This Italian herb chicken is packed with flavor, so juicy and perfect for an easy weeknight dinner! Made with mostly pantry staples, it comes together so quickly in your skillet in about 20 minutes.
Sometimes we just need a quick and easy meal don't we? But let's not skimp on flavor! These Italian herb chicken thighs make the most of delicious herbs and seasoning, and then come together so quickly in your skillet. It's a low carb, high protein dish that works equally well with hot or cold sides.
If you've had a peek at my chicken recipes page, you'll know that easy skillet chicken recipes are such a go-to in my home. Why not check out my turmeric chicken thighs, creamy sage chicken, ricotta stuffed chicken breast and my brown butter and sage chicken for another tasty meal!
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⭐ Why this recipe is so good
Flavorful Italian seasoning. The combination of herbs with a touch of garlic is such a simple but delicious way to add flavor.
Juicy chicken thighs skillet recipe. We simply sear the chicken in the skillet then cook up tender and juicy chicken - and no need to turn the oven on!
Pantry staples. This Italian herb chicken recipe uses minimal ingredients that most of us already have to hand.
🌿 What is Italian seasoning?
I've had a look in my pantry as I have quite a few herb 'mixes', including two different Italian herb seasonings, and they do contain slightly different variations of herbs.
In the recipe card below, I use a homemade Italian herb chicken marinade (or rub - depending on how much time you have!), which includes delicious oregano, thyme, sage, basil, parsley and marjoram. I love being able to adjust to taste preference by making my own seasoning, but of course you can use a pre-done Italian seasoning mix from the store if you prefer!
Check out my post on Italian seasoning substitutes for more ideas if you're out!
📖 Swaps and variations
Swap chicken thighs for chicken breasts. Both can easily be used in this recipe, just reduce the cook time a little if using chicken breasts that you have sliced into smaller fillets.
Use ready-done Italian herb seasoning or make your own! There's a suggested recipe in the card below, but you can easily adjust if you love a particular herb or are out of another.
🐓 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Some pointers on a few of them:
- Chicken thighs - I use boneless skinless chicken thighs in this recipe. If using bone-in chicken thighs they will likely need a longer cook time.
- Apple juice - this helps to tenderise the chicken a little and make it extra juicy.
🔪 Step by step instructions
Making this Italian herb chicken is very simple, with just a few steps.
The recipe below uses an Italian rub for the chicken, where we season and cook quickly, but you can also marinate the chicken in the seasoning if you like!
Step 1
Season the chicken. Add the mix of Italian herbs to a bowl with the chicken thighs, olive oil and apple juice. Use your hands to rub the seasoning over the chicken thighs (image 1).
Optional: if you wish, cover the chicken and leave to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes, up to 2 hours.
Step 2
Cook the chicken. Drizzle olive oil in your skillet and bring to a medium heat. Use tongs to place the chicken thighs rounded-side down (image 2).
Fry the chicken for 6-8 minutes each side, or until the thighs reach an internal temperature of 165F at their deepest point using a meat thermometer.
Leave the chicken thighs to rest for 5-10 minutes, then serve with sides of your choice!
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- Adjust the amount of Italian herb seasoning to taste preference. Love a particular herb? You can easily add a touch more!
- Cook time will vary slightly depending upon the size of the chicken thighs and the heat of the skillet.
- You may need to cook in batches if your skillet is smaller, or the chicken thighs are larger in size.
📋 Frequently asked questions
Of course! The recipe below is a guide. Most Italian seasoning mixes prioritise oregano, and some include rosemary. Adjust to the herbs you enjoy.
Yes, it's easy to change up the cooking method and make this a herb grilled chicken recipe for a fun BBQ!
It's best to use a meat thermometer and check for an internal temperature of 165F at the deepest point of the chicken.
Yes, it's a gluten free recipe, as well as being dairy-free and a low histamine chicken recipe. Looking for more ideas? Have a peek at my low histamine recipes collection as well as my low histamine chicken recipes round-up!
🍽 Suggestions for Italian herb chicken sides
- Serve with hot vegetable sides such as broccoli and cauliflower, steamed bok choy or perhaps roasted carrots, zucchini or fennel.
- Mash is always a good idea! My potato cauliflower mash is more traditional, but my cheesy cauliflower mash is perfect for a lower carb option.
- For a summer lunch or dinner, light and fresh salads such as my mango cucumber and mint salad, apple kale slaw and cucumber beet salad are all delicious!
🥣 More tasty chicken recipes
Find lots of delicious ideas on my chicken recipes page, including my popular pan fried rosemary chicken, chicken with blueberry sauce and my paprika chicken recipe. Some recent recipes to enjoy:
I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And I love to hear from you - so please do leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐ and comment if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Italian Herb Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs or chicken breast fillets
- 1 tablespoon olive oil + more for frying
- 2 tablespoon apple juice
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon dried sage
- ¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Combine the olive oil, apple juice, Italian herbs, bay leaf and garlic powder in a bowl or tupperware container. Add the chicken thighs and stir well to coat in the herb seasoning.
- Optional: place in the fridge and marinate the chicken for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
- Drizzle olive oil in your skillet and bring to a medium heat. Use tongs to place the chicken thighs in the skillet rounded side down. Fry the chicken thighs for 6-8 minutes, then flip, and cook for a further 6-8 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature reading of 165F using a meat thermometer.
- Allow the chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes, then serve with sides of your choice.
Notes
- Adjust the amount of Italian herb seasoning to taste preference. Love a particular herb? You can easily add a touch more!
- Cook time will vary slightly depending upon the size of the chicken thighs and the heat of the skillet.
- You may need to cook in batches if your skillet is smaller, or the chicken thighs are larger in size.
- Nutritional information is auto-generated and should be considered to be an estimate.
- garlic, which scores 1.
- marjoram is not listed.
- bay leaf (bay laurel) simply has a ?, but has a note, 'small amounts are well tolerated, for larger quantities lack of experience'.
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