This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
This simple recipe for cast iron skillet chicken thighs helps you get the crispiest skin with just 5 ingredients. After searing, bone-in chicken thighs and carrots are roasted in the oven in the same skillet for a simple weeknight dinner that only takes 30 minutes.
A Quick Look: Cast Iron Chicken Thighs
- Cooking time: 30 minutes total, with less than 5 minutes of prep time.
- Servings – This will serve 4 people, about 1-2 chicken thighs per person.
- Ingredients: Only 5 ingredients including bone-in chicken thighs, shallots, and carrots.
- When to serve: Any time of year, but especially great in the fall or spring. Perfect for when you need an easy meal with minimal ingredients.
- Dietary information: Fits a gluten free and dairy free diet. Also a Mediterranean diet, and Heal Your Headache diet. It’s also low sodium depending on how you season the chicken thighs.
- Why you’ll love it: These cast iron skillet chicken thighs all cook in one pan for easy clean up with a built in side dish of roasted carrots and shallots. The cold skillet method of cooking produces the crispiest skin!
Through years of recipe testing, I’ve found the secret to the best seared chicken thighs starts with a cold cast iron pan – no oil needed. This allows the fat to render out slowly and produces the best golden brown skin. Before finishing in the oven, carrots and shallots are added for an easy side dish that pairs well with Boursin mashed potatoes.
For more great cast iron recipes, don’t miss this cast iron roast chicken, Boursin chicken, or apple cider pork chops.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
Below are some notes on the ingredients as well as a few substitutions for this crispy chicken thigh recipe. The recipe card below has the exact measurements.
- Bone-In Chicken thighs – Use bone-in, skin on chicken thighs, which are the easiest to find. Because we bake the chicken thighs in the oven after searing for the crispiest skin, bone-in provides the most flavor and gets completely cooked through. You can use boneless chicken thighs, but these will cook a little faster and are harder to find with the skin on.
- Carrots – Carrots roast incredibly well with the chicken thighs and taste amazing with this dish. It’s a built in side dish all in one pan. You can use any root vegetable – I’ve used radishes, parsnips, beets, and turnips or a mix of them all.
- Shallots – A more delicate flavor than onion, this compliments the chicken and carrots nicely.
- Butter or olive oil – This isn’t used to sear the chicken thighs, but is added at the end for a little extra flavor.
A note on salt – I love to use Diamond Crystal kosher salt for recipes like this with very simple flavors. It’s less salty by volume than other types of kosher salt which means you can season the chicken liberally without overpowering.
How to Make Skillet Chicken Thighs
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Pat the chicken thighs really dry with a paper towel and season both sides with kosher salt and black pepper.
Step 2: Add chicken thighs, skin down, to a clean, COLD cast iron pan. Then turn the heat to medium high and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until golden brown.
Step 3: Remove the chicken thighs from the pan and toss in shallots and carrots, seasoning them with salt and pepper as you coat them in the leftover rendered fat.
Step 4: Nestle the chicken thighs, skin up, between the carrots in the cast iron pan and bake at 425F for 20 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. And carrots have softened. Stir in the butter or olive oil until melted.
Recipe Tip
Why sear chicken thighs in a cold pan without oil? This method allows the fat on the chicken to slowly render, crisping up the skin and allowing the chicken to cook in it’s own fat. It provides a ton of flavor without needed a lot of extra ingredients or oil.
Serving Suggestions
These chicken thighs are so amazing on their own paired with simple sides like bang bang brussels sprouts, bibb lettuce salad, apple fennel salad, or roasted mashed cauliflower.
One of my favorite ways to serve them is a with a sauce, and this tahini sauce for vegetables is delicious with it. It pairs so well with the roasted carrots and adds a lot of flavor to the whole dish.
Storage Information
Refrigerator – Store the chicken thighs in an air tight container for up to 3-4 days.
Freezer – Freeze for up to 6 months and defrost overnight in the fridge. Carrots may soften after freezing.
Reheating – To crisp up the skin again, you can place them skin side down in the cast iron again and reheat slowly over medium. Or you can bake them, skin side up, at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, till warmed through.
