Roasted Miso Chicken Thighs
Savory, sticky, caramelized perfection – that’s what you’re in for with these miso chicken thighs. They’re deeply flavorful thanks to umami-rich miso paste, slightly sweet from a touch of brown sugar, and beautifully golden brown and caramelized. It’s a minimal-ingredient, maximum-flavor situation and an easy weeknight dinner win. Bonus: they reheat like a dream and are great for meal prep, so go ahead and double the batch.
Erica’s Thoughts
Miso is one of those ingredients that lives in the back of my fridge until I remember how magical it is. Once I do? It’s miso-glazed everything for a week. These chicken thighs are my current obsession. I think I’ve made these four times in the past six weeks.
Here’s what’s good:
- The miso marinade melts into the chicken as it cooks and creates a glaze that gets deeply golden brown and caramelized
- Chicken thighs are so forgiving and stay juicy and delish so you don’t have to be too fussy about getting the exact perfect internal temperature
- I’ve made these for meal prep (easy protein for me while the hubs works out of town), served them at a dinner party and enjoy them cold on a salad for lunch.
- Even though miso sauce is a Japanese ingredient, the flavor and taste of these chicken thighs pairs with almost any cuisine. To me, it’s flavorful chicken you can repurpose into multiple dishes.
What is miso?
Miso is a fermented soybean paste used in Japanese cuisine that adds a rich, salty, umami flavor to dishes. There are three main types of miso, each differing in ingredients and fermentation time: white miso is lightly fermented with more rice, resulting in a mild and sweet flavor; yellow miso is fermented longer for a more balanced, savory taste; and red miso is aged the longest with more soybeans, giving it a bold, salty, and deeply umami flavor. This recipe calls for white miso paste which is more mild. If you use yellow or red, decrease the quantity.
Hooray for an easy weeknight meal! I need as many of those as possible in my life rn.
Simple Ingredients You’ll Need for Miso Chicken Thighs
White miso paste: Adds rich, salty, umami depth. You can find this at your local grocery store, usually in the Asian foods aisle or in the refrigerated section with the tofu, wonton wrappers, kimchi, etc. Fred Meyer (my preferred grocery store) has a great organic miso paste in the international foods aisle. You can also find it in Asian markets or if all else fails, snag some miso paste online.
Brown sugar: Brings sweetness to balance the salt and helps with caramelization in the oven. You could also use cane sugar, honey or maple syrup.
Rice vinegar: Seasoned rice vinegar adds a gentle hit of acidity to brighten the marinade.
Softened butter: Helps carry the flavor and adds richness.
Red pepper flakes: You can adjust or omit based on your spice preferences!
Ground ginger: Ground ginger adds warmth and subtle zing without needing fresh ginger. You could also use ginger paste.
Boneless skinless chicken thighs: Juicy, forgiving, and perfect for roasting with a sticky glaze. You could use skin-on, bone-in thighs but you may need to roast for slightly longer.
How to Make Miso Chicken Thighs
Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment, aluminum foil, or a silicone mat.
In a small bowl, mash together the miso paste, brown sugar or honey, rice vinegar, softened butter, red pepper flakes, ground ginger, and black pepper until smooth.
Pat chicken thighs dry and trim any excess fat. Toss with the miso glaze in a large bowl, using your hands to coat each piece well. Place on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Spread any extra miso-butter mixture on top of the thighs.
Bake for 25 minutes, flipping at the 15 and 20 minute marks to ensure even browning and caramelization. If desired, use an instant-read thermometer to determine when they reach exactly 165°F. While the chicken bakes, prep your sides!
If there are stuck-on bits on the pan, splash with water, scrape them up, and brush over the chicken. That’s pure flavor. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and serve with a bowl of rice or noodles, salad, or a vegetable like green beans, bok choy, or shiitake mushrooms.
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Get ready for the glorious smell of chicken wafting through your house!
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Roasted Miso Chicken Thighs
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Roast
- Cuisine: Asian
Description
These juicy miso chicken thighs are savory, slightly sweet, and packed with umami flavor. An easy weeknight dinner made with just a few pantry staples.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup white miso paste
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- green onions, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with a silicone baking mat, parchment paper or foil.
- In a small bowl, use a fork to smash together ¼ cup white miso paste, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons softened butter and ¼ teaspoon each red pepper flakes, ground ginger and black pepper.
- Use a paper towel to pat chicken thighs dry. Use kitchen scissors to trim away any dangling or excess pieces of fat. Toss the chicken thighs with the miso marinade, using your hands to smoosh everything around and get the thighs well-coated.
