This is just a great, simple baked chicken drumsticks recipe you can get in the oven quickly. A 3-ingredient seasoning adds terrific flavour and colour. Meanwhile, the secret to a lovely crispy skin is a touch of baking powder. Don’t believe me? Read the reviews in my Truly Crispy Baked Chicken Wings which uses the same trick!
Crispy Baked Chicken Legs
If you ask me, on a sheer scale of munchability (new word) chicken drumsticks beat out chicken breasts any old day. I’d rather be grabbing a drumstick with my fingers and chomping that meaty flesh off the bone than daintily nibbling a chicken breast with a knife and fork!
But, maybe that’s just me.
So if you’re in my camp – or actually, even if you’re not (!) 😇 – here’s a terrific everyday chicken drumsticks recipe to try. It’s flavoured with a simple, BBQ rub-like seasoning made with just paprika, onion and garlic powder (bet you’ve got all 3 in your pantry!!) bulked out with flour to coat the legs all over.
As for a little trick to get the skin nice and crispy? A touch of baking powder. Yep, really. Read on!
Seasoning for Crispy Baked Chicken Drumsticks
Here’s what you need to make these drumsticks. Baking powder is the secret ingredient that makes the skin crispy. Meanwhile flour is used to bulk out the seasoning mix so we can coat the chicken legs all over.
Chicken drumsticks – While I’m using chicken legs for this recipe, chicken wings and skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs can also be used.
Baking powder (for crispy skin!) – NOT to be confused with baking soda / bi-carb which is different! Baking powder is a tried and proven ingredient used in my baked chicken wings to make chicken skin crispier. There’s a bunch of science behind why it works, but all you need to know is that it does!
For complete transparency, I will be upfront in saying the skin in this recipe isn’t as shatteringly crisp as it is in the wings. This is because the wings have just plain skin whereas these legs are coated in seasoning, which does inhibit crisping (in return for more flavour coating!) However, without any baking powder at all, the drumstick chicken skin is just borderline soggy. Non-crispy chicken skin is fine in itself if you’re baking drumsticks with a glaze, like my Sticky Honey Soy Baked Chicken or Honey Mustard Baked Chicken Drumsticks. But for this recipe, it is SO much nicer when the skin is a little crisp!
Spice mix – We’re using a combination of smoked or plain paprika, onion and garlic powder here. These 3 spices are a classic, American barbecue rub-like seasoning combination I use in many dishes (such as my rub for pork chops and baked chicken breasts). Onion and garlic powder can be substituted with more of the other, if you don’t have both.
Flour – This is used to bulk out the seasoning so we can coat the chicken legs evenly all over.
How to make Crispy Baked Chicken Drumsticks
The trick to crispy baked drumsticks is to stretch the skin over the drumsticks as much as possible (because flesh won’t go crisp!) and then coat the skin evenly all over with the seasoned flour.
Seasoning – Mix the spices and flour together in a bowl. Use a shallow bowl as it’s easier coat the chicken legs in the seasoning.
Coat drumsticks in oil – The oil makes the seasoning stick to the chicken as well as helping the skin go nice and brown as it bakes. I find it’s easiest to rub it all over using my hands to ensure each drumstick is well-coated.
Stretch skin – The more skin that stays put over the flesh, the crispier your drumsticks! So pull and stretch the skin to cover the flesh as best you can. Some of the skin will still shrink back as it bakes anyway, but if you skip this step totally you’ll end up with a mostly naked drumstick 😭
Coat legs in the seasoning – Dip, turn, use fingers for sprinkling on top as needed. Then shake off the excess, otherwise you end up with quite a thick layer of pasty-ish coating on the chicken legs.
Rack on tray – Place the legs on a rack on a foil-lined tray. Why foil-lined? It makes your clean up life easier. Why rack? For crispy undersides! Don’t have a rack? Line with paper instead and turn the drumsticks halfway, and expect to add an extra 5 to 10 minutes to the bake time to make the top crispy.
Spray with oil – Then spray the legs with oil. Be generous! It makes them more crispy and golden, almost like a frying effect!
