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.
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 ¼ cup kosher salt, 4 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 tablespoon ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons onion powder, and ½ 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 ¼ cup kosher salt, 4 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 tablespoon ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons onion powder, and ½ 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.
Print
The Best Oven Baked Chicken Leg Quarters
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6-8 1x
Description
The Best Baked Chicken Leg Quarters made by simply roasting chicken leg quarters brushed with butter and seasoned at a low temperature for an hour and then raising the temperature at the end to crisp the skin.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken leg quarters (about 3 pounds)
- 4 tablespoons of 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 ¼ cup kosher salt, 4 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 tablespoon ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons onion powder, and ½ 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.
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 min
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: chicken legs, chicken leg quarters recipe, how to bake chicken legs, chicken drumsticks recipe, easy chicken dinner
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!
Katydoes
OMG Melissa, I would give up writing a blog after these comments! I think the problem is that people don't know how to SCROLL DOWN!!!!! You're directions were right on!! It has been quite entertaining as I await REMOVING THE FOIL AND UPPING THE TEMP TO 425!!!! ...
Melissa
Bahaha, thank you girl. I think I need to write them in bold? I'm not sure what it is about this recipe but it totally has great comments right?! Hope you loved it!
Ruby
Is covering with foil essential to it coming out right? I just ran out 🙁
Melissa
Do you have a dish with an oven proof lid, like a dutch oven or a skillet with a lid? Covering it will keep it from drying out, but you don't have to only use foil for that step. Does that help?
Laura
This is my go to recipe. So delicious and simple if you follow Melissa’s directions!
I’m throwing an 91st bday lunch for 12 tomorrow and making these bc they are so hands off. Going to also try andadd some onion garlic lemon mushrooms and cRROts To the bottom of the dish so thT they can make a nice sauce to the chicken and mashed potatoes.
This is my boyfriends favorite chicken! Thanks Melissa 🙂
★★★★★
Melissa
Hooray! That sounds soooo delicious too for a party! Happy 91st birthday!
Vanessa
This is my go to recipe for perfect chicken. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
★★★★★
Melissa
Hooray! And thank you for coming back to leave a review!
CelticHargis
This recipe turned out beautifully and was so tasty!!! My fiance loved it so much he wants me to make it again this week! I'm in love with the crispy skin and how juicy and tender it was. Thank you!
★★★★★
Melissa
All the reasons I love it too! Thank you for coming back to leave a review, so appreciate that!
Danielle Ferrara
OMG!!! I bake chicken quarters at least every 2 weeks. Always a struggle getting them to proper temp and never the same.. I’M SO HAPPY I FOUND YOUR RECIPE!!! Thank you Melissa!!! Can’t believe I never thought of baking them covered to start. I actually got nervous because when I cranked the oven up to 425 I also flipped on the convection.... checked after 10 minutes and my temp was 500!!! Pulled them out and my meat thermometer read 198 degrees. I thought they were ruined, but no! Super moist, super juicy, and DELICIOUS! Only thing I do differently for chicken is add curry to my spice blend.- equal parts kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic powder,, and Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning. ( Tony’s is a staple in every New Orleans household). Thank you again!!! This will now be on my weekly rotation.
★★★★★
Melissa
Ooohhh that spice blend sounds so good! Thank you for sharing and taking the time to come back and leave a comment, so helpful!
Allie
This turns out perfect every time!
This time I partially cooked a red, a yellow and an orange bell pepper with a red onion and some celery in a skillet on the stove top then added it under the chicken for the second round of cooking when the temp was turned up for about 20min. It came out amazing! We will definitely be continuing to use these directions for chicken quarters!
I can't believe how many people can't read/follow a fairly simple recipe! All the comments I saw complaining about something or another because they did not follow the whole recipe exactly as it was given.
★★★★★
Melissa
Oohhhh that addition of veggies at the end is a GREAT idea! Mind if I steal it and make another recipe around it? Did you serve it with anything in particular? Thanks for leaving a comment too, always helpful!
Allie
Go ahead and go for it, I believe recipes should be created to share! The peppers and celery add incredible flavor. They could be added in the beginning for those that like them thoroughly cooked. We like them "al dente" so I did thick sliced and towards the end. I also threw together a southwest style chopped salad kit with roasted corn, mexiblend cheese and a cilantro lime ranch, its one of those bagged kits you can buy in the salad section of the store. We love those as they come with the right amount of everything and so many different flavor styles to choose from. Other than that nothing really in particular. Its so flexible it could be taken so many directions. All three of my kids loved it they are 8-15 in age. There are really just so many possibilities with this chicken and I love that just because my daughter is 15 and is obsessed with chicken to say the least. She could live off of chicken and turkey so I make a lot of it and I am always looking for new ways to prepare it.
