Baked BBQ Chicken Breast (4 ingredient juicy chicken)
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Juicy, tender, and sitting in smoky-sweet sauce, my baked BBQ chicken breast bakes right in the simple sauce, so you get plenty extra to spoon over potatoes or rice at the dinner table. Made with only 4 ingredients in one dish, my recipe takes almost no work at all.
My baked BBQ chicken breast always comes out juicy and tender. When you pull it from the oven, it’s sitting in a pool of smoky-sweet sauce that you’ll want to spoon over everything. It’s what I make on busy weeknights when I’m craving BBQ flavor but only have a few minutes of hands-on time to prep dinner.
The trick is pouring the sauce over the raw chicken right at the start. As it bakes, the chicken releases its juices into the dish, which keeps the sauce from scorching (there is no water needed, even with sauce straight from the bottle) and loosens it into something you can spoon. Halfway through, I baste the tops so they bake into a glossy, caramelized layer while the bottoms stay soft and saucy.
I purposely keep this recipe simple with just chicken, salt, pepper, and sauce, and it’s one of the most dependable dinners I make. I love it with mashed potatoes or rice to catch the extra sauce, and my homemade BBQ sauce is worth it when I have time. If your family prefers dark meat, my baked BBQ chicken thighs have a stickier, more glazed finish.
Why is my BBQ sauce runny?
Most of the time, the sauce comes out of the oven thick and glossy, clinging to the chicken. When I tested this recipe with enhanced chicken breasts, though, I ended up with a thin, watery sauce pooled in the bottom of the dish.
Enhanced chicken, sometimes labeled “plumped,” has been injected with a solution of water, salt, and sometimes broth. It’s meant to keep the meat juicy, but all that extra liquid releases into the pan as the chicken bakes and waters down the sauce. Check the package before you buy. If the label says something like “enhanced with up to 15% chicken broth” or “contains a solution,” the chicken has been plumped.
The fix is easy. Move the chicken to a plate and tent it with foil to keep warm. Pour the sauce from the baking dish into a small saucepan and bring it to a rapid boil over medium-high heat. Stir it often until it thickens enough to coat a spoon, usually just a few minutes. Spoon it back over the chicken and dinner is ready.
Since enhanced chicken is already salted, I’d also skip the salt in the recipe if that’s what you’re using.
Baked BBQ Chicken Breast (4 ingredient juicy chicken)
Ingredients
- 4 6-ounce chicken breasts (pounded – see notes)
- ½ teaspoon EACH: sea salt and pepper
- 1 cup bbq sauce (storebought or homemade)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the chicken breasts in a 9×11-inch baking dish and season the tops with salt and pepper.4 6-ounce chicken breasts, ½ teaspoon EACH: sea salt and pepper
- Pour the BBQ sauce over the top, then shake the pan gently to coat the chicken.1 cup bbq sauce
- Place the chicken in the oven and bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and baste the top with some of the BBQ sauce in that baking dish.
- Return it to the oven for another 15 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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If you use regular bbq sauce from the bottle do you need to add water or anything to the dish so it doesn’t burn or dry out?
We don’t add any water when we use store bought bbq sauce. The chicken releases enough liquid as it cooks to keep it from burning.
Used my own homemade BBQ sauce. Loved how tender the chicken came out. Covered it for first 15 minutes. Then left uncovered. Delicious. Thank you❤️
The thing that I truly admired about this recipe was that unlike other BBQ chicken, the meat remains soft as it is soaked in saucy gravy. I loved this idea and have tried it several times.
This is a classic delicious recipe that is great for busy weeknights. My family enjoyed it.
Thanks so much, Karen!
Looks delicious!
Hi Kristen …. Did you bake the chicken on the middle rack or the bottom rack?
I use the middle rack 🙂
Very good, very easy. I don’t add salt anymore, as I find the sauce I use is salty enough, and if I salt the breasts, both hubby and I find it a bit on the salty side. I serve with boiled or mashed potatoes and coleslaw, or a steamed vegetable.
Hi there, what do you think about brining the raw chicken for 15 minutes before anything? Will this make the chicken more juicy or do you think the barbecue sauce and the other ingredients will do this on its own? Thank you!
We like the recipe as written. But if you like to brine your chicken, you could definitely do that. 🙂
Brining chicken breast is a great idea! Glad it was mentioned as I have become a fan of brining chicken. Makes it so tender!
I love this recipe … thank you very much for sharing. Do you think adding sliced onions would be okay to add to the chicken?
I think that onions would be a great addition!
What adjustments would you make for chicken breasts with skin and bones? Thanks!
Bone in chicken breast will need to be cooked for 40-45 minutes. I would add a splash of water or chicken stock to the pan to make sure that the bbq sauce doesn’t dry out.
OMG The best baked chicken breast recipe I’ve ever tried. It goes well with smoky roast potatoes. Thank you for sharing this recipe! Keep it up, Kristen
Exactly the inspiration I needed for meal planning today.