Baked Crispy Chicken Legs
Baked Crispy Chicken Legs – A few simple tricks deliver crispy baked chicken drumsticks with tender, juicy meat. Insanely flavorful chicken is quick, easy, paleo, and gluten-free with only 10 minutes of prep time! A win-win!
Inspired by the success of my crispy baked chicken wing recipe, I decided to give chicken legs a spin. They have the same flavorful bite and crispy, crunchy coating without breadcrumbs or flour. All you need are a few pantry staples to turn ordinary chicken legs into out-of-this-world delicious.
The crunchy skin and mouthwatering flavor make this recipe a crowd-pleaser for adults and kids alike. Not to mention how versatile it is! Feel free to experiment with your favorite herbs and spices to put a new spin on this dish every time you make it.
How to Bake Chicken Legs Crispy
Most importantly, ensure the drumsticks are dry before baking for super crispy skin. And since chicken legs are larger than wings, I increased the amount of onion and garlic powder for better flavor. You have nothing else to worry about because baking crispy chicken legs is waaay easier than you think.
- First, carefully wash the chicken with running tap water and place them in a single layer on a baking sheet pan. Let them dry in the fridge, uncovered, for a minimum of 3 hours for crispy chicken skin.
- Next, season the chicken when ready to bake.
- Then, arrange them on a wire rack in a single layer and pop them in the oven.
- Rotate the chicken legs halfway through to ensure they evenly cook on all sides.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken Legs – Bone-in, skin-on chicken drumsticks result in tender, juicy meat with crispy skin. Look for chicken legs that are uniform in size to ensure even cooking.
- Seasonings – Layer on the flavors with a bold mix of Italian herbs, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and white pepper. A dash of cayenne pepper provides just the right amount of heat, but feel free to adjust it to your family’s heat preference. Bouillon powder provides umami savoriness.
How to Bake Crispy Chicken Legs
- Prepare Chicken – Wash the chicken legs and place them on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Then let them sit in the fridge, uncovered, for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight to air-dry. (You can skip this part and proceed with the spices, but they won’t be quite as crispy).
- Preheat oven to 425°F (220℃).
- Season – Place the chicken in a large bowl, add the spices, and drizzle with oil. Mix well to coat the chicken.
- Prep the Baking Sheet by lining it with foil and putting a wire rack on top. Place the chicken legs in a single layer on the wire rack. While the chicken legs are baking, the oil will drip to the bottom of the pan.
- Bake chicken legs until cooked through and skin is crispy (45-50 minutes). Rotate chicken legs halfway through, at roughly 20 minutes. (Actual bake time depends on your oven and altitude, but a meat thermometer should read an internal temperature of 165℉/75℃).
- Serve – Take the crispy chicken legs out of the oven and serve with African pepper sauce.
Recipe Variations
- Seasoning swap. Replace the seasonings with your favorite premade seasoning blend. Try a zesty Cajun Creole seasoning or taco seasoning if you’re craving something with a Mexican flair!
- Seasoning add-ins. Add a dash of cumin to the seasoning mix for deep, slightly nutty notes. A touch of lemon pepper will add a fresh, citrusy punch to the mix. And smoked paprika adds an extra zing with delicious smokiness.
- Meat swap. You can replace the chicken legs with bone-in chicken thighs or cut up the whole chicken.
- Garnish. For additional flavor, sprinkle your crispy chicken legs with Parmesan, chopped parsley, or green onion. They also add a gorgeous pop of color.
- One-pot meal. Roast potato wedges and carrot chunks underneath the chicken legs to make a one-dish meal. Lightly coat the potatoes and carrots in olive oil and sprinkle with more seasonings before placing them on the baking sheet.
Tips and Tricks
- Taking the chicken legs out of the fridge 10-15 minutes before baking will help them cook more evenly.
- If you’d like even crispier skin on the chicken legs, turn the broiler on for a minute or to crisp them even more. Keep an eye on them, though, because the broiler cooks fast.
- Let the chicken rest 5-10 minutes after cooking for super juicy, tender meat.
- These golden beauties are delicious baked in an air fryer, as well. Air fry them at 400℉ (205℃) for 20 minutes, flipping them halfway through. Enjoy!
Make-Ahead Instructions
Crispy baked chicken legs require just 10 minutes of prep time, so they’re perfect for busy weeknight meals! To get a jump on meal planning, you can season the chicken legs ahead of time.
Then, keep them in the fridge for a day or two or freeze them for 2-3 months. When you need a quick meal, simply leave them in the fridge overnight to defrost and pop them in the oven.
