Make these crispy Chicken Thighs, pan seared and then roasted with root vegetables in a cast iron skillet. This will be a great healthy dinner recipe that you can make in one pan with only 3 ingredients!
If you are looking for a delicious, simple and healthy dinner recipe, check out these crispy chicken thighs. They are pan seared in a cast iron skillet and then roasted to perfection in the oven with potatoes and carrots.
Why you will love the recipe
Only 3 ingredients! All you need for this recipe is just bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, baby potatoes, and carrots.
One pan meal. The whole dish comes together in a cast iron skillet. You can use 10 or 12-inch pan, whatever you have on hands.
Healthy. This recipe is not only easy to make but also healthy.
Ingredients and Substitution
Chicken. I like to use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs as they are widely available in any store. You can also use bone-in skin-on chicken breasts, although, you might need to bake them a bit longer. Also, I DON’T recommend to use any skinless boneless chicken thighs or breasts as they will come out dry and will overcook.
Vegetables. Potatoes and carrots are my to go vegetables, as I always have them in my pantry. You can use pretty much any veggies you have on hands. Just make sure they need similar time to cook and diced in even sizes. My other favorite veggies are parsnips, sweet potatoes, red bell pepper, red onion, fennel.
Spices. I prefer to keep this recipe simple and use only salt and black pepper. You can easily add any spices or seasoning to your taste, like Italian seasoning, oregano, thyme, cajun, etc.
How to make it
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Pat dry chicken thighs with paper towels and season with salt and pepper from all sides. Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil and rub it in from all sides.
Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium/high heat with 1 tbsp olive oil. When the oil is hot, place the chicken with the skin side down and sear for about 5 minutes or until the skin is golden/brown color. Then flip the meat and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Then transfer the meat to a plate and set aside. At this point, the meat doesn’t need to be cooked through as we will continue baking it in the oven.
After searing the meat with skin, you might have quite a lot of fat left in the skillet. You can scoop it out and discard, leaving just about 1-2 tbsp of it left in the pan.
Add diced vegetables to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper and toss well with the fat left in the skillet. Then place the chicken on top with the skin side up and bake uncovered at 450°F for about 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and has internal temperature of at least 165°F.
Take everything out. Transfer the chicken to a clean plate, loosely cover with foil, and set aside.
Stir the vegetables and return them to the oven for another 15 minutes or until they are cooked through.
When done, serve the chicken thighs with vegetables together.
How to make a pan sauce
If you want to make this meal a bit fancy, you can make a quick deglaze sauce with the burnt bits that are left in the pan. When you take all the meat and veggies out of the skillet, put the pan back on the stove top over medium heat. Add some white wine and chicken stock, scrape the bottom bits and let it reduce to get the sauce consistency. Add some finely chopped chive or parsley and season with salt and pepper.
Frequently Asked Questions
You always need to check the internal temperature of the meat with a meat thermometer. It should reach at least 165°F, though I like it to be at least 175°F, just to be safe.
You can keep it in a air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
As mentioned above, I don’t recommend to use boneless skinless meat in this recipe as it will come out dry.
You can, but you need to make sure that it’s oven proof. Also, you most likely won’t get the same crisp on the chicken skin and caramelized char on the vegetables.
More dinner recipes:
- Oven Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs
- Tuscan Chicken Pasta
- Chicken Broccoli Ziti
- Baked Chicken Cutlets
- Buttermilk Chicken Tenders
- Hawaiian Chicken Recipe
- Lemon Chicken Recipe
- Broccoli Chicken Rice Casserole
- Pork Milanese
- Pea and Asparagus Risotto
- Lemon Chicken Orzo
- Dutch Oven Whole Chicken
- Short Rib Ragu
- Oven Baked Chicken Legs with Potatoes
Cast Iron Chicken Thighs (with Root Vegetables)
Ingredients
- 4 skin-on bone-in chicken thighs
- 1 pound baby potatoes cut in halves
- 3 large carrots chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- salt, pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Pat dry chicken thighs with paper towels and season with salt and pepper from all sides. Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil and rub it in from all sides.
- Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium/high heat with 1 tbsp olive oil. When the oil is hot, place the chicken with the skin side down and sear for about 5 minutes or until the skin is golden/brown color. Then flip the meat and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Then transfer the meat to a plate and set aside. At this point, the meat doesn’t need to be cooked through as we will continue baking it in the oven.
- After searing the meat with skin, you might have quite a lot of fat left in the skillet. You can scoop it out and discard, leaving just about 1-2 tbsp of it left in the pan.
- Add diced vegetables to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper and toss well with the fat left in the skillet. Then place the chicken on top with the skin side up and bake uncovered at 450°F for about 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and has internal temperature of at least 165°F.
- Take everything out. Transfer the chicken to a clean plate, loosely cover with foil, and set aside.
- Stir the vegetables and return them to the oven for another 15 minutes or until they are cooked through.
- When done, serve the chicken thighs with vegetables together.
Everything was perfect except for the carrots. Maybe I cut them too small?? I used baby carrots cut in 3rds. They almost completely shriveled up to nothing. Literally everything else was fantastic!
Thank you, Lara! Glad you enjoyed the recipe. The reason the carrots were overcooked is they were chopped too small. If you use baby carrots, I wouldn’t chop them at all, as they should be about the same size as potatoes for even cooking.
Delicious, and so easy, so tasty! I`ve sent this to my best friends.
It is great in so many ways – it’s healthy and fast! Thanks.
I’ve been cooking more using my cast iron so this was the perfect recipe to make! The sear was perfect on the chicken and went great with the potatoes!
I love my heavy cast iron pan and this recipe is perfect for it. It’s so simple and you can’t go wrong with chicken and veggies. Excited to make it this week.
I made this chicken for dinner. It turned out fantastic. The chicken really flavored the vegetables. Everything was easy to make. I definitely will make again.
Wow, only 3 ingredients recipe? Amazing! I love roasted root vegetables in a cast-iron skillet. This will be a great healthy dinner recipe.
We love a good chicken and veggies cast iron meal around here! This one is simple but so delicious – will definitely make again!
I love my cast iron skillet for cooking, especially meat. Gives a grilled taste without the grill. Excited to give this recipe a try!
I followed your steps and used my cast iron pan for our chicken dinner tonight and they turned out amazing. Thank you for the great recipe!
I love using cast iron for cooking. Great for indoors and using the bbq too. This chicken recipe will be a hit with the family for dinner any night of the week.