12 Dinners To Make With Chicken Drumsticks

Not sure what to do with chicken drumsticks? Get inspiration from these 12 recipes to grill, bake, and fry these quick-cooking, budget-friendly cuts of chicken.

By
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves is a food and beverage writer.
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Published January 18, 2023
Robin Shreeves
Three different meals made with chicken drumsticks

Simply Recipes

Drumsticks are super flavorful, inexpensive, and quick to cook up. They're also incredibly versatile. You can fry, bake, broil, or grill them, and they'll pair with so many different side dishes. They're the ideal cut of chicken to keep on hand to whip up a weeknight dinner.

Make recipes using drumsticks only, or mix them with thighs and breasts so everyone gets to have their favorite piece. You're sure to find inspiration in these 12 recipes for juicy, full-of-flavor chicken drumsticks.

  • Chicken Paprikash

    chicken paprikash
    Elise Bauer

    This uncomplicated and unpretentious Hungarian recipe is a special dish. Chicken, onions, butter, stock, paprika, salt, and sour cream are the basis to make chicken in a sauce that's so good, you'll want to drink it. The recipe calls for drumsticks and thighs, but you can use all drumsticks if you prefer. Serve it over mashed potatoes, rice, potato gnocchi, or spaetzle.

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  • Breaded and Baked Chicken Drumsticks

    Breaded and Baked Chicken Drumsticks
    Cambrea Bakes

    Mayo and Dijon mustard hold the breading onto these drumsticks that you bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Pair this chicken with mac and cheese and green beans to please the whole family.

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  • Easy BBQ Chicken Drumsticks in the Oven

    baked bbq chicken in the oven
    Elizabeth Stark

    Make bbq chicken in the oven if it's too cold to light up the grill or if you don't have a grill. It gets a quick sear under the broiler to brown the skin, and then a longer roast in the oven until the chicken is completely tender. Use store bought or homemade bbq sauce.

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  • Grilled Dukkah-Crusted Chicken with Lemon Hummus

    Dukkah grilled chicken
    Sally Vargas

    Dukkah is an Egyptian blend of seasonings that you can create from the spices on your spice rack or buy premade. When sprinkled on chicken drumsticks, or whole chicken legs, that you marinate in a lime vinaigrette, the spices become part of a simple but flavorful way to prepare chicken for grilling.

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    Continue to 5 of 12 below.

  • Classic Baked Chicken

    Best Baked Chicken Recipe chicken on white plate with carrots and herbs
    Sally Vargas

    All you need for this classic way of preparing chicken is the chicken, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Prepare an entire cut up chicken this way or just use a package of chicken drumsticks for the entire recipe—the quickest way to get your chicken dinner on the table.

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  • Sheet Pan Chicken with Asparagus and Potatoes

    sheet pan chicken, potatoes and asparagus

    Cook chicken, asparagus, and potatoes all on one sheet pan for a simple, comforting dinner. The recipe calls for chicken breasts and legs, but you can use all drumsticks for this recipe. Just reduce the baking time, making sure the temperature of the drumsticks reaches 165°F.

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  • Chicken Drumsticks, Ethiopian-Style

    Chicken Drumsticks, Ethiopian-Style
    Elise Bauer

    Rub drumsticks with berbere, a hot and earthy spice blend used in Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine. You can buy the blend premade or create your own—the spices needed to make it are in the recipe. Simply coat the chicken legs in oil or butter, sprinkle with salt, rub with the spice mix, wrap in foil, and bake. It's a simple way of switching up the way you bake chicken.

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  • Air Fryer Fried Chicken

    Air Fryer Fried Chicken on a platter

    Crispy and juicy fried chicken from the air fryer? Try it! Drench chicken pieces, including drumsticks, in buttermilk then coat them in flour and spices. Then pop in the air fryer and let it do its thing.

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    Continue to 9 of 12 below.

  • Buttermilk Fried Chicken

    Side view of fried chicken breast stacked on a platter.
    Alison Bickel

    If you'd rather fry your chicken the original way, this recipe creates crispy fried chicken that will wow everyone around the table. Marinate the chicken in buttermilk, sliced onion, herbs, paprika, and cayenne for at least 8 hours, coat in flour and spices, then fry it in batches on the stovetop.

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  • Guyanese Chicken Curry

    Guyanese Chicken Curry in a Bowl with Rice

    Simply Recipes / Alica Ramkirpal-Senhouse

    This dish has its roots in Indian cooking and is a contribution to Guyanese cuisine by the Indian population of Guyana. Seasoned with Caribbean green seasoning combined with a spice blend of warm garam masala and curry powder, there's layer upon layer of flavor in these drumsticks and thighs.

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  • Spicy Chicken Drumsticks

    Spicy Caribbean jerk chicken drumsticks
    Elise Bauer

    Rub chicken drumsticks with oil and Caribbean jerk spices and broil. It's that simple to make flavorful chicken that cooks up quickly. Serve with a side of Jamaican rice and peas.

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  • Grilled Chicken with South Carolina-Style BBQ Sauce

    South Carolina bbq sauce grilled chicken drumsticks
    Elizabeth Stark

    South Carolina bbq sauce is a zesty, mustard-based sauce with a hint of sweetness and spice. Generously coat drumsticks and thighs—or just drumsticks—then grill until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches at least 175°F.

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