Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs
These lemon pepper chicken thighs are pan seared in a skillet for perfectly crispy skin and juicy meat. The best part of this delicious weeknight dinner is that it takes less than 30 minutes to make!
These days, eating chicken is an almost weekly occurrence for us. I like to experiment with different rubs and seasonings to keep the dinners exciting.
The lemon pepper seasoning I make is truly delicious with chicken.
This chicken is so good as a dinner entree, but it's also amazing cut up on salads for lunch the next day. Sometimes I'll even use it in a wrap or add it to soup, depending on what I am craving.
I like to make a bunch of chicken thighs at once and use it different ways all week. Check out my list of ways to use leftover chicken.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Bone-In, Skin On, Chicken Thighs - Bone in chicken thighs are the star of this recipe for good reason! They are a budget friendly cut, but still have a lot of meat. If you prefer white meat, bone-in chicken breasts will work well.
- Homemade lemon pepper seasoning is what makes this recipe so great. It's just a blend of salt, pepper, and fresh lemon zest. However, you can buy lemon pepper seasoning if you need to.
- Olive Oil - You'll need an oil to help get the skillet hot so the chicken skin gets nice and crispy. I like using olive oil but feel free to use avocado oil or even butter or ghee.
Once you have it, this seasoning is great for lemon pepper chicken wings or lemon pepper pork chops!
How To Make Crispy Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs
- Prepare the thighs by trimming off any excess skin with kitchen shears. Then, use paper toweling to dry the pieces well.
- Make the lemon pepper seasoning and use it to generously coat both sides of the chicken thighs.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Wait until the pan is hot before adding oil. Wait until the oil shimmers before adding the chicken thighs.
- Place the chicken, skin side down, into the hot oil. You'll know that side is ready to flip when it releases easily from the pan. If it is sticking, give it a little more time to cook.
- After flipping the pieces over, cover your skillet.
- Continue cooking chicken, covered, until the internal temperature of the lemon pepper chicken thighs reaches 165°F.
Then, serve it with your favorite sides, like Homemade Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese.
NOTE: With bone in chicken thighs, you can err on the side of "overdone" if you'd like, by cooking it to 170°F. without drying out the meat.
Cooking Tips
- When preparing the chicken thighs, make sure you pat them until they are as dry as you can get them. Any excess moisture could cause hot oil to splatter and can change the texture of the chicken.
- When you place the chicken in the hot skillet, make sure you can hear it sizzle. If you can't wait until the skillet warms up a bit more. Follow the steps below on how to get crispy skin on chicken thighs.
- When chicken is searing in the skillet, use a splatter guard to save yourself some time cleaning up.
- Even when they are fully cooked, is is common for bone-in chicken thighs to have some redness right by the bone.
Creating Crispy Skin on Chicken Thighs
It's easy to get crispy skin on chicken thighs by following these easy steps!
- Remove any excess skin that is not covering meat.
- Be sure the chicken is completely dry. Pat both sides of the thighs dry with a paper towel.
- Use a dry rub of spices rather than wet seasonings or marinade.
- Pan sear the chicken in a hot skillet, or bake them in the oven. If baking in the oven, set an ovenproof wire cooling rack on top of a baking sheet to help air circulate around the skin.
- To make extra crispy skin, place the chicken thighs skin side up under an oven broiler for a couple minutes.
Alternate Cooking Methods
Oven
If you don't want to use a skillet, you can bake them in a 350°F. oven for 25-25 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 165°F on a meat thermometer. To get the skin extra crispy, broil skin side up for a couple minutes.
Air Fryer
You can also make air fryer chicken thighs by air frying at 375°F. for 15-20 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 165°F on a meat thermometer.
Lemon Pepper Chicken Recipe FAQs
Absolutely. You won't have the crispy chicken skin, but you'll still have the tenderness of the meat. I recommend pounding the chicken breasts thin or slicing them in half horizontally so the cook time is a bit more even. Be sure to watch your cook time, so you don't overcook the meat.
When you make lemon pepper seasoning yourself, the flavor will always be better, because the seasoning will be fresher than store-bought seasoning.
There are two important steps to creating crispy skin. First, be sure to remove all excess moisture before seasoning the meat. The other important step is to be sure that the oil in the pan is very hot, but not to the point of smoking. When the oil is shimmering, then add the chicken thighs.
Favorite Sides For This Meal
Sides that pair well with Lemon Pepper Chicken include:
Other Easy Chicken Dinners
I'd love to hear about your experience making this recipe! Please leave a comment and rating below!
Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds bone-in skin-on chicken thighs about 4 thighs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Lemon Pepper Seasoning
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest 1 lemon
Instructions
- Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife, trim any excess skin that is not covering the meat of chicken thighs, then pat the pieces dry with paper toweling.
- Measure lemon pepper seasoning ingredients into a small bowl and stir to combine.
- Generously season both sides of the chicken thighs with the seasoning.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add olive oil; Heat until oil shimmers, but is not smoking.
- Place the thighs into the oil, skin side down. Sear for 3 minutes. Use tongs to flip the pieces over, then cover the skillet with a lid.
- Continue cooking chicken, covered, for about 10 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature by sticking the probe of the thermometer into the meat, close to the bone (don't let the probe touch any bones). When the thermometer reads 165℉, your chicken is cooked.
Notes
Nutrition
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I loved the lemony flavor on this chicken. It was so delicious! I made it for dinner with a side salad and everyone loved it!
Crispy on the outside and so juicy inside! I so love the homemade lemon pepper seasoning. It elevated the dish so much! 5/5 - will be making this again!
I'm a fan of simple but delicious recipes and this one is perfect for me! I tried making it the same way following your whole post and at the same time following all your tips too. The result is so gooood! The taste, especially the flavor the the homemade lemon pepper seasoning in this dish is the game changer! Thanks for this great recipe 🙂
The lemon pepper seasoning did great! I loved the crispy, golden-brown skin and juicy meat of the chicken. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
I had some chicken thighs that I wasn't sure what to do with, so I found your recipe on pinterest. So glad I did because this was just perfect. Thank you!
Perfectly done and really tasty. The hubby gave it a thumbs up - which is hard to do sometimes.
That is quite the compliment 🙂 So glad you liked it!