Juicy chicken leg quarters with crispy skin, sweet black raspberry glaze and a little kick. Black Raspberry Glazed Chicken Legs are great served hot, or chilled for picnics.

Black Raspberry Glazed Chicken Legs with blackberry salad on a gray plate, on a white tea towel with green leaves.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. That means I get a small commission if you buy products I recommend at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I believe in from companies I believe in—either I use them myself or I’ve at least done thorough research.

Hope you’re ready to lick your fingers, because ooohhh boy.

Somehow these Black Raspberry Glazed Chicken Legs are juicy, crispy, sticky, sweet, tangy and a little spicy all at the same time.

They’re delicious straight out of the oven, and they’re also delicious chilled. Dying to eat outside your house? Me too. Just throw them in a cooler and you’ve got the perfect picnic food.

Don’t forget the hand wipes though. The glaze is stunning on the chicken—less so on your pants.

Black Raspberry Glazed Chicken Legs with blackberry salad and a glass with more glaze on a gray plate, on a white tea towel with green leaves.

The ingredients: unusual suspects

This recipe is a continuation of my obsession with rounding out meat and poultry with fruit. We’ve established that peaches and pork belong together, so now let’s acknowledge the sweet, tangy richness of black raspberry jam is perfect with savory chicken and a little heat.

A couple notes on some of the ingredients:

Black raspberry jam is a little pricey and hard to find, but it’s worth it. I suggest using seedless. That being said, you could easily use raspberry, blackberry and seeded jam if you have it or that’s all you can find. I personally love Stonewall Kitchen Black Raspberry Jam.
The recipe calls for chili paste. Recently I’ve been using Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce, but you could also use Sambal Oelek Chili Paste. I used to use Gourmet Garden Chili Pepper Stir-In Paste, but I haven’t been able to find it at my local stores lately (it’s not shelf-stable). I honestly think it’s hard to go wrong here.

I’ve shared this recipe with a few people already, and one thing people have been a little iffy on at first are the chicken leg quarters. I get it. They look a little intimidating. You probably mostly see them sold in huge bags, way too big for something you don’t know how to use.

But while I have your attention, I’ve got a PSA: Chicken leg quarters are delicious! Easy to cook! Cheap!

What are chicken leg quarters?

Chicken leg quarters are just the whole leg of a chicken, including the thigh, drumstick, and all the delicious skin that goes with it. They’re super affordable and often sold in bulk because they don’t require much labor as they’re not separated. They’re also a pretty fatty cut, with both dark and light meat—one of the reasons they’re so delicious.

A closeup of a Black Raspberry Glazed Chicken Leg with blackberry salad on a gray plate, on a white tea towel with green leaves.

Yes, you can use just chicken thighs (reduce the time) in this recipe. Yes, you can use boneless skinless chicken thighs (really reduce the time). You can even use split chicken breasts (but NOT boneless, skinless—just use another recipe for that)! But trust me, just use the whole chicken leg quarters.

Seriously. This recipe is so easy. There’s no trimming. No separating parts. Literally the only modification you have to do is separating the skin to rub the seasoning underneath (worth it!).

Also, you don’t have to buy the giant bag. You can, especially if you have a bunch of people to feed or lots of freezer space—but I can usually find a pack of two or four at Aldi.

Hot tip: at stores with meat counters, you can usually ask them if they have any in the back, or if they’ll split a pack for you. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: butchers and meat counter workers are generally happy to help you get what you need.

How to roast chicken leg quarters

Get this: just season, pop it in the oven, and roast long enough to get the meat cooked through and the skin nice and crispy. See my recipe below for the sweet spot to get it perfect, plus a few extra tricks (spoiler alert: use a cooling rack to cook the bottom evenly).

Oh, and a bonus? The recipe for Black Raspberry Glazed Chicken Legs is super easy to adapt, so once you have it down, you have like 50 new chicken dinner possibilities.

You can make a glaze with just about anything. Want orange glaze? Orange juice with a little honey, soy sauce and chili paste. Like barbecue chicken? Glaze it with your favorite bbq sauce.

Don’t feel like glazing? Cool. The skin is so crispy with this method you don’t really need one. Just use a dry rub with salt and whatever you like. Dried Italian herbs or Chinese five-spice powder sounds good! No? How about brown sugar and paprika?

See? Easy. And tasty.