Spicy Chicken Thigh Marinade is a delicious sauce that soaks into your chicken thighs and give them a savory and spicy flavor. Spicy Sriracha, smokey chipotle peppers and sweet chili sauce and a variety of spices combine for just the right amount of heat.
Marinades add so much flavor to foods and helps tenderize meats so well. I would go so far as to say in my experience, steaks, chicken, pork and vegetables ALL taste better with a marinade. There are so many different ingredients you can use in a marinade, I never get bored with the same old flavor.
Ingredient Notes
You will need the following ingredients to make a spicy chicken marinade:
- The main ingredients that give this marinade its spicy flavor is the Sriracha and chipotle peppers. You can easily add more or less of each/either to suit your taste.
- You can add or substitute jalapeno peppers for some additional spice. Or add some red pepper flakes to the marinade..
- We are using bone in, skin on chicken thighs to marinate for this recipe.
- If you love dipping sauces, double this recipe, use half to marinate your chicken and use the other half that has not been used with the chicken for dipping. The extra sauce will keep 4-5 days in the refrigerator
How to make Spicy Marinade for Chicken Thighs
- Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl and whisk well. Taste for seasoning and heat level. Place chicken thighs in bowl and stir to fully coat the chicken.
- Cover and put in refrigerator for at least 1 hour, up to 12 hours.
- Drain chicken and pat dry with paper towel when ready to use.
How to cook Spicy Chicken Thighs
- Heat one tablespoon of oil in a cast iron skillet.
- Place chicken thighs skin side down and cook for 3-4 minutes, without moving them around. Let the skin get a nice browned sear on it before flipping over.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Place cast iron skillet in oven and bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 165°F. It will continue to cook for a few minutes after you remove from the oven.
- We served our thighs with basmati rice and some Cajun Coleslaw.
MORE Chicken Recipes you will love:
Spicy Chicken Thigh Marinade
- Prep Time: 1hour 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Spicy marinade for chicken thighs has sriracha, smokey chipotle peppers and sweet chili sauce. Try it out on pork and beef and grilled vegetables as well.
Ingredients
- Marinade
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (reserve 1 tablespoon for cooking chicken)
- ¾ cup Sriracha sauce
- ¼ cup sweet chili sauce (I used sugar free) *
- 2 chipolte peppers, finely minced **
- 2 tablespoon chipotle sauce
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in a bowl and whisk well.
- Pour marinade over 2 ½ lbs. of chicken thighs (about 5) in a bowl or large plastic storage bag
- Leave chicken in the marinade in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (or up to 12 hours).
- When ready to cook, drain chicken from marinade. Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in oven safe pan on medium flame. Place chicken thighs, skin side down in pan and cook for about 3-4 minutes to brown.
- Flip thighs over and bake in oven for approximately 30 minutes or until a meat thermometer placed in chicken thigh registers 165°F.
Notes
**The more chipotle peppers you use, the smokier and spicier the marinade will be. I did not remove the seeds so 2 peppers were the right amount. Add more as you prefer.
*** I believe 1 hour is the minimum amount to marinate the chicken. The longer you do, the chicken will absorb more flavor. But after 12 hours, the texture will not be as good.
**** After the chicken was drained, there was approximately ½ cup of marinade left in the bowl. The nutrition information is for the entire marinade recipe. The longer you marinate the chicken, the more it will absorb.
*I discard any leftover marinade and never reuse it on any foods.
Linda says
This marinade sauce made the chicken so flavorful!
So easy for a weeknight dinner.
Deb Belsha says
Thanks, we love spicy chicken!