Pan Fried Chicken Drumsticks

Juicy, tender pan fried chicken drumsticks, wrapped in sweet tomato sauce. This simple yet impressive chicken recipe will level up your weekly cooking routine. Simple, fast, and incredibly tasty! I will show you how to cook chicken drumsticks on the stove. Let's do it.

The post has extra tips to make sure the recipe comes out amazing on your first try. If you're in a rush, use the link above to jump to the recipe card at the end! 👩‍🍳🔝

Pan fried chicken drumsticks recipe

These delicious chicken drumsticks are cooked in the pan, on the stovetop. No oven, deep fryer, or air fryer is required. In my opinion, this is one of the best chicken recipes I have created so far and I am very excited to share it with you. This is one of those simple recipes that makes a perfect family dinner.

What to love about this recipe:

• One-pan wonder. Not much cleaning up is required.
• Kid-friendly
• Family-friendly
• Budget-friendly
• Only simple ingredients
• Great with any side dish, rice, pasta, potatoes, or salads.
• Gluten-free

Now we have spoken about why you should try this recipe, let's have a look at what we will need. As promised, only simple ingredients that you already have in your fridge and a couple of pantry staples.

Ingredients for pan-fried chicken drumsticks:

• Chicken legs (drumsticks). If your budget allows, opt for organic or free-range chicken.
• Large onion, diced. Just a brown onion is perfect.
• Garlic cloves, minced.
• Organic raw sugar. You can opt out, but just a little bit of sugar will help the chicken to caramelize and will balance the acidity of the tomato sauce.
• Tomato sauce. I used passata. Please don't use tomato ketchup, it will make the dish too sweet.
• Extra virgin olive oil. I never use vegetable oil in my cooking.
• Lemon, juiced. As always fresh is the best.
• Sweet paprika
• Garlic powder
• Sea salt and black pepper to season
• Water, vegetable, or chicken stock.
• Fresh parsley to serve (optional)

Find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below.

Equipment you might find helpful:

• Cast iron skillet with a lid
• Chopping board
• Sharp knife

How to cook chicken drumsticks on a stove

To cook chicken legs on the stovetop is easy. Start by making the chicken marinade.

• Chop onions, crush garlic, and add them to a large bowl.
• Add tomato sauce, freshly squeezed lemon juice, sweet paprika, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Mix until everything is well combined.
• Transfer chicken drumsticks into the mixing bowl and mix so all chicken pieces are properly covered in marinade. Use your hands to massage the marinade into the chicken.
• If you have time, leave the drumsticks to marinate for a couple of hours, but it is also fine to start cooking straight away. (pic 1)
• In a large frying pan heat some extra virgin olive oil on medium heat, add sugar, and stir until sugar melts. Watch it very closely, you don't want the sugar to burn. (pic 2)
• Once the sugar has just started to caramelize, add the chicken legs and stir them, so they get the oil-sugar mix. Let the chicken cook for 3-4 minutes without mixing on low-medium heat.
• Turn the drumsticks around and let them cook on the other side. The chicken pieces should be golden brown all over. (pic 3)
• Now add stock or water and once the liquid is boiling (it will only take a minute or two) mix everything well and cover the pan with a lid. (pic 4)
• Lower the heat down to low and cook for 30 minutes without opening the lid.

Note: If you are worried that the chicken might burn, feel free to open the lid and add some more liquid if needed.

Once the time is over, your chicken is ready to be served. What a delicious meal, that your entire family will enjoy!!

How to tell if chicken legs are fully cooked

I'm not really one to use a meat thermometer while cooking, especially when it comes to chicken drumsticks – they're such speedy cookers! Usually, you can tell they're perfectly done when the meat just falls off the bone with ease. But hey, if you like, you can totally a meat thermometer.

Chicken drumsticks are cooked when the internal temperature reaches the recommended 165°F (74°C).

What to serve with pan fried chicken drumsticks?

This recipe is so versatile that you literally can serve it with any side dish. Serve it with rice, gluten-free pasta, buckwheat, lentils, green beans, or your favorite salad. Here are a couple of ideas you might like to try out:

• How to cook perfect basmati rice on the stove
• Spiced Rice & Lentils (Mejadra)
• How to cook buckwheat groats (easiest way)
• Spiced chickpea salad recipe

How to store fried chicken drumsticks:

Allow the chicken to cool down to room temperature and transfer it into an airtight container. Refrigerate for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop, adding a little bit of water if needed.

How to freeze:

This chicken dish can be frozen for up to three months in an airtight container or in a freezer Ziploc bag. To defrost take the frozen drumsticks out of the freezer in the morning and let them defrost in the fridge until dinner time. To reheat see the instructions above.

Variations:

• Chicken thighs. You can use chicken thighs instead. Just increase the cooking time to 40 minutes.
• Chicken breasts. I personally think that dark chicken meat works the best in this recipe, but if you prefer lean chicken breast meat, go ahead and reduce the cooking time to 20 minutes.
• Add some red pepper flakes or chili powder to the marinade if you would like your chicken spicy.

More easy chicken recipes:

Have you tried this recipe? If so, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could leave a star rating and share your thoughts in a comment. Your feedback means a lot to me, and it can also help others who are interested in trying it out. Thank you! 🌟👩‍🍳

Pan-Fried Chicken Drumsticks

How to cook chicken drumsticks on stove

Elena Elliott

These delicious chicken drumsticks are cooked in the pan, on the stove top. No oven, deep fryer, or air fryer is required. In my opinion, this is one of the best chicken recipes I have created so far and I am very excited to share it with you.

This is one of those simple recipes that makes a perfect family dinner. 

No ratings yet

Print Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course dinner

Cuisine European

Servings 4 serves

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 8 chicken drumsticks
• 1 large onion diced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1.5 teaspoon organic raw sugar
• ¼ to mato sauce
• 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• ½ lemon juiced
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup water or chicken stock

Instructions

 

Marinade:

• Chop onions, crush garlic, and add them to a large bowl.
• Add tomato sauce, freshly squeezed lemon juice, sweet paprika, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Mix until everything is well combined.

Chicken:

• Transfer chicken drumsticks into the mixing bowl and mix so all chicken pieces are properly covered in marinade. Use your hands to massage the marinade into the chicken.
• Leave the drumsticks to marinate for a couple of hours, but if you don't have time, it is fine to start cooking straight away. 
• In a large frying pan heat some extra virgin olive oil on medium heat, add sugar, and stir until sugar melts. Watch it very closely, you don't want the sugar to burn. 
• Once the sugar has just started to caramelize, add the chicken legs and stir them, so they get the oil sugar mix. Let the chicken cook for 3-4 minutes without mixing on low-medium heat. 
• Turn the drumsticks around and let them cook on the other side. The chicken pieces should be golden brown all over.
• Now add stock or water and once the liquid is boiling (it will only take a minute or two) mix everything well and cover the pan with a lid. 
• Lower the heat down to low and cook for 30 minutes without opening the lid.
• Once the time is over, your chicken is ready to be served. What a delicious meal, that your entire family will enjoy!!

Notes

Note: If you are worried that the chicken might burn, feel free to open the lid and add some more liquid if needed.

Keyword pan-fried drumsticks

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