Easy Baked Bbq Chicken Thighs
These baked BBQ chicken thighs are juicy, tangy, smoky, and can be made without ever having to step outside or fire up the grill. In the oven, the BBQ sauce thickens into a sweet, sticky glaze that makes these chicken thighs finger-licking good.
This recipe requires absolutely no marinating and only involves about 5 minutes of prep time! The next time you are looking for an easy chicken dinner, give these BBQ chicken thighs a try!
How To Bake Chicken Thighs In The Oven
After the meat is marinated, it takes less then 30 minutes to cook.
Place the meat on a baking sheet with a wire rack and bake at 400F for about 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 170-175F.
When done, brush BBQ sauce on top.
Set the oven broil and broil for about 5 minutes or until the BBQ sauce is caramelized.
Angela’s Tips & Recipe Notes
- You can put the chicken thighs under the broiler for 2-3 minutes at the end to blacken the BBQ sauce if desired, but the cooking time alone should result in delicious BBQ chicken as-is.
- My personal preference is to cook bone-in chicken to an internal temperature of 180°F .
- Storing: Keep leftover BBQ chicken thighs in a shallow airtight container and refrigerate them for up to 2 days. Alternatively, you could freeze your chicken in a heavy duty freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
- Reheating: Reheat BBQ chicken thighs in the oven. Place them in a baking dish with a few tablespoons of broth and bake at 325°F for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.
Also Check: Cook Chicken In The Oven
Which Cut Of Chicken Should You Use
The cut of chicken influences how juicy and flavorful the chicken is. For example, chicken breasts are healthy but aren’t as juicy or flavorful as thighs or legs. For this recipe, we recommend bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, legs, and wings. Bones and skin add so much flavor to the chicken during the cooking process.
But if you want to make this recipe simpler or just prefer the texture, opt for boneless skinless chicken thighs. This cut of meat is also a great option for salads, like the BBQ Chicken Salad with Greek Yogurt Ranch. You can even use this same method to make chicken drummettes for a tasty appetizer.
How To Get Crispy Charred Skin
Oh boy, do I love some good crispy chicken skin. Those dark, charred parts of oven bbq chicken are the best!
Something to note: these chicken pieces are smothered in sauce, so the skin wont ever be quite as crispy as when you roast it when herbs and butter, for example.
Here are some tips for getting that dark, charred, crispy skin:
How Long To Bake Bbq Chicken Thighs
This will depend on the size of your chicken thighs. Typically, chicken thighs should be baked in a hot oven at 200C/400F for about 25-30 minutes or until they are about 80% cooked and the skin crispy before coating with the bbq sauce. Then bake for additional 10-15 minutes until the sauce is caramelized.
For boneless chicken thighs, the cooking time will be shorter so do bear that in mind.
Baked Bbq Chicken Thighs Are Cooked Through When
There are two easy ways to determine if your Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs are fully cooked through. One is to pierce the chicken and look at the color of the juices.
If the juices run clear, the chicken is cooked through. However, if the red from the BBQ sauce is throwing you off, it’s time to pull out the instant-read thermometer!
Instant read meat thermometers are by far the most accurate way to determine if your food is cooked to the proper temperature. The internal temperature should be 165°F.
Serve with collard greens and mashed potatoes for a well-rounded dinner the entire family will love!
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!
Bbq Baked Chicken Thighs:
You guys, being the very best, most amazing readers that you are have told me time and time again how much you love chicken thighs! Well, we do too! You have made my Crispy Baked Chicken Thigh Recipes so very popular and it makes this blogger happy that you love them so much! We also really like BBQ around here so it was definitely time for a bbq chicken thigh. These are made with a super simple homemade rub, the same one that I put on my Crockpot Pulled Pork, because we just can’t get enough of a good thing. As far as BBQ sauce, you can use your favorite, if you want a suggestion from me, I’m a huge fan of Sweet Baby Ray’s!
Reasons You’ll Fall In Love With Baked Bbq Chicken
The Best Oven Baked Bbq Chicken
I love a perfectly grilled piece of bbq chicken as much as the next gal, but sometimes its easier to turn on the oven than fire up the barbecue.
And with the help of this recipe its totally possible to enjoy the most delicious, juicy, perfectly crispy barbecue chicken thighs from the oven!
This is our go to recipe, and its the perfect thing to serve with some Whole30 Coleslaw, Dairy Free French Onion Dip, and Watermelon Arugula Salad at your next get together!
Can I Use A Store
Sure! Use whatever you like. Try to choose one that pairs well with barbecue sauce.
However, if you make this recipes spice mix, try doubling the recipe or make even more, then store it in a jar with an air-tight lid so you have some for the next time you make this Oven Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs recipe.
How To Make Bbq Chicken In The Oven
Roasting BBQ chicken thighs in the oven is such an easy process, and with some foil protecting your baking sheet, the clean-up is a breeze. A lot of people wonder if you put BBQ sauce on chicken before or after baking and we firmly believe that the correct answer is that you do BOTH! More BBQ sauce is always a good thing. Plus, start to finish our BBQ chicken recipe takes only about 25-30 minutes. Lots of that time is downtime, too, so while the chicken bakes, you can be tossing a salad or boiling some corn. In other words, dinner doesnt get much easier or more sure-to-please than this BBQ chicken! Heres how to make it:
Make the BBQ sauce! Simmer the BBQ sauce ingredients for a few minutes until the brown sugar has fully dissolved and the flavors have had a chance to meld.
Prep the chicken! Salt the chicken thighs and coat them with sauce.
Bake the chicken thighs! On a wire rack on a sheet pan in a 425°F degree oven for about 15 minutes. Half way through, flip the chicken and brush it with extra sauce and bake for another 15 minutes.
Broil the chicken thighs! This will get them nice and brown on the edges and will really make the sauce concentrated and a little stickyjust the way its supposed to be!
Eat the chicken thighs! With extra BBQ sauce on the side, because YUM!
Barbecue Boneless Chicken Thigh Recipe
Chicken thighs are just so much more juicy and tender than chicken breasts, am I right??? These BBQ Boneless Chicken Thighs are one of our favorite ways to meal prep or just for an easy, delicious dinner.
You can make this chicken thigh recipe in the oven or on the grill, whichever you prefer. Both ways are going to make the most tender, juicy chicken thighs youve ever tasted!
Baked Bbq Chicken Thighs
Baked BBQ chicken thighs are sweet, juicy, delicious, and super easy to make. No need to wait for summer or light up a bbq to enjoy this chicken as it can be made and eaten any day of the year. A perfect weeknight chicken dinner your family would love.
This skin-on, bone-in chicken thigh is seasoned with pantry staples ingredients before being coated with barbeque sauce. The result is a sweet, caramelized, and delicious chicken that is full of flavor and super moist.
Baked Bbq Chicken Tips
How To Get A Super Thick Bbq Glaze
First, the chicken is seasoned with oil, salt and pepper, placed skin side down on a rimmed baking sheet, and roasted for 25 minutes.
Then, the chicken is removed from the oven and basted with BBQ sauce THREE times.
Each time BBQ sauce is added, it thickens and caramelizes in the oven. By the time youve added that third layer, youve got a delicious thick, sweet, sticky layer of BBQ sauce on every inch of the chicken.
YUM.
When Do You Add Bbq Sauce To Baked Chicken
There are two options when adding BBQ sauce to baked chicken. First, you can sauce the chicken in the beginning and let the sauce get thick and sticky as it bakes . The skin won’t get super crispy, but it’s still delicious.
Alternatively, you can bake your chicken first and sauce it at the end. Pop the sauce-covered chicken under the broiler for a few minutes until it becomes thick and sticky. This second method is best for any cooking method over flames, as the sugar in BBQ sauce tends to burn.
Bbq Baked Chicken Thighs
I used to be a total breast girl that was the only chicken I would ever eat. Its really hard to get a juicy chicken breast in the oven though, and forget about crispy. You cant have it both ways. Unless of course were taking chicken thighs into consideration because then you definitely can produce crispy, juicy and tender chicken in just a few steps!
To make these chicken thighs in the oven, I use a simple rub that I use for all kinds of chicken recipes, like my Baked Chicken Breasts and Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs. I use my favorite barbecue sauce that I always have on hand, Sweet Baby Rays. I really love their Hickory and Brown Sugar flavor. You can really use any that you like, or use a homemade sauce if youve got one you love.
