Baked Chicken Drumsticks with Veggies - a sheet pan meal [gluten free]

Need a quick and easy dinner? These chicken drumsticks are baked in the oven with loads of veggies for a hands-off, weeknight friendly meal the whole family will love. This is a sheet pan dinner you don't want to miss!

Want to make it even easier? Try this Instant Pot Chicken Stew - similar taste, but so easy to make in your instant pot.

Before I met my boyfriend making dinner on a weekday was a hard job. I had an 8-5  (or more) job, I liked to work out after work, and well then I also wanted to eat something healthy & delicious. Not one to settle for quick & boring, as you know.

These days I’m lucky enough to come home to a cooked dinner most days after my workout, but I still love a good quick and easy dinner that can cook itself while your in the shower getting rid off that workout “glow”.

This is one of those. This chicken is baked in the oven with potatoes, loads of vegetables and mushrooms. Simply (yet deliciously) seasoned with garlic and common spices it’s topped with butter to create a chicken-and-veggies-and-sauce dinner all in one pan. It’s a gluten free dinner that’s delicious eaten as it is or served with a side of rice. For an extra treat – add some bread to mop up all that delicious sauce with.

Best of all? It’s one of those dishes that’s even better the day after, so make sure you have enough to bring along for lunch. You will not be sorry!

Looking for some other easy, delicious, weeknight recipes that cook themselves? Check out this easy baked tortellini casserole, this roasted beet salad, the weeknight staple oven baked lemon pepper salmon, baked lamb chops with veggies, baked cod in foil or fish & broccoli in lemon butter caper sauce.

Why this recipe works

• It cooks itself
• You can prep it the night before, cover it, stick it all in the fridge, and then put in the oven when you get home from work.
• Baking chicken with bones adds so much more flavor than baking boneless pieces like chicken breasts, and also runs less risk of ending up dry.
• Cutting into the chicken before baking makes it cook quicker
• Dried spices and garlic make for a simple yet delicious seasoning for the chicken…
• …as well as an amazing sauce perfect for eating with rice or bread.
• Adding butter on top ensures the chicken and veggies won’t burn or dry out and also adds a delicious dimension to the sauce.

How to make baked chicken drumsticks with veggies

This deliciously simple meal starts with some prepping and chopping, but you can do it the night before if you know you're gonna be in a rush at dinner time.

To prep for this recipe you need to do the following:

• Slice the red onion as thin as possible
• Peel the garlic and chop it roughly
• Dice the tomatoes
• Slice the zucchini and the mushrooms 0.5 cm/ ¼'' thick
• Slice the potatoes thin
• Chop the red bell pepper

You also need to bring out an oven tray with high edges*, olive oil, butter, salt, black pepper, paprika powder and cumin powder. And don't forget your chicken drumsticks, as well as to start your oven if cooking them directly. Set it for 200 C/400 F or, if you have the time to have it cook for longer, set it a bit lower, but remember they will need more time in there.

Then start by slicing into every drumstick with a sharp knife, making two gashes - one on either side - all the way through to the bone. This will help the chicken cook faster.

Place the drumsticks in the bottom of a deep oven tray. No need to butter or oil it before, and then add chopped garlic and sliced red onion.

Pour over the olive oil and the spices - salt, black pepper, cumin powder and paprika powder. Then get your hands in there and mix it all together, massaging the chicken so you get all the spices and flavors in there.

Then add the potatoes, red bell pepper, zucchini and mushrooms.

Top with tomatoes, and then get in there and mix it all again. Once well mixed, top with pieces of butter.

Now, if you want to prep this ahead of time - this is as far as you go. Cover with some plastic or foil and place in the oven until dinner time comes around.

If not, make sure your oven is hot and then place it all in the middle of the oven. Bake for 40 minutes, mixing once halfway through. After 40 minutes, check to see that the chicken is cooked through (either by using a kitchen thermometer to make sure it's reached 180 F/ 82 C at the bone or by cutting into it and making sure the juices run clear). If not, leave it to cook for a few more minutes before checking again. If done, bring out and serve!

Expert tips

1. Prep it the night before if you know you’re gonna be short on time. Then cover it, place it in the fridge, and cook it when you get home the next day. The veggies might look a bit boring when you bring them out from the fridge but the taste won’t be impacted at all. Quite the opposite, actually.
2. Switch up the veggies as you like for example by using another color bell pepper, another type of mushroom, or adding egg plant. This is one of those dishes where you can use whatever you have in the fridge – so don’t be scared, make it your own! If the flavor combo wasn’t just right for you this time – then just try something different next time around.
3. Switch up the cut of chicken and use whatever you can easily get your hands on. For the best taste and minimized risk for dryness use a cut with bone, like drumsticks, whole chicken legs or chicken wings. Remember that depending on the cut the cook time may vary.
4. Remember to wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw chicken - you really want to get your hands in there to get as much flavor as possible in the chicken, but you really need to make sure you clean your hands well after to avoid ingesting any bacteria.
5. Make sure the chicken is cooked through by using a kitchen thermometer or slicing into one of the drumsticks and making sure the liquid runs clear and the meat is cooked through to the bone.
6. If you have the time – lower the temperature and cook it a bit longer. Longer cook, more taste.

