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Easy Dinners
Lemon Garlic Baked Chicken Legs
Delicious Lemon Garlic Baked Chicken Legs - full of flavor, easy to make, and loved by the whole family. One of our favorite baked chicken legs recipes!
- Prep5 min
- Cook1 hr
- Total1 hr 5 min
- Serves5 (Serves 4-6)
My quick and easyLemon Garlic Baked Chicken Legsare full of flavor, easy to make, and are always a hit with the whole family. This oven-baked chicken recipe will take you just one hour!
With how expensive groceries can be, it is nice to have a few low cost dinner ideas on the roster that still taste amazing. This baked chicken leg recipe is just that! The baked chicken uses just a handful of inexpensive, flavorful ingredients to create a tasty, tender, filling meal in no time!
This is also a really easy meal to plan your favorite seasonal sides around. Serve it with somehomemade friesand watermelon in the summer, and a loaf of crusty bread andbutternut squashin the winter. With a classic main dish like this, you really can’t go wrong with the sides.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Low cost and full of flavor.
- Quick and easy to make.
- Can be served with a wide variety of sides.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken Legs—Low cost and full of flavor!
- Salt and Pepper
- Lemons—You will use both the zest of juice of your lemons.
- Garlic—Freshly minced.
- Thyme—Fresh time works best, but you can also omit it or use dried thyme.
- Honey—Adds a hint of sweetness to your chicken.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
How to Make Lemon Garlic Baked Chicken Legs
Step #1.Pat your chicken dry and combine the salt, lemon zest (but not juice), minced garlic, pepper, and thyme in a small bowl.
Step #2.Rub the spice blend into the chicken and bake your chicken in a large dish until it has cooked all the way through.
Step #3.While the chicken is baking, whisk together about a third of the lemon juice and all of the honey. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes on each side.
Step #4.Spoon the juice from the pan over the chicken, serve, and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
How Long Does It Take to Bake Chicken Legs in the Oven?
Thawed chicken legs that are an average size always take really close to an hour to cook in my experience (when the temperature is at 350 or above). If your chicken legs are really large or partially frozen, that’s going to increase your cooking time by around 15 minutes. When cooking bone-in chicken, I always plan on a full hour to cook, with a little extra time just in case.
Can I use any other kind of chicken in this recipe?
Of course! You can also use chicken thighs or grab a pack of party wings. We like to use chicken legs since they are so cheap and full of flavor, but you can really use any kind of chicken in this recipe.
What other spices can I add to my chicken?
Baked chicken legs are great because they are completely customizable! If you don’t have any lemon or thyme then you can still throw together a delicious dish. Try using some breadcrumbs to make some crispy Panko chicken legs or bring out the slow cooker for some juicy, tender slow cooker chicken legs
Expert Tips
- I don’t feel like there’s a good sub for the fresh lemon here.Themix of the zest and the juiceof the fresh lemon are so great. I don’t think dried lemon or bottled juice would have the same effect.
- No thyme on hand? Skip it all together OR pick another favorite herb. This would be great withfresh or dried rosemary, basil, or parsley.
- Wondering if your chicken is done? Investing in a little thermometer is the best way to make sure your meat is notover or under cooked. I have a reallybasic thermometerand it’s such a cooking game changer.
- Don’t worry about covering your pan with tin foil before you throw the chicken in the oven.
More Delicious Chicken Recipes to Consider
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