Best Oven Baked Easy Chicken Leg Recipe – Shared over 250,000 times!

Name: Oven Baked Easy Chicken Leg Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 65 min
Ingredients: 2 1/2 pounds chicken legs ((about 10 legs)); 3/4 cup honey; 1/2 cup soy sauce; 1/4 cup ketchup; 2-3 cloves garlic (minced (or 1 heaping teaspoon of preminced garlic))

By Melissa Griffiths

4.97 from 175 votes

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!

This simple 5 ingredient chicken leg recipe makes the best baked chicken legs I have ever had in my whole life! (And the masses agree - this recipe has been shared more than 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
Oven Baked Easy Chicken Leg Recipe Recipe
Recipe FAQs
More Easy Chicken Recipes to Try

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!

4.97 from 175 votes

Oven Baked Easy Chicken Leg Recipe

By: Melissa Griffiths

Prep: 5

Cook: 1

Total: 1 5

Servings: chicken legs

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Equipment

Ingredients

▢ 2 1/2 pounds chicken legs, (about 10 legs)
▢ 3/4 cup honey
▢ 1/2 cup soy sauce
▢ 1/4 cup ketchup
▢ 2-3 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 heaping teaspoon of preminced garlic)

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

Pan Size: A pan slightly larger than 9×13 inches with sides is the best option because it has sides to keep all the juice in but is big enough that the chicken isn’t drowning in the sauce. It will caramelize best if half of the chicken is poked out of the sauce while cooking. My pan is 11×15 inches, and it works perfectly. If your pan is too large, though, your sauce will be too shallow, evaporate, and burn.

Meat Temperature: I like to use a little meat thermometer to ensure the chicken is done – better safe than sorry! The experts say that chicken legs are safe at 165° but I like to cook mine to 185°.

Mix it Up: If you don’t have honey on hand, you can substitute it for your favorite jam that doesn’t have seeds. My favorites are peach and apricot jam for this recipe

Easy Clean-Up: Lining your pan with foil makes clean-up much easier. I recommend it.

Make It In The Slow Cooker: Place all of the chicken legs in the bottom of a slow cooker (I have this slow cooker). Pour the sauce over the chicken legs. Slow cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours, until the largest piece of chicken registers at least 165°F on an instant read thermometer.

More Leg Ideas: I’m no stranger to excellent baked chicken legs. Try these other chicken leg recipes:

Yummy Sides: The sauce the chicken cooks in is delicious over cooked rice and steamed or roasted vegetables (like broccoli and cauliflower) to round out the meal.

Nutrition

Serving: 1leg +1/3 cup sauce, Calories: 230kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.04g, Cholesterol: 60mg, Sodium: 758mg, Potassium: 188mg, Fiber: 0.2g, Sugar: 22g, Vitamin A: 90IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 12mg, Iron: 1mg

Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

Recipe FAQs

How long does it take for drumsticks to cook in the oven?

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!

Is chicken drumstick dark meat?

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.

What kind of pan should I use?

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

544 Comments

Dave P says:

June 18, 2018 at 1:37 pm

Every word is true for this recipe…. This changed my mind on eating mundane dark meat chicken legs, to prepare then eat these was a total joy for me and I’ve never had a good experience with them, hope but these here legs were the real deal Holyfield y’all… Happy Bakin

1. Melissa says:
  
  June 19, 2018 at 7:06 am
  
  So glad you loved them and thank you for a great review!
Joy says:

June 10, 2018 at 2:06 pm

I just tried your caramelized chicken legs and it was excellent. My family loved it. Thanks

Brenda says:

June 8, 2018 at 7:48 am

Just the recipe and pics are enough to convince me!

Leah says:

June 5, 2018 at 4:31 pm

My condiments have been picked over HARD recently. I didn’t have the right amounts of anything so I adlibbed. I used grape syrup to make up the difference for ketchup, Honey mustard salad dressing for honey. Since I substituted with a mustard, I cut back the garlic a little and added a garlic herb seasoning. We’ll see how it turns out. Thank you for sharing this. I’m getting tired of the same recipes over and over.

Jennifer says:

June 1, 2018 at 11:55 am

I’m about to make these tonight & realized I’m short on honey by about 1/4 C or more. Any suggestions?

1. Melissa says:
  
  June 1, 2018 at 2:34 pm
  
  Brown sugar works great!
Mer says:

May 31, 2018 at 3:22 pm

I’m making this tonight, have made it many times before and it’s always a huge hit, even with my picky eater. I add a little ginger paste to it, absolutely delicious!

1. Melissa says:
  
  May 31, 2018 at 9:59 pm
  
  Ginger is such a great addition! Great idea!
Mark says:

May 14, 2018 at 12:14 pm

Cooked, looked, and tasted exactly as advertised! Thanks for such an easy-to-follow and delicious recipe.

Kathy says:

May 9, 2018 at 6:06 am

This was such a winner of a weeknight dinner. Came together so quick. The only change I made was adding about 2Tbsp of sirachi.

J.R says:

May 4, 2018 at 8:23 am

Have you tried this with full chicken leg quarters (not just the legs)? It looks awesome and easy; I am looking for something to cook for a crowd that can be done in disposable aluminum pans for easy clean up.

1. Melissa says:
  
  May 4, 2018 at 5:08 pm
  
  It’ll work great, just cook them at the lower temperature until they are pretty much cooked though. You won’t want to crank up the temp, get the sauce done, and then still have raw chicken. If I’m feeding a crowd sometimes I’ll sub the honey for peach jam because it’s less expensive and it tastes really great still.
Cierra says:

April 27, 2018 at 7:00 pm

I added a couple of tablespoons of vinegar and siracha hot sauce and they came out tasting like the best Asian buffalo wings ever!! Thanks!

1. Melissa says:
  
  April 30, 2018 at 9:39 am
  
  That sounds AMAZING! Thank you for sharing your tips. I’m going to have to try that ASAP.