There is nothing better than garlicky, herby, buttery roast chicken. As soon as I smell those familiar, delicious aromas filling my home, I am transported straight back to childhood Sundays. However, as I’ve added a slight twist to this classic – using economical, easy-to-cook, chicken thigh cutlets – this means you can now have your roast on a weeknight! Chicken thigh cutlets take less time to cook and are a little easier to handle, allowing for even cooking and easy portioning. The chicken is first coated in a garlic butter marinade, then popped in the oven to bake to crispy, golden perfection. There’s a little honey in the marinade that adds a beautiful sweetness and helps the skin to crisp up. The roasting pan juices keep the chicken tender as it cooks, then double as a delicious sauce, perfect for drizzling over mashed potatoes or even pasta.

The end result is perfectly cooked, juicy chicken with buttery-crisp, golden-brown skin. It’s comforting, nourishing and low-fuss and there’s minimal washing up as it’s cooked in one pan. Serve Easy Roasted Garlic Butter Chicken with your family’s favourite side dishes – mashed potato and steamed greens are popular at our place, but I’ve provided other suggestions below. Any leftovers can be refrigerated, then reheated the next day, and you can marinate the chicken ahead of time if you like.
What can I serve with it?
Serve Easy Roasted Garlic Butter Chicken with Freezer-friendly Mashed Potatoes, cooked pasta, rice, creamy cauliflower mash, zoodles (courgetti), a green leafy salad or steamed greens.
Can I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead?
You can, but with a few variations, as boneless, skinless chicken thighs take less time to cook. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) – both conventional and fan. Marinate the chicken as per the recipe and bake for 25–30 minutes until cooked through. An optional extra is to adjust the oven heat setting to grill (broil) and grill the chicken on high for a further 2–3 minutes or until the surface is nicely caramelised. This isn’t essential as the chicken will already be fully cooked, but will help give the chicken some extra colour if desired.

What else can I add to the pan?
Try adding small, halved baby potatoes or Dutch (baby) carrots to the roasting tray at the beginning of cooking time. You could also add a handful of broccoli, broccolini, green beans or asparagus to the tray in the last 10 minutes of cooking time to make this an even easier dinner.
Watch how to make Easy Roasted Garlic Butter Chicken
Other delicious chicken recipes to try:
Try:
Chicken Stroganoff
Chicken Chow Mein
Cheesy Chicken & Broccolini Rice
Creamy Lemon Chicken Risoni (Orzo)
One Pan Pesto Chicken Pasta, Creamy Garlic Chicken
Lemon & Oregano Chicken Tzatziki Wrap
Roasted Chicken with Gravy

Easy Roasted Garlic Butter Chicken
A wholesome, comforting classic made easier and more economical. Roasted Garlic Butter Chicken uses thigh cutlets, rather than a whole chicken, but the result is still the satisfyingly tender, juicy roasted chicken with crispy golden skin that we all love.
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
- Yield: 5 1x
Ingredients
- 80 g (2 3/4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp sea salt flakes
- ¼ tsp cracked black pepper, plus extra to serve
- 1 tbsp freshly minced garlic
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp thyme leaves, plus extra to garnish (see note 1 for substitutions)
- 1.2 kg (2 lb 10 oz) bone-in, skin-on chicken thigh cutlets (5 chicken thighs)
- ½ cup (125 ml) chicken stock
TO SERVE
- Freezer-friendly Mashed Potatoes
- Steamed asparagus or greens of choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) (180°C/350°F fan).
- Combine the butter, salt, black pepper, garlic, honey and thyme in a small bowl.
- Arrange the chicken thighs on a baking tray with sides, skin-side up.
- Spread the butter mixture all over the chicken using your hands, focusing mainly on the skin. Pour the chicken stock around the seasoned chicken (this will protect the marinade from burning and leave a delicious sauce in the base of the tray).
- Roast for 55–60 minutes until golden and cooked through, basting once halfway.
- Serve with mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus and drizzle with the tray juices. Garnish with extra thyme sprigs and add a little extra black pepper to finish.
- TO COOK IN AN AIR FRYER: In a small bowl, mix together the butter, salt, pepper, garlic, honey and thyme until combined.
- Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towel to ensure crispy skin.
- Using your hands, spread the butter mixture generously over the chicken thighs, focusing on the skin.
- Preheat the air fryer to 190°C (375°F) for about 5 minutes. Lightly grease the air fryer basket or tray to prevent sticking.
- Arrange the chicken thighs skin-side up in a single layer (cook in batches if necessary). Air fry for 25–30 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the chicken is golden, crispy and cooked through. If you’d like to baste the chicken with the melted butter from the air fryer basket, do this at the halfway point.
- Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before serving, to lock in the juices.
Notes
Note 1 – Fresh oregano is an amazing substitute, otherwise 1 teaspoon of dried herbs can be used instead (thyme, oregano or Italian mixed herbs/Italian seasoning).
Make ahead:
Marinate the chicken up to 48 hours prior to baking.
Leftovers:
Refrigerate the cooked chicken in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Reheat in a preheated 200°C (400°F) (180°C/350°F fan) oven for 10–15 minutes until warmed through, or in the microwave.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Category: mains, gluten-free, budget-friendly, chicken
- Method: roasting
- Cuisine: Australian, British, American
Stacey says:
Delicious and very easy to pull together. I don’t usually prepare chicken with bones in for the family but got zero complaints
Elaine Phillips says:
Absolutely delicious and so easy!
Jane Campbell says:
Delicious and easy.
Sarah says:
Made this tonight for dinner and it was so delicious and easy! I used skinless chicken thighs and worked perfectly!
Teddi says:
Amazing!!!
s.i. says:
So so easy! And flavorful! The chicken came out moist and the skin had the perfect crunch. My 15yo said it is her new favorite dinner and she doesn’t like *anything*!
Teela Crecelius says:
I used boneless skinless chicken so mine didn’t get as brown/crispy like the pictures but the flavor was still sooooo good! Loved how quick and easy this was. This was my first recipe from this blog and I have already chosen several more to try.
Lisa says:
This is so yummy! It’s now a staple in my household
Leanne says:
Oh my this makes you want to cook double next time! Everyone LOVED this meal. It is full of flavour, I have been looking for meals that are easy but tasty and everyone will like this is amazing !
Allyson O’connell says:
Absolutely fantastic my husband loved this meal and he’s super fussy!! He said this dish was “absolutely beautiful” this is a recipe I got from your cookbook Nicole and it will definitely be on repeat in our house!! All of the recipes from your book have been winners best $20 I ever spent! I am not a great cook but your recipes are simple, no overly flash ingredients or laborious steps I have nailed it every time. Thanks Nic
Louise says:
This was so delicious and easy. I used boneless/ skinless chicken thighs and used your tip of browning them under the grill at the end. Perfect and those juices were amazing. I’ll definitely be adding it to my rotation.
Caroline says:
Absolutely delicious, so simple but full of flavour and the chicken was perfectly cooked. I used boneless skin on thigh and used the left over chicken in a salad wrap the next day lunch. I will be making this one again.
Thank you
Adina Gordon says:
Made it tonight and really liked it! I wasn’t sure what the point of the chicken stock was, but once I ate it, I understood! Very tasty!
Tammy says:
Would this work with chicken breasts?
Nicole says:
Hi Tammy, unfortunately not. However, you might like to try Baked Garlic Chicken Breast instead. Nic x
Roe vartos says:
Delicious and simple. Made this with skinless/boneless thighs and still a hit! Served with mash and string beans.
Nicole says:
Fantastic to hear, Roe! Nic x
Chris says:
Can you cook this in an air fryer? Or is the air fryer the fan option you reference?
Nicole says:
Hi Chris. Thanks for your excellent question. I have updated the recipe to include air fryer instructions. Nic x Easy Roasted Garlic Butter Chicken
Katherine says:
This recipe turned out really amazing thank you Nicole, everyone loved it – I made no changes, and it looked just like your picture!
Very quick and easy to throw into the oven after work …so glad I made a double batch (cave men 🍗 …and next day lunches!). Served it with microwaved mash, carrots and broccoli – with the tray juice sauce to top it all off so incredibly easy and tasty! 👌
Nicole says:
Thanks for sharing this lovely feedback, Katherine. I’m thrilled you made a double batch! Thanks for the rating! Nic x
Suzana says:
This looks delicious! Would this recipe work for hicken drumsticks instead?
Nicole says:
Hi Suzana, yes, this should work with drumsticks – but depending on their size they must just take a little less time to cook. I hope this helps! Nic x
Jane says:
Hi! I made this last night but the top part of the chicken thigh and skin was very burnt by the time I got to about 25 minutes. I’m assuming it’s from the butter in the marinade? I did pour chicken stock into the tray as you recommended but I don’t think that helped much with the top of the chicken. Any tips on how to avoid that in the future? Thanks!
Nicole says:
Hi Jane, I’m not sure what went wrong here as it definitely shouldn’t burn. Maybe check the oven temp and move the chicken lower in the oven (one-third of the way down or just up above halfway), it may have been too close to the heat element (in which case any marinade would burn). I hope this helps! Nic x