Crispy Honey Buffalo Chicken Thighs
If you’re looking for a fun new chicken recipe, I’ve got you covered with these crispy honey buffalo chicken thighs. These are the perfect way to satisfy your craving for slightly sweet and spicy, and they feature perfectly crispy skin and only FIVE ingredients! They’re budget-friendly, gluten-free, and low-carb.
First, let’s talk about the crispy skin.
I’m a huge fan of crispy chicken skin. Whether with oven BBQ chicken or whole roast chicken, I always try my hardest to achieve a cracker-like crispy outside and a juicy inside. First of all, it tastes amazing. Second of all, buying bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces will save you a lot of money, and almost always ensures perfectly cooked, juicy meat with less risk of overcooking (especially with dark meat, like these thighs).
For this recipe, I first seared the chicken in a stainless steel skillet skin side down in order to crisp it up. Then I finished it in the oven, adding hot sauce and honey at the end and spooning it intermittently over the chicken to create a sweet and spicy glaze.
I don’t want to brag or anything… but I’m going to. This has to be some of the most delicious chicken I’ve ever made. I can’t wait to make it again!
Perhaps my favorite thing about this recipe is that it only uses five ingredients, not including salt and pepper: chicken, hot sauce, honey, olive oil, and butter. The olive oil combined with the butter helps the skin of the chicken sear and crisp up perfectly. With only one tablespoon of honey and two tablespoons of hot sauce in the whole dish, it’s not SUPER sweet or SUPER spicy. It’s just right.
Most people in this world crave things like chocolate or ice cream. Not me. Well, I mean… yes, I do. But more often than not, when I have a strong craving, it’s for something buffalo flavored. If you are like me, I’ll point you in the directions of this buffalo mushroom naan pizza and these scratch-made buffalo chicken fingers.
You can cook these in any oven-proof skillet, like cast iron or stainless steel. I preferred stainless steel for this recipe, since you have to transport it in and out of the oven a few times and it’s a bit lighter and easier to maneuver. I have Calphalon Tri-Ply skillets and I LOVE them. They are heavy enough to cook food evenly and food cooks perfectly in them. If you are looking for some new cookware, I highly recommend these!
For extra credit, sprinkle the top of these chicken thighs with bleu cheese crumbles. I did that only after I took photographs, which is why it’s not pictured.
Other chicken and pan sauce recipes
- 20-Minute Honey Mustard Chicken
- Chicken Piccata with Lemon Butter Caper Sauce
- Creamy Chicken and Mushrooms
Other Buffalo recipes
- Buffalo Mushroom Naan Pizza
- Buffalo Chicken Fingers
- Buffalo Chicken Tacos
- Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells
- Buffalo Cauliflower “Wings”
Printable recipe for crispy honey buffalo chicken thighs below!
Crispy Honey Buffalo Chicken Thighs
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Equipment
- Oven-Safe Skillet
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce such as Frank's
- 2 tablespoons honey
- chopped fresh cilantro and/or bleu cheese crumbles for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Season the chicken on both sides with plenty of salt and pepper.
- Melt the butter (1 tablesoon) and olive oil (1 tablespoon) together over medium-high heat in an oven-proof cast iron or stainless steel skillet.
- Once the skillet is hot, add the chicken thighs skin side down. Leave them for five minutes.
- Remove skillet from heat and flip chicken to skin side up. The chicken should release from the bottom of the skillet easily and the skin should be crispy and seared- if they do not, let them sit for a couple more minutes.
- Roast in the oven at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and place chicken on a plate temporarily. Whisk in the hot sauce (2 tablespoons) and honey (2 tablespoons) to the drippings in the skillet. Add the chicken back into the skillet skin side up and spoon the sauce over each thigh by tilting the skillet.
- Roast for another 5 minutes, remove skillet, tilt it to the side, and spoon sauce over each thigh.
- Repeat this two more times, until the chicken has roasted for a total of 35 minutes (or is cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees).
- Serve drizzled with extra sauce.
Notes
- For a dairy free/paleo version, substitute the butter with ghee or olive oil.
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The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Delicious—made this several times now
So happy you liked it!
It’s the only chicken my very picky granddaughter will eat. Awesome flavor—easy to cook. A definite keeper.
So glad you and your granddaughter like it!
What do you recommend serving this with? Thanks in advance!
Something to make sure you get all the delicious sauce! Like mashed potatoes or rice :-)
Thanks so much can’t wait to try!
Made this for dinner last night and my husband and I loved it!
So glad you both liked it! Thanks for the comment :-)
I love this recipe !! Have made it numerous times.. so yummy!
So glad you like it!