Serving and Storage Instructions
These guys are best hot from the oven (after resting for a few minutes). Add other fun flavors with African pepper sauce or homemade BBQ sauce.
Refrigerate leftover baked chicken legs in an airtight container for up to five days or freeze them for 4-6 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Reheat the chicken legs in the oven at 350℉ (180℃) until heated through. You could also reheat individual portions in the microwave, but they won’t crisp back up.
I love using leftover chicken for chicken salad for sandwiches or Caesar salad. Remove and discard the skin (no longer crispy and delicious) and bones, chop the chicken into chunks, and you’re good to go.
What Goes With Crispy Oven-Baked Chicken Legs
Countless winning combinations go great with this tasty chicken recipe. Some delicious side dishes are scalloped potatoes or garlic mashed potatoes and Southern baked beans with bacon. Add a fresh tossed salad and a crisp Sauvignon Blanc or bright Pinot Noir to complement the perfectly seasoned meat.
More Easy Baked Chicken Recipes to Try
- Baked BBQ Chicken
- Jerk Chicken Wings
- Baked Crispy Chicken Wings
- Oven Baked Chicken Breast
- Baked Chicken Spaghetti
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”5X6eNFxT” upload-date=”Mon Aug 06 2018 19:45:03 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”Baked Crispy Chicken Legs” description=”Baked Crispy Chicken Legs – A few simple tricks makes this chicken legs crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside, and ridiculously flavorful. It’s quick, easy, paleo, gluten-free and only requires 10 mins prep.”]
This blog post was originally published in November 2013 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video
Baked Crispy Chicken Legs
Ingredients
- 3-3½ pounds (1.3-1.5k) chicken legs
- 1 tablespoon (6g) dried Italian herbs
- 1¼ teaspoons (7g) salt
- 1½ tablespoons (9g) onion powder
- 1½ tablespoons (8g) garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon (2g) smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon (2g) white pepper
- ½ teaspoon (1g) cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon (3g) bouillon powder (or replace with salt)
Instructions
- Wash the chicken legs and place them on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Then let them sit in the fridge, uncovered, for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight to air-dry. (You can skip this part and proceed with the spices, but they won't be quite as crispy).
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 425°F (220℃).
- Place the chicken in a large bowl, add the spices, and drizzle with oil. Mix well to coat the chicken.
- Line a baking pan with foil, and top with a wire rack. Arrange chicken legs in a single layer. While the chicken legs are baking, the oil will slowly drip to the bottom of the baking pan.
- Bake chicken legs until cooked through and skin is crispy (45-50 minutes). Rotate chicken legs halfway through, at roughly 20 minutes. (Actual bake time depends on your oven and altitude, but a meat thermometer should read an internal temperature of 165℉/75℃).
- Take the crispy chicken legs out of the oven and serve with African pepper sauce.
Tips & Notes:
- Taking the chicken legs out of the fridge 10-15 minutes before baking will help them cook more evenly.
- If you’d like even crispier skin on the chicken legs, turn the broiler on for a minute or to crisp them even more. Keep an eye on them, though, because the broiler cooks fast.
- Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes after cooking for super juicy, tender meat.
- These golden beauties are delicious baked in an air fryer, as well. Air fry them at 400℉ (205℃) for 20 minutes, flipping them halfway through. Enjoy!
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Thank you for this recipe. It was delicious! I followed it pretty closely and plan to make it again.
I glad you liked it Elizabeth and thanks for the feedback!
I’m drying them overnight right now! I can’t wait to make these tomorrow!
Lisa, let me know how you like it. Thanks for stopping by!
This recipe was GREAT! I changed up the spices a little to make them more like garlic-parm. flavored instead of spicy but the result was wonderful! Crispy, crunchy skin with juicy flavorful meat. Do you think that using chicken breast with skin would turn out well cooked the same way? Thanks for the great recipe!
Jennifer, I have never tried this with chicken breast. Will have to experiment.. If you do try it reduce the cooking time breast tend to dry out quickly . Thanks for the feedback!
Skin was crunchy, chicken moist. I will put less cayenne pepper and a bit less salt next time. Planning to mix up a few batches of the spices and keep for quick future meals.
Thanks for the feedback Donna
Wow, this recipe was amazing! It’s now my husband’s and my favorite Sunday lunch recipe. The only modification I made was to drizzle a little olive oil on the chicken legs when they come out–our oven tends to dry things out too much. I serve the chicken with sides of quinoa, steamed veggies, olives, and strawberries and it’s an amazing meal. Thank you so much!!
Claire, thanks for feedback.. greatly appreciate it. I just love your choice of sides- very healthy.
