Oven baked chicken legs are a simple dinner the whole family will love. Just trim, pat dry, simple spices, and bake them in the oven. You will have perfect crispy, juicy chicken legs every time with these easy step by step photo instructions.
Introduction
Everybody loves great chicken legs (AKA drumsticks). Kids, grandparents, and mom and dad all love a crispy drumstick. Now you can have them anytime you want. Plus they are economical.
Skip to the next section if you want to skip the story.
Last year I took several weeks working on grilled chicken legs to get them just right. We were having a large retirement party for several family friends, and I was providing the meat course for a hundred people.
I initially wanted to grill all 150 pieces of chicken, but after I got the smaller batch perfected, it was obvious that mass cooking that large was not possible on a home grill. See Grilling Chicken Drumsticks – The Art of Drummies.
But the grill recipe work did show that the secret of a great chicken leg (drumstick) was in the internal temperature of 185. Not 165, which is the safe chicken temperature, but 185 produces the moist tender chicken legs you will ever have.
So I switched my attention to the oven with excellent results. See Chicken for a Hundred. Since then, I have done mainly oven drummies. Here is the scaled-down version.
My Rating
Just excellent. It always brings a child-like smile to my wife's face.
♨️Cooking
- DO NOT SKIP THE PAT DRY, or you will not have crispy skin. (See Chicken: To Rinse or Not To Rinse? about rinsing the chicken)
- Check the cut joint area for loose parts. You may be handing this to a child and don't need loose bone aspirated.
- I like cooking this on a rack to get the meat off the pan, and with convection, all sides of the legs will be nice.
- Cook at high temp, and you must use a thermometer to be sure you get to 185. Do not guess.
- Spice as you want. I often add the Cayenne, but if you have little ones, skip it.
- Scale to any amount you need
Seasoning
I generally use my All Purpose Seasoning; 7:2:1 and 7:2:2 but just some coarse salt and pepper or just the seasoning of your choice.
Skip the seasoning and brush with your favorite BBQ sauce the last 5 minutes to make great oven-baked BBQ drumsticks.
⏰How Long to Bake
There are three variables: the chicken leg size, oven temperature, and the desired internal temperature. I'm aiming for 185° (see next section), so at 425° for about 35 minutes.
ALWAYS COOK TO A FINAL INTERNAL TEMPERATURE. PLEASE, NEVER BY TIME ALONE.
- Chicken legs at 350°F convection or 375°F conventional – about 45-50 minutes
- Chicken legs at 375°F convection or 400°F conventional – about 40-45 minutes
- Chicken legs at 400°F convection or 425°F conventional – about 35-40 minutes
- Chicken legs at 425°F convection – about 35 minutes (I don't suggest 450°F conventional, do 425°F conventional and add a few minutes)
Remember, all these numbers vary by your oven, also.
The lower the temperature you use, the less crispy your chicken legs will be.
🌡️Best Final Internal Temperature
Many want to cook chicken legs to 165°, which is the minimum safe internal temperature for chicken for the FDA. There is a difference between safe and done. Pork is safe at 145°, but you sure won't want your pulled pork to be cooked to 145°. It would be terrible.
Also, a lot of recipes cook "until fluids run clear." Excuse me, but what does that mean? You should be standing there, poking it with a knife and losing all the moisture — not a good idea. Also, I suspect that it may even be below the safe minimum temperature.
While I cook my chicken breast to 165, there is way too much fibrous tissue in chicken legs. They will be tough and stringy. Just plan not done. Please use 185° as you finish temperature. Check the comments if you need confirmation.
🖊️Other Notes
Why Use a Rack to Bake?
A lot of the fat drained during cooking on the rack. You can cook this without a rack, but you will be happier with a rack.
Storage
Good just refrigerated for 3-4 days. Also, they should freeze fine for 3-4 months. Reheat by thawing first then reheat in an oven.
📖Related Recipes
Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Thighs
Crispy Baked Split Chicken Breasts
Side Dish Recipes
Easiest Crispy Oven Baked French Fries
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Preheat oven to 425° convection. Pat dry the chicken legs with paper towels.
Trim off any extra skin and any loose joint pieces.
Spice to taste. Here I'm using a light sprinkling of my 7:2:1 seasoning. If you don't have that, then just some salt and pepper to taste. Other seasonings at your option.
Place the legs on a prepared cooking pan with the thicker part of the chicken legs to the outside. I usually line with aluminum foil to help clean up. A rack elevates the chicken to help all sides cook evenly. You can do it without the rack but better with it. Of course, a heavy spray of PAM on the rack or foil.
