BBQ Chicken Breasts
The most tender, juicy chicken grilled to PERFECTION, smothered in a thick, homemade BBQ sauce. You can also make this ahead of time!
Summer is not one of my favorite seasons.
For starters, I like sweater season. Because I can typically sneak in an extra serving of fries underneath my clunky grandma sweaters.
But I think this BBQ chicken was a legit game changer for me.
There’s just something about those grill marks that makes summer so much better.
Plus. That homemade BBQ sauce, guys. It’s something you’ll want to put on E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.
I mean, don’t judge me but I totally slathered that on my eggs this morning. And yes. It was epic.
BBQ Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 1 cup ketchup
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- WHISK together ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, molasses, Worcestershire, mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and 1/4 cup water. Reserve 1/3 cup and set aside.
- COMBINE ketchup mixture and chicken in a gallon size slider bag or large bowl; marinate for at least 1 hour to overnight, turning the bag occasionally. Drain the chicken from the marinade.
- PREHEAT grill to medium high heat.
- MAKE drainage holes in a sheet of Reynolds Wrap® Non-Stick Foil with a grilling fork. Place foil sheet on grill grate with non-stick (dull) side facing up.
- PLACE chicken on foil and cook, flipping once and basting with reserved 1/3 cup marinade until cooked through, about 10-12 minutes on each side.
- SERVE immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Reynolds Kitchens. As always, I only partner with brands that I love and truly believe in, allowing me to create more quick and easy recipes to get us through the week without breaking the bank. All opinions expressed are my own.
Your recipes and techniques are consistently high so I’m always eager to try new ones. This one received rave reviews from two picky teens and for that I am very thankful! 🙂
OMG! Another winner, I made this for dinner tonight and this is going in my fav folder! Absolutely delish!!! Plan on shredding the leftovers and adding leftover sauce and making sandwiches tomorrow for lunch with some homemade fries!!
DAMN delicious! Great recipe! Great homemade bbq sauce for sure. Made with bbq baked beans, macaroni, and corn bread. Will make again.
Hi can the raw chicken be marinated and popped into the freezer for several weeks then thawed and cooked?
I have tried at least 100+ different BBQ chicken recipes and this is by far the best. Marinated the chicken for a full 20 hours. Chicken was so moist, juicy and tasty. Used all of the marinade on the chicken and then prepared 1/2 of the recipe for basting on the BBQ. Will surely try a number of other recipes on the site. Have saved the BBQ Chicken Breast recipe for use in the short term. Outright delicious!! Thanks
Never in my life have I ever eaten chicken so moist. I only made 1/2 the recipe for 4 breasts and it was more than enough.
This definitely is my go to recipe.
Currently marinating 5 chicken breasts in it for dinner tonight. I am going to smoke them at a high heat so pretty much like a grill. The sauce is amazing so I can’t wait for the chicken
Immediately saved this recipe! Sooo good! Bought some boneless breasts to cook on the grill and couldn’t remember how long to cook them
and wanted to make homemade bbq sauce with what I had in my pantry. This recipe looked perfect and so happy to have found it! I only had the hour to marinate and it was plenty! If it was that good after an hour, overnight will be amazing for next time. I had not heard of the nonstick foil before, so had to spray regular foil and using this on the grill not only kept it from completely burning, it still had the grill taste and clean up was easy! Definitely going to find that Reynolds foil, I think it will work better. Back to the chicken! Was not one bit dry, so juicy and the bbq sauce, omg is all I can say! Delish! This was quick easy and could be made from ingredients I already had in my pantry. I cooked one side 11 minutes on the grill, and I think 10 would have been perfect for my charcoal grill. Thank you so much for this recipe! Love when I can add a quick, fresh and homemade dinner to my arsenal. Also, hope not too many typos, can’t see what I am typing!
Thanks so much for your feedback, Catherine!
Didn’t have haf the ingredients and it’s still delicious!
Thanks for an easy recipe.
I JUST BECAME A MEMBER. TONIGHT, I WAS BROWSING, TO FIND A RECIPE FOR PORK CHOPS, AND, BAMI CLICKED ON IR, THAT WAS A HOUR AGO. THANKS FOR ALLOWING ME TO BROWSE SO MANY DIFFERENT RECIPES. I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO PLANNING MY DECEMBER MENUDONNA OMALLEY BIASELLI
Can I make this in th oven.
You should be able to but as always, please use your best judgement when making substitutions or modifications.
Ooooohhhhh this recipe was DAMN DELICIOUS
AMAZING!!!.. very little prep work . I doubled the recipe for 8 breasts & it came out perfect! Prob some of the best bbq chicken breast I’ve eaten. Thanks!!
Thank you!!
Sounds great, could I do this in advance and keep it heated in a crockpot? With lots of sauce hopefully it won’t dry out too much. Having a big barbecue
That should work. But please use your best judgement as we can give you a definite answer without having tried it ourselves. Good luck and have fun!
Will this work in the oven? Temp and time, please.
You can bake at 425 degrees F until the chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 18-20 minutes.
