Sumptuous One Pot Thai Chicken is sweet, spicy, savory, and spectacular—plus, it cooks in a single skillet for super easy clean-up!
Economical and easy to make, our One Pot Thai Chicken recipe, with its succulent, exotic flavors, is a treat for the taste buds! Seared chicken thighs are bathed in a scrumptious sticky sauce featuring sweet chili, soy sauce, peanut butter, oyster sauce, ginger paste, and sriracha, then garnished with peanuts and cilantro—you’re going to love this simple, one-pan dinner recipe even more than your favorite Pad Thai or Coconut Curry!
The Secret is in the Sauce!
The sticky chili sauce is bursting with flavors—spicy, sweet, umami, savory—it’s perfectly balanced and absolutely incredible! Simply whisk together the ingredients—it’s super easy! I like to make this Thai sauce in bigger batches and freeze it in individual baggies so I always have some on hand because it’s AMAZING with everything from tempura shrimp and potstickers to grilled salmon and stir-fry noodles! Seriously, this sauce is NEXT LEVEL!
Other Recipes to Serve with Sweet Chili Thai Chicken
- Potstickers are so easy to make and turn every Asian-inspired meal into something special!
- One Pot Pad Thai makes an amazing meal on its own, but leave out the protein and this recipe is a perfect side dish for Thai Chicken!
Ingredients
Chicken: Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs make this Asian recipe economical, but chicken legs or diced chicken breasts would also work!
Thai Peanut Sauce: This sauce has several components, but it’s super easy to make! You’ll need sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, minced garlic, oyster sauce, ginger paste, lime juice, sriracha (or another hot sauce), and creamy peanut butter. Trust me, this stuff is eat-it-with-a-spoon yummy!
Garnish: Chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro add the perfect finishing touch to this Thai chicken dish!
How to Make One Pan Thai Chicken
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Whisk together all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
STEP TWO: Melt butter in an oven-safe skillet over medium heat on the stovetop. Once melted, add the chicken, skin-side down. Sear until the skin is crispy and golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip the chicken and sear the other side for another 3 minutes.
STEP THREE: Remove from heat, and with the skin side up (as it should already be), cover it with the Thai peanut sauce.
STEP FOUR: Place the entire pan, as is, into the oven to bake for 25-30 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Next, turn the oven to “broil” and broil the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes to crisp up the skin and caramelize the sauce.
STEP FIVE: Remove the shirt from the oven and sprinkle with chopped cilantro and crushed peanuts. Serve with steamed broccoli and fried rice or ramen. Enjoy! (I’m certain you will!)
Tips for Success
- If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, transfer the seared chicken to a baking dish and pour the Thai peanut sauce over the chicken. Then, bake and broil the chicken as directed.
- We use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, but chicken legs or diced chicken breasts would also work.
- This sweet chili peanut sauce is phenomenal and also tastes fantastic with shrimp, pork, stir-fried veggies, chicken tenders, etc.
- If you’re not accustomed to spicy foods, cut the sriracha in half or eliminate it.
- Crushed cashews and butter can be used in the recipe if a peanut allergy is an issue.
What Pots and Pans Can Be Used on the Stovetop and in the Oven?
Most completely metal cookware can go from the stove into the oven—for example, cast iron and stainless steel are oven-safe. Enamel or ceramic cookware is generally oven-friendly as well. Obviously, plastic is never oven-safe, and you should also avoid pots and pans that have a non-stick coating or any wood components (knobs, handles, lids, etc.).
What Seasonings are Used in Thai Cooking?
Thai food’s spicy, sweet flavor profile makes it an international favorite! Foremost, Thai cuisine is known for its generous use of chili peppers ranging from mild to smoke-coming-out-of-your-ears HOT! But spices like clove, lemongrass, ginger, cinnamon, coriander, and star anise are featured predominantly in Thai cuisine, and aromatic foods like shallots, garlic, cilantro, and sweet basil add incredible flavor depth. Thai food has a broad range of flavors from mild and sweet to savory and spicy, making it well-liked by almost everyone!
Other Awesome, Asian-Inspired Recipes
*This post originally posted on 02/15/2015.
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet (see note)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
Sauce
- ½ cup thai sweet chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ tablespoon ginger paste or peeled and minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 teaspoons sriracha (or other hot sauce)
Garnish
- ¼ cup peanuts chopped
- Fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Whisk together sauce ingredients in a small mixing bowl and set aside.
- Place a large oven-proof skillet over medium heat, and add the butter. Once melted, place chicken, skin-side down, into the pan. Sear both sides of the chicken until the skin is golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes per side.
- Remove the skillet from the heat. Turn chicken skin side up (if it's not already), and cover with sauce.
- Put the skillet in the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through (165 degrees F internal temperature).
- Turn the oven on to broil, and cook for 2-3 minutes to crisp the chicken skin and further caramelize the sauce.
- Remove from the oven. Serve the chicken from the skillet or plate it, and then garnish with peanuts and cilantro before serving warm.
Jeff says
Great recipe! Two recommendations:
1. Serve with Pad Thai rice noodles. You may want to cook up some extra sauce just for the noodles.
2. Add crushed red pepper for additional seasoning and a great kick.
Aubrey Cota says
Thank you for the tips!