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These oven roasted chicken legs take on exotic Asian flavors by the addition of a little Chinese five-spice. So delicious!
Five Spice Roasted Chicken Legs
Such an easy weeknight dish too. These roasted chicken legs are marinated in soy sauce, ginger, shallots, garlic and Chinese five-spice, then baked in the oven. Serve this with jasmine rice or brown fried rice and a vegetable for a complete meal.
I chose to use whole legs with thighs and drumsticks attached as opposed to using a whole chicken, because I find it easier to serve and I love dark meat, but you can make this with a whole chicken, thighs, legs, breasts… whatever you prefer! The sodium is hard to calculate because half of the marinade gets tossed so keep that in mind.
Happy Chinese New Year!!
Five Spice Roasted Chicken Legs
Oven roasted chicken legs take on exotic Asian flavors by the addition of a little Chinese five-spice.
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 3 lbs 6 chicken legs (thighs and legs attached), fat trimmed
For the marinade:
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 1 large shallot
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp agave, or sugar
- 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce, tamari for gluten free
- 1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a blender combine the marinade ingredients; blend until smooth.
- Place the chicken in a large, resealable zip-top bag or container and pour in the marinade. Toss the chicken inside the bag to cover evenly with the marinade and refrigerate for 6-8 hours or as long as overnight.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Place the chicken on a rack in a foil lined roasting pan. Create a loose tent over the chicken with foil.
- Roast the chicken in the center of the oven 30 minutes; remove foil and continue to cook, basting occasionally until the internal temperature is 165°-170°F, about 45 minutes longer (Insert thermometer between the leg and the thigh).
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Nutrition
Calories: 295.5 kcal, Carbohydrates: 5.5 g, Protein: 46.5 g, Fat: 8.5 g, Saturated Fat: 2 g, Cholesterol: 180 mg, Sodium: 550 mg, Fiber: 0.5 g, Sugar: 2.5 g
I MADE TODAY FOLLOWED RECIPE EXACTLY BUT THERE WAS NO MARINADE TO DRIZZLE WHILE COOKING. THE MARINADE BURNT ON THE FOIL AND HAD TO COOK THE LEGS 1 HR NOT 45 MINS. IT WAS A LITTLE DRY BUT WE DID ENJOY IT. WHAT CAN I DO NEXT TIME I MAKE IT? REALLY LIKE TO KEEP THE MARINADE AND ADD IT AS IT COOKS.
Try a smaller baking dish and no foil. You can also double the marinade.
Thanks Gina, I was thinking of doubling the marinade.
This was full of flavor. I marinated it overnight. I served it with rice and a vegetable. This is a keeper!
I made this yesterday and paired it with rice and steamed broccoli. I did not blend the marinate. It was amazing and my boys loved the flavor.
Hi, any idea what the smart points would be for this? Looks delicious.Â
I will look into it..
This looked real good. My husband thought it was good. I found it quite bland. But I also have a taste issue when it comes to chicken, I cant taste it, its like eating air, so I have to have some rather STRONG spice on it, and this just didnt do the job. I think next time, I will add some red pepper flakes and a bit of Korean sweet chili sauce in the marinade along with the 5 spice.
When printing out your recipes the entire webpage prints instead of a recipe card. I just printed the five spice chicken recipe and out spat 28 COLOR pages, pictures, comments and all. Not a good look , especially when you’re trying to print out dinner for tonight while at work. As a consequence I’m having to copy and paste recipes into word documents so that only one sheet prints. That takes unnecessary time. Can you speak with your tech team to make it so that when you print just the recipe and directions come out?
With all that being said, I’m looking forward to trying out several of the recipes that I’ve earmarked.
Are you using the print button?
Gina –
Is there a way I can make this with the George Foreman?
Hey Gina, I'm fairly new to the cookie game. I moved out a year ago so never really had to before! I've found your recipes super helpful and my whole family is impressed with the cookie skills I apparently had hidden.
My question is, since my kitchen isn't as stocked – is there any way else to cook this besides roasting? I was thinking of making it with chicken thighs… Do you think I could put it in a slow cooker and the flavor would come out ok?
should have said COOKING. not cookie. 🙂
This was delicious. My boyfriend and I devoured it. And he's insisting we add this to the regular dinner rotation. Thanks for such a great idea!
this is a family favorite!!
Is the points + total include rice?
Should I spray the rack with cooking spray
what are those "five-spice" ingredients? i can't find it and i think i can buy it separately …. (sorry for my bad english :S)
Made these tonight and they were SO flavorful!!!! I think next time I'm going to make them with skin on breasts. I'm not a huge fan of dark meat.
I made this with a couple of adjustments. and it was fantastic! I added a little vinegar, a 1/4 tsp sesame oil and oyster sauce. I also used boneless chicken thighs and threw them all on the George Foreman. Loved it!
Just made this for dinner on Monday and it turned out great! Everyone liked it including the kids! Thanks for another great recipe
I just want to add I used 2 packets of Truvia instead of agave and it turned out great.
I used an old turkey basting trick of my moms on this and it was great. I poured just a bit of orange juice into the bag I had used to marinate the chicken. Shook it all up and then used that as my basting liquid. So, so delicious. I will make this many times. Thanks!
Hi Gina. If I were to use boneless skinless chicken breast would I just lower the cooking time? I'm not a fan of dark meat.
Thanks so much!
Made this tonight and it was DELICIOUS! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
I made this last night…it was AMAZING!
I made something that is also Asian Inspired last night! Spicy Sesame Chicken Chow Mein 🙂
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