Braised chicken thighs make for a deliciously rustic meal, one filled with rich flavor and lots of aroma. My braised chicken thighs recipe features chicken with a crispy skin, gently cooked in a savory sauce, brimming with tomatoes, garlic, briny olives, a touch of white wine and herbs, perfect to serve when you're craving a bit of extra coziness and warmth!
Chicken Thighs, Braised To Flavorful Perfection
There are certain types of dishes which I prepare, certain types of recipes, that really excite me without fail.
Typically, these dishes are rustic, often with a rich sauce simmered with a generous array of aromatic and wonderfully earthy ingredients such as onions, garlic, herbs, olive oil, tomatoes, wine, olives...those ingredients which bring lots of flavor to a dish.
My braised chicken thighs recipe is just this kind of comforting dish, a sort of “peasant-style" dish that one might prepare from the bounty of one's own garden, using home-grown tomatoes, onions and herbs. (I'll admit that I'm a romantic!)
And even if one doesn't have a garden to gather from, the ingredients used for these rustic braised chicken thighs are often found in one's own pantry, making this recipe a simple option to prepare any night of the week when a bit of extra TLC and comfort is craved.
My Braised Chicken Thighs Recipe
Braising is perhaps one of my favorite methods of cooking, because it is notoriously low and slow.
I love the rhythm of those initial simple steps that a good braise requires, the searing of the chicken to make the skin nice and crispy, the sauteeing of aromatics, and the simplicity of the steps that follow, which require virtually no work.
When it comes to preparing braised chicken thighs (or any other braise), it is essential to have a proper braising pan, one that is heavy and that conducts heat well.
A cast-iron skillet or heavy-bottom enameled pan is best to use, as one can brown and sear chicken quite beautifully in such a pan—it also conducts the heat well as the dish braises in the oven.
And besides quality ingredients, one really only needs a bit of patience and a sprinkle of love to create a finished dish in which the care and love can be tasted!
Here's a glance at my braised chicken thighs recipe: (or just jump to the full recipe...)
- To get started, I add a bit of oil to the braising pan, and allow it to become very hot.
- Once the pan is smoking hot, I add the chicken in, skin side down, and allow it to crisp and become golden for a few minutes, then flip the pieces over and allow them to sear on the bone-side. When done, I remove the chicken from the pan.
- Next, I add the onions and garlic to the pan, followed by the spices, and then the wine, stock, and tomatoes to create that wonderful sauce for the braise.
- Then, the briny olives are added in, followed by the seared chicken thighs, which are nestled into the sauce.
- Next, I bring it all to a gentle simmer stove top, then place it into the oven to finish gently cooking to succulent perfection, about 45 to 50 minutes.
Recipe
Braised Chicken Thighs
by Ingrid Beer
These braised chicken thighs with tomatoes and olives are a rich, saucy and rustic dish, kissed with white wine and aromatic herbs!
Category: Entree)
Cuisine: Mediterranean-American
Yield: Serves 6
Nutrition Info: 486 calories per serving
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 55 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 6 chicken thighs, skin on and bone-in
- Olive oil (about 6 tablespoons, divided use)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion
- 2 onions, quartered and sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ cup white wine (optional)
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 (28 ounce) can whole, peeled tomatoes (juices reserved), roughly chopped
- ½ cup pitted Kalamata or green olives, or combo of both
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, or flat-leaf parsley
- Begin by gathering and prepping all of your ingredients according to the ingredient list above to have ready and organized for use.
- Preheat your oven to 350°.
- Add your chicken thighs to a plate or bowl, and pat them dry with paper towel. Drizzle over about 1 tablespoon of olive oil, plus a couple of pinches or salt and pepper, the paprika, and the granulated onion.
- Place your cast-iron pan over medium-high heat, and drizzle in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the pan is very hot, add the thighs in, skin-side down, and allow them to sear for about 6 to 7 minutes on that side, until a deep, golden-brown. Then, flip and sear for another 4 to 5 minutes. Remove chicken thighs from braising pan, and set aside for a moment.
- To that same pan add the sliced onions, and allow them to saute and become golden-brown. Next, stir in the garlic and the Italian seasoning, and once aromatic, add in the tomato paste and cook for about 30 seconds to cook out the raw flavor.
