BBQ Chicken Legs Recipe

Oven baked chicken drumsticks in homemade bbq sauce makes the perfect finger food dish for a summer party.

It’s hot in sunny in California and because of the quarantine the only fun we can have is hang out in our inflatable pool in our backyard. Kids don’t want to sit around the table and eat their food, so finger foods are our savories these days. A lot of fruits and vegetables to crunch on and for the protein chicken nuggets or these easy to prepare oven baked chicken drumsticks with homemade bbq sauce.

The recipe I share today is not a traditional bbq sauce recipe. When I decided to make it, I realized that I don’t have any tomato sauce or enough ketchup that you would usually be using when making bbq sauce.

So, I decided to use tomato basil pasta sauce instead with a little bit of fresh rosemary and the sauce turned out so good, that it can be used for chicken and pasta at the same time.

I hope you like my variation on BBQ Chicken Legs recipe and check out my other chicken recipes like Oven Roasted Chicken and Veggies, Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Roll Ups or Baked Chicken Thighs Recipe.

Ingredients for the sauce:

½ finely chopped onion
3-4 garlic cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
400g Tomato Basil pasta sauce
1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1 ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
250ml hot water
Salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper to taste

Ingredients for the chicken:

10-12 chicken drumsticks
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Step 1

In a glass of hot water dissolve the sugar, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, tomato paste and honey. Mix well and set aside.

Step 2

In a large frying pan heat the olive oil and cook finely chopped onion until golden brown color. Add minced garlic and cook for one more minute.

Step 3

Add the pasta sauce to the pan, mix well and bring it to a boil.

Step 4

Add the honey mixture, Worcestershire sauce, seasoning and a few sprigs of rosemary. Give it a stir, reduce the heat and cook for 25-30 minutes stirring occasionally. The tomato sauce will reduce in volume and thicken.

Step 5

While the bbq sauce is cooling down let’s prepare the chicken legs. In a small bowl mix the salt, black pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning.

Step 6

Lay out the chicken drumsticks on the baking pan covered with aluminum foil and season them on all sides. Bake the chicken for 25 minutes at 400 F degrees, then take the pan out of the oven and increase the temperature to 450 F degrees. Cover the chicken legs with bbq sauce on all sides and return to the oven for 15 more minutes or until they cooked through.

Serve immediately with the leftover bbq sauce on the side.

Enjoy the food and the rest of your summer!

Notes:

You can use any other seasoning you like.

If my post was useful to you, please let me know in the comment section below.