Wonderful chicken thighs dinner that is perfect for a week night or a weekend meal. It’s full of flavor and made with baked chicken thighs that were marinated and cooked in the mixture of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, lemon, and herbs. Mushrooms and cherry tomatoes are great as a side dish or topping.
BAKED CHICKEN THIGHS
The aroma that will be filling the house while this chicken it in the oven, will be unbelievable! This chicken is made with a perfect combination of flavors for a juicy and flavorful dinner. It is so easy to make too and will take you about an hour for prep and bake.
Minimal effort and most of the time just goes into the baking. You can serve this chicken with a side of potatoes or veggies. I also added some feta cheese on top of the tomatoes and veggies after it was cooked. Feta was amazing with this dish.
You will need an oven-safe skillet or an oven proof baking dish. If you use a baking dish, you don’t have to alter any time or temperature. Time for baking would depend on the size of your chicken thighs. If you are using large and plumpy ones, you will have to give it a little more time to bake it all the way through.
CAN I MAKE IT AHEAD OF TIME?
Yes, you can! It’s easy to combine the marinade/sauce with chicken and place it in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours. You can do it in the morning and just bake it for dinner time too.
A few notes for making it ahead:
Do NOT prepare it ahead in a cast iron skillet but use a baking dish instead.
Don’t add mushrooms and tomatoes until ready to make. Cut mushrooms and add cherry tomatoes into the pan right before baking, and bake it all together.
Try not to let it sit in the sauce for longer than 10-12 hours because the sauce is quite acidic.
SERVINGS SUGGESTIONS
Rice is a wonderful side dish to serve with this baked chicken thighs. It will soak up the sauce and all the great flavors. For a lighter side, try using quinoa, farro, or couscous.
Add some more roasted or pan seared vegetables on the side too. Green beans, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, and zucchini will all compliment this balsamic chicken.
MORE EASY CHICKEN DINNER RECIPES TO TRY:
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Roasted Chicken Thighs with Tomatoes and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1.5-2 lbs bone-in chicken thighs 4 pieces
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice fresh preferably
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp thyme
- salt
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes or more if you wish
- 1 cup cut mushrooms or more if you wish
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt
Instructions
- Place the chicken thighs into a large mixing bowl. Add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, grated garlic, thyme and salt. Mix well so that the chicken is evenly coated. Marinate for about 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425°. Rub an oven-safe skillet with some olive oil and place chicken thighs into the skillet, skin down. Pour the remaining marinade over the top.
- Bake chicken in the oven for about 20 minutes. Mix the tomatoes and mushrooms with olive oil and some salt. Flip chicken thighs and add tomatoes and mushrooms. Bake for another 15-20 minutes. (Longer for bigger thighs.)
- Set the oven to broil for about a minute to brown the top to golden. (Watch the chicken so it won't burn.)
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles on February 23, 2014. Updated June 20, 2020.
Jenny says
Wow, I just came across this on Pinterest. After browsing your other entries I think I’ll be trying many of them!
lyuba says
I’m so glad you found me, Jenny! Welcome and I hope you like everything you make 🙂
Meredith says
I made this tonight, and it was a big hit with my family. I did not have tomatoes on hand, so next time I will try it that way. A delicious meal for a cold winter night, paired with tricolor pearled couscous and broccoli. Thank you!
lyuba says
Sounds like a wonderful pairing! I’m so happy to hear that everyone liked it! Thank you, Meredith!
maria says
I tried this last night and it was a HIT!!! And oh so easy!! . It is not spicy but has lots of flavors. I served it with jasmine rice and a Caesar salad. Also I didn’t have any cherry tomatoes but I did have roama tomatoes so I diced tomatoes about 1 cup.
lyuba says
I’m so happy you liked it, Maria! Thank you 🙂
I love jasmine rice, I bet it was great!
Bre says
Can you freeze this and cook at a later time?
lyuba says
Hi Bre,
Do you meant the whole dish? It’s actually very simple to prep, only takes a few minutes. You can always mix the marinade and chicken in the morning and put it in the fridge to marinade, and then cook at night.
I hope this helps!
Thank you
R says
This was flipping amazing. I used 5 thighs (because that’s what was in the package), but no other changes were needed. I also did it on the cook top…just because I wanted a one pot meal. I added some spinach, too. Amazing!! Everyone loved it!!
lyuba says
Awe, yay! I am so happy to hear that!! 😀
Patti says
I’d love to use fresh thyme for this. How much would you recommend?
lyuba says
Hi Patty!
Fresh herbs awe always wonderful. I’d recommend starting with a couple of teaspoons. People have different tolerance to herb strength but you don’t want to overwhelm other flavors with thyme. I think a couple of teaspoons will be good. 🙂
I hope you enjoy!
Kim Quinn says
Love your recipe! My issue is I have the thighs and mushrooms but no tomatoes. Could I mix sliced mushrooms with onion and broccoli slaw and nestyle it around the chicken when I turn it over or, remove chicken from pan a minute and lay the mushrooms and veg like a bed and replace the chicken skin side up? Trying to work with what is on hand. Thanks!💜
stephen j leitner says
this has become a staple. two suggestions however. First, trim most of the easily removable visible fat from the thighs before marinating. Second, after the 20 minutes in the oven with just the thighs pour off most of the fat that accumulates before adding the tomatoes and mushrooms. More. fat melts after flipping the thighs and adding the mushrooms and tomatoes. Without these two steps I found everything to be swimming in melted chicken fat.
Cindi Runowski says
Great results. Added Goat Herb & Garlic cheese as a topping. And cooked asparagus with the mushrooms and Roma tomatoes (it’s what I had).
LyubaB says
That sounds amazing! I am so glad you liked it!