The Best Baked Chicken Leg Quarters
on Mar 26, 2018, Updated Aug 22, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
These are the best oven baked chicken leg quarters — tender, crispy, and juicy on the inside, you simply brush with butter and simple seasonings before cooking them in the oven at a low temperature for an hour, with a final spike in the temp to crisp the skin up real nice at the end.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Ingredients
- How to Make Baked Chicken Leg Quarters
- Baking Tips for Chicken Leg Quarters
- Seasoning Tips
- Should I remove chicken skin before cooking?
- What to do with the juice at the bottom of the pan when baking chicken legs:
- Round out this meal with:
- Other baked chicken recipes you’ll love:
- Are chicken legs healthy?
- How long will baked chicken legs keep for?
- The Best Oven Baked Chicken Leg Quarters Recipe
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
I love a budget-friendly and patience-friendly meal, and these oven baked chicken quarters cover all those bases and more. Chicken legs are fairly simple and inexpensive, but when you butter them up, season them well, and bake them low and slow in the oven, they become tender and juicy and perfect dinnertime contenders. I turn up the oven’s heat at the very end to get the skin nice and crispy, and it’s seriously delicious.
Plus, it takes about zero time for you to prep it all. Getting the chicken ready might cost you 5 minutes, and then you put them in the oven for an hour, freeing you up to get sides ready (or just chill for a bit!) while they bake. Chicken legs are no fuss as long as you know how to do them, and if you ask me, this recipe is the perfect place to start.
Ingredients
- Chicken leg quarters: I love this cut of chicken. It’s inexpensive and so full of flavor.
- Butter: this adds some fat, flavor, and something for the seasoning to stick too. Plus it helps the chicken crisp up.
- Seasonings of your choice: I like to use a custom season salt made by combining 1/4 cup kosher salt, 4 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 tablespoon ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons onion powder, and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
How to Make Baked Chicken Leg Quarters
- Pat your chicken dry.
- Brush it with butter and then sprinkle with your seasoning.
- Cover with foil and bake a low temperature.
- After a longer cooking time remove the foil and crank up the heat to finish the cooking process.
- Serve right away.
Baking Tips for Chicken Leg Quarters
Slow and low is why I love this recipe. By starting out at a low temperature, you give the meat time to cook and become tender. Finishing it off at a higher temperature makes the skin delicious and crispy. It might take a little while in the oven but you only have 5 minutes of hands-on time.
Seasoning Tips
When it comes to seasoning, you can go as simple as salt and pepper, you can use your favorite seasoning blend (like Everything but the Bagel seasoning from Trader Joe’s, Montreal Chicken Seasoning, Lemon Garlic, or anything else), or you can make your own magic season salt by combining 1/4 cup kosher salt, 4 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 tablespoon ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons onion powder, and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional. I just toss everything in a little mason jar, add the lid, and shake to combine. This is a great basic season salt recipe. It’s great on french fries and all kinds of meat.
Should I remove chicken skin before cooking?
No! Please don’t. Chicken skin adds so much flavor (as do the bones) and gives the outside such an incredible crispy texture. It’s higher in fat, so this wouldn’t be a meal you eat every day, but it certainly won’t do any harm every once in a while! You’ve got to live a little, right?
What to do with the juice at the bottom of the pan when baking chicken legs:
The juice that is at the bottom of the pan is super good, just FYI. If you are serving some kind of vegetable with this dish, I’d spoon some of the chicken drippings over the top or even make gravy for potatoes with them.
Round out this meal with:
- My Favorite Cornbread Recipe
- Deli-Style Broccoli Salad
- Crispy Homemade Sweet Potato Fries
- Classic Scalloped Potatoes
- Sauteed Asparagus
- Red Velvet Cake
Other baked chicken recipes you’ll love:
- The Best Baked Chicken Legs (5 ingredients and so good)
- Oven Baked Chicken Thighs
- Crispy Sheet Pan Baked Chicken Taco Meat
If you’ve tried this chicken leg quarters recipe or any other recipe on Bless this Mess, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some pictures of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories.
Are chicken legs healthy?
