Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Five Spice Roasted Chicken Legs
Five-spice gives these chicken legs a warm aroma that makes dinner hard to ignore. It's a pleasant change from the usual chicken seasoning, with savory, slightly sweet edges to enjoy.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 75 min
- Total
- 445 min
- Original yield
- Serves 6
- Ingredients
- 8 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Dinner
- Primary protein
- Chicken
- Cuisine
- Chinese · Asian · Japanese
- Cooking method
- Roasting · Baked & roasted
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: over 60 minutes
A few quick notes
1. Plan for the marinade time
The chicken needs a good stretch in the fridge, anywhere from 6-8 hours to overnight. Mix it earlier in the day, or the night before, so the roasting part feels easy later.
2. Use the rack if you can
Set the chicken on a rack in the foil-lined roasting pan. It keeps the legs lifted while they roast, so they’re not sitting directly in the marinade and pan juices.
3. Foil first, then uncover
The loose foil tent is only for the first part of roasting. After 30 minutes, take it off so the chicken can finish cooking while you baste it now and then.
Get to know the ingredients
Chicken legs
Use whole chicken legs with the thighs and drumsticks attached, and trim the fat before marinating. That’s the cut and prep the roasting time is built around.
Fresh aromatics
The garlic, shallot and grated fresh ginger all go into the blender for the marinade. Blending makes the mixture smooth, so it coats the chicken more evenly in the bag or container.
Soy sauce or tamari
Reduced sodium soy sauce is used in the marinade, with tamari listed for a gluten-free option. Either way, blend it with the aromatics before it goes over the chicken.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 6. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 5 steps completeMake room for Five Spice Roasted Chicken Legs
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Check between the leg and thigh
Roast until the internal temperature reaches 165°-170°F, placing the thermometer between the leg and the thigh. That spot gives you the doneness cue for these attached chicken legs.
A little more help as you go
Blend until smooth
The marinade ingredients are blended before they touch the chicken. Don’t leave the garlic or shallot chunky here; a smooth marinade is easier to distribute over all the pieces.
Baste while it finishes
Once the foil comes off, the chicken keeps roasting for about 45 minutes longer. Baste occasionally during that stretch so the surface stays coated as it cooks through.
A few questions you might have
Can I marinate the chicken overnight?
Yes. The recipe gives 6-8 hours or as long as overnight, so overnight is built in. Keep it refrigerated the whole time.
Do I pour the marinade into the pan with the chicken?
The chicken goes on a rack in a foil-lined roasting pan after marinating. The directions don’t call for pouring extra marinade into the pan, just placing the chicken on the rack to roast.
Where should I put the thermometer?
Insert it between the leg and the thigh. The chicken is done when that spot reaches 165°-170°F.
When do I remove the foil tent?
Roast the chicken covered loosely for 30 minutes, then remove the foil. After that it continues roasting uncovered, with occasional basting, until it reaches the right internal temperature.
Can I use sugar instead of agave?
Yes. The marinade calls for agave or sugar, so use either one with the soy sauce, aromatics and five-spice powder before blending.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: skinnytaste.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.