- Add in the wine and allow it reduce completely. Then, add in the chicken stock, the chopped tomatoes and their juices, plus the olives, and stir to combine.
- Nestle the chicken thighs back into the sauce, skin side up, and place into the oven, uncovered, to braise for 45 to 50 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is extra crispy and a deep brown.
- Finish with a sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves or parsley, and serve with an accompaniment such as pappardelle pasta, couscous, quinoa, or mashed potatoes to soak up the sauce.
Tips & Tidbits for Braised Chicken Thighs recipe:
- Give your chicken thighs a pat down: Keep the chicken thighs as dry as possible so that when you place them into your hot pan, they will become nicely browned and crisp.
- Use a large, deep, heavy-bottom pan for braising: This is a job for your cast-iron pan, or other heavy-bottom, oven-safe pan. You need to be able to get the pan nice and hot, so you can sear the skin on the thighs to a perfect crisp, then transfer that same pan to the oven for the braise.
- Leave out the wine, if desired: There's a small amount of white wine in the recipe, but feel free to leave it out, if you prefer. You can substitute a bit more chicken stock instead, or perhaps even add a teeny squeeze of lemon for brightness.
- What to serve with braised chicken thighs: I love to serve this dish with pappardelle pasta, but couscous, quinoa, rice, or my garlic mashed potatoes are terrific—even just some rustic bread on the side to sop up the sauce is really nice.
Hungry for more delectably cozy braised recipes? Check out this Braised Pork Shoulder, this Braised Beef with Mixed Mushrooms, Braised Short Ribs on Garlic Crostini, this Chicken with Mushroom Sauce, this Moroccan Chicken, or this Harissa Chicken!
Cook's Note: This recipe was originally published in 2018, and has been updated with even more love!
Sue Basta
My hubby and I really enjoyed this dish. We also soaked up the extra sauce with slices of rustic whole garlic clove bread. Really flavorful and a nice complement to the chicken thighs. Will definitely make this again!
The Cozy Apron
Sue, thanks so much for coming by to let me know how the recipe turned out for you! So glad you found some comfort & pleasure in it, and I must say, that garlic clove bread must’ve been delicious with the sauce! The
Joyce Champagne
This recipe was delicious! I used fresh tomatoes and herbs from our garden. The basic process was really what I was looking for. Cooked up beautifully! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. It will be my go to recipe for braised chicken thighs.
The Cozy Apron
Joyce, the fresh tomatoes and herbs from your own garden sound absolutely scrumptious—I'm sure they infused the dish with lots of wonderful flavor and aroma, and I can only imagine how tasty the end result was! Thanks so much for sharing your experience with me, and I'm thrilled this recipe will be your go-to for braised chicken!
Raine DeLuane
HI, When you serve this over pappardelle, do you use the sauce from the braised thighs or are you suing another tomato sauce. The sauce looks more red over the pasta than in the pot so I was wondering about that. thank you, this sounds amazing.
The Cozy Apron
Hi Raine, yes, I used the sauce from the braise. There's lots in the pan! 😉
It only looks a little redder because of the lighting, and plus when it's spooned over top of yellow pasta, it casts a more red/orange hue.
Hope you enjoy!
Aliza Friedman
Hi! do you think I can use red wine instead?
The Cozy Apron
Hi Aliza, absolutely—use what you have on hand! Please enjoy.
Loren Carlson
Fantastic recipe!!! You have made me a chicken "HERO" at home. Thank You!
The Cozy Apron
Loren, yay! So excited to read that!
I'm so glad you and your loved ones enjoyed this recipe, and I hope you're able to peruse and find many more that'll make you a "hero"! 🙂
Allyson J
Made this last night for my family...it was so delish! I tweaked it slightly by using Adobo instead of Italian seasoning, just because I didn't have any...but did add in Oregano and Parsley. I used the wine. Next time I will use more chicken though if I am feeding a family of 4. I served it with rice and sauteed spinach mixed with sun dried tomatoes and fresh parmesan. Overall success! Thank you!
The Cozy Apron
Hi Allyson, so very happy to read that you all enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for sharing.
