Baked BBQ Chicken Breast

Yumna Jawad

Published Aug 16, 2024

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Baked BBQ chicken breast is as easy as it gets—just two ingredients for a super simple weeknight dinner that'll have you saying, "so good"!

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Prep Time 5 minutes
Servings 4 servings
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2

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This Baked BBQ Chicken Breast couldn’t be simpler or more delicious. It has just 2 main ingredients (I bet you can guess what they are based on the recipe’s name!) and takes only 5 minutes of prep time. It’s then off to the oven to bake!

Spatula lifting up a bbq baked chicken from baking dish.
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This baked BBQ chicken recipe couldn’t be easier: After seasoning chicken breasts with salt and pepper and brushing them with oil, you add BBQ sauce and put them in the oven. Really, that’s it! I like to serve this easy oven baked BBQ chicken with simple sides like air fryer broccoli. Or, whatever I can make while the chicken cooks!

Recipe At a Glance

Cuisine Inspiration: American
Primary Cooking Method: Oven
Dietary Info: Dairy-free and gluten-free
Key Flavor: Chicken and barbecue sauce
Skill Level: Easy

Why This Is So Good

  • Kid-friendly: My kids love both chicken and barbecue sauce, so this recipe is a no-brainer. The chicken is so juicy and tangy!
  • Make-ahead: This baked BBQ chicken breast will last for days in the fridge. I like to make it on a Sunday for easy lunches during the week.
  • Versatile: It’s delicious with simple veggies, sliced and added to a salad, used in sandwiches, or shredded for tacos.

Ingredients to Make Baked BBQ Chicken Breast

Ingredients for recipe: chicken breasts, homemade bbq sauce, oil, salt and pepper.
  • Chicken breasts: Lean and fairly inexpensive. I usually have chicken breasts in my fridge or freezer.
  • Salt and pepper: I keep the seasonings simple.
  • Oil: I like to use olive oil, but you could substitute canola, vegetable, or avocado oil.
  • BBQ sauce: I use homemade BBQ sauce, but you can use your favorite store-bought brand!
  • Add in a little heat. You could mix a tablespoon or two of hot sauce or some red pepper flakes with the BBQ sauce.
  • Swap in chicken thighs. These have more fat and are dark meat, so they’re harder to overcook than chicken breasts. You could use chicken thighs instead, but they might be done faster than the recipe states!
  • Use a different sauce. Instead of BBQ sauce, you could use teriyaki sauce.

How to Make Baked BBQ Chicken Breast

Chicken breast in a baking dish seasoned with salt and pepper.
Step 1: Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Brush with oil on both sides.
    After brushing in barbeque sauce before baking.
    Step 2: Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish. Brush the BBQ sauce on top of the chicken.
    After baking and flipping, brushing on more sauce.
    Step 3: Bake, flip, and brush the remaining BBQ sauce on top of the chicken.
    After baking chicken with bbq sauce.
    Step 4: Bake until cooked through.

    Tips for Making the Best BBQ Chicken Breast in the Oven

    1. Use a baking dish. You want to cook the chicken breasts in a smaller dish with higher walls so it contains the sauce and keeps it around the chicken!
    2. Make sure to add oil. Chicken breast is very lean! While it might be tempting to skip the oil, it adds a lot of flavor and helps the chicken brown.
    3. Don’t skip tenting the chicken with foil. After the chicken comes out of the oven, you want to cover it with foil and let it rest. This allows it to cool down a bit, and the foil locks in moisture so the chicken won’t dry out!
    4. Don’t just guess when the chicken’s done. Undercooked chicken is a nightmare of mine! That’s why I love my meat thermometer. To tell when the chicken’s done, I just stick the thermometer in and know when it reads 165°F the chicken’s good to go!
    BBQ baked chicken breasts in baking dish, garnished with fresh parsley.

    What to Serve With Juicy Baked BBQ Chicken Breast

    Frequently Asked Questions

    How do you store and reheat baked BBQ chicken breast?

    Kept in an airtight container in the fridge, the cooked chicken will last for up to 4 days. To reheat it, you can pop it in the microwave or reheat it at 350°F in the oven, toaster oven, or air fryer until warmed through.

    How do you tell when the chicken breast is done?

    The easiest way is to use an instant-read thermometer. Once the thermometer reaches 165°F, the chicken is cooked.

    How do you avoid dry chicken breast?

    Coating the chicken with oil and cooking it in a sauce will help! The chicken will become dry if it’s overcooked, too, so avoid that and remove it from the oven once it reaches 165°F.

    Baked barbeque chicken breast on a plate partially sliced on a plate with broccoli.

    I love a recipe that tastes like it has way more ingredients than it does (and took more work than it did!). This Baked BBQ Chicken Breast is just that. Its sauce is tangy and a little sweet, and the chicken is so juicy. If you’re like me, it’s the kind of weeknight dinner you’ll make again and again.

    More Chicken Recipes:

    If you try this feel good Baked BBQ Chicken Breast recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!

    BBQ chicken breast recipe.

    Baked BBQ Chicken Breast

    Author: Yumna Jawad
    No ratings yet
    Baked BBQ chicken breast is as easy as it gets—just two ingredients for a super simple weeknight dinner that'll have you saying, "so good"!
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    Prep Time5 minutes
    Cook Time40 minutes
    Total Time45 minutes
    Servings4 servings
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    Ingredients
      

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 375°F.
    • Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper and brush with oil on both sides.
    • Place the chicken breasts in an 8 x 11 baking dish presentation side down. Brush ½ cup of the BBQ sauce on top of the chicken and bake for 20 minutes. Flip the chicken and brush the remaining sauce on top of the chicken. Continue baking for 10-12 more minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
    • Transfer to a plate, tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 5 minutes.

    Equipment

    Notes

    Storage: Kept in an airtight container in the fridge, the cooked chicken will last for up to 4 days. To reheat it, you can pop it in the microwave or reheat it at 350°F in the oven, toaster oven, or air fryer until warmed through.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1chicken breast, Calories: 348kcal, Carbohydrates: 29g, Protein: 37g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 109mg, Sodium: 1225mg, Potassium: 799mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 24g, Vitamin A: 213IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 33mg, Iron: 1mg

    Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

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    Comments

    1. Mimi says:

      Hi Yumna, can you tell me the brand of stove you have? Thanks

      Reply
      1. Yumna J. says:

        Hi, I have a GE Monogoram stove.

        Reply