Description
This Baked BBQ Chicken Recipe delivers tender, flavorful chicken with a delicious barbecue rub and sauce glaze. Using bone-in or boneless chicken pieces, the recipe combines an easy seasoning step with baking and a finishing broil to caramelize the BBQ sauce for a grilled effect right in your oven.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Chicken
- 2 pounds bone-in chicken pieces or boneless skinless chicken breasts
Seasoning and Sauce
- 1/3 cup barbecue chicken rub
- 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Prepare Chicken: Start with your preferred chicken cut—bone-in with skin, skinless, or boneless skinless breasts. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels to ensure proper seasoning adhesion and optimal baking results.
- Season Chicken: Coat the chicken thoroughly on all sides with the barbecue chicken rub. Allow the seasoned chicken to rest for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 425ºF, so the flavors can penetrate.
- Arrange for Baking: Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set an oven-safe wire rack on top. Place the seasoned chicken pieces skin-side up on the rack; this allows air circulation and even cooking.
- Bake and Broil Chicken: For bone-in drumsticks, bake for 15 minutes, then flip and bake 10 more minutes. For bone-in thighs or breasts, bake 15 minutes, flip, then bake 20 more minutes. For boneless skinless breasts, bake 10 minutes, flip, then bake another 10 minutes. After baking, flip the chicken again, brush with barbecue sauce, and broil on high for 2-4 minutes (2-3 minutes for boneless breasts) to caramelize the glaze. Watch carefully to prevent burning.
- Check Temperature and Serve: Ensure boneless skinless breasts reach 165ºF internal temperature. Bone-in dark meat chicken is best tender at 175-185ºF. Remove from oven and serve hot for a delicious barbecue meal.
Notes
- Broiling at the end creates caramelized, slightly crispy edges similar to grilled chicken.
- You can use any barbecue rub and sauce brand you prefer to customize flavor.
- Internal temperature measurement ensures perfectly cooked, safe chicken.
- Adjust broiling time slightly depending on your oven’s broiler intensity.
- Nutrition estimates are based on 6 pieces of chicken, 1 piece per serving; actual values may vary with ingredient brands and sizes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece (about 4 oz)
- Calories: 280 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 520 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 8 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg
