grilled turmeric chicken thighs

These grilled turmeric chicken thighs are deeply infused with peppery turmeric, saffron, and a ton of lemon. They’re juicy, crispy, and just spicy enough that you can’t stop.

These turmeric chicken thighs are insanely flavorful. We make a lemony, turmeric, saffron marinade that infuses flavor throughout the chicken. A half-hour is enough to make a huge impact. But 2 hours? Or overnight? You won’t be able to stop eating this chicken. 

We also toss in sliced onions, garlic, and a big pinch of chile flakes to round out the flavors and a touch of spice. Then we grill the gorgeous golden thighs until crispy, slightly charred, and super juicy. They’re so lemony, peppery, crackly, and just spicy enough that you can’t stop. I crave these turmeric chicken thighs literally every night.

The chicken is crazy good, but the onions? They're the silent warriors that might actually be my favorite part. They slurp up the turmeric marinade and transform into delicious slivers of sweet, charred, lemony pops of flavor. Don’t skip them, but do make sure to have a grill basket!

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turmeric chicken ingredients:

how to make turmeric chicken:

1. Make the marinade with lemon juice, olive oil, turmeric, saffron, chile flakes, salt, black pepper, onions and garlic
2. Toss in chicken thighs and marinade at least 30 minutes, or overnight
3. Grill chicken until charred, crispy and cooked through
4. Grill onions until softened and lightly charred
5. Serve with chopped parsley and lemon wedges

what wine to serve with spicy turmeric chicken?

The subtle spice and big lemon flavor of this chicken will go well with a crisp white wine that is equally intense in flavor.

It can be off-dry: often times the tiniest touch of sugar in a white wine is delicious with spicy food, and it will enhance the fruity flavors. It’s also important to pick a high-acid wine, so the lemon in the chicken doesn’t cause the wine to fall flat.

Here are some great high-acid, full-flavor white wines to try:

Rheingau Reisling, Germany: dry white wine, with crisp acidity and zesty citrus notes

Alsace Reisling, France: can be dry or off dry, full-bodied, plush, and more floral than German versions (goes really well with the saffron here!)

Vouvray tendre, Loire Valley, France: This Chenin blanc wine is just slightly sweet, with intense green apple and floral notes, and steely acidity. Demi-sec versions have even more sweetness, which can be overpowering if you prefer dry wines.

what goes well with turmeric chicken?

Serve this recipe with a bed of herby couscous or your favorite rice pilaf and a light, crunchy salad. 

I especially love a combination of cucumbers, olives, feta, romaine and a red wine vinegar-based dressing: it’s fresh, crisp, and simple!

If it's summer and you've got access to corn, make this grilled corn salad! It's sweet, spicy, smoky and tart.

Leftovers are even better! Sliced up the grilled chicken thighs and toss them in a pita with shredded lettuce, your favorite veggies, and a creamy tahini yogurt sauce.

what vegetables go with turmeric chicken? 

I love to serve these grilled chicken thighs with grilled bell peppers that become soft and sweet. Just toss them in the basket with the onions-- so easy!

Crisp-tender grilled broccolini or asparagus also go so well with the lemony, turmeric flavors.

For a truly standout vegetable side dish, grill a few cauliflower steaks and baste them with a garlicky lemon olive oil mixture! So beautiful and flavorful!

a few more recipe tips:

• I love using boneless, skinless chicken thighs here. They have so much surface area to soak up the marinade. But you can also use this for chicken breasts (slice them in half if they’re really thick) or bone-in chicken thighs. Up to you!
• Make sure to really shake off excess marinade from the onions before grilling, or you’ll get a small grease fire going in your grill. The char will be nice, but smoking out the neighborhood won’t be.
• Use a grill basket for the onions! You could also use a sheet of foil and place it directly on the grill, but they seem to burn more easily that way (and grilling on foil always feels a little...sketchy).
• Turmeric will stain things! Wear an apron if you’re worried about staining your clothes, and use a kitchen rag you don’t care about.

More chicken recipes to try!

spicy grilled chicken pita with jalapeño yogurt

sheet pan harissa chicken with broccolini and chickpeas

grilled tamarind ginger chicken legs

puff pastry chicken pot pie

spicy fried chicken sandwich with jalapeño slaw

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