The Best Baked Chicken Leg Quarters
on Dec 14, 2022, Updated May 24, 2023
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
These are the best oven baked chicken leg quarters — tender, crispy, and juicy on the inside, you simply brush with butter and simple seasonings before cooking them in the oven at a low temperature for an hour, with a final spike in the temp to crisp the skin up real nice at the end.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Ingredients
- How to Make Baked Chicken Leg Quarters
- Baking Tips for Chicken Leg Quarters
- Seasoning Tips
- Should I remove chicken skin before cooking?
- What to do with the juice at the bottom of the pan when baking chicken legs:
- Round out this meal with:
- Other baked chicken recipes you’ll love:
- Are chicken legs healthy?
- How long will baked chicken legs keep for?
- The Best Oven Baked Chicken Leg Quarters Recipe
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
I love a budget-friendly and patience-friendly meal, and these oven baked chicken quarters cover all those bases and more. Chicken legs are fairly simple and inexpensive, but when you butter them up, season them well, and bake them low and slow in the oven, they become tender and juicy and perfect dinnertime contenders. I turn up the oven’s heat at the very end to get the skin nice and crispy, and it’s seriously delicious.
Plus, it takes about zero time for you to prep it all. Getting the chicken ready might cost you 5 minutes, and then you put them in the oven for an hour, freeing you up to get sides ready (or just chill for a bit!) while they bake. Chicken legs are no fuss as long as you know how to do them, and if you ask me, this recipe is the perfect place to start.
Ingredients
- Chicken leg quarters: I love this cut of chicken. It’s inexpensive and so full of flavor.
- Butter: this adds some fat, flavor, and something for the seasoning to stick too. Plus it helps the chicken crisp up.
- Seasonings of your choice: I like to use a custom season salt made by combining 1/4 cup kosher salt, 4 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 tablespoon ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons onion powder, and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
How to Make Baked Chicken Leg Quarters
- Pat your chicken dry.
- Brush it with butter and then sprinkle with your seasoning.
- Cover with foil and bake a low temperature.
- After a longer cooking time remove the foil and crank up the heat to finish the cooking process.
- Serve right away.
Baking Tips for Chicken Leg Quarters
Slow and low is why I love this recipe. By starting out at a low temperature, you give the meat time to cook and become tender. Finishing it off at a higher temperature makes the skin delicious and crispy. It might take a little while in the oven but you only have 5 minutes of hands-on time.
Seasoning Tips
When it comes to seasoning, you can go as simple as salt and pepper, you can use your favorite seasoning blend (like Everything but the Bagel seasoning from Trader Joe’s, Montreal Chicken Seasoning, Lemon Garlic, or anything else), or you can make your own magic season salt by combining 1/4 cup kosher salt, 4 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 tablespoon ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons onion powder, and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional. I just toss everything in a little mason jar, add the lid, and shake to combine. This is a great basic season salt recipe. It’s great on french fries and all kinds of meat.
Should I remove chicken skin before cooking?
No! Please don’t. Chicken skin adds so much flavor (as do the bones) and gives the outside such an incredible crispy texture. It’s higher in fat, so this wouldn’t be a meal you eat every day, but it certainly won’t do any harm every once in a while! You’ve got to live a little, right?
What to do with the juice at the bottom of the pan when baking chicken legs:
The juice that is at the bottom of the pan is super good, just FYI. If you are serving some kind of vegetable with this dish, I’d spoon some of the chicken drippings over the top or even make gravy for potatoes with them.
Round out this meal with:
- My Favorite Cornbread Recipe
- Deli-Style Broccoli Salad
- Crispy Homemade Sweet Potato Fries
- Classic Scalloped Potatoes
- Sauteed Asparagus
- Red Velvet Cake
Other baked chicken recipes you’ll love:
- The Best Baked Chicken Legs (5 ingredients and so good)
- Oven Baked Chicken Thighs
- Crispy Sheet Pan Baked Chicken Taco Meat
If you’ve tried this chicken leg quarters recipe or any other recipe on Bless this Mess, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some pictures of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories.
Are chicken legs healthy?
Chicken, no matter the cut, is a great source of lean protein (yes, even the dark meat!). I know chicken breast is all the rage because it’s a bit lower in fat and calories, but I’m on a mission to spread the gospel of chicken legs and all their flavor-filled, easy-to-make glory.
How long will baked chicken legs keep for?
You can store these in your fridge in a sealable bag or airtight container (whichever you choose, line the bottom with a paper towel to catch excess liquid and keep the legs from getting soggy) for up to 3 or 4 days. I recommend reheating them in the oven so the skin has a chance to re-crisp.
You must try making these fabulous chicken leg quarters recipe sometime soon because they’re crispy, juicy, and perfectly seasoned!
You’ll love how great this simple baked chicken leg quarters recipe is! It’s easy to make, you’ll love how flavorful the chicken is, and it’s one you’ll make over and over again!
