Coffee-rubbed chicken thighs roasted to perfection delivering an incredible, flavorful, inexpensive meal that's sure to impress. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to eat well and this is a great example to back up that statement.

I have to say, sometimes I even impress myself when I create a dish like this and it works the very first time. Of course, I make it many times before I post it for you because I’m all about delivering quality. I mean, it’s my reputation and I am still trying to recover it from my younger days so I figured with cooking I have to be on my game. Ha!
So I wrote about the coffee rub and you can read all about it and make it whenever you want to rub it on something (that you’re cooking hahaha) and have a tasty meal. I use it on chicken thighs because they’re cheap and the meat is juicier than white meat. I used to only like white meat for the longest time until I finally gave dark meat a chance one day and boy, am I glad I did.
It’s probably (most definitely) because I started seasoning it with the right stuff. It also has to do with being able to buy a package of chicken thighs for under 4 bucks! And, I’m even talking about the good quality stuff and not the stuff that’s the manager’s special. I’ve been there so I know. I didn’t grow up rich and I wouldn’t change it for the world because I would know how to budget on a dime with lentils and rice and survive very well. Hey, we all can’t live in the Hamptons, right?

So I saw this package of chicken thighs and coated it with my delicious coffee rub that I created and it was so freaking good, I make it often with no complaints. With all that extra money, I may have to buy myself a Tesla.
This takes minutes to put together and all you do is roast it for 40 - 50 minutes and it’s done. I like to roast closer to 50 minutes because I like my thighs nice and crispy. It is very hard for me not to crack a joke here. I’m trying to be good. But honestly, dark meat is delicious and doesn’t dry up like white meat does.

So make this, give it a try and let me know what you think. Serve it with rice, potatoes, or some of these sides. You really can’t go wrong.
Love these coffee-rubbed chicken thighs? Then you must try:
Grilled rosemary spatchcock chicken
Addictive sticky teriyaki chicken wings
Broiled mustard garlic chicken breasts
Life is too short for mediocre food.

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee-Rubbed Chicken Thighs
PRINT PIN SAVEIngredients
- 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 ½ - 3 pounds)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil I eyeball it and just drizzle
- 3 - 4 tablespoons Coffee Rub
Coffee Rub:
- 1 tablespoon ground coffee
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt or to taste
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
Instructions
- Preheat oven 425°.
- Combine all the ingredients for the coffee rub in a bowl and set aside.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil.
- Remove excess skin from the underside of the chicken thigh. There’s usually skin folded under and it won’t crisp up so it’s better to just remove it. Do not remove the skin on sides or top.
- Pat the chicken thighs with a paper towel to dry them a bit.
- Place the chicken thighs on baking sheet skin side down and drizzle with a little olive oil. I just eyeball it. Sprinkle with some of the coffee rub. Don't be shy and coat it well.
- Flip over chicken thighs drizzle them with more oil and sprinkle liberally with more seasoning. Depending on the size of the thighs, I will use up the seasoning but you may have a little left over.
- Roast in the oven for 40 - 50 minutes until nice and brown and internal temp reaches 165. I usually roast closer to 50 minutes because I like them dark and crisp. Dark meat is pretty forgiving.
- When you remove them from the oven, baste them with the juices from the pan. Those juices are delicious.
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