Baked Chicken Drumsticks are spicy, crispy and crunchy. They’re perfect for game day, tailgating or anytime you want to spice up your dinner with something different. With just the right amount of spice, these chicken drumsticks with buffalo sauce will leave you craving more.
Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks
These Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks are the perfect way to spice up your weeknight dinner routine. They’re easy, delicious and can be made for an incredible dinner.
The key to these amazing drumsticks is the marinade. You want to soak the chicken in buttermilk to make it absolutely perfect. These drumsticks are coated in a spicy buffalo sauce that’s tangy and sweet with just enough heat. You won’t believe how good they taste until you try them yourself.
You can serve them as an appetizer or main course and they’re easy to make in advance so you don’t have to worry about cooking on game day. The best part is that they only take 55 minutes in the oven so it’s not like you’ll be watching the oven or spending any extra time in the kitchen.
How Spicy Are Chicken Drumsticks with Buffalo Sauce?
Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks are as spicy as your choice of buffalo sauce. They’re not extremely hot, but they do have a lot of spice. The Slap Ya Mama seasoning comes with its own kick and then it is topped with buffalo sauce. If you prefer your drumsticks to be more spicy, you can add red pepper flakes to the seasoning.
What Goes With Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks?
Buffalo Chicken is often served with blue cheese or ranch dressing, celery and carrots. The veggies provide a nice coolness to the spicy chicken and the blue cheese provides tang and creaminess.
More delicious options to go with buffalo chicken are French fries, potatoes, coleslaw and chips. Things like pasta salad or even just a side salad works great.
Vegetables make a great side dish that pairs nicely with this chicken drumsticks recipe. Broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, green beans and corn on the cob are just a few examples.
What is the Best Way to Reheat Leftovers?
To reheat any leftovers, place them in a 325°F oven until warm. This only takes around 10 minutes. Be careful not to overheat or they will get dry.
What is Buttermilk and What is it Used For?
Buttermilk, traditionally, is the liquid leftover after churning butter. It is popular in cooking and baking because it adds a delicious tanginess to recipes. It is used in so many recipes like pancakes, waffles, homemade biscuits, cakes and as a marinade which produces tender, juicy, chicken.
How To Make Homemade Buttermilk
Making homemade buttermilk is extremely easy. Of course, using regular buttermilk is best but if you do not have any or do not want to head to the grocery store you can make your own in a pinch. All you do is add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a measuring cup. Pour enough milk into the measuring cup to equal 1 cup total. Stir, let sit for 5 to 10 minutes then use as the recipe instructs.
Do I Have to Marinate the Chicken Legs?
While you can make Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks without marinating them, it will definitely take away from the recipe. They still taste great with the Slap Ya Mama seasoning, but they will be less moist. The buttermilk marinade really brings out the spice in these drumsticks, making them tender and juicy.
How Long Do You Marinate Chicken Legs?
You want to marinate your chicken legs for at least 2 hours, but overnight is even better! If you have enough time, I would recommend leaving them in the refrigerator for 24 hours so that they really soak up all of the flavors from the buttermilk.
Possible Variations
If you are not a fan of chicken legs, try chicken thighs, chicken tenders or chicken breasts in place of the drumsticks.
Ingredients for Chicken Drumsticks with Buffalo Sauce
- Chicken drumsticks
- Buttermilk
- Slap Ya Mama seasoning
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Black pepper
- Paprika
- Buffalo sauce
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks
Step By Step Instructions
Preheat The Oven – Preheat oven to 400° (right before you are ready to bake the chicken), line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with a non-stick cooking spray or lightly rub foil with olive oil. Set aside.
Preparing The Chicken – Add drumsticks and buttermilk to a large bowl. Stir to coat the chicken, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Season The Chicken Drumsticks – Remove bowl from fridge and add seasonings. Stir to coat.
Bake The Drumsticks – Place chicken on prepared baking sheet and place in preheated 400° oven. Bake for 40 minutes, flipping over after 20 minutes.
Brush or Toss in The Sauce – Remove baking sheet from oven and toss each chicken legs with buffalo sauce coating both sides. When brushing on sauce, brush sauce on both sides as well.
Return The Chicken To The Baking Sheet – Place back into the oven and continue to bake for 10-15 additional minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part and the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees and is no longer pink.
Serve The Chicken – Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce and your taste buds won’t know what hit ’em!
Try These Super Easy Baked Chicken Legs Recipe Today
Looking for More Chicken Recipes?
- Malibu Chicken
- Buffalo Chicken Pasta
- Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Chicken
- Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken
- Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
And here is an Easy Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya from Deliciously Seasoned you might enjoy too!
Chicken Drumsticks with Buffalo Sauce
Ingredients
- 10-12 drumsticks
- 1½ cups buttermilk
- 2 teaspoon slap ya mama
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 cup buffalo sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° (right before baking the chicken), line baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with a non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add drumsticks and buttermilk. Stir to coat, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or can leave in the fridge overnight.
- Take chicken out of buttermilk and add to a large bowl.
- Add seasonings and stir to coat.
- Place chicken on prepared baking sheet.
- Place in a 400 degree preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes, flip over after 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and brush with buffalo sauce on both sides
- Return to the oven and bake for 10-15 additional minutes.
- Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce and enjoy.
Here are a few pics that are perfect to pin to your favorite Pinterest boards.
Enjoy, Terri
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DO YOU WASH OFF THE BUTTERMILK BEFORE ADDING THE DRY INGREDIENTS?
Hi Pam, no don’t wash off the buttermilk. When you take each leg out of the buttermilk (you can shake off any excess buttermilk), you will add them to another bowl and add your seasonings before baking them. :)
I live in South Africa and we don’t have Slap ya Momma or Buffalo sauce. Can u let me know what their content is, more or less ?
Hi Del,
The ingredients for Slap Ya Mama are salt, red Pepper, black Pepper, garlic. And for a homemade buffalo sauce I’ve attached a link from allrecipes that you can make. I hope you enjoy this recipe.