This chicken legs recipe is so simple and so delicious: it’s one-third cup olive oil, one-third cup white wine, and one-third cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Throw everything into the oven at once, and you’re done. Crispy skins. Tender meat. Winner winner chicken dinner!

An overhead shot of a pie plate filled with chicken, white wine, olive oil, and parmesan.

Can you remember one-third cup? That’s really all you need to know in order to make this recipe:

  • one-third cup olive oil
  • one-third cup white wine
  • one-third cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Garlic and thyme are nice additions but optional. Just whisk everything together, season the chicken with salt and pepper, throw it in a 400ºF oven and you’re done. In about 45 minutes to an hour, you’ll have crispy skins and tender meat. This is a longtime favorite family recipe.

5 Favorite No-Browning Chicken Recipes

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  3. One-Pot Chicken and Shallots
  4. One-Pot Thai Chicken Curry with Spinach
  5. Spatchcocked Chicken with Za’atar and Lemon

PS: Broiled Tarragon Chicken Breasts 

PPS: How to Break Down a Chicken

An overhead shot of uncooked chicken legs in a pie plate with parmesan, thyme, olive oil, and white wine.
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An overhead shot of a pie plate with roast chicken in white wine, olive oil, and parmesan.

Chicken Legs Baked with White Wine, Olive Oil & Parmigiano Reggiano

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Description

Scale this recipe up as needed and use a large roasting pan if you do. Often I double the liquids and use 8 chicken thighs, and it works beautifully — I just cook the chicken until the skin looks crisp and golden, probably close to an hour. This is a very forgiving recipe.

Ingredients

  • 2 chicken drumsticks + 2 chicken thighs (or some other combination), bone-in, skin-on
  • kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper
  • 1/3 cup white wine
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
  • 2–3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 shallot thinly sliced
  • a few sprigs fresh thyme

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Season chicken on both sides generously with salt and pepper.
  2. In a small shallow baking dish such as a pie plate, whisk together the white wine, olive oil, about half of the cheese, the garlic and the shallot. Throw in the thyme sprigs and the chicken and toss all around to coat.
  3. Turn chicken so that the skin is facing up and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Place in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the meat is pulling away from the bone and the skin is brown and crisp. The time it takes to cook this chicken will vary depending on your oven, on the size of the legs, if the chicken was cooked directly from the refrigerator or if it had been brought to room temperature before baking, etc. Trust your nose — if you think it’s done, take a stab. After you’ve made the recipe once or twice, you’ll have a better idea about the timing.
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Category: Chicken
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American