Grilled BBQ Chicken Breast
Grilled BBQ Chicken Breasts is an easy 4 ingredient recipe that is on the table in less than an hour. Best of all, you can make it using your favorite barbecue sauce.
BBQ Chicken Breasts
It’s the time of year to remove those grill covers and start grilling! Spring and summer are some of the best seasons for recipes. Instead of grilling outside, we usually bust out the stovetop griddle. Most of the time we’re living in apartments that don’t allow grills, so we have to improvise.
This grilled BBQ chicken breasts recipe is a great dish to have handy whether you’re using a griddle pan or grill. It gets rotated out with some of our other recipes that aren’t BBQ themed like grilled shrimp tacos, grilled chicken salad, grilled Mahi Mahi and grilled chicken sandwich recipes.
How to Make BBQ Chicken Breasts
- First, grab the the chicken breast and get it ready for the grill. In order to cut down on cooking time, we recommend using tenders or slicing the meat into 1-inch thick cutlets.
- Place the chicken breast pieces into a small baking dish or onto a deep rimmed plate. After that, sprinkle all sides with barbecue rub and gently press to ensure the seasoning sticks to the chicken.
- Place the chicken into your refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the grill to 350°F or a griddle over low-medium heat.
- Afterward, brush the grill with a light coating of oil and remove the chicken from the fridge.
- Place the chicken on the grill or griddle in an even layer.
- Cook the chicken for 6-8 minutes on each side depending on thickness. An instant read thermometer should read 165°F when inserted into the thickest part.
- Just before the grilled chicken is finished cooking (about 1-minute before), brush it with BBQ sauce.
- Once done, remove the meat from the grill and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes before serving with a side of Grilled Corn on the Cob or Slow Cooker Baked Beans.
Tips and Variations:
- Be sure to let the meat rest for about 10 minutes before serving. Otherwise, once the chicken is cut into, all the juices will out and the meat will become dry.
- It’s easy to cross contaminate your food when grilling. So we recommend using 2 sets of tongs. One set for the raw meat and another for the cooked meat.
- Use your favorite BBQ dry rub and sauce.
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs can also be used. The cook time may need to be adjusted to ensure the meat cooks to the correct temperature.
Do you put BBQ sauce on chicken before grilling?
Typically, no. Because, by time the chicken is finished cooking the heat from the grill will burn the brown sugar found in most BBQ sauces.
Storage and Reheating
Storage: Store leftover grilled bbq chicken breasts in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Freezer: We don’t recommend freezing this recipe.
Reheating: To reheat, cover the chicken loosely in foil and warm in the oven or toaster oven on 250°F until warmed through.
Other Chicken Recipes You May Love
Don’t forget to check out our BBQ Chicken Breast web story!
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, may use cutlets or tenderloins
- 2 tablespoons bbq dry rub, We used brown sugar hickory flavor.
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1/4 cup bbq sauce, We used Sweet Baby Rays.
Instructions
- Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breasts with barbecue rub, and press it gently to ensure it adheres to the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts2 tablespoons bbq dry rub
- While the chicken rests, heat a grill or griddle to 350°F or low-medium heat. When it’s hot, brush it lightly with cooking oil.1 tablespoon cooking oil
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator, and place it on the hot grill. Cook it for 6-8 minutes per side (may vary depending on thickness). Just before the chicken finishes cooking on the second side, brush it with the barbecue sauce.1/4 cup bbq sauce
- Use tongs to remove the cooked chicken from the grill to a waiting plate. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
- See post for storage options.