Braised Chicken Thighs
With juicy chicken and melt-in-your-mouth potatoes and carrots, these braised chicken thighs are quick to assemble and very family friendly.
Recipe Mood: Rustic Comfort
Indulgence Level: Low
Effort Level: Easy
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If you’re looking to give chicken thighs the respect they deserve by doing more than just baking them, try braising them instead. Quickly searing and cooking them in some chicken stock makes these braised chicken thighs almost as easy as baking or roasting a bird (same for these grill pan chicken thighs).
This chicken recipe is also made with a variety of hearty vegetables, and everything cooks in one pan in under an hour. The result is delicious, tender thighs with all the “fixings,” including some carb-lovin’ potatoes. The remaining vegetables are also easy to prepare and practically melt in your mouth upon cooking.
Many braised chicken recipes use white wine, but I like using red wine here. Maybe it’s because of its coq au vin vibes, but it also gives the chicken a more distinct flavor and turns everything in the pan a more earthy color.
I hope you try these braised chicken thighs. If you do, let me know what you think!
Why You’ll Love These Braised Chicken Thighs
Everything cooks in one pan: This recipe is filled with chicken thighs and hearty vegetables but comes together in just one pan.
Lots of flavors happening here: Between the onions, garlic, red wine, and chicken stock, there are lots of flavors for your thirsty chicken to absorb.
Creates a nice “sauce/gravy”: Some braised chicken recipes have thinner sauces, but this one is thicker due to adding less liquid, more flour, and full-bodied red wine, creating a lovely sauce to pour over the chicken.
Key Ingredients
- Bone-In, Skin-On Chicken Thighs: Don’t use boneless, skinless thighs for this recipe. You need the skin to allow the thighs to brown properly without drying out, and the bone-in, skin-on adds more flavor here.
- Red Wine: This will help add body and depth of flavor to the dish. Use a red wine with low to moderate tannins, such as Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon, which is less bitter.
- All-Purpose Flour: AP flour is important to thicken up the liquid and create a more luxurious “sauce.”
- Low-Sodium Chicken Stock or Broth: You can use vegetable stock if that’s all you have, but chicken stock/broth is more appropriate for this chicken recipe. Do not use water for the liquid!
See the recipe card below for more information on ingredients and quantities.
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How to Make This Recipe
- Prep the chicken thighs: Use a paper towel to absorb excess moisture from the chicken. Season both sides of the thighs liberally with salt and pepper.
- Brown the thighs: Add them to a large pan coated with olive oil and cook 4 to 6 minutes on one side, 3 to 4 minutes on the other, so they turn golden brown. Transfer the thighs to a plate.
- Cook the vegetables: Add the potatoes, carrots, thyme, salt, and pepper, and cook until the veggies turn golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the onions and garlic and cook until they soften.
- Simmer the wine: Pour in the wine and simmer it for 2 minutes. Add the flour and cook it for 2 minutes, stirring it frequently into the vegetables to cook out the raw flavor.
- Add the chicken stock: Pour in the stock, bring to a high simmer, and re-add the chicken. Remove the pan from the heat, place it in the oven, and cook the chicken and vegetables for 40 minutes, covered.
- Finish: Garnish the chicken with fresh minced parsley.
Pro Tips
Remove some potatoes from the pan, if needed: If the pan seems a little crowded after you add everything to it, including the chicken, simply remove a few potatoes. On the other hand, your pan can probably handle a slight overcrowding, as the veggies should cook easily in the liquid stock.
Reduce the liquid at the end, if necessary: If the sauce is too thin for your liking after the chicken has finished cooking, remove the chicken and veggies from the pan and simmer the stock/wine mixture for a few minutes on the stovetop until it reaches the desired consistency.
I don’t recommend trying this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken thighs: The chicken skin helps flavor the veggies, and bone-in thighs can cook for longer in the oven without the risk of drying out.
Variations & Substitutions
-Replace the thighs with chicken legs (drumsticks) or breasts. See the “Recipe FAQs” below for suggested cooking times.
-Add any vegetables you like, but steer clear of ones that could easily turn mushy, like zucchini.
-Use any mix of dried and/or fresh herbs you prefer (e.g., rosemary, tarragon, etc.).
-You can slice or mince the fresh garlic in this recipe instead of leaving it whole.
-Add as much—or as little—garlic as you like!
Recipe FAQs
Braised chicken—or braised “anything”—means searing something quickly at a high heat followed by gently simmering it in some type of shallow liquid. In this case, we’re searing the chicken on the stovetop before finishing it up in the oven in some chicken stock.
Yes, you can use (bone-in, skin-on) drumsticks or (bone-in, skin-on) breasts. Just be sure to adjust the cook time, as drumsticks can cook anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes faster than thighs. As for chicken breasts, they usually take at least 10 minutes longer to cook than thighs. If you’re unsure about doneness, use a meat thermometer. It should read 165F for chicken pieces.
You may want to use at least 6 drumsticks for this recipe, since they’re usually smaller than thighs. If using breasts, use 3 big ones or 4 smaller ones.
Storage
Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 3 days.
Freezer: You can freeze this, but it may not reheat as well as it would straight from the fridge.
Reheat: Reheat these braised chicken thighs in the oven in an oven-safe pan, covered, at 350F until heated through. You can also microwave them in a microwave-safe bowl.
More Poultry Recipes
- Baked vinegar chicken recipe with potatoes
- Chicken quesadilla recipe
- Grill pan chicken thighs
- Juicy roasted boneless turkey breast recipe
If you’ve enjoyed this recipe, please take a moment to leave a five-star review below. You could also tag me on Instagram (@forcarbssake) with a picture of your finished dish!
Braised Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 4 to 6 chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 4 yellow potatoes small to medium sized, skin-on, and cut into 1" to 1 and ½" cubes (Note 1)
- 6 carrots small to medium sized, peeled, sliced down the center lengthwise, and cut into 1 and ½" pieces
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Ground black pepper
- 1 yellow onion peeled and sliced julienne into ¼" strips (Note 2)
- 4 garlic cloves peeled and left whole (could also slice or mince)
- ½ cup dry red wine (Note 3)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup low-sodium chicken stock or broth
- Handful Italian flat-leaf parsley minced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Remove any excess moisture from the chicken by blotting it with a paper towel. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken generously with salt and pepper.
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pan or skillet (cast iron is best). Add the chicken thighs skin side down, and cook for 4-6 minutes until the skin turns golden brown. You can move the chicken around in the pan every 2 minutes to encourage even browning, but don't move them too much. Turn the thighs over and brown the other side for 3-4 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
- Add the potatoes, carrots, and thyme to the pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook the vegetables until they turn golden, 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally so they cook evenly and don't burn. Add the onions and garlic once the potatoes and carrots start to brown, cooking until they also soften a bit and turn color.
- Pour in the wine, toss with the vegetables and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the flour and stir it into the vegetables for about 2 minutes to cook off the raw taste and allow it to develop some flavor. Don't let it burn.
- Pour in the chicken stock, bring to a high simmer, and add the chicken back to the pan. Remove from the heat and place the pan in the oven on the bottom rack, covered, and cook for 40 minutes. If you don't have a proper lid for your pan, use aluminum foil.
- Remove the pan from the oven, and garnish the chicken with fresh parsley. Enjoy!