How Long Do You Bake Bbq Chicken Thighs At 350f
For this recipe, I bake the chicken thighs at 400°F . If you were to bake them at 350°F instead, you would want to bake them for 40-50 minutes before pulling the bone-in chicken thighs out of the oven.
Add more BBQ sauce if desired, then return your chicken to the oven for 10 more minutes. *Cooking times will vary depending on the size of your chicken thighs.
How Do You Get Bbq Sauce To Stick To Chicken
Patting your chicken thighs dry before applying the barbecue sauce will help to keep the sauce from sliding off into a pool of mess on the baking sheet, but for skinless thighs adding salt and pepper is another great tip.
The texture of the salt and the pepper will help the BBQ sauce to have something to hold on to so that it stays in place better. So dont skip the steps in the recipe card, they each play a vital role in getting you well-coated thighs!
Our Favorite Bbq Chicken Sides
You could go so many directions with your BBQ chicken sidestheres no real right answer to this one. A green salad and some chips, or some macaroni salad, even, would be so good. You could use the chicken to build a super great sandwich, in which case sides arent even necessary. But, if youd like to build a really classic BBQ chicken dinner, these side dish recipes are the way to go:
How To Make The Chicken Skin Crispy
Three components of the cooking process create crispy chicken skin every time: moisture, heat, and air flow.
- Moisture – First, make sure you pat the chicken skin dry with a paper towel to absorb any extra moisture. This will prevent the skin from going into the oven too moist, thus potentially soggy.
- Heat – Just as in all dishes that are cooked, the temperature the ingredients are cooked at determines the texture. High heat makes the skin crispy versus a slow cook.
- Air Flow – Baked chicken often turns soggy because there isn’t enough airflow around the chicken pieces. To make the skin crispy, bake the chicken on a baking rack on the baking sheet, creating airflow under and around the chicken pieces.
How To Grill Bbq Chicken Thighs
The grilling method is definitely a longer process to ensure you chicken is cooked through and thats why I MUCH prefer making BBQ chicken thighs in the oven. You can, literally, go take care of your side dishes or clean up the kitchen without worrying about grill flare ups or running out of propane.
Oven Baked Bbq Boneless Chicken Thighs
These are the best juicy and tenderBoneless Chicken Thighs, marinated in dry rub, then baked in the oven and broiled until BBQ is caramelized! It will be a great easy recipe for a family dinner for a cookout party.
This is one of my favorite recipes for boneless skinless chicken thighs marinated, baked, and broiled in the oven. The final result you will have juicy and tender aromatic chicken with mouthwatering caramelized BBQ sauce on top.
The recipe is based on my Instant Pot Chicken Wings. But since we are baking it in the oven, I let the chicken marinate first in herbs and spices to absorb all the flavors.
I like to marinate the meat a night before, so it takes no more than 30 minutes the next day to prepare the dinner.
What Temperature Is Best To Bake Bbq Chicken Thighs
In order to cook quickly and achieve a nice glaze / caramelization on your chicken thighs, 425°F is an ideal temperature. And when theyre *just* about done they benefit from a quick blast under the broiler to finish cooking and add some nice caramelization.
Just make sure you keep a close eye on them so they dont get too dark.
How To Make Bbq Chicken Thighs In The Oven
Baking barbecue chicken in the oven is really no more complicated than throwing it on the grill and just as delicious!
The pan gets pretty saucy and forms lots of caramelized bits under the high heat, but it doesnt effect the chicken at all if anything it adds to the flavor and moisture of the finished chicken thighs.
You can place the chicken thighs on a baking rack over the sheet pan, but I dont find it necessary. And skipping that step means less dishes to wash when youre done.
One thing I dont recommend skipping is lining your baking sheet. Parchment paper is my preference by aluminum foil also works. It will keep the caramelized bits from sticking to your baking sheet for easier clean up.
Heres the step-by-step
How Do You Keep Chicken Moist When Baking
There are a few things that you can do to prevent your chicken from drying out while baking. One is to use chicken thighs or chicken drumsticks instead of chicken breasts as they have more fat content and will not dry out as easily. Another is to coat the chicken with some cooking oil or other type of fat before baking. This will help to create a barrier so that the moisture will not escape from the chicken while it’s in the oven. Finally, you can also cook the chicken at a lower temperature so that it doesn’t dry out as quickly.