This sounds really yummy! Does the non stick foil just help with the sticking or does it help to keep it juicier as well? If I just use regular foil, or skip the foil altogether, how would that change the cooking time, temp, or result? Thanks!
The nonstick foil really helps with clean-up. But if you choose not to use the foil, everything else (cooking time, temp, result) should stay relatively the same. You may just need to scrub the pan a bit harder to get it clean. 🙂
Hope that helps!
I hope this question isn’t too derpy – Can I make this bbq sauce and keep it in a mason jar in the fridge? If yes, would I need to cook it on the stove since it essentially cooks on the grill? Or would it be okay to whisk together and keep on hand for dipping? I love this sauce, it’s so delicious!
Yes, you can definitely keep it on hand. I do the same! 🙂
This is a wonderful BBQ sauce, I’ve used it a lot this summer! I also mixed some up to pour over pulled pork,for the harvest crew. It was a raging success. Thank-you.
This was a great (and easy) part of the n course for my son. We have a perforated grill pan for the barbecue, s we used that, sprayed with nonstick spray instead of the foil. This would probably work really well for sandwiches or a salad for meat eaters. Thanks for a tasty, versatile recipe!
How long and at what temperature would you cook this in the oven for? Not familiar with using a grill
You can bake at 425 degrees F until the chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 18-20 minutes.
I made this marinade a few nights ago. I loved it. So delicious! Thank you!
Looks good! BTW, I don’t like summer either. I live in the sweaty, sticky south. I do like the fresh veges/fruit but I hate this humidity!
Sounds great, and will be easy to make, thank you for sharing!!
Its not summer without
BBQ chicken
and I like making my own sauce, it sooo much better then bottle.
I really like your recipes and videos. I have a problem finding any recipe for the videos. I would like to pin them but can’t find the recipe.
Which recipe are you looking for?
The pizza roll ups.
The full recipe as well as the link to the blog post can be viewed right below the video on YouTube. You may need to click on the “SHOW MORE” button.
Can you suggest a substitute for the molasses? I’d rather not buy it for just one recipe. I’ve already bought a number of ingredients for some of your other recipes. I found the sweet chili sauce at a Ralphs for the Thai Salmon . They didn’t have the soba noodles I wanted, though, LOL
Here is a list of possible molasses substitutes. Hope that helps!
Molasses lasts for a couple of years! In the meantime you could make a ton of gingersnaps! Yum Yum Yum
You can also make brown sugar
So confusing!
I stuffed the chicken with the foil and marinated in the BBQ over night, then I had to shoo the crows away with a broom the next morning. I tried pre-heating the BBQ but it wouldn’t fit in the oven! I threw my back out trying to flip the grill and the now the chicken is on the ground and all dirty. Do you mean to do a back flip? Maybe cooking isn’t for me 🙁
That was a really dumb comment. Not funny at all 🙁
I thought it was pretty funny.
Your directions are very confusing!
Step 1. Pre-heat grill to medium-high heat.
Step 3. marinate at least 1 hour to overnight.
Is your grill still being pre-heated all this time?
No, the grill should be preheating prior to cooking.
Hi Chungah, you need to add about a tbl of celery seed to your BBQ sauce.. It will give it a unique taste that you will enjoy.
Bill
Sounds amazing!
I love a certain brand of BBQ sauce, but this homemade stuff sounds pretty delectable that I might have to make it!!
How do you get grill marks if it’it’s cooked on foil?
After the chicken was completely cooked on foil, I gave it a quick sear on the hot grill for photographic purposes. 🙂
Chungah,
Love all the recipes that we have collected in our mail. Plus, love the fact how much of your personality comes through when describing certain foods and what you have done to them or with them.
Thanks for being you
Ann and Anita
Could this recipe be cooked using a grill pan on the stove? I do not have a grill.
Yes, absolutely.
This looks delicious! I want to know how you managed grill marks on the chicken if it’s cooked on foil?
After the chicken was completely cooked on foil, I gave it a quick sear on the hot grill for photographic purposes. 🙂
This sounds really good! I have been poking holes in the non-stick foil & using it on the grill for a couple of year’s now. I totally love it for fish.
Your chicken looks delish and I will definitely be trying it. Thank you. Question – How do you get such nice grill marks when you grill on top of the foil? Also, do I need to spray the foil with oil or something so the chicken doesn’t stick? Sorry, I’m not an experienced griller!!! Thanks again.
After the chicken was completely cooked on foil, I gave it a quick sear on the hot grill for photographic purposes. 🙂
I HATE autocorrect lol…
PUT, not print
PLACE, not placing
FOIL, not foul
You can place the foil on the grill first (after creating drainage holes), then place the chicken on top of the foil.
Don’t we all, Bob !!
So not to be the naysayer here, but Steps 4&5 may be a bit confusing….
Step 4 has you print the foil on the grill and immediately placing the chicken on the foul.
Then in Step 5, you’re putting the chicken on the grill. I thought it was already on the grill, on the foil? Are you saying take the chicken OFF the foul and lay it bare on the grates?