Looking for budget-friendly and delicious chicken thigh recipes? In this video, we’re sharing four easy and affordable ways to turn chicken thighs into flavorful meals the whole family will love! Nicole walks you through step-by-step recipes for sweet and savory honey garlic chicken thighs, a rich and comforting Indian chicken curry, crispy and tender baked chicken thighs, and smoky, spice-packed Turkish chicken kebabs.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Are you still scared of chicken thighs
00:01or do you think the chicken breast reigns supreme?
00:03Well that ends today.
00:04I've got four chicken thigh recipes
00:05that you need to add into your weekly rotation,
00:07especially if you're into saving money.
00:09I think there are a lot of people
00:10that just don't know how to cook chicken in general
00:13and if that is you,
00:14then you need to start with the chicken thigh.
00:16It is a whole lot harder to mess that up
00:18than a chicken breast and it's a whole lot cheaper.
00:20I'm gonna start with a recipe
00:21that shows you how to get that crispy skin
00:24with honey garlic chicken thighs.
00:26This is going to be your definite crowd pleaser.
00:29My kids love it.
00:30They will inhale it.
00:30You might want to double the recipe.
00:32So for this I am using the bone-in skin on chicken thigh.
00:36This one we're gonna cook in a skillet on the stove.
00:39I'm also giving you a different preparation for each recipe.
00:42You just need half of an onion.
00:43You want to finely chop it.
00:45This is honey garlic chicken,
00:46so you want to go kind of heavy on the garlic.
00:49I love this dinner because it's so easy.
00:51Like this is one you can do when you get home from work
00:53because the prep is so minimal.
00:56The best thing ever is crispy chicken skin
01:00on your chicken thighs.
01:01To get that, you need to pat them dry first.
01:03All right, and then to season our chicken thighs,
01:06all we need is salt and pepper.
01:08While you're gonna 100% want to keep this recipe forever,
01:11the main takeaway that I really want you to get
01:14is the cooking method because then you can adjust it
01:16to whatever flavors you're feeling that day.
01:19So you want to get a skillet,
01:20like medium high heat until it's hot.
01:22I'm going in with a little avocado oil.
01:24I like using like a more neutral flavored oil
01:27when I've got like Asian flavored spices going in.
01:30Once we put this chicken in the skillet,
01:32do not touch it.
01:33Do not touch it.
01:34You've got time to go make a salad, a cocktail, whatever.
01:37The chicken will tell you when it's time to flip.
01:40See how it's sticking under there?
01:41And that is when it releases easily from the pan.
01:44This step takes at least five to seven minutes,
01:47so do not rush that.
01:48At this point, after we flipped it,
01:50we've only cooked it for another minute or two,
01:52and it's not cooked through.
01:53We're going to finish it in the sauce.
01:54Again, just remember this method,
01:56and then you can judge up the flavors however you want.
01:58So now we have all this liquid gold right here,
02:00and it cost us no added ingredients.
02:03That is the flavor of the chicken fat
02:05with just salt and pepper.
02:06To the drippings, I'm just going to go
02:08with my onion and garlic.
02:09You're going to cook that down till it's all nice and soft.
02:11We're going to make our sauce.
02:13Honey and soy sauce.
02:15And then I like to add in just a dash of rice vinegar also
02:18to cut some of that fat.
02:19And then not in the recipe,
02:20but to balance out some of that sweet,
02:22I like to add in a little sriracha.
02:24And then that's it.
02:25Now we're going to finish cooking our chicken in this.
02:28So I'm going to turn the heat down
02:29and just let that simmer until the chicken's cooked through.
02:32Once you flip them, it only takes about 10 minutes,
02:34if that, because we cooked it for so long on the first side.
02:37I'm just going to give it a quick toss in the sauce.
02:41That's it.
02:42Dinner is served.
02:44Beautiful.
02:47Smells incredible.
02:49Oh yeah.
02:52Look how juicy.
