With the cold weather setting in I’ve been looking to add some new quick, easy and affordable recipes to my winter menu. We all need a repertoire of fail-safe meals that we know we can throw together in around 30 minutes on a busy evening. The Sweet & Sticky Chilli Chicken Drumsticks are a new favourite in my house and will be making lots of appearances on our dinner table over the coming months.
I used to buy pre-marinated chicken drumssticks from the supermarket but when I started to actually read the ingredients lists I was shocked to discover the amount of sugar that some of them contained. But this homemade marinade is sweetened only by honey and literally takes just a couple of minute to throw together and with ingredients that you probably already have in your cupboard.
It’s no secret that kids love messy food so they are sure to enjoy getting stuck into these drumsticks. I use one tablespoon of chilli sauce in my marinade but you can alter that depending on your family’s tastes, or even leave it out altogether.
If you prefer the skin removed from your chicken then you can do this before you add the marinade. This recipe works just as well with chicken thighs too.
I serve these drumsticks with a chopped vegetable salad (julienne carrots and courgette, red pepper, red cabbage, kale and spring onion) but as it starts to get colder I will probably serve it with mixed veg fried rice or quinoa. Mmmmm… finger licking good!
- 8 chicken drumsticks
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp chilli sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ½ tsp fresh ginger, grated
- Preheat the oven to 180c. Place the chicken drumsticks into an oven dish. Make several slits in each drumstick with a knife to allow the marinade to soak in.
- Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and pour over the chicken. Turn the drumsticks so that they are fully coated in the marinade. At this point you can cover the dish with cling film and refrigerate for up to 6 hours.
- Or alternatively cook the chicken straight away by baking it in the oven for 30-40 mins or until the juices run clearly, turning once.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I prepared it this evening for the family.
I don’t bake chicken often, but I found while this recipe filled the house with a wonderful aroma, it didn’t penetrate the chicken and while very juicy, the taste of the marinade was too subtle for our liking. Perhaps this is just the difficulty of baking chicken drumsticks?
I cut the drumsticks with a knife while marinating, but do you have any other suggestions how to make the marinade flavor stronger in the actual chicken drumsticks?
Thank you very much!
Hi Richard, sometimes I find that if you remove the chicken skin the marinade will penetrate into the chicken better. So maybe give that a try. You could also marinade for longer, so around 12 hours and that will help to intensify the flavour. Hope that helps!
These look DELICIOUS! I’ll be trying them very soon. Would you mind sharing how you julienne your veg?
For this salad I just used a standard julienne peeler. It’s only £3-4 so a total bargain gadget to have!
I’m anxious to try this! What sides would you recommend with this?
I served it with an Asian salad (pictured) but it’s really up to you. Maybe some vegetable fried rice? Or noodles would be lovely too.
I’ve pinned to my low carb board too x
Thank you Vicki!
Oh wow yum and low carb too! Just stunning! Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
These look lovely, they would go down well in our house 🙂 x #tastytuesdays
thank Kirsty. Hope your family enjoy them!
Sounds good, looks good, and the photos are world-class. Since drumsticks are my favorite part of the chicken (well, I do like thighs as well) I will try your method and test it on my VERY picky wife. Thanks.
PS: I LOVE Irish gals. My wife is pure Scotch and we visit your area every other year or so.
Thanks Chuck. Hope you and your wife enjoy them!
That looks delicious and I’m all about going for homemade sauces rather the sugar/salt-heavy store-bought ones. I’m pinning this now as I’m sure it’ll be a hit in our house 🙂
#TastyTuesdays
Thanks Sophie, hope you and your family like it!
These look lovely, my husband would love these. I must give them a try
I hope you enjoy them Alison!
These sticky chicken drumsticks look and sound seriously delicious! Good thing that I have all the ingredients on hand so I can make the recipe.. thanks for sharing it!
Yay! Hope you enjoy them Thalia!
These look yummy. I’m glad you said they work just as well with chicken thighs, as my fussy family aren’t really keen on bones still in the meat.
How’s the sugar free going?
Really good thank you. Feeling much better in myself again which I love!