Let’s make easy and flavorful chicken legs, marinated with herbs and spices, and baked in the oven with potatoes until perfection. Chicken drumsticks come out juicy inside and crispy outside, while potatoes stay deliciously tender. This will be a great one pan meal recipe that your family will love!
If you are looking for a quick and easy recipe that can be made in one pan, you need to try this amazing Oven Baked Chicken Legs with Potatoes!
It takes just a few ingredients to make this flavorful and filling meal. Marinate the chicken in herbs and spices overnight, so they absorb the most flavor. Then bake in the oven with potatoes, and your dinner and ready to serve!
I love serving it with some salads and vegetables on the side, like Green Beans Amandine, Roasted Broccoli with Parmesan, Farro Salad Recipe, and BLT Pasta Salad.
Ingredients and Substitution
- Spices. I like to use my classic spice blend that I use in many recipes. It includes salt, onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried thyme, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper.
- Olive oil. Always use a good quality olive oil.
- Potatoes. Yukon gold potatoes are my favorite and you don’t even need to peel them (just wash them well). You also can use Russet or baby potatoes. Feel free to add some other veggies to this mix, like carrots, parsnips, onions, etc.
- Chicken. While this recipe is for chicken drumsticks, you can also use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs.
How to make it
In a small bowl, mix the seasoning (½ tsp salt, ½ tsp onion powder, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp dried thyme, ¼ tsp smoked paprika, and ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper). Add 2 tbsp olive oil and mix well.
Pad dry chicken drumsticks and transfer to a gallon size zip-lock bag. Pour in the seasoning mixture, close the bag, and shake it to evenly distribute the seasoning.
Marinate the chicken in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
When ready to cook, preheat an oven to 400F.
Cut the potatoes into bite-size pieces and put into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and season with salt to your taste.
Place the chicken drumsticks on top of the potatoes.
Bake at 400F for about 40-50 minutes or until the chicken internal temperature reaches at least 165-170F and the potatoes are cooked through and tender.
Tips for best results
- Marinating. The longer you marinate the meat, the more flavor it will have. This is why I always prefer to leave it in the ridge overnight.
- Crispy skin. To ensure the crispy skin, make sure you thoroughly pad dry the meat with paper towels to remove excess moisture before marinating.
- Make the chicken even crisper. When you bake the chicken separately on a baking sheet with wire rack, the outside of the meat and the skin will be even crisper than when baking together with the potatoes. But because I prefer making it as a one pan meal, I like baking it together with the veggies.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can refrigerate it in an air-tight container for about 4 days.
Yes. You can easily substitute it with bone-in skin-on chicken thighs. Boneless skinless chicken thighs are not going to work in this recipe as they cook too fast and will be overbaked.
To make sure that the chicken is cooked through and safe to eat, you need to use a meat thermometer. Insert in it in the center of the meat, it should read at least 165-170F. Another way to check is when you cut the meat, the juices should run clear.
Because we want the skin on the meat to be crispy, we need to bake it uncovered.
Usually, it takes about 40-50 minutes at 400F to cook the chicken legs through. Although, if the drumsticks are bigger in size than usual or were too cold before putting in the oven, they might take a bit longer to bake.
More Chicken Dinner Recipes:
- Cast Iron Chicken Breast
- Dutch Oven Whole Chicken
- Lemon Chicken Orzo
- Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breast
- Cast Iron Chicken Thighs
- BBQ Boneless Chicken Thighs
- Tomato Chicken Pasta Bake
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
- Chicken Broccoli Ziti
- Baked Chicken Cutlets
- Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggies
- Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs
Oven Baked Chicken Legs with Potatoes
Ingredients
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 6 chicken drumsticks
- 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the seasoning (½ tsp salt, ½ tsp onion powder, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp dried thyme, ¼ tsp smoked paprika, and ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper). Add 2 tbsp olive oil and mix well.
- Pad dry chicken drumsticks and transfer to a gallon size zip-lock bag. Pour in the seasoning mixture, close the bag, and shake it to evenly distribute the seasoning.
- Marinate the chicken in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- When ready to cook, preheat an oven to 400F.
- Cut the potatoes into bite-size pieces and put into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and season with salt to your taste.
- Place the chicken drumsticks on top of the potatoes.
- Bake at 400F for about 40-50 minutes or until the chicken internal temperature reaches at least 165-170F and the potatoes are cooked through and tender.
Notes
- Marinating. The longer you marinate the meat, the more flavor it will have. This is why I always prefer to leave it in the ridge overnight.
- Crispy skin. To ensure the crispy skin, make sure you thoroughly pad dry the meat with paper towels to remove excess moisture before marinating.
- Make the chicken even crisper. When you bake the chicken separately on a baking sheet with wire rack, the outside of the meat and the skin will be even crisper than when baking together with the potatoes. But because I prefer making it as a one pan meal, I like baking it together with the veggies.
- How to store. You can refrigerate it in an air-tight container for about 4 days.
This was delicious and didn’t require too much time. I doubled the amount of chicken and spices and baked the chicken above the veggies on a rack to make it crispy (and juicy too, flipped halfway). Added some red onion, carrots and bell pepper to the potatoes since we had them on hand. SO GOOD! Thank you for sharing we really enjoyed this recipe.
Absolutely delicious. This is a keeper. I’ve already made it several times, and it checks all the boxes of a great family meal.
I’ve started separating the potatoes and chicken the last 15-20 minutes, and that give me the nest of both worlds, in my opinion. Crispy chicken skin, and delicious potatoes cooked in the chicken drippings.
Sooo good, I added a few garlic cloves to roast under the chicken and squeezed some fresh lemon over everything before serving because that’s my personal preference, but wow. My toddler ate his entire portion.
Def making tonight. My 7 year old just loves it
These were so good! My husband asked me to add this to the regular dinner rotation!
Thank you so much, Liz! I’m so happy you and your husband enjoyed the recipe 😉
This meal sounds wonderful! I even have chicken legs out for dinner tonight – I think this will be our meal!
Thank you so much, Ann! Let me know how it comes out 😉
Chicken thighs are always so affordable at the market, and this one pan meal looks perfect for busy weeknights! On the shopping list for sure 😉
I love a simple chicken and potatoes dinner. This was perfect for the weeknight and my kids didn’t complain so that’s a win too!
Chicken and potatoes are a favorite dinner in my house; yours came out perfect. The chicken was so tender and flavorful and the potatoes were excellent!
This made the BEST dinner! We love chicken and potatoes for dinner and this will be our new go to! SO easy, made with simple ingredients and quick to prep!
Wow! Such an easy and delicious dish to make for tonight’s dinner. I am sure everyone will love this!
I love making baked chicken because it much less fussy than frying. These chicken legs were so full of flavor and your recipe made them so easy to make.
I am a huge fan of chicken legs. This dinner is perfect for an easy meal any night of the week. A family favourite for sure.