★★★★★
Melissa
Thank you!!! I can't wait to play with that, sounds delicious! Here's another favorite chicken recipe for you: https://www.blessthismessplease.com/baked-chicken-legs/ Serve the sauce over rice and just add some steamed veggies (broccoli is great) and it makes a simple meal. My kids (they are close in age to yours!) LOVE this one.
Linda
Ok, it came out GREAT! I mistakenly took the foil off while waiting for the oven to heat up to 425 (from 300), then started the timer for 20 min. Let it rest for 10 min. and the chicken was cook perfectly and the skin was crispy and the two of us ate all 4 large legs!!!
P.S. I had some left over bacon grease and put a few dots of that on just one chicken to test out how it tasted. It was pretty good. I recently read that using bacon grease instead of butter or oil is a good option for a deeper smokey flavor. Thanks for the easy recipe!
Linda
★★★★★
Melissa
Ohh that sounds so good! I use bacon grease to cook onions and things in for pasta and soups too, you are right, it adds a ton of flavor! I'm going to try it on the chicken, I haven't thought of that before!
Linda M Robison
Ahhh...I think I might have answered my own question!
Your instructions says:
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.
So I probably should have kept the foil on the chicken until the temp reached 425, then take off the foil and start the timer. Right?
Well, I hope it comes out ok, I'll let you know. 🙂
Melissa
You got it figured out, it'll work fine preheating with foil or without, you just might end up with a crispier skin if you take the foil off first but it won't effect anything else! Hope you loved it!
Linda M Robison
Ok, I making this right now.
Quick question: When you take to cover off and turn the heat up to 425 for the last 10-20 minutes -- do you start the 10-20 minute timer once it hit 425? Or is the oven heating up to 425 from 300 part of the 10-20 minute process? Does that make sense?
stanley ochocinsky
how do I cook my chicken if ive taken off the skins?
Rosemary
Do you know what temp and time this will take to cook bone-in chicken breasts?
Melissa
I bet it would be close to this long. I think I'd just check it a few times to make sure you aren't over cooking it!
Timothy
Melissa! This recipe is perfect! Best chicken quarters I’ve ever made.
Thank you!!!
Temps and times seem just right to me.
Melissa
Love to hear this! Thank you!
CB
I’ve cooked plenty of chicken legs, but never a thigh combo, so I went online in search of cooking times and found this. After reading the interesting commentary I ran with the original instructions. Knowing my oven is old and finicky I started at 325 rather than 300 for good measure, then upped it as directed. I don’t think I needed the 325 as the temp was at 185 when I checked the chicken and I was worried it would be dry. But after sitting 10 minutes, we found it was still plenty moist and juicy (whew). From here on out I am following these guidelines. Thank you for making my first leg-thigh combo a success!
★★★★★
Melissa
Love to hear this! Glad it worked out for you.
RJ White
My final high temp time of 18 mins (2nd try) was amazing. Great addition for my collection of Keto recipes. Thank you!
★★★★★
Jisel
Hi, I need help! I'm cooking a 10lb of chicken leg quarters all at once tonight and i plan to use your recipe. Just wondering if I need to change the temp and or cooking time? Thank you! I hope you could respond asap!
Melissa
Nope, just cook it in more than one pan so they aren't crowded and rotate the pans during cooking a few times. I think you'll love them! ENJOY!
Liz
Best EVER!!! Cooked one quarter with Trader Joe's SEASON salt and cayenne. 4 T butter. Poured the leftover juice on top. Delicious. Thank you!!!
★★★★★
Liz
This is seriously the best chicken I've ever had. I am on KETO CARNIVORE DIET For the next 3 weeks. I cooked this with Trader Joe's season salt and some Cayenne pepper and it was perfect! I'm having this again tomorrow I ate every bite and I usually leave some behind because I get so full.
Abbey
Searched the internet for the perfect chicken quarter recipe and this is the one that sounded the best. I tried it out, did exactly what the directions said, and wow! Super crispy on the outside, and the chicken fell off the bone. New favorite recipe. Thank you so much for sharing!
★★★★★
John
This is a simple and great tasting recipe. I did exactly as written and basting with butter using creole seasoning. Awesome.....................thank you. I just got 21.5 pounds of chicken leg quarters at Harris Teeters for 28 cents per pound....and no, I did not cook them all at once.
john
★★★★★