Take back your grocery budget with this simple dinner idea! Chicken leg quarters are always modestly priced at the grocery store, making them as easy on the eyes as they are on the wallet. Bonus? They're even better on the taste buds.
This recipe for BBQ Baked Chicken Quarters requires only a few ingredients and delivers an easy, flavorful chicken dinner. Perfect for any night of the week, this chicken dinner requires only 5 minutes of prep time and baking up tender and juicy.
You'll also love our quick and easy Baked Chicken Legs and these simple Crock Pot Chicken Legs for extra budget-friendly dinner ideas to add to your weeknight lineup!
HOW TO MAKE BBQ BAKED CHICKEN QUARTERS
The beauty of this BBQ Baked Chicken Quarter Recipe is that it is so very simple. Just a few small steps and you've got perfectly baked, tender and juicy chicken quarters on the table. Pat the chicken dry, drizzle it with oil, season it, bake it, and top it with sauce. Then, bake it a little more -- that's all there is to it!
QUICK RECIPE OVERVIEW
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
- Drizzle with oil and season.
- Bake at 400° for 35 minutes on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Add BBQ sauce and bake 10 minutes more.
1. DON'T SKIP THIS STEP!
Patting the chicken quarters dry with a paper towel is an important step in the recipe. Removing the excess moisture from the surface will ensure that the oil properly adheres to the chicken quarters. Oil helps the chicken to both cook evenly and crisp up nicely. The oil also helps the seasoning to stay in place, which in turn, makes the chicken even better. Point of the story...is don't skip this step. Pat your chicken dry.
2. OIL AND THE SEASONING OPTIONS
The oil called for in this BBQ Baked Chicken Quarters Recipe is oil, but if you do not have any on hand you can certainly use canola, vegetable, or avocado oil in its place. As far as the seasoning goes, you can use your favorite poultry spice blend or TAK House Seasoning. This is a simple blend of Kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. It goes perfectly with all chicken dishes, as well as pork and beef.
3. BAKING THE CHICKEN QUARTERS
Baking the chicken is extremely simple. You're going to bake them at 400° for a total of 35 minutes. Baking the chicken quarters at a high temperature allows for the chicken's skin to crisp up nicely.
You might have noticed this recipe calls for baking the chicken for 35 minutes, then adding the BBQ sauce and baking for an additional 10 minutes. There's a reason for this. Actually, there's two...
4. WHEN YOU ADD THE SAUCE MATTERS
If you were to add the sauce at the beginning of the cook time, the BBQ sauce would likely over-caramelize and ultimately burn before the chicken could cook through. Not only this, but the chicken's skin would not have a chance to crisp up.
Adding the BBQ sauce toward the end of the cook time allows the oil to do its job under the heat. Remember how the oil helps the skin to crisp up? BBQ sauce does not have the same effect. So oil first, BBQ sauce second.
Once the sauce goes on, all you need is ten more minutes in the oven for the chicken to finish cooking through and for the BBQ sauce to set up on the chicken.
This is an effortless dinner idea that's not only kid-friendly but budget-friendly as well! With just a few simple steps, you'll have perfectly cooked, super flavorful BBQ Baked Chicken Quarters ready and waiting to be served. Please, enjoy!
5 MORE EASY CHICKEN RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
- Baked Chicken Leg Quarters are smothered in a simple mix of oil and butter, seasoned, and baked to perfection.
- Baked BBQ Chicken is a dinner idea the whole family will love! Featuring a mix of legs and thighs, this is a full-flavor BBQ chicken recipe perfect for weeknight dinners.
- BBQ Chicken Tostadas are quick-fix, gluten-free dinner idea featuring made-from-scratch tostada shells, chicken, BBQ sauce, and Colby Jack cheese!
- Chicken Breasts in the Oven is a recipe E-VER-Y-ONE needs! Learn to bake chicken breasts the right way, and you'll never serve dry white meat chicken again.
- Perfect Pan-Seared Chicken starts in a pan and ends in the oven with a quick bake! It's a fast chicken dinner option that's great for healthy eating and topping salads.
Easy, super flavorful BBQ Baked Leg Quarters bake up tender and juicy every time!
- 4 pounds chicken leg quarters (4-6 quarters)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 ½ teaspoons of your favorite spice blend or TAK House Seasoning
- ¾ cup any sweet and sticky, store-bought BBQ sauce
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Preheat the oven to 400° and have ready a large rimmed baking sheet, lined with aluminum foil (preferably nonstick if you have it).
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Pat the chicken quarters dry with a paper towel, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning. Rub all over to adhere. Bake for 35 minutes.
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Remove the chicken from the oven and evenly distribute a generous amount of BBQ sauce over the top of each leg quarter using either a spoon or pastry brush. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked and the juices run clear and the chicken registers 175°-180° with a thermometer.
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Allow to rest 10 minutes, serve and enjoy!
