Grilled BBQ Chicken
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Learn how to make the best Grilled BBQ Chicken! This classic chicken recipe combines juicy, char-grilled chicken with a smoky, tangy homemade BBQ marinade, guaranteeing absolutely delicious barbecue chicken every single time!
Keep your grill fired up so you can try out my Grilled Sweet Potatoes, Mexican Street Corn Salad, Honey Chipotle Glazed Pork Chops with Peach Salsa, Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken Thighs, and Ultra Juicy Grilled BBQ Pork Chops.
Why This Recipe Works
Barbecue Lover’s Dream: If you are all about firing up the grill, then you are going to love this simple yet delicious grilled BBQ chicken recipe! With a homemade BBQ sauce, it seriously can’t get any better. When grill season starts up each summer, I can’t wait to add this grilled chicken into my dinner rotation! The whole family absolutely loves it.
Great for Meal Prep: Make a large batch of these grilled BBQ chicken thighs to eat with different sides for meal prep! I like to eat them with so many different things. They go great on salads, in wraps, or even on some nachos!
Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs: I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs here! You can also use chicken breast if you prefer for some grilled BBQ chicken breasts. However, the cooking time will increase since chicken breast is a little bit thicker!
- Tomato Paste: Use a high quality tomato paste as the base of your homemade BBQ marinade.
- Brown Sugar: To add just a touch of sweetness and help the chicken caramelize slightly on the grill.
- Sweet Smoked Paprika: I like to use a sweet smoked paprika here. Any kind of paprika will be good though!
Here’s How to Make It
- Marinade the Chicken: Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large, shallow dish and whisk to make a smooth paste. Add the chicken thighs and toss well so they’re well coated. Leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour, or overnight. (photos 1-3)
- Prep the Grill: Prepare the grill for cooking over direct heat, with an area of indirect heat on one side. (not pictured)
- Grill: Working in matches if your grill is on the smaller side, cook the chicken until browned and caramelized on each side, and it reaches the internal temperature of 165 F. This should take about 15 minutes per batch of thighs. Move chicken pieces to the cooler area if they’re not yet cooked through but you’re worried the marinade is going to burn on the outside of the chicken, and to keep the cooked chicken warm while you’re cooking the rest of the batch. (photo 4)
Expert Tips
- Don’t skip the marinating time! To make sure this chicken comes out as juicy and flavorful as possible, definitely plan on marinating them in the BBQ marinade for at least 1 hour in the fridge. I like to leave them in there for a few hours when I have them time!
- Serve with more BBQ sauce! If you like them super sauce, you can definitely coat these grilled chicken thighs with some of your favorite BBQ sauce, or use it as a dipping sauce on the side.
- Feel free to use any chicken you have on hand! From chicken legs to thighs to breasts, this barbecue chicken recipe would be good with any cut of chicken. Just keep in mind that cooking time will vary!
Frequently Asked Questions
Serve this chicken with all of your favorite summertime sides like potato salad, strawberry spinach pasta salad and corn on the cob! Leftovers can be used in salads, wraps, or on quesadillas and nachos!
If you have any leftovers or prepared extra for meal prep, store the BBQ chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days!
Serving Suggestions
- Best Potato Wedges
- Best Super Moist Cornbread
- Hawaiian Mac Salad
- Cole Slaw with Amazing Cole Slaw Dressing
- Grilled Corn on the Cob
More Grill Season Recipes to Try
- Argentinian Chimichurri Chicken
- Juicy Grilled BBQ Pork Chops
- Grilled Salmon Skewers
- Grilled Cajun Lime Chicken
- Grilled Sweet Potato
Did you make this recipe? FANTASTIC. Please rate the recipe below and be sure to tag me on social when you share a photo on social – I love seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Grilled BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large, shallow dish and whisk to make a smooth paste. Add the chicken thighs and toss well so they’re all well coated. Leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour, or overnight.
- Prepare the grill for cooking over a direct heat, with an area of indirect heat to one side.
- Working in batches if your grill is on the smaller side, cook the chicken until browned and caramelized on each side, and it reaches the internal temperature of 165F. This should take about 15 minutes per batch of thighs. Move chicken pieces to the cooler area if they’re not yet cooked through but you’re worried the marinade is going to burn on the outside of the chicken, and to keep the cooked chicken warm while you’re cooking the rest of the batch.
Notes
- This marinade also works great with chicken breasts. They’ll typically need at least 5 minutes longer cooking but will have the same internal cooked temperature as thighs.
- Leftover chicken will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and is great for salads and wraps.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Various people prepared different things in our kitchen for a barbecue this weekend. After getting the fire started for the grill, my husband went into the kitchen, came back out again and asked who had made the sauce. When I told him I had, he said: Thank goodness, because I just tried it and decided I was going to kiss whoever prepared it. I gladly accepted the kiss, but passed the credit on to you 😉 After we finished eating, we all agreed that these were the best kabobs we’d ever tried. My niece’s boyfriend in particular just couldn’t stop gushing about how wonderful they were.
Made this for dinner tonight. Phenomenal! The flavor is so good, we had a hard time stopping when full. Thank you for sharing. This will be made again and again.
Hi! These look amazing! However, it is too cold for me to stand by the grill. Can I make these in the oven?
Thank you!
Sure! I would just put them on the skewers and put the skewers on a foil-lined baking sheet. 🙂
We made this tonight and it was superb! The sauce was divine! Of course the bacon completed it! I will be sharing this on my page with link to here, thank you!
Bacon, it’s really like a secret weapon. Gotta love it. 😉 Thanks Jennifer, glad you liked this as much as we do!
I don’t have a grill, but I always bake my skewers. Do you think this would do well in the oven? Do you have any recommendations on how to do these in the oven?
Thanks so much! 🙂 These look too delicious NOT to attempt!
Hi, Jenn (July 10, 2014) ! I have made these many times in the oven, however, I skewered the meat and veggies separately as they may cook at different times. At the end, I broil them, so you may want to ensure at you have them on a cookie sheet. I also pre-cook the bacon slightly and wrap the bacon around the veggies on skewers. Good luck and take care!!
Hi, Jenn (July 10, 2014) ! I have made these many times in the oven, however, I skewered the meat and veggies separately as they may cook at different times. At the end, I broil them, so you may want to ensure at you have them on a cookie sheet. I also pre-cook the bacon slightly and wrap the bacon around the veggies on skewers. Good luck and take care!!
Made this for dinner. BBQ sauce was great. We grilled some corn on the cob and my husband slathered the sauce all over the corn, too! Thanks for a great recipe!!
Isn’t that bit of honey taste so good?? My husband poured the sauce over his whole plate of food too! We had salad and he even poured some on that – crazy guys!
Thanks for this recipe! I made them last night, except I was super lazy and used my favorite grilling sauce instead of your recipe. They were so good! The bacon makes them super tasty! My husband was in heaven!
These look amazing!
YUM! I love chicken skewers and you’re right- everything really is better with bacon. I’d never really thought of grilling bacon before but now I must try it..and soon!
Love the bacon! Who wouldn’t?! 🙂