Coca-Cola Chicken

Coca Cola Chicken Thighs are an easy and hearty weeknight dinner. Tender chicken with a crispy skin baked in a Coca Cola soda and Worcestershire sauce. 

Simple Oven Baked Chicken Thighs always make a wonderful recipe for family Dinners. This version uses coco cola to make a sweet, tangy sauce that’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser. 
Baking dish with Coca Cola Chicken

COCA COLA CHICKEN THIGHS

If you’re looking for an easy and fun dinner that’s also packed with flavor, then you’ve come to the right place. Making these tangy, crispy chicken thighs is a simple matter of whisking together the sauce, pouring it over the chicken and baking. The whole recipe is done in about 40 minutes, and it’s absolutely mouthwatering. 

Who knew soda could make such a delicious dinner? That’s right, all you need to make the sauce for this chicken is Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and some coca cola. It might sound crazy, but soda can actually make a great marinade for meat. We’ve done it before with Dr. Pepper Pot Roast and Root Beer Sloppy Joes. Why not try it out with a classic chicken recipe?

This baked chicken recipe is just as flavorful as fried chicken, but it’s healthier. Using skin-on chicken thighs means you get a nice crisp outside without having to add any breading. All the flavor comes from the chicken and sauce. You’ll be amazed just how tangy, sweet, and savory the chicken can be with just a few simple ingredients. 

WHY CHICKEN THIGHS?

Chicken thighs are primarily made up of dark meat. This means that they have a deeper flavor than chicken breasts. The meat is great for baking and does a good job soaking up the flavoring of the sauce around it. The skin on the chicken thighs also crisps up beautifully as it bakes. In the end you’ll have an unbelievably flavorful chicken that’s juicy and tender on the inside, and crispy on the outside. 

MORE EASY CHICKEN DINNERS

WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVER CHICKEN THIGHS

Leftover Coca Cola Chicken Thighs are great to heat up and enjoy just as they are. However, you can also try adding them to a couple other recipes to change things up. 

  • Tacos: Try shredding the chicken and using it as the base for chicken tacos. After you’ve shredded the chicken, put it in a microwave safe bowl and heat it up. Once the chicken is warm just add it to a taco shell and top it with all your favorite taco fillings. 
  • Salad: You can also chop the chicken up to top a salad. It’s a more flavorful chicken than your typical grilled chicken salad. Adding some cold Coca Cola Chicken to your favorite fresh greens will make a delicious and easy lunch recipe. 

Baked Coca Cola Chicken in pan

VARIATIONS ON COCA COLA CHICKEN THIGHS

  • Soda: Try experimenting with the flavor by changing the kind of soda you use in the sauce. Dr. Pepper or Root Beer are easy exchanges. You can also use Diet Coke or Coke Zero. 
  • Add-ins: There are plenty of different spices you can add to the sauce mixture the next time you make this chicken recipe. Try adding some paprika, garlic, onion powder, or cumin. 
  • Different cuts of chicken: Although this recipe is for bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs you can adjust the cooking time for other cuts of chicken. You can use boneless chicken thighs or even chicken breast in this recipe. Just remember that boneless chicken takes less time to bake than bone-in chicken does, so you’ll have to decrease the oven time. 

Coca-Cola Chicken in bowl with mashed potatoes

INSTANT POT COCA COLA CHICKEN THIGHS

  • Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. 
  • Whisk together the coke, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce. 
  • Put the chicken thighs in the instant pot and pour the sauce over the top. 
  • Seal the Instapot and pressure cook for 12 minutes. Change to 10 minutes if you’re using boneless chicken thighs.
  • Let the pressure naturally release for 5 minutes, then manually release. 
  • Remove the thighs from the instant pot and place them on a baking sheet. Broil them in the oven for 3 minutes. This will make it so the skin is still nice and crispy. 

Chicken Cooking Safety

To double check your chicken is done cooking you can make sure there’s no more pink meat or use an internal thermometer. According to the USDA, chicken is done cooking when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F (73.8 degrees C).

HOW TO STORE COCA COLA CHICKEN THIGHS

  • Serve: Don’t leave cooked chicken at room temperature for more than 2 hours. 
  • Store: Once the chicken has cooled, store it in an airtight container. The recipe will be good for up to 4 days. 
  • Freeze: To freeze Coca Cola Chicken, remove the meat from the bones and store it in an airtight container. It can keep well in the freezer for up to 4 months. 

Coca Cola baked Chicken Thigh

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Coca-Cola Chicken in bowl with mashed potatoes
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Coca Cola Chicken Thighs

Coca Cola Chicken Thighs is an easy and hearty weeknight dinner. Tender chicken with a crispy skin baked in a Coca Cola soda and Worcestershire sauce. 

Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Keyword Coca Cola Chicken Thighs
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 5 Servings
Calories 401 kcal
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients

  • 5 chicken thighs , bone-in and skin on
  • 12 ounces Coca Cola soda
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1/4 coarse ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Place chicken thighs in baking dish skin side up and season with salt and pepper
  3. Mix together soda, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce pour it over the chicken thighs.
  4. Bake for 35-40 minutes, basting once while it is cooking.

Nutrition Facts
Coca Cola Chicken Thighs
Amount Per Serving
Calories 401 Calories from Fat 216
% Daily Value*
Fat 24g37%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Cholesterol 142mg47%
Sodium 849mg37%
Potassium 502mg14%
Carbohydrates 21g7%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 17g19%
Protein 24g48%
Vitamin A 359IU7%
Vitamin C 3mg4%
Calcium 27mg3%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Coca Cola Chicken collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. My college roommate used to make a similar dish, and we all loved it. I haven’t had it in years! Can’t wait to try it out on my family. 🙂

  2. I love adding drinks in recipes, especially meat. The coke with chicken is so tasty! It is so tender on the inside & I love the crisp, flavorful skin on the outside.