Asian Baked Boneless Chicken Thighs with garlic and sesame oil are incredibly flavorful, loaded with sweet and sour and umami flavors. These tender yet crispy boneless chicken thighs are easy to prepare and are a perfect meal prep recipe.
If you’re a fan of Asian food, all things teriyaki, sweet and sour sticky chicken, and/or garlic is your jam, these Asian Baked Boneless Chicken Thighs are right up your alley!
They are so easy to prepare, turn out nice and tender, and contain all the flavors of the rainbow.
Tangy, sweet, sour, umami, with the tiniest kick, these tender chicken thighs are just so palate-pleasing!
Just like my Baked Teriyaki Chicken Thighs recipe, all we do to make this easy baked chicken thighs recipe is to marinate the chicken in our delicious chicken marinade, then bake!
Let’s dive into the ingredients for this easy recipe!
Ingredients for Asian Boneless Chicken Thighs:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs: The star of the show here! Pick up 2 ½ to 3 pounds of boneless skinless thighs from the store. Skinless boneless chicken thighs are one of those goof-proof ingredients, as they have decent fat content to keep them nice and tender, they cook very quickly, and you still get a golden crust, even without skin.
Plus, there are so many different ways you can prepare boneless thighs. Chicken Adobo, Honey garlic chicken thighs or bbq sauce, anyone? Dark meat contains so much rich flavor that it doesn’t need a huge amount of doctoring to make it taste great, but trust me, you’re going to love this marinade for all types of animal protein!
You can also use bone-in chicken thighs or boneless chicken breasts if you prefer them! You will need to bake bone-in thighs or chicken breasts slightly longer, but you’ll end up with tender, amazing, best results.
Avocado Oil & Sesame Oil: Avocado oil and a touch of sesame oil add richness of flavor to the chicken marinade. Because sesame oil has a very potent flavor, you don’t need very much. If you love sesame oil, you can ramp up the amount if you’d like.
Fish Sauce: While fish sauce may seem intimidating if you’ve never tried it, it adds to the richness, salt content, and umami flavors of the dish. It is customarily used in many Asian dishes, so I recommend picking some up if you enjoy cooking Asian food at home. It doesn’t take very much to add a great deal of flavor, so do be sure to measure it!
Fresh Garlic: Loads of garlic bring so much flavor to these tasty baked boneless chicken thighs! If you love garlic, feel free to increase the amount, or you can replace it with 1 tablespoon of garlic granules or garlic powder.
Pure Maple Syrup: A small amount of pure maple syrup brings a lovely sweetness and stickiness to the marinade, which brings that iconic teriyaki flavor to these thighs. You can replace the pure maple syrup with brown sugar if you’d like.
Coconut Aminos (or Liquid Aminos): In case you aren’t familiar with coconut aminos, it is used as a soy-free replacement for soy sauce. If you do cook with soy, feel free to swap the coconut aminos with liquid aminos or soy sauce. If you make this switch, don’t add salt to the marinade, because both fish sauce and soy sauce have a great deal of sodium.
Sriracha (optional): A little sriracha adds just the slightest kick. The way I have the recipe written, the chicken is not spicy. Nevertheless, if you prefer very mild food, omit the sriracha. On the flipside, if you love spicy food, increase the amount of sriracha to your personal taste.
Rice Vinegar: Rice vinegar adds that sour tang that is so delicious in Asian-style foods. You can also use cider vinegar or lime juice if you prefer.
Sea Salt: Because fish sauce and coconut aminos (or soy sauce) contain a decent amount of salt, you don’t need a huge amount of additional kosher salt. If you prefer your food less salty, don’t add the salt to the marinade and instead salt the chicken after it has finished baking if you feel it needs some. Also feel free to add black pepper or cayenne pepper to taste.
Now that we’ve covered the ingredients for these juicy chicken thighs, let’s make them!
How to Make Asian Boneless Baked Chicken Thighs:
Add all of the ingredients for the marinade (everything but the chicken) to a small bowl and whisk until well-combined.
Place chicken thighs in a zip lock bag or a small container along with the marinade, seal it, and slosh it around until the chicken is coated in marinade. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, ideally several hours (up to 24 hours).
When you’re ready to bake the chicken, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Transfer the chicken thighs, including the marinade to a large casserole dish.
Bake the chicken thighs on one of the rack that’s close to the heat element (I do 3rd rack from the top) for 20 minutes, or until it is fully cooked and reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
The best way to make sure the chicken is fully cooked, and to avoid over cooking it, use a meat thermometer to test the internal temperature of the chicken.
If you’d like the chicken to have the glazed, caramelized effect, remove the chicken from the oven then baste it using the drippings in the pan with a spoon (or baster if you have one).
Place the chicken back in the oven and change it to the High Broil setting. Broil for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the chicken is deeply golden-brown. If you’re using bone-in thighs, the cooking time will be slightly longer in order to get crispy skin.
Serve the baked chicken thighs with your favorite side dishes, and enjoy!
Store any leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
How Long To Bake Boneless Chicken Thighs?:
At 425 degrees Fahrenheit, it will take about 20 minutes to bake boneless skinless chicken thighs.
