Calabrian Balsamic Chicken Thighs

I LOVE these Calabrian and balsamic chicken thighs! This simple balsamic chicken recipe is a wonderful weeknight easy chicken dinner. We are serving this meal with a pearl couscous tabouli and roasted tomatoes and garlic.

Such a great dish, full of all my favorite things and loads of flavor. ⁠I also love how I’ll always have the balsamic chicken marinade ingredients on hand (and less than 6 ingredients) using Calabrian chili, garlic, vinegar, brown sugar and salt and pepper.⁠ The most amazing flavorful sauce!

You can also serve this balsamic chicken with any veggies ranging from asparagus, mushrooms, green beans, broccoli, to starches like roasted potatoes and more!

What ingredients do you need for this balsamic chicken recipe?

Chicken thighs: I love this recipe with chicken thighs, but chicken breasts definitely work, too.

Balsamic vinegar: The STAR of the show is balsamic vinegar for the balsamic marinade. I just like to use the vinegar, but you can opt to use a balsamic glaze if that’s what you prefer. I do find it gets more on the sweeter side, so that’s up to you. Although, if you do have just balsamic vinegar, and want to add some sweetness, a dash of honey would be great as well.

We are also using brown sugar in this recipe, so it’s up to you on your preferred sweetness level.

Calabrian Chili: I LOVE using either crushed or whole calabrian chili (blended up) where I can. It amps up flavor and gives this recipe some heat. But remove if you don’t like spicy.

Garlic: We are using whole garlic cloves, as we are blending up the marinate. But, you can either mince or finely slice to whisk your marinade if you prefer not to blend.

For your couscous salad: Tossing couscous, cucumbers, tomato, parsley, cilantro, dill, mint, lemon juice, olive oil and salt and black pepper to serve along-side. But, of course, you can serve this with any side salad or vegetable you prefer. Rice or any grain works too for this!

Instructions to make this recipe

Make your marinade

To begin, place your marinade ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. You can also whisk your marinade ingredients in a bowl, but if I’m using whole chili and whole garlic, it is nice to get that blended through, up to you!

Then, add in a bag with your chicken thighs and marinate for 1 hr – overnight.

Make your couscous salad

In the meantime, make your couscous according to the package instructions and chop up your tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs. When the couscous is ready, add in all the ingredients with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix well and chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

Cook your chicken

Heat a skillet with vegetable oil (or any neutral oil) until hot, and grill and char your marinated chicken thighs on medium-high heat until cooked completely through.

Serve with your chilled salad and optional to serve with roasted tomatoes and garlic.

Check out the below chicken recipes for more inspiration!

If you do make this Balsamic Chicken recipe (first of all, thank you!!), be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram and through social media so I can be sure to see what you’re making! If you’d like to stay in touch and get the latest to your inbox, sign up for our Newsletter here as well!

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Updated from April 2019