These Baked Red Pepper and Garlic Drumsticks are what happens when you take a boldly spiced Turkish red pepper paste marinade, pour it over chicken, potatoes, and carrots, and let the oven do all the work. Fall-off-the-bone tender, deeply caramelized, and served over whipped feta with pita on the side.
A Quick Look at the Recipe
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✅ Recipe Name: Baked Red Pepper & Garlic Drumsticks
🕒 Ready In: ~ 60 minutes
👪 Serves: 6 servings
🍽 Calories: ~ 306 per serving (estimated)
🥣 Main Ingredients: Drumsticks, red pepper paste, carrots, potatoes
👌 Difficulty: Easy
This marinade is rooted in Turkish and Eastern Mediterranean cooking where red pepper paste, biber salçası, is as essential to the kitchen as olive oil. I first encountered it while immersing myself in Middle Eastern food culture and it completely changed how I think about chicken. One blended sauce, one sheet pan, and dinner practically makes itself. (YAY!)
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
One sheet pan: Chicken, potatoes, and carrots all cook together in the same sauce. Less cleanup, more flavor, more time to sit down.
Serve it however you want: Over whipped feta with pita, over rice, over couscous, or over cauliflower rice. This recipe works with everything!
Feeds six on a budget: Drumsticks are the most underrated cut of chicken and this recipe proves it.
Baked Red Pepper & Garlic Drumsticks Video
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Ingredient Notes
Turkish Red Pepper Paste (Biber Salçası): This is the ingredient that makes this recipe impossible to replicate with basic substitutions. Biber salçası is a thick concentrated paste made from red peppers used widely across Turkish and Eastern Mediterranean cooking. It has a deep, slightly smoky, mildly spicy flavor that is completely unlike anything in a standard spice cabinet. If you want to explore more Eastern Mediterranean flavors, my Mediterranean herbs and spices guide breaks down the whole pantry.
Scoring the Drumsticks: Two cuts about half an inch deep on each drumstick before marinating. This will get all that delicious marinade right down to the bone.
Tomato Paste and Crushed Tomatoes: Two different jobs here. Tomato paste is concentrated and adds depth and a slight sweetness that rounds out the sharpness of the red pepper paste. Crushed tomatoes add body and create the braising liquid that keeps everything moist during the covered bake.
Yukon Baby Potatoes: Quartered so they cook evenly in the same time as the chicken. Yukon Golds absorb the braising sauce beautifully and stay creamy rather than falling apart the way russets do, which is also why I use them in my Hasselback Potatoes in the Air Fryer.
Lemon Juice: A full third of a cup which sounds like a lot and is completely intentional. The lemon juice brightens the entire sauce, cuts through the richness of the olive oil and red pepper paste, and helps tenderize the chicken during marinating.
Whipped Feta: The cool creamy tangy base that the hot spiced chicken gets served over. The contrast between warm caramelized drumsticks and cold whipped feta is what makes this plate taste like something you ordered at a restaurant. Get the full recipe for whipped feta.
Pro tip
The Secret to Perfect Chicken
Use a meat thermometer for the final bake. Drumsticks need to hit 165F but going to 175F is actually better for dark meat. The extra degrees break down the connective tissue and give you that fall-off-the-bone texture you are looking for.
Substitutions & Variations
No Turkish red pepper paste? A combination of roasted red pepper, a pinch of cayenne, and extra tomato paste gets you somewhere close, but honestly the real thing is worth seeking out. The dish will still be delicious. Just different.
Different vegetables? Zucchini, bell peppers, or eggplant are all very at home in this Eastern Mediterranean flavor profile and work beautifully in the same braising sauce. Cut them into similar sized pieces so everything cooks evenly. If you love a vegetable forward sheet pan situation, my Sheet Pan Baked Gnocchi with Mediterranean Meatballs uses the same covered then uncovered method with great results.
No drumsticks? Bone-in skin-on chicken thighs work beautifully here and cook in the same time. Boneless thighs will cook faster, so reduce the uncovered bake time to 10 minutes and check the temperature early.
FAQ
Yes! But remove the lemon and add it right before baking. The lemon can impact the texture of the chicken if left to marinate too long. Store covered in the fridge overnight and bring to room temperature for 20 minutes before baking.
Either the oven was not fully preheated or the drumsticks were too close together during the uncovered bake. Make sure they have a little space between them for that final 15 to 20 minutes so the heat can circulate properly.
Turkish, Middle Eastern, or Mediterranean grocery stores almost always carry it and it is also widely available online. Look for biber salçası on the label.
More Sheet Pan Recipes You'll Love
- Sheet Pan Chicken Kebabs in the Oven40 Minutes
- Sheet Pan Garlic Shrimp15 Minutes
- Sheet Pan Baked Lamb Chops40 Minutes
- Sheet Pan Baked Panko Crusted Salmon29 Minutes
⭐️ Recipe
Baked Red Pepper and Garlic Drumsticks
Ingredients
Chicken and vegetables
- 6 chicken drumsticks scored twice
- 1 lb Yukon baby potatoes quartered
- 1 lb baby carrots or 2 medium carrots cut into even chunks
- Pita for serving optional
Marinade
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 tablespoon Turkish red pepper paste biber salçası
- ½ cup crushed tomatoes
- 6 garlic cloves
- ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
For serving
- Whipped feta recipe linked in instructions
- Warm pita rice, couscous, or cauliflower rice
Instructions
Blend the marinade
- Add the olive oil, tomato paste, Turkish red pepper paste, crushed tomatoes, garlic cloves, lemon juice, chicken broth, salt, paprika, black pepper, and onion powder to a blender. Blend on high for about 30 seconds until completely smooth. Let it sit for 5 minutes before using. The flavors bloom and deepen as it rests and you will notice the difference.¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 3 tablespoon Turkish red pepper paste, ½ cup crushed tomatoes, 6 garlic cloves, ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice, ¼ cup chicken broth, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon onion powder
Prep the chicken and vegetables
- Preheat your oven to 400F. Using a sharp knife, score each drumstick twice at about half an inch deep at an angle across the thickest part of the meat. The cuts should go through the skin and into the flesh. This is what lets the marinade penetrate rather than just sitting on the surface.6 chicken drumsticks
- Quarter the baby potatoes and cut the carrots into even chunks roughly the same size as the potato pieces. Even sizing is important. Wildly different sizes mean some pieces are overdone before others are cooked through.1 lb Yukon baby potatoes, 1 lb baby carrots or 2 medium carrots
Coat and arrange
- Add the potatoes and carrots to a large sheet pan. Pour half the blended marinade over the vegetables and toss well until every piece is evenly coated. Spread into a single even layer.
- Nestle the scored drumsticks on top of or alongside the vegetables. Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken and use your hands to coat every surface, making sure the marinade gets into the scored cuts. Turn the drumsticks skin side up. That is the side you want facing the heat during the final uncovered bake.
Cover and bake
- Place a sheet of parchment paper directly over the chicken and vegetables. Bake at 400F for 40 minutes. During this time the chicken and vegetables are braising in the sauce.
Uncover and finish
- Carefully remove the parchment. There will be a lot of steam so watch your hands. Return the pan to the oven uncovered and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until the skin is deep golden and caramelized and the internal temperature of the thickest drumstick reads at least 175F on a meat thermometer.
Serve
- Spoon a generous layer of whipped feta onto each plate. Place the drumsticks and vegetables on top and spoon the pan juices over everything generously. That sauce is too good to leave in the pan. Serve immediately with warm pita, rice, couscous, or cauliflower rice.Whipped feta, Pita for serving
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!