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CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH…These breaded, baked chicken drumsticks are crunchy on the outside and super tender on the inside. The garlic mustard sauce takes these over the top. There’s no need to marinate or wait since the breading seals in all of the amazing flavor so it basically bastes itself.
This is a no-nonsense recipe and these drumsticks also re-heat really well. I tossed them onto a lightly oiled skillet the next day and toasted over medium heat until they were crisp again. Seriously just as good as the moment they came out of the oven. My son devoured his drumstick without prompting and told me he loved it. Serves 8-12; because
I think most people buy large packs of drumsticks (and it’s perfect for game day!) but it can easily be cut in half to feed a smaller crowd.
Ingredients for Breaded Baked Chicken Drumsticks:
4-4.5 lbs. chicken drumsticks (about 14-16)
Sea Salt & Pepper
1/2 cup dijon mustard (grey poupon is my favorite)
1/2 cup real mayo or vegenaise
4 garlic cloves, pressed
2 cups seasoned italian-style bread crumbs (I used Progresso brand)
How to make the tastiest Breaded Baked Drumsticks:
Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Line a baking sheet with foil if you want to save yourself some clean-up time.
1. Rinse chicken in cold water then pat dry with paper towels and season both sides of the drumsticks with salt and freshly ground black pepper
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup dijon with 1/2 cup mayo and 4 pressed garlic cloves.
Take a whiff of this sauce. Oh. Yum.
3. Place 2 cups seasoned breadcrumb in a separate bowl with a wide enough base to accommodate a drumstick. Now you have your assembly line ready.
4. Roll or Brush your mustard mixture onto all sides of the drumsticks and double roll each of them into just the bread crumbs to get a nice coating on them.
5. Transfer breaded drumsticks to a baking sheet keeping them somewhat spaced (don’t crowd them or they won’t crisp on the bottom like they should; for extra crispness on all sides, bake on a wire rack set inside of a rimmed cookie sheet) and bake at 350˚F for 50-60 min (mine were in there 55 min + 3 min broiled).
Bake until chicken is cooked through. If you want the skin crispy, put it under a hot broiler 3 min or so or until desired crispness (not blackness) is achieved.
Crunchy on the outside; super tender and bursting with flavor on the inside.
Breaded Baked Chicken Drumsticks Recipe
Ingredients
- 4-4.5 lbs. chicken drumsticks, about 14-16
- Sea Salt & Pepper
- 1/2 cup dijon mustard, grey poupon is my favorite
- 1/2 cup real mayo or vegenaise
- 4 garlic cloves, pressed
- 2 cups seasoned italian-style bread crumbs, I used Progresso brand
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Line a baking sheet with foil if you want to save yourself some clean-up time.
- Rinse chicken in cold water then pat dry with paper towels and season both sides of the drumsticks with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup dijon with 1/2 cup mayo and 4 pressed garlic cloves.
- Place 2 cups seasoned breadcrumb in a separate bowl with a wide enough base to accommodate a drumstick. Now you have your assembly line ready.
- Roll or Brush your mustard mixture onto all sides of the drumsticks and double roll each of them into just the bread crumbs to get a nice coating on them.
- Transfer breaded drumsticks to a baking sheet and bake at 350˚F for 50-60 min (min were in there 55 min + 3 min broiled) . Don't crowd drumsticks or they won't crisp on the bottom like they should; for extra crispness on all sides, bake on a wire rack set inside of a rimmed cookie sheet). Bake until chicken is cooked through. If you want the skin crispy, put it under a hot broiler 3 min or so or until desired crispness (not blackness) is achieved.
Natasha, thank u for the amazing recipes! I’m having so much fun trying out new dishes 🙂
I was wondering if u cover these drumsticks with foil when bake them or do u leave them uncovered? Thank u!
I leave them uncovered so they crisp up. Don’t worry they aren’t dry at all when they’re done. The breading keeps them juicy inside 😉
Wild this recipe work as a freezer meal, if I coat the drumsticks and freeze, then bake at a later time?
Hm… I haven’t tried that to be honest so it would be an experiment. I do know that the moroccan chicken recipe freezes well. Have you tried that one? I know it’s a completely different recipe, but at least I know that one works in the freezer ;). If you experiment with freezing this one, let me know how it works out!
I was all ready to try freezing it, then ran out of food, so had to make it right away. :).
Had the chicken marinating in the mustard mixture for 2 days. It came out delish! Both my hubby and our 4-year-old gave it thumbs up. This recipe definitely is a keeper- thank you!
Thanks for recommending the Moroccan chicken recipe- will try it next!
You’re so welcome! Thank YOU for the amazing review! 🙂
Looks DELICIOUS!! If i want to do only half the amount of chicken drumsticks, would the measurements of the sauce stay the same?
I’d cut everything in half 🙂 That’s what I’ve done in the past.
I’ve made this dish 3 times already! It’s so easy and hubby keeps asking for it 😉
Thank you Natasha for the recipe!
Thank you for the great review Vika and you are welcome :).
Made this for supper but used homemade bread crumbs with some leftover bread I made last week (just seasoned and toasted it in the oven before pulsing in the food processor) & used half mayo half plain yogurt with seedy Dijon and my family ate it all up!! Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
Thank you for a great review Alana and you are welcome :). Great way to use up some leftover bread.
