Baked chicken legs create a budget-friendly dinner that tastes way bigger than the effort. The crispy skin, juicy meat, and almost no prep make it a simple, flavorful family meal.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Why Make It: Very little prep, affordable chicken cut, and the skin crisps up nicely in the oven.
- Flavor: Savory, herby, and garlicky with juicy meat and crispy skin.
- Recommended Tools: A rimmed baking sheet and instant-read thermometer.
- Serving Suggestions: Serve with roasted vegetables, rice, a simple salad, or your favorite potato side.
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken Legs: For the best results, choose bone-in, skin-on chicken legs, which stay juicy while the skin crisps up beautifully in the oven.
- Spices: This baked chicken leg recipe can easily be modified to what you’re serving or have on hand.
- While fresh rosemary and parsley add lovely flavor and color, they can be swapped for dried herbs and it’ll be just as delicious.
- Paprika can be swapped for smoked paprika for a deeper smoky flavor.
- Variations: Add a pinch of onion powder, swap the herb blend for Italian seasoning, or use a pinch of cayenne for a little kick.
How To Bake Chicken Legs
- Cut away any large chunks of fat if desired (I usually don’t bother).
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture on the skin.
- Toss the chicken legs with olive oil, garlic powder and herbs.
- Place on a rimmed baking sheet uncovered and bake until the juices run clear and a meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Broil 1-2 minutes at the end if desired.
Perfectly Crispy Baked Chicken Legs
- Pat Chicken Dry: Helps the oil and seasonings stick.
- Leave Space Between Legs: Helps them roast, not steam.
- Use a Rack: Helps the skin crisp.
- Watch the Broil: It can brown quickly.
- Crush Dried Herbs: Wakes up their flavor.
- Prep Ahead: Season early and refrigerate until ready to bake.
Save It For Later
Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Reheat in a 350°F oven or air fryer to crisp the skin again instead of using the microwave.
Leftover meat is great in wraps, salads, rice bowls, soups, or chicken salad.
More Easy Chicken Dinners
Did you enjoy this Baked Chicken Legs Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Ingredients
- 5 chicken legs bone-in and skin-on
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or ¾ teaspoon dried crushed rosemary
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley or ¾ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Toss chicken legs with olive oil, rosemary, parsley, garlic powder and paprika. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Bake 40-45 minutes or until chicken reaches 165°F.
- Broil 1 minute if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Chicken, Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
These are an easy weekend or week day recipe! Our family really enjoys them. They’re even better the next day! I’ve made your broccoli salad to serve with them! Even in winter! Yummy
That sounds like a delicious pairing, Lise! I am glad you enjoyed them.
This was lovely. I generally do not enjoy cooking chicken. This was easy and came out perfectly juicy and crispy on the outside. Served with corn, roasted potatoes and sour cream.
This recipe was easy to make with wonderful taste and flavor! One adaptation I would do next time is to place the chicken legs on a wire rack so that these are not sitting in grease, with the baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkled with kosher salt to minimize grease splatter in the oven. Many thanks for your wonderful website with delicious, easy and consistently good recipes!
That’s a great tip Maria! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe.
easy and fast and sounds quite tasty, just bought a few parsley plants, so they will come in handy for this recipe. will be making it tonight
We hope you love it as much as we do, Gudrun!
Eloquent recipe with just the right amount of information. Thank you! I am going to make it right now.
Thank you so much for your feedback, enjoy the recipe!
I just made this….magnificent !!!! And delicious … can’t wait to make it again! “A 1”. But really. “A10
Ruth L
Am going to try it
You are going to love it Lisa!
Looks yummy! I’ll try dinner tomorrow ❤️
It is so yummy Mimi! Happy cooking.
Made this recipe as written today. It was yummy. It will be a regular menu choice.
So happy to hear that Kathy!
Hi, thanks for detailed instruction. I have done baking chicken in the past with exact amount of time but it always make my chicken dry. I wanted to find out which setting in the oven or the symbol you use to have a juice outcome?
I use the bake setting on my oven and set it to 400°F.
Cover? Or uncovered?
Uncovered :)