations of cooking styles, and I am glade that you were so happy with the final result!
Dear Olya:
Thanks for your response. What I especially like about your recipe collection is that so many of them have a sauce. To me, a sauce is that special something that can often elevate a good dinner to a memorable one.
Thank you and I agree. Sauce is what brings the novelty and newness to a familiar taste
This recipe was extremely easy. Every step was just as the directions stated. I had almost all of the ingredients. I only needed wine and fresh time. When it came to the sauce I only put a little bit in. I loved the sauce. Chicken was done perfectly. I made if for my other half he really enjoyed it. I will be making this again.
Extremely easy is what I strive for in these recipes – thank you!
One of my favorite recipes! How would one cook this for someone else and freeze it? Cook it as usual and then just freeze,or only cook in pan with sauce and freeze right away instead of putting in oven?
I would cook as usual and freeze without the sauce (it might disintegrate upon reheating). You can always make more sauce when ready to reheat.
This dish was delicious and sooo easy to make! You can modify it however you want to your taste! I think next time I’m going to try it with pork chops! This will also be my go to from now on just for the gravy/sauce. Great recipe! I’m already recommending it to friends and family!
Ha! Pork Chops should be excellent here!
A delicious and easy addition to my chicken recipes! Thanks
Thank you Mary! It is very easy!
We had this for dinner, everyone liked it. Thank you for the recipe!