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BBQ Baked Chicken Thighs are rubbed with a simple seasoning, then basted in your favorite barbecue sauce. The result is the best, most crispy, juicy, and flavorful baked barbecue chicken ever!
Table of Contents
BBQ Baked Chicken Thighs
I used to only eat chicken breasts. But it’s really hard to get a juicy chicken breast in the oven, and forget about crispy. You can’t have it both ways. Unless of course, we’re taking chicken thighs into consideration because then you definitely can produce crispy, juicy, and tender chicken in just a few steps!
To make these chicken thighs in the oven, I use a simple rub that I use for all kinds of chicken recipes, like my Baked Chicken Breasts and Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs. I use my favorite barbecue sauce that I always have on hand, Sweet Baby Ray’s. I really love their Hickory and Brown Sugar flavor. You can really use any that you like, or use a homemade sauce if you’ve got one you love.
How To Bake BBQ Chicken Thighs in the Oven
This BBQ chicken recipe is super simple, easy to customize with your favorite sauce, and needs just a few minutes of prep.
- To start, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. This is the best way to ensure even cooking.
- Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels. You do not need to rinse your chicken. In fact, that can actually spread harmful bacteria rather than eliminate it.
- Mix up the seasoning rub, which is just salt and pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Rub the seasoning all over the chicken, even under the skin. Arrange chicken thighs skin side up on a baking sheet lined with nonstick foil.
- Brush chicken thighs with a thin layer of the barbecue sauce on both sides, ending skin side up. Bake the chicken in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then baste with more sauce. Bake for another 15 minutes or until chicken is 165 degrees F on a meat thermometer. Download my Meat Temperature Chart for free!
- If the skin isn’t as crispy as you want it to be, move the oven rack up and flip on your broiler. Keep a close on it, the BBQ sauce caramelizes quickly and can burn fast. Just a couple of minutes should do the trick.
FAQs
No this isn’t necessary for BBQ Baked Chicken Thighs. Keeping the skin side up the whole time allows the skin to get crispy as it bakes.
If you want exceptionally juicy baked BBQ chicken, bone-in thighs are the way to go. Dark meat is more flavorful by default and having the skin and bone not only add extra flavor, but keep it moist and juicy. Boneless thighs will be tender, but not quite as juicy.
Of course wings are great too, but I have a different recipe for those. Try my BBQ Chicken Wings.
What To Serve with BBQ Baked Chicken Thighs
Most times I’ll throw together a copycat Olive Garden Salad and some Best Ever Cheesy Garlic Bread to just keep it simple. We also love to serve them with Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes or my Grandma’s Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes. Of course, some delicious 5-Minute Parmesan Ranch Broccoli is the perfect match and even simpler than a salad!
What To Do with Leftovers
If you happen to have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. They can also be placed in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 6 months.
Leftover chicken is always great shredded and added to salads, sandwiches, and wraps.
More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
- Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs
- BEST Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
- Beer Can Chicken
- Stove Top Chicken Breast
BBQ Baked Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs about 3 pounds, skin-on, bone-in
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bottle of your favorite bbq sauce or 2 cups homemade
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Line a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick foil or parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, combine paprika, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper.
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels and rub in the seasoning blend, then arrange chicken skin side up on the prepared baking sheet. Pour about ¾ of a cup of bbq sauce into a small bowl and brush the chicken lightly with the sauce on both sides, finishing with the chicken skin side up. Set the remaining bbq sauce aside to use later (do not leave the brush in the sauce).
- Bake in the 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove chicken from the oven and, using a clean brush, baste with the reserved sauce. Bake for 20 minutes more. Chicken should register 165 degrees F on a meat thermometer.
- Switch to the broiler and broil for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce caramelizes.
- Remove from the oven and let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
I only made 3 thighs, . The skin/bbq sauce had already caramelized some, so I did do the broil part. it was so tender, juicy, and delicious! Thanks for this amazing recipe!
