Baked Lemon Pepper Chicken Drumsticks

Lemon Pepper Chicken Drumsticks - Crispy drumsticks seasoned with homemade lemon pepper seasoning tossed in a tangy buttery sauce.

My son loves this for dinner! Whenever I ask him what he wants to eat for dinner, his answer is chicken drumsticks. Well, that and pancakes LOL.

This is an easy recipe using only a handful of ingredients. It has two parts: cooking the chicken in the oven or air fryer—you choose! And tossing it in a simple buttery sauce.

If you make more than 1 pound of chicken drumsticks, I suggest baking it. But I like to air fry anything under that. It's not only faster, but it doesn't heat up the kitchen.

As the name suggests, we will use lemon and pepper. You can also use store-bought lemon pepper seasoning, which is nothing but dehydrated lemon zest and black pepper.

Ingredients for Lemon Pepper Chicken Drumsticks

Here are the simple ingredients you need to make this delicious recipe

See the recipe card for quantities.

Chicken Drumsticks

I have used organic, free range, air-chilled chicken drumsticks with skin.I personally do not like skin, and my husband and son won't eat chicken without it. So it's quite personal and you can choose.

I usually leave it on but I remove it while eating.Keeping the skin while cooking, keeps the chicken tender.

This recipe will work on other cuts of chicken too but the cooking time will change according the the size. I have also used the same marinade to make lamb chops in the past and they taste great too.

Lemon Pepper

Lemon pepper is a condiment you get in most US grocery stores.You can use it or if you are like me and already have an overstocked situation, just use lemon and pepper.

The seasoning is nothing but dehydrated lemon zest, salt, and black pepper. But if buying the bottled seasoning makes your life easier, I would totally recommend it! Look for a brand that has the least amount of unpronounceable names in the ingredients.

Garlic Powder Vs Fresh Garlic

I have used both in this recipe. I always reach for garlic powder when I am short on time and patience. I find garlic powder stronger and sticks to the meat better, so I use it in the marinade.

The minced fresh garlic gives the sauce a bit more body.

How to Make Lemon Pepper Drumsticks

There are 3 steps in this recipe. The prep, cooking- in air fryer or oven and the sauce.

Technically, the sauce could be skipped if you are trying to lose weight and save calories. But I highly recommend making it.

Step 1: Prep and Marination.

In a bowl, take your drumsticks.

Add lemon, baking powder, salt, thyme, garlic powder, paprika, lemon juice, and baking powder.Baking powder is a nifty trick for making chicken crispier, not only in this recipe but also while making chicken wings.

While I love cooking chicken in wet marinades, like this chicken tikka, I have found a new love for dry marinades, especially when I want a crispy finish.

Step 2: Air fry or Bake

Always preheat your oven like you pre heat a skillet.A cold oven, will dry out your chicken and the end result will look shriveled and not so appetising.

So just switch your oven or air fryer , set it to the temperature you want, let it run for 5-10 minutes. Bigger ovens will take longer to come up to the temperature than smaller ovens and air fryer.

If baking, use a wired tray, which will make the chicken crisp instead of soft. These are especially great when cooking for more people.

If making in the air fryer, stay away from those parchment liners. They will make the chicken soggy and completely destroy the reason for using air fryer which is air flow.

Step 3: Sauce

The sauce is a simple microwave sauce. It's basically seasoned melted butter but its so so so good!

The only thing you need to worry about is tasting it. It needs a little adjustment because you want it just right.Not too tangy and not too salty.

Toss the drumsticks in the sauce and serve with your favorite vegetable or a salad like this apple cranberry slaw. I like it with steamed broccoli when I am feeling healthy and crispy sweet potatoes wedges or my shortcut instant pot mashed potatoes when I am feeling indulgent.A new side dish that we have been loving and making very often is air fryer charred broccolini.Do give it a try!

Storage

If you are not eating the drumsticks in a couple of hours, leftover chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.Really depends on your refrigerator, though my limit is usually 1 week.

Related

I love spicy food. Infact, there is a delicious indian pepper chicken gravy dish that we love making on repeat.It has similar notes but it's got a gravy that's lipsmacking and goes wonderfully with steamed rice.

Here are some more chicken recipes that you might like.

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