These delicious Moroccan spiced crispy chicken legs are perfectly crispy on the outside with gorgeous, succulent meat on the inside. This recipe is super easy to make and does not involve marinating or precooking the meat - just coat in the spices, bake and enjoy!

This spiced crispy chicken legs recipe takes under 10 minutes to prepare and makes a fantastic family dinner.

This is the easiest method of baking chicken legs to crispy perfection I know and I am very excited to share it with you today. I made this recipe a few times, each time a little differently in order to compare the results and decide which method worked best. Once using spatchcock chicken and once using smaller chicken legs.

Although the chicken tasted delicious each time (I used the same spice mix) the texture of the spatchcock chicken wasn't exactly what I was looking for. The problem with using spatchcock chicken is that white meat cooks quickly and can be chewy if roasted for too long, so it's best to stick to dark meat only.

When I used smaller chicken legs the skin was nice and crispy but the meat was a little dry around the edges.

Using chicken leg quarters produced the best results. The skin was paper thin and perfectly crispy with no traces of fat in it while the meat inside was succulent and absolutely delicious.

How to make chicken legs crispy

Bake slowly in a preheated oven at a low/moderate temperature until nicely browned on top.
Bake the chicken legs skin side up.
Start basting halfway through.

Crispy chicken legs ingredients

This recipe consists of chicken legs (with the skin on), a Moroccan inspired spice mixture and a little oil to keep the spices together and help crisp up the skin.

You can play around with the proportions in this spice mix to suit your preference. For example, adjust the amount of cayenne to create a milder or spicier mix. If you are not a fan of cinnamon, for example, omit it and use more paprika instead (or add a little smoked paprika).

Top tip

In order to create a crispy finish it is important to use chicken with the skin on.

Step-by-step recipe instructions

1.Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 180 C/ gas mark 4. Line a large roasting pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a bowl combine all the spices and salt and stir thoroughly.

2. Scatter the mixture over the bottom of your roasting pan. Remove any loose pieces of skin from the chicken and pat the meat dry on both sides.

3. Coat the chicken legs in the spice mix on both sides as evenly as possible and arrange in your pan, skin side up. Drizzle over a little oil.

4. Bake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Start basting after about 45 minutes every 15 minutes or so. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Top tips

It is important to pat the meat dry before coating in the spices. Also try to coat the meat as evenly as possible.
Bake the chicken legs in a preheated oven.
Start basting after 40-50 minutes when there are enough juices in your roasting pan.
Do NOT turn the meat over. It should be roasted skin side up.
Serve the chicken straight from the oven as it won't be as crispy after 15 minutes.
You can prepare the spice mixture ahead, store it in a jar and keep in a cupboard. If you double the ingredients you can also use it in other recipes. Sprinkle over potato wedges or other vegetables before popping them in the oven, add to fajitas (whether you are using meat or just vegetables), burritos etc.

Serving suggestions

Serve this Moroccan spiced chicken with cauliflower rice tabbouleh or roasted cauliflower salad. Tastes delicious also with rice, couscous or curried quinoa.

Check out also this collection of 13 healthy easy one pot chicken recipes.

Keep in touch!

If you make this spiced crispy chicken legs recipe I'd love to know how it turned out for you. Did you add any more spices into the mixture? Let me know in the comments below, thanks:)

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