The Best Oven Baked Chicken Legs
on Aug 07, 2017, Updated Oct 29, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This simple 5-ingredient recipe makes The Best Oven Baked Chicken Legs I have ever had! (And the masses agree—this recipe has been shared over 250,000 times!) Pop these legs in the oven, and you’ll have a crispy chicken dinner with no fuss!
Not only is this one of my kids’ favorite ways to enjoy chicken, but this recipe is also on its way to breaking the internet! For real. I knew it was delicious and easy, but after being shared more than 250,000 times and receiving oodles of reviews from people who’ve made it, I almost can’t believe how much you guys love this recipe!
The sauce is truly addicting. You’ll want it on fried rice, steamed veggies, and maybe even in a cup with a straw to drink it—it’s THAT good. Pair it with my Broccoli Cauliflower Salad recipe for an extra yummy side dish! I’d love to know if you try this recipe and love feedback, so leave a comment if you do!
{VIDEO} Make the Best Oven-Baked Chicken Legs
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Budget Friendly: I love this simple and inexpensive cut of meat, and this recipe really makes it shine!
- More Leg Ideas: I’m no stranger to excellent baked chicken legs. Try these: Sweet and Spicy Baked Chicken Legs, Lemon Garlic Baked Chicken Legs, and 4-Ingredient Honey Mustard Baked Chicken Legs.
- Make it in the Slow Cooker: This recipe is a long-time favorite in our house and is highly adaptable to the slow cooker (hooray!!!). I slightly changed the portions (use 1/2 cup of ketchup, honey, and soy sauce), but it still tastes great. It’s a little less sticky, but it’s simple and flavorful.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken legs
- Honey
- Soy sauce
- Ketchup
- Garlic – cloves
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Baked Chicken Legs:
- Prep a baking dish by lining it with foil.
- Mix up your sauce.
- Place all the chicken legs in the dish and pour the sauce over the top.
- Bake and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
This really just depends on how you’re cooking it. I like to start with a preheated 350-degree oven and bake the chicken for 45 minutes, rotate the legs, raise the heat to 425 degrees, and put them back for about another 15 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and everything looks caramelized. Turning the legs is key to getting the sauce on the “top” of the chicken legs!
Yep! Thighs and drumsticks are dark meat in chicken, and they usually have a much heartier, juicier flavor and more tender texture than white meat.
Because these guys are thick and saucy, you’ll want a sheet pan with high sides to keep all the juices in and large enough so the chicken isn’t drowning in the sauce. The chicken should stick out of the sauce while cooking to get the best caramelized texture.
Expert Tips
- Mix it Up: If you don’t have honey on hand, you can substitute it for your favorite jam that doesn’t have seeds. My favorites are peach and apricot jam for this recipe
- Easy Clean-Up: Lining your pan with foil makes clean-up much easier. I recommend it.
- Yummy Sides: The sauce the chicken cooks in is delicious over cooked rice and steamed or roasted vegetables (like broccoli and cauliflower) to round out the meal.
More Chicken Recipes to Consider
Pasta Dishes
Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Baked Pasta
Soups, Stews & Chowders
White Chicken Chili
Chicken Recipes
Kung Pow Chicken
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
The Best Oven Baked Chicken Legs Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lay the chicken legs out in a foil-lined baking dish with high sides (the foil is to make clean up easier — it’s not essential but helps a whole lot). A high-sided sheet pan is the best option because it has sides to keep everything in, but it is big enough that the chicken isn’t drowning in the sauce. It will caramelize best if half of the chicken is poking out of the sauce while cooking.
- In a glass measuring cup, measure out the honey, soy sauce, and ketchup. Add the minced garlic, and stir. If the mixture doesn’t combine well, microwave it on high for 30 seconds and stir again. Pour the honey mixture over the chicken legs.
- Put the chicken legs in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Take the chicken out of the oven, and rotate it so that the bottom that was in the sauce is now on top, out of the sauce.
- Put the legs back in the oven. Raise the heat to 425 degrees F., and bake until the sauce is bubbly and starts to caramelize on the chicken legs. This should take about 15 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the oven, and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve the sauce the the chicken cooked in with the meal or over rice if you’d like.
