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Much like chicken drumsticks and chicken thighs, these easy baked chicken leg quarters in the oven make for a simple and versatile dinner. Seasoned with basics from your pantry, they have a delicious golden and crispy skin — you’re going to love them! Serve the roasted chicken leg quarters with a healthy side dish and your healthy meal is ready to go.
What Are Chicken Leg Quarters?
Chicken leg quarters are whole chicken legs (thighs and drumsticks) that also have a piece of the back attached to them.
Why You’ll Love These Baked Chicken Leg Quarters
- Savory chicken flavor
- Golden, crispy skin and tender chicken
- Just 5 minutes to prep
- Made with just a handful of pantry staple ingredients
- Healthy chicken dinner
Ingredients You’ll Need
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for crispy baked chicken leg quarters, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
- Chicken Leg Quarters – I prefer to use organic chicken for best flavor and nutrition, but you can choose the type according to your own preference.
- Olive Oil – Or avocado oil.
- Spices – Paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, and black pepper. If you like a kick, 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper also makes a nice addition. Or, you could use homemade poultry seasoning instead.
How To Bake Chicken Leg Quarters In The Oven
This section shows how to cook chicken leg quarters in the oven, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Prep. Preheat oven. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
- Season. Brush chicken with olive oil and season with paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
FYI: Drying the chicken helps the skin get crispy.
- Bake. Arrange chicken on an oven-safe rack fitted over a baking sheet, skin side down. Bake quarters in the oven for 15 minutes. Flip and bake until done.
TIP: Line the pan with aluminum foil (underneath the rack) if you like.
Lining the pan is not required, but makes for easier cleanup.
- Rest. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving. This helps the juices settle so that the chicken won’t be dry.
What Temp To Bake Chicken Quarters?
Bake chicken quarters at 400 degrees F. This gets the skin crispy and keeps the chicken juicy.
How Long To Bake Chicken Leg Quarters At 400?
Baking chicken leg quarters will take about 30-35 minutes, but it is best to use a meat thermometer, as the cooking time will vary a bit depending on chicken leg size.
What Is The Recommended Internal Temperature?
Like all chicken recipes, baked chicken quarters are safe to eat once they reach 165 degrees F. However, because leg dark meat has more connective tissue than white meat, it will be more tender if you cook it to 170-175 degrees F [*].
Storage Instructions
- Store: Keep leftover roasted chicken quarters in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Reheat: Reheat in a 350 degree F oven for best results, or a microwave for a quick option.
- Freeze: Freeze cooked chicken in an airtight container for 2-3 months. Raw chicken leg quarters can be frozen for 3-6 months.
Serving Suggestions
All these oven roasted leg quarters needs is a healthy vegetable side dish! Try one of these other simple sides:
More Easy Chicken Recipes
If you like baked chicken leg quarters recipes like this one, you might like some of these other easy chicken recipes:
Recommended Tools
- Baking Sheet With Rack Set – I love these nonstick baking pans. I have every size, but the set with rack is particularly useful for crispy foods, such as bacon in the oven or these chicken legs.
- Meat Thermometer – The best way to tell when your roasted chicken leg quarters are cooked perfectly is by testing with a meat thermometer.
Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters Recipe
Baked Chicken Leg Quarters (Crispy, Juicy, & Easy!)
You'll love this simple recipe for baked chicken leg quarters in the oven! You only need a few simple ingredients for perfectly juicy, crispy roasted chicken leg quarters every time.
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Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them. Please turn Safari reader mode OFF to view ingredients.
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (218 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with foil and place an oven safe rack on top.
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Pat the chicken leg quarters dry with paper towels, which will help them get crispy.
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Brush the chicken drumsticks with olive oil. Season with paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
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Arrange the chicken on the rack, skin side down. Bake the chicken leg quarters in the oven for 15 minutes. Flip and bake for another 15-25 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F (74 degrees C).
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Rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Last Step: Leave A Rating!
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Readers Who Liked This Easy Recipe Also Made:
Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 chicken leg quarter
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
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60 Comments
Margaret A Ratigan
0Mine turned out very chewy and not at all crispy.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Margaret, Drying the chicken helps the skin get crispy.
