This easy Baked BBQ Chicken in the oven makes a tasty yet easy way to enjoy juicy, tangy barbecued chicken! Saves you the time and energy of firing up the grill but satisfies your craving with minimal effort.
We eat a lot of chicken breast in our house and this baked chicken with BBQ sauce is definitely one of our favorites! I especially love dipping bites into the sauce for extra flavor! But what really gets me is how easy it is to make!
If you love easy chicken recipes, you've got to try my air fryer chicken kabobs, honey chicken thighs, Butterfly Drumsticks, Oregano Chicken or crack chicken sliders next!
Why You Will Love This BBQ Baked Chicken Breast Recipe
- Simple Recipe: Chicken breasts + some simple pantry staples to make a homemade BBQ sauce is all you need!
- No Grill Needed: No fancy equipment, grill pan, or outdoor grill are needed to make this oven baked BBQ chicken recipe.
- Great Flavor: The homemade tangy BBQ sauce turns boring old chicken into a masterpiece!
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts: Boneless skinless breasts work great to make oven baked BBQ chicken breasts but you can certainly use skin-on if you like cooking breasts with the skin on.
- Ketchup: The sweet and tangy tomato base for the homemade BBQ sauce.
- Onion and garlic: We're using fresh minced garlic and onion to give more depth of flavor to the sauce.
- Mustard: You can use either yellow or dijon mustard depending on whichever type of mustard you prefer or have on hand. Personally, I usually grab yellow mustard which is always in my fridge.
- Worcestershire sauce: This deepens the savory flavors in the sauce and gives it real depth and umami.
- Maple syrup and molasses: Enhances the sweetness of the sauce while the molasses helps thicken and enhances the overall flavor.
- Apple cider vinegar: Just a bit of acidity to balance out the sweetness and give it some tanginess. I'm a huge fan of apple cider vinegar with it's mild flavor and fruitiness but you can also use white vinegar as well.
See the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and the exact quantities of each one.
Variations
- Give it a spicy kick: Add a bit of red pepper flakes, jalapeno powder, smoked jalapeno powder, or chipotle powder to the mixture for a bit of heat.
- Baked BBQ chicken thighs: Swap the breasts for chicken thighs. They work just as well though they may take a little longer to cook.
- Skip the homemade sauce: You can easily swap the BBQ sauce for a bottle of your favorite brand. It's a perfect way to save time!
How to Make Baked BBQ Chicken
Step 1: Mix together the sauce. Combine the ketchup, onion, molasses, maple syrup, vinegar, Worcestershire, mustard, and black pepper in bowl.
Step 2: Cook the chicken. Brown the seasoned chicken breast in a skillet until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
Step 3: Cook the sauce. Add the sauce to the skillet with the garlic. Stir, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon. Cook the sauce until thickened.
Step 4: Add the chicken. Return the chicken to your skillet.
Step 5: Coat with the sauce. Move the chicken in the pan to coat with the sauce. Spoon any extra sauce over each piece.
Step 6: Bake. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove chicken from oven and turn up the temperature to broil. Baste with more sauce and then cook until the chicken is 165° F at its thickest point.
Serve up your baked bbq boneless chicken breast with your favorite side dishes and enjoy!
Hint: If you're not using an oven-proof skillet, grab a pan that will hold all of your chicken breasts. The tighter the fit, the better. Transfer the chicken and coat with the sauce.
If you love bbq chicken recipes like this one, you may also enjoy my Honey BBQ Chicken Legs!
Storage
- Store: Store leftover chicken in the fridge in an airtight container for up to four days or you can freeze it for up to three months. Thaw out frozen leftovers in the fridge the night before reheating.
- Reheat: Place the chicken in an oven-safe pan with a tablespoon or two of water and reheat at 350° F for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.
Serving Suggestions
For weeknight meals, we love this recipe with this loaded mashed potato casserole and a my vegetable medley casserole or jalapeno creamed corn.
