Oven Baked Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

Best baked teriyaki chicken thighs recipe ever! Like our air fryer chicken teriyaki but left whole. Perfectly broiled in just 16 minutes to the juiciest most tender pieces of dark meat. Bone in or boneless skinless are fabulous.

Baked teriyaki chicken thighs are quite simple, but oh so good. Use bottled or homemade if you like, both come out fabulous and tender every time. Just one quick and easy chicken recipe on the blog.

Everyone has their go to sauce I guess. I grew up in Hawaii so this is mine. The sweetness is expected but you can definitely make it a bit spicy if you desire too. All five of us gravitate toward these flavors and my kids cheer every time I make this or my or teriyaki chicken legs recipe too. It all starts with this simple, inexpensive dark meat. I think they’re way better than breasts.

How Long to Bake Chicken Teriyaki

Now this depends slightly on their thickness but about 15 minutes works well for us most of the time. You don’t want to bake too long or they will dry out, too little and it won’t reach a safe 165F internal temperature so this seems just right for us.

Why do I love quick chicken thigh recipes? Well it really did take me quite a number of years to give them a real shot in the kitchen. It isn’t something my mother bought regularly so I guess I wasn’t familiar.

White meat was always what was cooked but one day these were just too cheap to pass up so I grabbed a package. I was hooked when I made Instant Pot crack chicken pasta with them. I never went back.

How long should you marinate chicken thighs?

You want to give it a good hour inside a bag with homemade teriyaki sauce, a bit longer is better. If you ask me 2-3 is best but they could sit in the fridge covered in sauce for up to 4. Never leave poultry out on the counter to reach room temperature, keep it cool.

I do this leaving it plain, or even with our Instant Pot teriyaki chicken and rice recipe.

Can You Bake Frozen Chicken Teriyaki?

Not really unless it is already made and meant to be cooked right out of the freezer. You can’t really marinate meat that is rock hard unfortunately. Your best bet is to defrost in the fridge overnight, drain the bag of liquid, add this sauce here and then continue on with directions below.

My package of 1.25 lbs. had 5 boneless skinless chicken thighs inside, enough for 3 of us served with Ninja Foodi rice. They fit snugly inside a pint freezer bag nicely without a lot of excess room.

You could easily double or triple the amount if necessary. As long as they all fit on one sheet pan without overlapping the cook time won’t change at all. Ingredients you will need are:

1. Defrosted or fresh chicken thighs, I used boneless and skinless as that is my preference. If you use bone-in the timing may take a bit longer.
   1. Make sure to always check meat internal temperature before consuming.
2. Bottled teriyaki sauce I love is here or you can make your own, ingredients for that listed below.

Then use foil and non stick spray on your baking sheet for easier cleanup.

Teriyaki Chicken Thighs Recipe using Bottled Sauce

For a faster cook prep and cook time you can use the same bottled veri veri teriyaki which soaks up as fast as 30 minutes and enjoy as directed below. Needing a quicker cook time, then refer to the air fryer teriyaki thighs or marinated chicken in air fryer recipe times.

Baked Chicken Thighs with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

If you want to make a slightly spicy but sweet sauce at home mix the following items together and use that instead.

1. Half cup chicken broth
2. 1/2 c. soy sauce
3. 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
4. 4 Tbsp. brown sugar
5. 2-4 Tbsp. Sriracha, more or less depending on how hot you like it
6. To thicken combine cornstarch cold (1 Tbsp.) and whisk until smooth

Just whisk in a bowl or small saucepan together. Either one you choose to use the instructions remain the same;

Broiled Boneless Chicken Thighs

Yes we use the broil setting to make these! Reason why this works the best is that it is a really high heat which caramelizes the sauce on the outside, gets it a bit crisp but keeps the middle tender and super moist at the same time.

I do like to make sure that the foil is non stick or I spray olive oil on it or else the stickiness of the sauce will make it stick and that is no fun.

Should you bake chicken covered or uncovered?

It depends but in this case thighs don’t take long at all so I suggest that you do not cover the top. The main goodness of how these are done is that you want them to get nicely browned on the top when you broil so anything on top will impede that from happening.

What is good with teriyaki chicken?

I always tend to serve it with some Instant Pot brown rice, air fryer frozen tater tots and/or air fryer roasted vegetables. It is overall a very healthy meal this way full of flavor.

Looking for other great weeknight meals? Save any of the remaining sauce you may have in the bottle or you made and make this with chicken breasts flattened like chicken cutlets in air fryer.

How to Save Leftovers

If you have any leftovers allow them to reach room temperature and store in a baggie in the fridge. Reheating chicken in air fryer is the best but make sure you add more sauce to the top so it stays nice and moist. Now if you have a forgetful moment and forgot to defrost, follow our frozen chicken thighs in air fryer timing.