So glad you had many of the ingredients, and used such great creativity with the substitutions—perfect!
Hope you find many more recipes to try out and enjoy, so that you and your family can find some comfort and nourishment in them.
TERI
I don't have whole tomatoes and can't get to the store. Would diced tomatoes work at all? Tomato sauce?
The Cozy Apron
Hi Teri, please feel free to use any kind of tomatoes that you have in a pinch!
If you have the diced, then I'd go with those over the tomato sauce.
Hope you enjoy!
Cathy
I was looking for a recipe to use for a new Dutch oven and stumbled across this. It looked very forgiving of tweaks (I only had 4 thighs so had to mess with the quantities) So I made it for dinner tonight. It was delectable, and so easy! This recipe is a keeper. So good I had to post a thank you!
The Cozy Apron
So thrilled to read that, Cathy! I very much appreciate your comment/review of the recipe. Thank you!
Jane Jackson
I have made this many times since being at home more this year, it is a favorite for sure. I typically make it when I have fresh tomatoes to use up and they work perfectly. This is a dish I would serve to company as soon as it's safe to do that again 🙂 Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
The Cozy Apron
Jane, thank you so much for taking some time to share your experience with me. I'm thrilled this recipe has been comforting and nourishing for you, and using fresh tomatoes is a terrific way to go when you have them available.
May the recipe continue to bring you pleasure, and I hope that sooner rather than later you will be able to prepare and share this with the people in your life you're longing to reconnect to, once again, across the dinner table.
Happy cooking, Jane!
Jen
This was delicious! The sauce was wonderful with mashed potatoes. Definitely making this again!
The Cozy Apron
Jen, that's excellent! So glad the recipe was a success for you, and I appreciate you taking some time to come back and share.
James
Hey—great recipe! Easy and delicious.
The Cozy Apron
Hi James, so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Kay
This was absolutely delicious! Decided to try a new cooking method and try something I’ve not made before—this hit the spot. Tastes even better reheated the next day. Didn’t have quite everything on hand, used the recipe as the structure and it was delicious! I’ve added this to my family recipe cookbook to pass on to my daughter one day!
The Cozy Apron
Kay, so happy you enjoyed...and kudos for stepping out and trying a new cooking method!
I appreciate you sharing your experience with me, and I hope you find some more recipes from the site to cook up and enjoy!
Patti
I found this recipe just yesterday and so I’m so thankful that I did because I wanted to make something different with chicken thighs and this dish was absolutely delicious. I didn’t have time to make a different pasta so I just use spaghetti with a little bit of rigatoni pasta and it didn’t matter the just wonderful no matter what it was served with
The Cozy Apron
Patti, so glad you stumbled upong this recipe, in that case! 😉
Thrilled you found it so comforting and tasty, and I hope it brings you lots of pleasure and nourishment for a long time to come...especially during the cold months!
Happy cooking, Patti!
Patti
Thanks so much, I’m actually making it again right now
Gwion Raven
I’m always looking for new chicken recipes and this one is certainly a keeper. You know what I loved about it the most? The colour. They say we eat with our eyes first, and this was truly a feast for the eyes.
Only changes I made: Added mushrooms and used 1 heaped teaspoon each dried parsley, basil, and oregano (to replace the Italian seasoning).
Loved this
Gwion Raven - author of The Magick of Food
The Cozy Apron
Gwion, thanks for such lovely feedback! Very happy you enjoyed the flavors and colors in this dish—nice and easy to prepare, yet filled with comforting flavor.
Thanks for sharing your experience with me. Happy cooking!
Cara Renfroe
This was so good! I made it last night and it is officially saved under my repeat recipe list. My store didn’t have pappardelle pasta unfortunately, but I got the thickest noodles they had (fettuccine) and they still balanced out the sauce nicely (though I do think pappardelle would have been better if I could have found it). Next time I am going to serve it up with some sourdough. My chicken came out super moist and the the sauce had a very good balance of sweetness, acidity, saltiness.
The Cozy Apron
Thanks for commenting, Cara! Thrilled you enjoyed the balance of flavors in the dish, and I think that the sourdough will be a terrific and rustic/cozy side for next time. 🙂