Perfect for a weeknight dinner or as a meal prep, make these Garlic Butter Chicken Thighs on the stove top in less than 20 minutes. Turn it into a meal with my tips down below!
There really isn’t anything better than a classic butter garlic combination on chicken. I’m a huge fan of butter and am a firm believer that there’s no such thing as too much garlic.
Why You’ll Love This Garlic Butter Chicken Recipe
- It’s so easy! We sear the chicken on the stovetop then coat it in butter and garlic. Easy peasy!
- Makes for the perfect meal prep. Meal prep a batch of this garlic butter chicken thighs for the week! It reheats wonderfully. More info on this simple chicken meal prep bowl down below!
- It goes with everything. Don’t feel like you have to make it with the salad combination I meal prepped mine with. You can 100% pair this with other sides!
What You’ll Need
- chicken thighs — boneless skinless chicken thighs
- olive oil
- garlic powder
- salt
- pepper
- butter — use unsalted butter as you’re already seasoning the chicken thighs with salt.
- minced garlic
To go with the chicken:
- romaine lettuce — here’s how I cut romaine lettuce for salads
- red onions
- cherry tomatoes
- goat cheese
- avocado
- optional: rice to make this into a chicken rice bowl.
How to Make Herb Chicken Thighs
- Coat the chicken thighs with 1-2 tbsp of olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- On medium heat, heat up your skillet and melt the butter and 1-2 tbsp of olive oil before adding in the chicken thighs, smooth side down and then cook for 5 minutes. Flip and continue to cook for 6 to 7 minutes, or until cooked through. Do not overcrowd the pan, cook in two batches if necessary. Be sure to add more butter and oil for the second batch.
- Lower the heat, remove the chicken thighs, and add in the butter and minced garlic to the pan.
- Stir until butter is melted and then return chicken thighs to skillet and spoon the garlic butter sauce over top the chicken.
- Make this into a garlic butter chopped chicken salad: serve with chopped romaine lettuce, red onions, corn, tomatoes, goat cheese, and avocado. Chop up the chicken into bite sized pieces if desired.
- Make this into a garlic butter chicken rice bowl: serve with the same as above overtop a bed of rice to turn this into a chicken rice bowl.
Tips and Notes
- Chicken thighs are done when they’ve reached an internal temperature of 165F/74C. Use an instant read thermometer to check.
- Avoid moving the chicken when you first place it in. Allow the chicken to sear. The chicken will come off the skillet once it’s ready. If you move it too early, the chicken will stick to the skillet and tear.
- Chicken thighs can be swapped out for chicken breasts but you’ll have to change the cook time to avoid overcooking it.
- I don’t usually add salad dressing to my salad bowl combination as I feel that the avocado and goat cheese acts as a dressing.
- Other things you can serve this garlic butter chicken with are: roasted asparagus, mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, roasted beets, wild rice, coconut rice, cilantro lime rice, and more.
Make Ahead Tips
- Meal prep: store the cooked chicken in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. If you are serving this as a salad, feel free to pack it all together. If you are serving this as a chicken rice bowl, I recommend packing the rice (and the chicken if you’d like) separately. You’d want to heat up the rice before eating and the lettuce, tomatoes, etc will not reheat well alongside the rice. It’s easier to heat the rice up separately and then add it to your bowl afterwards. Avocado should be added the day of eating.
- Freezer: allow the chicken thighs to cool before transferring it into an airtight container before storing them in the freezer.
Garlic Butter Chicken Thighs
Perfect for a weeknight dinner or as a meal prep, make these Garlic Butter Chicken Thighs on the stove top in less than 20 minutes. Turn it into a meal with my tips down below!
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Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 8-10 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 3-4 tbsp butter, unsalted
- 2-3 tbsp minced garlic
To go with the chicken:
- 2 heads romaine lettuce
- 1 red onions
- 1 cup corn
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 2 avocado
- goat cheese
- optional: rice to make this into a chicken rice bowl.
Instructions
- Coat the chicken thighs with 1-2 tbsp of olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- On medium heat, heat up your skillet and melt 1 tbsp of butter and 1-2 tbsp of olive oil before adding in the chicken thighs, smooth side down and then cook for 5 minutes. Flip and continue to cook for 6 to 7 minutes, or until cooked through. Do not overcrowd the pan, cook in two batches if necessary. Be sure to add more butter and oil for the second batch.
- Lower the heat, remove the chicken thighs, and add in the butter and minced garlic to the pan.
- Stir until butter is melted and then return chicken thighs to skillet and spoon the garlic butter sauce over top the chicken.
- Make this into a garlic butter chopped chicken salad: serve with chopped romaine lettuce, red onions, corn, tomatoes, goat cheese, and avocado. Chop up the chicken into bite sized pieces.
- Make this into a garlic butter chicken rice bowl: serve with the same as above overtop a bed of rice to turn this into a chicken rice bowl.
Tried this recipe?Did you make this recipe? I’m always so happy to hear about it! I’d love to see how it turned out. Tag me at @CarmysHungry on Instagram so I can see it! If you enjoyed the recipe, I’d really appreciate a comment with a 5 star rating! ♥
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Miranda
My chicken thighs came out perfect. I love the garlic butter. I will be making this again.