Miso Chicken Thighs

This Miso Chicken Thigh recipe is easy to make and incredibly flavorful with an umami rich marinade made with miso paste, rice vinegar, honey, ginger and garlic. The miso honey sauce becomes deliciously sticky after baking in the oven, and is the perfect combination of sweet and salty. Miso Chicken Recipe

This Miso Chicken recipe requires just a handful of ingredients but results in incredibly flavorful chicken. The chicken is cooked to golden brown perfection and the sauce has this incredible sticky glaze that has an amazing umami flavor and is delicious served on a bed of rice with a side of roasted or steamed veggies. I love to make this in advance and have it on salads during the week or make a big batch to serve on skewers on the grill. If you have never tried Miso paste, this is the perfect recipe for your first time. You will love the sweetness of the sauce from the honey and the umami saltiness from the miso, which is the true star of the show.

Table of Contents

Ingredients You Will Need To Make This Delicious Miso Chicken

What is Miso Paste?

Kitchen Tools You Will Need

How To Make This Miso Chicken Recipe

Tips For Making This Miso Chicken

How to Serve With This Miso-Marinated Chicken

Can I Make This Miso Chicken In Advance?

What About Leftovers

Miso Chicken Thighs

Why You Will Love This Miso Chicken Recipe

The sweet and savory umami-packed sauce is sooo tasty! You will find yourself licking every drop of sauce from the plate.
These Juicy chicken thighs are so quick and easy to make. After being marinated, they are cooked and ready to eat in less than 30 minutes.
This honey miso chicken is super versatile and can be served over rice, tossed in a salad or alongside steamed veggies and it’s great for meal prep too!
This miso chicken recipe requires just a handful of ingredients you should be able to find at any local grocery store.
You can swap the type of chicken for skin-on chicken thighs, chicken breasts, chicken legs or even a whole chicken!

Ingredients You Will Need To Make This Delicious Miso Chicken

Chicken thighs: I like to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs because they have such a rich and juicy flavor. You could also use bone-in thighs, boneless, skinless chicken breast or chicken drumsticks. You will just need to adjust the cooking time appropriately.
Miso paste: This is, of course, a must for the miso marinade. The flavor is sweet and salty and is the star ingredient. I prefer using white miso paste over red miso paste because the flavor is sweeter and milder. Red miso tends to have a more robust salty flavor.
Rice Wine vinegar: Rice wine vinegar pairs beautifully with the miso paste to give it the perfect Asian food flavor. You could also use white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
Honey: The sweetness of the honey balances with the saltiness of the miso and the tanginess of the vinegar. You could also use agave nectar or maple syrup.
Aromatics: The blend of fresh ginger and fresh garlic cloves gives the miso marinade such an amazing flavor. Be sure to chop/mince them both very finely to release all the yummy flavor.
Garnish: I love to garnish this dish with scallions (aka green onions). You could also sprinkle it with white sesame seeds.

What is Miso Paste?

Miso is traditional in Japanese cuisine, made of fermented soybeans, rice or barley, salt, and a fermenting agent like koji. It is rich with an umami flavor that’s both salty and slightly sweet. The fermentation process gives it a depth of flavor and complexity that makes it great for miso soup, homemade sauces, salad dressings or makes a great marinade. You can find miso paste in most grocery stores, usually in the refrigerated section, ethnic aisle, or in Asian markets.

Kitchen Tools You Will Need

Liquid measuring cup
Small bowl to mix the marinade ingredients.
Large baking sheet or baking dish large enough to lay the chicken in a single layer.
Tongs or a fork to remove chicken from bowl or bag with marinade.
Sharp knife to slice chicken if desired.

How To Make This Miso Chicken Recipe

In a small bowl, whisk together the miso paste, rice vinegar, honey, grated ginger, and garlic.
Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl or Ziploc bag, add the miso sauce ingredients and leave to marinate for a minimum of 1 hour and up to overnight.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Transfer the chicken thighs plus all of the sauce to a baking dish or sheet pan, and ensure that the chicken thighs are arranged, spread out in a single layer, and flat (not tucked under). For quicker cleanup you can line the baking tray with parchment paper or aluminum foil before adding the chicken.
Transfer to the oven to cook for 20 minutes or until the meat thermometer shows the internal temperature of the meat is 165 degrees, and it is golden brown in color (If the chicken is still pale in color, I recommend turning the oven to broil and leaving the chicken to cook for 1-2 more minutes until golden in color).
Serve the miso chicken in whole pieces or slice before plating over rice. Spoon any excess miso glaze over the chicken and garnish with green onions or sesame seeds if desired.

You can find detailed step by step instructions in the recipe card below.

Tips For Making This Miso Chicken

Stir the sauce ingredients together and taste to ensure you are happy with the taste before adding it to the chicken. Add more ginger, miso paste, honey or vinegar depending on your preference.
Choose a baking tray that isn’t too large and fits the chicken snuggly, this will help to ensure that any excess sauce coats the chicken and doesn’t evaporate and burn when cooking (which will happen if you use a sheet pan that is too large).
Once the miso chicken thighs are done cooking, turn the oven to broil for a few minutes to give the chicken a nice golden color.

How to Serve With This Miso-Marinated Chicken

I love to serve these miso chicken thighs over a bed of white rice, brown rice or cauliflower rice, but it would also be amazing over coconut rice. For a completely meal I like to serve it with a side of steam veggies like green beans, broccoli and bell peppers and drizzle some of the extra sauce from the pan overtop before serving. Alternatively you could try roasted veggies like these Roasted Carrots or Roasted Broccoli.

Can I Make This Miso Chicken In Advance?

This Miso Chicken is an excellent recipe to make in advance on your meal prep day or earlier in the day. This can be made 3-4 days in advance. Be sure to bring it to room temperature after cooking and then store it in an airtight container. To reheat, place on a large baking sheet or roasting pan and warm at 350 degrees F until an instant-read thermometer reads 165 degrees. If you want to prep it earlier in the day, you could simply make the marinade and get the chicken soaking in that delicious sauce until you are ready to serve it.

What About Leftovers

Bring the chicken to room temperature and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, heat the miso chicken thighs over medium heat in a skillet, use the microwave until heated through, or this will also reheat in the air fryer really nicely. Preheat the air fryer to 350. Place the miso chicken in the air fryer basket in a single layer and reheat for 5-8 minutes.

Here are a few more asian inspired chicken recipes that you may enjoy:

If you make this Miso chicken thigh recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!