Ingredients
Scale
For the Chicken
- 6 bone-in chicken thighs, skin on (or off, your choice)
- 1 pinch salt, to season
- 1 pinch cracked black pepper, to season
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme (or your preferred dried herbs)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
For the Lemon Garlic Sauce
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed (or 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic)
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
For the Asparagus
- 2 to 3 bunches fresh asparagus (about 24 spears), woody ends snapped off
Instructions
- Pat the chicken thighs completely dry with paper towels. Season both sides generously with salt, cracked pepper, and dried thyme.
- Heat the olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Place the chicken thighs skin-side down in the skillet. Sear without moving them for 8 to 10 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and releases easily from the pan.
- Flip the thighs and sear the other side for 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the butter and let it melt, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the crushed garlic and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until fragrant but not browned.
- Pour in the fresh lemon juice and add the lemon slices and fresh thyme sprigs. Stir everything together and let the sauce simmer for 2 minutes.
- Return the chicken thighs to the skillet, skin-side up, nestling them into the sauce.
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C) if you haven’t already. Tuck the asparagus spears around the chicken in a single layer.
- Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) and the asparagus is tender with slightly caramelized tips.
- Remove from the oven and spoon the pan sauce over the chicken before serving. Garnish with extra lemon slices if you like.
Notes
- Bone-in, skin-on thighs give you the juiciest result and the best crispy skin, but boneless skinless thighs work too. Just reduce the baking time by about 8 minutes and check the internal temperature earlier.
- Fresh lemon juice makes a noticeable difference here. Bottled lemon juice tends to taste a little flat in a sauce this simple.
- If your skillet isn’t oven-safe, transfer everything to a baking dish before the oven step. Just pour all the sauce over the chicken and asparagus before it goes in.
- Make-ahead option: You can sear the chicken and prepare the sauce up to a day ahead. Store separately, then assemble in the skillet and bake when ready.
- For a complete meal, serve with crusty bread, rice, or mashed potatoes to soak up the extra sauce.
- This recipe doubles well. Use a large roasting pan if you’re scaling up, as everything won’t fit in a single skillet.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mediterranean-inspired
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 chicken thigh with asparagus
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 420 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 6 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 32 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg