If you're a fan of buffalo chicken wings, you're going to love this Buffalo Chicken Thighs recipe. It's a healthier, boneless way to get your buffalo fix at home.
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Buffalo wings are popular pub fare and it's always fun to go out with friends for wing night, right? So why not make buffalo chicken at home? This buffalo chicken recipe is so easy you'll want to make it again and again.
And, I'm going to show you how to make these crispy chicken thighs two different ways.
Making restaurant favorites at home will usually save you calories as well as cash. This Air Fryer Orange Chicken is an excellent example, and so is my Sushi Bowl Recipe.
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What's to Love?
- You need only two ingredients to make homemade buffalo sauce.
- These crispy buffalo chicken thighs are baked or air fried for a healthier alternative to deep fried traditional buffalo chicken wings
- Boneless chicken thighs are juicy and tender when baked in the oven or air fryer.
- This buffalo chicken thigh recipe tastes exactly like buffalo wings from your favorite pub.
- Baked buffalo chicken thighs are low carb, keto friendly and relatively low in fat and calories
- Buffalo chicken thighs can be an appetizer or snack, or even a weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
So few ingredients for so much flavor!
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs Boneless chicken thighs, although still fairly lean without the skin, have more fat than chicken breasts. That makes them juicier and more flavorful.
- Hot Sauce You could use any hot sauce, and if you want to make your own sauce, I have a great recipe for cayenne pepper sauce (so easy) But if you prefer to buy it, I recommend Frank's Red Hot for authentic buffalo flavor. Frank's has a fairly tame spice level, however if you like a really spicy buffalo sauce, you can also buy the "Xtra Hot" version. Frank's hot sauce contains salt and garlic, so there's no need to add salt or garlic powder. You can also buy your favorite buffalo sauce, which will contain butter flavoring. If you do, ignore the next list item: you can skip the butter.
- Butter Don't skip the butter! The addition of butter to the hot sauce is what makes it buffalo sauce. The butter makes the wing sauce rich and smooth, just like the one you get at your favorite pub. Olive oil or margarine are not good substitutes.
Oven Instructions
Detailed instructions can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post. If you prefer air fryer buffalo chicken thighs, see the section below for air fryer instructions.
- In a bowl, toss the chicken with half of the hot sauce. Cover, refrigerate, and allow to marinate.
- Place chicken thighs on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake 20 minutes.
- Combine the melted butter and Frank's hot sauce in a large bowl. Submerge each chicken thigh in the buttery buffalo sauce to coat.
- Return each piece to the baking sheet.
- Bake 5 minutes more to set the sauce.
Air Fryer Instructions
- Combine the chicken pieces with half of the hot sauce in a bowl, coating each thigh. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400ยฐ, or 380ยฐ if that is it's highest setting.
- Spray the air fryer basket lightly with oil. (I use avocado oil).
- Put the chicken thighs in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
- Cook 18-20 minutes.
- In a bowl, stir the butter into the remaining hot sauce.
- Remove each chicken piece and submerge in the hot sauce / butter mixture to coat, returning each one back to the air fryer basket.
- Cook for a further 3 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part reads 165ยฐ
- If you are using an air fryer, you may need to cook in two batches depending on the size of your air fryer model. I have the Gourmia GAF698 which is 6 quarts and I'm able to cook the recipe in one batch.
Substitutions
- Chicken. If you don't want to use boneless thighs or have another favorite cut of chicken on hand, you can use any of these:
- Bone-in skin-on chicken thighs. Bone-in chicken thighs take longer to cook, so you will need to add another 10-15 minutes (depending on which cooking process) of cooking time To get that crispy skin, increase the oven temperature to 425ยฐ for the last 10 minutes of cook time. If you are using an air fryer, increase the cooking time by 5 minutes
- Chicken tenders If you prefer white to dark meat, I recommend chicken tenders. Using the oven, decrease cook time by 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the tenders. For air frying, cook at 400ยฐ. Decrease cooking time by 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. You can also use boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes or strips.
- Wings Of course, the original buffalo chicken, wings are an obvious choice for this simple recipe. Cook wings in the oven for 40 minutes at 400ยฐ, or in the air fryer for 25 minutes at 400ยฐ
Serving Suggestions
Serve your buffalo chicken thighs as an appetizer or snack along with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing for dipping. Or make these delicious thighs the main dish with rice and green beans or carrots. Salads are a good side dish for as well, especially potato salad, pasta salad or coleslaw.
If you want to use a garnish, try blue cheese crumbles or green onions.
Helpful Tips
- Use kitchen scissors to trim the fat from the chicken thighs.
- Frank's Red Hot is a medium hot sauce. If you love buffalo chicken but want less spice, try a mild buffalo sauce. If you prefer a spicy hot sauce, Frank's has an extra hot version.
- Be sure to heat the hot sauce before adding the butter. If you melt the butter and then add it to the hot sauce, the butter will solidify again.
- Chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165ยฐ. Use an instant-read meat thermometer to measure the temperature.
- Leftover buffalo chicken thighs should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. To reheat, preheat oven or air fryer to 400ยฐ. Arrange the cooked chicken thighs in a single layer on a baking sheet or air fryer basket. Heat for 10 minutes in the oven, or 5 minutes in the air fryer.
More Delicious Chicken Recipes
Looking for more chicken recipe ideas? Try these other chicken thigh recipes: Marry Me Chicken, Air Fryer Teriyaki Chicken, Air Fryer Orange Chicken or Lemon Herb Grilled Chicken Thighs. Or try my Air Fryer Cornish Hens.
If chicken breasts are what you have in mind, try stuffing them! Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Breasts, and Spinach, Sun Dried Tomato, & Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts are delicious and easy recipes.
How about drumsticks? Grilled Harissa Chicken Drumsticks, Grilled Jerk Chicken Drumsticks, or Smoky Tea Marinated Chicken Drumsticks are all tasty and easy dinner recipes.
Even vegetables can be buffalo! Check out my Gluten-Free Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a rating in the comments below and let us know how it turned out. Did you make any changes? We would love for you to share and your feedback is important! Thank you for visiting The Food Blog!
Recipe
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Buffalo Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup cayenne hot sauce such as Frank's Red Hot
- ยผ cup butter melted
Instructions
- Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels.
- Trim any visible fat from the chicken and season with black pepper.
- In a large bowl, combine the chicken with ยฝ cup of the hot sauce, tossing or stirring to coat. Cover and marinate, in the fridge, for at least one hour.
- Preheat oven to 400ยฐ Arrange chicken on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Bake 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. The chicken will be golden brown.
- While the chicken cooks make the spicy buffalo sauce. In a microwave safe small bowl, heat the remainder of the hot sauce for 1-2 minutes. Or use a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the butter, stirring until combined.
- Using tongs, submerge each piece of chicken in the buffalo sauce until coated. Return the chicken to the baking sheet.
- Bake for 5 more minutes.
Notes
- Use kitchen scissors to trim the fat from the chicken thighs.
- Frank's Red Hot is a medium hot sauce. If you love buffalo chicken but want less spice, try a mild buffalo sauce.
- Be sure to heat the hot sauce before adding the butter. If you melt the butter and then add it to the hot sauce, the butter will solidify again.
- Chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165ยฐ. Use a meat thermometer to measure the temperature.
- Leftover buffalo chicken thighs should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. To reheat, preheat oven or air fryer to 400ยฐ. Arrange the chicken in a single layer on a baking sheet or air fryer basket. Heat for 10 minutes in the oven, or 5 minutes in the air fryer.
Bernice
I do love Buffalo wings, so these Buffalo thighs are the next great thing..I can just imagine them between a fluffy bun. So great for game day and for us football fans...game days will soon be here again!
Colleen
Hi Bernice, I like your idea of turning these buffalo thighs into a burger! Enjoy!
Terri
This is a great idea, Colleen! My daughter and I are buffalo chicken CRAZY and I never make wings because they are fattening. I love that it's 2 ingredients and I have them on hand. Pinning to make this weekend!
Colleen
Hi Terri. I know you and your daughter will love these buffalo chicken thighs. Enjoy!
Asha
I love the flavour of buffalo chicken wings, but hate the bones. So I loved this recipe! Very tasty and tender.
Colleen
So happy that you loved the buffalo chicken, Asha! Thanks for letting me know!
Vanessa
Great idea to use thighs! Easy to make, cost effective and my always hungry growing boys loved them.
Colleen
I'm so glad your boys loved these buffalo chicken thighs, Vanessa!
nancy
i like the balance of the heat and tanginess. It's my go to sauce when I want to nake buffalo chicken!