Crispy baked chicken legs (drumsticks) are fast and easy, with about 5 minutes of prep time. Use a simple seasoning and then bake for about 35 minutes with convection—perfectly crispy, moist, and tender every time.
🐓Ingredients
Chicken Legs (drumsticks)
Seasoning—salt, black pepper, and garlic powder mixture (All-Purpose Seasoning) OR
Optional seasoning of your choice
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Featured Comment from Gillian:
"I'm so happy I found your recipe! I've never found a simple chicken recipe I liked very much, but this looks like The One!"
Everybody needs great chicken recipes, and this healthy baked chicken legs recipe is one of the easiest and best for the home cook. Even the pickiest kids love baked chicken drumsticks.
It's easy and quick to prep in only 5 minutes with simple seasoning. Then, cook at a high oven temperature for crispy skin without frying for about 35 minutes. Perfect for a healthy low-fat or low-carb diet.
👨🍳How to Bake Chicken Legs—Step-by-Step
1. Preheat oven to 425° convection. Pat dry the chicken legs with paper towels.
2. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and add a rack sprayed with PAM cooking spray. The rack allows all sides of the chicken to cook evenly out of drainage. You can cook without the rack but should flip halfway through cooking.
3. Trim off any extra skin and any loose joint pieces.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. You can use other seasonings if you wish. We use All Purpose Seasoning - 7:2:1 and 7:2:2, which includes garlic powder.
5. Place the legs on a prepared sheet pan with the thicker part of the chicken legs towards the outside of the tray.
6. Cook to 185° to 195° internal temp—about 35 minutes. DO NOT STOP SHORT of 185° and use an instant-read thermometer. Let the cooked drumsticks sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
⏰How long to bake chicken legs (drumsticks)
It takes about 35 minutes at 425° to cook chicken legs in the oven to 185° internal temperature. The variables are the chicken leg size and the oven temperature.
- 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—instead, do 425°F conventional and add a few minutes)
The best cooking temperature is 400° or 425° for the most crispy skin. Lower oven temperatures, like 350° or 375°, will produce a slightly less crisp skin.
Always use an instant-read thermometer. COOK TO A FINAL INTERNAL TEMPERATURE. PLEASE, NEVER BY TIME ALONE.
♨️Pro Tips—get it right every time
- DO NOT SKIP THE PAT DRY; you will remove excess moisture that prevents crispy skin. Please see Chicken: To Rinse or Not To Rinse?
- Oil is optional, and if used, brush on before seasoning. It will change the final texture of the skin from thin and crispy to a little thicker but moisturized.
- Cooking on a rack removes the meat from the baking sheet and the drainage. Then, with convection, all sides of the legs will be cooked evenly. But if you don't have a rack, flip about 20 minutes into cooking.
- Cook at high temp, and you must use an instant-read thermometer to be sure you get to 185°. Do not guess.
- Let the chicken legs set for 5 to 10 minutes after cooking. Fluid will form between the meat cells during cooking, and the rest will allow it to reabsorb for juicy and tenderer results.
Seasoning options
We always use All Purpose Seasoning - 7:2:1 and 7:2:2, which is salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. But use the seasoning you love—some good options are onion powder, smoked paprika, poultry season, or other seasoning blends. For a touch of heat, add some cayenne pepper.
For BBQ chicken legs, add a BBQ rub or skip any dry seasoning and brush on some BBQ sauce near the end of cooking.
Marinaded with Italian dressing, teriyaki sauce, or lemon butter marinade will add a lot of flavors.
What chicken to use?
Use bone-in skin-on chicken legs (drumsticks). The cut joint area may have loose parts that should be trimmed along with excess skin.
Chicken legs are also known as chicken drumsticks. A chicken leg quarter with a thigh still attached to the drumstick is less commonly called a chicken leg. If you are cooking chicken leg quarters, please follow the Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs, which is similar but covers some other issues.
If you use previously frozen chicken legs, the meat may have some pink staining that looks like blood. This is the breakdown of the bone marrow, and the chicken is still safe if cooked to 165° minumin.
🌡️The best final temperature internal temp for chicken legs is 185°+
The best final internal temperature for oven-baked chicken legs is 185° or higher when the connective tissue melts, and the meat becomes moist and tender.
The connective tissue will start to melt at 175°. By 185°, you will get moist and tender results. America Test Kitchen takes it further for both thighs and drumsticks, suggesting 190° to 195° as the target internal temperature range. See American Test Kitchen (subscription required).
Many want to cook chicken legs to 165°, the minimum safe internal temperature for chicken per the FDA, but they will be tough and stringy from connective tissue.
Other Chicken Recipes
Add some great char to your chicken legs or thighs on your backyard BBQ gas grill with Grilled Chicken Drumsticks and Grilled Chicken Thighs.
Try these other chicken recipes, like Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Thighs, Oven-Baked Chicken Wings, or Baked Split Chicken Breasts. Or, if you are having a party, check out how to cook chicken for 50 to 100 people.
