Baked Chicken Drumsticks are the easiest way to get dinner on the table quickly! The skin crisps up in the oven, the seasoning is simple and perfect, and the chicken legs come out juicy every time!
When I roast a chicken it’s a sure thing that my kids are going to fight over the chicken legs.
I don’t know if it’s because kids just like eating with their hands or if it’s because chicken legs are delicious, but it happens without fail every time.
I don’t roast a whole chicken all that often, since everyone seems to want the legs anyway. I make these baked chicken drumsticks instead and everyone is happy!
My baked chicken drumsticks recipe is simple enough that anyone can do this and it creates juicy chicken, crispy skin, and it’s all perfectly seasoned! You’re going to love this one. Check out our
Ingredients for Baked Chicken Legs:
Chicken – We’re using skin-on chicken drumsticks here. The skin is crispy and flavorful and helps keep the interior nice and juicy.
Seasoning – You’ll need a mix of smoked paprika (affiliate link), garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, salt, and pepper.
Oil – When cooking at higher temperatures, we like to use avocado oil (affiliate link) has a higher smoke point than olive oil. We have had lots of readers use olive oil and been happy with those results as well.
How to make baked chicken drumsticks:
These oven baked chicken legs are super simple and the seasoning blend is perfect!
Mix together the spices in a small dish.
Add your drumsticks to a plastic bag or large bowl and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle the seasoning on, seal the bag, and mush things around to coat the chicken.
Dump the chicken out onto a baking sheet and bake! The prep work here is so quick!
How long to bake chicken legs:
These baked chicken drumsticks only take a few minutes of prep and just about 45 minutes of bake time.
We’re baking these chicken legs at 425 degrees. If our oven isn’t good and hot, the chicken skin won’t get crispy and no one wants rubbery chicken skin!
The meat should reach 165 degrees in about 45 minutes and then your chicken legs are ready to devour!
What is the best temperature to cook chicken legs?
We prefer to bake our chicken drumsticks at 425 degrees. This allows the chicken skin to crisp up and the interior stays nice and moist. It may seem like a high heat, especially compared to some other recipes but we have thousands have 5 star reviews on this recipe that speak for themselves!
What to serve with oven baked chicken legs:
Broccoli Rice Casserole: Made with cauliflower rice so it’s packed with veggies!
Keto Asparagus: The kids even like this one!
Fried Radishes: They’re similar to a potato when cooked.
Keto Coleslaw: This is my mama’s famous recipe!
Cauliflower Mac and Cheese: Totally satisfies that mac and cheese craving!
Baked Chicken Drumsticks
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken drumsticks
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.
- Add all of the ingredients to a large zip top bag and seal. Smush the chicken around in the bag to coat in the seasoning.
- Arrange chicken on the baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a thermometer reads 165 degrees.
- Serve immediately.
Sandra says
I use this baked chicken recipe once a week. I love it. I buy drumsticks at Costco and cook them up whenever I run out!!
Joy says
This recipe is fabulous! Thank you for sharing!
I put the drumsticks on a raised rack on top of a tinfoil covered cookie sheet and they turned out nice and crispy all around…delicious!
Skelly Shelly says
My house smells so amazing right now! I can’t wait for the timer to go off so I can gobble these up.
Karly Campbell says
Hope you loved them! 🙂
Royette Dubar says
I made this recipe this week and both my husband and I LOVED it! I’ve never been able to get my baked chicken so juicy on the inside, so thank you for this awesome recipe! I used 6 drumsticks, but I:
– doubled all ingredients (I was afraid that I wouldn’t get all the pieces coated with the flavor)
– added 1tsp curry (for the Caribbean girl in me)
– used olive oil instead of avocado oil (since that’s what I had available in the pantry)
My husband has requested that I bookmark this recipe…we will definitely be making it again.
Karly Campbell says
Love to hear that! Thanks for sharing!
Dianna Mannheim Sternberg says
I love these and so do my kids!!!
