12 Best Keto Chicken Thigh Recipes

Turn chicken wings over and continue cooking in skillet — The Spruce

Chicken thighs are an excellent entree choice for keto dieters. They're high in protein, but offer a good bit more fat than their leaner breast counterparts do. This makes them a better fit for keto macros, where low carb eaters consume anywhere from 60 to 80% of their diet's calories from fat. As with any dish, though, chicken thigh recipes can be full of hidden carbohydrates. From barbeque sauce to teriyaki, many sauces for chicken thighs could throw you out of ketosis with their sugar content alone—and that's before factoring in what you eat alongside them!

We've rounded up a full dozen recipes for chicken thigh dishes that are sure to satiate you while offering a very low carb content and no added sugars. For any dishes that suggest serving over rice, potatoes or pasta, choose a low carb alternative such as riced cauliflower, cooked greens, or shirataki noodles.

Keto Recipes

01 of 12

Roasted Chicken Thighs With Fresh Basil

Katie Workman / themom100.com

This recipe has a surprising technique that will give chicken thighs a bright, fresh flavor: it calls for you to place basil leaves under the skin of the chicken thighs before browning them. Taking that step ensures that the fresh herbs, which would otherwise turn black and lose flavor when cooked, stays untouched by direct heat and maintains its vibrant herbaceousness.
02 of 12

Air Fryer Chicken Thighs

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

The air fryer has undoubtedly been the appliance of the moment for a while now, thanks to the crispy texture it gives food without any actual frying needed. In under 20 minutes of air fryer cooking time, you'll have juicy chicken thighs with a crisped, herb-infused skin.
03 of 12

Crock Pot Portugese Chicken

Rita Maas / Photolibrary / Getty Images

Looking for a one-pot meal you can prep in the morning and have ready at dinner time? This crock pot recipe employs boneless chicken thighs, spicy chorizo, olives, tomato, and artichokes. The artichoke quantity is minimal enough to not bring the carb count up, but sufficient to lend the vegetable’s unique taste to the dish.
04 of 12

Baked Ranch Chicken Thighs

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

If you're a fan of the flavor of ranch dressing, this chicken thigh dish will be an easy sell for you. While it calls for using a packaged spice mix, which you mix with olive oil and baste onto the thighs before baking them, you could make your own if you feel up for it and don't want the chemicals that dressing mixes typically contain. Mix together the ingredients from salt to parsley in this recipe, and use it instead to give your chicken that comforting, familiar flavor.

Continue to 5 of 12 below.
05 of 12

Slow Cooker Creole Chicken With Sausage

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

Cajun staple Andouille sausage lends spice and richness to chicken thighs, which are slow cooked with tomatoes and Creole seasoning. The result is a tangy stew full of underused flavors. This is an easy intro to Creole and Cajun cuisines, and cooks in a crock pot with no attention needed.
06 of 12

Spinach And Feta Stuffed Chicken Thighs

Rachel Ray

Butter and cheese raise the fat macro ratio while adding rich and tangy notes to this chicken thigh dish. The under-the-skin technique strikes again here, having you place the stuffing mixture inside that area before roasting. Frozen spinach adds fiber without sacrificing convenience, requiring only to be thawed before usage.
07 of 12

Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Filling

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

Jalapenos and chili powder bring the Mexican flavors you expect from a burrito filling and are slow cooked in a crock pot along with chicken thighs to create a juicy meat that shreds easily. Make the filling using all ingredients from onion to pepper, then when ready to put burritos together, use keto friendly toppings such as sour cream, guacamole, cheese, and/or salsa, and pile fillings into a low carb tortilla, steamed collard greens, or large lettuce leaves.
08 of 12

Grilled Curry Chicken Thighs

Robert Linton / Getty Images

Grilled chicken is already a smoky delicacy with scarcely any seasonings added at all, so the addition in this recipe of curry powder takes it to an even more exciting new level. Using an entire cup of butter, this recipe elevates the fat content of the chicken thighs significantly.

Continue to 9 of 12 below.
09 of 12

Quick and Full-Flavored Chicken Broth

The Spruce

For the times you'd rather drink your chicken than eat it, this recipe for chicken broth that uses few ingredients beyond chicken thighs makes the task of cooking broth a quick one. It will be ready in under an hour, and thanks to the onion and bay leaves is a well rounded broth that can be sipped on its own or used in other recipes.
10 of 12

Budget-Friendly Roasted Chicken Thighs

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

If simpler is more your style, these budget friendly roasted chicken thighs should be right up your alley. With the classic flavors of garlic, olive oil, and rosemary or thyme, this entree will appeal to a wide variety of palates—without the financial stress that more expensive protein can entail.
11 of 12

Marinated Boneless Chicken Thighs (Pargiot)

LauriPatterson / Getty Images

It's the overnight marinating in mustard, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, and lemon juice that makes this Jewish chicken dish special. It can be cooked on the grill in the oven, making it an easy choice no matter what the time of year. Because the chicken thighs used are boneless, this recipe cooks up in under ten minutes on the grill or under half an hour in the oven.
12 of 12

Crispy Skin Chicken Thighs

The Spruce

Is the skin of chicken your favorite part? It's definitely the highest part in fat and on a keto diet, you can eat it with abandon. Get the most out of your chicken thighs with this technique that requires only chicken, oil, salt, and pepper for skin with all the crunch you crave.