Braised Chicken Legs

Name: Braised Chicken Legs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 100 min
Ingredients: 6-8 chicken drumsticks; 1 onion (sliced); 1 garlic head (cloves peeled and smashed); 1 Tablespoon olive oil; 1-2 Tablespoons lemon juice; 1/2 - 1 teaspoon paprika; 1-2 teaspoons chicken seasoning; salt (pepper); 1-2 sprigs fresh thyme (or rosemary)

38 comments
February 6, 2015

These Braised Chicken Legs are a simple, flavorful dinner that’s easy to prepare and perfect for busy weeknights. Tender, juicy chicken with minimal effort—this recipe is a family favorite!

This braised chicken legs recipe is one of those dishes that’s so easy, it almost feels like it’s not a recipe at all—yet the results are absolutely delicious. It’s become a go-to for our family, and I make it so often that I almost didn’t think to share it. But after posting a picture on Instagram and getting tons of requests for the recipe, I knew I had to pass it along!

What I love most about this dish is how effortless it is to prepare. It takes just minutes to throw everything together, and once it’s in the oven, you can forget about it. The chicken comes out perfectly tender, juicy, and full of flavor every time.

Here are a few reasons why this braised chicken is a dinner win:

Prep ahead: You can do all the prep the night before, or simply mix everything together and pop it in the oven when you’re ready.
No babysitting: Once it’s in the oven, it pretty much takes care of itself.
Versatile: Use whatever spices or herbs you have on hand—this recipe works with almost anything.
Flexible cooking time: You can bake it at pretty much any temperature, so it’s perfect for making alongside other dishes like potatoes, veggies, or rice.
Affordable: Chicken is budget-friendly and can easily be kept in the freezer for when you need it.

This recipe is perfect for busy days when you want something comforting and satisfying, without spending too much time in the kitchen. It’s a true weeknight winner!

Ingredients:

6-8 chicken drumsticks

1 onion, sliced

1 garlic head, cloves peeled and smashed

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1-2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 – 1 teaspoon paprika

1-2 teaspoons chicken seasoning

salt, ground black pepper, to taste

1-2 sprigs fresh thyme (or rosemary)

How To Make Braised Chicken Legs

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate while it’s marinating.

Seasoning the chicken is totally up to you. Instead of lemon juice, you can use lime juice, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, etc. Instead of the olive oil, use mayonnaise or yogurt. Use any combination of spices that you like – I like this combination of salt, pepper, paprika, orange peel and a chicken spice blend, which includes garlic, onion, sea salt, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, black pepper, fennel, coriander and bay leaf.

You can do this up to 24 hours in advance. If you don’t have time to marinate, that’s ok too, just proceed with the rest of the recipe, but you will get the best results if you do give the chicken some time for all the flavors to infuse into the chicken.

Preheat the oven to 350-400 degrees. It doesn’t have to be exact. You can cook it along with something else. Place the chicken with the onions, garlic and herbs into an 8×8 inch rimmed baking dish, or any other rimmed baking dish that will fit the chicken.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil or a cover and bake for about 45 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 45 minutes until the chicken is tender and the golden. The longer you cook it, the more tender it will become. You can broil it at the very end if you want the skin to be more golden.

You can use any deep, rimmed baking dish for this chicken, as long as it will fit in one layer. Here’s the picture I posted on Instagram and Facebook, where I used my red clay baking dish, which has a cover too.

34 weeks pregnant at the time of this picture, we checked off one more thing of the list of baby preparations – finding a pediatrician. After a long day of not feeling well and then having a meeting with the pediatrician, it was nice to come home to have dinner already waiting, and I didn’t spend more than 10 minutes on it.