Salsa Braised Chicken Thighs
ELooking for a quick and easy chicken recipe that doesn’t require a pile of dishes or a long list of ingredients? These Salsa Braised Chicken Thighs are exactly what you need. This simple yet gourmet weeknight dinner is packed with flavor, requires minimal prep, and comes together beautifully in under an hour.
I’ve been on a mission to simplify my weeknight meals. I want healthy, delicious dinners that don’t take all night to cook or leave my kitchen in chaos. No endless chopping, no complicated sauces — just good food that tastes amazing.
This braised chicken thigh recipe sounds fancy, but it couldn’t be easier. The key is browning the chicken first to get that gorgeous, caramelized skin — it adds so much flavor. Then, simply pour in your favorite salsa, pop it in the oven, and let it braise until the chicken is tender and juicy.
Serve your Salsa Braised Chicken Thighs with rice, roasted veggies, or warm tortillas for a complete, satisfying meal.
Why You’ll Love These Salsa Braised Chicken Thighs
- Quick & Easy: Minimal prep time and just one pan to wash.
- Healthy: Packed with protein and naturally gluten-free.
- Customizable: Use your favorite salsa — mild, smoky, or spicy.
- Family-Friendly: A simple chicken dinner everyone will love.
Avocado Tomatillo Cream
The spicy salsa needs something else. Like a tangy and creamy garnish.
Make my simple Avocado Tomatillo Cream.
Roast 4 quartered tomatillos and 1 sliced shallot drizzled with olive oil and a pinch of each salt and pepper, in a hot 425F degree oven. When everything is softened and slightly browned, remove from the oven. Place in a blender with 1 very rip avocado, 1 heaping tablespoon of honey, juice from 1/2 lime, salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth. When you serve it up, top each chicken thigh with a little avocado tomatillo cream. So good.
Kitchen tools I used in this recipe
What side dishes do you
serve with Salsa Braised Chicken?
For sides, I love having simple jasmine rice (done in 15 minutes) and maybe a can of black beans and tortillas. Simple, fabulous and you are going to add this to your weekly routine.
Add 1 zest of lime and the juice to the rice, using a fork to mix it all together. Top with some chopped cilantro. Fancy.
Weeknight recipes to love.
Did you make this recipe? Take a picture and tag me @whitesparrowfoodco or #whitesparrowfoodco I’d love to hear what you thought of the recipe!
Salsa Braised Chicken Thighs
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2-4 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Short ingredients makes this a delicious weeknight recipe to make over and over again.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 8-10 bone-in and skin on chicken thighs
- salt and pepper
- 1 1/2 cups your favorite salsa
- 1/2 cup chicken bone broth
- 1 lime, quartered
- chopped scallions and cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F.
- Heat a cast iron enamel pan up over medium high heat. When the pan is hot, swirl the olive oil around the pan.
- Sprinkle both sides of each chicken thigh with salt and pepper – be liberal, generous and thorough. Using kitchen tongs, add the chicken thighs skin side down on the pan. Make sure to give each thigh some room to ensure the skin is touching the pan. Let cook for 6 minutes or until the skin is crispy and brown. Don’t flip over or turn over until at least 6 minutes has passes or you could rip the skin off the chicken thigh – you want to keep the in tacked.
- Flip all the chicken thighs over and turn the heat off. Move the thighs around so that you have a little room to pour the salsa and chicken bone broth into the pan – so you don’t pour the liquid on top of the thighs. This is all so that the chicken skin stays crispy and doesn’t get soggy.
- Place the pan into your preheated oven for 8-10 minute. Remove and garnish with lime wedges and cilantro. Serve with avocado tomatillo cream and cilantro lime rice.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: chicken
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: dinner
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4 Responses
really – only cook for 8-10 minutes? that seems wrong.
You first sear the chicken thighs for at least 6 minutes on the skin side or until the skin is dark brown and then flip them over. Then you add the pan into a hot oven to finish cooking. The entire cooking time will be between 15-20 minutes. I cook with organic pasture raised chicken thighs and this cooking time is perfect.
This looks great, but I agree. A braise is a slow cook and takes more than 10 minutes in the oven, especially if you are adding cold liquid to the pan and not even deglazing the chicken bits and bringing the whole lot to a boil then, adding chicken in and putting in oven. Slow cooking in hot liquid helps the thighs break down and become tender.