These honey soy chicken drumsticks are so easy to make and are the perfect, budget-friendly recipe to feed a crowd. With a sweet, salty and sticky marinade made from just 4 ingredients, these drumsticks are so full of flavour, and can be served on their own at a party or over rice for a delicious weeknight meal.
Chicken drumsticks are a fantastic protein option when making budget-friendly recipes that will feed the family. Drumsticks are also really easy to cook as thanks to their extra fat content and the meat being on the bone, they remain moist and don’t tend to dry out when cooking making them a much more forgiving cut of meat.
They also absorb marinades really well, making them a great option when looking to oven bake. This recipe uses a really simple honey soy marinade that gives the chicken so much flavour, making this recipe perfect for a simple weeknight dinner or a great option to serve at a potluck or as an addition to a summer BBQ.
Optional! For this recipe, you can choose to bake the chicken drumsticks straight away as written, or you can allow the chicken to marinade for 30 minutes, up to overnight, making this recipe perfect for when you want to prep ahead of time.
Just like these honey garlic chicken wings, this chicken recipe is all about the sauce! Make sure to serve the chicken with the sauce from the baking dish poured over the top. And if you love the classic flavour combination of honey and soy, you definitely need to try this honey soy chicken recipe which is more of a weeknight takeaway style dinner.
Key Ingredients
You only need a total of 6 ingredients to make these honey soy chicken drumsticks making it a super easy recipe for when you need something delicious but low effort.
Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Chicken drumsticks – we’re using drumsticks because they are inexpensive, very forgiving when oven baked, and are full of flavour when marinated. You could also use chicken thighs in this recipe, however you may need to adjust the cooking time.
- Soy sauce – the soy sauce seasons the chicken so well meaning we can keep the marinade nice and simple. You can use a gluten-free soy sauce or tamari to keep this recipe gluten-free.
- Honey – they honey makes the sauce sweet and sticky and is the key to this delicious marinade.
- Garlic – just a little too not over power the honey and soy flavours.
- Rice wine vinegar – a little acidity helps balance the flavours and ensure the marinade is not overly sweet.
- White pepper – to season the chicken.
Step-By-Step Instructions
There really is nothing to making these oven-baked chicken drumsticks, they are so simple! When it comes to equipment, all you’ll need is a large baking dish that will fit your drumsticks in one layer.
We start by making a super simple honey soy marinade. To do so, I find the easiest way is to put the soy sauce, honey, garlic and rice wine vinegar into a large jar and then shake vigorously until combined. You can however just mix everything together in a small bowl.
Next place your chicken drumsticks into the baking dish and pour over the marinade. Turn the chicken to make sure it’s covered in the sauce.
Season the chicken with the white pepper and then place in a preheated oven to bake for about an hour, or until the chicken is cooked through. Turn the chicken once while baking to ensure it cooks evenly.
To finish, I like to turn the oven onto the grill (broil) setting and cook for another 10 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally, to crisp and brown the skin a little more but this step is completely optional.
To serve, make sure to spoon all that delicious honey soy sauce from the bottom of the dish over the drumsticks. Top with sesame seeds and some sliced spring onion if you prefer and then you’re ready to serve.
Serve the honey soy drumsticks on their own, over rice with some steamed pak choy (as pictured below), with a side of roasted vegetable salad, or with this easy budget-friendly fried rice.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can! You will need to adjust the cooking times however as while thighs may take about the same time as drumsticks, wings will cook faster (about 35-45 minutes). The best way to check they’re cooked through is by checking the internal temperature.
The best way to ensure the chicken is fully cooked is by using a meat thermometer. The internal temperature should reach 74°C / 165°F. You can also check that the juices run clear when the chicken is pierced at the thickest part.
Yes, simply use a gluten-free soy sauce or tamari in place of regular soy sauce. Everything else in the recipe is naturally gluten-free.
Store leftover drumsticks in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can reheat them in the oven or in the microwave until warmed through.
More budget-friendly chicken recipes:
Chicken Satay Noodles
Spinach Pesto Pasta with Chicken
Creamy Lemon Risoni with Grilled Chicken
Slow Cooker Honey Mustard Chicken
Honey Soy Chicken Drumsticks
Ingredients
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ⅓ cup honey
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1.5 kilograms chicken drumsticks approx. 8-10 drumsticks
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- Sesame seeds and sliced spring onions optional to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F. In a jar or small bowl, combine the soy sauce, honey, crushed garlic, and rice wine vinegar. Shake or stir well until everything is fully mixed.
- Place the chicken drumsticks in an oven-safe baking dish. Pour the marinade over the chicken, ensuring all pieces are well coated by turning them in the sauce.
- Place the dish in the oven and bake the drumsticks for 1 hour, turning them once halfway through cooking. The chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 74°C / 165°F.
- Once the chicken is cooked through, you can switch the oven to grill / broil for an extra 5-10 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally to get the skin extra brown and crispy.
- To serve, drizzle the sauce from the baking dish over the drumsticks and sprinkle with sesame seeds and sliced spring onions.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
Jo says
SO yummy! I doubled this and used Tamari to make it GF. Marinated overnight and pulled it out to bake prior to my potluck and it was gone SO fast. This is easily going to be a go-to meal for my family.
Sally says
So great to hear Jo, thanks for sharing your feedback!