Learn how to bake chicken legs in the oven in three easy steps with my Easy, Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks! Simple to whip up and so much healthier than frying, these crispy chicken legs will be your new go-to for dinner.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner! We love chicken for dinner and have lots of different methods on the site, from baked chicken breasts to grilled chicken thighs, to stovetop chicken. Everyone loves my Crispy Baked Chicken Wings so we put that method to the test to make these juicy baked chicken legs!
CRISPY BAKED CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS
Growing up, fried chicken was always a staple for dinner. I remember how much my grandma loved her fried chicken and mashed potatoes. She’d make it for dinner at least once a month, and the family would come running. What’s not to love? Crispy, crunchy, juicy and flavorful fried chicken is pretty much the bomb diggity of chicken.
Unfortunately, fried chicken isn’t exactly the healthiest, though not too bad in moderation. But if you’re like us and want to enjoy that crispy, juicy chicken more often, my Easy Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks recipe is the way to go.
Tons of people who love my Crispy Baked Chicken Wings have asked how the recipe would translate to larger pieces, like drumsticks. Well I’m here to tell you it works and it is delicious! I didn’t change the recipe much other than increasing the ingredients to account for the larger pieces of chicken. I also swapped out the paprika for chili powder because it’s what I had available.
How to make Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Legs in three easy steps:
- Coat chicken in flour/baking powder/seasonings. The baking powder reacts with the skin and draws out the moisture, which in turns helps the skin get nice and crispy.
- Use a wire baking rack oven a cookie sheet to ensure even crisping. If you don’t have a wire rack, you can place the chicken legs right on the foil that’s been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. The wire rack helps air to circulate around the pieces of chicken so they can cook more evenly.
- Spray with butter flavor cooking spray before baking for that golden skin. I recommend the butter one here for the flavor factor, but you can use regular cooking spray, or avocado, coconut, etc.
Easy Customization
- The coating is a simple mix of basic seasonings, flour and baking powder. You could easily swap out the seasonings I used for anything you like. If you have poultry seasoning on hand that would certainly taste (and small) amazing on these baked chicken legs.
- I like to keep my recipes simple, not requiring a ton of steps, but for even juicier chicken you could soak the drumsticks for a couple of hours in buttermilk.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR DRUMSTICKS TO COOK IN THE OVEN?
While the coating will help the chicken retain some crispiness, I sprayed my drumsticks with a butter based cooking spray to help them get nice and golden and crispy and laid them on a baking rack over a cookie sheet. Spraying them instead of coating them in butter helps to keep the calories and fat down which is always a plus, especially when you’re talking about fried chicken!
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and bake the chicken drumsticks for about 40-45 minutes, turning them over after about 30 minutes. You’ll know they are done when the meat is no longer pink at the bone and the juices are clear. A meat thermometer inserted near the bone should register 165 degrees.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHICKEN LEGS AND DRUMSTICKS?
A chicken leg refers to the entire upper leg portion of the chicken, which is the drumstick and thigh. A drumstick is strictly the lower leg.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH BAKED CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS
We love to serve our crispy baked chicken drumsticks with classic comfort food recipes:
- Easy Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Cheesy Broccoli Casserole
- Best Ever Cheesy Garlic Bread
- Baked Macaroni and Cheese
- Honey Roasted Carrots
For more easy and delicious baked chicken recipes, try this one:
- Crispy Garlic Parmesan Baked Chicken
- Crispy Cheesy Baked Chicken Tenders
- Parmesan Ranch Baked Chicken
- Easy Baked Chicken Breasts
Eat More Chicken!
Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks
Ingredients
- 4 pounds chicken drumsticks bone-in, skin-on
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons baking powder
- butter flavor nonstick cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with foil and set a baking rack on top if you have one. If you don’t have a baking rack just spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
- Pat chicken dry, leaving skin in tact, and set aside.
- In a large zip-top bag, combine flour, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, paprika and black pepper. Place the chicken in the bag a few pieces at a time and shake to coat. Set chicken pieces skin side down on the baking rack that has been placed on top of the baking sheet (or on the foil lined baking sheet that’s been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray). Place larger pieces toward the outside; pieces can be close together but should not touch. Spray pieces generously and evenly with butter flavored non-stick cooking spray.
- Bake in the preheated 425 degree oven for 45-50 minutes, turning over after 30 minutes. Spray again with the cooking spray after turning. Juices should be clear and temperature should register 165 degrees. If you are not happy with the color you can turn on the broiler for a few minutes, just watch closely to ensure the chicken doesn't burn.
- Cool slightly before serving.
It was good but we thought the spray on butter gave it a strange taste. Think next time I will try without spray on or else maybe melt a little butter and drip it on.
Love the feedback Linda! thanks for stopping by.
Yes chicken is safe at 165 but 185 is the temp to cook dark meat
Actually that is incorrect. Leg and thigh meat is safe at 165.
Can u also use chicken breast instead of chicken legs
Hi Donale, You can marinate chicken breast instead of the legs and it will be delicious, but the cook time will be different, and will also depend on if you are using bone-in breasts or boneless.
Great lil recipe and it tasted really good… I added an additional 2 teaspoons of poultry/steak seasoning and it woke up the flavor even more… I used to oven fry like this And it’s so much healthier than oil frying!
Also I found that I had to cook it and additional 15-21 minutes! It was one hour and 11 minutes but worth it! Just check internal temp every oven is different!
I’m going to try it on the gas grill next!! And I’ll get back to you.
Thanks again
Tommy
That’s awesome Tommy! Thank you so much for the awesome feedback.