You are so welcome John! Awesome feedback, thanks for stopping by.
thanks, trying it now !
Nice! Thanks for stopping by jon.
thanks trying it now
Thank you. The best baked chicken ever and I’m not a big fan of chicken. Would have this anytime. My husband raved about It. I changed it somewhat but, wow you shared a great one. Thanks again
Judi
You are so welcome Judi! Thanks for stopping by.
Great Bq
It taste good, delicious and juicy….I just marinate the chicken for 1 hour with calamansi. Thank you for the recipe.
You are so welcome Nena! Love the feedback, thanks for stopping by to share.
I only made 4 thighs, so I reduced the baking time by about 10 minutes. The skin/bbq sauce had already caramelized some, so I didn’t do the broil part. However, I did the seasonings exactly like the recipe, and it was so tender, juicy, and delicious! A keeper! Thanks for this amazing recipe! My husband and I loved it! We had mashed potatoes and salad for side dishes. Oh, and we did NOT wash our chicken. Just patted it dry, as you mentioned. It worked well.
You are so welcome Patti! Love the feedback, thanks for stopping by to share.
I rinse my chicken not for bacteria but because I don’t know what goes on behind the scene in the grocery store. Are they following good hygiene? No one knows for sure. I have eaten a lot of chicken and never gotten sick. I’m very careful with how I wash it.
Not sure why the 3 stars if you just don’t like the FDA, CDC and USDA’s strict recommendation on NOT washing chicken. You may not have gotten sick, and nothing says that you will. But people have and someone you’re cooking for could get sick. It’s a dangerous practice.
Can you bake these the day before… and then re-heat? I cook for my 93 year old parents and I rather make the mess at my house.. still what them to be juicy…
Hi Gale, Yes you can reheat them. I’d recommend skipping the broiling step the first time around. Reheat them in the oven on a rimmed baking sheet tented with foil until they reach about 160℉ and then brush with a little sauce and broil for a few minutes. Hope you enjoy them!
Very good!!
Thanks for stopping by Loly!
Thanks. Chicken was awesome!!!! Saves this recipe
Your are so welcome Dinae! Thanks for stopping by.
great recipe but more than anything just wanted to say thank you for telling me about not needing to wash chicken (weird I know but seriously you’re a life saver)
You are so welcome Styx! Thanks for stopping by.
I was looking for a fairly simply recipe for bbq chicken and came across this recipe. It was absolutely delicious! I saved it and it will be used often!
Love the feedback Donna! Thanks for stopping by to share.
The chicken was so tender and good but when I switched it to broil it kinda burn the skin but it still was really good! My oven is old so I should adjust the times next time probably operator error on my part lol
Love your feedback Courtney! Thank you so much for stopping by.
I am making this tonight for the 3rd time this summer. So easy and delicious. Perfect summertime dinner, easy to feed a crowd, whether the meal is preplanned or an impromptu dinner party! Thank you so much!
You are so welcome Sheri! Love the feedback, thanks for stopping by.
I made these for the first time tonight and they were the bomb! They were so easy to make and even tho I was only making a half meal the next time I am afraid I am going to have to make a full one! So wonderful looking when they were taken out of the oven. This is going to be a great addition to our menu. Thanks for an easy, delicious, quick meal. My first for one of your recipes. Now I know where to come for one of these meals!
Fantastic feedback Sharon! Thank you so much for stopping by.
I parboiled my thighs in bbq sauce for about 10 minutes before putting into the oven.
Bbq flavor penetrated all the way through the meat.
Cut about 5 minutes off each cycle.
Came out very moist and tender.
Love the feedback Ed! Thanks for stopping by.
Delicious! This was so easy and packed tons of flavor. My entire family loved it.
P.S. Thank you for specifying using a clean brush to baste the cooked chicken. I’m teaching my kids to cook and they use online recipes. A lot of recipe sites don’t add common sense steps but it’s important to include for someone learning to cook!
