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Baked polenta-crusted chicken thighs

I’ve tried so many ways to cook chicken — fried, baked, crusted, with more things than you can imagine. Why? Because my kids are chicken lovers. Here is one of the methods I use to give them a healthy and tasty chicken meal, reminiscent of the fried version everyone loves.

Fried chicken would surely be tasty, but since I am trying to make healthier meals at home — and cleaning up oil spatters is one of my least favorite chores — I try to limit the amount of foods I fry. Baking is much easier and less messy, because you just pop the chicken into the oven and do other things while you wait for it to cook. I wouldn’t easily trade baking for frying.

Even when chicken is baked, the polenta traps its moisture quite well and creates a very good crust. Dip it into your favorite sauce, like ketchup, mayonnaise or barbecue sauce, and you’ve got yourself a good, healthy chicken dinner for the whole family to enjoy.

Baked polenta-crusted chicken thighs recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients:

  • 2 chicken thighs, with skin and bones
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup polenta
  • Salt and pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Make a couple of slashes on the chicken thighs, and then rub them with olive oil.
  3. Coat the chicken with the polenta, and then sprinkle it with salt and pepper.
  4. Place the chicken thighs onto an oiled baking dish.
  5. Place the baking dish onto the middle rack of the oven, and bake the chicken for 1 hour or until the thighs are golden brown and cooked through.

More chicken recipes

Tortilla chip-crusted baked chicken tenders with honey-yogurt dip
Healthy baked pasta-crusted chicken nuggets

Baked lemon-soy chicken and rice platter

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