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Baked Chicken Drumsticks Recipe – juicy seasoned chicken legs, baked to perfection for a lighter one pan meal. Perfect for a dinner any day of the week. Ready in 45 minutes. Serve it with roasted veggies or a salad. This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Mazola® Corn Oil . All opinions are mine alone. #MakeItMazola #simpleswap #CollectiveBias
This baked chicken drumsticks recipe is a childhood favorite. I make it all the time and my family loves it. Easy to prepare, nutritious and full of flavor.
This time I decided to change a few things up and make a lighter version of this baked chicken legs recipe.
A great way to reduce saturated fats and cholesterol in your meals easily with simple swaps, such as substituting butter with Mazola Corn Oil in this chicken legs recipe.
Corn Oil has more cholesterol-blocking plant sterols than other cooking oils. Four times more than olive oil and one and a half times more than canola oil. Clinical studies indicate that when consumed as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, plant sterols can help reduce the absorption of cholesterol in the gut. To learn more about this claim, see MAZOLA.com.
What ingredients do I need to make this oven baked chicken drumsticks recipe?
- chicken legs (drumsticks), I used skinless
- Oil
- lemon juice
- lemon zest (optional)
- salt
- black pepper
- paprika
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- oregano (optional)
I chose to use Mazola Corn Oil in this baked chicken legs recipe, because it has a neutral taste that allows the natural flavor of the meat to stand out.
How do you make baked chicken legs? What are any good side dishes?
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Wash and pat dry chicken legs.
In a small bowl combine all ingredients for the seasoning.
Place chicken drumsticks in a bowl.
Pour Mazola Corn Oil and lemon juice on top. Add seasoning and lemon zest (optional).
Make sure chicken legs are evenly coated with the seasoning, oil and lemon juice.
Transfer to a baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes, until the internal temperature is 165 F.
Prepare the roasted veggies (see recipe card for instructions).
How long to cook chicken drumsticks in the oven for?
Depending on the size of the drumsticks, type of oven used and baking dish, on average you need to bake them at 400 F for 35-40 minutes. A thermometer inserted inside along the bone should read 165 F in order for chicken drumsticks to be safe to eat.
How I made this Baked Chicken Drumsticks Recipe lighter?
- Used Mazola® Corn Oil instead of butter.
- I chose to use skinless chicken drumsticks, instead of skin on.
- Decided to roast some green beans, cauliflower and butternut squash, all low-carb veggies, instead of using potatoes, which the original recipe calls for.
Tips for cooking the perfect baked chicken legs:
- Add oil to the drumsticks and bake at high temperature (400 F, rather than 350-375 F). This way the drumsticks crisp up in the oven and taste delicious. Here is why I chose to use Mazola.
- Mazola has a smoke point higher than most cooking oils at 450°F and works very well in different ways of cooking, including stir-frying, sautéing, grilling and even baking. Some people may not realize that all cooking oils have a smoke point that, if exceeded, it can negatively affect the nutritional value and flavor.
- Do not over bake the chicken legs.
- You may be asking yourself if you need to marinate chicken drumsticks before you bake them? What is a good marinade and how long to marinate them for?
- Marinate if you have the time to do so. This chicken leg recipe works perfectly, even if you don’t take the extra time to marinate. It is just a recipe for busy families. But if you’d like to take the extra step, you can combine all ingredients in a zip lock bag and marinate for up to 6 hours. This way the meat will absorb a lot of seasoning and it is going to have an even richer flavor.
What to serve a chicken drumstick with?
- Roasted Vegetables
- Potatoes
- Mashed Cauliflower
- Salad
Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 chicken legs, drumsticks, I used skinless
- 1/3 cup Mazola® Corn Oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 tsp lemon zest, optional
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp oregano, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Wash and pat dry chicken legs.
- In a small bowl combine all ingredients for the seasoning.
- Place chicken drumsticks in a bowl.
- Pour Mazola Corn Oil and lemon juice on top. Add seasoning and lemon zest (optional).
- Make sure chicken legs are evenly coated with the seasoning, oil and lemon juice.
- Transfer to a baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes, until the internal temperature is 165 F.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These were so easy to make. My family loved them!
A question please: If I’m counting calories with these yummy looking drumsticks, how many calories are they PER DRUMSTICK?? Thank you!
Hi, my calculator shows 392 calories per drumsticks and they are around 6 oz each.