Crispy Panko-Crusted Baked Chicken Legs

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Easy to make Crispy Panko-Crusted Baked Chicken Legs made with just a few simple ingredients – so crispy you won’t believe it’s not deep fried. If you don’t have the time to make fried chicken, this chicken leg recipe is here to save your bacon!

Crispy chicken legs sitting on a black wire baking rack inside of a baking pan.
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Oven Baked Panko Chicken Legs Recipe

Hello easy chicken dinner! This is such a simple recipe that turns an inexpensive chicken leg into something super delicious. It’s super simple to throw together (season the chicken, dip it in beaten eggs, then roll it in bread crumbs, and repeat). And the best part? Your whole family will love this dish! I love a meal that everyone likes, and believe me, that’s no small feat with a family of seven.

This is also a really easy meal to plan your favorite seasonal sides around. Serve it with fresh corn and watermelon in the summer and a loaf of crusty bread and winter squash in the winter. With a classic main dish, you can serve it with whatever you like or have on hand (I have a long list of serving suggestions at the end of the post).

This recipe is also really easy to scale up or down, so make it for a table set for 2 or 20.

Tips and Tricks for Making Crispy Panko-Crusted Baked Chicken Legs:

  • New to smoked paprika? It adds great depth of flavor and richness that’s hard to mimic. Finding it is worth the effort (and it’s great in Mexican dishes, too).
  • Baking the chicken on a wire rack is the key to the crispy outside (it cooks evenly all around and isn’t sitting in its own juices). If you don’t have a wire wrack, you can bake the chicken directly on the pan though your results won’t be quite as awesome.
  • If you have time, letting the chicken rest with the spice rub on it for a half hour is great.

What Makes Baked Chicken Legs Crispy?

I use a few different tricks to make these drumsticks extra crispy. One is baking the chicken on a wire rack set in a baking pan. This helps the hot air circulate all around the chicken while baking and it also keeps the chicken from cooking in its own moisture. Panko bread crumbs are the other key to this recipe. They are extra large bread crumbs that help things to cook up extra crispy. Look for them in a box next to your traditional bread crumbs.

Can You Freeze Baked Chicken Legs?

When it comes to this crispy chicken recipe, freezing doesn’t work. It loses its crispy outside which kind of defeats the whole purpose of the recipe. So no, don’t freeze this recipe; the end result isn’t great.

8 chicken legs evenly spaced on a pan that are golden brown and baked to crispy perfection.
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Bowl of crispy panko-crusted baked chicken legs

Crispy Panko-Crusted Baked Chicken Legs


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.4 from 9 reviews

  • Author: Melissa Griffiths – Bless this Mess
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 min
  • Yield: 8 legs 1x

Description

Easy to make Crispy Panko-Crusted Baked Chicken Legs made with just a few simple ingredients – so crispy you won’t believe it’s not deep fried. If you don’t have the time to make fried chicken, this chicken leg recipe is here to save your bacon!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2.5 to 3 pounds chicken legs (about 8)
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup original Panko bread crumbs

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment and set a wire baking rack inside the pan.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika.
  3. Use the spice mixture like a meat rub and rub it all over the chicken legs.
  4. In a shallow dish, add the eggs and beat well. In a second shallow dish, add the Panko bread crumbs.
  5. Dip one chicken leg in the egg mixture coating completely then dip it in the bread crumbs, coating completely.
  6. Set the coated drumstick on the wire rack in the prepared pan.
  7. Repeat with remaining chicken legs, keeping them from touching as you set them on the rack.
  8. Bake for 1 hour or until the centers of the biggest chicken legs register 165 degrees F.
  9. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

  • New to smoked paprika? It’s adds great depth of flavor and richness that’s hard to mimic. Finding it is worth the effort (and it’s great in Mexican dishes, too).
  • Baking the chicken on a wire rack is the key to the crispy outside (it cooks evenly all around and isn’t sitting in its own juices). If you don’t have a wire wrack, you can bake the chicken directly on the pan though your results won’t be quite as awesome.
  • If you have time, letting the chicken rest with the spice rub on it for a half hour is great.
  • Prep Time: 10 min
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Other Chicken Leg Recipes You’ll Love:

What to Serve with this Chicken Leg Recipe:

So many serving suggestions and most of them are just as easy as the chicken! I can’t wait for you to add this to your dinner rotation, because it’s easy and satisfying and your whole family will love it.

About Melissa

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15 Comments

  1. This is a great recipe! I read the reviews beforehand and wondered about the saltiness. I used 1 Tbs of kosher salt as directed but had 15 drumsticks. With only 8, it might be a little salty; however, it is an easy and delicious recipe! The chicken comes out moist with a crispy skin. This is nearly impossible with baking and Melissa has accomplished it! I served it with white rice with creamy black pepper gravy (my recipe) and it was a hit. Thanks for a great recipe to include in my rotation.






  2. Panko crusted baked chicken legs was everything the recipe said it would be. Crispy, tender & delicious thanks






  3. We love this recipe!
    It’s crunchy on the outside and juicy inside!
    I don’t like cooking that much since I worked most of my life, so if I’m going to try something, I like it to be easy with ingredients I might use again.
    Thankyou!
    I signed up for more!






  4. I have a black rack that looks exactly like yours. Is yours a cookie-cooling rack? When I looked online to see what kind of racks are oven-safe, I read that they have to be stainless steel or chrome-plated…without the black coating (as you and I own) and without the anti-stick element. But, if you actually used the black rack shown in the pictures for baking (as opposed to just using it for a nice photo) and had no problems, then I’ll go ahead and do the same (I’m not super particular and would rather not go out and buy one). Thanks for your input!

    1. I did bake on it, I didn’t even think to look. I just assumed it was good for hot things.

  5. Nice one Melissa, I did this exactly according to your recipe and the result was outstanding, particularly using the paprika and open oven rack. I used Tyson Drumsticks (frozen but partially thawed…) which were slightly large but at 375F came out just right in my convection oven and without burning the Shirokiya Panko.
    I don’t think I’d change anything doing this next time.






  6. This was crispy AF. but waaaaaay too much salt. I would go with a teaspoon not a table spoon. All I taste is salt.






    1. Did you use kosher salt? It’s significantly larger in size so it takes up less space meaning it’s not as salty based on measurements. If you used a tablespoon of table salt it would be have been pretty salty.

    2. Used 1 tbsp kosher salt in the rub, as written, and some pieces are so salty the crust is inedible. Really ruined the meal. Plus the smoked paprika is a bit too intense.






  7. I am going to try this tonight, thank you for the recipe, instead of using the pan I am going to use my chicken hanger, it will keep the air circulating
    I just know this is going to be good






  8. I am going to try this tonight, but instead of the wire rack I’m going to try my chicken hanger, I assume it will do the same as it lets the air flow, thanks for the recipe I can’t wait to try it






  9. I made this tonight, first recipe I looked at and as soon as I saw it I knew this was the one. My husband wanted crispy and this delivered, it was very crunchy outside and moist inside. I made legs, left the skin ON and although I was a tad worried about a tablespoon of salt it wasn’t overly salty I used a bit less and it was perfect. I firmly believe in using a baking rack when I make anything that needs to be crispy. I will save this one thank you!!!!






    1. I’m so sorry, that was an error on my end! It’s all fixed and showing up now. Thank you for letting me know or I wouldn’t have caught the mistake!