It doesn’t get much easier than these savory Lemon Garlic Roasted Chicken Drumsticks. They are full of lemon and herb flavor and practically fall off the bone tender and juicy.
Most of my life I’ve been a boneless, skinless white meat kind of girl. I think it’s because meat on the bone freaks me out. But in the past couple of years I have learned to appreciate the flavor packed bone-in dark meat of the thigh and drumstick. That’s probably because my son is pretty much obsessed with chicken on the bone.
Upon hearing that dinner is “chicken again??” his next question is, “Wait. Is it on the bone?” A “yes” is met with a cheer while a “nope, sorry” is met with a rather impressive groan. So I’ve been trying to constantly come up with new ways to serve this favorite meat. Our latest favorite is this Roasted Lemon Chicken.
An overnight marinade makes this chicken practically fall off the bone tender, however if you don’t have overnight, you could go 30 minutes. Just remember that the longer it marinates, the more tender it will be. I have a lemon tree, so lemons are readily available all year round for us so I love to use them in my chicken recipes. The lemon flavor is so subtle and doesn’t overpower the rest of the marinade, which, in case you were wondering, is olive oil, salt and pepper, oregano and paprika. I am also a little obsessed with chopped parsley, partly for the fresh herbiness (yup, totally a word) and partly because it just looks so darn pretty.
Roasted Lemon Garlic Chicken Drumsticks Recipe:
Roasted Lemon Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 10 Chicken Drumsticks skin removed
- 1 large lemon juiced and zested
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Pat chicken dry and place into a 1-gallon Ziploc bag.
- In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour over chicken and seal the bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. Massage marinade into the chicken. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight. (If all you have is 30 minutes, that's fine - just remember the longer the marinade time, the more tender and juicy the chicken).
- When ready to cook, let chicken come to room temperature (about 20 minutes). Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange chicken on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, for about 20-25 minutes. Flip chicken pieces and cook another 10 minutes, or until chicken reaches an internal temp of 165 F and is no longer pink.
- Serve immediately.
Here’s another family favorite easy baked chicken recipe:
For more delicious chicken recipes, try these:
Honey Lemon Chicken and Green Beans
Savory Broiled Garlic Chicken
Hi! I’m Kristin, the creative mind behind Yellow Bliss Road where you will be inspired by tons of easy to follow recipes, lots of free printables, and a little sprinkling of life thrown in for good measure.
This sounds really nice. gonna make this for tea tonight. Thanks. Simon
This looks great. It looks like there is parsley added in the photo. Did you add it before or after roasting?
It was just a garnish when I arranged the chicken on the serving platter.
The article mentions thyme but the recipe does not. Is it used in the recipe and if so, how much? Thanks
Sorry, must be a misprint! I didn’t use thyme in the recipe and must have written it in the post by mistake.
I tried it, and they were perfectly moist and well browned outside, my chicken lover son is really happy
Thank you for sharing this recipe:)
I made this tonight and it sure was good. Going to make it again!
Love your recipes.
Not so in love with your website design/layout – too many large photos.
Perhaps a link to a photo gallery page for those who want to look at your “more of the same” pictures of the prepared recipe – it kind of looks like you’re just adding padding to make the page look bigger.
Perhaps a link at the top of the page to take one directly to the recipe instructions.
I reference your recipes often – and will keep coming back – this is just a suggestion.
Listen bub, I came here for a chicken recipe. Not a website review! Pipe down chucky!!
I used a whole chicken cut up exactly as recipe states a me it was amzazing!! Favorite way to make chicken
Hi..I have a question…I need to make these for my daugthers school party…she will need to take them with her when she goes to school in the morning.Would it be ok if I bake them at night and just warm them up in the morning?
I’d be cautious with chicken. Would it be possible to send them in a slow cooker to keep them at a higher temp all day?
I like the skin on, does that change anything?
I don’t think it would, it’s a personal preference.
Have you ever made this with boneless chicken breasts?
I haven’t but it would be delicious! Just adjust the cooking time.
Just made this for dinner and….it’s DELISH!!!! Thank you for the recipe, I marinated overnight and HOLY HOT POTATOES – the chicken was packed FULL of flavor. Thanks again!
Great to hear!!
Hello Kristin,
Just love this recipe and cannot wait to make it but I think that I will expand the chicken to include thighs. But tell met are HOLY HOT POTATOES if you know? Re: Claire’s post
Thanks.
Like your son, I prefer eat chicken with bone, but I don’t have a lot of idea to cook it ( almost just fried it with some kind of sauces). And be honest I prefer roast than fried. Although I don’t have a lot time but I wanna try to do an overnight marinade for my chicken, it will make its flavor perfectly, I bet!
Hope to see more your recipes. It make me love cooking more and more!
Made this for my wife and daughter last week and they LOVED IT! Making it again tonight! Thank you!
