Earlier this month we rounded up our favorite chicken thigh recipes and then a few weeks later I developed this gem and OMG is it amazing! Get ready for Crispy Chicken Thighs with Smashed Peas!!
Here's what happened: these chicken thighs get seared to perfection so their skin crisps up and the fat from the skin renders down into the skillet. Once they are done cooking, you add some lemony cheesy peas into the mix and let that hang out with the schmaltz in the bottom of the pan and holy cow you guys life will never be the same. Crispy Chicken Thighs with Cheesy Peas YES PLEASE.
The peas, the chicken, the pan drippings, everything about this is truly perfection. And bonus - it uses frozen peas kinda like the salmon we did a few months ago!! So all of the ingredients are going to be easy to come by and you can have on hand to whip up a meal in no time!!
More ways to use Spring Peas:
- Broiled Salmon with Spring Peas
- Green Pizza
- Spring Pasta Carbonara
- Snap Pea and Asparagus Pizza
- Spring Pea Salad
- Pesto Pea Pizza
- Pea Pasta with Burrata
- Pea and Asparagus Tart
- Spring Mac and Cheese
- Spring Pea Risotto
Crispy Chicken Thighs with Smashed Peas
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the Peas
- 1 10-ounce package frozen peas, completely thawed
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- ⅓ cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more to finish
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 lemons, 1 juiced and 1 sliced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- fresh dill and fresh mint leaves, optional
Instructions
- Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 400°F
- Season the chicken thighs on both sides with salt, pepper, cumin and coriander. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin side down, and cook until the fat has rendered and the skin is crisp and golden brown, about 8 minutes.
- Flip the chicken to the other side and scatter the lemon slices on top. Transfer to the oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, away from the bone, registers 170°F (77°C), 18 to 20 minutes.
- While the chicken is roasting, make the smashed peas. Transfer the garlic to a medium bowl and add the pecorino, olive oil, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, salt, and plenty of black pepper, and whisk to combine. Add the thawed peas and stir to combine. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Use the back of a fork and just roughly mash half of the peas so they are a little more chunky and leave the other half whole.
- Remove the chicken from the oven, add the peas into the ovenproof skillet, basically nesting the chicken thighs into the peas and coating the peas with the chicken renderings and top with herbs and extra lemon, salt and pepper.
This is on my dinner menu for tonight!! I've made it before and it is supper YUMMY.
This recipe immediately became my family’s favorite the first time I made it. And, by that I mean it’s been requested for birthdays and last-night-before-returning-to-college dinners, and both of my boys (yes, college-aged BOYS) asked for this recipe to prepare in their off-campus apartments. You really knocked it out of the park with this one! Thank you!!!
It was very good but my peas didn’t look bright green when done ☹️
Just have a little talk with your food stylist! mine didn’t either, but it was super delicious. I put the chicken into a baking dish for the oven after browning in the skillet because I’m not sure the skillet is oven safe. Then I cooked the peas in the skillet while the chicken finished in the oven.
This dish will definitely be on my regular rotation - easy yet special. Served with spinach salad and a glass of Chardonnay. I feel other good side dishes might be butternut squash, rice and mushrooms, or broiled tomatoes.
Delish!!!Love how the peas compliments the chicken and so easy to prepare.Thank you Gaby!
Absolutely delicious! It was devoured before I could get any photos! We didn’t have the cheese and used about half of the amount of oil in the pea mix with the great mint and fresh dill. It was simply scrumptious!
What is the best substitute for the ground coriander? I'm making this tonight and just realized I don't have any 🙁
you can omit!! or add a little cumin
Looks great! Would you serve it alongside anything else, or just solo? Thanks!
maybe a side salad!
Looks fantastic! Care to share what type of pan this is shown in? Love the antique look!
it's my prop stylists! I can ask!
Can you make this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken thighs? It's all I have. Is there anything you would do differently?
you sure can!! they will just cook a bit faster without the bone
Do we not cook the peas at all? Your recipe ends with just adding the peas to the skillet? Please explain
frozen peas are already cooked!!
I was wondering the same thing. In Europe at least frozen peas are usually raw.
Made this last night & it was wonderful!! Easy recipe with big flavor. Every one of your recipes I’ve tried has been amazing! My fav? Chicken Enchilada Bake. Yum!
OMG best peas ever! Chicken not too bad either!! Definitely a keeper!! Thank you!!
Agreed, the peas were the real stars of this meal. To die for!
This looks delicious! I am going to make it dairy free without the cheese.
It was so good! My husband and I eat a lot of chicken, so I’m always looking for different flavor combos and this recipe did not disappoint. It was fast and it was easy, great for a weeknight dinner.
Delicious! I just love all these ways to use chicken!