The Best Oven Baked Chicken Leg Quarters
Ingredients
- 4 chicken leg quarters, (about 3 pounds)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- Seasoning to taste, see notes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Place the chicken leg quarters in the bottom of a rimmed baking sheet or a baking dish.
- Melt the butter and brush it over each chicken leg quarter.
- Sprinkle generously with seasoning of choice.
- Cover the pan with foil and bake for one hour.
- Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees, remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-20 minutes until the skin is crisped to your liking and the chicken registers 165 degrees on an instant read thermometer.
- Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- When it comes to seasoning, you can go as simple as salt and pepper, you can use your favorite seasoning blend (like Everything But the Bagel seasoning from Trader Joe’s, Montreal Chicken Seasoning, Lemon Garlic, or anything else), or you can make your own magic season salt by combining 1/4 cup kosher salt, 4 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 tablespoon ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons onion powder, and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional. I just toss everything in a little mason jar, add the lid, and shake to combine. This is a great basic season salt recipe. It’s great on french fries and all kinds of meat.
Yeah – Almost ate some raw chicken. 300 is way too low. I did boost it up to 425 after an hour. The temp should really be adjusted.
You are supposed to up the temperature at the end, it’s indicated in the recipe. It should take another 15 to 20 minutes after the hour at the higher temperature to cook it through…
I just discovered chicken leg quarters. The recipe I used was equally simple: Just slice up an onion or two – salt and pepper – put in a roasting pan – put chicken leg quarters on top – I sprinkled garlic salt and garlic pepper on top – bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
I’ll try it next time! I normally place onions sliced in the bottom of my slow cooker when I cook whole chicken of a pork roast, that’s a great idea for the oven too! Do you make any gravy with the drippings? I bet it would be excellent.
Good recipe
Trying it this minute!
Recipe sounds good but the method is backwards. If you blast the meat @450 first your slow cook time will greatly benefit from the flavors generated by the Maillard reaction and you’ll have tastier chicken. I’d cook 15/20 high and 60 low.
I agree, this method worked a lot better.
Thanks, I’ll have to try it!
Just did this recipe and followed the times exactly and they came out perfect. I guess it goes to show a lil paying attention goes a long ways. Thank you very much for this recipe.
Thank you for coming back to say that you had success! I really appreciate that. I love this recipe too and never have trouble with it.
Did you leave the chicken uncovered when you reversed the heat times? 15/20 @450 uncovered and then @ 300 for one hour covered?
do you cover on high and uncover when you switch to low?
this is the answer everyone was looking for that wasnt on there
The recipe CLEARLY states to increase the the temp of the oven to 425 degrees! Can’t none of you all read?????? I know Melissa is ticked off!
LOL, you got my back… thank you 🙂
Omg THANK You for saying something! I feel so bad for the author. I just looked this up for the first time and am going to make it tonight and I just couldnt get over how many ppl didnt even read the freaking recipe!! C’mon people!!! All the info ya need is RIGHT THERE??
@Kionna: Seriously, yeah, I don’t think I have ever in my life read food blog comments like the ones here for this recipe. Who are these people? And how do they manage cooking at all if they don’t read the entire recipe or are unable to understand plain and clear English? Kind of funny, but not.
Thank you. My leg quarters are currently defrosting in the refrigerator, and I intend to prepare them this evening using your technique. Enjoy your weekend.
The recipe doesn’t say what temp to raise the oven to for the final 15 minutes? ?
It’s 425 degrees!
Love the recipe and so did my family. I’m cooking it a second time this evening. I think it’s so funny how many people did not read the recipe and cooked the chicken at 300 degrees the whole time. Smh……it clearly says turn thr oven up to 425 for the last portion of time!
So glad you found success Nona! It’s a good one!
Do people not read the instructions?! lol
This turned out perfect! Thanks!
Did you increase the cooking temperature for the last 15 minutes? That’s the key here.
Is the degrees in Fahrenheit or Celsius? I’m also concerned with the huge amount of cholesterol(76%).
Thanks
Roger
The degrees are Fahrenheit and it’s totally possible that my nutrition information is off, so do some of your own research and most of the time when it comes to chicken, if you don’t consume that skin that helps a lot. Hope that’s helpful!
After I take off the foil, what temperature do I turn it to?
You cover it for the first part of baking and then when you up the oven temperature, you uncover it to crisp up the skin!
5. Cover the pan with foil and bake for one hour.
I done the seasoning a lil different, but cooked it like you said. It came out so perfectly done! Best chicken I’ve ever had. Thank you.
So glad it worked out for you! What did you use for seasoning? I always like to hear what other people have used and liked!
Cover the pan with foil and bake for one hour.
Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees, remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-20 minutes until the skin is crisped
This turned out awesome! Message exactly as directed.
So glad it was a success Cassie! Easy wasn’t it?! Glad you came back to leave a review too, I appreciate that!
Trun it to the MAX!!!!!