Best Oven Baked Easy Chicken Leg Recipe – Shared over 250,000 times!
Updated Apr 30, 2025
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This simple 5-ingredient recipe is seriously the BEST Chicken Leg Recipe! Sweet, tangy, and perfectly sticky, these baked drumsticks are a huge hit and this recipe has been shared over 250,000 times!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The sauce was so easy but so tasty! Sweet and tangy and perfectly sticky once it set for a few minutes. This was perfect for a quick and simple meal.
–Hannah
My 2 Best Tips For This Baked Chicken Leg Recipe
- Pick the Right Pan: You will need a pan with sides to keep in all the juice and sauce and big enough that the sauce spreads out so the chicken isn’t drowning in it. My pan is 11×15 inches, and it’s just right. The legs will caramelize best if half of the chicken is poked out of the sauce while cooking!
- Flip Halfway Through Baking: After the chicken legs cook for 45 minutes, take the pan out of the oven and flip the meat over so that the bottom that was in the sauce is now on top out of the sauce. This will make sure all of the meat, top and bottom, are sauce-y and sticky and oh, so good!
🩷 Melissa
Not only is this one of my kids’ favorite ways to enjoy chicken, but this recipe is also on its way to breaking the internet! For real.
I knew it was delicious and easy, but after being shared more than 250,000 times and receiving oodles of reviews from people who’ve made it, I almost can’t believe how much you guys love this recipe!
The sauce is truly addicting. You’ll want it on fried rice, steamed veggies, and maybe even in a cup with a straw to drink it—it’s THAT good. Pair it with my Broccoli Cauliflower Salad recipe for an extra yummy side dish!
I’d love to know if you try this recipe and love feedback, so leave a comment if you do!
Oven Baked Easy Chicken Leg Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lay the chicken legs out in a foil-lined baking dish with high sides. (The foil is to make clean up easier; it's not essential but helps a whole lot.) A high-sided sheet pan is the best option because it has sides to keep everything in, but it is big enough that the chicken isn't drowning in the sauce. It will caramelize best if half of the chicken is poking out of the sauce while cooking.
- In a glass measuring cup, measure out the honey, soy sauce, and ketchup. Add the minced garlic, and stir. If the mixture doesn’t combine well, microwave it on high for 30 seconds and stir again. Pour the honey mixture over the chicken legs.
- Put the chicken legs in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Take the chicken out of the oven, and rotate it so that the bottom that was in the sauce is now on top, out of the sauce.
- Put the legs back in the oven. Raise the heat to 425°F, and bake until the sauce is bubbly and starts to caramelize on the chicken legs. This should take about 15 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the oven, and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve the sauce the the chicken cooked in with the meal or over rice if you’d like.
Video
Notes
- Sweet and Spicy Baked Chicken Legs
- Lemon Garlic Baked Chicken Legs
- 4-Ingredient Honey Mustard Baked Chicken Legs
Nutrition
Recipe FAQs
This really just depends on how you’re cooking it. I like to start with a preheated 350° oven and bake the chicken for 45 minutes, rotate the legs, raise the heat to 425°, and put them back for about another 15 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and everything looks caramelized. Turning the legs is key to getting the sauce on the “top” of the chicken legs!
Yep! Thighs and drumsticks are dark meat in chicken, and they usually have a much heartier, juicier flavor and more tender texture than white meat.
Because these guys are thick and saucy, you’ll want a sheet pan with high sides to keep all the juices in and large enough so the chicken isn’t drowning in the sauce. The chicken should stick out of the sauce while cooking to get the best caramelized texture.
More Easy Chicken Recipes to Try
Pasta Dishes
Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Baked Pasta
Soups, Stews & Chowders
White Chicken Chili
Chicken Recipes
Kung Pow Chicken
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
Loved it with white rice!. Ate so much tastes kind of like orange chicken and our family loved it!. Thank you!!
Our family gives this two thumbs way up! It was simple and delicious. Thank you for sharing!
I hope these turn out good ? when I was making the sauce I was like am I making a mistake lol ? I’ll keep you guys posted lol
Perfect for pot roast recipes easy roasted , inexpensive chuck is one of the most flavorful cuts of beef. Simmering it slowly and gently in the oven results in a wonderfully tender pot roast. Vegetables like onions and potatoes give the pot roast recipe even more comforting flavors.
You think I can subsitue Kato syrup for the honey?
I think it would work great. Let me know if you try it!
I made this recipe last night for my husband who is a picky eater. We both found it delicious and nice and tender. I followed the recipe making no changes.
My mom gave it a 10 out of 10. I improvise on the recipe since both me and my mom cannot have anything with salt or sweet so instead of the honey i put in honey and garlic sauce and it was still delicious. The chicken legs will be a bit darker but they were still yummy.
Made this for my family last night and knocked it out of the park! Going to make boneless chicken breast like this then cube it and serve with vegetable stir fry.
Tried this and thought it was very good. The sauce was very liquid so I thickened up with cornstarch. Tasted like teriyaki. It did not crisp up since it was cooked in sauce so I also broiled the chicken briefly on a rack after. Will make again. Thanks!
Very good recipe. Mine didn’t necessarily carmelize but it still had a great taste. I would make this again.