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creamy lemon chicken thighs

Creamy Lemon Chicken Thighs

Perfect for pleasing a crowd, these creamy lemon chicken thighs are simple to make, surprisingly impressive, and unbelievably tasty.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Main Course
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 3-4 lb bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 8 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 1/2 cup creme fraiche
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper

For garnish

  • fresh thyme sprigs
  • 1 lemon, thinly sliced

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400.
  • Place chicken thighs on a sheet pan skin side up and dry with paper towels. Rub with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Bake until golden and cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes.
  • While the chicken cooks, make the sauce. In a large oven safe skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Add onions, leeks and garlic and saute until softened, 5-7 minutes. Add chicken stock, white wine, lemon juice, zest and thyme sprigs and simmer for 5 minutes. Whisk in creme fraiche and season with salt and pepper as needed.
  • Nestle the chicken thighs into the sauce in the pan. Top with fresh lemon slices and a few more sprigs of time and bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Alternately, if doubling or tripling the recipe for a large crowd, you can move the pre-roasted chicken thighs to a large casserole dish, top with the sauce and bake.