Picture this: chicken drumsticks dipped in garlic butter, then coated in a parmesan garlic herb crust, then baked until juicy and crispy. Utterly delicious, super easy to make, and packed with flavour. This is easily my favourite way to bake chicken drumsticks. Trust me, these crispy baked chicken drumsticks with parmesan garlic herb crust are a guaranteed family favourite!

This recipe came about one day when my husband had a week-long craving for KFC. So I made it my mission to come up with a crispy chicken recipe that would hit the spot, and was actually healthy! And that's how these crispy baked chicken drumsticks were born. Suffice it to say, my husband was very happy, and put away the whole tray quite easily!

Now, I'm not claiming they're as crunchy as KFC, but they definitely are crispy. This is thanks to the finely grated parmesan cheese that crisps up beautifully when baked! The flavour from the parmesan garlic herb crust is absolutely delicious - I'd take it over KFC any day! Plus, the parmesan, garlic, herb and butter dipping sauce that goes with these drumsticks is honestly drool-worthy.

Why You'll Love these Crispy Baked Chicken Drumsticks:

They Taste Delicious!

Not only do we dip the chicken in garlic butter, but the parmesan garlic herb crust brings so much flavour to these crispy baked chicken drumsticks. They are salty, savoury, cheesy, garlicky, and buttery all at the same time!

They're Healthy

Chicken is a great source of protein, essential B vitamins, and minerals. Parmesan cheese is also a great source of protein, calcium, vitamin K2, and more! If you use parmigiano reggiano like I do (which is always made with raw milk), then there's even more nutritional value! And butter is a fantastic source of fat-soluble vitamins and healthy saturated fat and fatty acids.

Zero-Carb (Keto and Carnivore Friendly, and Gluten-Free!)

Typically, crispy baked chicken recipes are dredged in flour or some kind of breadcrumb. This recipe avoids all of that! There's no flour or bread used. So it's gluten-free, and zero-carb. Perfect if you are gluten intolerant, coeliac, or follow a ketogenic way of eating. To make this recipe carnivore, you can omit the garlic if you like.

Simple and Easy to Make

The whole dish is ready in under an hour. And the process is so simple - no fussing around! Just prep the drumsticks and bake them. In no time at all, you'll have crispy baked chicken drumsticks on the table.

Ingredients for Crispy Baked Chicken Drumsticks

Of course, we will need chicken drumsticks. I prefer to leave the skin on! We'll also need salted butter and fresh garlic to first dip the chicken into. Then for the coating, we need parmesan cheese (preferably parmigiano reggiano), garlic powder, onion powder, and chopped fresh parsley. Told you this was simple and easy!

How to Make Crispy Baked Chicken Drumsticks

First, melt the butter and then throw in your minced fresh garlic. While that's sitting there and the garlic is infusing into the butter, finely grate your parmesan cheese. Mix through the garlic powder, onion powder, and chopped parsley. Then just dip your chicken drumsticks in the garlic butter, then coat into the parmesan garlic herb crust.

Set on a wire rack and bake for 40 minutes total. While it's baking, mix any leftover garlic butter and parmesan coating. Heat in a pan until it simmers for a few minutes (there was raw chicken in there after all). When the crispy baked chicken drumsticks are out of the oven, pour this delicious dipping sauce on top, and enjoy!

Variations on the Parmesan Garlic Herb Crust

You could easily swap out the parsley here for thyme, or sage, or even oregano! And you can be as creative as you like with the spices. Paprika would be a great option for some smokey sweetness, and to give a lovely reddish orange colour to the chicken drumsticks. You could also add chilli powder, or chilli flakes for some heat. You can add Cajun seasoning, lemon zest, pepper, Morrocan seasoning - the sky is the limit!

I personally love keeping these crispy baked chicken drumsticks simple, with this classic flavour combo of parmesan, garlic and parsley.

I truly hope you love this recipe! xxx