Description
Herb Chicken Thighs with Gravy, Buttery Mashed Potatoes & Roasted Carrots is a cozy complete dinner featuring crispy, herb-seasoned chicken thighs finished in the oven, a silky pan gravy, creamy mashed potatoes, and sweet caramelized carrots.
Ingredients
- Chicken & Gravy: 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 280–350 g total)
- Chicken & Gravy: 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Chicken & Gravy: 3/4 teaspoon fine salt (plus more to taste)
- Chicken & Gravy: 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (plus more to taste)
- Chicken & Gravy: 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Chicken & Gravy: 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Chicken & Gravy: 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Chicken & Gravy: 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- Chicken & Gravy: 3/4 cup chicken stock
- Chicken & Gravy: 2 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)
- Chicken & Gravy: 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- Mashed Potatoes: 400 g potatoes, peeled and cut into 2–3 cm cubes
- Mashed Potatoes: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Mashed Potatoes: 2 tablespoons milk or cream (plus 1 extra tablespoon if needed)
- Mashed Potatoes: 1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
- Roasted Carrots: 200 g baby carrots
- Roasted Carrots: 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Roasted Carrots: 1/2 teaspoon honey or brown sugar
- Roasted Carrots: 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Roasted Carrots: 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Roasted Carrots: 1 tablespoon chopped parsley (for garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly oil it.
- Roast carrots: Toss carrots with olive oil, honey (or brown sugar), salt, and pepper. Spread in a single layer and roast 25–30 minutes, turning once halfway, until tender and caramelized.
- Season chicken: Pat thighs dry. Season both sides with salt, pepper, dried thyme, and garlic powder.
- Sear chicken: Heat olive oil in an oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Sear thighs skin-side down 5–6 minutes until deeply golden and crisp. Flip and sear 4–5 minutes more.
- Roast chicken: Transfer skillet to oven and roast about 20 minutes, or until the thickest part reaches 74°C (165°F). Transfer chicken to a plate and loosely cover to rest.
- Boil potatoes: While chicken roasts, add potatoes to a pot and cover with cold water by 2–3 cm. Add salt, bring to a boil, then simmer 15–18 minutes until fork-tender. Drain well.
- Mash: Return potatoes to the pot and mash. Stir in butter and milk/cream. Add extra milk/cream if needed for a softer texture. Season to taste.
- Make gravy: Carefully pour off excess fat from the skillet, leaving about 1–2 tablespoons drippings and the browned bits. Set skillet over medium heat, add butter, then whisk in flour and cook 1 minute. Gradually whisk in chicken stock and simmer 3–4 minutes until thickened. Stir in heavy cream (if using) and parsley. Adjust salt and pepper.
- Serve: Spoon mashed potatoes onto plates, top with chicken, and ladle gravy over. Add roasted carrots on the side and garnish with parsley.
Notes
- For crispier skin, dry the chicken well and don’t move it while it sears skin-side down.
- No oven-safe skillet? Sear in any skillet, then transfer chicken to a baking dish to finish roasting.
- If gravy is too thick, whisk in extra stock 1 tablespoon at a time. If too thin, simmer longer or whisk in a small slurry (1 tsp flour + 1 tsp cold water) and simmer 1–2 minutes.
- Boneless thigh option: reduce oven time by about 5–7 minutes and cook to 74°C (165°F).
- For brighter flavor, add 1 teaspoon lemon juice to the gravy off heat.
- Storage: keep chicken, gravy, potatoes, and carrots separate for best texture; refrigerate up to 3 days.
- Freezing: chicken and gravy freeze well up to 2 months; mashed potatoes can freeze but may get slightly grainy (stir in a splash of milk when reheating). Carrots are best fresh.
- Reheat: chicken in a 180°C oven 10–15 minutes covered (uncover last 3–5 minutes to re-crisp); gravy gently on stovetop; potatoes with a splash of milk; carrots best in oven/air fryer.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 plate (1/2 recipe)
- Calories: 720
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 980 mg
- Fat: 40 g
- Saturated Fat: 14 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 23 g
- Trans Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 52 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 39 g
- Cholesterol: 175 mg
