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Close-up of glazed Coca-Cola chicken drumsticks with a thick sauce and red overlay text that reads “Coca Cola Chicken - Sticky and Sweet!” and “Best Blog Recipes” in the corner.
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5 from 7 votes

Coca Cola Chicken

Coca cola chicken makes tender, juicy drumsticks coated in a sticky, sweet barbecue sauce everyone loves. This quick dinner uses simple ingredients and is ready in less than an hour.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Chicken, Dinner, Easy Dinner Recipes
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 473kcal
Author: Shauna

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil divided in half
  • 2 pounds chicken drumsticks 8 to 9 pieces
  • 1 cup sweet yellow onion finely diced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger grated
  • 24 ounces Coca-Cola
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar packed
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

  • Using a 4 to 5-quart Dutch oven on medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons oil.
  • Add the chicken drumsticks, and sauté for 3 minutes on each side. Remove the drumsticks and set them aside.
  • Add the remaining oil to the Dutch oven. Add the onion, and sauté uncovered for 2 minutes, stirring often. Keep the heat on medium-high.
  • Add the garlic and ginger. Continue cooking and stirring often, for 1 to 1½ minutes. Keep the heat on medium-high.
  • Next add the 2 cans of Coca-Cola, soy sauce, brown sugar, black pepper, and salt. Continue stirring often, and cook uncovered for 4 to 5 minutes.
  • Reduce the heat to medium, and add back in the chicken drumsticks. Cook for 20 minutes uncovered, turning the chicken once.
  • After cooking the chicken for 20 minutes, remove the chicken from the pot and set aside. Increase the heat to medium-high. Allow the sauce to reduce for 5 to 8 additional minutes. Once the sauce reduces, remove the pot from the heat. Ladle the sauce over the chicken, and serve while hot.

Notes

  • Depending on the type of soy sauce you are using, you may need to adjust the quantity of salt you are adding. If you have a light soy sauce, you may want extra salt, whereas a regular soy sauce will be saltier and may require less than the called for ½ teaspoon of salt.
  • If you want your sauce to be thicker, you can stir in a cornstarch slurry before pouring the sauce over the chicken.

Nutrition

Calories: 473kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 140mg | Sodium: 1271mg | Potassium: 444mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 72IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 2mg