These Crispy Oven Fried Chicken Thighs are a great alternative to traditional frying! They are easy to make and don’t forget to add the honey mustard sauce!
**Originally published October 2015**
Crispy Oven Fried Chicken Thighs
My husband is always asking for fried chicken, always. Like every time I ask what sounds good for supper, he gives me the same answer. (I really don’t know why I even ask.)
While I do like fried chicken I don’t like the amount of work that it requires and the mess it can make.
Plus, it isn’t the healthiest meal to eat on a regular basis.
That’s why I like to oven “fry” my chicken. It’s less mess and it’s a healthier option.
Oven Fried Chicken
Normally I just coat the chicken in seasoned flour and bake it, which is really good, but I miss that thicker breading and crunch you get when you traditionally fry chicken.
You know what I mean??
I had to do an updated version of these crispy oven fried chicken thighs.
For one, the pictures were horrible and two I have changed the recipe over time and wanted to share those changes with you.
Plus, I made a super yummy honey mustard sauce to drizzle over the top.
Completely optional, but totally delicious!!
Easy Oven Fried Chicken
It’s also an easier version. The original required marinating in buttermilk for an extended length of time and while it did make for really tender and tasty chicken, I never remembered to do it, so that step went out the window.
Chances are if I am too busy to do this step many of you probably are too.
I also swapped out the panko breadcrumbs for cornflakes (my secret ingredient) on a whim one evening.
I thought I had breadcrumbs in the pantry and didn’t. But instead a half empty box of cornflakes that needed to be used up.
That is classic me right there!! I always start a recipe without checking to make sure I have everything!
What to serve with these Crispy Oven Fried Chicken Thighs:
- Skillet Garlic Green Beans
- a simple side salad made with Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
- Easiest Mashed Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes
- Bacon Mashed Potatoes
- Old Fashioned Potato Salad
- Creamy Key Lime Fruit Salad
- Creamy Coleslaw
- And for dessert:
These Crispy Oven Fried Chicken Thighs are a great alternative to traditional frying! They are easy to make and don't forget to add the honey mustard sauce!
- 6 bone in skin on chicken thighs
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- Season salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon of each: onion powder, garlic powder, paprika
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1½ cups finely crushed cornflakes (I like to do this by placing in a resealable plastic bag and using a rolling pin to crush)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- HONEY MUSTARD SAUCE
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
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In a shallow dish combine the flour, salt, onion powder, garlic powder and paprika. In a second shallow dish combine the eggs and milk. In a third shallow dish combine the crushed cornflakes and olive oil.
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Dredge one chicken thigh in the flour mixture coating all sides. Dip into the egg wash coating all sides. Dredge in the cornflake mixture coating all sides. Place on a large baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken thighs. Bake for 45 minutes or until an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
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OPTIONAL HONEY MUSTARD SAUCE: In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, honey and dijon mustard.
- If using a food processor to make your cornflake crumbs be careful not to process too fine.
- Panko breadcrumbs can be substituted for the cornflakes.
- Chicken can be soaked in buttermilk overnight.
- Can use cut up chicken pieces as well.
- Nutrition Facts: Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the information shown is just an estimate. Nutrtion includes 1/6th of the honey mustard sauce.
Really easy, fast, crispy and flavorful. Usually my Mom doesn’t eat the skin but she did this time. The oven temperature and cooking time were spot on. Usually my chicken is raw near the bone when I first check it but with this recipe it was completely cooked. Yay!! Thank you!
Thank you so much Jinjer!! I am so glad you and your Mom enjoyed the chicken thighs!! And thank you so much for leaving your comment!
Had this for dinner and it is everything you could hope for. Substituted pinko with Italian bread crumbs because I had it!
Thank you so much!! And thanks for sharing about your substitution!
So pleased with this recipe!!! I substituted several things- coconut flour, avocado oil, and gluten free panko style bread crumbs. It only took 20min to reach 165’ but I cooked for the full 45min to make sure they got crunchy. I also flipped them over at 20min when I checked the temp., I’ve only made this once so I don’t know if the flipping is necessary. Don’t microwave the leftovers they turn out super soggy, to reheat broil in the oven for a couple minutes on each side, gets SO crunchy, still delicious the second time! We ate these with sweet baby rays BBQ sauce.
I am so glad you liked it!! And thank you for sharing your substitutions and changes!!
about how many ounces is 1 thigh in this recipe?
Hi! It is roughly 4 ounces including the skin and the bone. Hope that helps!
