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Savory and lemony Japanese Roasted Lemon Chicken Legs recipe with juicy flavorful meat and crispy skins. This Paleo Whole30 and Keto crispy chicken legs/drumsticks recipe are great for roasting, grilling, and barbecuing. Simple, easy, and bursting with flavor. It’ll become your favorite crispy lemon chicken recipe!
If you are looking for more ways to enjoy crispy chicken, you’ll also love my Chicken Lollipop – they are air fried or baked to golden crispy!
Japanese Roasted Lemon Chicken Legs or Drumsticks – Juicy, Savory, and Lemony
Nate and I used to frequent a Japanese Izakaya restaurant in midtown Manhattan when a friend of ours worked as a bartender. This Japanese Roasted Lemon Chicken Legs recipe is inspired by that little Izakaya spot with my own twist to make it Paleo Whole30 and Keto friendly.
It’s a very simple and humble recipe, yet bursting with flavor. In most Izakaya restaurants, you’ll find similar versions from deboned chicken thighs, whole legs, and drumsticks, to wings, charcoal grilled to juicy perfection!
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Best Healthy Easy Meal Prep Dish For Chicken Lovers !
This lemon chicken recipe is ridiculously easy to prep and perfect for meal prepping. No chopping required. Just a few simple dry spice rubs and dash of coconut aminos and fresh lemon juice. Let the marination do its magical work and you’ll have the best savory and lemony juicy roasted lemon chicken ! And when hot weather comes this Japanese Roasted Lemon Chicken Legs recipe is also perfect for outdoor grilling/ barbecuing. How fun !
I highly recommend that you marinate the chicken overnight (which makes this dish perfect for meal prep). The same recipe will work for chicken thighs, whole chicken legs, drumsticks, and wings. Please purchase chicken with skin on for best flavor !
What to serve with Japanese Roasted Lemon Chicken Legs ?
A side of simple salad, any one of my Asian Side Dishes, Pineapple cauliflower fried rice, or top the roasted lemon chicken legs with freezer friendly sweet potato yam mash. I guarantee you’ll find yourself mouthwater and cannot stop licking your fingers with these chicken !
So my friends these Japanese Roasted Lemon Chicken Legs are –
Lemony
Umami rich savory
Juicy meat
Crispy skin
Easy
Little hands on time
Perfect for meal prep
Great for grill, roast, or barbecue
Paleo, Whole30, Keto, and Gluten-free
If you give this Roasted Lemon Chicken a try, let me know ! Leave a comment and rate the recipe. And don’t forget to take a picture and tag it #IHeartUmami on Instagram. I’d love to see what you come up with. XOXO !
Japanese Roasted Lemon Chicken Legs (or Drumsticks) Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- Two whole chicken legs about 1 to 1.25 lbs, skin on and bone-in
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- ¼ tsp ginger powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp coconut aminos
- Half of one whole lemon juice for marinade plus more before serving
- Cooking fat of your choice ghee, avocado, or coconut oil
Instructions
- Use a fork to poke/pierce a few holes all over chicken legs. Gently rub the chicken front and back, over the skin and in-between (between the skin and the meat pocket) with dry spice seasonings (pepper, salt, ginger, and garlic powder). Marinate the legs overnight with coconut aminos and lemon juice.*
- Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Heat 2 tbsp cooking fat of your choice over a large cast iron skillet. When hot, lower the heat to medium, slightly drip off the marinade. Place the chicken skin side down first and pan fry until golden brown (about 7-8 minutes). Pan fry the flip side for an additional 5-6 minutes. Place the legs over a wire rack lined with parchment paper. Pour the chicken juice and oil from the skillet over the legs and bake.
- Bake at 400F, lower rack for 35 minutes (check after 25 mins) or until the thickest part of the legs reach 165F with a meat thermometer.
- Allow the chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Serve hot or in room temperature with more lemon wedges and a side of fresh leafy green salad.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is a favorite at my house! So flavorful and very forgiving. It comes together really quickly (and still super tasty) if I don’t remember to marinate ahead of time. Thanks for this delicious recipe!!
Made this tonight (prepared and let marinate last night). It was delicious!! I cooked down the marinade (5 min boiling to kill bacteria) and used with brussels sprouts (also your recipe). Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. I know I can always count on you for a great meal!
Thank you so much!
Made this tonight (prepared and let marinate last night). It was delicious!! I cooked down the marinade (5 min boiling to kill bacteria) and used with brussels sprouts (also your recipe). Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. I know I can always count on you for a great meal!
The lemon juice in that recipe has my mouth watering. Looks so yummy, all of those ingredients!
All the flavours I love! This dish is so simple and perfect 🙂
Looks fantastic and perfect for my keto lifestyle. Saving this recipe to try out next week.
These were Delicious! my husband and I loved it so much we made it twice in 1 week! Even my 3 year old enjoyed it! Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you ! So happy to hear !!
Crispy chicken with moist meat inside is the best! I love how you get this recipe started ahead of time. It makes the actual meal prep seem much easier.
I really love crispy chicken! And lemon always makes everything better!
This looks so good! I’m sure my family would love this for dinner.
Thanks so much, Tina !