Serving
Serve with a green salad and your favorite hot side dishes of Convection Oven Baked French Fries, baked rice, broccoli, Microwave Corn on the Cob, or Roasted Red Potatoes.
How to store leftovers?
Seal in an airtight container and refrigerate for 4 days or freeze for 4 months. If frozen, thaw first, then reheat in an oven or an air fryer. A microwave may be used, but it may affect the texture.
❓FAQs
A lot of fat and fluid drains while cooking chicken drumsticks. You can cook drumsticks without a rack if you flip halfway through cooking, but you will be happier with a rack. The cooking will be more even, quicker, and easier to clean up.
You can if you wish. Without oil, the skin will be dry and crispy, but with a bit of olive oil or cooking spray before seasoning, it will be thicker and slightly less crispy.
No, it will interfere with the cooking and trap moisture, preventing crispier skin.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
📖 Recipe
Baked Chicken Legs - Quick and Easy
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Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- 6 legs Chicken legs - about 1 ½ lbs-Scale to as many as you want
- salt and pepper to taste or other seasoning - or 7:2:1 or 7:2:2 seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425° convection. Pat dry the chicken legs with paper towels.
- Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and add a rack sprayed with PAM cooking spray. The rack allows all sides of the chicken to cook evenly out of drainage. You can cook without the rack but should flip halfway through cooking.
- Trim off any extra skin and any loose joint pieces.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. You can use other seasonings if you wish. We use All Purpose Seasoning - 7:2:1 and 7:2:2, which includes garlic powder.
- Place the legs on a prepared sheet pan with the thicker part of the chicken legs towards the outside of the tray.
- Cook to 185° to 195° internal temp—about 35 minutes. DO NOT STOP SHORT of 185° and use an instant-read thermometer. Let the cooked drumsticks sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- DO NOT SKIP THE PAT DRY, or you will not have crispy skin.
- Cooking on a rack to get the meat off the pan to cook evenly and out of the drainage. 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
- For BBQ chicken legs, skip the seasoning or use a BBQ dry rub, then brush with your favorite BBQ sauce for the last 5 minutes.
- Good refrigerated for 3-4 days. Or will freeze well for 3-4 months.
Your Own Private Notes
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
© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on September 9, 2012. It has been updated with discussion and photos to improve the presentation and add more information. The recipe remains the same. Please enjoy the update.
Julie M Orbe says
You don't explain how to cook the drumsticks if one doesn't own a rack. I only have casserole dishes and baking sheets. Different temps and different dishes used, varies, effects the baking. What do I need to do with what I have?
DrDan says
Hi Julie,
Welcome to the blog.
The rack helps keep the cooking more even and the skin crispier.
But let's work with what you have. If your baking sheets have a rim around them, I would go with them. If no rim, well we don't want a mess.
That leaves the casserole dishes. Most important if we use them will be to pick the biggest you have to spread out the drumsticks as much as possible. If two are equal in size, pick the shortest sides.
Lots of PAM on whatever pan you use and go ahead with 425 degrees and flip them after 15-20 minutes.
Remember you are cooking to a final internal temperature, not by time. The time will probably be a bit longer and the skin not as crispy. But the meat will be good.
Dan
Valerie Dronen says
These are the best, crispy, juicy drumsticks ever! Follow all of the tips. I usually don't like drumsticks but these turned out perfect!
Princess says
Hi Dr Dan!
What would the best oven temperature be to cook the chicken and for how long?
I find so many recipies for the same dish with different oven temps. and times so it gets confusing as to which one I should choose.
Thanks !
DrDan says
Hi Princess,
There are lots of variables. And like many things, there are lots of correct answers. Here I'm recommending an oven temperature of 425 in a convection oven. I feel that will get the best combination of crispy skin and correctly cooked meat for most people as you see in the comment.
You can uses lower temperatures and cook longer. The most important thing about cooking chicken and many other things is the final internal temperature. If your oven smokes, then a lower temperature is for you on these drumsticks.
Generally, for chicken you need 165 degrees internal temperature to be safe but for thighs and drumsticks, I suggest an internal temperature, not for safety, but for texture.
Dan
Julie says
Hi!
Our convection oven drops temps by 25 degrees. So I’m wondering if I should program it for 425, 400 convect, or 450 so 425 convect?
Thanks! Julie
DrDan says
Hi Julie,
Welcome to the blog.
If you are absolutely sure, you can bump it up. But I would rather do this to low than too high. So I would be conservative about it and probably just go with setting it at the 425 convection and know it might take a bit longer due to the lower temperature you have. But as aways, cook to a final internal temperature and not by time.
Dan
Yvonne says
I'm in the process of making this NOW! I however, only eat fish as a "meat" but my husband eats all meat.
I was wondering do u cover the pan with foil also. Or just leave it uncovered for the whole duration of time?
DrDan says
Hi Yvonne,
Uncovered. Covering will cause it to steam the skin. Not crispy. Foil is used under the rack for clean up reasons only.
