Our easy Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks are made with only 3 real, simple ingredients! Follow this simple step by step process for making baked chicken legs that can be tossed in any of your favorite sauces. Perfect to serve as an appetizer, easy weeknight dinner, or game day snack for the whole family!
The Best Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks
Table of Contents
This easy chicken drumstick recipe is a great option for making fall off the bone oven roasted chicken with minimal effort! After you see how easy it is to make this chicken drumsticks recipe, you will be making them again and again. We reach for this simple recipe all the time on the weekends for a quick and easy meal. These chicken pieces have crisp skin on the outside and tender dark meat on the inside. Whether they are smothered in your favorite sauce or not, they are sure to be a family favorite.
Looking for another chicken recipe? You have to try our Baked Chicken Breast!
What You Will Need
- whole chicken legs – pick-up some fresh or frozen chicken drumsticks at your local grocery store.
- salt and pepper – simple seasonings that are always a must when cooking any cut of chicken.
How To Bake Chicken Drumsticks In Oven
The first steps to making this easy recipe are to place drumsticks on a foil-lined sheet pan with an oven-safe wire rack on top. For best results, pat chicken dry with paper towels. Spray the wire rack with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
How Long Do You Cook Drumsticks At 400
Place the entire pan in a preheated oven and for approximately 35-40 minutes of baking time. Overall cook time will depend on the size of the leg quarters. Just use an internal meat thermometer to keep track of the internal temperature to ensure it reaches 165 degrees F.
Take the cooked chicken out and let the meat rest for about 5 minutes.
Best Ways To Serve Oven-Baked Chicken Drumsticks
If you are looking for some easy dinner ideas, you can definitely serve these juicy chicken drumsticks as a main course alongside your favorite side dishes. We love enjoying them with mashed potatoes, steamed green beans, or a potato salad during those warmer months. Or toss them in a large bowl with a delicious store-bought sauce, make a homemade barbecue sauce, or teriyaki sauce. Perfect for Super Bowl Sunday or another game day!
Recipe FAQ
We kept it simple with some salt and pepper, but feel free to sprinkle on some brown sugar for sweetness, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, or cayenne pepper for a little kick of heat. A simple chicken dry rub or seasoning blend would also be delicious!
Absolutely! Feel free to pull some frozen drumsticks out of the freezer and cook in the oven. They will just require a longer cook time – at least 45-50 minutes but watch that internal temp.
Made this delicious recipe and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
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Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks
- Prep Time: 8 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 48 minutes
- Yield: Approx. 4 servings
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Our easy Oven Baked Chicken Drumstick recipe is a simple dinner that can be tossed in your favorite sauce!
Ingredients
- Approx. 12 medium-sized chicken drumsticks
- kosher salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place an oven-safe wire rack on top and spray with cooking spray.
- Place chicken wings on top in a single layer, try not to let them touch, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
- Place in the oven, middle rack, and let cook for 35-40 minutes or until fully cooked (internal temperature of 165 degrees F. – use an instant-read thermometer).
- Remove from oven and let rest at room temperature for 5 minutes.
- Serve plain or with your favorite sauce (we love BBQ sauce & buffalo sauce)!
Notes
- Cook Time: will vary with size of the drumsticks. If drumsticks are extra large they may need to be cooked a little longer, just use a meat thermometer to ensure they are fully cooked!
- Amount: This recipe can really be adapted for as many drumsticks as you can fit (without touching) on your wire rack.
- Storage: leftover drumsticks can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 drumsticks
- Calories: 303
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 503.1 mg
- Fat: 9.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 0.2 g
- Protein: 50.5 g
- Cholesterol: 231.4 mg
Meagan says
Quick and easy weeknight meal. My drumsticks were on the larger size, so cook time was 50 minutes. We tossed the drumsticks in BBQ sauce and the kids loved them!
Erin says
Love to hear it, Meagan!!
Mike says
Wanted some BWW drumsticks but didn’t have one near me your recipe was a great substitute!
Erin says
So glad to hear it!