These simple and flavorful baked chicken drumsticks make the perfect last-minute dinner. They're coated in a lightly spiced seasoning and baked in the oven until crispy.
Kids and adults both love these baked chicken drumsticks and so will you!
They turn out crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and delicious all over. The spice blend to coat your chicken is flavorful and surprisingly simple to make. You probably already have what you need in your pantry.
Serve chicken drumsticks along with your favorite side dish for a complete meal. My reader-favorite parmesan orzo and peas makes a great pairing.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Chicken - You'll need about four pounds of chicken drumsticks for this recipe. Want to use chicken thighs? Try my recipe for crispy baked chicken thighs.
- Seasoning - While the seasoning list is a bit long for this recipe, you'll really enjoy the flavor. Onion powder, garlic powder, brown sugar, salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne pepper create a mild, savory coating for your chicken. The small amount of brown sugar helps promote browning and assists in creating that crispy texture on the outside.
- Olive oil - Can be substituted with your preferred cooking oil. The oil in this recipe helps the seasoning stick to the chicken before baking.
Tips and tricks
Add a cooling rack - I highly recommend using an oven-safe cooling rack to bake your chicken on. This method helps the skin of your chicken bake up crispier because the drumsticks aren't sitting in grease while they cook. I use this cooling rack in the oven.
Skin on or off? - Leaving the skin on your drumsticks insulates the chicken as it bakes, which helps prevent the meat from drying out. The skin also helps to keep your chicken juicy and gives some leeway if you over-bake them slightly. You're welcome to use skinless drumsticks or remove the skin after baking as well. If you plan to serve your drumsticks without skin, I recommend rubbing the seasoning under the skin before baking.
To prevent overcooked chicken - Cooking chicken until it's perfectly done and juicy can be tricky. I recommend using a meat thermometer to test your chicken. Bake your chicken just until it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. As soon as you see this temperature, remove your chicken from the oven - it's done! Any longer and you risk drying out your drumsticks.
For crispy chicken - Pat your chicken dry with a paper towel before adding the seasoning. This excess moisture prevents the chicken from getting crispy. Use a cooling rack to ensure your chicken doesn't sit in grease while it cooks. Set the drumsticks on paper towels to drain any further grease after baking.
Storage
Leftover chicken will keep for 3 to 4 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
Frequently asked questions
There's no need to flip the chicken while cooking as long as you're using a cooling rack on your baking sheet. The cooling rack helps air circulate all around the chicken and allows grease to drip off. If you're not using a cooling rack, you may want to flip your chicken once halfway through.
You're welcome to bake your drumsticks with or without skin if desired. I recommend rubbing the seasoning underneath the skin if you plan on removing the skin after baking.
Drumsticks take about 35 to 45 minutes to bake in a 425 degree Fahrenheit oven depending in their size and thickness. I highly recommend using a meat thermometer to test for doneness instead of relying on time alone.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Baked Chicken Drumsticks
Ingredients
- 4 pounds chicken drumsticks
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with foil and top with a metal, oven-safe cooling rack. Set aside.
- Pat chicken drumsticks dry with a paper towel. This is an important step to help your chicken get crispy when baking.
- In a small bowl, combine onion powder, garlic powder, brown sugar, salt, paprika, pepper, and cayenne pepper.
- In a large bowl, add drumsticks. Drizzle with olive oil. Pour spices over drumsticks and toss to coat.
- Spread drumsticks out on prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 35 to 45 minutes, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove from oven, serve, and enjoy.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- I highly recommend using an oven-safe cooling rack to bake your chicken. Using this method helps your chicken to bake up crispy because your drumsticks won't be sitting in grease while they cook.
- If you plan to serve your chicken without skin, I suggest rubbing your spices underneath the skin before baking, then removing the skin once your chicken is cooked through. The skin helps to prevent your chicken from drying out while baking.
- Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in a tightly sealed container.
This recipe was delicious, I am a novice, and it came out delicious. My only suggestion 425 was little to hot, after 20 minutes, I reduced to 400. After 45 minutes, thermometer was 165-172. Meat was very moist, and flavor was perfect.
Will defiantly be cooking this again.
Thank you
Kyle Bruno
This recipe is a keeper. It's simple and tasty. Yum.
This was so easy and delicious! Thumbs up from the whole family!
Thank you for the great review!
Deeelish!! Nice and crispy.