Kathy
0Best Chicken recipe! 2nd time I used it. Easy and delicious.
Thank you
Veronica
0Do you put the chicken directly on the oven rack, and the pan underneath the rack to catch the juices? I think that’s what is meant, I didn’t see anything in the comments, but I do have a rack that goes in the baking sheet so I may try that, for the crispy skin.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Veronica, You use a baking sheet with rack like this, don’t put directly on the oven rack.
Deborah
0BTW. Mine had skin on both sides which doesn’t matter as long as you are baking it on a rack and the meat isn’t touching the pan where all the juices can make the skin soggy.
Deborah
0Yum! Had to make recipe in stages due to time. A.M. Dried chicken well and applied about 1/2 t. olive oil to each piece to coat. Sprinkled the spices generously on chicken (included lemon pepper), except salt and pepper. Put in fridge for the day. PM put chicken on wire rack atop cookie sheet, and broiler pan both lined with foil. Applied course kosher salt and pepper just before cooking. Cooked an extra 10-15 mins according to reviewers. Wow. Crunchy tender flavorful chicken. Thanks so much for this recipe. Will be making again soon.
Denise
0Smash hit and easy!
Rebecca
0This came out delicious! I did my own seasonings but followed the method of cooking, it took about 10 extra minutes before my leg quarters came to temp but the chicken was juicy and the skin was crispy . It really was so good!
Bernard
035 mins is not enough time to cook the chicken. Everything was ready but the chicken. I ended up feeding my children vegetables and no chicken because they were hungry.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Bernard, Sorry this recipe didn’t meet expectations. All ovens are different so it sounds like you needed some extra time to get the chicken fully cooked.
delia g.
0Do I have to cover the chicken while baking?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Delia, No, you don’t have to cover the chicken while baking.
Meg
0Like many people below say, this recipe took 4x the cooking time as suggested which made for a late dinner. Make sure you use a meat thermometer. Plan for more time. Otherwise a solid recipe.
JCH
0Easy and delicious affordable meal. We made this with roasted root vegetables. This will be on the regular meal plan rotation!
Martha
0This was GREAT! Seasoning was perfect! I did have to increase the cooking time, because the leg quarters I had were very large.
Sally Roach
0Did you put fresh parsley on top of your chicken?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Sally, The parsley is just a garnish added after baking. You can add it or not.
Alanna
0What if the chicken leg quarters are frozen, what is the best way to remove the red?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Alanna, The red spots in the chicken after cooking come from the chicken being frozen. The chicken is fully cooked and safe to eat if the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Mauriann Woods
0I used the same ingredients & they came out perfect & delicious!!! After this I will not be frying chicken. I realize that the breast will take longer. Thank you Thank you Thank you.
Laura
0This was super yummy! I ended up cooking my chicken until 180 degrees because the juice was still red before that, but it was super tender and the skin was crunchy! My toddler loved it and kept asking for more. 😊
DGS
0I made this today and it was very tasty and juicy. It wasn’t crispy as I was hoping but I didn’t want to over cook it and dry out the chicken and I did bump up the temp to 415 degrees for the time listed on each side in the recipe. I think if this was done with an Air Fryer it would be perfect. And since I rent, I am sure even a better quality stove might make a difference too. But overall, I will do this again, thank you for posting it for viewers to use. One thing I may try next time is to sprinkle some Lemon Pepper seasoning on it too.
Sherry Healey
0This recipe is perfection. Tasty, healthy, quick and easy!
Bailey gore
0Easy and delicious
Donna
0Followed recipe exactly. Was amazing family loved it! Thank you for sharing.
Janet
0The picture definitely shows parsley but there is no parsley in the recipe. I can’t rate it as I haven’t tried it yet.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Janet, The parsley is just garnish added after baking. You can add it or not.
Jo Ann MacMillan
0Just finished dinner! This was excellent! Thank you for sharing this recipe. It certainly is a keeper!
Brenda
0It took a whole lot longer to get done than it said. But once it was done it was really good .
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Brenda, The time can vary based on the size of your chicken leg quarters, your oven, the amount of space between the chicken pieces (they will take longer if they are crowded), and even the pan you use. I’m glad you liked these when they were done!