Video
Notes
- A pan slightly larger than 9×13 inches with sides is the best option because it has sides to keep all the juice in but is big enough that the chicken isn’t drowning in the sauce. It will caramelize best if half of the chicken is poked out of the sauce while cooking. My pan is 11×15 inches, and it works best. If your pan is too large, though, your sauce will be too shallow, evaporate, and burn.
- I like to use a little meat thermometer to ensure the chicken is done – better safe than sorry!
- How to cook chicken legs in a slow cooker: Place all of the chicken legs in the bottom of a slow cooker (I have this slow cooker). Pour the sauce over the chicken legs. Slow cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours, until the largest piece of chicken registers 165 degrees F. on an instant read thermometer.
- This option is great for all the reasons the slow cooker is great. You can start it in the middle of the day and have dinner on the table without much hands-on work during the busy evening. Or you can get the slow cooker going, leave the house, and come home to dinner. This is great for working parents, Sunday dinner (it can cook while you are at church), or running kids to practices or lessons in the evening. This option leads to flavorful, moist chicken, but the outside and skin don’t crisp at all.
So yummy!! The whole pan was gone within a few minutes! Making it again tonight. Also, instead of soy sauce, I used coco aminos (for Paleo) and the result was very yummy! Thank you!
I have done that too with great success. I felt like I had to add a bit of salt but other than that, the aminos worked great. So good to hear you liked it!
I made this last night and the sauce never thickened. Sort of bummed about that, although the flavor of the chicken is still good! Will try again.
So I am currently making these (they’re in the oven, at least). The sauce itself was really nice, but I added some onion powder (and I’m sure that minced onion would have been nice, too, along with the garlic).
Have you tried adding any chili powder or red pepper flakes? I feel like some heat might be a nice touch as well.
I have done red pepper flakes and it was delicious! I haven’t tired any kind of chili powder. You’ll have to me know if you do! Enjoy!
Melissa,I’ve cooked in restaurants and tried many different chicken recipes,this one I did tonight and my wife and I loved it.thanks.
Thank you! Merry Christmas friend!
How do you think it would be with boneless chicken? My husband hates eating off the bone.
It works well! Just be sure to go by the internal temperature of the chicken for doneness and not necessarily the time I recommend. A boneless piece of chicken will cook faster than a bone-in piece and no one like dry chicken! You’ll love it. Enjoy!
This recipe look delicious!! where can I see the instructions for slow cooker?
I did another big post that includes all kinds of cooking directions including the slow cooker. You can find it here: https://www.blessthismessplease.com/2016/10/8-best-chicken-legs-recipes.html
ENJOY!
Do you cover it with foil when you put it in the oven?
Do you cover it with foil when you put it in the oven?
Made these the other night. I am a newbie when it comes to cooking and I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out fantastic!! My husband is not a fan of chicken and LOVED them. I am wondering can the same recipe be followed with a mix chicken legs and chicken thighs?
I think you should could. If the thighs are a little meatier just make sure they are cooked all the way though before serving (obviously…), I’m not sure how the cook time would be different, but I bet it will be really close to what the chicken leg recipe calls for. I’m so glad you liked it! Congrats on getting a hubby approved meal 🙂
I was wondering what the best sides would be for this chicken. I’ve seen several people comment they made rice, is that the best suggestion?
I make it with whatever is seasonal. The other day I did these and served them with mashed butternut squash and a kale salad, the time before that I did some buttered noodles and roasted Brussles sprouts, and the time before that I did rice and steamed broccoli/cauliflower/carrots. They a pretty general meat dish that I feel pair up with just about any starch and vegetable that you like. I’ve done mashed potatoes and greens beans on the side too. This is really flexible. The rice is good because you can use some of the sauce you cooked the chicken in as a sauce for the rice which is delicious but definitely not the only serving suggestions. ENJOY!
I made corn on a cob to go with my drumsticks 🙂
Sounds delicious! We made baked potatoes with them this week. So many tasty options 🙂
Yum! These chicken legs were “Finger-Licking Good!” I will definitely be making these again an soon!! I did have to make a revision on the honey and garlic cloves. I had neither; and didn’t want to go to the store. I used pure maple syrup and garlic salt. It was sooooo good! I give this recipe a 10+. Thanks!