My easy-to-make baked chicken legs recipe will change how your family views chicken. These chicken drumsticks are juicy and tender on the inside and deliciously savory with every bite. Made with simple ingredients and oven baked to perfection, resulting in crispy incredibly flavorful chicken legs. I know this is going to be one of your favorite chicken recipes!
With only 10 minutes of prep you’ll turn ordinary chicken drumsticks into an extraordinary meal! My easy baked chicken legs recipe will let you spend time with your family instead of in the kitchen prepping ingredients.
And they couldn’t be easier to make! All you have to do is coat the chicken legs with the olive oil spice mixture and bake them for about 40 minutes. The secret is getting them extra crispy is high heat.
If you love crispy baked chicken, check out my recipe for chicken leg quarters. And if you’re in the mood for more chicken, my baked BBQ chicken drumsticks and chicken parmesan recipe is sure to please!
Ingredients
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Baked Chicken Drumsticks. 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.
Can I Use Chicken Thighs To Make This Recipe?
Yes, you can. I suggest using bone-in chicken thighs. I prefer skin-on chicken for this type of dish. The skin serves as a layer of protection to prevent the meat from drying out and creates a crispy exterior. That’s a win-win!
You can also use whole chicken legs with the thigh attached (chicken quarters).
If you love baked chicken try my Oven Roasted Blackened Chicken.
How to Bake Chicken Legs
Follow along with my simple instructions to see how to bake chicken legs in your own kitchen.
Add the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt and black pepper to a small mixing bowl.
Using a fork, blend the spices together.
Add the olive oil to the spices and blend them together.
- Allow the chicken legs to come to room temperature
- Using a pastry brush (or your hands) coat the chicken legs with the seasoning oil mixture. Make sure to coat the entire drumstick.
- Place the chicken legs in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet, making sure to leave room between the drumsticks.
*To get really crispy skin you need to thoroughly dry the chicken before applying the oil and seasonings. Use paper towels to pat dry the chicken legs. Removing the excess moisture from the skin will allow you to get that perfectly crispy skin.
Chef Dennis Tip
When it comes to cooking chicken, we always hear to cook to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F. That’s common knowledge these days and stands true for white meat chicken.
But when it comes to dark meat, chicken legs, thighs, or a leg quarter, the magic number is 185°Fahrenheit. Letting the dark meat cook to that temperature lets the collagens within the meat break down, creating the juicy “fall-off-the-bone” tenderness that everyone loves.
- Bake the chicken legs for 30 minutes at 400 degrees on the middle rack of your oven.
- Brush the legs with the oil that has gathered on the tray and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until crispy (cooking time may vary).
*If you use an instant-read thermometer the internal temperature must be at least 165 degrees, (but we’re shooting for 185 degrees for optimal tenderness). At this temperature and time, they should be well above that internal temp.
When it comes to chicken recipes, simple ingredients tend to yield the best results, making these crispy chicken legs a dish the whole family will love!
Can I use different seasonings on the chicken legs?
Absolutely! Use your favorite premade seasoning blends or create your own blend using the spices with the flavor profiles you enjoy eating.
Some of my favorite spice blends for seasoning these crispy baked chicken drumsticks are Cajun seasoning, lemon pepper, old bay, barbecue seasoning and jerk seasoning.
Recipe FAQs
No, you shouldn’t cover the chicken legs. The skin needs to brown and get crispy. Covering the chicken during the entire cooking process will steam the chicken instead of roasting it.
You sure can. Overcooking the chicken will dry it out and make it tough. Check on the chicken legs after 30 minutes since all ovens are different.
Using a meat thermometer check the internal temperature of the chicken legs. The chicken needs to reach a minimum temperature of 165 degrees.
Yes, you can.
Coat the chicken drumsticks with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Mix the seasonings together. Toss the chicken legs with the seasoning.
Spray the seasoned chicken legs with olive oil spray.
Place the drumsticks into the air fryer basket, making sure not to crowd them.
Cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
Flip the drumsticks and cook for another 10 minutes.
Remove and serve immediately.
More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love!
Baked Chicken Legs Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 skin-on chicken drumsticks approx. 2 pounds total weight
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sea salt cut back to 1 teaspoon if you're not a fan of salt.
