14 Easy Chicken Thigh Recipes for Dinner with Few Ingredients – Happy Muncher (2024)

Let’s face it: sometimes you just want something simple and delicious without a lot of hassle—no fancy ingredients or complicated steps.

That’s why we came up with 14 easy chicken thigh recipes for dinner with few ingredients!

These easy thigh recipes are great for busy people who want something different and their family doesn’t care if they’re home at 8:00pm on a random Tuesday night.

It’s also great for days when you don’t feel like cooking but you still want something delicious that your family will love.

Plus, these recipes can be made in less than 45 minutes!

So not only are you saving time, but you’re also getting some great food that tastes delicious!

Have fun cooking with these easy chicken thigh recipes and happy eating!

Easy Chicken Thigh Recipes for Dinner with Few Ingredients

It’s always a good idea to have a few easy chicken thigh recipes up your sleeve, but it can be hard to find ones that are tried and true and don’t require more than a few ingredients.

So, here is a list of 14 of my favorite chicken thigh recipes that I use again and again with just a handful of ingredients:

3-Ingredient Teriyaki Chicken (from All Nutritious)

I absolutely love this recipe because it is so simple and flavorful.

See Also: What Veggies Go With Teriyaki Chicken? 13 Best Vegetables

Plus, I have all the ingredients on hand at all times.

You can serve this dish over rice or noodles, but what I really enjoy doing is eating it with a side of seasoned broccoli or cauliflower rice.

Slow Cooker 3-Ingredient Italian Chicken

This recipe is SO dang easy to make in a crock pot.

It’s also great for meal prepping because you can make a bunch of it at once and then heat up your leftovers throughout the week.

Because this dish is so simple, I like to get creative with what sides I pair it with.

My favorite combination is with roasted sweet potatoes and sautéed spinach or kale!

3-Ingredient Apricot Glazed Chicken

I’m always on the hunt for new, easy and simple recipes that I can cook for dinner every night.

I made this apricot glazed chicken recipe from The Seasoned Mom one night and it was a hit.

The key to making it simple is just keeping your ingredients simple, and of course, not having too many dishes to clean up.

It’s a great recipe for making on a weeknight!

3 Ingredient Crock Pot Chicken

This is another super easy recipe that cooks itself while you’re at work or running errands.

It also has only three ingredients, which is awesome for busy days when you don’t have much time in your schedule for meal prep and cooking.

I like to serve this with rice, but it would also be amazing with mashed potatoes or even pasta!

Sweet and Tangy Chicken

I almost always use boneless chicken in this recipe, but sometimes I’ll go for bone-in.

Either way, I make it the same way—with butter, ketchup, honey, mustard, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

Sometimes I make my own honey mustard for this recipe (it’s a great combo with the other flavors), but most of the time—when I’m really pressed for time—I’ll just grab some from Trader Joe’s.

This recipe is also super adaptable to whatever seasonings you’re feeling that day.

It’s a great dump-and-bake recipe for weeknights because it doesn’t require any prep or even a lot of cooking knowledge to execute well.

Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs (from MomsDish)

I love this recipe because it’s so simple and easy to prep.

See Also: 10 Best Herbs and Spices for Baked Chicken

Plus, it has only four ingredients, so it’s a great choice if you need to get dinner on the table fast.

A few things to keep in mind: When I made this, I found that the skin didn’t brown up as much as I wanted it to.

The next time, I’m going to increase the temperature of the oven by 15 degrees instead of 10 degrees after adding the chicken thighs.

This will give me crisper skin and juicier meat.

3 Ingredient Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs

I found this recipe on Pinterest and I decided to give it a try one day.

It turned out great so I thought I’d share it with everyone!

I love how easy it is to make and the ingredients are simple and can be found at any grocery store.

The chicken thighs go well with rice, potatoes or any other sides that you have on hand.

This dish also works well for parties because it can be made ahead of time and then just thrown in the oven when needed.

5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Chicken Legs

The first time I made this recipe, I was worried that the flavor would be too simple.

It was an easy chicken thigh recipe that only called for five ingredients: 3 to 3.5-pound chicken legs or drumsticks, 1 cup jam or jelly, ½ cup ketchup, ⅓ cup soy sauce, 2 teaspoons minced garlic (or ½ teaspoon garlic powder).

I didn’t think it could get much easier than that! But boy, was I wrong.

This is one of the best recipes I’ve ever made in my slow cooker.

It’s a super affordable recipe if you buy your chicken at a store like Aldi or Trader Joe’s, and it’s great for dinner parties or potlucks because you can feed a lot of people with very little effort on your part.

I also love this recipe because it leaves so much room for you to get creative and add your own spin to it.

You could easily add herbs and spices like rosemary, sage, thyme, cayenne pepper—really anything you want! I’m planning on trying some gochujang next time to give it a little kick.

5-Ingredient Whole30 Sheet Pan Chicken

If you’re looking for an easy, delicious dinner recipe that will make your house smell like heaven and still be ready in a matter of minutes, this 5-ingredient whole30 sheet pan chicken is for you.

