Easy Baked Chicken Drumsticks Recipe is the perfect way to make juicy and tender chicken that your whole family will love! These chicken legs are coated in a simple, and flavorful marinade, then baked to perfection.
Since everyone has tried and raved about my recipe for Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs, I thought it was time to post another one of my favorite baked chicken recipes!
Chicken drumsticks are a really simple and inexpensive cut of meat to cook. Just like the chicken thighs, it is also one of the recipes I get questions about most often. I have had countless friends, family, and readers ask me how to cook chicken legs. If you're looking for another really fun and flavorful chicken recipe try these Chicken Drumsticks too!
These are the questions that come up most often, and today I am going to answer them for you!
- What kind of marinade should I use for chicken drumsticks?
- How long do I cook chicken drumsticks in the oven and at what temperature?
- What is a good side dish to go along with chicken drumsticks?
How to marinate and bake the perfect chicken drumsticks recipe:
- The marinade for chicken legs doesn't need to be complicated to produce some flavor packed results. My marinade starts with a selection of pantry and refrigerator staples such as olive oil, soy sauce (or Worcestershire sauce is fine), brown sugar, seasonings, and lemon juice. I simply whisk all of the ingredients up in a bowl, place the chicken legs in a large zip-top bag, then pour the marinade over the chicken.
- Make sure to remove any air from the plastic bag, then, massage the marinade into the chicken for a few seconds to coat. You will want to refrigerate the chicken for as long as possible at this point. Thirty minutes minimum is fine, but two to twelve hours is best.
- How long and at what temperature to bake the chicken drumsticks? You will want to cook your drumsticks at a high temperature of 425 degrees. Simply place them on a large, rimmed baking sheet lined with foil, then sprayed with non-stick cooking oil for easy cleanup.
- Then, you will cook them for 25 minutes before flipping and cooking them for an additional 10 minutes on the other side. Flipping them once is enough, and simply ensures that they are cooked through and have a nice caramelized color on both sides.
What is a good side dish for chicken drumsticks?
One reason I love chicken legs and this simple marinade is that they pair well with almost any side dish out there! If I am trying to keep our dinner a little lighter, I love serving these with a side of fresh cooked green beans or a simple green tossed salad.
If you are looking for some great homemade side dishes that are easy to make to go along with your chicken, try these out:
- Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes
- Cheesy Corn Casserole
- Maple Pecan Roasted Vegetables
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
Enjoy!
~Nichole
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Easy Baked Chicken Drumsticks Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅓ Cup Olive Oil
- Juice of One Lemon
- 2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
- 2 Teaspoons Onion Powder
- 2 Teaspoons Salt
- ¼ Cup Soy or Worcestershire Sauce
- ¼ Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 Teaspoon Paprika
- 10 Chicken Drumsticks
Instructions
- In a medium bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, soy or Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, pepper, and paprika.
- Add the chicken drumsticks to a large zip-top bag and pour the marinade over the chicken. Close the bag and massage the marinade into the chicken for a few seconds.
- Refrigerate the chicken in the marinade for at least 30 minutes. For best flavor allow the chicken to marinate for 2-12 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Arrange the chicken in an even layer on prepared baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes, until cooked through.
I followed this recipe exactly except lowered the salt... let my chicken marinate for 24 hours. It was absolutely delicious!!! I will definitely be making this again! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe!
If I’m doing half the chicken should I use half a measure of the ingredients?
These were delicious! Instead of the soy sauce, I added honey to the marinade. Marinated for 1 1/2 hr. Poured excess marinade over chicken legs before cooking.
Cooked using confection oven at 400 degrees for 25 min. Turned over and cooked for 10 min longer.
Tender and moist. Picture perfect!
Can you marinate little red potatoes along with the chicken legs for this recipe?
I don't see why not 🙂
Question: Nicole, can I use skinless chicken thighs with this recipe or will they get dried out? Unfortunately, I didn't notice that the thighs I purchased from the grocery store didn't have any skin this time! So I want to use them if I can. Maybe I will divide the baking tray in half and cover the half that has skinless thighs and leave the drumsticks uncovered. What do you think about that strategy?
Easy delicious recipe- Excellent leftovers- I usually buy thighs ( husband’s preference ) but prefer drumsticks -=
This recipe won him over- definitely a keeper ! Thanks
Chicken Legs were tasty. All loved them. Now going into my favorite recipe file!
My Grandkids loved the chicken!!
This has become a staple in our menu rotation! Thanks so much for sharing!
Made these chicken legs exactly as written in the recipe and they were absolutely delicious. I always get frustrated when I search for a recipe that has the highest rating and then find after reading the ratings and comments that nearly everyone who has made the recipe and has given it five stars, has changed so many things to the recipe that it's not the actual recipe! So I make it a point to make the recipe exactly as stated at least the first time and then rate the actual recipe. This is definitely five stars and I will make it again. My whole family gobbled it up. I might need to double the back next time!
Chicken leg recipe was outstanding!
Can I use same recipe for bone in pork chops? Or do you have a different one for pork chops?
Great taste and easy to prepare. Chicken was moist and fell off the bone. Followed the recipe for the most part. Used less oil and subbed smoked paprika for regular. Marinated the chicken for 10 hours. Reserved the marinade and simmered it for about 20 minutes to reduce and thicken while the chicken baked. Basted the drumsticks with the thickened marinade a few times both before and after flipping. The skin was a beautiful deep rich color and delicious. Didn't add salt to the marinade. Seasoned the drumsticks when they came out of the oven with coarse sea salt.
Okay this recipe is incredible! Unfortunately I didn’t have lemon so instead I used lime zest which ended up being amazing. Even my 6 year old loved it and that’s saying something! Thank you so much for sharing this! I will definitely be using this in the future!
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe!!!
It’s a great hit with my family...they are always asking for it at least once a week.
I was skeptical about the marinating time...it doesn’t need to sit long at all and the chicken still has amazing flavors.
This is definitely my go-to recipe for marinating in the future.
Thanks again and take care!
Made this as the recipe is written. Absolutely delicious!!! I try the recipe before I print them. This one is a keeper. Thanks for sharing ?
So good and so easy! My family (including picky kiddos) DEVOUR THESE! I can't keep leftovers for longer than a day-great recipe and relatively healthy.
What did you garnish with here?? The green flecks? Drumsticks are currently in the oven with the marinade, I'm so excited. 🙂
It's parsley 🙂
Can I use smoked paprika.
I’m using smoked paprika and usually do in all my recipes containing paprika. I would say that you can’t go wrong.
Yes you can, thats all I ever use, makes it so good
I made this last night. It was very good. The chicken came out very tender, and just fell off the bone.
I didn't have paprika, so I splashed in tumeric, sage, and chili powder. Marinated a mix of legs and thighs for about three hours. Baked per directions. So good!! Highly recommend!
This was excellent!! My DD is kind of picky, but she LOVED this chicken! She wants me to make it for Christmas. Thank you for sharing! 😀
Delicious!!!! Will definitely make this again!