Baked Chicken Legs

When I buy a big pack of chicken drumsticks I always think it seems like way too much for our family, but somehow we always use them up. If not at dinner, they reheat wonderfully for a quick meal the next day!

Affordable Family Friendly Dinner

My favorite part of this recipe is that chicken drumsticks are one of the most affordable cuts of chicken you can buy! We all know it’s nice to find a low cost dinner with the way grocery prices are these days. Pair them with some roasted carrots, red skin potato salad or Air Fryer roasted potatoes for a hearty meal that doesn’t break the bank.

Chicken legs are such a down to earth dinner that you can spice up with just about any flavor. We keep these simple and flavorful so the kids will enjoy them, but if you are looking for something more adventurous, these Korean Grilled Chicken Legs are spectacular!

• roasted carrots
• red skin potato salad
• Air Fryer roasted potatoes

How to make the Crispiest Chicken Legs?

Baking chicken legs in the oven is one of the easiest ways to cook it. Just follow a few simple tips to get a crispy and delicious piece of juicy dark meat every time.

Pat the Chicken Dry

This may seem obvious to some, but it doesn’t go without saying. Use paper towels to pat the chicken skin as dry as possible to remove as much moisture as you can.

Baked Chicken Legs on Wire Rack

The best thing you can do to get a crispy skin on your chicken, is cook the chicken on a wire cooling rack so the hot air can circulate around all the skin and crisp it up beautifully.

If you don’t using a wire rack, you will have to turn the chicken during the cooking process and the chicken will sit and cook in it’s own juices half the time and the skin won’t crisp up as nice.

Use Baking Soda to Crisp Chicken Skin

There is a whole bunch of science that explains why the chemicals in baking soda help crisp up skin. I’m not going to bore you with it here, but just trust me on the one. A little bit goes a long ways, but it helps jump start the browning process.

How to Season Chicken Legs

For this easy chicken leg recipe, we are going to mix up a quick marinade of simple spices. You can season them right before you bake the chicken, or let them sit in the marinade for up to 12 hours overnight.

Marinade Recipe

Whisk the following ingredients together for incredible flavor.

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Seasoning salt

Paprika

Baking soda

Black pepper

Olive oil

Chicken Drumsticks in Oven

While it may be easier to just knock out the chicken legs at a high temperature, you risk drying out the meat. For this juicy chicken leg recipe, we start by baking them on a lower temperature at 250F which helps render out some of the fat which dries out the skin to help it crisp up. After 25 minutes, we crank it up to 500F to finish it off for perfectly crispy chicken legs.

Pro Tip!

Line your baking sheet with tinfoil and make cleanup a breeze! As the fat in the chicken skin slowly renders out, it will bake onto the sheet and be a tough cleanup.

If you take the extra minute to line your sheet with tinfoil or even parchment paper, you can just throw away the liner and give the pan a quick wash with soap and water. No need to soak that bad boy over night!

When is the chicken done cooking?

The best bet for knowing when any meat is done, is checking the center of the meat with an Instant Read Thermometer. It gives you an instant temperature reading, which for chicken you want to be at 165F. The lowest temperature you can pull chicken from the oven is at 160F. It will raise another 5 degrees as it rests.

If you don’t have a thermometer, you will have to use the old school test that our grandmothers did, which is cut into one and see if there is any pink. When cooking bone in chicken, you will often end up with some red spots, but those are perfectly fine to eat.

What to serve with chicken legs

This chicken has a wonderfully flavorful marinade on it it. The best part of it is that it will go with so many different flavors and side dishes. Here are just a few of my favorites that pair wonderfully with chicken drumsticks.

These Balsamic Dijon Roasted Root Vegetables are one of my favorite sides to serve with just about any meat in the cooler months.

For something lighter, make up this brightly flavored Pomegranate & Apple Spinach Salad.

The briny flavor of these Fried Pickle Chips made in your Air Fryer are a fun side dish for something a little different.

• Balsamic Dijon Roasted Root Vegetables
• Pomegranate & Apple Spinach Salad
• Fried Pickle Chips

Notes

There may be some small red spots after the chicken is cooked through to a safe temperature. They are perfectly safe to eat, but if you don't like them, just pick around them!

Serving: 1 leg | Calories: 304 kcal | Carbohydrates: 1 g | Protein: 37 g | Fat: 16 g | Saturated Fat: 4 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10 g | Cholesterol: 192 mg | Sodium: 505 mg