These easy Keto Chicken Thighs are pure heaven! Juicy chicken thighs cooked beautifully with crispy skin, amazing seasonings, and leaves you satisfied. Great for meal planning and perfect for all occasions. Roast chicken with crispy skin is pure comfort food and an easy main course dinner. This baked chicken thighs recipe is low carb, paleo, whole30, gluten free, grain free, Trim Healthy Mama friendly, and has only 5 ingredients.
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If you’ve been craving comfort food, I have the best recipe for you. At our house, chicken is the meat we eat most often because it’s inexpensive and easy to work with. Everyone in the family enjoys these keto crispy chicken thighs, so I am happy to be sharing them with you.
I know many recipes call for you to remove the skin or buy chicken without skin, but leaving it on makes the dish. Not only does the chicken end up crispy and delicious, but it also helps hold in moisture, so the chicken is falling apart tender. Who can resist chicken that is that good? I know I can’t! The skin has such a nice flavor I don't even miss breaded fried chicken anymore or have the desire to make a labor-intensive keto fried chicken!
When I've cut out dairy in the past I turn to simple meat and vegetable recipes. This spice blend I use is a great one for whole 30 or paleo chicken thighs!
What You Need To Make Chicken Thighs
You really only need five ingredients to make these keto chicken thighs. Talk about easy! Let’s take a look at what you need:
- Bone-in Skin-on Chicken Thighs - they are upside down because the rub only goes on the bottom, if you put it on the skin it can burn.
- Smoked Paprika - this is a must. It gives a smokey barbeque flavor.
- Garlic Powder - use roasted garlic powder for extra flavor.
- Onion Powder - any onion powder is fine.
- Salt - I like to use sea salt or pink salt.
The short ingredient list makes this recipe work for almost any diet. It is allergy-friendly, paleo, whole30, and more!
How To Make Keto Chicken Thighs
Not only are the ingredients super simple for keto crispy chicken thighs, but the directions are also incredibly easy too! Let’s take a look:
Step One: Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Step Two: Combine the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and half the salt in a small bowl. Put the chicken upside down on a baking sheet that has a rim. Add the seasonings liberally to the underneath of the chicken. Flip it so the skin side of the chicken is up. Sprinkle the skin with salt.
Step Three: Put the chicken in the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked all the way through. Brown the chicken by broiling for 2-3 minutes then serve. Enjoy!
Expert Tip: If you like to use a cast iron skillet for cooking and have a large one you can use it for this recipe.
What Goes With Chicken Thighs?
The question is more like, “What doesn’t go with chicken thighs?” Seriously, you really can’t serve it with too many things that wouldn’t go well with this keto chicken thigh recipe. It’s that well-rounded and versatile. Here are a few ideas to consider:
- Salad: Any kind of salad would do wonders for rounding out your meal. We usually go with a simple garden fresh salad with lettuce, cucumbers, radish, and a tasty dressing like my Keto Thousand Island Dressing or Keto Blue Cheese Dressing.
- Veggies: It might seem like a no-brainer, but roasted veggies always go with paleo chicken thighs. Broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, and zucchini are all pretty yummy when roasted and then drizzled with olive oil or garlic butter. Oven-Roasted Green Beans are one of our favorite side dishes to any low carb recipes we try. For an extra special side make some Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon.
- Bread: Pretty much any low carb bread recipes will go well with these keto crispy chicken thighs. Some of our favorite keto recipes for bread are my Almond Flour Cornbread, Keto Garlic Bread, or Keto Breadsticks.
How Many Pieces of Chicken Per Serving?
This will vary based on your hunger level and the size of the chicken thighs you are using. If the chicken thighs are on the small side I generally eat 1.5 or 2. Most of the time I'm sharing my portions with my toddler too. If the chicken thighs are very large, you might be satisfied with just one. Chicken thighs are naturally low carb so don't worry if you need to eat 2 or even 3 at a meal when on a keto diet.
Can I Use Chicken Breasts Instead of Thighs?
Yes, you can swap the chicken thighs for breasts if you want to. Part of what makes this chicken so appetizing is that the skin keeps it moist. Most of us buy boneless skinless chicken breasts, and they won’t give you the exact same results as the chicken thighs.
Don’t worry, it will still be good, but you will need to make some adjustments. The main difference is going to be cooking time. I recommend cooking them for 20-25 minutes then check the temperature. The chicken needs to be at least 158 degrees in the thickest part. Then you can let the chicken rest for 10 minutes or so, and it will finish warming up to 160 degrees F. This allows the chicken to stay moist and not dried out.
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are always delicious too and I use this same spice blend on those but cook them in the Instant Pot for 10 minutes on manual high pressure.
Expert Tip: Using a digital thermometer assures your chicken is perfect every time. Click this link to see the thermometer I use!
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📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon salt divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Mix together the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and half the salt.
- Place the chicken upside down on a large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with the spice mix.
- Flip the chicken so the skin side it up. Sprinkle with the remaining salt.
- Bake for 40 minutes. To further crisp and brown the skin I recommend broiling it for 2-3 minutes. Watch it closely so it doesn't burn.
Notes
Nutrition
More Delicious Keto Chicken Recipes
Here are some of our reader’s favorite chicken recipes for you to try out. Let us know what you think!
- Keto Chicken Piccata
- Keto Garlic Parmesan Wings
- Garlic Butter Roast Chicken
- Chicken al Forno aka Vodka Sauce Chicken Casserole
- Keto Stuffed Chicken Breasts
- Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole
Jenn says
My fav chicken to make during busy weeknights! So juicy!
Nellie Tracy says
Delicious chicken thighs. Such a great recipe to have on hand for the summer. Delicious!
Jeannie says
CRISPY THIGHS-This is my go to recipe with salads or roasted veggies and easy sides with heavy carbs for non keto hubby Thank you Taryn!
Lisalia says
Just yum yum yum! You have the best recipes that my whole family eats and that fit into my meal plan. Thanks for another winner!
Jessica says
These were amazing. Great recipes.