The best way of ensuring the chicken is not overcooked or undercooked is by inserting a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh to read the temperature.
Chicken is considered fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
How to Get Crispy Chicken Skinless Thighs:
While boneless skinless chicken thighs don’t have skin to get that yummy crisp, they can still turn out crispy!
To do so, use the High Broil setting on your oven to broil them for 3 to 8 minutes, or until they are crispy. Be sure to place them on a shelf that is near the top, but not all the way at the top. I go with the third shelf down.
Keep a close watch on the thighs, as the high broil setting is very hot and it is easy for food to burn when left unattended.
And that’s it! Everything you need to know about making mouth-watering delicious oven baked boneless chicken thighs!
If you love cooking in your air fryer, make my Crispy Air Fryer Asian Chicken Thighs!
What to Serve with Chicken Thighs:
Here are my top recommendations for side dishes to make alongside these Asian Baked Boneless Chicken Thighs.
- Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Garlic and Lemon
- Vegetable Fried Rice
- Garlic Herb Roasted Vegetables
- Mayo-Free Coleslaw
- Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower
- Easy Asian Cucumber Salad
Make these dreamy thighs on repeat!
Asian Baked Boneless Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 2.5 to 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs 8 thighs
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut aminos*
- 2 tsp sriracha optional
- 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
- ¼ tsp sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients for the marinade (everything but the chicken) to a small bowl and whisk until well-combined.
- Place chicken thighs in a zip lock bag or a small container along with the marinade, seal it, and slosh it around until the chicken is coated in marinade.
- Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, ideally several hours (up to 24 hours).
- When you’re ready to bake the chicken, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Transfer the chicken thighs, including the marinade to a large casserole dish. Bake the chicken thighs on one of the rack that’s close to the heat element (I do 3rd rack from the top) for 20 minutes, or until it is fully cooked and reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. The best way to make sure the chicken is fully cooked, and to avoid over cooking it, use a meat thermometer to test the internal temperature of the chicken.
- If you’d like the chicken to have the glazed, caramelized effect, remove the chicken from the oven then baste it using the drippings in the pan with a spoon (or baster if you have one).
- Place the chicken back in the oven and change it to the High Broil setting. Broil for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the chicken is deeply golden-brown. If you're using bone-in thighs, the cooking time will be slightly longer in order to get crispy skin.
- Serve the baked chicken thighs with your favorite side dishes, and enjoy! Store any leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Why don’t the pictures print with the recipe any longer? They used to print with the recipe.
Hi Cathy! My apologies for that! I have the recipes to print without photos because I’ve been adding photos of each step within the recipe cards. I figured the majority of individuals wouldn’t want all of those photos to print. Hopefully there will be an update to the recipe card setting that will allow the main photo to print, without the step-by-step photos printing. xo
@Julia, it used to always just print the main photo with the recipe. Then recently it stopped printing that main photo. With other chefs that use your same program it seems to be working fine with just printing the main photo. It’s just with your website that I have that problem.
How many pounds of chicken thighs is this enough sauce for?
My apologies! I use 2.5 to 3 pounds of chicken, which is about 8 chicken thighs. Hope you love the recipe! xoxo
Is chicken needed? 8 thighs?
My apologies! Yes, that’s correct – about 2.5 to 3 pounds, or 8 chicken thighs 🙂
Found it in the text, just not in the printed recipe. 2.5 to 3 pounds.
These look delish! Can’t wait to try them. BTW, who makes the dish in the pictures?
Hi Lynn! The roasting dish is made by Swiss Diamond. You can find it here!: https://amzn.to/36wDHOq
@Julia, Thank you! I love Swiss Diamond pots & pans.
Me too! They’re just the best!
Just made this with boneless, skinless breasts – absolutely delicious! Family said it’s a “Make Again”?
I’m so happy to hear that! I haven’t tried the recipe using breasts yet, so it’s so great to know it turns out well. Appreciate the feedback! xoxo
If using coconut aminos, how much sodium per serving?
I just tried this and used soy sauce with brown sugar instead of aminos and maple syrup, and it tastes fantastic! Thank you for this versatile recipe, the marriage of acids and umami really elevated the chicken, especially with a little squeeze of lime just before serving. Adding this to my list of favourites!
I’m so thrilled you enjoy it! Thanks so much for reporting back with your changes! xo
This looks delicious. I can so see me trying this with thighs or chicken wings. Now I know what’s for dinner! Yummy!
So happy you like the thought of the recipe! Hope you enjoy!
I love this recipe. I did substitute part of the maple syrup with erythitol but still used a 1/4 tsp. I also added 2 tbs of korean red pepper flake (sirracha too). I added the entire contents of the bag to a 12in skillet. Ate this with brown rice. It is the only way to bake chicken. Yum!
So thrilled you enjoy it, Stephen! Thanks so much for sharing!
Tried it with skinless boned chicken thighs. Very flavorful, very tender and super easy if you have everything in stock. Will go in my GO TO file.
Aww I love that! Thanks so much for sharing your experience! xo
Does green onions go in the marinade or as a garnish?
Hi RJ! I just use green onions to garnish the chicken 🙂