Chicken, no matter the cut, is a great source of lean protein (yes, even the dark meat!). I know chicken breast is all the rage because it’s a bit lower in fat and calories, but I’m on a mission to spread the gospel of chicken legs and all their flavor-filled, easy-to-make glory.
How long will baked chicken legs keep for?
You can store these in your fridge in a sealable bag or airtight container (whichever you choose, line the bottom with a paper towel to catch excess liquid and keep the legs from getting soggy) for up to 3 or 4 days. I recommend reheating them in the oven so the skin has a chance to re-crisp.
You must try making these fabulous chicken leg quarters recipe sometime soon because they’re crispy, juicy, and perfectly seasoned!
You’ll love how great this simple baked chicken leg quarters recipe is! It’s easy to make, you’ll love how flavorful the chicken is, and it’s one you’ll make over and over again!
The Best Oven Baked Chicken Leg Quarters
Ingredients
- 4 chicken leg quarters, (about 3 pounds)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- Seasoning to taste, see notes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Place the chicken leg quarters in the bottom of a rimmed baking sheet or a baking dish.
- Melt the butter and brush it over each chicken leg quarter.
- Sprinkle generously with seasoning of choice.
- Cover the pan with foil and bake for one hour.
- Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees, remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-20 minutes until the skin is crisped to your liking and the chicken registers 165 degrees on an instant read thermometer.
- Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- When it comes to seasoning, you can go as simple as salt and pepper, you can use your favorite seasoning blend (like Everything But the Bagel seasoning from Trader Joe’s, Montreal Chicken Seasoning, Lemon Garlic, or anything else), or you can make your own magic season salt by combining 1/4 cup kosher salt, 4 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 tablespoon ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons onion powder, and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional. I just toss everything in a little mason jar, add the lid, and shake to combine. This is a great basic season salt recipe. It’s great on french fries and all kinds of meat.
Do you know what temp and time this will take to cook bone-in chicken breasts?
I bet it would be close to this long. I think I’d just check it a few times to make sure you aren’t over cooking it!
Melissa! This recipe is perfect! Best chicken quarters I’ve ever made.
Thank you!!!
Temps and times seem just right to me.
Love to hear this! Thank you!
I’ve cooked plenty of chicken legs, but never a thigh combo, so I went online in search of cooking times and found this. After reading the interesting commentary I ran with the original instructions. Knowing my oven is old and finicky I started at 325 rather than 300 for good measure, then upped it as directed. I don’t think I needed the 325 as the temp was at 185 when I checked the chicken and I was worried it would be dry. But after sitting 10 minutes, we found it was still plenty moist and juicy (whew). From here on out I am following these guidelines. Thank you for making my first leg-thigh combo a success!
Love to hear this! Glad it worked out for you.
My final high temp time of 18 mins (2nd try) was amazing. Great addition for my collection of Keto recipes. Thank you!
Hi, I need help! I’m cooking a 10lb of chicken leg quarters all at once tonight and i plan to use your recipe. Just wondering if I need to change the temp and or cooking time? Thank you! I hope you could respond asap!
Nope, just cook it in more than one pan so they aren’t crowded and rotate the pans during cooking a few times. I think you’ll love them! ENJOY!
Best EVER!!! Cooked one quarter with Trader Joe’s SEASON salt and cayenne. 4 T butter. Poured the leftover juice on top. Delicious. Thank you!!!
This is seriously the best chicken I’ve ever had. I am on KETO CARNIVORE DIET For the next 3 weeks. I cooked this with Trader Joe’s season salt and some Cayenne pepper and it was perfect! I’m having this again tomorrow I ate every bite and I usually leave some behind because I get so full.
Searched the internet for the perfect chicken quarter recipe and this is the one that sounded the best. I tried it out, did exactly what the directions said, and wow! Super crispy on the outside, and the chicken fell off the bone. New favorite recipe. Thank you so much for sharing!
This is a simple and great tasting recipe. I did exactly as written and basting with butter using creole seasoning. Awesome…………………thank you. I just got 21.5 pounds of chicken leg quarters at Harris Teeters for 28 cents per pound….and no, I did not cook them all at once.
john
Baked it just as follows and used salt, pepper, garlic powder and Montreal seasonings. Came out perfect, juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. I will have to make this again really soon <3