30-Minute Baked Boneless Chicken Thighs
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These baked boneless chicken thighs are the kind of dinner that gets people wandering into the kitchen asking, ‘What smells so good?’ They come out juicy and full of flavor, thanks to a quick pantry marinade made with Dijon mustard and tomato paste, and they’re topped with crispy, golden shallots. It’s a simple, one-pan recipe that delivers big flavor in about 30 minutes.
Baked chicken thighs are my latest go-to chicken dish to make on weeknights. This recipe pairs the juicy poultry with a crazy-simple pantry sauce-marinade combo mixed with Dijon mustard, tomato paste and sliced shallots that cook into caramelized sweetness.
What readers are saying:
“This recipe was amazing! My husband and I absolutely loved it! The tanginess of the mustard and lemon were simply out of this world.”
Key ingredient notes
This recipe is quick — less than 35 minutes start to finish. There’s no need to marinate the chicken before cooking, but if you have time to let them sit overnight or a few hours during the day you’ll get maximum flavor and convenience.
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs: Here are my thoughts on chicken thighs: You gotta love how versatile they are. Boneless, skinless thighs have absolutely become a weekly staple in our house — they’re so much tastier than white chicken breast meat. Especially in this recipe, they stand up to bright flavors and oven-baking without drying out.
- Marinade: I honestly came up with this magical mixture on the fly one night — I was testing recipes in an Airbnb kitchen, using what was in the minimally stocked pantry cupboard. I grabbed Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and tomato paste and mixed it into a sauce with lemon juice and garlic. It tastes tangy and zesty, and couldn’t be easier.
- Shallots and thyme: I love the flavor of shallots and fresh thyme in this dish because it gives the dish a slightly elevated Frenchy feel. You can substitute with red onion and fresh rosemary, dried thyme or herbs de Provence for equally good results.
Recipe steps
1. Grab a medium-sized baking dish just large enough to snugly hold 6-8 chicken thighs. A 2-3 quart capacity dish or pan is ideal. Arrange the chicken thighs in the pan. 2. Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Scrape the sauce over the chicken thighs.
3. Toss the chicken with tongs so that the pieces are evenly coated. 4. Distribute the sliced shallots over the chicken, tucking them in here and there. You can bake the chicken immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours ahead. 
5. Bake the chicken thighs 20-25 minutes at 425 degrees. While while they’re in the oven, you can make these fresh green beans with almonds to serve with it.
30-Minute Baked Boneless Chicken Thighs
Equipment
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 1½ – 1¾ pounds (680 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs (6-8 pieces)
- ¾ cup (120 g) sliced shallots (about 2 medium)
Dijon marinade
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) chopped fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon crushed red chili pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Put the chicken in a medium (about 3-quart capacity) baking dish. If your pan/dish is not nonstick, spray it with cooking spray or line with a sheet of aluminum foil for easier clean-up. Note: Your goal is for the chicken and shallots to roast in the oven while making a delicious pan sauce at the same time. If your pan is too large the juices will evaporate.
Mix the marinade
- Whisk together the mustard, tomato paste, lemon juice, olive oil, thyme, garlic, salt, pepper, and chili in a medium bowl.
Assemble and bake the chicken
- Pour the marinade over the chicken and turn the pieces over to coat. Scatter the shallots over the chicken, poking them in between the thighs here and there. Some of the unexposed shallots will crisp and brown, while the covered pieces will bake and soften.
- You can bake the chicken immediately or cover and refrigerate the chicken and marinade up to 24 hours ahead.
- Bake the chicken uncovered 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is opaque and the juices are bubbling. Serve warm.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- Make ahead: Marinate the chicken overnight in the mustard mixture and simply pop in the oven when you’re ready to cook dinner.
- Freeze the unbaked chicken in a freezer-safe bag. Thaw overnight in the fridge and bake.
- Substitute fresh thyme with another fresh aromatic herb like rosemary or oregano. Dried herbs will work too, just reduce the amount by half.
- Optional: Add 1 cup of cherry tomatoes to the baking dish with the marinated chicken — they will burst and release their juice into the sauce.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
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So easy, very delicious. I never even used the shallots (I forgot). I did use tomato paste in the tube – no waste of an entire can of paste that tends to get dried up or moldy in the fridge. I served it with roasted cauliflower and mini potatoes.
Agree that tomato paste in a tube is the way to go! Glad you enjoyed it.
