This simple baked BBQ chicken breast recipe will bring that sweet, salty, smoky flavor of barbecue home at any time of the year! It's a great winter-time version of grilled chicken that everyone will enjoy having as part of a fantastic, flavorful meal!
Finger-licking delicious BBQ you can make without a grill!
Who doesn’t love the smoky-sweet combo of grilled chicken and barbecue sauce? With liquid smoke, garlic and onion powder, and paprika you can get the fantastic flavor of a good old-fashioned cookout without the grill!
Cranking up the grill can make for a fun evening, but sometimes it seems like a lot of extra work for a weeknight dinner. Other times the weather doesn’t want to cooperate. In these cases, all you need to do is bake some tasty BBQ dinner up instead!
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Whether it’s too hot to bother or it’s a dark winter day with enough snow on the ground that you’d rather be in the warmth of your kitchen, there’s never a bad time to pull out this recipe. After all, who says you can’t enjoy some barbecue in the winter?
❤️ Why I Love This Recipe
It Tastes Grilled! Get all the flavor of grilling out without any of the extra hassle or grill skills.
Makes Great Leftovers! Chicken is quickly converted into scrumptious sandwiches over the next couple of days for packable school or work lunches.
Minimal Prep Time! It only takes 5 minutes to get this dish ready to go into the oven; just clean, trim, and season!
🥘 Ingredients
If you love barbecue as much as I do, you’ll likely have most of these ingredients already in your kitchen. Liquid smoke, however, might be new to you.
It’s a special addition that adds a unique smoky flavor that gives your baked chicken that just-off-the-grill flavor.
- Chicken Breasts - You’ll need the boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe.
- Seasoning - A flavorful blend of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika to amplify the deep, rich BBQ sauce coating.
- BBQ Sauce - There are a million different kinds of BBQ sauce, so pick your favorite, or make your own special blend!
- Liquid Smoke (optional) - While this is optional, I highly recommend you try it out for best results! Find it in your condiments aisle at the grocery store above the Worcestershire sauce.
Ingredient Notes
You can create the same great flavor with any cut of chicken, boneless or bone-in, but be aware that cooking times will change. Bone-in pieces will need more time in the oven.
It’s always a good practice to use a digital meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. No matter what cut you use, the internal temperature of the cooked chicken should reach a minimum of 165℉ (74℃) before eating.
For an extra kick, add cayenne pepper. To amp up the heat, add ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper to your spice mix in Step 3 of the instructions. If it’s still not hot enough, season to taste after baking.
Replace paprika with smoked paprika for an extra smoky flavor. If you really want to accentuate the grilled hint of smoke from the liquid extract, try using smoked paprika alongside it.
Step-by-Step Instructions
There are just a few easy-to-follow steps. You’ll need a baking dish, a small bowl for mixing spices, and a brush or spoon for the BBQ sauce.
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- Preheat the oven. Set the temperature to 400℉ (205℃). Prepare a baking dish by lightly greasing it or coating it with non-stick cooking spray.
- Prepare the chicken. Rinse 4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts for a total of around 1 ½ pounds (24 ounces). Dry them with paper towels and cut off fatty parts if needed. Transfer them to your prepared baking dish.
- Add the seasoning. Mix ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon onion powder in a small bowl. Use the blend of spices to season the chicken breasts, making sure to cover all sides generously.
- Mix the sauce. Add 1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional) to ½ cup BBQ sauce and combine thoroughly. Brush it onto the chicken breasts.
- Bake. Move the chicken to the middle of the center rack in your oven and cook for 40-45 minutes. Use a probe thermometer in the thickest part of a breast to test for internal temperature. It should be at least 165℉ (74℃) for it to be safe to eat.
- Rest and serve. After removing the chicken from the oven, let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serve.
This makes a delicious lunch or dinner and is excellent when served with all of the best cookout sides. Try my southern baked macaroni and cheese, baked beans, or smoked baked potato!
💭 Tips & Notes
My chicken breasts were very large here, for smaller chicken breasts please note these times.
