Chicken legs are juicy, tender, and full of flavor. The skin of the chicken helps to maintain its juiciness and tenderness even after cooking. You can remove its skin if you want, but you would have to deal with the dryness of the chicken legs. Baking is the most popular way to cook chicken legs. You may find lots of recipes, but nobody gonna tell you how long to bake/cook chicken legs in the oven at different temperatures?
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How Long to Bake Chicken Legs in Oven?
Everyone loves baked chicken legs kids, grandparents, mom, and dad. It’s really easy to bake chicken legs in the oven. You can bake chicken legs at different temperatures. The different temperature takes different time to cook chicken legs in the oven. It becomes important to know at which temperature you are going to bake your chicken legs? Here, we are going to explain how long to bake chicken legs in oven at 325, 350, 375, 400, 425, and 450? Make sure to read this article till the end so that you won’t lose cooking tips and cooking timing at different temperatures.
How Long to Bake/Cook Chicken Legs in Oven at 325?
You have to preheat the oven at the same temperature before cooking chicken legs in the oven at 325°F. Coat the inside of a large baking dish with a cooking spray. Remove the chicken legs from the refrigerator and pat dry with a paper towel. Make a rub with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and onion powder. Sprinkle both the sides of the chicken legs and set them aside so that chicken comes to room temperature after 20-30 mins.
Now, drizzle olive oil over the chicken legs to coat. Arrange all the chicken legs in a baking pan so that there is enough space to circulate air for better cooking. Bake the chicken legs for about 50-55 mins. or until the internal temperature of the chicken legs reaches 165°F. Flip the chicken legs halfway through the cooking time for evenly cooking and the best results.
How Long to Bake/Cook Chicken Legs in Oven at 350?
If you are baking/cooking chicken legs in the oven at 350°F, you have to preheat the oven first. Coat the inside of a large baking dish with a cooking spray. Pat dry the chicken legs with a paper towel. Make a rub using your favorite spices. Coat both the sides of the chicken legs and set them aside.
Now, drizzle olive oil over the chicken legs to coat. Arrange all the chicken legs in a baking pan so that there is enough space to circulate air for better cooking. Bake the chicken legs for about 45-50 mins. or until the internal temperature of the chicken legs reaches 165°F. Flip the chicken legs halfway through the cooking time for evenly cooking and the best results.
How Long to Bake/Cook Chicken Legs in Oven at 375?
You have to preheat the oven first before baking/cooking chicken legs in the oven at 375°F. Coat the inside of a large baking dish with a cooking spray. Pat dry the chicken legs with a paper towel. Make a rub using your favorite spices. Coat both the sides of the chicken legs and set them aside.
Now, drizzle olive oil over the chicken legs to coat. Arrange all the chicken legs in a baking pan so that there is enough space to circulate air for better cooking. Bake the chicken legs for about 40-45 mins. or check the doneness using an instant meat thermometer which should read 165°F. Flip the chicken legs halfway through the cooking time for evenly cooking and the best results.
How Long to Bake/Cook Chicken Legs in Oven at 400?
You have to preheat the oven first before baking/cooking chicken legs in the oven at 400°F. Pat dry the chicken legs with a paper towel. Make a rub using your favorite spices. Coat both the sides of the chicken legs and set them aside. Let them rest for about 20 mins.
Now, drizzle olive oil over the chicken legs to coat. Arrange all the chicken legs in a baking pan so that there is enough space to circulate air for evenly cooking. Bake the chicken legs for about 35-40 mins. or until the internal temperature of the chicken legs reaches 165°F from its thickest part except for the bone. Flip the chicken legs halfway for evenly cooking and the best results.
How Long to Bake/Cook Chicken Legs in Oven at 425?
You need to preheat the oven when baking/cooking chicken legs in the oven at 425°F. Pat dry the chicken using a paper towel. Prepare a mixture of your favorite spices in a bowl to coat the chicken legs from both sides. Coat the chicken legs with this mixture and set them aside. Place all the chicken legs in a baking pan without overcrowding and maintain enough space to circulate air.
