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This Pesto chicken thighs recipe is quick, healthy, and comes together fast with only 2 main ingredients: Chicken and pesto! The thighs turn out lip-smackingly tasty and super juicy!
Baked Pesto Chicken Thighs
The best part about baked pesto chicken thighs? It’s a complete meal in itself! You can use store-bought pesto if you’re in a rush, or you could make pesto at home in minutes. Regardless, these thighs are delicious!
In short, it is the perfect comfort food for days when you’re exhausted after work, don’t feel like spending hours in the kitchen, have a lazy Sunday, or are expecting guests at short notice.
Just get out those chicken thighs, throw in some pesto, and let it marinate for a bit. Now, the only thing left is to bake the pesto-covered chicken to crispy perfection. And voilá, you have a meal ready in under an hour!
How to Bake Pesto Chicken Thighs
If you can turn on the oven and be a little patient, you can make these baked pesto chicken thighs! While I share the full recipe below, here is a summary of what you’ll be doing:
- Get the chicken ready
Remove any excess fat from the thighs and pat them dry. - Get marinating
In a large bowl or zip bag, place the chicken thighs and pesto. Seal or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. - Prep the oven items
Preheat the oven and prep the baking dish. - Get baking
Transfer the pesto-marinated thighs into the baking dish and bake. - Serve
Enjoy these thighs until your heart is content. You’re going to love them!
This recipe is super easy and can be made ahead of time! Watch this quick recipe video to see these juicy pesto chicken thighs from start to finish!
Perfectly Crispy Skin on Pesto Chicken Thighs
If you want your chicken thighs to turn out crispy, make sure to pat them dry before coating them in the pesto marinade. Oil and water don’t mix, so if the thighs are wet, the pesto will slide right off.
Since pesto contains olive oil, the chicken thighs should turn out nice and crisp!
Can You Use Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs?
Yes, you can use boneless skinless chicken thighs to make this pesto chicken recipe. However, you’ll need to shorten the cooking time to 30 minutes. You can read more about cooking times and all the details about baking chicken thighs here.
What to Serve with Pesto Baked Chicken Thighs
These pesto baked chicken thighs pair great with a healthy side salad, shaved brussels sprouts and bacon salad, an incredible Wedge Salad, this epic Cilantro Lime Rice, or any of these sides for chicken thighs.
Pesto Chicken Thighs
Watch how it’s made:
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on
- ½ cup prepared pesto or homemade
Instructions
- Prepare the pesto sauce, if using homemade.
- For ultimate flavor, marinate chicken in a zip bag or airtight container by combining the pesto and chicken thighs. Seal and refrigerate to marinate for 4h or overnight. Otherwise, place the chicken in a baking dish, top with pesto sauce over and under the skin.
- Position your oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 400F. Grease a baking dish.
- Transfer the pesto-marinated thighs into the greased baking dish. Spoon any pesto from the marinade bag on the underside of the skin or in and around the thighs. For extra flavor, rub some of the pesto under the skin.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes until the tops are crispy and the chicken’s internal temperature is 175F.
Beth says
Epic chicken thighs!!
Lauren says
I could not love this baked chicken thigh recipe more! So simple, full of flavor..it was perfect!
Bev says
This recipe was really tasty! And easy, too!
Liz says
These thighs were SO tasty!! And such an easy recipe!!!
Sabrina says
Love this recipe! It was so easy, had lots of flavour and my family ate them all. Thanks!
Tisha says
Great recipe for a quick chicken dinner. Simple to follow and absolutely delicious!
Claudia says
Baked these pesto chicken thighs recently—so juicy and packed with great taste! Easy to make and perfect for a quick dinner.
Leslie says
I love how EASY this recipe was to throw together..unless you take the time to make your own pesto, this literally came together in less than 5 minutes!
Vicky says
The pesto gave the chicken such a delicious kick, and it came out perfectly juicy. I served it with roasted veggies and my whole family asked when I’m making it again.
Liz says
Boy, was this a delicious way to make chicken. Plus, it was SO easy!! It will be on our regular dinner rotation—a hit with the family.
Lora says
I baked this cihcken and it was so flavorful from the pesto and the kids really liked it!
Swathi says
Pesto chicken thighs is delicious I have tried for our dinner my family enjoyed it.
Nicole Kendrick says
The pesto works so well with the crispy skin and the juicy thigh meat. I love this!
Chelsea says
This was such a simple recipe, but popping with flavor! My whole family loved it!
Lucy says
These pesto thighs were incredible
Dayna says
Incredible!
Dayna says
Incredible recipe!
Jackie says
This pesto chicken was absolutely incredible!
Pam says
The best chicken I’ve ever made!
Betty says
Delish!!
Beth says
These were absolutely delicious! The pesto is perfect with the chicken. I served them with a simple pasta on the side.
suja md says
Wow! this is my new favorite recipe!
Tayler says
I made these chicken thighs for dinner last night and they were delicious! So flavorful and easy to make!
Angela says
I love the simplicity of this recipe. We marinated the chicken overnight then baked it for lunch. Turned out wonderfully. Thanks!
Melissa says
These pesto chicken thighs made the perfect quick meal! Very easy and so delicious.
Lucy says
These pesto chicken thighs were so easy to bake in the oven, and my family LOVED them!
Ashley says
LOVED this simple chicken thigh recipe. A 2-ingredient recipe is my kind of recipe! Thanks!
Matina says
Genius! Few ingredients, superb taste
Mahy says
These are my favorite. I am hungry right now, so these chicken images got me drooling. Time to cook!
Ann says
I love pesto. I can’t wait to start growing basil this season to make my own for this recipe. Thanks!
Ieva says
I couldn’t believe how tasty the chicken was using just 2 simple ingredients. We enjoyed it very much with the courgette ribbon salad and rice! Can’t wait to make it again with homemade pesto when we have basil growing on the windowsill.
Harriet Young says
Delicious! I had these on top of creamy tagliatelle and it worked a dream! The chicken cooks perfectly. Thank you!
Kerri says
These baked thighs were so delicious!! They made the perfect weeknight meal for my family!
Alexia says
Love the recipe, Laura! Chicken thighs turned out suuuuper tasty and with crispy skin. So so good!
Kim says
OBSESSED with these pesto chicken thighs. So good!