Recipe FAQ
For this recipe, an enameled cast iron skillet or dutch oven will also work. You can also use an oven-safe stainless steel pan. For recipes where you need to transfer the skillet to the oven to cook, you want to avoid any non-stick, coated pans. Or try this sheet pan chicken thighs and vegetables.
Yes, boneless chicken thighs can be used and seared in the cast iron skillet, it will just take much less time, so you may have to start by baking the carrots and shallots for 10 minutes, then sear the chicken thighs and add the half-baked vegetables to the pan to complete baking, another 10 minutes or until cooked through.
Recipes with Chicken Thighs
Chicken
Maple Dijon Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs with Veggies
Chicken
Green Goddess Grilled Boneless Chicken Thighs
Recipes
Dijon Chicken and Wild Rice Skillet
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 review in the recipe card! Don’t forget to tag me @thedizzycook on Facebook and Instagram, and follow along on Pinterest for more great recipes!
Crispy Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 2½-3 pounds chicken thighs, bone-in and skin on (about 5-6 chicken thighs)
- 14 ounces carrots, either small carrots or peeled and chopped into 2-3 inch pieces
- 2 small shallots, peeled and quartered
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste, Diamond Crystal kosher salt recommended
- 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425℉ or 225℃. Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel. Season both sides of the chicken liberally with kosher salt and black pepper.
- To a COLD cast iron skillet, add the chicken thighs, skin down. You do not need to add oil to the pan. Turn the heat to medium high heat and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown.
- Remove the chicken thighs from the pan and add carrots and shallots to the pan, tossing them to coat in the rendered fat from the chicken. If there's not enough to coat them well, you can add a teaspoon of olive oil. Season the carrots and shallots with about 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Nestle the chicken thighs, skin side up, back into the cast iron pan.
- Roast the chicken thighs at 425℉/220℃ for 20 minutes, or until they register 165F for an internal temperature and the carrots have softened. Stir in butter or olive oil to coat all the veggies. Taste and adjust any seasonings.
Notes
- Carrots can be substituted with most root vegetables like parsnips, beets, turnips, radish – whatever you like. You can also just make the chicken thighs plain, but it’s nice to have a built in side dish.
- These chicken thighs pair perfectly with this tahini sauce! So good on the carrots too.
- Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken once it is finished roasting in the oven. It needs to be 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Absolutely delicious recipe! Though claiming 5 minutes of prep time (and writing in the introduction “5 minutes or less”) is not accurate. This assumes all vegetables have already been prepped: washed, peeled, cut in formal kitchen prep which most at home cooks need to do themselves. Also, for people experiencing VM/dizziness/giddiness (in addition to living with neurodivergence), 5-minute speed prepping is not a reality.
Hey, I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. I hope you can understand that I can’t make assumptions on how long it would take someone with these kinds of issues because (you might be surprised to know) most of my recipes are actually viewed and made by people who don’t have VM or chronic illness – they’re just randomly found through pinterest and google. So all I can really go by is how long it takes me, and I write down those times when I recipe test (usually rounding up). If you did want to cut down on the prep time, you can use baby carrots – they work just as well.
Absolutely delicious recipe! Though claiming 5 minutes of prep time (and writing in the introduction “5 minutes or less” is not accurate. This assumes all vegetables have already been prepped: washed, peeled, cut in formal kitchen prep which most at home cooks need to do themselves. Also, for people experiencing VM/dizziness/giddiness (in addition to living with neurodivergence), 5-minute speed prepping is not a reality.
Super easy and delicious. Easy cleanup too! Has become a weekly staple
Sooo easy to make and absolutely delicious. I’ve done a lot of cooking with black iron skillets but never tried cooking dried thighs in one. The rendered fat from the thighs mixed with the shallots & carrots very tasty. No sticking to the pan either!
Thank you, Rebecca!! I love this one so much. I’m glad you enjoyed it too!
I make this just with carrots if I’m feeling lazy and want something simple but it really is so good with the tahini sauce if you want to elevate it!