These Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters are juicy and tender with ultra-crispy skin, finished with a bright lemon-herb sauce. Ready in about 1 hour, this is a weeknight-friendly dinner that's affordable, forgiving, and impressive enough for guests.
Chicken leg quarters are an often overlooked cut. Boneless chicken breasts get all the attention, but leg quarters are my favorite as they are very affordable and forgiving to cook. Leg quarters are simply the drumstick and thighs still attached, with bones and skin still intact. At my local grocery stores, they typically cost half the price (or less) compared to chicken breasts.
The skin of these baked chicken leg quarters gets crispy easily and the meat stays juicy no matter how long you cook it. Chicken legs are easy to roast, like in this recipe, or you can throw some on the smoker or even braise them like in this Spicy Chicken with Ginger, Citrus and Soy recipe.
Expect crispy, deeply golden skin and juicy dark meat with bright lemon and fresh herbs in every bite. The Dijon adds subtle sharpness, while the honey softens the acidity of the sauce. It's simple but layered.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Crispy skin every time.
- Higher finishing temp means better texture.
- Pantry-staple marinade.
- Weeknight friendly.
- Elevated enough for a dinner party.
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Ingredients That Matter
This chicken leg quarters in the oven recipe uses pantry staples along with some fresh herbs, all of which should be available at your local grocery store.
- Chicken Leg Quarters. Typically sold in packs of 2 to 3, chicken leg quarters contain both the thigh and drumstick in one piece.
- Parsley. Fresh parsley provides gentle herb flavor for the chicken meat and doubles as a base for the sauce.
- Poultry Herbs. Most stores sell a poultry herb blend, which contains rosemary, sage, thyme, and sometimes oregano. These fresh herbs go incredibly well with chicken.
- Dijon Mustard. A bit of mustard emulsifies the marinade and sauce and provides a pungent kick of flavor.
- Lemon. Both lemon zest and juice are used for the sauce but only zest goes into the marinade. This helps prevent the chicken from burning and lemon juice may promote burning.
- Oil. Use a neutral oil like olive oil or avocado oil in the marinade and sauce.
- Honey or Maple Syrup. A touch of sweetness is added to the herb-lemon sauce to mellow out the acidity of the lemon juice.
- Kosher Salt & Black Pepper. Use salt and pepper throughout the recipe, in the marinade, sauce, and sprinkled on the chicken.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Roast Chicken Leg Quarters
The technique for this recipe is straight-forward, but I'll provide plenty of details so you can learn how to do it yourself, then you can adjust the flavor profile as you'd like.
- Prep the Marinade: Start by preheating the oven to 400F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Prep the marinade by zesting a half of a lemon and finely chopping parsley and the poultry herbs.
- Stir Marinade: Add herbs, mustard, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper to a large mixing bowl and stir together with a fork. Drizzle in oil. Transfer 1 tablespoon of the mixture to a small bowl to reserve for the sauce.
- Loosen Chicken Skin: The herb mixture should be rubbed against the chicken skin. Use your finger to loosen the skin along the thigh and drumstick then rub on some of the marinade. Ensure all sides are well coated and rest at room temperature for 20 minutes while oven heats.
- Roast the Chicken Legs: Arrange the chicken legs skin-side up with space between each piece to allow hot air to circulate and crisp the skin. Just before cooking, sprinkle the chicken with remaining ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper on all side then roast until the skin is golden brown and crispy and the internal temperature reaches at least 175F, preferably 185F to 195F. Use an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone.
- Make Herb-Lemon Sauce: While the chicken cooks, make the herb-lemon sauce using the reserved herb mixture. Add remaining lemon juice (about 1 ½ tablespoons) and zest from half of a lemon, along with remaining 2 tablespoons oil.
- Rest the Chicken: Once the chicken reaches desired temperature, remove from the oven and rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. Serve with herb-lemon sauce and garnish with more parsley.
Adam's Pro Tip
Why should you cook chicken legs to a higher temperature than 165F? Food safety says we should cook chicken to 165F to kill potential harmful bacteria. That also happens to be the desired temperature for chicken breasts as much higher than that and the meat will become dry. Dark meat contains more fat and connective tissue than chicken breasts and has a different protein structure. At 165F, dark meat can be slightly chewy. Between 185F-195F, the connective tissue breaks down, the fat renders, and the texture becomes silky and juicy.
Substitutions & Variations
This recipe uses simple ingredients that go incredibly well with chicken legs, but you can easily make tweaks based on your flavor preferences. Consider the following alternatives:
- No fresh herbs - If you don't have fresh herbs on hand, you can swap in dried. For this recipe, I'd recommend using 1 teaspoon of dried thyme or oregano, or 1 teaspoon of Italian herb blend.
- Garlic and onion - I try to avoid onions and garlic as I have a hard time digesting these alliums; however, if you want to use them I recommend using ½-1 teaspoon each onion and garlic powder along with the fresh herbs for the marinade.
