Oven-Baked Jerk Chicken

Boldly flavored, sweet-and-spicy, this jerk chicken recipe takes the "boring" out of chicken!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Total Time 50

Servings servings

Calories 339kcal

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with foil and grease the foil well. It's important to line the pan to prevent major cleanup as the honey caramelizes.
In a small bowl, using a fork, combine the coconut oil, honey, allspice, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, cloves, cumin, salt, and pepper to make a paste.
2 tablespoons coconut oil, 2 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon ground allspice, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
Arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Blot them dry with paper towels. Spoon the paste on top, spreading it all over the chicken.
8 chicken drumsticks
Bake until the chicken is fragrant, browned, and cooked through, 35-40 minutes, depending on your oven (see notes below). Aim for an internal temperature of at least 165ºF. Baste the chicken midway through baking.
Garnish the chicken with chopped parsley if desired, and serve.
2 tablespoons parsley

Seasonings, especially saltiness and sweetness, are guidelines. Adjust to taste.
You can use eight skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. They'll need around 45 minutes in the oven. Check with a thermometer to make sure they are done, aiming for an internal temperature of at least 165°F when not touching the bone.
If the seasoning paste hardens on the cold chicken pieces and is impossible to spread, bake the chicken for 5 minutes to soften the paste and then spread it, as I do in the video below. Continue baking, basting one more time midway, until the chicken is cooked through (the internal temperature should reach 165 ºF), 30-35 more minutes. A good way to prevent this from happening is to remove the chicken to the counter 30 minutes before you start cooking.
Check the chicken after the first 30 minutes in the oven. If it's darkening too much on top, loosely cover it with foil and continue baking until it's cooked through.
To lower the carbs to 6 grams per serving, use just 1 tablespoon of honey.
In my old oven, the chicken needed 45 minutes in the oven. In my new and hotter oven, it needs 35 minutes, and I need to loosely cover the chicken with foil after the first 30 minutes. Ovens vary in their temperature, so please adjust the recipe to your own oven.
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To avoid drying out the chicken, reheat them very gently, covered, in the microwave at 50% power, or enjoy them cold, picnic-style.