This Honey Mustard Baked Chicken Drumsticks recipe is a perfect, effortless way to make baked chicken legs in the oven. With a magical 4 ingredient sauce, no marinating required, these chicken drumsticks are golden, sticky and everyone loves them!
Plus an optional side of buttery, crispy smashed potatoes for a drumsticks dinner made on one tray!
Sticky Baked Chicken Drumsticks recipe
This baked Chicken Drumsticks recipe is one of those gems that you’re going to want to keep in your back pocket. Here’s why you’re going to love it and make it over and over again:
Unbelievably easy – just spoon sauce over the chicken legs and bake;
Magical 5 ingredient Honey Mustard Sauce
They roast beautifully so they’re sticky and golden;
The flavour is universally pleasing. It’s not too sweet, not too salty, it’s finger lickin’ good!
Difference between chicken legs and drumsticks?
Chicken legs and drumsticks are the same thing. Everybody’s favourite part of Roast Chicken!
What you need for Honey Mustard baked chicken legs
Here’s all you need – chicken legs, plus 4 simple ingredients for the magical Honey Mustard Sauce:
Dijon mustard (or other plain mild mustard)
Honey
Garlic
Cornflour / cornstarch*
There are very few sauces in this world that taste so great with so few ingredients. And it coats the chicken legs so well, making them beautifully sticky!
* Without cornflour, the sauce is super watery because of all the chicken juices.
How to make baked chicken legs
Pop the chicken legs on a tray, spoon over sauce and bake!
In this recipe, I’ve completed the meal with a side of crispy smashed potatoes made on the same tray. In order to do this, I’ve created a “barrier” between the chicken and potatoes using foil. This makes for easier cleaning up and stops the chicken juices leaking over to the potatoes which makes them soggy instead of crispy!
To prepare the potatoes quickly, I just microwave them. Then place on the tray, squish, drizzle with butter or oil. Together, the potatoes and chicken legs 50 to 60 minutes to bake to perfection – crispy potatoes and sticky chicken legs with tender flesh.
How long does it take to cook drumsticks in the oven?
Sticky drumsticks like this take 50 minutes to cook in the oven at 180°C/350F. This makes them caramelised on the outside with tender flesh.
Some recipes will say to bake them at a higher temperature (220°C/425F) for around 30 minutes. While they will cook through in this time, I find that the flesh is a bit too chewy for my taste.
Sticky drumsticks AND crispy potatoes!
And here’s how they come out – sticky and saucy drumsticks on one side, and crispy potatoes on the other side!
One tray winner winner chicken dinner!
Sticky baked chicken drumsticks;
Honey Mustard Sauce; AND
crispy smashed potatoes.
Throw on a side of steamed veggies of choice and dinner is done.
Active effort time: just over 10 minutes.
Marinating time: Zero
Deliciousness rating: Well, let’s put it this way. There’s a reason why there’s only 7 drumsticks in the photo above when the recipe calls for 8…. Honestly, I have the self control of a child. It’s a disgrace. ?
– Nagi x
Watch how to make it
More terrific baked chicken drumstick recipes
Greek Chicken (make this with drumsticks instead of thighs)
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Honey Mustard Baked Chicken Drumsticks
Ingredients
Smashed Potatoes (optional):
- 4 x 150g/5oz potatoes (Note 1)
- 2 tbsp / 30 g olive oil or melted butter
Chicken:
- 8 chicken legs (about 1 kg / 2 lb) (Note 2)
- 2 tsp olive oil
Sauce:
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard (Note 3)
- 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard (or use more Dijon)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1 tsp cornflour/cornstarch (Note 4)
- Pinch of salt and pepper
For serving (optional):
- Fresh thyme leaves or chopped parsley
- Steamed broccolini
Instructions
Smashed Potatoes option:
- Microwave potatoes for 10 minutes on high or until cooked. (Note 5)
- Place on one side of tray. Squish using potato masher (Note 6) to about 1.7cm / 2/3″ thickness. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- If making smashed potatoes, fold up the edges of the foil the drumsticks are on
Sticky Baked Drumsticks:
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Mix Sauce ingredients together with a good pinch of salt and pepper.
- Line tray with foil, then top with parchment paper.
- Place drumsticks on paper. If making smashed potatoes, fold up the edges of the foil so the sauce won’t leak into the potatoes (doesn’t need to be high – even 1cm / 2/5″ is enough, video useful).
- Spoon Sauce over drumsticks. Drizzle chicken with olive oil.
Baking
- Bake for 30 minutes. Turn drumsticks (not potatoes), spoon juices over drumsticks.
- Bake for a further 20 minutes, turn, spoon over juices. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes until sauce reduces and the drumsticks are golden and sticky.
