Here’s a simple recipe for flavorful and moist barbecue chicken. This is a great dish to serve at a backyard barbecue. It can be made on the grill or in the oven and both are terrific.
I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but anything will do. I like the boneless thighs because they’re easy to eat and stay moist since it’s dark meat. They also cook up pretty fast so you’re not waiting around for the meat to cook.
The key to getting a lot of flavor into the meat is marinating it with salt, pepper, and soy sauce. This should be done at least two hours ahead and up to overnight. Then pop them in the oven or grill and smother with barbecue sauce midway through cooking and then at the end.
I like to serve this chicken with classic barbecue sides like potato salad, coleslaw, pasta salad, watermelon, or broccoli coleslaw. You and your guests will be coming back for seconds with this simple barbecue chicken recipe.

Prep Time | 10 minutes |
Cook Time | 30 minutes |
Passive Time | 2-24 hours |
Servings |
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Ingredients
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- Arrange the defrosted chicken thighs in a baking dish or large Ziploc bag. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add the soy sauce. Make sure the thighs are evenly coated with the salt, pepper, and soy sauce.
- Refrigerate the chicken for two hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 425° F. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator. If it's in a baking dish, pour out the soy sauce. If it's in a bag, transfer to a baking dish.
- Bake the chicken for 25 minutes. Halfway through, brush barbecue sauce onto the chicken. The chicken is cooked when the internal temperature is 165° F or the juices run clear. Brush again with sauce and serve.