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!
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.
Diana says
My husband is 76 years old. He literally moaned as he was eating this chicken. He stated that it’s the best he’s had in his entire life.
Chef Dennis Littley says
Wow, now thats high praise indeed! You really made my day with your comment.
Jennifer Fernandez says
My daughter wanted a Medieval times birthday and wanted me to make the chicken like they serve at Medieval times. I was loooking for a recipe that would be somewhat close and found this one. My daughter is a picky eater, so was a little nervous having her try this. We did a test run before her party and she loved it. The only thing the family said was maybe a little less salt (I did the full salt version). I think the next time I will just cut the salt a little, but not going down to the one teaspoon as mentioned. She is so excited about her party and about serving this chicken to her guests.
Chef Dennis Littley says
You made my day with your wonderful comment and review! I hope your daughter enjoys her birthday and everyone loves the food! I hope you find more recipes on my website to try.
Diana says
My family’s favorite now. Thank you! 🙏
Chef Dennis Littley says
That’s what I like to hear!
Taryn says
This was really great! I usually mess up chicken and the skin is not crispy enough or something for me to want to eat it. This was perfect and the skin was delish! Super juicy and my 4 year old kept asking for more chicken.
Chef Dennis Littley says
That’s what I like to hear! Thanks for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed the chicken quarters!
Darrin Bruce says
Made this exact recipe for my wife last night and she loved it. I followed the recipe, and even took the advice to cook it to a higher temperature. It helps starting with good quality chicken which I got from my local butcher. I made the rub ahead of time, and put it on the chicken for 6 hours in the refrigerator. It came out so juicy and the glazed skin was amazing. Definitely making this again.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m very happy to hear you enjoyed the chicken quarters, its a favorite in our house!
Mary Ellen says
This was very tasty and easy. The only negative is it was too greasy. Next time I will reduce the amount of EVO that is added to the seasonings.
Tricia says
So easy and tasty! The recipe is in my regular rotation.
Wendy Lillie says
This recipe is so quick and easy yet so very flavorful. Chicken can be boring. This rub hits the spot.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m very happy to hear that you enjoyed my chicken leg recipe!
Gerri says
These easy bakedchicken leg quarters We’re wonderfully tasty, even though I used regular salt since I did not have sea salt. Thank you, Chef Dennis!
Jacquie says
For this recipe, do you use a grinder for your sea salt or just use as is? Mine is quite coarse and it seems that each piece may not get the same amount of salt.
Thank you!
Chef Dennis Littley says
If your sea salt is coarse I would grind it to a smaller grain. You can also use regular table salt just cut back the amount to 2 teaspoons.
gerry says
Very good. just the right amount of flavor
Links7 says
Easy and phenomenal chicken!! Thank you for the recipe!!! Family loved it as is!
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the chicken quarters, and thank you for such a great review!
Meredith says
These came out amazing! My family loved it and I’m making it for the second time today with my Walden Local chicken quarters. Thanks for a delicious and easy recipe.
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed my chicken leg quarters. It’s a favorite with my family too!
Aurora says
This is a very adaptable recipe and accepts a lot of different alternative spices (I often nix the thyme and add a tbsp of chili powder and a tsp each of cumin and oregano and serve with spanish rice and refried beans). But I absolutely love the recipe exactly as written. I only use about 3/4 tbsp of salt and feel it’s plenty salty. The recipe makes a lot of paste and I can often get away with doing 6 leg quarters with it (but in these times I will use the full 1 T of salt).
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thanks for letting me know you’ve been enjoying my recipe for chicken quarters. You’re right it is very adaptable, I love your idea for a Mexican version!
Treenie says
This is one of my favorite chicken recipes, except I cut back on the thyme. I’m making it for company tonight. Always turns out moist and flavorful!
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my chicken quarters recipe! I hope you find more delicious recipes on my website to try