Make juicy baked chicken leg quarters with crispy skin and potatoes for an easy weeknight dinner the whole family will love. Made in one pan with a delicious and easy all purpose marinade.
I love variety in the foods that I eat and cook. This means that weekly meal plans are something that I obsess over; I don’t like to make the same things over and over again. But there are ingredients and elements that come up every week.
This recipe is inspired by one that I made last year, which were a really simple maple mustard chicken legs from Delish.
I try to have at least one or two vegetarian recipes for easy and budget-friendly dinners, there is often some kind of baked chicken recipe and then something insanely easy like a sheet pan gnocchi.
What’s so great about chicken leg quarters?
This is a cut that goes on sale really frequently, so you may have found yourself standing in the store and wondering what you can do with them.
This cut includes both the leg and thigh of a chicken, which is delicious, dark and juicy meat, perfect for roasting in the oven at a high temperature.
I always set out with a specific goal or objective when I’m working on a new recipe and I wanted this one to be a one pan meal, which would allow the chicken, potatoes and carrots to roast together and become juicy and delicious.
Plus, this means you can throw this in the oven and walk away. Hello perfect dinner.
How do you make the marinade?
This easy marinade is made with Dijon mustard, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, garlic powder and dried thyme.
I designed the marinade to have ingredients that would add browning and crisping to the chicken while providing delicious flavour for the vegetables roasting underneath.
I also find that adding a little bit of water to the mixture helps to cook the potatoes and carrots, while leaving velvety juices behind for spooning over the finished dish.
What temperature do you bake chicken quarters?
This recipe cooks at a really high temperature. I like to roast them at 450F for about 45-50 minutes (depending on the size of your meat).
I recommend checking the dish after about 30 minutes to make sure that it isn’t browning too much–if it’s getting a little dark, simply cover with aluminum foil.
Baked Chicken Leg Quarters
Ingredients
- 4 chicken leg quarters
- 1.5 lbs new potatoes, halved
- 3 small carrots, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
Marinade
- 1/4 cup water, or no-salt chicken broth
- 2 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F.
- In a 9×13 oven-safe casserole dish toss potatoes and carrots with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1/4 tsp salt. Place chicken quarters on top–it's ok if they are touching.
- In a small bowl, whisk all ingredients together for the marinade. Pour overtop of chicken and vegetables.
- Roast in the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until chicken reaches 165F when checked with an instant read thermometer. Check chicken after 30 minutes, if it is browning too much, cover with aluminum foil.
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