For this recipe, I marinated drumsticks, which are one of the least expensive meats (FYI chicken thighs and pork cutlets are cheap too!) They are coated in a spicy, sweet chili lime dressing and roasted in your oven to perfection.
Where does the sweet come in? The paprika!
There’s a huge variety of paprika, but when a recipe calls for simply “paprika,” it’s typically referring to sweet paprika, which is labeled simply “paprika” at your common grocery store and brings in the flavor of sweet red peppers. Hungarian and Spanish paprika are the most popular kinds. Hungarian will have a sweet but bold, very spicy flavor. It’s the national spice of Hungary, so they take it seriously! If you see Spanish paprika, it will be more mild and sweet, but you can also find smoked varieties that lend to earthy dishes.
Sweet & Spicy Chili Lime Marinated Drumsticks Recipe
Servings: 2 (4 drumsticks)
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes
Nutritional Facts: 4g Net Carbs| 895 Calories | 59g Fat | 4g Carbs | 78g Protein | 0g Fiber
Ingredients:
- 8 large free-range chicken drumsticks or 24 drumettes
Marinade ingredients:
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- the juice of 3 limes
- 1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Steps:
- Combine all the marinade ingredients in an airtight jar and shake vigorously to blend. You can keep it refrigerated for up to three days if you don’t plan on using it right away.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and place a wire rack on it.
- In a bowl, toss the drumsticks with 1/4 cup of the prepared chili lime marinade.
- Place the drumsticks on a wire rack and bake until cooked through, about 40 minutes, basting with the remaining 1/4 cup of the marinade halfway through.
- Cook until the drumsticks reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F and enjoy!
Sweet & Spicy Chili Lime Marinated Drumsticks
These drumsticks are coated in a spicy, sweet chili lime marinade and baked to perfection. This marinade can also be used as a dressing. It’s slightly spicy but balanced by the lime.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
Ingredients
- 8 large free-range chicken drumsticks or 24 drumettes
Marinade ingredients:
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- the juice of 3 limes
- 1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Combine all the marinade ingredients in an airtight jar and shake vigorously to blend. You can keep it refrigerated for up to three days if you don’t plan on using it right away.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and place a wire rack on it.
- In a bowl, toss the drumsticks with 1/4 cup of the prepared chili lime marinade.
- Place the drumsticks on a wire rack and bake until cooked through, about 40 minutes, basting with the remaining 1/4 cup of the marinade halfway through.
- Cook until the drumsticks reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F and enjoy!
Notes
This marinade can also be used as a dressing. It’s slightly spicy but balanced by the lime.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 drumsticks
- Calories: 895
- Fat: 59g
- Carbohydrates: 4g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 78g
Keywords: chicken thighs
10 comments
how is this sweet? Spicy I get, but there’s nothing to lend the recipe sweetness.
The paprika brings in a subtle, but non-traditional sweetness.
I, too, was wondering where the sweet came in?
Paprika! 🙂 There’s a huge variety of paprika, but when a recipe calls for simply “paprika,” it’s typically referring to sweet paprika, which is labeled simply “paprika” at your common grocery store and brings in the flavor of sweet red peppers.
I’m confused. The top of the recipe says 8 drumsticks is 4 servings but at the bottom it says a serving is 4. Which is out? How does 2 drumsticks come to 895 calories and 59 grams of fat?
Sorry that was very unclear, I just updated it. A serving is 4 drumsticks. For four the nutrition is correct, as drumsticks are quite fatty!
Thanks for the info on different kinds of paprika. Can you impart upon chili powder in the same way? It seems to be a generic term to me because different brands have different ‘blends’ of garlic powder, onion powder, the TYPE of chilis, etc to make chili powder. Then there are the specific chili powders like Ancho Chili for example. I’m always confused when a recipe calls for chili powder what to use. Thanks for any info!
There are SO many options for Chili powders, though most refer to basic chili powder you’ll find at the grocery store which is red chili pepper and often a few other ingredients like allspice and cloves. “Dark” chili powder is more spicy and is more just chili and less added spices, whereas other powders are identified by the pepper (cayenne, etc.)
Thank you for spicing up my life! No pun intended. Man, I never knew drumsticks could taste even better and healthier to be exact. I am looking forward to trying this recipe out and I have full confidence that it will taste as great as I expect it to. More power to your blog!!! Keep those great recipes comin.
★★★★★
A super-cusotmizable recipe, very inspirational to create soemthing quick and easy to prepare for a spicy dinner without breaking the budget: thanks Amanda! I find it useful to avoid boreness and make some variations using what you have on hands, as using lemons or apple cider vinegar if you haven’t lime, or changing the cuts of meats as you suggest (chicken thights, but also chicken wings even if in that case you’ll finish having less meat to eat and more discard, so maybe make a mix of different pieces would be the best options, or half a chicken skin on cut in pieces), or even substituting meat with fish: what about shrimps? Delish! Or even salmon (skin on) or sardines… so let’s move on and start cooking 🙂 Easy, affordable and tasty: satisfaction guaranteed!