More Chicken Recipes
Sticky Oven Baked Drumsticks with Harissa & Honey
Indulge in the perfect blend of sweet and spicy flavors with our Sticky Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks with Harissa & Honey recipe. These chicken drumsticks are marinated in a zesty harissa and honey mixture, then baked to perfection, creating a sticky and caramelized glaze that's simply irresistible. It's an easy and delicious way to elevate your weeknight dinner or impress guests at your next gathering. Give it a try and experience finger-licking goodness in every bite!
Ingredients
- 1kg chicken drumsticks
- 2 tbso olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp harissa
- 1 tbsp honey
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Mix together the oil, lemon juice, harissa, honey and salt until combined.
- Toss chicken drumsticks through the harissa mixture until the drumsticks are well coated. Set aside to marinate for one hour.
- Preheat oven to 220C.
- Transfer drumsticks to a non-stick baking tray, and cook in the hot oven for 15 minutes.
- Flip the drumsticks, and then cook an additional 20 minutes, or until the chicken skin and marinade has darkened and caramelised.
What I Cook With
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Amount Per Serving: Calories: 341Total Fat: 14.6gSaturated Fat: 3.2gCholesterol: 148mgSodium: 191mgCarbohydrates: 3.9gFiber: 0gSugar: 3.6gProtein: 46g
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Sticky Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks with Harissa and Honey
Some recipes are fancy. Some are fiddly. And some, like these Sticky Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks with Harissa and Honey, are so ridiculously easy and delicious that they become part of your regular weeknight dinner rotation without even trying. This one ticks all the right boxes: minimal prep, maximum flavour, and barely any mess to clean up afterwards. It’s a classic throw-it-in-a-container-and-shake-it kind of meal. I usually use this marinade for chicken breast, but thanks to lockdown, this week I had to try it out on drumsticks instead and honestly had no regrets. Something about the richer, darker meat works beautifully with those punchy flavours and makes the whole thing even more satisfying.
I typically plan my recipes weeks in advance, photographing them on weekends, editing during the week, and trying to keep a little bit ahead of schedule. But right now, lockdown is making it incredibly difficult to plan anything properly. One week garlic is impossible to find, the next week it’s eggs, and at the moment, cinnamon has vanished from every single supermarket within 10km. Except my local corner shop, of course, which mysteriously always has it in stock. So I’ve stopped trying to plan so tightly and instead I’m leaning into flexible, pantry-based recipes. This one came together during that process, and it’s quickly become one of my favourites because of how simple and forgiving it is.
Now let’s talk about harissa. It’s the absolute star of this marinade, and it’s the reason this honey and harissa chicken recipe works so well. If you’ve never cooked with it before, harissa is a spicy chilli paste that originated in North Africa. It’s made with red peppers, garlic, caraway seeds, coriander, and cumin, and it brings such a depth of flavour. Add a bit of honey and some lemon juice, and the harissa does the rest of the heavy lifting, taking you straight to Flavour Town with very little effort.
A Midweek Favourite
There is something incredibly comforting about having a tray of sticky chicken roasting away in the oven. It fills the whole house with delicious smells and makes the day feel a little more normal, even when the world outside doesn’t. I’m leaning hard into meals like this right now because they require no fuss and deliver a big payoff. The kind of dinner you can throw together in under ten minutes and then just forget about while it cooks away in the oven.
Because the marinade is so full of flavour, I don’t really need much on the side. A bit of couscous or some steamed greens is usually enough. And on the nights I’m craving comfort food, I’ll do some roast potatoes or rice to soak up all that sticky sauce. It’s also the kind of meal that scales up really well. A bigger tray, more drumsticks, double the marinade, and suddenly there’s enough to feed a household or have a few meals prepped for the next day. And clean-up is a breeze too, especially with a bit of foil or baking paper on the tray.
I’m also completely obsessed with scraping up those sticky, caramelised bits on the tray – you know the ones.! That glossy glaze that almost sticks like toffee? So good. I always sneak a few bites before plating everything up, telling myself it’s for quality control.
Why Harissa Deserves a Spot in Your Fridge
Before this recipe, I hadn’t cooked with harissa much. I think I first picked up a jar out of curiosity after seeing it mentioned online and wanting to try something new. What I found was that it became one of those secret weapon ingredients that makes even the simplest dish taste like it took hours. It has heat, but it’s not overpowering. Just enough spice to keep things interesting, and when mixed with honey, it mellows into something rich and warm.
I’ve started using harissa in other things too, now that it’s in the fridge. Mixed into soup, stirred through yoghurt for a quick sauce, or brushed over vegetables before roasting. It adds so much flavour with so little effort. But it really shines in this recipe. The combination of harissa and honey with a splash of lemon juice creates a marinade that clings to the drumsticks and bakes into this perfectly sticky, spicy, sweet glaze.
It also helps that harissa keeps well in the fridge and doesn’t take up much space, which matters more than ever right now when grocery runs are limited. It’s an ingredient that gives back tenfold, and it turns what could be a plain chicken dinner into something that feels a bit special. Every time I make this, I’m reminded why it’s become one of my lockdown go-tos.
Ingredients Breakdown
Let’s break it down. For these Sticky Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks with Harissa and Honey, I’m of course using chicken drumsticks, but you could swap this out for chicken thigh. They’re budget friendly, full of flavour, and hold up beautifully in the oven. Drumsticks have a richness that pairs so well with bold flavours, and they soak up the marinade like a dream. Perfect for a dish that needs to be both hearty and easygoing.
The marinade comes together with olive oil, lemon juice, harissa, and honey. Olive oil helps everything coat the chicken evenly and keeps it moist while baking. The lemon juice cuts through the richness of the meat, adding a bit of zing and freshness. Harissa brings all the personality – spicy, smoky, with just enough warmth to wake up the palate without overpowering it. And then there’s honey, which balances the heat and helps everything get gorgeously sticky in the oven.
A pinch of salt ties it all together. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated. Just a few good ingredients doing what they do best. That’s the beauty of this recipe. You don’t need to mess around with lots of extras. Just let the ingredients speak for themselves and enjoy the kind of dinner that feels effortless but tastes like you planned it all week.
I tried this fantastic dish before!!
This weekend special appetizer will be again at my Deli shop in Archanes, Crete!!
I hop the weather not too hot for it!!
Thanks for the recipe!!
So glad you enjoyed it!!! xxx
I’m in love with this recipe (and the picture!). It has just a handful of ingredients, and I bet the flavor is phenomenal! I can’t wait to try this, and I know my kids will gobble it up, too!
This recipe looks full of flavour and I’m sure it’ll be a great one for a party (which will definitely be happening post quarantine and when it’s safe to do so!)
These are amazing!! I love the flavor of the sauce, really adds to the whole recipe
I am in love with these honey spiced chicken drumsticks!