High Protein Spicy Chicken Drumsticks

(5.0)
By Judy Capodanno
Updated 4/2/2025
Dietitian Reviewed: Jane Schwartz, RDN, CLT
Approved for These Diets:
Heart Healthy | Gluten Free | Diabetic
High Protein Spicy Chicken Drumsticks
Photo Credit: Adobe Firefly

This High Protein Spicy Chicken Drumsticks recipe offers the perfect mix of heat and sweet. The spicy homemade dry rub combined with a drizzle of honey creates a heart healthy drumstick recipe you’ll want to sink your teeth into. Our high protein chicken legs are loaded with 45 grams of protein in each leg. That makes this chicken leg one of our best GLP-1 recipes for chicken or any weight loss plan.  When you're craving something meaty, spicy and a protein powerhouse, bite into a healthy, spicy chicken drumstick. 

Total Time
30 minutes
Servings
4
Calories
312
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Why You’ll Love These Heart Healthy Spicy Chicken Drumsticks

There are many good reasons to sink your teeth into one of our most popular healthy chicken drumstick recipes. These spicy chicken drumsticks are:

  • Flavorful: Our healthy and spicy drumsticks offer the perfect mix of heat and sweet (much like our heart-healthy sriracha chicken drumsticks but with a different flavor profile). There’s something mouthwatering about combining spicy flavors with a bit of sweetness, and this recipe does it perfectly. The cumin, chili powder, and red pepper flakes blend seamlessly with the honey and apple cider vinegar for a balanced taste sensation. 
  • Economical: Chicken legs are a low-cost way to enjoy a high-protein meal. Although not quite as lean as chicken breasts, drumsticks are a healthy protein option, as long as you remove the skin.
  • Family-friendly: Kids love this recipe because they can pick the chicken up with their hands. These healthy chicken drumsticks only have a slight kick to them, but if you’re serving anyone who doesn’t like spicy foods, simply lower the amount of red pepper flakes in the recipe. 
  • Easy to make: Simply combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and coat chicken. Then broil, brush with honey mixture, broil again briefly and eat. You can have these chicken drumsticks on the table in a half hour. 

Chicken drumsticks may not be the first thing you think of when you’re looking for healthy chicken dinner options, but if you remove the skin, they’re a relatively lean source of protein. A serving of these low-calorie chicken drumsticks (2 per serving) has just over 300 calories and only contains 2g of saturated fat but a whopping 45g of protein. The one thing healthy drumstick recipes share is that the chicken is skinless and not smothered in heavy sauces. This recipe gets its flavor from dry spices and just a drizzle of honey mixed with vinegar, which keeps the calories, sugar and sodium low.

Low calorie chicken drumstick recipes like this one can go with almost any type of side dish, but here are a few that round out the meal well:

Health eCooks Cookbook on Amazon

Ingredients

Recipe yields 4 servings

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Helpful How-To Video

How to Make Spicy Chicken Drumsticks

  1. Step 1

    Preheat broiler. Lightly coat a broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray.

  2. Step 2

    In a large bowl, combine garlic, chili powder, salt, cumin, paprika and crushed red pepper. Add chicken to bowl and toss to coat. Place chicken on prepared broiler pan. Broil chicken 7 minutes on each side.

  3. Step 3

    In a small bowl, combine honey and vinegar and stir well. Remove chicken from oven and brush with half of the honey mixture. Broil for 1 minute more. Remove chicken from oven and turn over. Brush chicken with remaining honey mixture. Broil 1 minute or until chicken is done.

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Nutrition Facts

Serving Size:
2 drumsticks

312
Calories
9
g
Fat
219
mg
Cholesterol
275
mg
Sodium
12
g
Carbs
2
g
Sat. Fat
0
g
Fiber
45
g
Protein
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