My baked chicken leg quarters recipe is one of the tastiest chicken recipes you’ll ever make. It’s also one of the easiest! Juicy, tender, and flavorful dark meat with that crispy skin we all love. My chicken quarter recipe is the perfect choice for an easy weeknight dinner your whole family will enjoy!
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Often overlooked the Chicken Leg Quarter is one of the most economical cuts of chicken and also one of the most flavorful.
There are no extra steps involved in making my Baked Chicken Leg Quarters recipe. No pan searing and no frying. Just rub the chicken quarters down with the seasoning mixture and place them in the preheated oven. It’s really that easy!
Made with simple pantry ingredients, it’s one of my favorite chicken recipes!
Ingredients
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Baked Chicken Leg Quarters. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
The ingredient list is short:
- Chicken Leg Quarters
- Olive Oil
- Brown Sugar
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Black Pepper
- Salt
- Paprika
- Thyme
Can I leave out the brown sugar?
You sure can. And actually, the sugar is what causes a good deal of the caramelization of the chicken so that the end product will be lighter in color.
You can also use your favorite blend of seasonings with this recipe. Tailor the seasoning mix to your tastes and your family’s. It can be a different seasoning blend every time you make Chicken Leg Quarters.
Can I use whole chicken with this recipe?
You sure can. You can cut the chicken up in quarters, creating two chicken leg quarters and two chicken breast quarters. You can also just roast the whole chicken using the seasoning paste, but I would reduce the heat to 350 after 25 minutes and continue cooking the whole chicken for an additional 60-90 minutes depending upon the size of the chicken.
You can also use this recipe with chicken breasts, chicken thighs, wings, legs or a mixture of chicken pieces. My baked chicken leg recipe is another favorite.
How to make Seasoning Paste for Baked Chicken
- Add the seasonings to a small bowl
- Combine all of the spices using a fork, making sure to break up as many of the clumps of brown sugar as you can.
- Add the olive oil to the seasoning mix to make a paste.
*The seasoning mix can be made up in larger batches or ahead of time. Just keep it in an airtight container until it is used.
How to make Baked Chicken Leg Quarters
- Rinse the chicken leg quarters in cold water. After rinsing pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Make sure to dry the skin as much as possible.
- Trim off any excess fat or skin from the quarters without breaking the skin. This is usually on the bottom side of the chicken quarters.
- Rub the chicken quarters on both sides with the seasoning paste, making sure to get the entire quarter covered with the seasonings.
- Place the seasoned chicken quarters, skin side up in a single layer on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.
- Bake the chicken leg quarters at 400°F for 40- 45 minutes (cooking time can vary), or until the internal temperature of the meat is 165°F. Use a meat thermometer (instant-read thermometer) to check the temp!
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven and allow the baked chicken to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
*I like to let the chicken get closer to 180 degrees, the dark meat can take the extra heat and it makes it even more tender while remaining moist and juicy.
Wouldn’t your family love to sit down to these OMG delicious Baked Chicken Leg Quarters? I know they would! Just make sure to make extra, they’re going to be coming back for seconds!
Recipe FAQ’s
At 400 degrees F. it takes between 35 -40 minutes to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees. For a more tender chicken leg quarter, I like to cook the quarters for up 45 minutes. Because it’s dark meat the leg quarters can take extra time in the oven, which not only makes it more tender but crisps up the skin nicely.
I prefer cooking chicken without foil. It makes for crisper skin and adds color to the chicken. If the chicken begins getting too dark, it’s okay to cover it with foil at that point to prevent it from getting darker
No, you don’t. In the oven, it’s not necessary to turn the chicken over, during the process.
More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love!
Easy Baked Chicken Leg Quarters
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon sea salt use one teaspoon iff you're cutting back on salt.
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 chicken leg quarters
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Rinse the chicken leg quarters in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Make sure to dry the skin as much as possible.
- Trim off any excess fat from the quarters without breaking the skin.