Cook to 185° plus internal temp. DO NOT STOP SHORT of 185°. About 35 minutes in my oven. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. They are way too hot to eat right away and will be better after a rest.
📖Recipe
Oven Baked Chicken Legs - The Art of Drummies
Ingredients
- 6 legs Chicken legs - about 1 ½ lbs
- salt and pepper to taste - or 7:2:1 or 7:2:2 seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425° convection. If you don't have convection, do 425° conventional and add a few minutes.
- Pat dry the legs with paper towels.
- Trim off any extra skin and any loose joint pieces.
- Spice to taste. Here I'm using a light sprinkling of my 7:2:1 seasoning. If you don't have that the just some salt and pepper to taste. Other seasonings at your option. A touch of cayenne is nice.
- Placed on a prepared cooking pan with the thicker part of the chicken leg to the outside. I usually line with aluminum foil to help clean up. A rack elevates the chicken to help all sides cook evenly. You can do it without the rack but better with it. Of course, a heavy spray of PAM on the rack or foil.
- Cook to 185° plus internal temp. DO NOT STOP SHORT of 185°. About 35 minutes in my oven. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. They are way too hot to eat right away and will be better after a rest.
My Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- DO NOT SKIP THE PAT DRY or you will not have crispy skin.
- Check the cut joint area for loose parts. You may be handing this to a child, and don't need loose bone aspirated.
- I like cooking this on a rack to get the meat off the pan, and with convection, all sides of the chicken legs will be nice. If no rack then flip at 20 minutes.
- Cook at high temp and you must use a thermometer to be sure you get to 185. Do not guess.
- Spice as you want.
- Scale to any amount you need
- Skip the seasoning and brush with your favorite BBQ sauce the last 5 minutes to make great oven baked BBQ chicken legs.
- Good refrigerated for 3-4 days. Or will freeze well for 3-4 months.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Editor's Note: Originally published September 9, 2012. Updated with discussion and photos updated to improve the presentation and add more information. The recipe remains the same. Please enjoy the update.
Pauline
How would you bake the chicken legs if the skin is removed? I have tried baking with skin on and then removing and the meat is tasteless that way.
DrDan
Hummm.... not sure. Without the skin, these will dry rapidly at high cooking temperature. At a lower cooking temperature, due to longer time, they will dry. You might try a nice coat of seasoned olive oil but I'm not sure.
Dan
Beth
I made these the other night and did not have a meat thermometer so used a candy one. I checked them after 35 minutes and were only at 150 so left them in for twenty more minutes and the thermometer said 155. They looked done so I ate one. Been in bed sick since then! Will never make that mistake again!
DrDan
Sorry you got ill.
You probably need Santa to bring two thermometers. One meat and one for the oven. If it spent 55 minutes at that high of an oven temperature, they should have been over cooked.
Dan
Heather Coale
I've created this recipe several times and sometimes with variation. If you have little ones and yet like a little kick to the flavor, please try Old Bay Seasoning on your chicken. Most Marylanders have been raised on steamed crabs with Old Bay and use it on most everything else. Spicy without excessive heat. Works great in potato salad also, which is a very nice side dish to this recipe.
DrDan
Hi Heather,
Thanks for the note. I never thought Old Bay since I'm from Iowa. But it sounds great.
Dan
Bev
Can one use chicken wings instead?
DrDan
Almost, check my chicken wings at https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/crispy-baked-buffalo-chicken-wings/ for a similar but slightly different technique.
Dan
Steven
We're celebrating Thanksgiving on Sat. because of conflicting family schedules so I took some chicken legs out of the freezer for dinner tonite. They were still a little frozen when it cam e time to cook . I was planning on BBQing but had other things to do with my time besides standing outside freezing. Soooo I fired up Google and out popped your recipe.
I used a regular gas oven @ 425, a 13X9 pyrex dish (unfortunately no rack available) and my usual go-to seasonings sea salt, Lawrey's Seasoned Pepper, onion powder & garlic powder.
I rinsed the legs, patted dry , sprinkled with seasoning and slid them in the oven for 50 mins. The whole family thought they were the best oven legs EVER! My picky daughter who has to have katsup on her chicken ALWAYS, said it didn't need it! Definitely going to purchase a oven rack for these. I think they would've been cooked more thoroughly with one . Thanks for this recipe.
Amy
Turned out great - my son was eating the pan drippings LOL...will never make them another way. Thanks so much!
DrDan
Hi Amy,
Thanks so much. It is very kid friendly.
