This easy BBQ Chicken Breast Recipe is delicious and simple to make! Learn how to make BBQ chicken that stays juicy and tastes amazing!
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One of the best things you can make on the grill is juicy BBQ Chicken. Sweet, savory and delicious – it’s the perfect meal during the summer or year round.
We love grilling up a ton of BBQ chicken to serve on top of Spinach Strawberry Salad or Corn Tomato Avocado Salad. It’s light, fresh, flavorful and easy to make!
If you’re looking for the best BBQ chicken recipe – look no further. We’ve included all our best tips and tricks for ensuring you get the best BBQ Chicken!
Why we love this BBQ Chicken Breast Recipe
There’s lots to love about this Chicken Recipe.
- Easy to make– Like all of our recipes, this BBQ Chicken Breast is simple to make. You only need a few ingredients and 20 minutes
- Flavorful– Some BBQ Chicken can get burnt or dry, this chicken stays juicy, moist and is perfectly cooked for all that BBQ flavor
- Great for a quick dinner– If you’re short on time or just need something simple for dinner this BBQ chicken recipe is perfect!
BBQ Chicken Breast Ingredients
To make this recipe you’ll need:
- boneless skinless chicken breasts
- chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper
- BBQ sauce
We love this meat thermometer for checking the temp to make sure your meat is cooked thoroughly!
How to make bbq chicken?
Making BBQ Chicken is easy! Here’s how to do it:
- Preheat the grill to high heat (about 400 degrees)
- Mix together your dried spices and season chicken breast on both sides.
- Grill the chicken on high heat for 5 minutes, then flip the chicken and grill for another 5 minutes on the opposite side.
- Reduce the heat and baste the chicken with BBQ sauce on both sides
- Grill for an additional 5 minutes on each side to get a nice glaze with a good sear.
How do you know if your chicken is done? You can check the internal temperature of chicken to make sure it’s cooked thoroughly, it should be at 165!
Can you cook this chicken on the stove? Yes! You can pan sear the chicken for 7-8 minutes on each side.
Can you bake this chicken in the oven? Yes you can! Bake the chicken on a lined baking sheet at 400 for 20-25 minutes.
Can you cook this in the instant pot? We wouldn’t recommend it, but you can cook it for 11 minutes on sealing, pressure cook.
Why should chicken be partially cooked before applying barbeque sauce?
Chicken should be partially cooked before applying barbecue sauce to avoid the chicken from burning.
BBQ Sauce has sugar in it, which can quickly burn when placed on top of high heat. To avoid burning your chicken, apply the BBQ sauce to partially cooked chicken so you can still get the yummy flavor and browning without your chicken getting burnt
What temperature do you cook the best bbq chicken at?
It’s best to cook BBQ chicken at medium high heat, about 400 degrees. Once you’ve added the BBQ sauce you can lower the heat.
SUBSTITUTIONS FOR BBQ Chicken
To make Whole30– Find a Whole30 friendly barbeque sauce. We like this one.
Baking in oven – You can bake the chicken in the oven at 400 for 20-25 minutes if you don’t have a grill.
Chicken– You can use chicken thighs or chicken tenders instead of chicken breasts. This marinade would also be good on a drumsticks or wings!
BBQ Chicken FAQ
To ensure your BBQ sauce sticks to chicken make sure to add a dry rub before cooking it or salt and pepper. Having a coating on the outside will allow the BBQ sauce to adhere to the chicken
The key to keeping chicken breast moist is cooking it over medium high heat and not over cooking it. An internal temp thermometer can help with this.
To stop BBQ Chicken from burning, wait to put your BBQ sauce on until the end. BBQ Sauce has sugar in it that can burn when placed on high heat. Partially cook your chicken (about 10 minutes) then apply your BBQ sauce and grill for a remaining 10 minutes.
Most chicken breasts take about 15-20 minutes to cook. You can tell that chicken is done by using an internal thermometer. Cooked chicken is done when it reaches 165 degrees.
BBQ Boneless chicken breasts get rubbery when they’re over cooked or too thick. To avoid this you can pound your chicken with a meat mallet before grilling it, and make sure to not over-cook your chicken by following a recipe and using an internal thermometer.
How do you store the best bbq chicken recipe?
Storing: You can keep this bbq grilled chicken in the refrigerator for up to 5 days – it’s great for meal prep!
Freezing: We wouldn’t recommend freezing this grilled chicken. Reheating frozen chicken can make it bouncy and unappetizing.
Reheating: If you are going to reheat this chicken we recommend putting it in the toaster over or in a pan on the stove rather than microwaving it.
What do you serve homemade bbq chicken breast with?
- Our favorite way to serve this BBQ grilled chicken is with a salad. Above it’s photographed on our Spinach Strawberry Salad
- Strawberry Avocado Goat Cheese Salad
- Balsamic Mushrooms
- Vegetable Kebabs
- Crispy Dijon Roasted Potatoes
- Healthy Green Beans Almondine
- Healthy Lemon Basil Risotto
Love chicken? If so – here are some of our other favorite healthy chicken recipes!
Other healthy grilling recipes:
Looking for other grilling recipes? Check out these 40+ Healthy Grilling Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy grilling cookbook.
BBQ Chicken Breast Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to high heat (about 400 degrees)
- Mix together your dried spices and season chicken breasts on both sides.
- Grill the chicken on high heat for 5 minutes, then flip the chicken and grill for another 5 minutes on the opposite side.
- Reduce the heat on the grill down to medium heat.
- Baste the chicken with BBQ sauce on both sides and grill for an additional 5 minutes on each side to get a nice glaze with a good sear.
- The chicken should be cooked to 165 internal temp.
- Pull the chicken off the grill, let it rest for 2 minutes, slice & enjoy
Kjerstin says
For the substitutions, like cooking it in the oven, would you apply the same method of cooking it for ten minutes then putting the bbq sauce on it?
The Clean Eating Couple says
Yes! That’s what we would recommend
Caroline says
My husband and I made this recipe using our new grill tonight, it was delicious and so easy!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked it, Caroline!
Sam says
sounds delicious, will cook these in my Ninja x