- Place chicken thighs on the prepared baking sheet. If some of the marinade falls off, simply spread it on top of each thigh. Bake for 25 minutes, flipping 1-2 times at the 15 and 20 minute marks until the miso is caramelized and darkened in color.
- If there are stuck-on bits on the pan, add a splash of water, scrape them up and brush onto the thighs. Color = flavor! You can use a pastry brush to brush the marinade evenly over each thigh.
- Serve hot with rice, noodles, Asian slaw, stir-fry, or steamed veggies.
Notes
Air-fryer instructions: Prepare chicken per the recipe. Preheat air fryer to 375 degrees. Air-fry for 16-20 minutes, flipping several times until golden brown, caramelized and cooked through.
Refer above for step-by-step photos and refer below for expert tips and frequently asked questions.
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 chicken thighs
- Calories: 308
- Sugar: 5.4 g
- Sodium: 804.3 mg
- Fat: 13.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 8.8 g
- Fiber: 0.9 g
- Protein: 35.7 g
- Cholesterol: 175.1 mg
Expert Tips
- Be sure to line the sheet pan. The sugar in the marinade will caramelize and get rather sticky so lining with a silpat mat, parchment paper or foil helps with cleanup!
- Don’t skip flipping the chicken at least once to develop caramelization all over.
- The marinade will be thick- use your hands to smoosh it all over the thighs, but no need to be precious, it doesn’t have to be perfectly coated.
- If you, like me, don’t use the entire container of miso quickly enough, use an ice cube tray to freeze 1-2 tablespoon amount cubes and snag one each time you need miso.
FAQs
You can, but thighs are more forgiving and stay juicier. If you use breasts, slice them in half lengthwise for thin, flat fillets, reduce the cooking time by half and watch closely to avoid drying out the meat.
Cooked miso chicken will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container. Reheat in the microwave or in an air fryer if you have one! Serve warm or cold over noodles, salads or in sandwiches or quesadillas.
White miso is milder and sweeter. Red and yellow miso are stronger and saltier. If substituting, I’d use 2-3 tablespoons instead of 1/4 cup.
Yes! Grill over medium heat, flipping a few times until nicely caramelized and cooked through.
What to Serve with Miso Chicken Thighs:
Variation Ideas
- Serve miso-marinated chicken bowl-style with brown rice and pickled veggies
- Try thinly sliced chicken breast, chicken drumsticks or chicken legs.
- Add toasted sesame oil or grated garlic to the marinade.
- You can make simple swaps to the marinade like lime juice for the rice vinegar or honey for the brown sugar.
This. Is. Phenomenal!! I made it exactly as the recipe says and made the recommended Asian slaw on the side and it is so so good. My 5 year old ate THREE servings of the chicken and all of the slaw. Will be making this when we go up north with the extended family!
Wooooohoooo! I’m so happy this was a mega hit Katie! Thanks for your review!
I’m not sure if I did something wrong, but all of the marinade just melted right off the chicken thighs onto the pan, so they ended up just being plain chicken thighs and did not caramel at all. Any tips? I’d love to try again? The cucumber slaw that went with it is so good!
Hi Lauren! Thanks for bringing this up! I just updated the instructions with better info 🙂 So when you flip the thighs, use a spoon or pastry brush to keep basting with the miso marinade mixture. Because there is butter, it will melt, but you have to kinda keep scooping it onto the thighs a few times throughout cooking. You may also want to finish with a minute or so under the broiler to really accelerate the caramelization at the very end!
Erica!! This recipe is so delicious!! I made it with an Asian salad kit and Momofuko noodles on the side for a fast and easy dinner. The chicken was unbelievably delicious and I will be making again and again. I did use chicken breast cutlets in the airfryer for 10 minutes. So quick and yes and so fantastic!!! Would be great on fish too I think! Yum!
This is a great recipe, but I had a difficult time spreading it on the chicken and getting it to spread evenly. I didn’t have ginger so I had to leave that out. Regardless they came out pretty good and I’m going to make it again.
Hi Stacey! Thanks for the feedback and thanks for making the recipe! It is a pretty thick mixture, and it will kinda melt all over the chicken thighs when they get into the oven, make sure to use a pastry brush or spoon to spoon the sauce back over the thighs 1-2 times while cooking!
Made these for dinner and WOW! Such good flavor. You make some of my absolute favorite recipes and this is now on the list!
This chicken is SO flavorful and juicy! We loved it and will make it often! 🙌🏼
Grilled this with breasts as thats what I had and wow, so good! Looking forward to leftovers on a salad tomorrow. So easy, will make again!