Dan
David
i'd like to suggest you advise temperatures in Celsius also. Most of the world uses it and will be annoyed at having to google the conversion, when you could just do it once for all your visitors.
DrDan
Hi David, I will look at doing it going forward but there are almost 450 recipes here that would need editing. The main problem I see is that there is already lots of confusion about convection vs conventional temperatures. To add two more numbers would add more confusion. 95% of readers are North American. Maybe a conversion chart in FAQs....
DrDan
cookfor life
Yep, your time is way off. I cooked mine for 40-45 to makes sure the meat is tender at the bone. You really need to think what you've offered in regards to the cook time.
DrDan
No, the time is right for most. For me at least 50 times. But variables of thickness, initial temp of the meat and most often your oven can change the time needed to cook properly. That is why we always cook to a final temperature and never by time.
If your time is off significantly from listed estimate then you should check your oven temperature since it will effect all your cooking.
Amanda
We make these all the time and love them! I was a bit skeptical of cooking them to 185 rather than 165 but the meat is never dry - in fact, it's always tender and juicy. Thanks for this recipe and technique - it couldn't be easier!
Urnumbersix
This recipe is the Best.
I have used it for 2 years now - it cannot be beat.
Thank you for explaining "why" to do certain steps.
Makes it easy to remember & one can extrapolate the principle to other cooking.
Big Ups for this one!
Anouk
Dear Dan,
I need to bake 100 drumsticks for a party next week. Can I bake them as much as possible at once or will the baking time increase?
Thank you in advance
DrDan
I would not "crowd the pan" so to speak. There needs to be some air circulation to get them cooked properly. About 15 is the most I can recommend per tray. Check my post about mass cooking these at https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/chicken-for-hundred/
Ro
I went to grill my drumsticks according to your recipe for grilling...when I went out to turn them I found my grill ran out of gas. I'm happy to see the recipe for the oven is much the same, cause that's where they are now. First time I used both the convection on my stove, and your recipe!
DrDan
Welcome to the blog. The two recipes were developed at about the same time as I experimented with drumsticks to do a party for 150 people. I first wanted to grill, and although I got the technique right, it was too much work for a mass cooking. So the oven recipe developed off that.
DrDan
Melody
I'm cooking now, and they smell like they are burning... the whole house smells burnt. 20 minutes cooking so far.
DrDan
Nope should not be like that. Pull them and turn the oven down 25-50 degrees. Either leftover spatters from before, or your oven runs too hot. Tent them for a few minutes with foil while the oven cools some. Cook to the final temp but it will take longer. Get an oven thermometer soon and check the oven temperature.
Dan
LilyRose
I just wanted to thank you! This is the first recipe I used off this site and I'm hooked. I used this to make both dry rub drumsticks and ones marinated in Italian dressing (something my mom always cooked on a grill but living in an apartment complex I don't have access to a grill). Both came out amazing (unlike every other attempt I've made to cook anything but a whole chicken in the oven). I'm looking forward to trying more of your recipes and making them my own. I love cooking and now I enjoy it even more.
DrDan
Hi LilyRose, This is the most popular recipe on the site and one I have done at least 50 times. Nothing beats a good drumstick. It is so easy to get right if you cook to the right temp.
Thanks again for the comment
DrDan
Sara L.
OMG this recipe! My five-year-old loves what she calls "Chicken onna bone" and always wants me to make it for her, but I have always thought it would be too hard to get right. This recipe is PERFECTION. Chicken came out perfect and crisp. I cooked it at 425 in a conventional oven for 40min., until all pieces registered 185+. Skin is crispy, meat is tender. She polished off 3 pieces in about 5 minutes. Thank you!
DrDan
Thanks for the note. Too many drumsticks are undercooked in this world.
DrDan
Sheri
Love your recipe. Chicken cooked is 165 not 185. Cooking time would be less as well.
DrDan
Safe temp is 165 and excellent for chicken breasts. But there is a difference between safe and tender. This is dark meat and lots of fibrous tissue and are much better when cooked to 185. Please try it. Also do not cook by time just temperature. Of course if you are going for 165 not 185 it would be quicker.
DrDan
Sofia
Hi DrDan, I followed your instructions to a T and they came out great and taste delicious, I always wondered why my drumsticks never came out crispy before but now i know the secret(s). I loved that your recipe was easy to follow and only needed a few ingredients.
Thank you very much and i look forward to trying out your other recipes.
Priya
Easy and delicious!! It is a winner is my house. Thanks a lot for sharing the recipes.