Today we're talking about baking chicken breasts to moist, juicy perfection, smothering them with BBQ Sauce and consuming immediately! Are you ready for this deliciousness?
Today's recipe for chicken is moist and juicy. And while we're focusing on smothering it with barbecue sauce, this preparation can be used on just about any flavor chicken you can dream up. Just marinate, season, bake and enjoy.
Why This Recipe Works
In a nutshell, this recipe uses bone-in chicken breasts and a flavorful marinade. Both of these things help the chicken stay moist and juicy while cooking in the oven. Then, you'll brush the chicken with bbq sauce during the last few minutes of cooking so that it forms a sticky bbq sauce topping and makes the chicken irresistible.
BBQ Chicken vs. Grilled Chicken
When someone says "bbq chicken" you think one of two things, right? There's the barbeque chicken that is cooked on a grill or smoker and there's the chicken that is baked in the oven with barbecue sauce. This recipe is the latter. If you'd like some recipes for grilled chicken, try this Gorgeous Grilled Chicken recipe, my Garlic Ranch Chicken Marinade, or my go-to recipe for Basic Grilled Chicken.
What Kind of Chicken Should I Use?
The key is to start with bone-in, half chicken breasts. Boneless and skinless chicken has its place in the poultry kingdom, but not here. We want the bone because it keeps the meat from drying out and imparts excellent flavor. Since we're smothering this chicken with BBQ sauce, I'm going to take the skin off, but I often leave it on if I'm cooking it without a sauce. Leaving it on will naturally baste the chicken as it cooks and also crisps up nicely if you like that sort of thing. I'm kind of a skin hater so even if I leave it on to cook I rarely eat it.
The Key To Moist, Flavorful BBQ Chicken
Marinating is all about adding flavor and moisture to the meat. I'm using a combo of olive oil, lemon juice, smoked paprika (for that smoky BBQ flavor), and minced garlic. If you don't have smoked paprika, I definitely suggest you get some! It has such good flavor and gives a nice smoky flavor to anything you add it to.
How To Make Oven Baked BBQ Chicken
Step 1.
Start by mixing up the marinade and pouring over the chicken in a ziplock bag. I use a bag as opposed to a bowl because you don't have to use very much marinade to cover the chicken and it seems to marinate more evenly. Place in the fridge.
Step 2.
Place the chicken in the fridge for at least an hour or up to overnight. Allowing the chicken to marinade past 24 hours could result in some funny-textured chicken though.
Step 3.
Take the chicken out of the marinade and place on a baking sheet. Season with liberally with kosher salt and pepper and pop in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes.
Step 4.
After 20 minutes your chicken will be about half-way done depending on the size of the breast. Brush each breast with your favorite Barbecue sauce and return to the oven.
Step 5.
Repeat the application of BBQ sauce to the chicken every 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Standard chicken breasts take a total of 35-40 minutes, so 4-5 brushings with the sauce should do ya. If you have a thermometer, insert it into the thickest part of the breast and remove it from the oven when it hits 165 degrees F.
How do I get that sticky-sweet caramelized sauce on my bbq chicken?
Taking the time to apply the sauce to the chicken at 5-minute intervals while baking results in a deliciously sticky, glazed exterior that makes me want to lick my fingers just thinking about it.
Frequently Asked Questions About This Recipe
Chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours, but any longer than that, the marinade can affect the texture of the chicken.
Chicken is fully cooked at 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Use an instant read thermometer to check the temperature and insert into the the thickest part of the chicken for an accurate reading.
Yes, boneless chicken can be used, but bone-in chicken breasts will give you the moistest, most flavorful chicken.
When roasting chicken, like we are here, you do not need to cover the chicken.
Other Chicken Recipes You Might Like
- Pesto Parmesan Chicken
- Easy Chicken Cacciatore
- Smothered Chicken Breast
- Honey Dijon Chicken Thighs
- garlic chicken thighs
Other Popular Recipes People Really Like
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Super Moist Oven Baked BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in Chicken Breast Halves
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ยฝ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ยฝ-3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- pepper to taste
- 1 cup favorite prepared BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Remove skin from chicken breast halves and place in a large ziplock bag.
- Combine olive oil, smoked paprika, lemon juice, and garlic in a small bowl and pour over chicken.
- Let chicken marinade for at least an hour, up to 24 in the fridge.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Remove chicken from bag and place on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 20 minutes and brush a layer of BBQ sauce on the chicken. Return to the oven and repeat brushing with BBQ sauce every 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes longer. Chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F when read with a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast.
Brent says
Possibly the best chicken breast I have ever had. I only had regular paprika, so I added 10 drops of liquid smoke to the marinade as well. Also, I only had limes so used lime juice. Marinaded ~2 hours. My breast were larger than pictured - did 25 minutes than 5 coatings of sauce.
Megan says
Could I freeze the chicken in this marinade? I made it and put it in the fridge this morning but my husband decided he would like something else for dinner! Ha! So I put the marinated chicken in the freezer. I would assume I can thaw overnight and cook as directed? Would that affect texture? I used drumsticks. Thanks!
Victoria says
You can absolutely freeze chicken in the marinade (in a zip lock bag) and thaw when you're ready to cook it. This is a great way to take advantage of large family packs of chicken breasts which is usually a much better price per pound. Simply divide up the large package into individual meal-size zip lock bags. Put all the bags in the refrigerator to marinate for the desired amount of time. Then transfer the portions you're not ready to cook to the freezer. (Note: The longer you leave it in the marinade before placing in the freezer, the more robust the flavor will be from the marinade. For example, if you marinate for 12-24 hours and then put in the freezer, the chicken will be more flavorful than if you place the chicken and marinade in the bag and freeze it immediately. But in a pinch, freezing immediately also works pretty well.)
Sarah says
Yummy, followed the recipe but I wouldn't say super moist.
Heather says
Sorry that your chicken wasn't moist-- perhaps it was baked just a tad too long? Glad you enjoyed it though.
Michele says
I found this recipe through a Google search. I only had time to marinate it for one hour but it still came out tender, moist and delicious! Glad to have another recipe to add into my rotation. Definitely a keeper!
Heather says
Great! So glad you liked it!
Cody says
I didn't find this until I was ready to cook and eat. So I skipped the marinade to save time and cooked the chicken the first half with the skin on. It came off very easily, but was extremely hot, so be careful. This seemed to work well to keep it moist. The second half of cooking I basted with sauce as recommended here and it turned out great!
Lolly Jane says
Made this last night, so yummy!
Henry says
Question, how do you make the sauce stick onto the chicken?
Heather says
Brushing the chicken with sauce every 5 minutes while cooking helps it to stick and caramelize. It's all about the layering!
Rachel says
How would I adjust the recipe if I were to use 6 chicken thighs?
It sounds amazing!! Thanks!
Sherry says
Looks Yummy! SBR makes everything better.
Dennis says
You might look at the first ingredient in the SBR............
shandy francois says
I am about to try this recipe for an school examination and I am really looking forward of getting it to look like yours an taste like it also
Aurora says
This sounds delish. I am trying now. However, will the recipe have just as much flavor if I leave in the fridge of a minimum of 1 hour?
brittany says
This is deliciously delicious. Follow the recipe and you will have juicy baked chicken breasts. Yum!