Some of the best suppers come from the kind of recipe you can put together without much fuss, and this 4-ingredient oven chicken is just that sort of meal. Chicken leg quarters bake up tender, juicy, and full of rich flavor, and with only a few pantry staples, you get a comforting dish that feels like the kind of dependable family supper so many of us grew up with in Midwestern kitchens. It is the sort of recipe you make on a busy weeknight, then keep making because everybody at the table asks for it again.
This chicken goes especially well with mashed potatoes, buttered egg noodles, rice, or a pan of roasted vegetables to catch all those savory juices. For a fuller old-fashioned supper, serve it with green beans, corn, a simple lettuce salad, or warm dinner rolls, and don’t forget to spoon a little of the pan sauce over everything on the plate.
4-Ingredient Oven Chicken
Servings: 4
Ingredients
4 raw chicken leg quarters
1 packet dry onion soup mix, about 1 ounce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch glass baking dish if needed, then arrange the raw chicken leg quarters in a single layer.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the dry onion soup mix, ketchup, and water until combined. Pour the mixture evenly over the chicken.
3. Bake uncovered for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the chicken is deeply browned and cooked through to 165°F in the thickest part. If you like, spoon some of the pan juices over the chicken once or twice during baking.
4. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving. Spoon the sauce from the pan over each piece and serve hot.
Variations & Tips
Add a little sweetness: If your family likes a sweeter sauce, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of brown sugar or honey with the ketchup mixture. It gives the chicken a more old-fashioned sweet-and-savory flavor.
Make it with other chicken pieces: This recipe also works nicely with bone-in thighs or drumsticks. Just reduce the cooking time as needed and always check that the chicken reaches a safe internal temperature of 165°F.
Crispier skin tip: If you want the skin a bit crisper, bake the chicken uncovered the whole time and place it under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes at the end, watching carefully so the sauce does not burn.
Pan sauce tip: The juices in the baking dish are too good to waste. Spoon them over rice, potatoes, or buttered noodles, or thicken them in a saucepan with a small cornstarch slurry if you would like more of a gravy-style finish.