Serve up some crispy baked chicken quarters with this tasty recipe. A perfect dinner main dish to complement any side.
Recipe: $3.57 | Per Serving: $0.89 | Servings: 4
We love eating chicken quarters because they're cheap, filling, and full of delicious dark meat chicken. While we enjoy all cuts of chicken, we always find some chicken leg quarters on the menu.
Chicken quarters are cuts of chicken that include both the thighs as well as the legs. Thighs are my favorite and the kids love the drumsticks, so quarters are perfect for giving everybody what they like best.
Don't forget to check out my Instant Pot Chicken Quarters for another great option to serve up your favorite dark meat.
Jump to:
🍯 Why This Recipe Works
- The skin is crispy. While they may not be as crispy as if we had made Air Fryer Chicken Leg Quarters, cooking them in the oven is perfect for my family of 4 because we can cook all of the quarters at once.
- Simple ingredients. We don't need anything too fancy or expensive, in fact, we're seasoning our chicken with basic pantry staple ingredients like salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. You probably have them on hand already.
- It's really frugal! Chicken quarters are one of the cheapest cuts of meat you can buy from a chicken. I often find them for less than $1 per pound at stores like Aldi and Walmart. That's a lot of meat for your money! I love adding them to our Monthly Meal Plans. Plus you can Save Money by Stretching Meat, so leftovers are always great too.
🥘 Ingredients
Ingredient Notes:
Chicken leg quarters- You will need 4 chicken quarters of roughly the same size.
For specific ingredients and measurements, please see the recipe card below.
🧾 Substitutions
Italian Seasoning: I like to use Italian seasoning in my recipes because it contains a blend of different seasonings like rosemary, thyme, oregano, etc. You can use a homemade blend or just use oregano in its place if you don't have Italian seasoning on hand.
Paprika: Use regular paprika or smoked paprika for this recipe and it's sure to turn out delicious either way. Smoked paprika adds a nice depth of flavor that works really well here.
📖 Variations
BBQ! If desired, after the chicken has been fully cooked, you can brush some of your favorite barbecue sauce (or Homemade Barbecue Sauce) over the top of these chicken leg quarters and return to the oven.
Broil on high for 2-3 minutes or until you think it looks done. Be careful and keep a close eye on them as they may burn easily under the extreme heat.
🔪 Instructions for Crispy Baked Chicken Quarters
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Step 2: Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.
Step 3: In a small bowl, add your seasonings.
Step 4: Mix well to combine.
Step 5: Place your chicken quarters on the baking sheet. Pat them dry with a clean paper towel. This helps to crisp up the skin as they bake.
Step 6: Brush the skin of the legs with olive oil until well coated.
Step 7: Sprinkle your seasoning over the chicken and then rub well to evenly coat all sides of the meat.
Step 8: Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
Step 9: Let the chicken cool for about 5 minutes before serving. Be careful as they will be hot.
🍴 Recipe Tips
- The cooking time for chicken quarters varies based on factors like their size and temperature, as well as whether the air fryer was preheated.
- Ensure chicken cuts are uniform in size for even cooking.
- Avoid cooking frozen chicken; if present, expect to extend cooking time slightly due to ice crystals.
- Chicken is properly cooked when an instant-read thermometer 165 degrees F.
🍳 Reheating
Air Fryer Reheating: To reheat leftovers, place them in the air fryer and cook at 350°F for approximately 4-5 minutes until warmed through.
Microwave Reheating: Alternatively, place a thigh on a microwave-safe plate and heat for 2 minutes in the microwave for quick reheating. Adjust timing as needed based on the microwave's power.
🥗 Side Dishes
This recipe pairs wonderfully with just about any side dish recipe! Recipes like these Delicious Summer Squash Recipes and Instant Pot Steamed Broccoli all pair wonderfully with this recipe. Our favorite side dishes though are Air Fryer Canned Biscuits and The Best Canned Green Bean Recipe.
👩🏻🍳 Storage
You can keep your cooked chicken stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days if you do not plan to eat it immediately.
💭 Recipe FAQs
Your chicken should be cooked to 165 degrees F, but when in doubt, you can cook your dark meat to 170 degrees F.
I get this question from my kids A LOT but it's NOT blood! Commercially processed chickens have blood drained before being cut, so there's almost no chance of this. The pink discoloration is mostly water and a protein called myoglobin which carries oxygen through the muscles.
Purple discoloration in your chicken is a result of myoglobin and purple marrow in the bones. These colors don't really fade as the meat is cooked, and if your chicken reaches 165F, it's perfectly fine to eat!
The legs and thighs of a chicken are considered dark meat; since the chicken quarters are both thigh and legs, this means that this bird cut is all dark meat.
At 400F it takes about 40-60 minutes depending on the size of the chicken quarters and if they were partially frozen or fully thawed when they went into the oven.
❤️ More Delicious Chicken Recipes
If you tried these crispy baked chicken quarters, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your feedback in the 📝 comments section below. I would truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Crispy Baked Chicken Quarters
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning ($0.08)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder ($0.08)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder ($0.08)
- ½ teaspoon paprika ($0.04)
- ½ teaspoon salt ($0.01)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper ($0.02)
- 4 chicken leg quarters ($2.84)
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil ($0.42)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.
- In a small bowl, add your seasonings.
- Mix well to combine.
- Place your chicken quarters on the baking sheet. Pat them dry with a clean paper towel. This helps to crisp up the skin as they bake.
- Brush the skin of the legs with olive oil until well coated.
- Sprinkle your seasoning over the chicken and then rub well to evenly coat all sides of the meat.
- Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
- Let the chicken cool for about 5 minutes before serving. Be careful as they will be hot.
Comments
No Comments