Baked Chicken Legs

Name: Baked Chicken Legs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon onion powder; 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning; 1/4 teaspoon paprika; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 pounds chicken legs

4.97 from 28 votes

64 comments

January 10, 2019

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This recipe for Baked Chicken Legs is the simplest dinner to make any weeknight. Rub with a little olive oil, homemade spice mix and bake. This little gem of a recipe is one of our family’s favorite dinners and it only takes 10 minutes of prep. Make a Greek Salad, Mashed Potatoes or some Drop Biscuits to go along with for an easy weeknight meal.

Seriously the Best Baked Chicken Legs

I’m not one to buy chicken legs very frequently because its habit for me to reach for the boneless skinless chicken breasts. But man oh man I forget how inexpensive chicken legs are, how easy they are to throw together on a busy weeknight and that all my kids eat them no problem. I think a lot of times, people see the drumsticks at the grocery store and just don’t know what to do with them so they pass them by completely. But I’m here to tell you that the simple approach is best and making a really basic spice rub to sprinkle over top is where the magic happens. A hot temperature crisps the skin, locking in moisture and flavor, leaving you with some seriously tasty baked chicken legs!

I’ve got some step by step photos below to walk you through the process, but I promise it’s super simple!

Love chicken? Try out my Roast Chicken, Chicken Piccata Recipe, Oven Fried Chicken, Sticky Chicken Drumsticks and Lauren’s Roasted Chicken Thighs.

Main Ingredients Needed

This list is kind of laughable. It’s literally just the chicken drumsticks and then a bunch of spices for the homemade spice mix. (More notes on that below!) Told you this was an easy recipe.

chicken legs/drumsticks– I used 2 pounds which comes out to be 8 legs.
olive oil– used to help crisp the skin on the chicken as it bakes.
salt & pepper– the obvious seasonings there are.
onion powder– not to be confused with onion salt. They ARE different. Onion powder is just the dried and powdered onion with no salt added. Garlic powder can also work in a pinch.
poultry seasoning– this is a great all purpose seasoning mixture for chicken. It pairs really well with the onion powder.
paprika– used mainly for color, but feel free to use smoked paprika for a little smokey bite.

How to Make Baked Chicken Legs | Directions

I purposely made this recipe as easy as possible with the simplest of ingredients because I’m a busy working Mom and understand why you sometimes need a ridiculously easy dinner like a simple baked chicken drumstick.

After the 10 minutes of prep work, this turns into the easiest recipe ever. Just let the oven do the work! While the chicken legs bake, you can make whatever sides you like so by the time you pull them out, dinner can be served right away.

Step 1: Prep Your Chicken Drumsticks

Start by opening up your package of chicken legs and drying them off with a paper towel. I used two pounds of chicken drumsticks which ended up being about 8. Every package will be different based on weight, but 8 should be about average. Lay the dried drumsticks onto a baking sheet that has been lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Set aside.

Step 2: Make the Spice Rub

In a small bowl, stir together salt, pepper, onion powder, poultry seasoning, and paprika. This spice mix doesn’t have any pronounced or obvious flavors so when it is rubbed and baked onto this chicken, you will notice yourself saying “wow, this is good chicken” without realizing what is making it so good. Spoiler alert: its this spice rub!

chicken drumsticks on baking sheet with seasoning

Step 3: Season the Chicken Legs and Bake

Rub each chicken leg with olive oil and sprinkle with the homemade spice mix. I did end up lining my baking sheet with foil because I like the easy cleanup but you don’t have to do this if that is preferred.

After about 40-45 minutes in a hot oven, you should have some crispy, flavorful, golden brown chicken legs.

A Note About the Homemade Spice Mix

Chicken in general, including these baked chicken legs, need a lot of seasoning because on their own don’t have a lot of flavor.

I don’t necessarily like adding a lot of huge and big flavors to meat, especially if I’m feeding kids (which I always am). But, that doesn’t mean this is an out for making gross chicken. I want this seasoning blend to come across as “yum that’s good and I don’t know why” instead of some random kid yelling “why did you put garlic in this?” and then storming off to their room…not that this has ever happened at my house. Ha!

I purposely kept things neutral with my flavor profiles and I’m not just talking about salt and pepper, though they definitely help. With enough of a hit of poultry seasoning, onion powder and paprika, the mixture works magically to produce really REALLY good chicken without anyone really knowing why. The cherry on top is the crispy skin you get from that rub down with olive oil. It’s really so good.

What to serve with Baked Chicken Legs:

Butter Rice (my favorite way to make rice!)
Classic Coleslaw Recipe
Funeral Potatoes
Iceberg Wedge Salad Recipe
Best Pan Fried Potatoes
Caprese Salad with Garlic Balsamic Dressing

So there you have it, friends! A delicious, simple dinner that everyone loves! Be sure to print/save/pin/bookmark this recipe because it’s one of those basic recipes that you’ll keep coming back to. Have a great day, friends!

4.97 from 28 votes