Crispy Pan Fried Chicken Thighs are something that you can achieve at home. Using boneless skinless chicken thighs, you’ll be able to get them nice and crispy and browned on the outside while juicy inside.
It might sound intimidating to make crispy fried chicken thighs, but you only need a few ingredients and a little confidence in your cast iron to get the perfect texture to them. This dish delivers flavor and is sure to become part of your regular meal rotation.
- What type of pan should you use?
- Can you really crisp chicken thighs without the skin?
- Do you need to bake the chicken thighs?
- How do you make crispy pan fried boneless skinless chicken thighs?
- More Chicken Thigh Recipes
- Podcast Episode About Making Skinless Crispy Chicken Thighs
- Crispy Pan Fried Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs Recipe
What type of pan should you use?
Our favorite pan to use is a 12-inch cast iron pan. It’s a big heavy pan that is available at a lot of stores and is a good size to fit 8 chicken thighs in.
The pan is sturdy and able to be heated to a high temperature to help crisp the chicken thighs. Something to keep in mind for clean up is that it isn’t enameled which means you should avoid using a grease-cutting soap in it if possible.
Using some coarse salt and water helps remove any stuck on food. Be sure to dry the pan immediately to avoid any rust spots or dry it on the stove over a medium or high heat for a couple minutes.
Can you really crisp chicken thighs without the skin?
Yes! Cast iron chicken thighs are definitely famous for their skin getting crispy and brown. However, we chose to use boneless skinless chicken thighs to show you how to achieve a nice crispy delicious texture on chicken even without the skin.
The biggest thing to remember is to heat up the pan with the olive oil before putting the chicken into it. This helps with locking in those flavors and crisping up that outside, and the hot oil makes it less likely that the chicken will stick.
Another thing you’ll need is a little patience. Don’t try to flip or check on the chicken thighs too early or you may get pieces stuck to the pan. It’s natural for this to happen, but giving the chicken thighs a few minutes helps brown the outside which helps release it from the pan easily.
Do you need to bake the chicken thighs?
You can, but it’s not necessary for this recipe. These chicken thighs can be nice and crispy using a nice hot cast iron skillet and olive oil on the stovetop. If you’re looking for a !
How do you make crispy pan fried boneless skinless chicken thighs?
It only takes a few steps to cook nicely crisp and browned chicken thighs in a cast iron skillet. You’ll want to mix together the seasonings and then season both sides of each chicken thigh. Roll them back up and set aside for a few minutes while you heat the olive oil in the cast iron pan.
Once the olive oil and pan are nice and hot, put the top of the chicken thigh down into the pan first. Try to avoid checking the chicken as it’s cooking so that pieces of the chicken won’t get stuck to the pan. You’ll want to cook them for about 5-7 minutes per side to cook all the way through. You’ll know they’re done when the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165°F an instant read thermometer and/or is no longer pink when you cut into the thickest part.
More Chicken Thigh Recipes
You can browse all my delicious chicken recipes, but here are some more great chicken thigh dishes for you.
- Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
- Ranch Chicken Thighs Recipe
- Breaded Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
- Best BBQ Chicken Thighs
- Basic Baked Chicken Thighs
Podcast Episode About Making Skinless Crispy Chicken Thighs
Listen to our editor, Christine Pittman, explain briefly about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
Crispy Pan Fried Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs Recipe
Crispy Pan Fried Chicken Thighs are something that you can achieve at home. Using boneless skinless chicken thighs, you’ll be able to get them nice and crispy and browned on the outside while juicy inside.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Unroll the chicken thighs and season both sides with seasoning mixture then loosely roll back up.
- Heat olive oil in a 12-inch cast iron pan over medium heat.
- Place thighs rounded-side-down first so it can get crispy and brown, then flip over. It should take about 5-7 minutes per side.
- To make sure the chicken is done, use an instant read thermometer to make sure it has reached an internal temperature of 165°F, or cut into the thickest part of one thigh and make sure it is no longer pink inside.
I will try it today
I hope you love it, Deborah!
have you ever put corn starch in your flour mixture to make it crispy
Carolyn, I’ve never tried this before, no. If you try it and it works, come back and let me know. I’d love to find out.
I will say that I’ve just done test on skin-on drumsticks where they’re tossed with a little bit of baking powder before baking. The skin was really dark and crispy, super-good. That recipe will be going on the site soon!
I actually didn’t believe that the crispy chicken without skin would be good. I thought it would be dry or stringy. It was delicious!!!
Thanks for giving it a chance, Cheryl, I’m so glad you enjoyed!
Do I cook them rolled up? Or unroll?
You unroll them to help get them seasoned all over, but they can be cooked loosely rolled back up. Enjoy, Stacy!
I used my regular perfect pinch rotisserie seasoning on the chicken instead of the seasonings listed. It was a little spicy but not bad. Next time I will do Lawrey salt with some Lemon pepper and just a pinch of garlic salt. We had some really chewy chicken thighs. They were huge out of the package, and I don’t particularly like those. I prefer the young fryer thighs. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
You’re welcome, Val! Thanks for sharing with us.
Love this easy tasty recipe. Don’t change anything but side dishes as needed.
Thank you, Margerry!