These Asian Chicken Thighs check all the boxes for a weeknight dinner: savory, slightly sweet, tangy, and packed with umami. The gluten-free, Whole30-friendly marinade whizzes together in minutes with pantry ingredients, and you can roast the chicken or air fry it.
The easiest and tastiest Asian chicken marinade
This simple gluten-free marinade for my Asian chicken thighs will win over your pickiest eaters. Here are some helpful tips to make it just right:
- If you’re doing a Whole30, simply replace the honey with some diced apple. Want a keto-friendly version? Leave out the sweetener and your chicken dinner will still taste great.
- The easiest way to make the gluten-free marinade is to dump all the ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor and blitz until smooth. If your blender isn’t super powerful, you’ll have to chop the marinade ingredients smaller before dumping them in.
- You’re aiming for a marinade that’s saltier than you would use as a dressing—taste it before pouring it on the chicken! Even though the marinade will taste salty, they chicken will be perfectly seasoned.
- Avoid using fresh ginger in the marinade because it contains an enzyme that can break down protein. (I learned this lesson the hard way when I was developing my Wonton Meatballs recipe.)
Can You Make This Dish with Other Chicken Parts?
Definitely! I’ve used this Asian chicken marinade marinade on spatchcocked whole chickens, boneless skinless chicken thighs, chicken breast, wings, you name it. Just remember that boneless and skinless chicken will cook faster so you should check the internal temperature earlier.
Ingredients
- Scallions / Green Onions
- Garlic cloves
- Ground ginger: Fresh ginger can make the chicken mushy so use ground ginger!
- Rice vinegar: Apple cider vinegar, white balsamic vinegar, and fresh lime juice also work!
- Avocado oil or fat of choice
- Honey: If you’re on the Whole30 or avoiding honey, use ½ cup peeled and diced apple. You can leave out the sweetener and it will still taste amazing!
- Coconut aminos: I love using the combination of coconut aminos + fish sauce as my go-to soy sauce replacement.
- Red Boat fish sauce
- Toasted sesame oil
- Umami Stir-Fry Powder or Diamond Crystal kosher salt: I use my Umami Stir-Fry Powder in place of salt in all of my Asian recipes because it packs a flavor punch!
- Freshly ground pepper
- Skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
How to make Asian chicken thighs
First, let’s make the marinade! Break out your high speed blender or food processor and toss in the scallions, garlic, ginger, rice wine vinegar, avocado oil, honey (or diced apple), coconut aminos, fish sauce, sesame oil, Umami Stir-Fry Powder or Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and pepper.
Blitz until smooth.
Place the chicken thighs in a large bowl, storage container, or freezer bag and pour the marinade on top of the chicken.
Toss to coat the chicken thoroughly, and marinate it in the fridge for up to two days. (No time to marinate? Don’t worry—the chicken will still taste good, even with just a quick toss in the marinade!)
When you’re ready to cook the chicken, remove the marinated thighs from the fridge and heat the oven to 425°F (or 400°F on convection roast) with the rack in the middle.
Place a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet and arrange the chicken skin-side down in a single layer.
Bake the chicken for 40 minutes, flipping the thighs skin-side up at the halfway point.
These Asian Chicken Thighs are ready when the skin is crisp and browned and the internal temperature reaches 165°F to 175°F when measured with a meat thermometer.
Serve immediately! (And don’t forget to soak your wire rack in hot soapy water while you eat dinner! See below on how to clean the rack!)
Air Fryer instructions
Cook the chicken thighs in a single layer in the air fryer at 400°F for about 20 to 25 minutes, starting skin-side down and flipping the thighs skin-side up at the halfway mark. Repeat in batches until done.
Make-Ahead instructions
You can blend the Asian chicken marinade ahead of time and have it ready in your fridge for up to four days. Also, you can marinate the chicken for up to two days before roasting it. I don’t love freezing marinated raw chicken and thawing it to roast later because the chicken skin gets kind of tough. I’d rather roast the chicken and save the cooked chicken in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
What Do You Serve With It?
I love serving Asian Chicken Thighs with my Asian Cauliflower Fried Rice, Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, and Smashed Cucumber and Carrot Salad, but feel free to plate it with whatever your favorite vegetable side dish happens to be. When I’m super lazy, I just serve Asian Chicken Thighs with a big green salad, like my Chopped Green Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing.
How do you clean the dirty wire rack?
For this recipe, I recommend that folks elevate their chicken pieces on a stainless steel wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet when they roast them to ensure even cooking. Inevitably, the number one question I get when people try this method is how to clean the dirty rack afterwards.
Just follow these steps:
- Transfer the chicken off the rack as soon as it’s out of the oven.
