How to make oven-baked chicken drumsticks that are juicy inside with crispy skin outside. Jump to the Rosemary Baked Chicken Drumsticks Recipe or read on to see our tips for making them.
We are obsessed with these drumsticks. We love dark meat, we love crispy chicken skin and we love easy meals. This one checks all the boxes. Make this for dinner soon, you won’t be disappointed.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: This Easy Lemon Chicken Recipe with Herbs. The recipe bursts with lemon along with herbs, such as oregano and thyme, as well as toasted garlic and tangy mustard.
How to Bake Chicken Drumsticks
The most important thing about baking chicken drumsticks is to rinse and pat dry the chicken. The chicken needs to be as dry as possible before we bake, this way the skin will crisp up. Next, rub the drumsticks with oil, salt, pepper, and finely chopped rosemary. Or, swap out rosemary for other herbs. Have you seen our Baked Chicken Drumsticks with Old Bay – we love those, too!
If you have one, arrange the drumsticks on a cooling rack that is set inside a rimmed baking sheet. This raises the chicken up and allows the heat from the oven to evenly bake the drumsticks. If you don’t have a baking sheet that will fit a rack inside of it, just use a regular baking sheet.
Bake the chicken in a hot oven for 20 minutes then use tongs to rotate each drumstick and bake until done. You will be left with moist and juicy baked chicken drumsticks with crispy skin — the best.
Recipe updated, originally posted October 2011. Since posting this in 2011, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne
Rosemary Baked Chicken Drumsticks Recipe
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
These baked chicken drumsticks rubbed with rosemary are so easy to make at home. We like to use a baking rack inserted into a rimmed baking sheet for this — if you do not have one, you can just place the chicken directly onto an aluminum-lined baking sheet.
You Will Need
2 pounds skin-on chicken drumsticks (about 6 drumsticks)
1 tablespoon neutral flavored oil such as vegetable or grape seed
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Directions
1Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. If you have one that fits, lay an oven-safe rack inside the baking sheet, this helps get the chicken extra crispy – see note below. Spray rack with nonstick cooking spray.
2Pat the drumsticks dry, and then rub with the oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Arrange the chicken onto the rack/baking sheet.
3Bake for 20 minutes, turn the chicken, and then bake until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit; 20 to 25 minutes. Let chicken rest 5 minutes, and then serve.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- If you do not have a wire rack that will fit inside a baking sheet (here’s one online), you can still make the drumsticks. Arrange them on an aluminum-lined baking sheet, without the rack and rotate a few times during baking.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
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It was as easy as could be. I chose to use my fresh dried rosemary and lemon thyme an even mix of both crushed up. Absolutely delicious
This recipe is way too salty!!! Use about 1/4 of the recommended salt
Hi Stephanie, Thank you very much for your comment! The salt called for in the recipe was incorrect. This has now been fixed.
I’m a bit confused by a conflict in cooking times posted. At the top, you say to bake 15 minutes and turn and bake another 10 minutes. That would total 25 minutes.
Below you say to bake 20 minutes and turn and bake another 20-25 minutes. That would total 40-45 minutes. That’s a rather significant discrepancy. The temperature is the same in both directions- 425 degrees.
To add to the confusion, the summary says Prep Time 15 minutes. Cook Time 30 minutes.
Huh?
I’ve prepped the chicken and ready to put into oven. We’ll see. Fingers crossed (but not the legs!)
Hi Stephen, We’re sorry about that. Go by the times stated in the recipe — we have updated the post with the proper times to prevent further confusion.