I agree and thank you for the feedback!
Really fabulous- the whole family loved it!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Kelly.
Hello! Super excited to try this recipe this evening with my family. Wondering if you can use boneless chicken thighs? Thanks!
Hi Suzanne, for boneless thighs you would need to adjust the cooking time. Try this recipe and just brush on bbq sauce towards the end and maybe broil for a few minutes.
I don’t have kosher salt. I only have table salt and sea salt. Which one would you prefer and how much
Hi Bobby, Sea salt is probably coarse and comparable with the kosher salt. You can use table salt, I recommend using a light touch with it. Remember that you can always add more salt at the end but you can’t take it away.
Hi!!
I’ll be making this for the 2nd time today. So simple to make but, gosh is this perfect. It’s easy to follow, moist, juicy, tender, craveable. I love this recipe. Thanks for this.
You are so welcome Kimmie! Thanks for stopping by.
Definitely 5 stars!! Made it for the first time tonight, and added just a little cayenne for fun. My family adored it although we would appreciate a bit less salt. This is going to be my go-to summer meal!
This simple seasoning is a keeper. I did however lower the salt by 1 tsp. I’ll no longer have tasteless bbq chicken. Thanks Kristin
You are so welcome Kristi! Thanks for stopping by.
Delicious, My family enjoyed!! Thank you..
You are so welcome Annmarie! Thanks for stopping by.
Is the skin supposed to get crispy? The sauce caramelized and the chicken was moist and delicious, but the skin was soggy even though i put it in the broiler for 3 min. I’d love to figure out how to get the skin crispy in the oven.
It should. It won’t be fried chicken crispy, but it shouldn’t be soggy. If you try it again, just add the sauce at the end.
When I first cooked it for the 20min. and pulled it out for the 15min. I had a LOT of juice in my pan. I knew that was what was going to make it non-crispy, so dumped all that juice out, proceeded to put on the last bit of bbq sauce and put it back in the oven. That did the trick! Hope this helps. We both must have had juicy chicken!
This recipe was A HIT in my household last night. Thank you sooo much!
You are so welcome Tiffany! Thanks for stopping by.
Oops! I forgot to put the stars on my comments. 5 STARS!!!! Wish it could be 6!
Thank you for the extra love Jacqie!
These were fantastic! My husband said to forget the grill and always do BBQ Chicken this way. The meat was perfectly cooked, juicy, and tender. I’ve been looking for a perfect recipe for this dish for years and you absolutely nailed it!
Hi Jacqie, Thank you so much for the awesome feedback.
Kristin
Making this recipe again tonight! Love it, so easy and so good! It’s become a regular in our dinner rotation. Need to try some more of your recipes – they all look good!????
Hi Jill, thank you so much for sharing your feedback.
K.
what happens if your only using 4 things instead of eight
Cook for the same amount of time, but you’ll only need half of the sauce and seasoning.
Hi Kristin
Made these thighs last night, exactly according to directions. The 2 tsp of salt made it almost uneatable. I would only put the pepper, onion powder, Garlic powder, and paprika. If you like things salty and sweet, I would stick to 1/2 tsp salt at the most. But then this is California. we do not salt our food very much. When I went to Texas last year, noticed food was much saltier there. So I guess it’s up to what you’re used to.
Hi Linda, I’m from California too, and we like salt on our food. It’s really a personal taste. Were you by chance using table salt? It’s much finer and isn’t the same as kosher salt. 2 teaspoons of table salt would definitely be overpowering.
Oh how delicious this looks! We all love chicken thighs so will have to make this very soon. I love Baby Ray’s and we always have that on hand. Cannot wait to make these! Thank you!
You are so welcome Deborah! Let us know in the comments how well it turned out. Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks, very good and easy!! Was going to grill and yet another storm. This was the best!!
Awesome feedback Liz! Thanks for stopping by.