Yay!
hi, would this recipe be okay to freeze? i have just started meal prepping for the month and would love to make this. thank you 🙂
I would freeze the raw chicken in the marinade. Then it will marinate as it defrosts. Just make sure the drumsticks are fully thawed before baking.
Love, love this recipe! I have made it several times, and It is always delicious.
Thanks, ever so much!!
Where should I place oven rack to cook/bake the chicken in the middle or more towards the bottom?
This looks really good and I’m always up for trying a new recipe for chicken. I don’t see any nutritional info for the recipe. Can you provide that?
What a great recipe and so easy. Marinaded for 12 hours. Didn’t zest the lemon. Family loved it!! Thank you!!!
Unfortunately, my family and I were not impressed. I marinated the chicken for 24 hours and it just didn’t take on any flavor.
I can’t stomach in-bone chicken. Although my mother gave me chicken legs. I have always had a fear of cooking in-bone chicken. Afraid I wont get it all the way cooked.
I made this recipe and my family loved it!! A BIG hit in my home. I even tried it. Wanna try it with boneless. Ty.
Though I’m a vegetarian, I tried this recipe for a dinner party last night and it turned out superb! Absolutely delicious, thank you so much for sharing
I made it and it tured out so well. Your directions are easy to follow and i loved it
What are the nutritional facts..i want to make this but i am on a diabetic meal plan
I recommend looking up on a nutritional calculator like myfitnesspal.com.
I followed the recipe exactly and now have a new favorite marinade in the rotation! I use drumsticks and thighs quite a bit because of the flavor and value. This delicious recipe uses everything I already have in my pantry, and is a nice departure from my usual suspects. Thanks so much for a great recipe!??
This chicken recipe sounds delicious. I’m gonna try this out tonight.
Can we use vegetable oil instead of olive?
I prefer olive oil for the flavor, but yes, you could definitely swap one for the other. Enjoy!
My new favourite! I mde it with chicken legs and breasts!
I was looking for a recipe for drumsticks and happen to see your lemon garlic chicken.
Will try it and let you know , thank you I am sure it
It will be delicious.
SOOO good! Thank you for this!
Hello Kristin.
I just found your receipe for garlic lemon chicken. I’m about to make it. Can’t wait
Made this recipe last night. I used a grate to put chicjen on in oven with cooking spray ( so they don’t stick) and get even all around cooking. Left chicken in frig in bag with all flavor over night. Tasted delish. Love it.
This is my favorite way to make chicken now and my fiancé loves it! Thank you for the great recipe! I was wondering if I don’t have fresh lemons on hand, how much lemon juice I should use?
Thank you again!
One large lemon will yield around 2 tablespoons.
These chicken drumsticks and it’s marinade are sooooo lit! This particular recipe is part of my rotation. My wife and daughter (along with myself) jus love this recipe! Thank you Kristin!
Was looking for some delicious way to use drumsticks on bone. Just made the marinade and can’t do overnight but will do for several hours. I had everything on hand including nice juicy lemons. Also fresh parsley from my garden. Will let you know how it turns outcome . Thank you.
If I don’t have the olive oil is there something else I can use
Other types of cooking oil would work – canola, corn, vegetable.
This will be a new favorite for me! I did leave the skin on and it turned out perfect. So juicy and flavorful. Glad I came across recipe.
Tried this out yesterday evening – absolutely delicious! Definitely going into my ‘cook again’ folder. Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
Tried this recipe many times and loved it but I’m wondering if this could go in a crockpot? If so, do you know the temp and amount of time?
I think you could definitely make these in the crockpot. Keep in mind they wouldn’t have that golden color from roasting. 4-5 hours on low should do it, but you’ll want to be sure to check it before serving.
Can I use a disposable foil pan instead of a roasting pan with aluminum foil?
Sure that would work just as well!
Absolutely divine! Smiles on all faces! This will become a staple dish in our house, as we have all ingredients regularly on hand! We served with rice and green salad. Thanks for this wonderful recipe ?
I’ve made this several times and I have never deviated from the recipe. It’s absolutely delicious.
This was super delicious and simple! I only let it marinade 15 minutes (too hungry!) and baked the drumsticks in a glass dish with the marinade… it made the most amazing sauce!! I put the extra sauce on my roasted veggies. Will definitely be doing this again. Thank you!
I made these lemon garlic chicken legs. I left the skins on. They were amazing. I want to try on a whole chicken.
Hi Vanessa,
Great idea
Thank you for stopping by!
Hi Kristin! Do you have the macros on this dish?
What is the side dish for this?
This chicken recipe is pretty versatile, so it would pair well with anything from potatoes to pasta to rice, with veggies or a salad on the side.
This is a good easy recipe but chicken does not need be washed and it spreads bacteria around the kitchen!
You’re right, this recipe was written a while ago and I should remove that step.