My auntie Rose’s baked chicken recipe is seriously a thing of beauty. She rubs the chicken with a homemade spice rub that marinates to really get into the meat. Then she bakes it up with butter, onions, a little maple and more poppin flavors. It bakes up like a dream and gets so juicy and tender, it falls off the bone. She’s given us a ton of bomb recipes like her cornbread dressing and deviled eggs so you know this is a hit.
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How to Make Baked Chicken
Step 1: Pat chicken dry and place in a large bowl. Mix seasoned salt, rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper. Toss the chicken to coat. Cover and refrigerate 2–3 hours or if you can, overnight. When ready to bake, bring to room temp for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 325°F. Arrange chicken in an 8×11 or 9×13-inch dish, drizzle with maple syrup, top with onions, and dot with butter.
Step 2: Lastly, drizzle Worcestershire sauce over the chicken. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 1 hour. After an hour, turn the chicken over and evenly sprinkle the top of the chicken with paprika. Bake for an additional hour.
Step 3: After the 2nd hour, turn the temperature to 350 degrees. Remove foil, sprinkle with more paprika if desired for color. Brown for 20-30 more minutes. Garnish with fresh rosemary and serve.
Baked Chicken Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 tsp seasoned salt
- 2 tsp dried rosemary
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 4 lbs fresh chicken wings We use wings most of the time but you can also use legs or even thighs but not breasts
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup butter in pats
- 1 large onion thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- Paprika to taste
- Fresh rosemary for garnish
Instructions
- Dry chicken with paper towels and place in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk together seasoned salt, dried rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper in a small bowl until combined.
- Sprinkle and toss chicken with seasoning mix ensuring all of the chicken is completely covered. Cover and place chicken in the refrigerator and rest for 2-3 hours or even overnight.
- When ready to bake, remove chicken from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Add chicken to a 8×11 or 9×13” baking dish.
- Use a spoon to drizzle chicken with maple syrup on both sides. Cover with onions then add pats of butter over the chicken. Lastly, drizzle Worcestershire sauce over the chicken. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 1 hour.
- After an hour, turn the chicken over and evenly sprinkle the top of the chicken with paprika. Bake for an additional hour.
- After the 2nd hour, turn the temperature to 350 degrees. Remove foil, sprinkle with more paprika if desired for color. Brown for 20-30 more minutes. Garnish with fresh rosemary and serve.
Notes
Storage
Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Freezer: Wrap individual portions of cooked chicken in aluminum foil and place them in a freezer-safe bag. You can freeze the chicken this way for up to 3 months. Reheating: Reheat leftovers in the oven at 350°F for 15-20 minutes, or until warm.Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Dry Them Well! Press firmly on the wings with paper towels to blot away excess moisture. The less moisture on the skin, the more crisp and flavorful your wings will be!
- Don’t Use Breasts: Because we are baking this chicken for quite a while, these will just dry out.
- Turn While Baking: Be sure to set a timer and turn the chicken halfway through baking. Flipping the chicken will ensure even cooking and golden-brown skin all over! I also like to rotate the baking dish so it gets evenly cooked.
- Serving Suggestions: This meal is seriously so perfect with easy sides like honey glazed carrots and green beans with tomatoes. Or you can have a fantastic Sunday supper with slow cooker mashed potatoes, creamed corn and mustard greens.
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I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
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this recipe is amazing! flavors blend perfectly! i did use tenderloin and broiled for an extra 5 mins, came out beautifully. even better as leftovers!
Thanks, boo!
I’ve made this several times now and it is absolutely delicious. I make it with chicken thighs and man are they good. I adjust the cook time to a bit longer for thighs. So well seasoned and tender!
Yum!! So glad you liked the recipe!
I made this last night for dinner. Follow the recipe to the T! Delicious! Moist and juicy on the inside, nice and brown on the out. Thank you!
Yay so happy to hear that!
This looks wonderful! Any thoughts on cornbread stuffing in the cavity?
This isn’t baked as a whole chicken so not sure if you want to do that.
I just made this Southern Baked Chicken recipe, and it was a massive hit! The seasoning blend is perfect, and the crispy skin was so satisfying. Thank you for sharing this gem! Can’t wait to try it again!
That’s fantastic. Thank you so much. So glad you enjoyed it.
Maple syrup is a Game changer for me here as I’ve never used it with baked chicken before. It’s baking now and smells amazing!
How’d it turn out?
Finger lickin’ good;)
Made this tonight. It is delicious. My son said it’s the BEST chicken he has ever had! And this coming from a boy whose grandmother makes the best fried chicken ever. He’s already begging me to make it again next week.
Wow thank you so so much. My aunt will be happy reading this.
This recipe completely changed the way I cook chicken. I have never liked dark meat my entire life and now I cook it regularly. I am famous for this chicken among my family. I Would recommend it to absolutely anyone. It is an absolute 10, easy as it gets and versatile, you can tweak it in dozens of ways!
Wow thank you so so much!
I made these wings last night and it was worth the prep and cook time. They smelled divine and were delicious. Congrats on the latest book release I plan on making quite a few of your recipes. Thank you!
Looks like a great recipe. However, is there a replacement option for Worcestershire which usually has anchovies and is related to fish/shellfish allergies. Curious.
There are actually some vegan worchestershire replacements that might work well for you! There is one by Annie’s