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

Linda says:

May 29, 2021 at 8:12 pm

Could I substitute stone ground mustard for the ketchup and add some lemon juice?

1. Melissa says:
  
  May 30, 2021 at 8:31 am
  
  For sure, it’s very versatile!
Trixie Racer says:

May 15, 2021 at 10:03 am

Seriously the best chicken legs my family has ever ate! I’ve never EVER liked chicken legs in my entire life but now they are my favorite!
This recipe is award winning and most certainly a keeper!!!
Thank you for all your deliciousness Melissa.👌🏻

Lynn says:

May 6, 2021 at 5:08 am

Perfect and yummy recipe for me who’s a beginner so I’m always searching for simple and easy recipes online. My husband loved it.

Lara Austin says:

April 23, 2021 at 7:37 pm

I really love this recipe. Made it many times. A staple in our house! Typically I make this recipe with x3 whole chicken legs. Thank you so much!

1. Melissa says:
  
  April 24, 2021 at 11:20 pm
  
  Thank you for leaving a review!
Cookie says:

April 11, 2021 at 10:01 pm

These came out great. But is it 559 cal for 6 pieces?

1. Melissa says:
  
  April 12, 2021 at 8:15 am
  
  The issue with me recipe nutrition calculator is that it assumes you ate all of the sauce with the legs if that makes sense, which you didn’t. So it is off, but I’m never sure how to calculate something in a sauce.
Felice says:

April 3, 2021 at 8:09 am

I made these last night and it was really good! Have you ever tried using breast meat (cut in chunks)? I feel like that could be good too, but would obviously need a shorter cooking time.

1. Melissa says:
  
  April 3, 2021 at 8:41 am
  
  It works great, and yep, just shortening the cooking time or it kinda falls apart!
Marian Luciani says:

April 1, 2021 at 7:36 pm

Made this tonight followed the recipe as is. It came out great loved the sweet tany flavor. My son in law the picky eater ate 5 legs. Definitely a keeper!

1. Melissa says:
  
  April 3, 2021 at 8:44 am
  
  That’s so awesome! Thank you for sharing!
Sandy says:

March 29, 2021 at 7:39 am

Super yummy! I made this last night with white rice and some of my home canned green beans, and hubby said it was the perfect meal. We did pour the sauce over the rice. VERY yummy! I was surprised at how much sauce it made, but the chicken cooked in it, which made it super tender and tasty. This is definitely a keeper.

Brittney says:

March 26, 2021 at 3:42 am

Hi
Have you ever used any spices on the chicken in this recipe?

1. Melissa says:
  
  March 26, 2021 at 7:58 am
  
  Oh yes, you can use what you like. I really like Montreal steak seasoning and a smokey lime one I have. If you are using a seasoning with salt in it, just reduce the soy sauce or use less sodium soy sauce so that it doesn’t get too salty.
2. Brittney says:
  
  March 26, 2021 at 9:28 am
  
  Thank you!
Elizabeth says:

March 20, 2021 at 9:52 am

Can these be made in the air fryer?

1. Melissa says:
  
  March 20, 2021 at 7:13 pm
  
  They could though I think I’d put them in a pan in the airfryer, the sauce is really saucy…