Description
This Baked Chicken Legs recipe features juicy, flavorful chicken drumsticks with crispy skin, seasoned with a custom blend of garlic, onion, paprika, salt, and pepper, all roasted to perfection in the oven. Ideal for a simple weeknight dinner, this dish yields tender meat and a satisfyingly crispy exterior.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken
- 8 skin-on chicken drumsticks (approximately 2 pounds total weight)
Seasoning
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sea salt (reduce to 1 teaspoon if preferred less salty)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked or sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup and to prevent sticking.
- Mix Seasonings: In a small mixing bowl, add garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, black pepper, and dry mustard if using. Use a fork to blend these spices together evenly.
- Add Olive Oil: Pour the olive oil into the bowl with the spices and mix thoroughly, creating a seasoned oil mixture.
- Prepare Chicken: Allow chicken legs to come to room temperature to ensure even cooking. Pat them dry with paper towels for extra crispiness.
- Coat Chicken: Using a pastry brush or your hands, coat each chicken drumstick thoroughly with the seasoned oil mixture, making sure the entire surface is covered.
- Arrange on Baking Sheet: Place the coated chicken legs in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between each drumstick for proper heat circulation.
- Bake: Bake the chicken legs on the middle rack for 30 minutes at 400 degrees F.
- Brush and Crisp: After 30 minutes, brush the chicken legs with the oil that has collected on the baking sheet. Continue baking for an additional 5-10 minutes until the skin is crispy and golden brown. Check for an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F to ensure doneness.
Notes
- You can substitute chicken thighs or whole chicken legs (quarters) with skin-on, bone-in for this recipe for similar results.
- For extra crispy skin, thoroughly pat the chicken dry before seasoning to remove excess moisture.
- Feel free to customize the seasoning blend to your taste, using Cajun, lemon pepper, old bay, barbecue, or jerk seasoning as delicious alternatives.
- This recipe can also be adapted for air frying: use only 1 tablespoon of olive oil, toss chicken with seasonings, spray lightly with olive oil spray, air fry at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, flip, and cook another 10 minutes.
- Do not cover the chicken when baking; the skin needs direct heat to crisp rather than steam.
- Monitor cooking closely to avoid overcooking, which can dry out the meat.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 chicken drumsticks (approximately 8 ounces)
- Calories: 330
- Sugar: 0g
- Sodium: 700mg
- Fat: 22g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 16g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 1g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 28g
- Cholesterol: 110mg