- Fresh garlic - You can also add freshly grated garlic rubbed under the chicken skin.
- Spicy version - Add a big pinch of red pepper flakes, hot sauce, or finely chopped Calabrian peppers to the marinade for a spicy kick of heat. You may have some leftover Calabrian peppers if you make this Spaghetti Arrabiata recipe.
- Chicken thighs or drumsticks - If you can't get your hands on chicken legs, you can make this recipe as is with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or drumsticks. Use 4 thighs or drumsticks instead of 2 legs.
What to Serve with Chicken Legs
These oven-roasted chicken legs are super versatile and go with just about anything. You can easily scale the recipe up to cook 4 or even 6 legs by simply doubling the marinade and sauce.
Here are some my recommendations for sides to go along with this recipe:
- Lemon Caper Pasta
- Creamy Broccoli Orzo
- Gouda Mac and Cheese
- Crispy Air Fryer Red Potatoes
- Skillet Charred Corn on the Cob
- Cheesy Polenta with Roasted Tomatoes
More Sauce Options
The bright lemon sauce cuts through the richness of the dark meat and makes it feel restaurant-polished. While this simple herb-lemon sauce goes very well with these chicken legs, there are plenty of options if you want to change it up. Try these:
- Tangy Pineapple BBQ Sauce
- Five-Ingredient Blueberry BBQ Sauce
- Tahini Yogurt Sauce
- Creamy Chipotle Lime Sauce
- Homemade Basil Pesto
- Buffalo Ranch Sauce
Storage & Reheating
You can let the chicken legs marinate in the herb mixture in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. I don't recommend freezing this recipe.
To reheat leftovers, heat in a 375F oven until warmed through, 10-12 minutes. You can also warm in the toaster oven or air fryer set to 375F for 5-7 minutes. Be sure to reheat the chicken uncovered to help the skin get crispy again.
FAQ
Cook chicken legs at 400F for 40-45 minutes to ensure the skin gets crispy and the internal temperature reaches 185F to 195F.
It's important to pat the skin dry with paper towels as moisture on the skin will make it tough to get crispy. If your skin is not crispy, consider broiling the legs briefly until the skin starts to sizzle, 1-2 minutes.
Yes, you can either marinade chicken legs for up to 1 day ahead of time, or roast them and store the cooked chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 375F oven, toaster oven or air fryer uncovered until the chicken is hot and the skin is crispy.
Technically they are the same thing, but chicken legs may simply be thighs or drumsticks while. Chicken leg quarters always include both the thigh and drumstick attached.
There is no need to flip chicken legs when roasting in the oven as the temperature is hot enough to crisp all sides of the skin.
More Chicken Recipes
Looking for other chicken recipes like this? Try these:
Sides
These are my favorite side dishes:
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Recipe
Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 2 chicken leg quarters 1x
Description
These Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters are juicy and tender with ultra-crispy skin, finished with a bright lemon-herb sauce. Ready in about 1 hour, this is a weeknight-friendly dinner that's affordable, forgiving, and impressive enough for guests.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
- 2 tsp. finely chopped poultry herbs (such as thyme, rosemary, and sage)
- 1 medium lemon
- 1 ½ tsp. Dijon mustard
- ¾ tsp. Kosher salt, divided
- ½ tsp. black pepper, divided
- 5 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp. honey or maple syrup
- 2 chicken leg quarters
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F and place oven rack in the center position. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil. Spray lightly with cooking spray or drizzle with a touch of oil.
- Stir together in a large mixing bowl ¼ cup parsley, poultry herbs, zest from ½ lemon, Dijon mustard, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper and 3 tablespoon oil until well blended. Transfer 1 tablespoon of the mixture to a small mixing bowl and add zest from remaining ½ lemon along with juice from ½ lemon (about 1 ½ tablespoons), honey, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Set the small bowl aside and reserve for sauce.
- Pat chicken legs dry with paper towels and trim off any large sections of fat. Use your finger to carefully pull skin away from thigh and drumstick meat, being careful not to puncture skin. Add chicken legs to large mixing bowl and rub some of the herb mixture under the skin. Coat the chicken completely with herb mixture then transfer to prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper then roast in the oven until the chicken skin is golden brown and crispy and the interior reaches at least 185F and up to 195F, 40 to 45 minutes.
- Remove from oven and rest at room temperature. Serve chicken legs with reserved sauce and garnish with more parsley leaves.
Notes
- You can scale this recipe for 4-6 chicken legs by doubling the marinade and sauce.
- Cooking chicken legs to a higher temperature like 185F to 195F ensures the skin is crispy and the connective tissue and fat melt into the meat.
- You can add garlic, freshly grated or garlic powder, to the marinade, along with onion powder, if desired.
- To make this recipe a bit spicy, add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, hot sauce, or Calabrian peppers to the marinade.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. Reheat leftovers in a 375F oven, toaster oven or air fryer uncovered until the meat is hot and skin is crispy again.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: American
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