How to cook chicken drumsticks on the stove with water

Juicy, tender chicken drumsticks, wrapped in sweet tomato sauce. This simple yet impressive recipe will level up your weekly cooking routine. Simple, fast, and incredibly tasty!

These delicious chicken drumsticks are cooked in the pan, on the stove top. No oven, deep fryer, or air fryer is required. In my opinion, this is one of the best chicken recipes I have created so far and I am very excited to share it with you. This is one of those simple recipes that makes a perfect family dinner.

Why will you love this recipe:

• One-pan wonder. Not much cleaning up is required.
• Kid-friendly
• Family-friendly
• Budget-friendly
• Only simple ingredients
• Great with any side dish, rice, pasta, potatoes, salads.
• Gluten-free

Now we have spoken about why you should try this recipe, let's have a look at what we will need. As promised, only simple ingredients that you already have in your fridge and a couple of pantry staples.

Ingredients:

• Chicken legs (drumsticks). If your budget allows, opt for organic or free-range chicken.
• Large onion, diced. Just a brown onion is perfect.
• Garlic cloves, minced.
• Organic raw sugar. You can opt-out, but just a little bit of sugar will help the chicken to caramelize and will balance the acidity of the tomato sauce.
• Tomato sauce. I used passata, please don't use tomato ketchup, it will make the dish too sweet.
• Extra virgin olive oil. I never use vegetable oil in my cooking.
• Lemon, juiced. As always fresh is the best.
• Sweet paprika
• Garlic powder
• Sea salt and black pepper to season
• Water, vegetable, or chicken stock.
• Fresh parsley to serve (optional)

Equipment you might find helpful:

• Cast iron skillet with a lid
• Chopping board
• Sharp knife

How to cook chicken drumsticks in a pan

Start by making the marinade.

• Chop onions, crush garlic and add them to a large bowl.
• Add tomato sauce, freshly squeezed lemon juice, sweet paprika, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Mix until everything is well combined.
• Transfer chicken drumsticks into the mixing bowl and mix so all chicken pieces are properly covered in marinade. Use your hands to massage the marinade into the chicken.
• If you have time, leave the drumsticks to marinate for a couple of hours, but it is also fine to start cooking straight away. (Pic 1)
• In a large frying pan heat some extra virgin olive oil on medium heat, add sugar, and stir until sugar melts. Watch it very closely, you don't want the sugar to burn. (Pic 2)
• Once sugar has just started to caramelize, add the chicken legs and stir them, so they get the oil sugar mix. Let the chicken cook for 3-4 minutes without mixing on low-medium heat. (Pic 3)
• Turn the drumsticks around and let them cook on the other side. The chicken pieces should be golden brown all over.
• Now add stock or water and once the liquid is boiling (it will only take a minute or two) mix everything well and cover the pan with a lid. (Pic 4)
• Lower the heat down to low and cook for 30 minutes without opening the lid.

Note: If you are worried that the chicken might burn, feel free to open the lid and add some more liquid if needed.

Once the time is over, your chicken is ready to be served. What a delicious meal, that your entire family will enjoy!!

How to tell if chicken legs are fully cooked

While some people like using a meat thermometer when cooking, you won't need one this time. Just follow the recipe and I promise, your chicken will be fully cooked. It will simply flake from the bone, sooo good!!

FAQs and tips:

Can I use frozen chicken?

No, for best results, you have to defrost the chicken before frying it.

Can I freeze marinated raw chicken?

Yes, absolutely. Great meal prep idea. Freeze it in a Ziploc bag or in an airtight container, for up to 3 months. Take it out the night before you want to cook it and let it defrost in the fridge. It will be ready to be cooked the next day.

How long does it take to cook chicken legs?

The chicken drumsticks are fully cooked in about 30 minutes. You will know they are cooked if you can easily separate meat from the bone.

How do I pan-fry chicken so it's not dry?

Do not fry chicken on high heat. It will burn the outside and prolong the cooking time leading to dry chicken.

Is this pan-fried chicken healthy?

Yes! We don't deep fry the chicken in this recipe. The mix of passata, olive oil, and spices makes this recipe a really great healthy family meal.

Is this chicken recipe gluten-free?

Yes, yes, and yes! All my recipes are always gluten-free. You can safely enjoy it!

What should I serve it with?

This recipe is so versatile that you literally can serve it with any side dishes. Serve it with rice, gluten-free pasta, buckwheat, lentils, green beans, or your favourite salad. Here are a couple of ideas you might like to try out:

How to cook perfect basmati rice on the stove

Spiced Rice & Lentils (Mejadra)

How to cook buckwheat groats (easiest way)

Spiced chickpea salad recipe

Variations:

• Chicken thighs. You can use chicken thighs instead. Just increase the cooking time to 40 minutes.
• Chicken breasts. I personally think that dark chicken meat works the best in this recipe, but if you prefer lean chicken breast meat, go ahead and reduce the cooking time to 20 minutes.
• Add some red pepper flakes or chili powder to the marinade if you would like your chicken spicy.

How to store it:

Allow the chicken to cool down to room temperature and transfer it into an airtight container. Refrigerate for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop, adding a little bit of water if needed.

How to freeze:

This chicken dish can be frozen for up to three months in an airtight container or in a freezer Ziploc bag. To defrost take the frozen drumsticks out of the freezer in the morning and let them defrost in the fridge until dinner time. To reheat see the instruction above.

Pan-Fried Chicken Drumsticks (simple recipe)

These delicious chicken drumsticks are cooked in the pan, on the stove top. No oven, deep fryer, or air fryer is required. In my opinion, this is one of the best chicken recipes I have created so far and I am very excited to share it with you. This is one of those simple recipes that makes a perfect family dinner. 

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 40 mins

Total Time 50 mins

Course dinner

Cuisine European

• 8 chicken drumsticks
• 1 large onion diced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1.5 teaspoon organic raw sugar
• ¼ to mato sauce
• 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• ½ lemon juiced
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup water or chicken stock

Marinade:

• Chop onions, crush garlic, and add them to a large bowl.

• Add tomato sauce, freshly squeezed lemon juice, sweet paprika, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Mix until everything is well combined.

Chicken:

• Transfer chicken drumsticks into the mixing bowl and mix so all chicken pieces are properly covered in marinade. Use your hands to massage the marinade into the chicken.

• Leave the drumsticks to marinate for a couple of hours, but if you don't have time, it is fine to start cooking straight away. 

• In a large frying pan heat some extra virgin olive oil on medium heat, add sugar, and stir until sugar melts. Watch it very closely, you don't want the sugar to burn. 

• Once the sugar has just started to caramelize, add the chicken legs and stir them, so they get the oil sugar mix. Let the chicken cook for 3-4 minutes without mixing on low-medium heat. 

• Turn the drumsticks around and let them cook on the other side. The chicken pieces should be golden brown all over.

• Now add stock or water and once the liquid is boiling (it will only take a minute or two) mix everything well and cover the pan with a lid. 

• Lower the heat down to low and cook for 30 minutes without opening the lid.

• Once the time is over, your chicken is ready to be served. What a delicious meal, that your entire family will enjoy!!

Note: If you are worried that the chicken might burn, feel free to open the lid and add some more liquid if needed.

Keyword pan-fried drumsticks

More chicken drumsticks recipes:

How To Boil Chicken Legs – Quick Recipe

Mandarin chicken recipe

Tried this recipe? If you have a minute, please leave a comment & star rating below and tell me how it was! I truly love hearing from you! Thank you!

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