Dan
Jana says
I can’t wait to try this tomorrow. Thanks.
Dutch67 says
5 stars for this one. We had thighs and drummies tonight, turning the pan at 15 minutes and temping at 30 with the convection oven at 425. The thighs were both at 184-187. The drummies were around 200. They were great. The skin was so good, my wife ate the skin only on the two leftover pieces.
Great job Doc!
Brooke says
Hi Dr. Dan!
I can’t belueve this post is 5 years old!! I was looking for a good recipe for baking chicken legs and happened upon this. I found out that the chicken I had was actually thighs! I decided to give your recipe a try with thighs. Oh my goodness it was so good and crispy. I had to go 5 minutes longer, but this will now be a regular staple in our weeknight dinners. Thanks Dr. Dan! I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes.
DrDan says
Thanks for the note. I do have a thigh specific post since many people were asking about thighs. They were coming to the site, searching and leaving with nothing. So I did a seperate post which is nearly identical. https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/oven-baked-chicken-thighs/
Dan
Gillian says
I'm so happy I found your recipe! I've never found a simple chicken recipe I liked very much, but this looks like The One!
I'm wondering what you think of the recent news that putting meat ahead of time into a marinade is basically pointless? Two chefs from a major test kitchen were guests on a cooking show I listen to and they said that they'd done exhaustive testing and discovered that marinades (whether lemon-based, vinegar, alcohol — it didn't matter) basically just remained on the surface of the meat, penetrated only about 1/8" into the flesh, no matter whether it was left for 15 minutes or overnight, and you would do much better to just use the marinade as a sauce. I've always been frustrated with marinades for just this reason, so I was very happy to hear this. What a relief to skip the whole step of making the marinade and preparing the whole thing the night before, etc! Any opinion on this?
Thanks for the recipe! My oven is preheating now!
DrDan says
Hi Gillan,
I do try to do simple recipes that work. Hopefully, it works for you.
Basically, I agree, mostly. But, if you want a particular flavor for a meat, that 1/8 inch of intense flavor is really nice. But, the “pro” grillers/smokers use injectors for a reason. I think dry rubs are about the same and mostly I just rub and go anymore.
Remember, brines are not the same as marinades. They do more. Smaller molecules involved, osmotic gradients etc. I do have a chicken breast recipe called super moist that is a combo brine/marinade that works well.
Thanks for the note and welcome to the blog.
Dan
Bea says
This recipe is amazing! Kids love it! And it's not fried! Thank you so much!
DrDan says
Hi Bea,
It does seem to be a mother's favorite.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Adrienne says
I've made this recipe many times and have a batch in the oven right now. I rarely leave recipe reviews but this is long past due... these turn out perfect every time, crispy on the outside, juicy and flavorful on the inside, and with the high cook temp they are done so quickly compared to other recipes. I love your website Dr. Dan, and I adore the pictures of your dogs!
DrDan says
Hi Adrienne,
Thanks for the note. This is one of my top recipes.
Molly and Lilly say thanks.
Dan
Michael Roberts says
I love this recipe! Although I only cook mine to 155F so it stays a nice off-white / pale pink. Very tender.
DrDan says
Hi Michael,
Try to go to 165 for safety. Salmonella is not fun. I still suggest 185 for this recipe.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Lucia says
Just wanted to say thanks for this recipe! As a graduate student money it tight so this recipe is a lifesaver. I've been making these about once a week for a couple of months now. I love to play with the spices. I've been using Penzey's lemon pepper recently, but I also love it with their Galena Street blend.
Cindy says
Dr. Dan, I cooked per instructions. The legs tasted great (used your seasoning 7-2-2) but didn’t brown, much and the skin was not real crispy. Even tho, I will use recipe again, but wondering what I might try differently to get results you and others are getting. Cooked in convection oven.
DrDan says
Hi Cindy,
Only a few comments. Be sure to pat dry. Try higher placement in the oven. And you can always hit it with a minute or two of broiler.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Brandon says
Might be a silly question, but I get this every time I bake these or any kind of drumstick recipe. Is there any way to release the water from the chicken drumstick after they are done cooking, or should that even be happening?
I've started to poke the wings with a fork after they are done cooking, I'm just curious if that is the right way to do it or not.
DrDan says
Hi Brandon,
Not a problem that I have ever seen...
So what to do about it? First let's discuss cause. I have two possibles. First that the drumstick (or wing) has been previous frozen that does lead to some free fluid. Think of those ice crystals under the skin. Next is not allowing fluid long enough after cooking to reabsorb. The main reason for the rest after cooking most meats.
If it is previous frozen, then get fresh. Or change stores since their supply chain may freeze somewhere along the line. The second issue is obviously to allow a longer rest.
If neither of those, poke your holes if it continues since I have no other ideas.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Hannah F. says
Made this for my parents and grandma tonight and they all enjoyed it! I cooked 9 drumsticks at 450F (conventional oven) for 35 minutes and the chicken turned out really delicious. Thank you for this recipe!