This is excellent but it’s pretty robust. Wondering what you would think of adding white wine and heavy cream to soften it.
Hey Laura – Yes, you can modify the sauce. Try stirring 2 tablespoons of white wine in with the marinade and bake according to the recipe. Add up to 1/4 cup of heavy cream to the finished sauce. I think it will taste wonderful!
So easy and delicious. The family loved it! Thanks for making my dinner rotation more interesting.
A nice chicken dish with a lot of flavor, well balanced, robust, moist. Very good. We served it with a fresh garden salad with homemade ranch dressing and fresh corn on the cob. For those who wanted noodles, we had an artisan bucatini to make a bed upon. Our wine was a tasty red blend, Pure Paso by J. Lohr. Made me realize that mustard marinades are not my favorite. Will recommend to people who do like that. Because, although too mustardy for me, it was a great dish!
Made exactly as directed and it was fantastic! I was looking for an easy recipe for boneless skinless chicken thighs that wouldn’t be dry or hard to make. So glad I found your site!
Just delicious! One of the best marinades we’ve had! And it made our house smell wonderful. Thanks!
We enjoyed this very much. It was a little watery tho. Could I possibly use chicken breast with this?
Hi Maggie – Try using a slightly larger pan next time — that will help reduce the pan juices a bit. Yes, you can bake chicken breasts with this recipe. Reduce the time to 15-20 minutes to be sure they don’t dry out.
Thank you for the help. I assume I use boneless breast but, how small do I cut the too cook in 15-20 minutes? Can’t wait to try it with the white meat. Hum maybe I’ll give it a try with country style ribs too! The sauce was very good. Thank you.
Slice each breast in half horizontally. I hope you enjoy!
I had 3lbs of thighs and needed to increase the marinade so it would cover the entire top of the dish. Marinated 6 1/2 hrs. 5 stars is just about right! haha The flavors just went nuts and we all said lets do this again soon!
This is honestly my go to marinade. I bake or grill the chicken and sometimes leave it to marinate 2 days in the fridge. I never would’ve thought this combination would be so good.
This was so good! Made exactly as written and it was amazing. Full of flavor, but light. Had with a side of roasted carrots and brussels sprouts. Would be great with a side of mashed potatoes or cauliflower to soak up the yummy sauce. Thanks for posting this recipe! I will make again and again.
I made this tonight since I had to use up my chicken thighs! I subbed the herbs for Italian seasoning and used yellow onions instead of shallots! It was delicious!
This is one of our favorite go-to, weeknight recipes. It’s very tasty and uses ingredients we always have in the pantry. Highly recommend.
I don’t have any lemon, fruit, juice, vinegar or honey.. what can I use to substitute? I’m cooking it tonight.
Hi Debra, I’m not sure there’s a good substitute if you don’t have lemon, lime or vinegar. If you have dry white wine that could work well. Otherwise, add in an equal amount of chicken broth or water to loosen the marinade before baking.
What can I use instead of lemon. I have no fruit, or juice, or vinegar or honey. Thankyou
This marinade is so darn good! I too would like to make it into soup! I was licking the plate! Next time , I think I would marinate overnight to get more flavor into the chicken itself. Nevertheless,,this was quite tasty and I can’t wait to make it again! Thank you much!
Delicious! My husband, who says he does not like dark meat, was none the wiser!
This is a delicious recipe.. I used salsa in place of tomato paste… I didn’t have a tomato in sight aside from the salsa … Its a keeper.. so much so I would even use this recipe in a soup Its that good!..I’m not a left over person but I would eat this till it’s gone! I’m glad I ran across it! Thank you
Is this for 6 servings?
Yes, it serves 4-6 people. If you have hearty eaters, double the sauce and use 2-3 pounds chicken.
Thank you for the response! It was absolutely delicious!
I just made this and loved it! Super easy. No marinating time. I had everything on hand except for shallots, which I subbed with onions. Thanks for sharing! I will make this again!
I made this today, the only thing I changed is I used a small 8oz can of tomato sauce because I didn’t have paste. I marinated it for 24hrs and stirred it about 5 times and it was fork tender to cut and a great taste. I would have loved to post pictures here as I do on my FB and show my friends this.
Hi Gregory – Sounds like you made a great call substituting tomato sauce! If you’d like to share a photo on Facebook, tag @familystylefood