Ingredients
For the chicken & marinade:
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ½ cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup bottled lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic or 2 cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- Kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoons avocado oil for searing
For the lemon garlic sauce:
- 1 cup reserved marinade
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ cup cold water
- 1 cup chicken broth to thin as needed
Don't Want to Plan? I Got You.Every Saturday I share a full week of dinners, sides, and a dessert — with the grocery list already done. Come grab this week's Weekly Meal Plans!Equipment
SENSARTE Saute Pan This quickly became one of my favorite pans. It's the one I use in the video (and almost every video). Check it out!
Pyrex Measuring Cups Also one of my favorites -- they are part of my kitchen essentials. Once I tried the Pyrex Measuring Cups, I never went back!
Kitchen Tongs Nothing fancy -- but certainly important! Good tongs give you the control you need when turning the pieces of chicken.
Method Start Cooking
- Make the marinade: In a medium bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, Dijon mustard, oregano, thyme, and a good amount of salt and pepper.
- Marinate: Place the chicken thighs in a gallon zip-top bag or large bowl and pour the marinade over top. Seal well, pressing out the air, and turn to coat. Marinate at least 2 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Drain the chicken, reserving 1 cup of the marinade for the sauce.
- Sear: Heat the avocado oil in a cast iron skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches so you don't crowd the pan, sear the thighs about 4–5 minutes per side, until golden brown on both sides. They won't be cooked through yet — that happens in the sauce.
- Hold in the oven: As each batch finishes searing, transfer the thighs to an oven-safe pan and place in a 350°F oven to stay warm and keep cooking while you make the sauce.
- Boil the marinade: Pour the reserved 1 cup of marinade into the skillet with the pan drippings and bring to a strong, rolling boil. This step matters — the marinade was in contact with raw chicken, so it must reach a full boil.
- Thicken the sauce: Stir the cornstarch into the cold water to make a slurry. Whisk the slurry into the boiling marinade and cook until the sauce thickens. If it gets too thick, thin it with up to 1 cup of chicken broth, a little at a time, until it's the consistency you like. Taste and add a little more bouillon or broth if it needs more flavor.
- Braise: Reduce the heat to medium-low. Return the thighs and any juices to the pan and spoon the sauce over the top. Cover and let them braise 10–15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Serve: Serve the thighs and that thick lemon garlic sauce over a bed of lemon herb rice.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
This one was a bit of a learning curve as I filmed it! I sear the thighs first, then let them finish cooking in a thick lemon garlic sauce so they stay juicy and cook all the way through. Next time I might skip the oven hold and just let them cook low and slow right in the sauce from the start — but I promise you will not regret this gravy.
A quick food-safety note: always bring the reserved marinade to a full rolling boil before it becomes your sauce, since it was in contact with raw chicken.
Serving suggestions: This is so good over lemon herb rice, with roasted carrots and broccoli on the side to round out the plate. It's Mediterranean-diet friendly, too.
Feeding a crowd? This doubles beautifully — I made 12 thighs in the video. Just expect a little longer cooking time when you're working in bigger batches.
Don't crowd the pan when you sear — work in batches so the thighs brown instead of steam. A cast iron skillet or grill pan gives you the best sear, but any heavy, oven-safe skillet will do the job. For the sauce to thicken properly, the cornstarch slurry needs to go into liquid that's actively boiling. Stir constantly and give it a minute to come back up to a boil.
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