Baked Chicken Drumsticks Recipe is easy, delicious, and full of flavor! Perfect for an easy weeknight dinner! Tender and juicy, this recipe is an absolute no-brainer. Simply marinate and bake for a recipe your family will be begging for time and time again!
Easy Baked Chicken Drumsticks Recipe:
I love these Baked Chicken Drumsticks because the skin gets crispy in the oven and the homemade marinade makes them so juicy. Plus, drumsticks are an inexpensive cut of meat that doesn’t skimp on taste! This recipe makes 10 drumsticks so your family no longer has to fight over who gets a leg. Similar to cooking chicken thighs, the secret here is all in the marinade. Just a few pantry staples like olive oil, seasonings, and lemon juice are whisked together to create a classic combination that gives you tons of side dish options. Letting the chicken soak in the homemade marinade for at least a couple of hours really seals in all of the flavor and guarantees the chicken comes out tender and juicy instead of dried out. Easy Baked Chicken Drumsticks aren’t in my weekly rotation for nothing!
Begging for more baked recipes? Try BBQ Baked Chicken Thighs or Easy Baked Chicken Breast for some classic variations.
What Should I Serve With Baked Drumsticks?
The marinade for these Chicken Drumsticks pairs well with a myriad of side dishes! All sorts of veggies, potatoes, or even mac and cheese would be delicious. Try my Perfect Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Green Beans, or maybe extra cheesy Baked Mac and Cheese and some of my Perfect Baked Beans to complete your meal!
How To Make Easy Baked Chicken Drumsticks
- Let’s make the marinade. The true star of this recipe is surprisingly simple. In a medium bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, chicken seasoning, salt, soy or Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, pepper, and paprika.
- Add the drumsticks. Place the chicken drumsticks into a large zip-top bag then pour the marinade inside. Close the bag (try to get as much air out as you can) and massage the marinade into the chicken.
- Let the chicken chill and the marinade marry. Refrigerate the drumsticks for at least 30 minutes. For the absolute best flavor let the chicken marinate for a full 2-12 hours.
- Time to get cooking. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Arrange the chicken. Place the drumsticks in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook for another 5-10 minutes (or until cooked through). Serve and enjoy!
How to store and Heat Leftovers:
Store leftover Baked Chicken Drumsticks in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3-4 days. Heat back up in the oven until warmed through, or eat cold! These are great right out of the fridge for a next day lunch or midnight snack.
Ingredients Notes for Easy Baked Chicken Drumsticks
- Chicken – Make sure the drumsticks reach an internal temperature of 165°F for safe serving. And don’t skip the flip! Flipping them ensures they’re cooked through and gives that nice caramel color on both sides. The trick is to use skin on drumsticks for that outer crisp!
- Marinade – The marinade doesn’t have to be complicated and you can absolutely swap out the seasonings for unique combos. You could try olive oil and Italian seasoning, a lemon pepper blend, or even add in some honey mustard. Feel free to experiment while maintaining the technique. There’s room for flavorful creativity here!
- Paprika – For a smoky flavor, swap traditional paprika for smoked paprika. It’s amazing with the sweet brown sugar and tangy worcestershire sauce!
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Easy Baked Chicken Drumsticks Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1/4 Cup Soy or Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
- 2 teaspoons Onion Powder
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 1 teaspoon Chicken Seasoning
- 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Paprika Smoked or Regular
- 10 Chicken Drumsticks
Instructions
- In a medium bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, soy or Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar garlic powder, onion powder, salt, chicken seasoning, pepper, dijon mustard, chili powder, and paprika until well mixed.
- 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.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Great recipe , can it be marinated for longer than 12 hours? Just made the marinade and found I am going out to dinner. Chicken will be Marinating overnight?!?!
Marinating it overnight is just fine 🙂
This is the very first recipe that I have found worthy of rating! I’ve been making these chicken drumsticks for over a year now and they are a hit with everyone, every time. When my husband knows I’m making these for dinner he gets so excited. The only way to make them in out opinion, so happy we found this recipe. So juicy and the perfect flavor. I make it with Worcestershire Sauce and have yet to try it with soy and let me tell you I think Worcestershire is key so I can’t vouch for the soy sauce option. Maybe one day I’ll try it 🙂
Can I use limes in place on the lemons ? Will it change the flavour?
Limes work great 🙂
so perfect, one of our family favorites!
This is a great easy recipe. I cook my chicken in my insta pot first though. Then I marinate then put in fridge to soak up marinade for a bit then cook. My kids and better half love this stuff.
I LOVED this recipe as well as my significant other : )
I made this recipe as written…we LOVED it!! We will definitely make this again! Thank you!
Excellent, kids crushed this!
This sounds fantastic! I got some drumsticks on sale but we’ve had a change in plans and won’t be able to cook them until past the use by date. Do you think I could put them in the marinade and freeze them to thaw and cook later? I’m guessing if I fully thaw them in the fridge later that the cook time should be the same. Thanks for any advice you might have.
This recipe was so delicious we immediately decided to add it our “rotation “ of dinners for the month! I opted for the soy sauce rather than the Worcestershire and due to that I replaced the paprika with ginger.
Although I only marinated the legs for 45 minutes, they were so amazing we were hooked!
Tonight we’re going to try this recipe with chicken thighs which I’m sure will be delicious with jasmine rice to drizzle the extra sauce on some veggies from the garden.
Yummy!