- 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 your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
- Add the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt and black pepper to a small mixing bowl.
- Using a fork, blend the spices together.
- Add the olive oil to the spices and blend them together.
- Allow the chicken legs to come to room temperature.
- Using a pastry brush (or your hands) coat the chicken legs with the seasoning oil mixture. Make sure to coat the entire drumstick
- Place the chicken legs in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet, making sure to leave room between the drumsticks.
- Bake the chicken legs for 30 minutes at 400 degrees on the middle rack of your oven.
- Brush the legs with the oil that has gathered on the tray and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until crispy (cooking time may vary).
- *If you use an instant-read thermometer the internal temperature must be at least 165 degrees. At this temperature and time, they should be well above that internal temp
Notes
- Coat the chicken drumsticks with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Mix the seasonings together. Toss the chicken legs with the seasoning. Spray the seasoned chicken legs with olive oil spray.
- Place the drumsticks into the air fryer basket, making sure not to crowd them.
- Cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Flip the drumsticks and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.
Lillybet says
I prepared chicken legs following the recipe exactly as written, and they were absolutely delicious. The seasoning was perfect, and they baked up so nice and crispy. My family loves chicken legs, and I’ve cooked them in many different ways down through the years. I think this recipe is the best I’ve ever tried, and it’s going to be my go-to from now on. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Keith says
My wife and kids said these were the best chicken legs I ever made. Perfect blend of seasonings even for my 8 year old twins!
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed the chicken legs! I hope you find more recipes to try on my blog for your family to enjoy!
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thanks Lisa; I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the chicken. I make it often for my family!
Lisa says
These were a big hit with my family! I saw someone mentioned salty, and no one in my family thought they were. I made two batches of them, doubling the seasonings and they were perfect!
Dave Pederson says
I love salty dishes, but this made the saltiest chicken legs I have ever eaten. Maybe for the Sea Salt use 1 Tsp instead of 1 Tbsp.
Otherwise very good, and simple enough for a starting cook (me) to make.
Chef Dennis Littley says
sorry, it was too salty for your tastes Dave, but thanks for leaving the comment. it’s easy enough to cut back the salt and hopefully, that will work out better for you. That’s not actually a large percentage of the seasonings, a little less than 25% of the total seasonings.
Michelle says
So good my boyfriend couldn’t stop eating them
Eric Bowers says
I have been cooking and basting this chicken for an hour and some change and it is not getting crisp. 🤔
Chef Dennis Littley says
I guess they’re not getting crisp if you’re basting them. Basting is to keep meat moist, they need to dry out to get crisp
Shery Sullivan says
Bringing these to my sister in law ahs her husband for tonight’s dinner. Also bringing mashed potatoes and cheesy broccoli. Thanks for the recipe.
Sue D says
Why are the measurements as tablespoons in US but teaspoons in metric?
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thanks for letting me know, there was a glitch in some of the recipes and the calculations were not being made correctly. I fixed it for this post, now I have start checking to make sure there are no more.
Jamie says
This made a delicious dinner tonight! My family loved how crispy the skin turned out and the spices were easy and flavorful. I’ll be making this again!
Ksenia says
I loved your chicken drumsticks, it’s my new favorite recipe!
Cathleen says
I ALWAYS buy chicken legs, and I am always looking for new ways of cooking them. Love a good crispy chicken, so I know that I am going to love these 🙂
Amy says
This was such an easy and delicious recipe. I loved the tip of lining the pan with foil ~ fewer dishes to wash 🙂
Kathryn says
This crispy baked chicken is delicious! It reminds me how my mom used to bake her chicken growing up and it was always my favorite. So easy and simple to make, can’t wait to have this for dinner again this week!
Chenée says
This recipe was perfect for an easy dinner last night! I made ours in the air fryer and they were deliciously crispy!
Tristin says
Used the air fryer to make these chicken legs. They came out crisp and full of flavor.
Linda says
When you gave instructions for making these crispy chicken legs in an air fryer I was hooked! I used my favorite cajun seasoning and followed your timing and they came out incredibly crispy and were devoured within minutes of serving them. This recipe is now on my monthly rotation.
Erin says
I love the mix of spices! Such an easy and delicious dinner. We all loved it, thank you!