HI Natasha! Your recipes never fail me, but this didn’t turn out as expected. Maybe it was something I did, IDK, When the chicken was done most of my breading was soggy on the bottom or stuck to the foil, the skin was flappy under the breading and not appetizing. I am not a fan of drumsticks either way but decided to give this a try, unfortunately it didn’t work for me….
If you crowd them on the pan, they can get more moist on the bottom (I’ll add that note to the recipe). If you bake them on a wire rack over a baking sheet, the bottom will be extra crispy. It also helps to put them under the broiler for a few minutes in the end to give them that crisp effect. Hope that helps!
I removed the skin on half of mine to do a taste test and the skinless ones were better IMHO 😉 Also I drisled some olive oil to the bottom of my glass baking dish and they turned out nice & crispy although still stuck a bit so required some spatula scraping 🙂
I’ll have to give that a whirl next time! They didn’t turn out dry at all without the skin?
Made it today and really liked it. Thank you!!!
That’s wonderful! I was just telling my Mom about this recipe today; how it’s so much better than fried chicken and healthier 🙂 I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
Mayya
Natasha, I tried this recipe today and it was so delicious!! Thanks for your never-ending recipes. Hubby calls me a “хазяйка” lately because of all the new things I’m trying from NatashasKitchen. Thank you 🙂
That’s cute: “хазяйка” 🙂 I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes!
Hello Natasha,
I was wondering if I could use the same recipe on the pork chops?
Thank you,
Katie
I bet you could and it would be delicious! What a great idea! 🙂
mmmm, these sure look delicious!! will definately try this recipe, i love drumsticks! but I was wondering if you know the diffenece between regula Vegenaise and the grapedseed oil you r using here? becuase I always buy the original and I love it, but never tried the grapeseed oil?
I think it’s just a difference between the main ingredient: Grapeseed oil versus Canola oil in the original vegenaise. Grapeseed oil is a healthier oil 🙂 But I’m sure they are both better than regular mayo 😉
Hey Natasha! I usually buy skinless chicken. You think it will be ok?
That should be fine, but you might have to bake them for a shorter time :).
Ohhhh, I think these would be great for Game Day. I was thinking of trying the smaller version (wings) so the kids can easily pick them up and eat as well. We’re excited here in Seattle for game day 🙂
All my cousins in Washington are big fans too :D. Smaller version will work as well, but you might bake them for a shorter time.
Natasha – Thank you for the appetizing recipes! Would you consider grainy mustard or dijon is the only way to go? Thanks again!
I think grainy mustard would work. 🙂 Enjoy!
Love drumsticks and dark meat in general. I posted very similar recipe recently sans the breadcrumbs. Garlic + Dijon mustard = amazing, right?!
It is amazing! Have you tried adding mayo or vegenaise? I wonder if that same mixture would be great on a whole roasted chicken?
Whole roasted chicken? Can you bake it uncovered? As much as I’m a chicken expert, I have roasted whole chicken um once in my life maybe LOL. If you cover it, then the coating might be mushy?! I wonder. I should try it as the whole chicken is on the menu this weekend. No, I haven’t tried the sauce with mayo. I know mayo makes everything taste good but I avoid it for health reasons. I might add a tbsp here or there but that’s it. A jar lasts me a year or two.:)
Not even vegenaise? Yeah I need to improve my whole chicken roasting skills as well. It is however very tempting to pay $5 for one at Costco 😉
Like the plate but LOVE the chicken recipe…..this would make a great new way to serve wings, too! (Superbowl, anyone?) Thanks for sharing and never apologize for making a great buy via thrifting…one gal’s trash is another gal’s treasure!!!
Ha ha! So true. Although it is hard to find those treasures, but I guess they wouldn’t be called treasures otherwise 😉
Looks great for dinner. I love all your recipes and your site.
Thank you Vera! I hope you love these as much as we do 🙂
Sounds really good. Thanks Natasha and have a Wonderful Day!
Thanks Liz! You too!
Looks yummy! I think I’ll try this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken breast and reduce the bake time. Thanks again for sharing.
Oooh sounds even healthier! 🙂 I think the sauce and breading would taste incredible on chicken breast!
These look really good! Do you think I could throw other pieces of chicken in there, like wings & thighs?
You totally could and what a great idea! I bet this would work for any part of the chicken 🙂
That is great to know! Because I love drumsticks, my husband loves thighs, and my daughter is partial to wings lol. Thank you!
Natasha, wow! on the pics. I love that plate! Where is it from?
I, uhh,,.. uhm,.. ahem(thrifted)… lol. Thanks for your sweet compliment 🙂
Oh really?!! Sorry for putting you on a spot, lol 🙂 So far I had no luck with thrifting. They probably have cool stuff for pics.
No, not at all! I am not ashamed. lol. It’s actually really hard to find stuff there for pictures. I went with my hubby a couple times and it’s tough. But it’s tough anywhere even at antique stores. I guess I need to train my eyes better to find more treasures 🙂
Is the recipe the same for chicken breast?
Hi Ashley, I think the sauce and breading would taste incredible on chicken breast!