AC
0I’m confused. I read where I’m supposed to put the chicken in the oven “skin side down, but in the video, the chicken got seasoned on the skin and was placed on the rack skin side up. I wanted to see the video again but it seems to be gone and other “how to cook” recipes are in its place. Maybe it doesn’t really matter in the long run, but 🙃🤷
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi AC, The chicken should be seasoned on both sides and then placed skin side down for the first 15 minutes.
Ver
0This was outstanding! Everyone at the table agreed that we will eat baked chicken more often because of this recipe. Thank you so much!
** how I wished I had followed your advice about lining the pan with goin under the baking rack. Clean up was q but of a task. But still worth it because the chicken was crispy, juicy, baked in perfection
Amber Bledsoe
0I’m sure this recipe will turn out fine… however I have “leg quarters”.. that is what the recipe calls for… these are by no means “done” at this amount of time… I have now read other recipes that call for longer cooking times or higher temps… but mine were definitely not done with the stated time frame…
Jane
0The chicken leg quarters were delicious, thank you!!
Lynn
0I followed the instructions exactly (except I omitted the salt) and started checking the temperature after 40 minutes. After another 40 minutes, I finally got 170 degree readings. After letting it rest, it was beautiful with crispy skin, but it wouldn’t come off the bone easily and was red next to the bone. So frustrating! I’m going to have a lot of chicken broth, but not what I hoped for with 10 lbs of chicken.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Lynn, Was your chicken breast previously frozen?
Dina
0Perfect! Made as per the recipe. Would make it again without any changes.
Jessica Templet
0I didn’t have an oven rack so I had to cook them a bit longer in my pyrex dish. But they still came out perfect. The seasoning was excellent and the skin was nice and crisp. Definitely one of the best chicken recipes I’ve tried. Thanks a million.
Doug Wilder
0I like the verbiage you utilized around the comments section here to make sure everything’s honest and sincere. Oh yea…the chicken! Excellent!! I put diced potatoes on the aluminum foil, on the baking sheet, under the rack (so the juices from the seasoned chicken fell down and beautified the potatoes) YUM. Thanks!
Charlie
0Definitely making this again. 😋🤤
Patrick S Broderick
0The meat came out well, nice and juicy but the skin DID NOT get crispy. I usually don’t flip leg quarters, just bake skin side up the whole time. I’d definitely recommend not flipping the chicken, that seems to work better.
Sandy
0Wonderful flavor and easy to prep. I was able to go to the garden, gather some fresh veggies and steam them while the chicken was in the Dutch oven on the fire! Great meal
Rosemarie Mielke
0This was simple and delicious. The only issue I had was it took well over an hour to bake to get to 170°. But I was using a 3-quarter sized pan in my smaller wall oven,so the meat pieces were overlapped a bit.
Jayden
0I love how basic this recipe is and the seasoning is amazing on this chicken! Thank you for sharing!
Amy L Huntley
0These are so tender and juicy. Thanks for the great tips!
Donna
0These worked out perfectly! Definitely a keeper
Andrea Thueson
0These were so tasty and had the perfect texture. I will be making them again on repeat.
Kristyn
0Simple ingredients, but lots of flavor!! We use it a lot!!
Glenda
0This was so easy and your seasoning choices are the exact ingredients in my homemade all purpose spice blend, so it went together even more quickly for me. Absolutely delicious! We enjoyed them for a wonderful comfort-food Sunday dinner.
Amy
0These are so juicy and packed full of delicious flavor! Thanks for the great tips!
Katie
0These are always so juicy and delicious. We love baking chicken this way!
Kristyn
0Perfectly seasoned & tender!! This chicken would be so good for so many different recipes, too!
Robin Donovan
0Great recipe! The chicken turned out perfect!
Toni
0It turned out really good! Everyone at my house loved it!
Taylor
0This recipe was so simple yet SO delicious! The chicken came out perfectly tender and juicy, with great flavor. The crispy outside skin was my favorite part!
Debby
0These leg quarters were the bomb! We’ll be eating more baked chicken thanks to this recipe. Thank you!
Scarlet
0These are a great staple and I will be making the leg quarters again.
Jen Dart
0So simple to make and the falvors are perfect! My new go-to recipe!