Crispy pan-fried boneless skinless chicken thighs that are so easy to make and are so tasty that you will be making them over and over again.
In this recipe, skinless boneless chicken thighs are fried to the ultimate crispiness in under 20 minutes. The outside becomes crispy and crunchy, while inside the thighs are still tender and succulent. I could eat this chicken every day, it's scrumptious.
While these chicken thighs are not deep-fried, they surely taste like they are. They are exceptionally crispy on the outside and the crispiness remains long after they stop cooking. I, for some unknown to me reason, used to believe that anything this super crispy would come with a skin. However, these skinless chicken thighs proved me wrong. You don't always need skin to make chicken very crispy.
These chicken thighs pack so much flavor that you can eat them on their own with some BBQ sauce or a white dipping sauce. You can also toss them with some hot sauce, like Buffalo wing sauce, and enjoy like that.
If you want a full meal, serve them with a side dish. You'd want a side dish that is soft and creamy, like mashed potatoes, to contrast the chicken's crunchy texture. A good salad will work with this chicken too. If you crave a chicken sandwich, slap it on a brioche bun with your favorite fixin's as this chicken makes a mean chicken sandwich.
More great chicken thigh recipes:
- Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs
- Baked Mojito Chicken Thighs
- Killer Marinated Chicken Thighs
- Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs
Crispy Pan-Fried Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
Print Pin RateIngredients
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and onion powder (to taste)
- Flour (for dredging)
- Peanut oil (for frying; or sunflower oil)
Instructions
- Season chicken thighs with salt, pepper, paprika, onion and garlic powder. Dredge in flour, shaking off excess, then set aside.
- Add about a 1/4 inch of oil to a large skillet. Heat the oil over medium-high heat, add the chicken and fry it, undisturbed for about 8 minutes, until crispy and deep golden brown. Flip and continue frying for another 8 minutes.
- Serve hot with a BBQ or a dipping sauce.
Nutrition
Jennifer Adams says
This was absolutely delicious! I added a little extra smoked paprika and black pepper. My family said it was a Chik-fil-A copycat. Everyone loved it!
victor says
Thank you for your feedback, Jennifer. Glad you liked it. It's one the most under-rated recipes on my blog. It doesn't look/sound like much but I agree with you, it's absolutely delicious and easy to make. And very different from most chicken recipes out there. Enjoy!
Paul says
Hi Victor,
I tried the recipe for the first time tonight. I liked it.
However, I want to try it with a thicker, crunchier coating.
I would think the steps for double breading would be: season the chicken, dredge in flour, dip in milk, dredge in flour, and fry.
How would you recommend doing a double breading?
Thanks,
Paul
victor says
Hi Paul,
I am going to admit, I haven't tried anthing like this with this particulare recipe and I don't know how it will turn out. I am thinking along the lines of the breading I use for my favorite deep-fried chicken. Perhaps this will work? It's delicious. I think it may work in this recipe too. Good luck!
Flora says
Hi Victor
Do you use smoked paprika?
Is it same amount for each of the spices listed?
Thank you!
victor says
Flora, I use sweet paprika. If I want a little bit of heat, I sprinkle some cayenne. What I do is lay out the thighs on a table, then do a few turns of salt from my salt grinder, a few turns of pepper, then lightly sprinkle the rest of the ingredients. Flip the meat and repeat. It's hard to say how much exactly I use, but yeah, it's about the same amount of each. Hope this helps. Enjoy!
jpittard says
how much is 1/4 oil in the pan...approx
victor says
Oh, I eyeball that. The amount will depend on the diameter of your pan so hard to say without knowing the size of the pan.
Uccok says
hi this recipe is really amazing, but i substituted the peanut oil with palm oil (since it is more a viable option in my country). Haven't taste frying it with peanut but do you think it taste the same? or even better if i am using peanut oil?
victor says
I don't use palm oil in this recipe but I don't see how it will taste worse. I love palm oil and use it quite often in other recipes like curries. Enjoy!
Michael T says
i meant avocado oil
Michael T says
Wow! These boneless skinless chicken thighs were amazing! Full of flavor and crunchy goodness. I used smoked paprika and avocado. I will definitely make these chicken thighs again!
victor says
I am glad that you liked my recipe, it's quite unusual by so good! Happy cooking!
Kgk says
Can I use smoked paprika?
victor says
I don't see why not. I think it will work very well in this recipe.
Irvine Roxanne says
This recipe looks so amazing, I went to my freezer to get 2 pkgs of thighs. Alas, when I checked on their thawing - turns out they are skinless😩. Should I look for a different recipe than this one ?????
victor says
This recipe is for boneless thighs so you are good to go with this recipe. What's really cool about it is that while the chicken is skinless, it comes out so crispy that it almost tastes like skin-on chicken with very crispy skin.
Irvine Roxanne says
Yes! I followed through & was exceptional.. will be a regular from now on 😊👍
Veronica says
These are so delicious!