Garlic Parmesan Chicken Thighs! Holy smokes, these are insanely delicious. I'm not entirely sure what took me so long to jump on the chicken thighs train; I've always been a boneless, skinless chicken breast kind of gal and have many a recipe to prove it (like my keto chicken roulade or shredded chicken chili). Maybe it's because I channeled my inner toddler until my late 20s, refusing to eat chicken off the bone? Or perhaps I always mistook them for too much work when I saw them at the grocery store? Either way, I'm a total chicken thigh convert; any reservations I previously had about chicken thighs have been put to rest. I'm so freaking pumped to share this recipe with you guys.
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Keto Garlic Parmesan Chicken Thighs Recipe
Think back to your pre-keto days. Remember those garlic parmesan chicken wings from Pizza Hut? That's pretty damn close to what these taste like. You're welcome.
First, you'll need to trim your chicken thighs down a bit. Any extra fat or hanging skin, you can go ahead and remove that. Aim for a single layer of skin covering the thigh muscle, anything excess beyond that can be cut off.
Pull the open edge of the skin away from the muscle and create a pocket using your hand or a blunt utensil. This pocket gives you a perfect little space that your spices can't escape out of!
Now mix dried basil, finely grated Parmesan cheese, minced garlic, sea salt, a smidgen of pepper, and just a few drops of olive oil. Divide this mixture evenly between your chicken thighs, tucking it under the skin into the little pocket you created. Evenly spread the mixture over the area between the skin and thigh meat.
Liberally salt the outer skin and bottom side of the chicken thigh meat. I use sea salt, but you can use whichever salt you prefer.
Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully add each chicken thigh to the hot skillet skin side down. Cook with the skin side down for about 5 minutes, then flip each piece of chicken and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes. Transfer the cast iron skillet to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes at 450 degrees Fahrenheit, or until the thighs reach your preferred temperature. Let them rest for a few minutes before diving in and enjoy your keto garlic parmesan chicken thighs!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Trim excess skin and fat from chicken thighs, reserving the single layer of skin that covers the thigh meat.
- Create a pocket between the skin and thigh meat using hands or a blunt utensil.
- Mix together basil, Parmesan, garlic, sea salt, pepper, and a few drops of the olive oil.
- Evenly divide the mixture between the chicken thighs, stuffing it into the pocket beneath the skin and evenly spreading over the thigh meat.
- Heat remaining olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
- Place chicken thighs skin side down in the hot skillet and cook for 5 minutes.
- Flip the thighs and continue cooking on the stovetop for an additional 8-10 minutes.
- Transfer the skillet to the 450 degrees Fahrenheit oven to finish the cook, baking for 15-20 minutes or until chicken reaches your preferred temperature.
- Let rest before serving.
Nutrition
Hi, I'm Tasha–nutritionist, recipe developer, and multi-published cookbook author.
For peoloe on keto. Garlic does contain carbs. Great recipe!
One clove of garlic split between 6 thighs has negligible carbs....
How many chicken thighs is one serving?
Very yummy! I'm husband who's not a fan of thigh loves it! Thank you!
Just freaking wonderful.
How many carbs are in this? I love it but I like to record everything so I would love to know. Thank you 🙂
Is this made with boneless or bone-in chicken thighs? I ask because that can affect the cooking time.
I had the same question. I took the risk and went ahead and used bone-in chicken thighs and followed the cooking directions, turned out great!
How many carbs, please...
Where is the carb count in the nutritional breakdown? For keto friendly recipe and website not having the carb count doesn’t impress me.
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 262
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20.8g 27%
Saturated Fat 7.7g 38%
Cholesterol 101mg 34%
Sodium 185mg 8%
Total Carbohydrate 0.5g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0.1g 0%
Total Sugars 0.1g
Protein 18.6g
Vitamin D 1mcg 7%
Calcium 69mg 5%
Iron 1mg 5%
Potassium 218mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Recipe analyzed by
Hey all!
Sorry for the confusion about the carb count not appearing in the nutrition label - apparently when the carb count is zero (or close enough to zero that it rounds down), the software I use omits the information entirely instead of showing zero. I tried to adjust it manually but didn't have any success changing it. I'll see if I can figure it out so it's not confusing, but as indicated in the comment above the carb count per serving (1 thigh) is less than 1/2 gram of carb.
Can’t wait to try some of your recipes. I did make the chicken thighs for six
That start in the iron skillet and finish in the oven. YUM!
This is great recepie for keto meals
Thanks for the recipe
can this be done in a reg fry pan? I don't have a cast iron skillet? Also, can this be done solely in the oven? If so, what is the cooking time? Thank you!
If you are using bone-in and skin on chicken thighs you can bake these at 375 degrees for 45 min to an hour depending on size. Always use a thermometer to achieve 165 degrees. After using the mixture to place under the skin use the olive oil on the top of the skin to attain the crispy skin and bake. Do not cover and line your baking sheet with aluminum foil. Perfect every time without frying. Hope this helps.
Super-messy to cook but delicious and great for my new keto lifestyle! Makes me appreciate my dear, departed grandmother’s chicken-frying marathons with all the grease popping everywhere. Good times and I miss her!
Do you need to weigh or measure any of the food?
My husband and I LOVE these thighs. It’s an extra bonus that they can be made in one pan. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I found this recipe googling Keto thigh, should have added skinless to my search. It sounds and looks so yummy that I think I will try it with skinless.
We have a skinless thigh recipe for keto "fried" chicken baked in the oven. That might be something up your alley! https://ketogasm.com/keto-fried-chicken-recipe-baked-oven/
AWESOME!! I made these a month ago and my fiancee keeps bringing these up! He asks for these weekly! I have also cooked them in tomato sauce and it is equally wonderful! 5 stars!
Oh my! So I salted my thigh skin and left it set for an hour to draw out the moisture. Then proceeded as per your recipe except I used 3 cloves of garlic (if a little does a good job a lot does an even better job!). Totally a keeper! And I cooked the scrap skin at 400 for 15-20 mins - sprinkled with Tony Cachere's and salt. The pups enjoyed the fat scraps! This one is a keeper, thanks!
I made the Garlic Parmesan Chicken Thighs Recipe and used bacon grease to cook the thighs in the pan and transfer to the oven. It has to be the best tasting chicken I have ever had. I’ll be making this recipe at least once a week; but might experiment a little.
Delicious 😊
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! ❤️
Amazing Flavor and Satiety! Perfect keto recipe. Pair with some organic baby kale/spinach mix for a really great, satisfying meal. Wonderful for breaking an IF! What a treat
So easy and Amazing
How long would I cook this for boneless chicken thighs?
Yummo! Came out perfect! My tummy is smiling! I didn't have basil so I used oregano. The skin was crispy & the chicken moist. I served it with a tomato-cucumber-mozzarella salad in a balsamic-avocado oil dressing. Perfect!
You think I can do this on the grill. I love grilled food on nice days!
Sorry for the delayed response! Yes, absolutely can make them on the grill. 🙂