Easy baked chicken recipes with quick prep and minimal ingredients are some of my favorites to prepare for dinner. I’m always looking for new ways to cook chicken, and sometimes just adding a simple ingredient can make a recipe extraordinary. This six-ingredient crispy roasted chicken recipe with pesto is the perfect example.

The chicken drumsticks are seasoned with a paste made with olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika. They are baked in the oven until juicy and crispy. You could eat this chicken right now, but that’s not the end of this recipe. Warmed basil pesto is drizzled over the crispy chicken before serving. The flavors are out of this world.

You could use store-bought jarred pesto or homemade pesto for this roasted chicken recipe. You could also use chicken thighs, chicken wings or chicken breasts instead of chicken legs. But keep in mind they will cook for a longer or shorter amount of time based on the pieces used and size.

Serve this baked chicken recipe with pesto with rice, quinoa or your favorite grain, and a vegetable or salad.

Cuisine: American / Italian
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 6 – 8 chicken drumsticks
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 – 1/3 cup pesto

Here’s how to make it:

1. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika.
2. Put the chicken legs onto a baking sheet or into a casserole dish. Brush the olive oil mixture all over the chicken, then sprinkle with black pepper and salt.
3. Bake the chicken in a preheated 400-degree F oven for about 40 minutes or until cooked through (165 degrees F internal temperature).
4. While the chicken bakes, heat the pesto in a small saucepot. Drizzle the warm pesto over the cooked chicken and serve.

Credit: 30Seconds