- The cooking times for smaller chicken breasts (4-5 ounces) are roughly 25-30 minutes, and 30-40 minutes for medium chicken breasts (6-8 ounces).
Don’t forget to let the meat rest for 10 minutes after pulling it out of the oven.
- Resting allows the juices to be redistributed and reabsorbed before you slice it. If you cut into it straight out of the oven, the liquid will all come out. In other words, you’ll dry out your chicken. So keep the juice and the flavor in by giving it a few minutes to sit.
- If the internal temperature of your chicken breasts reaches 162°F (72°C) the temperature will increase about 3-4 degrees during the resting period (carryover cooking).
Leftovers make great pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches.
- The next day, reheat and pull chicken apart so it’s stringy. Put it on toasted brioche buns or pretzel buns with some extra BBQ sauce. Serve with waffle fries and a salad for a quick meal.
For a deeper barbecue flavor, marinate your chicken.
- It’s easy to do this by marinating the chicken with my BBQ chicken marinade recipe before adding extra sauce and cooking. Essentially, instead of putting the dry seasonings on top of the raw chicken, you take the same spices and put them in a liquid. In a marinade, spices soak into the chicken and leave a more lasting flavor.
🥡 Storing & Reheating
Leftover baked bbq chicken breast will last for 3-4 days if stored properly in the fridge. After cooling, put any extra cooked chicken into an airtight plastic storage bag or container. You may also tightly wrap the chicken breasts with aluminum foil or plastic wrap, eliminating extra air.
Freeze extra chicken and eat it up to 4 months later for the best flavor, though it will be safe to eat indefinitely when properly frozen. Store wrapped in tin foil, then placed into a freezer storage bag or airtight container to prevent freezer burn.
Reheating
Reheat your leftover chicken breasts in the oven at 400℉ (205℃) on a wire rack-topped baking sheet for 15 minutes. For frozen chicken, leave it in the fridge overnight to thaw before reheating.
🐔 More Great Chicken Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
- Stuffing Stuffed Chicken Breasts
- Baked Chicken Quarters
- Shake & Bake Chicken
- Air Fryer Chicken Legs
❓ Recipe FAQs
Everyone has their own opinion on this. I lean towards leaving it uncovered. With this recipe, your meat will stay plenty juicy. Most people who choose to cover their chicken do so to keep it from drying out. I find that it’s not necessary, and I like the thick texture the sauce takes on when cooked uncovered in the oven.
Any sauce will be great in this recipe. You can even make your own! I’m a Kansas City-style fan and personally like Sweet Baby Ray’s and anything in Jack Daniels’ line (original, honey, or sweet and spicy). All of these are on the sweeter side with a touch of brown sugar or honey.
If you prefer smokier or more vinegar-forward, try something from Lillie Q’s line. The latter was started by a two-time World BBQ Champion and offers smoky Memphis-style and mustard-based Carolina options.
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📖 Recipe Card
Baked BBQ Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 24 oz chicken breasts (4 roughly 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ cup BBQ sauce
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional but highly recommended)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (205°C) and lightly grease or coat with non-stick cooking spray your baking dish.
- Rinse and pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Trim any fat as needed, then place the chicken pieces into your prepared baking dish.
- In a small bowl combine the seasoning including salt, paprika, ground black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Season the chicken breasts on all sides.
- Combine the BBQ sauce with optional liquid smoke and stir to combine, then brush onto each of the chicken breasts.
- Bake at 400°F (205°C) for 40-45 minutes, or until the internal temperature of your chicken breasts has at least reached the minimum safe temperature for chicken of 165°F (74°C).
- Remove from the oven and allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before slicing or serving.
Notes
- If the internal temperature of your chicken breasts reaches 162°F (72°C) the temperature will increase about 3-4 degrees during the resting period (carryover cooking).
- The cooking times for smaller chicken breasts (4-5 ounces) are roughly 25-30 minutes, and 30-40 minutes for medium chicken breasts (6-8 ounces).
P says
Great recipe! I only used one breast and flattened it to uniform size. The sauce was perfect and it only took 30 minutes to cook. I will definately be passing this recipe on to my daughter and cooking it again.