Bake for 30 minutes at 200°C/390°F (180°C fan), rotating the tray once to help them cook evenly. Then crank the oven up to 220°C/430°C (200°C fan) and bake for a further 15 minutes until they’re crisp and golden. You might find you need an extra 5 minutes to get the skin crispy, depending on how evenly the heat is distributed in your oven.
Once they’re ready, serve them up straight away while they’re nice and hot!
What to serve with Crispy Baked Chicken Drumsticks
These drumsticks are pretty universal in character and friendly with a wide range of other dishes. Try these drumsticks with Fried Rice and a simple Garden Salad, as pictured above. Else, make up a big batch of Macaroni Salad or Potato Salad – these are great big batch sides that keep in the fridge for days. For something different, there’s also my marinated Vegetable Pasta Salad (excellent starch + veg side), a Quinoa Kale Salad (the kale is marinated!) or a big Sweet Potato Salad.
For more ideas, have a browse through my collection of Side Dishes (potato, pasta, rice, salads, veg!).
Love to know if you try this – let me know what you think! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Crispy Baked Chicken Drumsticks
Ingredients
- 12 chicken drumsticks (Note 1)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Oil spray
Seasoning (Note 2):
- 3 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tsp onion powder
- 5 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 4 1/2 tbsp plain/all-purpose flour
- 3 tsp baking powder (makes them crispier, DO NOT confuse with baking soda / bi-carb) (Note 3)
Instructions
- Preparation: Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan-forced). Line a tray with foil then place a rack on the tray (makes the underside of the drumsticks crispier, Note 4).
- Seasoning: Mix the Seasoning ingredients in a shallow bowl.
- Coat in oil: Toss the drumsticks in the olive oil. Stretch and pull the skin on each drumsticks to cover as much of the flesh as possible.
- Coat in seasoning: Coat a drumstick in the Seasoning then shake the excess off well. Place on the rack. Repeat with remaining drumsticks.
- Spray with oil: Spray the legs generously with oil.
- Bake for 30 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through. Increase the oven to 220°C / 430°F (200°C fan) then bake for a further 15 minutes or until the skin is crispy. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
Garlic powder: more onion powder
Onion powder: more garlic powder
Smoked paprika: more ordinary/sweet paprika 3. Baking powder purpose – Not to be confused with baking soda / bi-carb which is like triple strength baking powder and will NOT taste nice!! Baking powder is a secret trick to make chicken skin crispier, a tried and proven method with chicken wings (very popular recipe on my website!). It doesn’t make these drumsticks shatteringly crispy because they’re seasoned rather than being plain skin (like the wings) but if you make these drumsticks without, they are noticeably less crispy. You can’t taste the baking powder. 4. Tray prep – Why foil-lined? It makes your clean up life easier. Why rack? For crispy undersides! Don’t have a rack? Line with paper instead and turn the drumsticks halfway, and expect to add an extra 5 to 10 minutes to the bake time to make the top crispy. 5. Nutrition per serving (ie 5 servings, 2.4 drumsticks per person 😂)
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Self-appointed director of recipe videos. Not much directing going on. Just a lot of staring.
OMG! Seriously the best ever!!!
Crispy on the outside, juicy and tender inside.
Just demolished a good helping tonight, using chicien nibbles, with Nagi’s pineapple fried rice.
There’s never going to be left-overs with this recipe.
My husband (and I) thank you for bringing so many tasty dishes to our table.
Tried it tonight. My mountain man husband said “This is Good” around a mouthful of chicken! So, it’s a keeper. Less calories for him and less mess than frying for me. Thank you!
Hi Nagi! Reading through all of the comments and not one about grilling these! Well I did tonight! I have a Pitboss smoker. Set it at 350° ,put the chicken on for 25 minutes, flipping for another 25. Crispy and juicy! My guys LOVED them! Thanks again for such a tasty recipe!
This came out great in the air fryer.
6 drumsticks, half the amount of seasoning. Cook at 200C for 15 mins. Turn and cook for a further 15 mins at 200C.
