Made with just five ingredients and no added sugar, it’s a wonderful choice for a simple weeknight dinner that the entire family will enjoy. I’ve been making this recipe often lately. We all love it, and it’s not too spicy - not even for the kids. The kids used to prefer my recipe for honey garlic chicken. I guess they’re growing up because now they seem to prefer this one.
Ingredients
Here’s an overview of what you’ll need to make this recipe. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below: These spicy drumsticks certainly fit the bill! The rub is very tasty, and the chicken emerges from the oven juicy and flavorful.
Chicken drumsticks: I prefer to leave the skin on - it’s so flavorful. But you can remove it if you wish. Olive oil: I love cooking with this delicious oil. But if you’d rather use an oil with a higher smoke point, you can use avocado oil instead. Melted butter or ghee should work too. Kosher salt and black pepper: If using fine salt, you should reduce the amount you use by half, or the dish could end up too salty. Spices: I keep things simple by using just two spices - chili powder and cayenne pepper. Optional garnish: Sometimes I chop some fresh parsley and sprinkle it on top of the chicken pieces after baking. I also like to lightly sprinkle them with red pepper flakes. Both of these additions are purely optional.
Variations
You can use melted butter or ghee instead of olive oil. I especially like ghee - I love its rich nutty flavor. You can add more spices. Spices that I tried and liked include smoked paprika and ground cumin. I reduce the chili powder to 1 teaspoon and add ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika and ½ teaspoon of cumin. You can top the finished dish with chopped cilantro.
Spicy Drumsticks Instructions
Expert Tip
Reader Review
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve this dish with sautéed spinach and roasted butternut squash. The chicken and the butternut squash can be roasted together in the same oven, which I find very convenient.
Make a quick rub with extra-virgin olive oil and yummy spices (and no sugar!). (Photos 1-2). Rub it all over the drumsticks. I use a pastry brush. (Photo 3). Then bake the chicken in the oven for about 40 minutes. That’s it! Dinner is ready! (Photos 4-6).
So check on them after 30 minutes and if they do seem to be getting too dark, loosely cover them with foil and keep baking.
“Thank you very much for this spicy drumsticks recipe! I made it for the first time today for a group picnic, and it was widely praised. Just the right amount of vivid spices to please adventurous tastebuds.
I especially liked that no sugar was used; It was disappointing to see that a commercial chicken rub I had sitting on the shelf contained sugar as a primary ingredient.
I made one small modification to your recipe since my local store did not have kosher salt. I used regular table salt but cut the recommended quantity in half.
The result was just right from a salt perspective; the cooked chicken had just a hint of salt, but not overpowering by any means.”
Storing Leftovers
More Chicken Recipes
Recipe Card
Or simply eat them cold! Spicy drumsticks are delicious right out of the fridge, especially if prepared without the skin. It’s no wonder cold chicken is the classic picnic food.