- Combine all of the spices in a small bowl.
- Add the oil to the seasonings making a paste.
- Rub the chicken quarters with the paste, making sure to get the entire quarter covered with the seasonings.
- Place the chicken on a foiled lined sheet pan.
- Bake at 400°F for 45 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165°F.
Tara says
This is crack chicken. I literally can’t get enough of this spice blend this is incredible. Cooking instructions are accurate and lead to a juicy chicken.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you’ve been enjoying my chicken recipe, its one of my wifes favorites!
Linda Bernhardt says
I’m in the process of making this recipe, I put the 3 tbsp of oil in the spices but it didn’t come out to a paste more of a dry rub, will this still spread on the chicken evenly?
Chef Dennis Littley says
Yes just use it as a dry rub. It doesn’t need more oil but you can add it if you like
Annie B says
I have never made baked chicken this good in my life! The spice paste really flavored the meat, not just the skin. We found dragging each bite through the marvelous paste bits that slid off tasted even better, like a sauce. Only change: we don’t enjoy pepper so I left it out. I never comment on recipe blogs but I had to for this. Thank you!!!
Ken James says
Getting ready to try your recipe. When I bake chicken leg quarters (they are large – almost 1 lb a piece) at 425 (for 55 minutes) I tend to get a lot of grease splattering in the oven. Which is why I cover them. Is there a way to prevent splattering?
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’ve never had that much splattering when I roast chicken, even at high temperatures. But other than tenting with foil, there are not a lot of options available. I would suggest trying a dry rub, and letting the chicken sit uncovered in the fridge with the dry rub (use the seasonings I have in the recipe without the oil). By leaving it uncovered the skin will dry out which may help reduce the spattering.
Ken James says
Thank you. I will try that. I do use oil on the quarters now and perhaps that’s the problem.
Lili says
I used a glass Pyrex baking dish instead, coated with olive oil to bake. Less grease splatter
Kim Quinn says
Many times leg quarter are sold with a good deal of fat still attaches. Try to remove any of the yellow clumps of fat you can see. As that melts in the oven it will sputter. This may help a good deal.i also bake mine on a rack in the bottom of my baking dish. Hope this may help.
Cheryl Blake says
Yum! Easy and delicious. It was a big hit with the whole family.
Nicolle Gradzki says
I just made this! A few modifications…..Added butter to bottom of my casserole dish.
I use paprika, cayenne, black pepper, salt, roasted garlic powder, brown sugar, and EVOO. I put it in at 425° for 55 minutes because I like my chicken super super crispy. Absolutely delicious!
Ken says
Made this today it was great,but by accident I put a tsp of curry powder ,thought I had the thyme. I also used the thyme. It was stll great. For some reason my wife won’t eat leg quarters,but she will eat legs and thighs as long asthey are not connected to each other.
Olivia says
Thanks! My chicken came out fully cooked and moist. I also used a butter injector to get some compound herb butter underneath the skin. The leg quarters were delicious.
Will says
Absolutely delicious. Followed the recipe and cooked the quarters to 185°. It was a huge hit. It was a huge hit tasty, tender, and crispy.
Lisa B says
Spot On Again! The ingredients were perfect for my whole split chicken this evening. Another winner Chef.
Gwendolyn Woodard says
Do you use ground thyme or thyme leaves?
Chef Dennis Littley says
I used thyme leaves but you can use ground thyme.
Cindy says
Really very good. Definitely will make again.
Phyllis says
Delicious and so easy!!! I didn’t use the olive oil because I forgot about it! Chicken was so crispy on outside and tender on the inside. I love the flavor combo of these seasonings! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Craig says
Excellent recipe my family loved it. Going to keep this one in my back pocket. I have some picky toddlers and they liked it. Thanks!
Gloria says
This is so delicious & juicy. Followed directions & took advice to cook a bit longer than 165°, more like 180°. I also checked after 40 min. & covered with foil (to keep from over browning) & cooked for another 5 min. or so.