Easy Oven Baked Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks Recipe & Video

Name: Oven Baked Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3lb (~20 pieces) chicken wings/drumsticks; 2/3 cup flour (all purpose or gluten free); ¾ tsp ground paprika; ¼ tsp ground cayenne; ½ tsp salt; 3 Tbsp unsalted butter; 1/3 cup hot sauce; 1/4 tsp salt; 1/8 tsp garlic powder; 1 head of celery, cut into chunks for dipping; blue cheese dressing for dipping

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Oh my. Love buffalo chicken drumsticks so! This crispy oven baked buffalo chicken drumsticks recipe is easy to make and can be made mild or spicy.

Bake buffalo drumsticks at 425F for ~ 45 minutes.

Spicy Red/Brown Chicken Drumsticks On A White Plate surrounded by celery and with with a white blue cheese dipping sauce in a bowl

Look no further for an easy and crispy baked chicken drumstick recipe! In fact, this buffalo drumstick recipe can also be used with chicken legs, thighs, or party wings.

This baked buffalo chicken drumsticks recipe is the perfect little "healthyish" appetizer. We eat some version of this once a week for dinner and then I make chicken bone broth with the bones.

Pair chicken drumsticks with a vegetable, salad, and / or starch and make a complete meal out of it. Or, serve drumsticks with crunchy celery and a tangy blue cheese dipping sauce.

Raw chicken drumsticks on a white plate with hot sauce, butter, flour, and paprika in containers around it. Top view.

Spicing Baked Chicken Drumsticks

Don't like spicy sauce on your baked buffalo chicken? No problem - just eat the crispy baked drumsticks without the sauce! It's seriously that good.

These oven baked drumsticks can be mildly or overtly spicy depending on the cayenne powder and hot sauce used.

If sensitive to heat, skip the cayenne powder in the flour mix and/or buy a mild hot sauce or use less hot sauce.

12 Raw Chicken drumsticks on an aluminum covered baking sheet. Top view. — *Chicken drumsticks can be cooked directly on a sheet pan or baked on a sheet pan lined with oiled aluminum foil for easy clean up.*

Gluten Free / Whole30 / Paleo / Low Carb / Keto Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks

Don't have flour or want to use flour or are on a paleo / gluten free / keto / low carb / whole 30 diet? Skip it entirely!

Baked chicken drumsticks without flour are absolutely delicious and crispy and this recipe doesn't necessarily need it.

There are plenty of gluten free flour substitutions. But honestly, this baked drumstick recipe is so good without any flour at all.

12 Baked Chicken drumsticks on an aluminum covered baking sheet. Top view. — *Chicken drumsticks can be cooked directly on a sheet pan or baked on a sheet pan lined with oiled aluminum foil for easy clean up.*

Lined vs. Unlined Sheet Pans When Baking Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks?

Aluminum lined baking sheets create easy clean up but some of the chicken skin can get baked on to the aluminum. That makes it harder to get the chicken off (even if you oil the sheet of aluminum).

Conversely, if you bake directly on the sheet pan then there is much more clean up to do. Cleaning sheet pans is not how most of us want to spend our time...

If you bake chicken drumsticks directly on a sheet pan:

wait a couple minutes for the pan to cool down and the baked chicken will come off easier.
To clean: Add some water and dish soap to the pan and gently heat it up on the stovetop to loosen up those bits. Scrap it gently with a sturdy spatula, let it sit 10 minutes and it will be easier to clean.
OR! Bake some vegetables on the sheet pan (after the chicken comes off) at a lower heat (375F ish) and the water released from the vegetables will loosen up the bits and flavor the veggies. WIN WIN!

Stainless steel pan filled ⅓ of the way with an orange red hot butter hot sauce. Whisk on the side. Top view. — *If there is sauce left over after tossing the chicken drumsticks, use it for dipping bread or toast or add a little cream and toss it with pasta.*

Random Baked Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks Thoughts

Have extra hot sauce after tossing the chicken drumsticks in the sauce? Save it. Dip toast or bread in it or add a little cream to create a sauce for a spicy creamy pasta.

Have extra flour leftover? Next time try a little less flour to minimize waste.

Notes: Small or mini drumsticks or party wings will have a reduced cooking time of about 35 minutes or until juices run clear.

12 baked chicken drumsticks with a red/orange hot sauce coating tossed in a stainless steel bowl. Top view.

Baked Buffalo Chicken Drumstick Recipe FAQS

Do you cover drumsticks in the oven?

Nope - not for this buffalo drumsticks recipe. Bake chicken drumsticks uncovered so that they can get crispy chicken.

How do you make buffalo drumsticks?

Easy. Pre-heat oven to 425F. Mix chicken drumsticks with flour (optional) and favorite spices. Bake for ~ 40-45 minutes or until crispy. Toss with hot sauce mixed with butter and salt. Recipe below.

Can you make buffalo drumsticks without flour?

Yup! Gluten free folks can omit the flour entirely or toss with their favorite gluten free flour. I prefer to leave off the flour entirely when accommodating gluten free, keto, paleo, whole30, and low carb diets.

Things In My Kitchen:

Baking Sheets - 13 x 18 and two of them to boot. Perfect for roasting drums or wings. One sheet pan will hold ~3 pounds of drums.

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11 baked chicken drumsticks with a red/orange hot sauce coating on a wood plate. Side view.

Oven Baked Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks

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5 from 2 reviews

EatSimpleFood.com

Oh my. Love them so. Spicy, crispy, and healthy baked buffalo chicken drumsticks recipe with some crunchy celery and tangy blue cheese.

Author: beckie
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 6 (3 each)
Category: Appetizer
Method: Oven
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Ingredient List Chicken:

3lb (~20 pieces) chicken wings/drumsticks
⅔ cup flour (all purpose or gluten free)
¾ teaspoon ground paprika
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne
½ teaspoon salt

Ingredient List Sauce:

3 tablespoon unsalted butter
⅓ cup hot sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon garlic powder

Optional Side Ingredients:

1 head of celery, cut into chunks for dipping
blue cheese dressing for dipping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425F.

For Chicken:

Dry off chicken with a paper towel and add to a large bowl.
In a small bowl or large ziploc bag mix: flour, paprika, cayenne and salt.
Toss chicken with flour mix.
Shake off any excess flour from the chicken and throw away.
Roast (uncovered) on an aluminum lined and oiled baking sheet ~40-45 minutes or until crispy and internal temperature reaches 165F and juices run clear. Turn to broil in the last 3 minutes if you want them a little crispier.

For Sauce:

Combine all ingredients in a small pan, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered ~ 8 minutes or until ingredients are blended and thickened. Stir occasionally.
Transfer cooked drumsticks to a bowl and coat with hot sauce. Serve with cut celery sticks and blue cheese dressing. Happy finger lickin' chicken eatin'! Beckie

Notes

Don't have flour or want to use flour or are on a gluten free diet? Skip it entirely! Absolutely delicious without it too 🙂
Lined vs. unlined baking sheets? Either works but an aluminum lined baking sheet makes for easy clean up.
If you bought small party wings or drumsticks reduce the cooking time to about 35 minutes or until juices run clear.
Have extra hot sauce after you've tossed the chicken drumsticks? Save it. Dip your toast or bread in it or add a little cream to create a sauce for a spicy creamy pasta.
You may have extra flour leftover. Next time try a little less flour to minimize waste.

Serving Suggestion

Serve this easy Oven Baked Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks recipe with a side dish or two to make it a full meal.