Citrus Baked Chicken Legs
While these delicious chicken drumsticks do take about an hour to cook, the prep is fairly easy.
Simply whisk together the seasoning and pour over chicken and top with some onion and sliced orange and lemon.
To make prep even easier at dinner time, I like to find a few minutes to slice my citrus in the morning. At dinner time I can just pull the ingredients out of the fridge, dump in a baking pan and pop in the oven.
If you aren't a fan of chicken drumsticks, AKA chicken legs, you can use bone-in chicken thighs.
Related: Sheet Pan Chicken Legs
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Citrus Baked Chicken Legs
Meaty chicken legs are baked with lemon and orange for a pop of citrus which balances out the fresh herbs perfectly.
Equipment
- Baking Dish
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 lemons juice one and slice one
- 2 oranges juice one and slice one
- 1 Tablespoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 6-10 chicken legs or bone-in thighs
- 1 small red onion sliced
- 3 sprigs thyme leaves removed from their stems
- 2 sprigs rosemary chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400.
- In a small bowl whisk together: olive oil, garlic, sugar, juice from orange, juice from lemon, onion powder, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Arrange chicken in a 9x13 baking dish, pour seasoning mixture over everything and toss chicken around in it to coat. Be sure to turn chicken thick skin side up when finished. Arrange onion, lemon slices and orange slices around and on chicken. Sprinkle the fresh herbs over everything.
- Bake uncovered about an hour, or until chicken is cooked through. Baste the chicken in the citrus herb sauce a few times during cooking.
Nutrition
Serving: 2legsCalories: 625kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 34gFat: 45gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gMonounsaturated Fat: 23gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 180mgSodium: 459mgPotassium: 669mgFiber: 4gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 453IUVitamin C: 69mgCalcium: 96mgIron: 3mg
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Lizbeth McGow says
Loving the Mediterranean flavors of this chicken, the Italian Seasoning and the lemon makes it perfect for summer but since it's baked it will work for Fall and Winter too! Great recipe. Thank you so much for linking it at the Fluster Buster Party, Have a great week Christine! Lizy party co host