These oven baked Paprika Chicken Legs have crispy skin and are grain-free, gluten-free, and Paleo. A great kid-friendly, weeknight dish that’s easy, and delicious!
I found this fantastic this paprika rub at workitmom.com, and I have been using an adapted version for years.
I make a big batch of the rub and keep it in a plastic container in my pantry. It is great on beef, pork and chicken. It is quite salty, so go easy at first.
I often use this rub on chicken thighs and legs (with bones and skin). My kids love it and when I make it they cheer, “Yay! Paprika chicken!!” It is also a big hit at BBQs. The skin gets so crispy that people often ask if it is fried.
For this recipe, I had 11 chicken legs. I used about four teaspoons of the rub, which I sprinkled evenly all over the chicken, (fronts and backs).
Spread the seasoned chicken evenly on a parchment-lined, rimmed baking sheet, and brush the chicken with melted butter, (fronts and backs). You can use olive oil or lard if you’re dairy free.
I like using a silicone brush for raw meat because they are so easy to clean; just pop them in the dishwasher.
Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes. (I like my dark meat well done.)
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- 11 chicken legs, with bones and skin
- 1&1/2 Tbs melted grass-fed butter (or olive oil/lard for dairy free)
- 4 tsp paprika chicken rub
- Paprika Rub:
- 4 Tbs salt
- 4 Tbs sweet paprika
- 1 Tbs onion powder
- 1 Tbs dried thyme
- 1 Tbs dried cracked rosemary
- 2 Tbs black pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 Tbs garlic powder
- I recommend using organic ingredients when possible.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Combine spice ingredients and store in a container with a tight-fitting lid. Obviously, if you just want to make a small amount the first time, you could scale back the proportions.
- Rinse and pat the chicken dry.
- Sprinkle four teaspoons of the rub evenly over all sides of the chicken.
- Spread the seasoned chicken evenly on a parchment-lined, rimmed baking sheet.
- Brush the chicken with melted butter using a silicone brush.
- Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes, until the skin, is crispy and juices from the pierced flesh are clear (not pink).
Gave this recipe to hubby, he made this on Sat while I took the kids to swim class. He even forgot the butter, it tasted really good. The 4 yr old & 1 yr old gobbled them up.
Hubby was wanting shake & bake, I conveniently forgot to get it. I got a lot of complains how could I have forgotten from the grocery list. He agreed this paprika chicken recipe is as good as his childhood well loved shake & bake. Score!
Thanks for the really yummy recipe!!
So glad you liked the recipe! It’s a big hit in my house too 🙂
Hi there! I’ll be featuring this recipe on this weeks Favorite Pins Friday over at my site madeitloveitpaleo.com and I just had a quick question. What type of paprika do you use? Sweet or Smoked? Thank you!
Thanks for the feature! I use sweet paprika. I will adjust the recipe to show that.
I’ve been using this recipe for a few months now. It has become one of my go to recipes when I haven’t planned dinner and need to throw something flavorful together last minute. Great work!
Wow! I was a bit surprised at how typical the ingredients are but the flavor they deliver is huge. Thanks for the new addition!
Made this tonight and my kids loved it! And they don’t like anything! Thanks!
Yay! Glad they enjoyed it!
It’s a favorite of my kids’ too 🙂
Wondered if this is keto friendly also. Appears to me it is.
There is no sugar in the rub, so I would think so.