This was super tasty! The smell when it was cooking was unreal. A really decent way of using up chicken pieces in the fridge. This will be a very frequent meal for sure. Thanks Nagi 😎
Hey all! Can we marinate the drumsticks in buttermilk beforehand to make the chicken moist?
Yes you can Danielle. I did an overnight marinade and it was super moist and delish.
Does the skin still stay crispy when you marinate overnight? Any special precautions to get crispy skin?
I made these, subbing tapioca flour for regular flour as that’s what I had on hand. They were delicious, although not as crispy as I’m sure they would have been if I’d used regular flour as stated in the recipe. But still definitely worth making and enjoyed by the whole family!
Mate! You have done it again! These were sensational! Keep smashing goals!
Made these tonight in my air fryer 380 for 15 mins. Turned out so juicy and flavourful. Another bomb recipe!!
These drumsticks are so moorish, made yesterday and they have all gone (only two of us). They are crispy and the coating has a lovely flavour. Another winner from Nagi thanks
So glad to hear that Trudy!!! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know – N x
Cooked tonight. Fantastic. Looking forward to doing them again next week. 🐶🐶
Terrific to hear Diane! Thanks for letting me know 🙂 N x
Perfect result,
Combined this recipe with your Southern Fried Chicken by marinating overnight in seasoned buttermilk. Was so tender and delicious, and without the hassle of deep frying.
Please come to Melbourne for your book signing.
I AM COMING!!! 🙂 What a terrific idea to make this with Southern Fried Chicken flavours, YUM!!! I was tossing up between the flavours I went with vs KFC seasoning, actually 🙂 N x
Tastes great! I used chicken breast fillet and is turned out perfectly! Is an easier crispy chicken result than actually crumbing and so much easier!
Can gluten free flour with xanthum gum be used in this recipe? Or any other recipe for crispy ness!
Hi Vivian! The flour doesn’t make them crispy, the baking powder + dry rub coating does! Baking powder is usually gluten free (very rarely do they seem to have gluten in them). And instead of flour, you can just use gluten free flour, rice flour or cornflour / cornstarch 🙂 Let me make it myself and come back to you, I’m very happy to make these again! N x
Nagi – your reply said you would try the recipe with GF flour and get back to me. I have not heard from you yet. Maybe you haven’t had time to make it again, you are so busy with new recipes? LOL!
Thank you! I will wait for your reply.
Could you use rice flour instead of flour/baking powder
Hi Maureen! The baking powder is what makes the skin crispy so still use that. But I am 99% sure the results will be very similar using rice flour instead of normal flour! N x
I am not a big one for drumsticks but I LOVE thighs — this recipe will be for the next time I make them!
Do it Donna! Be sure to get those pieces with big flappy pieces of skin on them so you get lots of crispy skin!! N x
Thank you for the recipe looks great
Going to try it in the air fryer
I was thinking the same thing!!
Hi Libby, if you have tried this recipe in the airfryer, please let me know at what temp and for how long. Thank you.
I know a great air fryer recipe tester who did a bunch of testing for me for the cookbook. Let me see if she can slot in a test of these for us! N x
Always looking for a new drumstick recipe. This looks so good and I already know everyone will love it!
So glad you tried it and loved it Deborah! N x
Made this tonight. This recipe was great, so crispy. Followed directions to a T. Everyone loved it and wants me to make again. I sure will!
WHOOT! So glad to hear that Deborah, thanks for letting me know! N x
If you are going to buy the Decor oil sprayer at Woolies, look in the cooking items aisle, They are hanging up. I got 2 as I went down early this morning. Also bought drumsticks just to try this recipe. Looks so tasty.
Thanks for the tip Rayma! N x
Delicious recipe! I’m wondering if you might consider adding alternate cooking instructions using an air-fryer for recipes like this. It seems like a perfect candidate.
Hi Wendy! I’d love to add extra options, I just don’t have the capacity right now to do extra testing!! But I’ve put a call out to the Airfryer Queen to see if she has time to do it for me 🙂 Stay tuned! N x
Will wait for the Air Fryer Queen report as well 🙂