A one skillet meal that finishes in the oven. A creamy lemon butter sauce with spinach and juicy chicken thighs with golden crispy skin. Need I say more?
Serve with crusty bread to soak up all of the sauce and pair with Antipasto Salad and Creamy Parmesan Risotto.
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Ingredients
- chicken thighs
- olive oil, divided
- kosher salt
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- paprika
- black pepper
- butter
- garlic, minced
- chicken broth
- heavy cream
- spinach
- lemon
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Step One: Combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and black pepper in a bowl large enough to fit the chicken thighs. Coat chicken thighs in the oil and seasoning mixture. Allow to sit for 30 minutes to come to room temperature.
Step Two: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt 2 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a cast iron pan over medium high heat.
Step Three: Add the chicken thighs skin down to the cast iron and cook for 4 minutes. It will start to sizzle, so a splatter screen is helpful for this step. Flip chicken thighs and cook for 4 minutes on the other side. The chicken skin should be golden brown.
Step Four: Set chicken aside. Keep the olive oil and butter mixture in the pan. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Step Five: Add chicken broth and heavy cream. Bring mixture to a simmer and add spinach. Cook, stirring constantly, until the spinach has broken apart (from frozen) or wilted (from fresh).
Step Six: Place chicken thighs skin side up in spinach mixture and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until chicken reaches internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Step Seven: Serve chicken thighs on top of creamy spinach mixture to keep the chicken skin crispy.
Hint: When you put the chicken thighs back in the spinach mixture, make sure the chicken skin is dry. This will keep the chicken skin crispy while baking.
Give yourself the gift of prep!
Double chicken thighs and freeze: When seasoning the chicken thighs, double the batch and freeze half. You’ll have seasoned chicken thighs ready to go next time you make this recipe. Unfortunately cream sauces don’t freeze well, so you can’t freeze the completed dish.
Use leftover chicken for another recipe: If you have any leftover chicken thighs, remove the skin and de-bone. Dice up the chicken and use it for Chicken Noodle Soup, Southern Chicken and Dumplings or Creamy Chicken Grilled Cheese on Sourdough.
Equipment
Cast Iron Pan- I prefer to use a cast iron pan because it retains heat well and creates beautiful golden skin on the chicken thighs. It is also stovetop and oven safe.
Top Tip
If the chicken does not rest after seasoning, allowing it to come to room temperature, it will take longer to cook in the oven. Be sure to check your chicken thighs with a meat thermometer and bake until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Related
Looking for other dinner recipes? Try these:
Pairing
Recipe
Creamy Lemon Spinach Chicken Thighs
Course: Dinner, Main4
servings10
minutes23
minutes30
minutes1
hour3
minutesJuicy chicken with crispy skin and a delicious creamy spinach that doubles as a side, all made in one pan? Yes please.
Ingredients
4 bone in skin on chicken thighs
2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chicken broth
½ cup heavy cream
1 cup frozen spinach or 2 cups fresh spinach
Juice of one small lemon or half a large lemon
Directions
- Combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and black pepper in a bowl large enough to fit the chicken thighs. Coat chicken thighs in the oil and seasoning mixture. Allow to sit for 30 minutes to come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Melt 2 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a cast iron pan over medium high heat.
- Add the chicken thighs skin down to the cast iron and cook for 4 minutes. Flip chicken thighs and cook for 4 minutes on the other side.
- Set chicken aside. Keep the olive oil and butter mixture in the pan. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add chicken broth and heavy cream. Bring mixture to a simmer and add spinach. Cook, stirring constantly, until the spinach has broken apart (from frozen) or wilted (from fresh).
- Place chicken thighs skin side up in spinach mixture and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until chicken reaches internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- Serve the chicken thighs on top of the creamy spinach mixture to keep the chicken skin crispy.
Notes
- Be sure to use an oven safe skillet so you can easily transfer from stovetop to oven. If you do not have an oven safe skillet, pour the spinach mixture from step 5 into a baking dish, add chicken and bake.
