Baked Chicken Leg Quarters Easy Recipe

Tender, juicy, and meaty weeknight meats are not usually this easy to prepare but Baked Chicken Leg Quarters are! Serve the side dishes your family loves and everyone will be smiling at the dinner table.

Baked Leg Quarters are so easy to prepare plus they are filling and delicious for a weeknight meal. They are even better with the skin on and for the skin to get a little bit crispy.

This recipe for Baked Barbeque Leg Quarters is also quite delicious. You will want to add it to your collection of budget-friendly dinners.

With this simple recipe, your baked chicken will come out tender and juicy with crispy skin every time. The whole family will enjoy this easy weeknight dinner.

The side dishes you serve are another great reason to cook this simple chicken dinner. There are lots of side dish ideas to go with crispy Baked Chicken Leg Quarters and we have probably served them all at my house.

When I was growing up, my Mom always served two side dishes and some kind of bread with our weeknight meal. One of those was usually rice because my Dad loved rice so much!

Kitchen Tools Used

I do not use a sheet pan for baking chicken because the chicken with skin on will create pan drippings so you need a baking dish to contain all of the juice. A sheet pan with sides might allow the chicken juices to boil over into the oven.

Ingredients

• 4 Fresh Chicken Leg Quarters
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp Sage or Poultry Seasoning
• 1 Tbsp Paprika
• 1/2 stick Butter or margarine cut into small pieces

Variations

You can substitute chicken thighs, chicken drumsticks, or chicken breast quarters in this recipe. Keep the chicken skin on regardless of which cut of chicken you prefer. This delicious chicken dinner includes crispy skin.

Directions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350° and spray a large baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Step 2

Place the leg quarters into the prepared baking dish in a single layer. Sprinkle the leg quarters with Salt, Pepper, and either Sage or Poultry seasoning. Sprinkle heavily with Paprika last. Cut the butter into 8 small pieces so you have 2 pieces of butter for each leg quarter. Then dot the chicken with the butter.

The melted butter and paprika together will give the skin that crispy brown texture and flavor we love.  I learned the butter pat trick when I was a manager at a Meat and Two Restaurant years ago.

Step 3

Place the baking dish on the middle rack in the oven and bake covered for about 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and finish baking for about another 15 to 20 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165°. Removing the foil will allow the skin to become crispy.

Serve and enjoy!

How to get crispy skin on baked chicken

The trick to crispy skin is to dot the surface with small little pats of butter. I learned this trick from the cooks at a Southern home-cooking restaurant I once managed. Sprinkling paprika over the skin gives it a darker look when it comes out of the oven.

What to serve with baked chicken leg quarters

If you are looking to make a simple and easy dinner, make mashed potatoes and green beans on the side with oven-baked chicken quarters. More side dish ideas are below.

• Baked Sweet Potatoes
• Fresh Green Bean Salad with Feta
• Crockpot Macaroni-n-Cheese
• Roasted Brussel Sprouts
• Southern Potato Salad
• Homemade Mashed Potatoes

More Recipes Using chicken

Thank you for sharing!