These Easy Roasted Miso Chicken Thighs are so incredibly flavorful with such minimal effort. Marinated in a mixture of miso, soy, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil then roasted until cooked through but still juicy, with plenty of extra sauce for drizzling over rice.
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Ingredients
Just a few simple ingredients are needed to make this delicious baked chicken thigh recipe. Sure, there's plenty more you could add, but these all pack a punch and are plenty flavorful as is.
- Chicken thighs: For this recipe I used boneless skinless chicken thighs. You can really use any cut of chicken you’d like – bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, chicken breast, chicken drumsticks, chicken legs, etc. You’ll just need to adjust the cooking time to ensure they are cooked through.
- Miso paste: White miso paste is best in this recipe. You can usually find this in a refrigerated part of your market.
- Soy sauce: Regular soy sauce (not low sodium) because there’s no additional salt added to this recipe. If you use low sodium soy sauce, add a pinch of salt to the marinade as well.
- Fresh garlic & fresh ginger: The combination of garlic and ginger brings a ton of flavor, and when they’re grated I find it infuses more evenly throughout the dish.
- Garlic powder and ginger powder are acceptable substitutes. 1 clove fresh garlic equals roughly¼ teaspoon garlic powder. 1 inch of fresh ginger equals roughly 1 teaspoon ginger powder.
- Sesame oil: A bit of oil to round out the marinade but also reinforce those Asian-inspired flavors.
- If you don’t have sesame oil you can use olive oil instead, but you'll lose a bit of flavor.
- Sesame seeds: For topping, toasted sesame seeds are great.
- Scallions/green onions: Also for topping, a fresh little bite.
Step by step instructions
The best part about roasting chicken is that it’s pretty hands off, as you’ll see below! Full recipe with quantities is in the recipe card at the end of this post.
1. Mix together the miso sauce in a large bowl
2. Add the chicken and toss to coat
3. Transfer chicken and all the sauce to a baking dish and bake until golden brown and cooked through
Tips and tricks
- Pat your chicken dry with a paper towel before adding marinades to help it adhere and the flavor soak in.
- Always make sure the internal temperature of the meat reaches at least165°F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Let your chicken sit out at room temperature for 15-30 minutes before you bake to help ensure it cooks through evenly. If the center is colder it’ll take longer to cook.
- I like to freeze my ginger because I find it’s easier to grate from frozen.
- Baking time for other cuts of chicken
- I like to bake the chicken in a baking dish as opposed to a baking sheet so it collects the juices better with less risk of spillage.
- If the top of the chicken isn't browned enough to your liking, you can broil them for a couple of minutes on high heat to caramelize the marinade.
Customize the recipe
- If you want to sweeten the miso marinade up a bit, you could add some maple syrup, brown sugar, or honey. I'd suggest no more than1 tbsp.
- If you seek more acid, add some lime juice or apple cider vinegar.
How to serve
My suggestions for serving these miso chicken thighs are below, any of these combinations make a great easy weeknight meal or special date night dinner.
- Jasmine rice or coconut rice
- Spicy cucumber salad
- Roasted vegetables such as broccoli or cauliflower
- Garlic sautéd bok choy
- Sweet potatoes or yukon gold potatoes
Storage and reheating
- To store: let the chicken come to room temperature and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- To rehear: warm in the oven at 300°F for 15 minutes until cooked through or in the microwave for a few minutes.
FAQs
Miso is a savory fermented soybean paste that’s mixed with mainly rice, salt and kōji.
White miso is milder and has a higher percentage of rice, whereas red miso is a punchier, more potent flavor.
It has a savory, salty, umami flavor - it’s kind of hard to put your finger on it, but it’s delicious
Chicken breasts are the leanest with the most protein - however, I find it to be the driest.
Air fryer cooking instructions
Preheat your air fryer to 180°F - spray the rack and add the chicken. Cook the for 10 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for another 5-10 on the other until cooked through.
📖 Recipe
Easy Roasted Miso Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoon white miso paste
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3 cloves garlic grated, ~2 tsp
- 1 inch ginger grated, ~1 tbsp
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoon scallions sliced
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- In a large bowl, combine the white miso paste, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil.
- Toss the chicken in the miso sauce and transfer to a baking dish with all the sauce.
- Bake for 30 minutes until the chicken reaches at least 165°F internal temperature.
LC says
these were super easy and delicious! served it with white jasmine rice and a quick pickled cucumber salad (https://cleanfoodcrush.com/quick-pickled-cucumber-salad/). Thanks for the recipe!
Haley says
Ah I'm so glad you loved it! Thanks for leaving a review 🙂