Now, bake the chicken legs for about 25-35 mins. or until the chicken cooked perfectly. You can check the doneness of the chicken using a meat thermometer. Don’t forget to flip the chicken legs halfway for evenly cooking.
How Long to Bake/Cook Chicken Legs in Oven at 450?
If you are baking/cooking chicken legs in the oven at 450°F, you must have to preheat the oven first. Pat dry the chicken legs using a paper towel. Prepare a mixture of your favorite spices in a bowl to coat the chicken legs. Coat the chicken legs with the prepared mixture and set them aside. Place all the chicken legs in a baking pan without overcrowding in a single layer and maintain enough space to circulate air for evenly cooking.
Now, bake the chicken legs for about 20-30 mins. or until the chicken cooked perfectly. You can also check the doneness of the chicken using a meat thermometer. Don’t forget to flip the chicken legs halfway for evenly cooking.
Tips to Bake/Cook Chicken Legs in Oven:
- Always pat dry the chicken to get the crispy skin in the result.
- Arrange chicken legs on a baking sheet with enough room around so that air can circulate around the chicken legs for evenly cooking.
- You can broil the chicken legs in the last 2-3 mins. of cooking to get more crispiness. Make sure to keep an eye on them to prevent them from burning.
- If the chicken turns brown quickly cover it with an aluminum foil.
- Always use an instant meat thermometer to check the doneness which should be 165°F.
- You can enhance the flavor by brushing your chicken with your favorite BBQ sauce during the last 5-8 mins of baking.
How Long to Bake BBQ Chicken Legs?
You have to preheat the oven first before baking BBQ chicken legs. Just, preheat your oven to 400°F. Take a small bowl and mix garlic powder, salt, pepper, and BBQ sauce along with liquid smoke. Mix all of them and set them aside. Now, rinse the chicken legs and pat dry with a paper towel. Arrange all the chicken legs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
It’s time to bake the chicken legs in the oven for about 40 mins. Flip the chicken legs halfway through the cooking time. When it’s done remove them from the oven and brush them with BBQ sauce and again bake for about 5-7 mins. When time is up! check the doneness of BBQ chicken legs using a meat thermometer which should read at least 165°F.
How Long to Bake BBQ Chicken Legs at 375?
If you are baking BBQ chicken legs at 375°F, you have to preheat the oven. Prepare a baking sheet with foil. Pat dry the chicken legs and set them aside. Now, mix all the ingredients such as black pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, etc. in a bowl. Coat the chicken legs with this mixture and bake for about 45-50 mins.
Make sure to flip all the chicken legs halfway for a better and even cooking. When it’s done remove them from the oven and brush with BBQ sauce and again bake for 5-7 mins. or until all sides of the chicken are crispy.
Tips to Bake BBQ Chicken Legs:
- It’s better to use parchment paper so that the chicken doesn’t stick to the pan and makes clean-up easy.
- Avoid adding sauce at the beginning of the cooking process because it contains high sugar content that burns in the beginning. So, add sauce at the end of the cooking process to avoid burning as well as maintain the flavor.
- You can also increase the heat if you find your chicken legs are not getting browned as you like. Don’t be afraid to broil them at the end for a min or two. Just keep a close eye on them.
How Long to Bake/Cook Frozen Chicken Legs in Oven?
If you are baking/cooking frozen chicken legs in the oven, you have to preheat the oven to 375°F. Rinse the chicken legs with water and pat dry with a paper towel and coat with a mixture of spices. Arrange them on a baking sheet and bake for about 80-85 mins. or until the internal temperature of the chicken legs from its thickest part reaches at least 165°F.
FAQ:
Should I Remove Skin from My Chicken?
Don’t remove the skin until it’s a must. It’s the most flavorful part. The skin helps to keep the meat moist as it cooks and prevents it from drying out.
How to Store Leftover Baked Chicken Legs?
You can easily store leftover baked chicken legs in an airtight container in the refrigerator/fridge for about 2-3 days.