- Immediately place the rack upside down in the rimmed baking sheet and fill it with hot soapy water. Let the rack soak while you’re enjoying dinner.
- After dinner, scrub off any gunk on the rack with a sponge and place the rack in the dishwasher. (No dishwasher? Just continue scrubbing the rack with hot soapy water and rinse well.)
- Watch this quick Instagram highlight to see how I do it!
More paleo chicken thigh recipes
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Easy Asian Chicken Thighs (Gluten-Free, Paleo)
Ingredients
- 6 scallions trimmed and cut into thirds
- 2 garlic cloves peeled
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger (fresh ginger can make the chicken mushy)
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil
- 2 tablespoons honey Whole30? Use ½ cup peeled and diced apple in place of honey.
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 tablespoon Red Boat fish sauce
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons Umami Stir Fry Powder or Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 pounds chicken thighs
Instructions
- First, let’s make the marinade! Break out your high speed blender or food processor and toss in the scallions, garlic, ginger, rice wine vinegar, avocado oil, honey (or diced apple), coconut aminos, fish sauce, sesame oil, Umami Stir Fry Powder or Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and pepper. Blitz until smooth.
- Place the chicken thighs in a large bowl or storage container and pour the marinade on top.
- Toss to coat the chicken thoroughly, and marinate it in the fridge for up to two days. (No time to marinate? Don’t worry—the chicken will still taste good, even with just a quick toss in the marinade!)
- When you’re ready to cook the chicken, remove the marinated thighs from the fridge and heat the oven to 425°F (or 400°F on convection roast) with the rack in the middle.
- Place a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet and arrange the chicken skin-side down in a single layer.
- Roast the chicken for 40 minutes, flipping the thighs skin-side up at the halfway point.
- The chicken’s ready when the skin is crisp and browned and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Serve immediately. (And don’t forget to soak your wire rack in hot soapy water while you eat dinner!)
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So easy and good! I used chicken breasts cut in thirds so cut the time to 25 minutes, and didn’t have green onions, but it was fantastic. Will make again ASAP.
OMG! This was sooo good! We cull our own chickens – that have been a little more ‘free range’ than your average chicken – so it’s best if we put them in an instant pot. I didn’t have scallions but our garden always has leeks so I sliced one of those up (it made more of a ‘paste’ out of the marinade) – put it in a ziplock with the chicken parts (all parts – not just thighs) and then in the ‘frig for the day…….that evening put all of it into the instant pot for 18 minutes (remember these are a tougher chicken – baking them doesn’t cut it) and it was amazing! We’re keeping this recipe forever. Thank you Michelle!
Can you use boneless skinless chicken breasts instead? What would timing be?
It all depends on the size of the chicken breast. I would definitely use a meat thermometer to check the temperature at the 20 to 25 minute mark and aim for an internal temp of about 150-155 F.
Are rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar the same ? I bought rice vinegar at the store and was wondering if that is the same thing ?
They should be the same. Just make sure there aren’t any seasoning or additives in it.
This marinade is amazing. I have now made your recipe about 10 times and I just visited your blog again to double check the steps for my 11th time making your dish, but I will try in my air fryer because it is so balmy and hot in my kitchen right now. If the air fryer doesn’t work, I’m going back to the oven like your recipe instructs. THANK YOU FOR THIS DELICIOUS RECIPE!!!
would it still taste good without the fish sauce?
Yes, but not as good!
This was FABULOUS! I didn’t have rice wine vinegar, so I used organic apple cider vinegar. My husband thought it smelled weird 😂 during the first half of cooking, but then it smelled GOOOD! 40 minutes put the chicken a little higher than 165 (more like 185), but it was still juicy and delicious! Can’t wait to eat the leftovers! Thank you for another excellent recipe Michelle! You’re the best!
185 is totally fine for thighs! I’m glad everyone liked it!
this sounds like a great recipe! My husband is doing keto and you really cannot use honey or your apple substitution, do you or anyone out there have any suggestions?
thanks!!!
You can try a keto-sweetener in place of honey but I haven’t used it myself.
Yet another winner!
BEST chicken recipe EVER! (And I am indeed extremely tired of chicken.)
Flavourful, easy and altogether fantastic.
Thank you Michelle, you are truly wonderful!
I have boneless skinless chicken thighs marinating for tonight’s dinner. Would this change the cooking time or temperature? They each look pretty small. Can’t wait to try this tonight.
Yes! Boneless and skinless chicken thighs will cook faster.
Delicious marinade, my family thoroughly enjoyed it! Cooking time was a bit long, as my thighs were done in about 30 minutes.