I am making them again tonight but also have some chicken thighs I want to cook as well.
Any idea how long I would need to cook them for?
Karly Campbell says
Hi Dianna! I have a chicken thigh version here: Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs Hope that helps!
Nicole says
Can you put foil down?
Karly Campbell says
Yep, that would be fine.
Amanda Caraballo says
I only have vegetable oil or olive oil. Can i use one of them instead of avocado oil?
Karly Campbell says
Yep! I would use the vegetable oil.
Jane says
These are probably the best chicken legs I’ve ever made and they were really easy. My kids asked for them again tonight!
Karly Campbell says
Yay! So glad to hear that!
Jessica Collier says
I tried this last night and loved it. I added just 1 step for extra juicy tenderness by brining the chicken in fridge 4 hrs before (4 c water/2T sugar/1T salt). It looked and tasted exactly as good as your pictures, and had my husband coming back for more to snack on later. Thanks for the inspiration!
Sharon Broyles says
I don’t have either pecan oil for avocado oil. I have coconut and olive oil, will that work?
Karly Campbell says
Either will work as long as the smoke point is below 425 degrees. 🙂
Josette Boyle says
Delicious and so easy! This will be one of my go to’s!
Nichole says
Do you take the fat off the drumsticks omg spell check above sorry
Karly Campbell says
Do you mean the skin? I leave that on, it’s what makes the chicken crispy on the outside.
Linda says
I have made these twice now. The 2nd time I substituted Cajun Seasoning for the Paprika. What a difference! A bit of a bite but not enough to not use it. Also, I brushed 2 or 3 legs with olive oil and then put in the bag with the seasonings and smushed around. I had to mix up more spices to have enough for 8 legs. This will be my go to recipe for chicken drumsticks. I noticed that the same basic recipe can be used on thighs. I will try those for when my daughter comes to visit.
Karly Campbell says
I bet the Cajun seasoning was perfect! I add Tony’s to just about everything myself. 🙂
Amanda says
Making this now! Replaced paprika and parsley with herbs de Provence, Followed recipe for everything else, smells so yummy!
Chad says
Trying it not and did 4 different flavors including yours. I also added a little liquid smoke to the barbeque ones for flavor. Cant fricken wait!! Thanks for putting this up!
Karly Campbell says
Hope they all turn out perfect! 🙂
Sheri K says
Making this for the first time now. I too thought that chicken legs cook kind of quick and 45 minutes seemed long but I’m following instructions and looking forward to dinner
Karly Campbell says
Hope you love it! 🙂
Christopher Sensenig says
Your side bar for F P Yum etc is in the way way of looking at information on the web page. Rendering this hard to use or useless so I cant us this till you find a better way to get paid and move your advertising to another location. Oh there’s no room to move.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Christopher! I’m afraid I can’t duplicate that problem on my end and I haven’t received complaints from anyone else about it. I’m guessing it has something to do with the device you’re using or the settings. Are you on a desktop or mobile device?
Elizabeth F says
I have the same problem but yours is by no means the only website this happens on. I’m on a regular laptop, not a small screen by any means.
Bren says
Ok so these were really really good! I did use a little real good butter so it can tolerate the heat. But followed all instructions and my kids gobbled them up. So now they want me to make more lol. So I will certainly have this for dinner at least once a week! Thank you!
Aw says
Can you substitute pecan oil for avacado oil
Just have that in my cabinet
Karly Campbell says
That should work fine!
Brittany says
I usually have my own baked chicken recipe but I had that the other night and wanted to try a new one. And can I just say Wow! My niece and nephew are usually picky eaters and it was gobbled up in no time. I was kinda worried about the long time thinking I would burn them but they came out so delicious and crispy. My nephew choose this baked chicken over my regular one . But definitely 10/10
Karly Campbell says
So glad it was a success! 🙂
gail says
it was delish, but all the parsley burnt to a crisp! I guess I have to add parsley at the end>