- Remove from oven. Squidge the drumsticks around in what should now be a syrupy sauce. (Note 7) Serve drumsticks with sauce, with crispy smashed potatoes and steamed broccolini on the side. Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves if using.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published 25 April 2018. Post and recipe tidied up and updated for housekeeping matters. No change to recipe ingredients.
Life of Dozer
This recipe was originally published on ANZAC Day in Australia, on 25 April 2018. It’s a day when we commemorate the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (“ANZACs”) who served and sacrificed for our country in the first world war.
Dozer wears an Anzac rosemary sprig on his collar for (most of) the day and we make a donation to the ANZAC Appeal. A very small gesture. #LestWeForget?
Made these tonight and they were a hit! Followed recipe exactly…only thing I would do differently is maybe use baby potatos! Very easy and no fancy ingredients…had everything in the pantry already. Will be be making again for sure!
Hey Nagi. Love this recipe! I’ve made it ao many times with drumsticks (and the occasional thighs) – I had some wings knocking around in the freezer, how would you go about adjusting this recipe for wings? Thanks!
I know I’m not the chef here but for wings I think it would be the same except for maybe cooking time. But I love the idea of using wings!!
Delicious and easy to prepare .
Family loved it . Thanks for another great recipe!
Simple recipe and it taste very yummy. Thanks for an awesome recipe.
As easy as promised! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. Can’t wait to try more of your other recipes 🙂
Yuuuuummm.
I finally got to make this tonight and it was totally delicious, and deliciously easy.
So budget friendly too. Extra large drumsticks were on special for $1 each, so with snow peas, carrots & broccoli from the garden, dinner for 4 cost under $5!! Got to love that.
With my family at home all the time and constantly hungry, this recipe helps keep ready food in the fridge. I made 10 drumsticks. Once cool, I cut the meat off the bone. My husband uses it for sandwiches, I throw it on salad, and my teenager just eats it right from the container. I do score the chicken skin so that it shrinks up.
I have made this dish a couple of times and our entire family LOVES it. Having a son who has severe allergies to egg and dairy – means a lot of recipes I need to adapt – but this one – is perfect. Thanks Nagi for such an amazing dinner!
love hearing about dozer! i have a pampered pup too named hanna!
totally loved the recipe for these chicken legs as did the family! had a little trouble smashing the potatoes they wanted to stick to the masher but they still turned out fabalous! thank you so much! love your recipes! only recipe site i go on now!
I have always had excellent recipes from your site and this one was one of the best (though I only did the chicken in sauce part.) Your recipes are just the best!
We all have sweet tooths (is that a word) here so I added 50% extra honey. I also cooked the chicken in a flat oven proof dish. As per the recipe, the chicken was cooked after the 30 + 20 minute periods and I removed it from the dish. I wanted a thicker, darker sauce than what was left in the dish to brush over the chicken, so I added 1 tablespoon of dark soy into the sauce and returned it to the oven for 15 minutes. It came out lovely rich and thick to coat the legs in.
One interesting thing (to me anyway) is the sauce at the end definitely had the flavour of a rich Malaysian satay sauce (though no peanuts had been anywhere near it.) I am now keen to make the dish again only this time when I add the dark soy I will also add two tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter as well. It may be a disaster (many of my experiments are) but it may also be the rich satay sauce I have been looking for.
Just saw you have a satay recipe on your site. Will give that a try first.
You’re a lifesaver with this recipe. It’s Saturday and I like to rest a bit too but Mum’s jobs are never 9-5. I bought drumsticks yesterday and was thinking about something different and easy and came upon your recipe. It’s in the oven as I’m writing this. So easy and quick! So a big thank you. I had everything except the seeded mustard but will get some for next time. Love you big time for this!
Prepped and ready to cook for tonight. Cleaning up and realized I forgot the corn flour! Hopefully tastes good anyway. First time commenting but regularly cook ur recipes. Never made something that we didn’t like.
Hi Alexandra, It will be ok, the sauce might just be a little thin.
So good! Another winner 🙂
Made tonight, absolutely delicious. thank you for the amazing recipes Nagi xxxx
Made this two nights ago! So incredibly fast, simple and delicious. I’ve never cooked potatoes like that (used royal blue) and they were INCREDIBLE! Thanks Nagi!
No wonder this got 5/5 stars!
Everyone loved it!
Amazingly tasty, easy to make, highly recommend.
So when my fussy 9 year old says to me, “can you make this again?” I know I’m on a winner. Thanks, Nagi and Dozer x
Winner winner chicken dinner Chris!! N x
Yet another super delicious meal with minimal effort. The “gravy” was sooo good. Hubby is raving about it and the kids loved it. Thanks again Nagi, you’re recipes never fail to impress.
Awesome Lou – sounds like you nailed it!! N x
Really nice meal thank you great for weeknights