I made these today and they were awesome! It was a little spicy for me (but I have an embarrassingly low spicy food tolerance) but my husband loved it!! Despite the heat factor, I loved the flavor combinations of the garlic, onion and Italian seasonings. The chicken was perfectly juicy and very tasty 🙂
Try using Seasoned Salt in place of the cayenne and salt. It should add a little bit of bite for your hubby, but tame enough not to fry your taste buds (I am the same- try living that way in Texas!! Hot sauce is as common as ketchup and it makes me shudder!)
These were INCREDIBLE! My husband said they were restaurant quality! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Restaurant quality? Aww, thank you Christina.
If I don’t have a cookie cooling rack, do you think just placing them on
The actual rack in the oven and placing the pan on the rack below for the oil to drop would work?
Alex, I don’t think it is a good idea. It would cause a lot of smoke and set off your alarm. It happened to me before.
When I made this the house filled up with smoke, the stove got all greasy and the c hicken did not crisp. I would never make this again.
Hi Marcy! Am so sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you ! I make this all the time and it works out just fine. I can’t really say for sure what the problem is without actually being there.
It might be the amount of time it was in the oven? The recipe worked well for me, but it was well done after thirty minutes.
Oh Wow! Good to know . Thanks for taking the time to share this with us.
I’ve been making this for years! I call it oven fried chicken. Using various dry seasonings and oil spray, (whatever oil spray i have at the time) I season then spray with Pam, butter or olive oil and bake 425 on a heavy non stick skillet for an hour. My family loves it! I will try using the baking rack and refrigeration to see the difference in crispness.
Marcy if your stove got greasy it means you had too much oil or fluids dripping which causes the same effect as dropping water into a frying pan… it will bubble and pop. Try it again it’s delicious!
Aww thanks Kim! So kind of you to share your tips with us !!!
Hey i wanted to try and make the crispy chicken legs but i wanted to kmow do i have to use a cookie rack for this to work since i dont have one?
It is not going to affect the taste. However, if you want really crispy skin then you have to.
I cook in small quantities so instead of dirtying a whole cookie sheet for 4 legs, I did this- I lined a glass baking dish with foil then rolled up foil in rough 1/2 inch by 8 inch strips. I followed the recipe as written, then laid those chicken legs across the foil strips to allow the grease to drip off. I have used the same concept in a slow cooker to keep food from sitting in a puddle of grease. Worked great for this recipe!
This is such an awesome tip Christy ! Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with us. Am definitely going to try it out especially when am using my slow cooker.
Have a Bless Day
GREAT idea!! Thanks for taking the time to post and share, especially the slow cooker tip!
Thanks! I am only making 3 legs so had to cut down the recipe quite a bit. How much oil would you suggest?
You can change the number of servings right in the recipe (at the top) and it automatically updates the ingredients perfectly.
Is it best to let it dry, then add the spices and oil right before baking?
Laura, that is the best way of getting the legs really crispy.
What is the official name for wire rack? Is it just the cookie sheet wire rack?
Cookie Cooling rack.
Crate and barrel sells a pan and has the cooling racks that are sized to fit the pan perfectly.This a great way to get that crispiness without frying. Love many of your recipes by the way.
Mary, I am so glad you have been trying my recipes and even exited that you enjoyed them. Thanks for the taking the time to comment.
Immaculate, I came across your blog while looking for a good chin chin recipe. I must say, all the recipes I have tried were awesome!!!!!!!!!!!! Please keep up the good work.
No, thank you kelsey. You inspired me to make this recipe.
I like this version. My husband asked if I marinated it for several hours and I said no, that i just let it dried in the fridge. He says wow, it taste so good. Thank you!!
Thanks V.O
Can’t attest for the ingredients, but the cooking method was absolutely phenomenal! The chicken came out just as the author described. A++++
Looks yummy, will definitely try it.
Kelsey , I made these chicken legs based on the question you asked about the chicken wings. Let me know how you like these. Thanks
Wow, these sound heavenly and perfect for a celebration.
Thanks sowmya.
When you say rotate chicken, you don’t mean turn them over do you. ?.♥♡
Hi Deborah! No I don’t. I usually place it in the oven and let it cook without turning it on the other side.
Ok then , what does rotate mean? Turning the pan
Yes, rotating the pan for even crispness and heat distribution.
Thanks for your help♥♡♥♡
I have a small oven so pls tell me the time
It’s still the same cooking time, if that is what you are referring too.
Only receipe I go to for chicken legs, thighs, quarters and my whole chicken roasting prep as well!
OH WOW! Glad to hear it’s working out for you. Thanks for letting me know.