Spicy Baked Chicken Drumsticks are infused with a flavorful, spicy seasoning blend made with garlic, herbs, and warm spices, then baked in the oven for an easy, delicious, hands-off main course.  Just add your favorite side dishes!

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Spicy Baked Chicken Drumsticks

Admittedly, I haven’t always loved chicken legs.  I was pretty much a boneless, skinless chicken breast kind of girl.  

My mom didn’t make chicken legs when I was a kid, and I think that carried over into my adulthood…until now. 

Since I had always skipped over the leg/drumstick area of the chicken section at the grocery store, I never realized just how incredibly inexpensive they were! 

Now I use those cheap, underrated, dark meat chicken parts in Chicken Paprikash, Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo, and as Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks, to name a few. 

My family’s favorite chicken drumstick recipe?  Spicy Baked Chicken Drumsticks.

Ingredients needed for this recipe (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):

• Chicken legs/drumsticks
• Olive oil
• Spice blend (salt, garlic powder, black pepper, paprika, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, dried thyme, dried oregano)

To give these baked chicken drumsticks their wonderful flavor, we’re going to make a delicious, homemade spice blend (shown below) with dried herbs and warm spices like paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. 

The chicken will come out of the oven exquisitely crispy, perfectly spicy, and utterly addicting!

How to make this recipe

1. I like baking the chicken drumsticks directly on a foil-lined baking sheet because the direct contact with the hot metal creates a delectable, crispy exterior to the chicken. 
2. Make sure you spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray before adding the chicken.  BONUS – less clean up too!
3. Cook the chicken according to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

📍The full recipe with exact ingredient amounts and instructions is on the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

What makes this chicken so magical is the slightly salty, nice & crispy, well-seasoned exterior of the chicken that touches the pan it’s baking on. 

The tidbits stuck to the foil are pure gold, I’m telling you!

What to serve with spicy chicken drumsticks?

We like to serve these chicken legs with a starch and either a veggie or salad for a complete meal.  Here are some of our favorite sides:

• Habanero Garlic Rice
• Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes
• Mom’s Sausage Stuffing
• Herbed Butter Garlic Rice
• Savory Chicken Rice 

We also like to serve this chicken with ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing occasionally.  The coolness complements the spicy chicken.

How long is the baked chicken good for?

The cooked chicken can be kept in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.

💡 Tips & Tricks

• The “spicy” aspect of this recipe is for those that like a little bit of heat.  We’re a bunch of chileheads, so we dip our chicken in hot sauce. 
• If you’re also a heat-seeker, feel free to amp up the cayenne pepper in the spice blend, and if you have any, some jalapeno powder or habanero powder would be a fantastic touch!  

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Spicy Baked Chicken Drumsticks

Flavorful Eats

Spicy Baked Chicken Drumsticks are infused with a flavorful, spicy seasoning blend made with garlic, herbs, and warm spices, then baked in the oven for an easy, delicious, hands-off main course.  Just add your favorite side dishes!

4.75 from 4 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

0 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Equipment

• baking sheet
• foil and/or cooking spray
• meat thermometer

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
• 3 lb. chicken legs/drumsticks
• 3 tbsp. olive oil

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400°. Add all the spices/herbs to a small bowl - salt, garlic powder, pepper, paprika, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, dried thyme, and dried oregano. Stir to combine and set aside.
• Pat dry chicken drumsticks thoroughly with paper towels - this will help the chicken skin crisp up in the oven, then place dried chicken in a large bowl. Drizzle olive oil over chicken, then sprinkle the spice blend over them. Using tongs or your hands, make sure the oil and spice blend is evenly distributed throughout all the chicken.
• Cover a large baking sheet with foil and spray foil with non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken on baking sheet, making sure they are not touching. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, remove chicken from oven and flip over each piece of chicken, then return to oven for another 20-25 minutes or until a meat thermometer reaches 165°. Enjoy!

Keyword Chicken, Chicken Drumsticks, Chicken Legs, Spicy

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