chicken
chicken thighs
baked
spicy

There are a million-and-one ways to bake chicken thighs. Food Stylist Kate Bennert suggests "spicing" things up (ha ha—pun intended) with a simple spice blend that's based on a traditional Moroccan recipe for Ras-el-Hanout, an Arabic phrase that literally translates to "head of shop," and means "top shelf."

It's warm, sweet and subtly spicy — perfect for a "let's try something new" sort of family dinner.

Looking for something more basic? Get Kate's 2-ingredient baked chicken thighs recipe here.

Ingredients

Ras-el-Hanout Spice Mix:
  • 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
Chicken Thighs:
  • 2 tablespoons date syrup or honey
  • ¼ cup EVOO
  • 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • 1 yellow onion, thickly sliced lengthwise

Yield

Serves: 4 to 6

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 375 °F.

For the spice mix: Toast the coriander and cumin seeds in a small skillet until golden and fragrant. Remove to a spice grinder and let cool. To the spice grinder add the crushed red pepper flakes and coarse black pepper. Process in the spice grinder until well ground and blended. Remove to a small bowl and add the rest of the ingredients for the spice mix. This can be stored in an airtight container for future use as you will not need it all for one dinner.

Remove the chicken thighs from their packaging and pat dry with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and let come up to room temperature (about 20 minutes).

Meanwhile, mix 1 tablespoon of the spice mix with the date syrup or honey and the EVOO. 

In a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, toss the chicken thighs and onions with the spice mixture and spread out evenly with the skin up. Sprinkle lightly with a little more of the spice mix.

Bake until browned, 25 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 °F. 

(Check the chicken after 20 minutes, if it seems like the skin might be getting too dark, tent with foil or turn the oven down to 350 °F for the remainder of the cooking time.)