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Why You’ll Love My Recipe

Tender and juicy, this oven-baked chicken is perfect for a weeknight meal. Marinate it overnight or during the day while you’re out of the house, and bake it for dinner.

For more tasty dark meat chicken recipes, why not try some Oven Baked Chicken Leg Quarters? Or some Buttery Garlic & Herb Chicken and Potatoes instead? Serve your chicken with a Classic Wedge Salad or some Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries to round out the meal.

Reader Review

I used this marinade for boneless skinless chicken thighs and then grilled them up in my pellet grill yesterday. It was absolutely amazing and my whole family loved it and wanted more. I’m actually making another set of chicken thighs again today for meal prep for the week. Thank you so much for an amazing recipe. This will now be a staple in our house!

– Adrianna

Karlynn’s Recipe Notes

Skill Level: This is an easy recipe.
Total Time: This chicken takes approximately 35 minutes to make, plus 4 hours or more of marinating time.
Variations: Try this recipe with different cuts of chicken. Play with the exact amounts of each spice, making the mix to your own preference. Add some hot pepper flakes or powder for some heat, or even a splash of your favourite hot sauce. Sprinkle some grated Parmesan or Swiss cheese on top of the thighs before baking them.
Tools Needed: Large zipper seal plastic bag, measuring cups, a large baking sheet with a rack, and a meat thermometer.

What You’ll Need for Ingredients

Chicken: This recipe calls for bone-in chicken thighs, but you can use different cuts of chicken. You will need to adjust the cooking time accordingly, especially if you choose pieces of chicken with no bones.

Buttermilk: Buttermilk is fairly easy to find in grocery stores, but if you can’t find it or just don’t want to buy a large amount only to use a little bit, you can make your own.

Herbs: Use the basic herbs mentioned in this recipe, make your own Italian Seasoning, or sprinkle in some of whichever seasoning blend you like best. If you happen to have some minced or fresh garlic at home, try using that instead of garlic powder.

A glass bowl of raw chicken pieces, a measuring cup of buttermilk, a small bowl of salt, a bowl of garlic powder, and a bowl with mixed dried herbs on a white surface arranged for cooking prep.

How to Make Garlic and Herb Marinated Buttermilk Chicken

This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.

A glass measuring cup filled with a creamy liquid, topped with a pile of dried herbs and ground spices, viewed from above on a white background.

Mix marinade ingredients in a bowl or measuring cup. Pour marinade into plastic bag.
Add chicken to bag, seal bag, and swirl content until chicken is fully coated.
Refrigerate for 4 hours or more. Overnight is best.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheet and place baking rack on top of it.
Remove chicken from marinade and place on baking rack, 1-2 inches apart.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until internal temperature of the thighs reaches 185°F

Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Garlic and Herb Marinated Buttermilk Chicken

Buttermilk Alternatives: Measure out the required amount of whichever dairy milk you have in your fridge. Add a few drops, maybe 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar to the milk. Stir it and then let it sit for a few minutes. The milk will curdle and serve the same purpose as buttermilk. Another option is to marinate the chicken in plain yogurt. This will give the same tanginess and the inherent acidity will get the chicken just as tender and juicy as buttermilk would.

Internal Temperature: The 185°F internal temperature is only necessary for bone-in chicken thighs, as it tends to take them longer to get tender. Other cuts of chicken, especially white meat like breasts, only need to get to 165°F and if you go past that you risk drying the meat out. Keep this in mind when choosing and cooking your chicken.

Storage Instructions

Fridge: Once it’s fully cooled, you can store this chicken in a covered container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or air fryer.

Freezer: For the easiest defrosting later, spread leftover pieces of chicken out on a tray lined in parchment paper. Put them in a freezer until they are hard and then put them into an airtight and freezer safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months.

More Delicious Chicken Recipes

Looking for more ways to prepare chicken?

Try this flavour-packed Jerk Chicken or classic Sweet and Sour Chicken with some rice.

Or make a Chicken Fricassee for your next potluck dinner.

Lemon Garlic Chicken is another flavourful and zesty recipe to try.

There you go, everyone. A quick and easy chicken recipe for when you want classic comfort flavours. Try this recipe out and let me know what you think.

Happy Cooking!

Karlynn