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Easy Oven Baked Turkey Legs

Easy Oven Baked Turkey Legs

Turkey legs are my favorite part of a turkey, so I love that I can make baked turkey legs without popping an entire turkey in to the oven! This is how to cook turkey legs in the oven – super easy and delicious!

There are many recipes out there to make turkey legs in the oven, but this is the way I make it because it is fast and easy.

Customizations

This is a very basic recipe, but you can switch it up with various seasoning and sauces!

Here are some ideas:

  • Cajun – add some cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, for a kick!
  • Sweet and spicy – add brown sugar, cayenne pepper, for some tasty sweet and spicy flavors.
  • Asian – Marinate with soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and minced garlic.
  • Italian – Literally marinade with some Italian dressing, I love doing this with chicken too.

Easy Oven Baked Turkey Legs Recipe

First gather your ingredients:

  • 4 bone-in skin-on medium turkey drumsticks
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1 tbsp sea salt
  • tbsp garlic powder
  • tbsp paprika

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Brush legs with melted butter. Then rub them salt, garlic powder, and paprika. I recommend letting it absorb this for at the very least 15 minutes, but the longer the better! Overnight works great!

Place on a baking dish. I like to put a layer of aluminum foil on the baking dish for easy clean up, but that’s totally up to you.

Now, pop them in the oven uncovered for 15 minutes. The skin should brown.

Remove from heat and using tongs, flip them over so that the bottom side is now on top. Place back in oven for another 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and loosely cover with aluminum foil (try not to burn yourself!).

Roast in oven for another 30 minutes, or until juices run clear and instant-read thermometer reads 165°F.

Remove from oven for the last time, and let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Also can we take a look at my dog being excited about this Turkey Leg LOL:

Yield: 4 servings

Oven Roasted Turkey Legs

Oven Roasted Turkey Legs

Turkey legs are my favorite part of a turkey, so I love that I can make baked turkey legs without popping an entire turkey in to the oven! This is how to cook turkey legs in the oven – super easy and delicious!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Additional Time 10 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 bone-in skin-on medium turkey drumsticks
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1 tbsp sea salt
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp paprika

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
  2. Brush legs with melted butter. Then rub them salt, garlic powder, and paprika. I recommend letting it absorb this for at the very least 15 minutes, but the longer the better! Overnight works great!
  3. Place on a baking dish. I like to put a layer of aluminum foil on the baking dish for easy clean up, but that’s totally up to you.
  4. Now, pop them in the oven uncovered for 15 minutes. The skin should brown.
  5. Remove from heat and using tongs, flip them over so that the bottom side is now on top. Place back in oven for another 15 minutes.
  6. Remove from heat and loosely cover with aluminum foil (try not to burn yourself!).
  7. Roast in oven for another 30 minutes, or until juices run clear and instant-read thermometer reads 165°F.
  8. Remove from oven for the last time, and let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1 leg

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 241Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 113mgSodium: 698mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 20g

The nutrition information for this recipe is an approximate total per serving. Please double check the nutrition information for your exact ingredients and brands for more precise nutrition information.

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Yummo! Looking for more oven roasted deliciousness like this Oven Roasted Turkey Legs recipe? Check out all my recipes made in the oven roasted/baked recipes here!

If it’s more delicious Turkey recipes you’re looking for, then I got you also! Here’s all my delicious Turkey recipes!

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Trish

Thursday 23rd of November 2023

I just bought a case of turkey thighs (I know,crazy right? Lol) Would they be cooked the same? They look delicious 😋

TinaTsai

Friday 24th of November 2023

Haha - that's awesome! You can do the same with turkey thighs but oven should be 350 F, and roast for 50-60 minutes (or until internal temp is 165F).

Gabby

Friday 13th of October 2023

What if the turkey breasts are larger than medium? Would you cook for longer if that’s the case ?

TinaTsai

Monday 16th of October 2023

Turkey legs you mean? You will want to cook it a bit longer if they're bigger than mine. Just make sure to cook until the deepest sections of the turkey legs reach an internal temperature of 165°F - that's when it's done.

Tatiana

Monday 5th of December 2022

Love the recipe I will make this for Christmas Thank you for sharing

Joshua Mitchell

Friday 1st of July 2022

Does the covering with tinfoil mean wrapping tinfoil around each leg loosely, or to cover the baking dish with tinfoil loosely?

TinaTsai

Saturday 2nd of July 2022

Great question - Just cover the baking dish loosely

Amanda

Wednesday 30th of March 2022

Hello. I followed your recipe. I’m sure it’s good. The turkey legs came out dry & chewy😢 Any suggestions?

TinaTsai

Thursday 31st of March 2022

Oh no! Sorry to hear that - It could be that your oven is more efficient than mine (Mine is super old) and actually takes a shorter amount of time. If a turkey is cooked too long, the muscle proteins coagulate and cause dryness. So maybe instead of that last 30 mins, try 20 mins, and check if it is done (juices run clear and instant-read thermometer reads 165°F) and pop it back in if not, and cook at 5 mins increments until its done!

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