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Oven baked BBQ drumsticks are great for dinner at any time of the week. Skip the grill and make these oven baked barbecue chicken in your kitchen complete with homemade barbecue sauce.

I think most people would agree that dinner is the hardest meal to plan when you’re cooking healthy dinners. Breakfast tends to be easy going. For lunch most people don’t mind making an easy salad topped with their favorite protein. But dinner time kind be a little hectic, especially when you’re trying to cook and eat more healthfully. One of my tried and true recipes to cook on busy weekdays is oven baked BBQ chicken. It so easy to make and is an instant hit for a healthy family dinner.

Are Oven Baked BBQ Chicken Drumsticks Healthy?

While this recipe doesn’t contain all clean ingredients, it’s a good option for a healthier dinner. We all know that you can buy any bottled barbecue in the store. In this recipe you make the barbecue sauce yourself using ketchup, brown sugar, water and apple cider vinegar. When using ketchup, be mindful of the ingredients and how much sugar is added.

Can I Use Store Bought BBQ Sauce Instead of Making My Own?

If you’re looking to save time, you can use store bought BBQ sauce. It just makes the sugar harder to track, but it’s up to you. This recipe does contain one tablespoon of brown sugar for 4 servings of chicken. Generally speaking, I think you’re good place here. If you’ll be using store bought barbecue sauce, skip the part of the recipe where you mix the water, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Using store bought barbecue sauce will only save you about 5 minutes.

Ingredients Needed to Make BBQ Drumsticks

2 lbs (6-8 drumsticks) Chicken drumsticks *Did you know that you can buy organic drumsticks online? Use this link to buy and skip the store and get them shipped frozen solid to your door instead

1/2 tsp salt

3 pinches black pepper (fresh cracked black pepper preferred)

1 tsp paprika

5 tbsp ketchup

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp brown sugar

water

Worcestershire sauce

unsalted butter

How to Make BBQ Drumsticks in the Oven

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Add salt, pepper and paprika.

Add ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, water, sugar and paprika. Cook for about 2 minutes until sugar dissolves.

Drizzle the homemade bbq sauce over the legs and pour any remaining into the baking dish.

Dot the chicken with dots of cold butter.

Baked covered with foil.

Remove the foil when half way cooked and continue to cook uncovered until brown.

How Long to Bake Drumsticks at 375?

Bake drumsticks at 375 for between 50 and 60 minutes depending on the size of the drumsticks. For the first 30 minutes, bake with foil. Then remove the foil, turn the chicken and cook for an extra 15 minutes. For color I like cooking the chicken for an extra 5 minutes under the broiler at high.

What to Eat with Oven Baked BBQ Drumsticks

There are so many delicious healthy side dishes that go well with oven baked barbecue chicken. That’s what makes it such a great dinner idea for busy weekdays. Here are just a few ideas:

Orange Rosemary Sweet Potatoes

Easy Quinoa Mango Salad

Cilantro Cauliflower Rice

Dijon Potato Salad

Picnic Potato Salad with Bacon

Roasted Carrots and Green Beans

Sweet Potato Stuffing With Raisins

Variations to Oven Baked BBQ Drumsticks

If you want to try a variation to this oven baked BBQ drumsticks, try using wild honey instead of sugar. You can also try adding some molasses or fruit juice like apple juice. Herbs like thyme and rosemary also go really well with chicken.

How long does cooked barbecue chicken last in the fridge?

If you have any leftovers oven barbecue chicken let it cool completely before storing in glass covered containers in the fridge. Once properly sealed, cooked chicken can last in the refrigerator anywhere between 3 to 5 days.

What to do make with leftover baked barbecue chicken?

You can reheat baked barbecue chicken and eat with the same healthy sides you did for dinner. But, if you’re looking for something different to do with your chicken leftovers, remove the chicken from the bones and chop them up. Use the chopped baked barbecue chicken in homemade salads, sandwiches, tacos and soups. You can even use the meat atop deviled eggs and serve with some additional barbecue sauce.

Tools Needed

basting brush

pepper mill

glass pans

Yield: 8

Oven Baked BBQ Drumsticks

An easy recipe for oven baked bbq chicken that your whole family will enjoy.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken drumsticks (about 8 pieces)
1/2 tsp salt
3 pinched ground black pepper
5 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp butter (diced)

Instructions

Set the oven to 375 degrees.
Rinse and pat the drumsticks dry.
Season both sides with salt, pepper, and paprika. Other spices can be used if desired.
In saucepan, add ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, water, sugar and paprika on medium low heat. Stir and heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. This will take just a few minutes.
Drizzle the sauce over the drumsticks and our any remaining sauce into the baking dish.
Dot pieces of butter on top of the chicken drumsticks.
Cover the baking dish with foil and place in a preheated oven.
Bake for 30 minutes before removing foil.
Remove foil, turn and bake for 15 minutes more on the other side.
Cook for an additional 5 minutes under the high broiler setting to get some more color.
Keep an eye on the broiler so that you don't burn the chicken and they don't become too dry.
Serve the bb chicken drumsticks hot with any remaining bbq sauce and fresh herbs as desired.