02:54Oh my God.
02:55This is perfection.
02:56I can already tell you.
02:57I mean, it's crispy on the outside,
02:59juicy on the inside, as promised.
03:05Mm.
03:06That is a lot of flavor.
03:08And that sauce, be sure whatever you serve it with,
03:11noodles, rice, to absorb that goodness.
03:14This next one uses boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
03:17The recipe actually calls for
03:19boneless, skinless chicken breasts,
03:20but I'm going to show you why you should use this instead.
03:23This one is more of like a simmered, braised situation.
03:27You run the risk of drying it out and overcooking it
03:30when you use the boneless, skinless chicken breast.
03:32That's not going to happen here.
03:33And it's just going to be more flavorful
03:35and it's a cheaper way to make this recipe.
03:37So I am going to cut these in like half, right?
03:41And then we're going to season them with salt and pepper.
03:45And this one starts like the last one,
03:47where we're going to get it browned and flavorful in here
03:49and start to build our flavor base.
03:52And then we'll take it out
03:53and add it back in to finish cooking.
03:54Same rule applies here, don't touch it.
03:56Let it get a good brown crust on the first side.
04:01If you don't always start by creating that flavor base,
04:04you're missing out.
04:05I'm going in with some onion, ginger, and garlic.
04:09Since we used the skinless chicken thighs,
04:10you don't have all that fat
04:11that's accumulated on the bottom.
04:13So that's why I used a nonstick skillet here.
04:15Now is when I'm going to add in the spices
04:17because they're going to use the fat that's in there
04:20and the heat.
04:21So they're going to toast a little bit.
04:24So their flavors are really going to come out a lot more
04:26if you do this and cook them in with the onion and garlic
04:29for a little while.
04:30Going in with curry powder, some cumin,
04:33turmeric, coriander, and cayenne.
04:36Lots of strong, delicious flavors.
04:39So toast them for just about like 20 seconds or so
04:42and then we'll add in water to lift up the flavor.
04:46And then going in with some tomato.
04:51What makes this dish so magical
04:52is the addition of whole milk yogurt.
04:55It adds tang, it adds creaminess.
04:57It's just heavenly.
05:00You know that's a lot of flavor in the pan.
05:02I'm also going in with some cilantro.
05:04I'm going to add the chicken back in along with any juices.
05:08And then I'm going to add in a little more water
05:09to thin the sauce out.
05:11And we're just going to bring this up to a simmer
05:13and let it cook for about 20 minutes or so
05:15until that chicken is cooked through
05:17and everything comes together.
05:21Flavor it up with some salt
05:22and then we can check for seasoning again later.
05:25And the finishing touch is a little fresh lemon juice.
05:29You could also add in some garam masala at this point.
05:33All right, let's dish it up.
05:41A little more cilantro.
05:43Then I like to also serve it
05:44with a little bit of grilled naan.
05:47See how tender that chicken is now?
05:50You can just cut it with a fork.
05:57Unbelievable.
05:58You taste the punch of flavor
06:01like literally before it even gets into your mouth
06:03because you can smell it first.
06:05A little bit of tang from that yogurt,
06:07but it is so, the chicken is so tender and juicy.
06:10I don't know why you would even make this
06:11with chicken breast.
06:1310 out of 10.
06:16Maybe 12 out of 10.
06:19This next one is a complete meal in one pan.
06:22It requires minimal effort and zero time at the stove.
06:25This is crispy and tender oven-baked chicken thighs.
06:29I'm taking this recipe and showing you a little hack
06:31on how you can create a whole meal in one pan.
06:34So veggies I'm doing are just some red bell pepper
06:37and some potatoes, a little onion.
06:41Just put your veggies in the bottom
06:42of whatever dish you're gonna cook in, add a little oil.
06:46I always do a little salt, pepper,
06:48maybe a little garlic powder.
06:49Again, you can just use this as a method
06:51and change out whatever flavors you want.