Cook up a batch of homemade cornbread or air fryer frozen biscuits for a comforting side dish!
I love to make extra so I have leftovers to use in recipes like this pizza with BBQ chicken or BBQ chicken stromboli.
Recipe Tips
- Use An Oven-Proof Skillet. This way you can go straight from the stove to the oven and only have to clean up ONE pan! If you can't place your skillet in the oven you can transfer the chicken to another pan. Use one that keeps the chicken pieces close together!
- Let the Chicken Rest. Giving the chicken about five minutes to sit after you remove it from the heat allows it to continue to cook a bit but also the chicken soaks back up any juices ensuring you have a juicy, tender piece of chicken.
Recipe FAQs
With this recipe, I recommend sticking with boneless chicken though you can use breasts or thighs. For best results, you want to consult a recipe created for bone-in chicken that a method created to cook it.
Make sure you don't overcook it! Use your thermometer to check the chicken as it cooks. Once it reaches 160° F you can remove it from the oven and let it rest. As it rests, the temperature will continue to increase up to 165° F which is determined safe to eat.
Perfect Oven Barbecued Chicken Video
More Chicken Breast Recipes
Do you like chicken breast dinner recipes? Here are some recipes you may also like to try.
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
BBQ Baked Chicken Breast
Equipment
- large skillet ideally oven safe
Ingredients
BBQ Sauce
- 1 cup ketchup
- 3-4 tablespoons onion minced
- 1 - 2 tablespoons garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons mustard yellow or dijon
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
Chicken
- 2 - 3 tablespoon olive oil or another vegetable oil
- 4 chicken breast boneless, skinless
- Salt and pepper to season chicken to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine ketchup, onion, molasses, maple syrup, vinegar, Worcestershire, mustard, and pepper in small to medium sized bowl. Set aside.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in an ovenproof or regular skillet until it shimmers or a drop of water flicked in it dances. Brown each chicken breast until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate and set aside. Wipe oil out of the skillet with paper towel.
- Add sauce to skillet with garlic and scrape up browned bits on bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon. Simmer sauce over medium heat, stirring frequently until sauce has thickened, about 8-10 minutes.
- Return chicken to your oven-proof skillet or use another pan for the oven and adjust chicken to totally coat with the sauce. Spoon extra sauce over each piece to create a thick coating of sauce. The thicker the better.
- Place skillet in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or thickest part of chicken breast is about 135-140 degrees.
- Set oven to broil and remove chicken from oven.
- Baste or spoon more sauce over chicken breasts if desired. Throw the skillet back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes, or chicken is 165 degrees at its thickest point. It doesn't matter if your oven hasn't reached broil yet, still throw it back in the oven. Chicken will bubble on top. Wait until it is bubbling everywhere before you take it out of the oven.
- Transfer chicken on to a plate and let rest 5 minutes. Meanwhile, scrape all of the sauce out of the skillet and into a bowl to serve separately with the chicken.
Notes
- Use An Oven-Proof Skillet. This way you can go straight from the stove to the oven and only have to clean up ONE pan! If you can't place your skillet in the oven you can transfer the chicken to another pan. Use one that keeps the chicken pieces close together!
- Let the Chicken Rest. Giving the chicken about five minutes to sit after you remove it from the heat allows it to continue to cook a bit but also the chicken soaks back up any juices ensuring you have a juicy, tender piece of chicken.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in November 2017. It has been updated with images and new content.
Noah says
Great for Memorial Day ! Swapped in my own bbq sauce but turned out great!
Karin and Ken says
You made my day! So happy to hear you enjoyed it as much as we do! Hopefully you find some other recipes on this site that you enjoy just as much! Take care and enjoy the rest of your day! Karin
PukeysMom says
Phenomenal. Worth the extra steps.
Karin and Ken says
So glad to hear you enjoyed it! You made my day. Hopefully you find some other recipes on our site that you like just as much! Again, thank you for letting us know! Have a great night! Take care. Karin