The Best Oven Baked Chicken Legs
on Aug 07, 2017, Updated Oct 29, 2024
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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.
I made this recipe several times and love it! The last time I made it, though, I threw them on the BBQ grill and it was chicken perfection!
Ohhh thank you for sharing, I’d love to know how long it took them to cook on the grill!
Hi Melissa, I just finished dinner with my husband after making this recipe, It really was the best! I am not a lover of honey, but I love dark meat chicken, so I decided to make it. I did remove the skin from my 12 chicken legs, as that is what my husband prefers. I baked the legs at 350 for 35 instead of 45 minutes, but I think I could have done the whole 45 minutes. The skin crisps up a little, and that confused me, as I didn’t want to dry them out. I did everything else according to the recipe. Absolutely delicious! My fears about the honey were totally unfounded! Next time I’m going to try a tablespoon of cornstarch as suggested to thicken the liquid, as it didn’t thicken on it’s own. I so appreciated all your tips too – I didn’t read them through, and used a 9×13 which drowned the legs. Then, after reading your tips, I switched to an 11×15 pan & all was well. I love your site, & I love your recipes! So easy & simple to follow! Thank you!
Have you tried this with coconut aminos in place of the soy sauce?
I have! I end up adding a bit of salt as I find it not salty enough for my taste, but it worked great!
Very easy! And delicious!
My kids new favorite! Thanks!
Can I make this with mixed chicken pieces, including chicken breasts? If so, how long would I bake it for?
Yep, just cook at until the largest pieces are cooked through, it’ll depend a lot on the size and cut of meat.
Turned out great!!! Just a little too sweet. Will put less honey next time. Also did it in my air fryer/oven/… it cooked a lot faster , so didn’t have top wait for 1hr to eat…
What are the directions for the air fryer?
I tried it once and it was a bit of a mess so I’m not help, feel free to play with it. I found there was too much sauce but it didn’t get sticky like in the oven.
Hi Melissa! I was in a hurry and had some drumsticks in the fridge so Googled chicken drumstick recipes. I don’t even remember seeing any other recipe. I saw the picture and the name and clicked on it.
We made it exactly as the recipe & then our creativity ran over and we made it our own. Your recipe sounded so good but since we’re diabetics, reduced the honey to 1 LARGE tablespoon, used low-sodium soya, 1/2 cup of ketchup, 1/4 cup of prepared mustard and didn’t have garlic so used lots of garlic powder. We were in a hurry, so put it on the stove but not before we added some onions, huge piece of ginger (at least 2”), and a red bell pepper. Then the chicken, homemade chicken bone broth and … threw in some brown rice. Oh yum!
Didn’t need any additional S&P and it was so yummy! Thanks for posting.
Wings are WHITE meat just fyi
Hi!! Looks like a fabulous recipe. I am making this tonight. I also have chicken thighs. Do you think that would work as well as legs? I’m planning on a combo of legs & thighs? Thanks!!
Yep, works great! Just make sure they are cooked through as sometimes they are thicker and take a bit longer to cook.