06:53Give that a toss and then place the chicken right on top.
06:56This is bone-in, skin-on
06:58because we want the flavor from the skin.
07:02I'm just going to mix up my spices before I spread them on
07:04just so they spread and incorporate more evenly.
07:07So I'm just going in with salt, pepper, garlic powder,
07:11oregano, a little onion powder, and smoked paprika.
07:15We're gonna pat these dry so that they do get extra crispy,
07:18as crispy as possible.
07:21This is the meal you make when you come home from work
07:23and you really don't feel like cooking.
07:24You're just gonna pop this in the oven.
07:26I'm going 375.
07:27It'll take about 45 minutes to an hour.
07:30Look at the masterpiece we created.
07:32See this?
07:35They're crispy.
07:36First thing I'm gonna do is put some veggies on the plate.
07:40Chicken on there.
07:42And a little liquid gold.
07:45How good does that look?
07:47Does it look as good as it smells?
07:48Because I wish y'all could smell it in here.
07:52So tender.
07:53It's like cutting through like butter.
07:55Do you see the juiciness right here?
08:00Mm.
08:03The chicken breast could never do that.
08:05The way those potatoes have absorbed that juice,
08:08it's amazing.
08:09Winner winner chicken dinner.
08:11This recipe is the one you take out to the grill.
08:13Today we're just gonna grill inside.
08:15These are Turkish chicken kabobs.
08:17The key to this recipe is a long marinade
08:20in some whole milk Greek yogurt.
08:22This is really gonna tenderize the chicken
08:23even though we know it already stays juicy.
08:26Start with about a cup of Greek yogurt.
08:28To that I'm adding in a lot of garlic.
08:31Shocker.
08:32And then you're gonna mellow out that tanginess
08:34with a little bit of olive oil.
08:36Go in with some freshly squeezed lemon juice.
08:39Never put this ingredient in here,
08:40but I'm trusting the process.
08:43Aleppo pepper just offers nice flavor.
08:45It's not a lot of heat,
08:46so if you don't have this or don't wanna get it,
08:48I would just say leave it out.
08:49Kosher salt.
08:50Cumin, black pepper, and paprika.
08:53Cinnamon is just a pinch.
08:54It's just gonna offer like a slight undertone of sweetness.
08:58And that's it.
08:59Stir it up.
09:00All right, and then we're just gonna toss our chicken
09:02into this marinade.
09:03For this one I am using boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
09:07I'm gonna cut these in half
09:08so that they thread onto the skewer a little easier.
09:10We're gonna add this chicken into the marinade.
09:11You wanna coat it really well
09:13and then let it marinate for at least a couple hours.
09:15The longer you go, the more flavorful it's gonna be.
09:20It's gonna be a good night.
09:21Our chicken's been marinating for a couple hours.
09:24It even feels tender.
09:26All right, now I'm gonna thread it onto some skewers.
09:30I like to fold the chicken thigh over
09:33so that it is a little more substantial.
09:35Okay, here's what you're gonna do.
09:37You're gonna put these kebabs down
09:38and you're not gonna touch them.
09:43After I flip them, I'm just gonna turn it down
09:45just a little bit and then just turn them occasionally
09:48until they're brown on all sides.
09:50Juicy, flavorful, charred.
09:53That's what we like.
09:56Now that is a feast fit for a queen.
10:00The smell, the look, everything about this is amazing
10:03before I even take a bite.
10:04So I like to serve this up with something fresh
10:07like a cucumber tomato salad.
10:09Okay, here goes.
10:15Mm, that marinade is so good.
10:18You taste everything from when the smoky flavor hits it.
10:21This is a winner winner.
10:23Surely I've convinced you to try one of these recipes
10:26and pick up a pack of chicken thighs
10:27next time you're in the grocery store.
10:29You'll save some money and thank me later.
10:31What is it?
10:32Because thick thighs saves lives.
10:37Thick thighs saves lives.