Baked BBQ Chicken
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Baked BBQ Chicken is the best way to enjoy BBQ chicken all year round! We use only 2 ingredients and have perfected our baking method so that the chicken turns out juicy with the best sweet and sticky glaze every time!
We love serving this baked BBQ chicken with our Greek lemon potatoes (baked at the same time as the chicken) and some garlic green beans.
5 reasons you'll fall in love with baked BBQ chicken
- The thick layer of sticky, caramelized glaze is finger-licking good.
- Underneath that glaze, you'll sink your teeth into tender, juicy chicken.
- It's an incredibly simple recipe that practically cooks itself. Pop it into the oven, turn it over once, then after a quick broil you're done!
- You can use our favorite BBQ sauce for chicken or the bottle of BBQ sauce in your fridge.
- Did we mention that it's sweet and ridiculously delicious?
How to bake BBQ chicken
This recipe is so easy to make that it's one of our go-to recipes for when we don't feel like cooking. Here's what to do:
- Pour the BBQ sauce over the chicken and let it marinate while the oven heats.
- Now put the chicken on a baking sheet skin side down.
- After 25 mins, turn the chicken over and baste with more BBQ sauce.
- Then another 25 mins later you'll baste it once more before a quick broil.
That's it! BBQ baked chicken in 4 simple steps!
What cut of chicken is best for this recipe?
Chicken thighs! Specifically, bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs will give you tender, juicy chicken with a deliciously sticky glaze. Drumsticks work well, too.
Boneless chicken thighs cook very quickly so if you use them the BBQ sauce won't have a chance to get deeply caramelized. They'll be good, but not as good.
Avoid using chicken breasts, except as a last resort. They tend to dry out with a long bake in the oven AND they release a lot of liquid so the BBQ sauce becomes watery rather than thick and sticky.
Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are best!
Which BBQ sauce sauce is the best?
We love love love our BBQ sauce for chicken. It's sweet and tangy with a hint of smoky flavor. It's also quick to make and easily made refined sugar-free.
But any BBQ sauce will work well. You can use what you have in your fridge or buy your favorite bottle. Sweet Baby Ray's is a popular choice for store-bought BBQ sauce!
Why cook the chicken in the sauce
Most BBQ baked chicken recipes call for the chicken to be baked first and the sauce added at the end. But in recipe testing, we found a better method.
Baking the chicken in the BBQ sauce the entire time allows the sauce to thicken and become deliciously sticky.
And don't worry about the crispy skin. Even if you only baste the BBQ sauce on the skin at the last minute, it still won't be anymore crispy than if you use our method.
But letting the chicken cook the entire time in the sauce lets the sauce get nice and thick and amazingly delicious.
Can this recipe be made on the grill?
It's best to cook this recipe in the oven as the BBQ sauce will burn if you try to cook this recipe on the grill. If you want to fire up your BBQ, try this Korean BBQ Chicken recipe instead.
What to serve with oven baked BBQ chicken
Simple sides are best with BBQ chicken as this recipe will be the star of the show. Here are a few of our favorites:
Veggie sides:
- Creamy Cucumber Salad (pictured below)
- Garlic Roasted Carrots
- Best Roasted Broccoli
- Garlic Green Beans
- Sesame Garlic Miso Butter Mushrooms
- Best Greek Salad
Starchy sides:
Popular BBQ Chicken Recipes
Baked BBQ Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- Ā¾ cup BBQ sauce (divided (see notes))
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a bowl and pour Ā½ cup of the BBQ sauce over top. Mix to combine then set aside while your oven heats. Or leave it to marinate in the fridge for up to 4 hours.8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. For easy cleanup, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the chicken on the baking sheet skin side down. (Reserve any extra BBQ sauce left in the bowl.) Bake the chicken for 25 minutes.
- Flip the chicken over and baste the top with the BBQ sauce that was in the marinating bowl. Return to the oven and bake for another 25 minutes.
- Turn your oven to broil. Baste the top of the chicken with the remaining Ā¼ cup of BBQ sauce and broil for 3-5 minutes until the top is dark and caramelized. Keep a close eye on it and remove the chicken sooner if it starts to get too dark.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
For more inspiration, check out all of our chicken recipes!
This was delicious. I used a sweet spicy Kansas City BBQ sauce and the skin was so dark and caramalized, I didn’t need to broil it. Served it with your Greek lemon potatoes which was fantastic with baby potatoes amd less cooking. Leftover dressing fom potatoes was used on your tomato cucumber salad. What a great combo all around. Love that you can stick chicken and potatoes in the oven and not have to fiddle with them too much. Thanks for the keepers!
Making this soon!!
When it was raining on July 4th and couldn’t cook my chicken on the grill, this recipe was perfect. Lots of flavor and finishing it off under the broiler made it have the grill “crunchy” coating. Will be making this again
BBQ chicken just the way we like it! Ā Easy, awesome recipe! Ā Going to try chicken wings next.
Delicious! Cooked according to recipe and it came out perfect. Definite keeper. Great alternative to grilling when New England weather Ā doesnāt cooperate.Ā
The Baked BBQ Chicken recipe certainly sounds irresistible! The idea of having a year-round BBQ solution is both convenient and appealing. The recipe seems straightforward with only two ingredients, which is a definite win for those hectic weeknight dinners. The fact that it’s oven-baked ensures an easier and less-messy process compared to grilling.
The concept of marinating the chicken in BBQ sauce and then basting it again before broiling is an effective technique for ensuring a deeply flavored, sweet, and sticky glaze. And the tip about rubbing BBQ sauce under the chicken skin is very insightful. It would keep the meat moist while infusing it with more flavor, even if you plan on removing the skin later.
Also, the idea of making your own BBQ sauce, as suggested in the notes, is a great way to control the flavor profile and quality of ingredients, making it adaptable to personal preferences.
Although I haven’t had the opportunity to prepare this dish yet, I’m keen to do so and I’m sure it would be a hit at any dinner table. With a prep time of 10 minutes and a cook time of 55 minutes, it seems to be an efficient way to serve a flavor-packed meal.
Absolutely came out perfect. Ā ThanksĀ
Hello!
I used a BBQ sauce with only 6g of added sugar; when I went to flip the chicken at 25 minutes, the sauce largely slipped off of the chicken and just burned on the bottom of the pan. What should I look for when buying a BBQ sauce to avoid this?
We’ve used a variety of bbq sauces to make this recipe – from the widely available Sweet Baby Ray’s to bbq sauce we’ve found at the farmer’s market. Usually when the chicken gets put into the oven, there’s not a ton of excess bbq sauce on it. I wonder if yours was more saucy than ours when it was first put into the oven?
I follow this recipe all the time, only steps different is since I like to drain excessive liquids about half way through, I wait until after doing so before putting sauce on. Quick, easy and delicious!
Followed to a T, came out perfectly just like your pics, thank you so much. Used boneless thighs but still tender and juicy, cooked perfectly. Just had to drain pans at first 25 minute mark so they didn’t boil and dry out.
An oven temp would have been nice.
The oven temp is in the second step in the recipe card. 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sooo good AND sooo easy!!! Definitely a keeper ā£ļø
Doesn’t have much flavor. Needs a dry rub.Ā
Do you cover them up while cooking?
No we cook them uncovered.
First time I made this and we enjoy it. Thanks for the receipe
I tend to over-cook chicken because I fear serving it half-done. This time, though, I followed this recipe (though I used a Jack Daniels BBQ sauce) and it turned out great! The chicken was fully cooked, yet still juicy, tender, and full of flavor.