I got pretty creative with this one as I hadn’t realized when I started that my ingredient cabinet was running so low 😂 but it turned out PHENOMENAL! Thanks so much for this! The two main changes I had to make included using stop top chicken stuffing instead of Panko/cornflakes & instead of 1/4 cup olive oil (as I only had roasted garlic olive oil) was 4tbs oil, 2tbs organic honey and a sprinkle of brown sugar. Strange I know but it somehow worked and added a slight sweetness and richness to the coating!
Lol! That’s so awesome that you used what you had on hand and made it your own!! Thank you so much for sharing and so glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
I love this recipe! I added some cayenne pepper to the flour mix because I like spicy (but not TOO spicy) food. All I can say is that, if chicken were heaven, this is it!
My husband would love it if I added cayenne as he loves his food extra spicy. However, the rest of us don’t so he has to add hot sauce when eating. I am so glad you liked it and thanks for sharing!! 🙂
Yum! Sounds good. This is the one I’m going to try tonight. I actually have all the ingredients haha!
Great!! Let me know how you liked them!!
Excellent app
What would be the cooking time for boneless, skinless thighs?
Check them after 30 minutes. Thanks for asking and let me know how you like them! 🙂
I tried this and the skin was not crispy at all.
I’m sorry the recipe didn’t turn out as you hoped!
do you have any idea why that happened?
Hi there, sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner!! It’s hard to say what could have gone wrong. They won’t be the same as fried chicken but the coating shouldn’t be soggy either. You could try using panko breadcrumbs instead of the cornflakes to see if that works better for you. Let me know if you try these again! Thank you!
I dont have corn flakes can i use breadcrumbs instead?
Yes, you can. It may not be as crispy though. Thanks and I hope you enjoy! 🙂
WOW! These chicken thighs look dymanite! I’m a sucker for anything involving a nice crunch and a honey mustard dipping sauce, so I have good reason to think these wouldn’t last long in my house! YUM!
Thanks Erin!! 🙂
Hey Malinda this chicken recipe looks so yummy! I can not wait to make at home! Is it easy to make?
Yes, I feel they are pretty easy to make. I hope you enjoy!
Made these for Paul and me for lunch yesterday and we both thought they were scrumtous. Had drumsticks on hand so used them but it worked real good too.
I’m so glad you liked them!! Thanks Grandma!
You had me at FRIED Chicken!!! I can’t wait to give this a try! And the honey mustard!!! MMM!!!
Thanks Julie!! 🙂
I have people in my family who always suggest the same thing when I ask what they want for dinner, too. I’m like, “We can’t have chicken and potatoes for every meal,” and they are like, “Why not?” I bet they would love these, and I love that it doesn’t take all the time or make all the mess of traditional fried chicken!
Lol! I’m glad we aren’t the only ones!! Thanks, Melissa! 🙂
I am a huge fan of honey mustard! This looks great, and I’ll be trying the honey mustard addition for sure!
Thanks Danielle!! 🙂
I must get some chicken and make this. I know Paul will love them and also the honey mustard sauce.
Let me know how you like it!
This looks absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to try it! Thanks, Malinda.
Thank you Amanda! I hope you enjoy!
If you pan fry the tops for about a minute or so before putting it in the oven, it makes a huge difference! Super crispy!! 😊
Wonderful tip!! Thanks! 🙂
You left out how high to set oven. I’m going to assume it’s 350-375 if it cooks for 45 minutes,
Thanks for catching my mistake, Barbara! I fixed it in the recipe. I actually cook it at 400 degrees F which helps it get the crust crispy. Thanks again hope you enjoy.
Thank you. I actually cooked it at 400 as well. I really liked it – others didn’t like the crust but I did change it just a tad. 🙂 I didn’t put the oil in the corn flake crumbs (which I finely ground). I just used them plain but sprayed Pam on it for the oil content. I guess, for any one else who might read this, doing the corn flake crumbs that fine made it more like corn meal. But as I said I really liked it. Thanks again
I’m sorry the others didn’t like it Barbara! Maybe I should specify in the recipe directions not to grind them too fine. Thank you so much for your comment!!
Do you grease or oil the baking sheet?
You can lightly grease it if you want. I do if I remember. 🙂
Is it possible to substitute cornflakes with Panko Bread Crumbs?
Yes, that is a great substitution! Thanks for asking!
Thanks. Dinner should be great tonight
Try replacing the corn flakes with crushed crushed chicken flavored stuffing mix. MmmGood
What a good idea!! Thank you Bruce!!
Tonight is the third time I’ve made this chicken and it’s fantastic 🙂 It works with an air fryer as well, but the oven is my favorite way. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!
Thank you very much!! And so glad it works in the air fryer too!! Thanks for sharing!
Not sure if the author edited this after your comment, but the instructions definitely say preheating your oven to 400 degrees is the 1st step.