these chicken legs are perfectly browned with a lemon-turmeric dry rub that gives them a golden glow.
In my effort slash quest to share some more dinner-related recipes, aka savoury recipes, I am excited to present to you: the turmeric-lemon chicken legs. My mission to share more healthy, dinner inspo is, in turn, making it so that I actually have to measure shit out (that is *the professional term*), and I finally did just that for these chicken legs.
These legs often make an appearance in my weekly meals rotation, because the flavour is there, and there extremely easy, and so…really that’s it. That checks all my boxes. Flavour and ease. They’re also something a bit different from my go-to chicken dry rub.
Turmeric, of course, has many health benefits, but I am not a health-benefit-site so I would suggest simply googling “turmeric health benefits” and you’ll get a long list. Okay I lied, I just did a quick google for you (thank me later)– turmeric apparently helps fight inflammation, and if you’re on this site for gut health issues, well, you know all about inflammation!!! So it’s a good thing. Also, it has anti-oxidants. So yeah. Good things in turmeric. It’s a good spice. We love it.
As for these chicken legs, I also love how the turmeric turns them this perfect golden yellow, which incidentally just makes them look like they are perfectly “toasted,” they have this golden brown glow to them.
The spice rub below is versatile, and doesn’t need to only be used on chicken legs– feel free to try it for chicken breasts (I can imagine some sort of stir-fry-thing working well with these flavours), or chicken thighs if you like your meat juicy (I personally love chicken thighs, boneless and skinless is just as good as bone-in and skin-on!).
In fact, I’ve got into a habit of making “bulk” versions of some of my favourite spice rubs (namely, the easy whole roasted chicken rub, but also, the red pepper & garlic marinade— I’ll prepare it in advance and freeze some in a mason jar). Basically just double/triple/quadruple the spices called for, and stash it away in a larger glass jar so you have your rub ready-to-go for any type of meat, should you need it. It’s honestly a game-changer, it means I don’t need to compile ten billion (literally!!!!) spices each time to make the ~perfect rub~ — because doing this all from scratch, rather than relying on store-bought or pre-packaged spice mixes, can be time-consuming! I totally recommend bulk spice-mix prep!
Find the full recipe and instructions below. Follow me on Instagram for more daily content: @grainfreee, and definitely let me know if you do try this recipe, how it turned out! Drop me a comment below or DM me on IG.
A few related recipes if you’re looking for some more dinner inspiration:
- EASY CHEESY SHEET PAN ROASTED CAULIFLOWER
- EASY LEMON-GARLIC, PAN-FRIED BRUSSELS SPROUTS
- RED PEPPER & GARLIC-MARINADED CHICKEN LEGS
- EASY WHOLE ROASTED CHICKEN
- EASY ROTISSERIE-STYLE AIR FRYER CHICKEN
lemon turmeric chicken legs: ingredients
- 6 chicken legs
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
lemon turmeric chicken legs: how to
- In a small bowl, mix together all your spices to create your dry rub. Chop up your garlic into small pieces/mince, adding to the spices.
- Clean and pat dry the chicken legs with a paper towel, and then use the dry rub all across the chicken legs until each is well covered.
- Top with the lemon zest, juice, and extra virgin olive oil. Cover the chicken legs and let sit in fridge for few hours prior to cooking if time.
- Roast in a preheated oven at 375 for 50 mins, until cooked through and golden brown.
easy roasted lemon turmeric chicken legs
Ingredients
- 6 chicken legs
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together all your spices to create your dry rub. Chop up your garlic into small pieces/mince, adding to the spices.
- Clean and pat dry the chicken legs with a paper towel, and then use the dry rub all across the chicken legs until each is well covered.
- Top with the lemon zest, juice and extra virgin olive oil. Cover the chicken legs and let sit in fridge for few hours prior to cooking if time.
- Roast in a preheated oven at 375 for 50 mins, until cooked through and golden brown.