Frequently asked questions

Are these baked chicken drumsticks healthy?

Yes! This is all chicken and veggies which is one of the healthiest dishes you can have, in my book. But of course, healthy can vary depending on your dietary needs – so make sure to check the ingredients before deciding if this lives up to your notion of healthy.

If you want to lower the fat content – just don’t add a lot of the sauce to your plate. That’s where most of the olive oil and butter goes.

What temperature should drumsticks be?

Drumsticks should be baked to 180 F/82 C at the bone.

Recipe

Baked Chicken Drumsticks with Veggies - a sheet pan meal

5 from 7 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: European

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 523kcal

Prep time: 10 minutes mins

Cook time: 40 minutes mins

Total time: 50 minutes minutes

Author: Emmeline Kemperyd

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• ▢ 8 chicken drumsticks
• ▢ 4 garlic cloves peeled and roughly chopped
• ▢ 1 red onion sliced thin
• ▢ 3 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon paprika powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 4 potatoes sliced thin
• ▢ 1 red bell pepper chopped
• ▢ 1 large zucchini sliced 0.5 cm / ¼ inch thick
• ▢ 6 white button mushrooms sliced 0.5 cm / ¼ inch thick
• ▢ 5 tomatoes diced
• ▢ 3 tablespoon butter in pieces

Instructions

• Set the oven for 400°F (200°C) and bring out a deep oven tray.
• Cut two slices in each drumstick, all the way through to the bone. Then place them in the oven tray. Follow with the chopped garlic and sliced onion. Pour over the olive oil and season with salt, black pepper, paprika powder and cumin powder. Then mix everything well.
  8 chicken drumsticks, 4 garlic cloves, 1 red onion, 3 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon paprika powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
• Add all the vegetables - zucchini, potatoes, mushrooms, bell pepper and tomatoes. Mix well, then top with pieces of butter.
  4 potatoes, 1 red bell pepper, 1 large zucchini, 6 white button mushrooms, 5 tomatoes, 3 tablespoon butter
• Place in the middle of the oven and cook for 40 minutes, mixing once halfway.
• After 40 minutes, check to see that the chicken is cooked through. If not, leave in the oven for a few more minutes and then check again.
• When the chicken is done, bring it out from the oven. Serve immediately as it is or with a side of bread or rice.

Equipment (may contain affiliate links)

• ▢
  Non-stick oven pan*
• ▢
  Kitchen knife*
• ▢
  Chopping board*
• ▢
  Pairing knife*

Video

Notes

Nutritional content is approximate and only to be used as an indication. For this recipe it assumes half of the butter and the oil are consumed.

Expert tips

1. Prep it the night before if you know you’re gonna be short on time. Then cover it, place it in the fridge, and cook it when you get home the next day. The veggies might look a bit boring when you bring them out from the fridge but the taste won’t be impacted at all. Quite the opposite, actually.
2. Switch up the veggies as you like for example by using another color bell pepper, another type of mushroom, or adding egg plant. This is one of those dishes where you can use whatever you have in the fridge – so don’t be scared, make it your own! If the flavor combo wasn’t just right for you this time – then just try something different next time around.
3. Switch up the cut of chicken and use whatever you can easily get your hands on. For the best taste and minimized risk for dryness use a cut with bone, like drumsticks, whole chicken legs or chicken wings. Remember that depending on the cut the cook time may vary.
4. Remember to wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw chicken - you really want to get your hands in there to get as much flavor as possible in the chicken, but you really need to make sure you clean your hands well after to avoid ingesting any bacteria.
5. Make sure the chicken is cooked through by using a kitchen thermometer or slicing into one of the drumsticks and making sure the liquid runs clear and the meat is cooked through to the bone.
6. If you have the time – lower the temperature and cook it a bit longer. Longer cook, more taste.

Frequently asked questions

Are these baked chicken drumsticks healthy?

Yes! This is all chicken and veggies which is one of the healthiest dishes you can have, in my book. But of course, healthy can vary depending on your dietary needs – so make sure to check the ingredients before deciding if this lives up to your notion of healthy.

If you want to lower the fat content – just don’t add a lot of the sauce to your plate. That’s where most of the olive oil and butter goes.

What temperature should drumsticks be?

Drumsticks should be baked to 180 F/82 C at the bone.

Nutrition

Calories: 523kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 151mg | Sodium: 816mg | Potassium: 1969mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 3373IU | Vitamin C: 96mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 10mg

Nutritional information is approximate and automatically calculated, and should only be viewed as an indication.

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