This simple, zesty recipe has all the flavor you could want from a dish—it’s sweet, salty, and acidic—and it comes together with just five ingredients (plus salt and pepper).

I usually serve this over a bed of rice because I love the way the sauce soaks into the rice and makes it extra flavorful; but I’ve also used cauliflower rice when I’m really trying to limit carbs.

I’ll be totally honest: while I love this recipe as it is, I sometimes tweak it to suit my own taste.

For example, instead of using apple cider vinegar (which gets a bit too strong sometimes), I substitute white wine vinegar.

You can also add some herbs de Provence to boost that herbaceous flavor.

If you have some fresh sage lying around, chop it up and sprinkle a bit on top before serving.

Sticky Baked Chicken Thighs

I love this recipe because it only takes 30 minutes from start to finish, making it perfect for a weeknight dinner.

And if you use the same pantry staples I use, then you probably have all the herbs and spices in your kitchen right now.

The resulting dish is great for any occasion—family dinners, casual parties, and even potlucks, since this recipe makes enough to feed an army (and then some)!

My favorite thing about this recipe is how versatile it is.

You can use any type of chicken you want—legs and wings work just as well as thighs!

And substituting the herbs and spices is easy as pie—as long as they’re fragrant, they’ll be perfect.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

5-Ingredient Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs

See Also

30 Best Chicken Thigh Recipes

One of my all-time favorite easy recipes for a weeknight is Healthy Seasonal Recipes’ 5-Ingredient Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs.

With less than an hour of total cook time—most of which is just letting the chicken marinate—you can make a delicious meal that’s actually good for you!

It’s also super versatile: not only do you have lots of options for sides, it works for dinners with friends, family meals, and even date night.

Plus, I’ve got some tips to help you out: if you don’t have fresh herbs on hand (which is almost always the case at my house), dried ones work just fine here.

If you like your chicken on the spicier side (like me), add some red pepper flakes or cayenne to the marinade.

Feel free to experiment with different flavors too—it’s hard to go wrong here!

Have fun, and enjoy!

Mustard-Glazed Oven Baked Chicken Thighs

I found this recipe on Unsophisticook, and I’ve made it many times because it’s SO good.

It only has four ingredients: skinless chicken thighs, coconut oil, dijon mustard, and poultry seasoning. (You can also add a little black pepper if you want.)

It’s super easy to make this dish—just mix together the mustard, coconut oil, and poultry seasoning in a small bowl.

Then brush the mixture onto each chicken thigh.

Place them in a baking dish with sides (like a casserole dish), cover tightly with foil, and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

This is such a great dish to serve if you’re having people over for dinner or just for your family in general—you can make it ahead of time and then have everything ready when you need it later on.

You can serve it with roasted veggies for a complete meal!

The herbs and spices that go well with this recipe include rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, parsley, basil and garlic powder.

4 Ingredient Salsa Chicken

This recipe is for 4 Ingredient Salsa Chicken (it’s adapted from the original recipe at Spend with Pennies).

Here are the ingredients you’ll need:1 tablespoon of taco seasoning, 1 pound of chicken breasts, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, and 3/4 cup salsa.

It’s a good idea to plan ahead and have some herbs and spices on hand that go well with this dish.

For example, I like to have a jar of fresh cilantro in the fridge that I can use as garnish.

While I’m cooking the chicken, I sometimes will add some chopped onion or garlic powder to the mix if I have them on hand.

I recommend making this dish when you’ve got people over for dinner—it’s great for parties because it’s a real crowd-pleaser!

You can make it even better by serving it with rice or quinoa and adding some extra salsa or hot sauce on top. Or maybe even guacamole?

Juiciest Baked Chicken Thighs Recipe

This delicious dish is made with simple, healthy ingredients that can be found in any grocery store.

It’s amazing how incredible the flavor is with so little work—just mix up your chicken rub and lemon juice, rub it onto your chicken thighs, and pop them in the oven!

This chicken thigh recipe goes well with almost anything—I like to serve it with roasted potatoes and green beans, but it would also taste great with rice or couscous.

You could even try serving it over pasta if you want a heartier meal.

And if you’re feeling creative in the kitchen, I recommend trying out some of The Mediterranean Dish’s suggested spices and herbs to add another layer of flavor to this unbeatable dish.

My personal favorite way to cook this dish is in a large cast iron skillet—it gets the skin nice and crispy and makes cleanup super easy! I also find that it works best if you line your baking sheet with foil so the chicken won’t stick.

Cooking the Perfect Chicken Thighs with Just a Few Ingredients

Cooking a meal doesn’t have to be hard, with these step by step instructions you will be able to create the perfect Chicken Thighs for dinner with just a few ingredients.

1. When ready to eat, take chicken thighs out of freezer and place in refrigerator until thawed.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
3. Place thawed chicken thighs on baking dish skin side down.
4. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with garlic powder, pepper and salt.
5. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and turn over each chicken thigh, spoon any excess juice on top of each thigh.
7. Return to oven and continue cooking for another 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and skin is crispy.