Oven baked BBQ chicken is such a delicious quick meal to make that everyone will love. This baked BBQ chicken starts with bone-in chicken breasts that are baked in the oven then BBQ sauce is slathered on at the end of cooking for a finger licking delicious BBQ meal. This easy BBQ chicken requires just a couple of ingredients to get a delicious dinner on the table quick.
Why I love BBQ Chicken in the Oven
I love making this oven baked BBQ chicken all year long. Usually we think of BBQ during the summer but why wait when you make this easy BBQ chicken in the oven anytime.
I love cooking chicken on the grill but I equally love cooking it in the oven because it is so easy. From my cast iron chicken breast , my easy chicken and prosciutto or my chicken satay, using the oven to make a quick weeknight chicken dinner is the way to go.
This oven BBQ chicken is easy and delicious and ready in under an hour. The perfect meal for busy evenings.
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Ingredients Needed
You do not need to many ingredients for this delicious BBQ chicken! The spice blend is optional but if you have it, I recommend giving it a try.
- Bone-in chicken breasts. With the skin on.
- Olive oil.
- BBQ Sauce. You can use store bought or if you have time, you can try out my brown sugar bbq sauce. We used this brown sugar bbq sauce for this bbq chicken.
- Salt, pepper, sweet paprika and garlic powder. This is the optional spice mix. You can just use salt and pepper if that is what you have.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Making BBQ chicken in the oven is really easy to do. Here are all the steps.
- First you place the chicken breast skin side up on a large prepared sheet pan. I like to prepare my sheet pan with some aluminum foil so the BBQ sauce that is added on later doesn't stick to the pan.
- Second you will add the seasoning to the chicken. This is the spice blend mentioned above. Remember, you can always use just salt and pepper if you don't have all the spices.
- Third Place chicken breasts into a pre-heated 425 degree oven and cook for about 30-40 minutes.
- The Last Step Once the chicken has cooked for about 30-40 minutes, you add your BBQ sauce to the chicken and cook for a few more minutes on the top rack under the broiler to get the BBQ nice and caramelized on the chicken.
Variations
This recipe is for baked BBQ chicken breasts (bone-in). You can easily adapt this recipe to use:
- Bone-in chicken thighs - bone in chicken thighs cook really nicely in the oven and makes delicious BBQ chicken! I often cook these alongside bone-in chicken breasts for the same amount of time. They always come out tender and delicious.
- Boneless chicken breast- to make this BBQ chicken recipe with boneless chicken breasts, follow the recipe the same except except decrease the cooking time. I like to check boneless chicken breasts for doneness after about 15 minutes in a 425 degree oven.
Make what works best for you! If you prefer darker meat, then chicken thighs are a great way to go when making BBQ chicken in the oven.
If you cannot get bone-in chicken breast then by all means uses boneless. This is your meal to make your way 🙂
Top Tip
All oven temperature vary so make sure the chicken breasts are fully cooked before adding the BBQ sauce. Bone-in chicken breasts are fully cooked when they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
FAQs
When making BBQ chicken either in the oven or on the grill, you want to add the BBQ sauce to the chicken at the very end of the cooking time. Since BBQ sauce has sugars in it, it will brown and caramelize quickly so adding it at the end ensures you do not end up with charred chicken.
Bone-in chicken breasts should cook up in pre-heated 425 degree oven in about 30-40 minutes or when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Since oven temperatures vary, make sure to test the chicken for doneness with a meat thermometer.
Pairing Ideas for BBQ Chicken Breasts
Looking for ideas of what to serve with these oven baked BBQ chicken breasts. Here are some of our favorites!
More Easy Chicken Recipes
If you like this oven BBQ chicken, you may like these recipes too:
Oven Baked BBQ Chicken
Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in skin on chicken breasts
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
- Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with aluminum foil (for easy cleanup).
- Place chicken breasts skin side up on to a sheet pan.4 bone-in skin on chicken breasts
- Drizzle olive oil over the top of the chicken breasts.1 tablespoon olive oil
- Mix together the spices in a small bowl.1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
- Sprinkle seasoning on skin of chicken breasts.
- Place in the oven on the middle rack for 25-30 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and now brush on the BBQ sauce on the top of the chicken.1 cup BBQ sauce
- Place back in the oven on the top rack for another 10 minutes.
- If you prefer the BBQ sauce to have a little char then turn the broiler on in the oven and cook the chicken under the broiler for about 2 minutes or until it starts to lightly caramelize.
- The chicken is ready when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Notes
If you are working with boneless chicken breasts without skin:
Follow the instructions in the post. Make sure chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer here
Gemma says
This bbq chicken was great! Everyone loved it, even the picky eaters 🙂
Melissa says
So glad you enjoyed it 🙂