Baked BBQ Chicken – this is how I make Barbecue Chicken in the oven when I want to satisfy my craving for sticky, juicy chicken but I don’t want to fire up the BBQ. This recipe uses my quick homemade BBQ sauce – off the charts good for something so simple!
This is a one pan, quick and easy dinner. 5 minute prep, dump and bake!
Oven Baked BBQ Chicken
This recipe used to have the most generic of names – “Sticky Baked Chicken”. Nobody ever understood what it actually was, so I’d have to describe it. “It’s kinda sweet, it’s savoury, and it has this awesome glaze!”, I’d animatedly tell my friends, in a bid to convince them that had to try it.
(And well, well, well, what do you know? Convincing people they have to try a recipe is now what I do for a full time job! 😂)
It wasn’t until I started this website and I actually started cataloging my recipes properly that it dawned on me that the sauce is really just a simplified version of barbecue sauce, full length iterations of which you see in recipes like Barbecue Pork Ribs, Beef Ribs and BBQ Pulled Pork.
Half the ingredients delivers 90% of the flavour.
For a midweek meal, I’ll take that!
↑↑↑ PS Up close and personal view so you can see STICKY outside and JUICY inside!
What you need for Baked BBQ Chicken
Here’s what you need. I don’t use – nor do we need – a rub for this recipe because the chicken cooks in the BBQ Sauce so it sucks up plenty of flavour. You’ll see the process steps below!
Best chicken cuts for BBQ Chicken cooked in the oven – use bone in, skin on chicken pieces like thighs (pictured, and shown in video), legs and wings. Bone in breast / Maryland will also work here.
We need skin to get a really lovely glaze, and we need bone in pieces so they can be baked for 50 minutes so they absorb the flavour from the barbecue sauce without drying out.
How to make Baked BBQ Chicken in the oven
And here’s how to make it. See? Dump-and-bake!
OK OK, I simplified it slightly. It’s actually Dump -> Bake -> Baste -> Broil. The 3 minute broil is how we get the surface really nicely caramelised!
This oven baked BBQ Chicken is deliberately made with a barbecue sauce that is thinned out with water so:
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it won’t dry out in the oven; and
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to create enough sauce so the chicken absorbs the flavour as it bakes. We bake the chicken upside for the first half, then flip it for the second half so both sides get the benefit of the flavour, This is why we don’t need a rub for this recipe.
And you are going to LOVE the barbecue sauce you end up with in the baking dish! All the juices from the chicken mixes in as you bake it, so you basically end up with a world-class barbecue sauce that’s got the benefit of the ultimate home-made chicken stock!
What to serve with Baked BBQ Chicken
In the spirit of all things BBQ, I’m going to suggest classic sides for a BBQ cook out – and also some lighter alternatives just in case you’re counting your calories!
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Classic creamy Coleslaw – or try our No Mayo Coleslaw (it’s excellent!) or this Cabbage Salad
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Potato Salad – or this Lemon Potato Salad, or use a Yogurt Potato Salad Dressing
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Corn slathered in butter
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Cornbread or Dinner Rolls – for mopping
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Creamy Mashed Potato – or Creamy Cauliflower Mash (for drowning in sauce)
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Big leafy salad with a salad dressing
Though having suggested all those sides, it’s actually pictured above with this Green Bean Salad 😂. – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Oven Baked BBQ Chicken - with quick homemade barbecue sauce
Ingredients
Sauce (Note 1)
- 1 cup ketchup or Australian/UK tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp mustard powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
- 1 cup water
Chicken
- 1.5 kg / 3 lb chicken thighs (bone in skin on), drumsticks or wings (Note 2)
- Fresh parsley, chives or finely chopped green onions , for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F.
- Sauce: Mix all Sauce ingredients in a ceramic/glass baking dish (Note 3), then mix in water.
- Add chicken and turn to coat. Place chicken skin side down.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, turn chicken, spoon over Sauce.
- Bake for a further 30 minutes, then remove and spoon over Sauce.
- Skim off fat (optional): Tilt pan and spoon or drain off excess fat.
- Broil/grill - Change to broiler/grill on high. Spoon sauce over chicken generously, then place under grill / broiler for 2 to 3 minutes to caramelise the chicken and the sauce to thicken more. Do not walk away - this can happen quickly!
- Serve chicken, garnished with parsley or green onions, if using. Pictured in post with Mashed Potato and Green Bean Salad (minus feta).
Classic Side Dishes for BBQ Chicken
- Cornbread, Coleslaw, Potato Salad (or try this no mayo Lemon Potato Salad), Southern Baked Beans, big leafy salad with classic Vinaigrette, steamed corn with butter, bread rolls, creamy mashed potato (or Creamy Cauliflower Mash for low carb emergency!), or Potato & Gravy.
Recipe Notes:
- Ketchup - sub with Tomato Sauce (ie Aussie/UK tomato sauce, not what US calls "tomato sauce")
- Cider vinegar - can sub with white wine, sherry or champagne vinegar, OR 2 tbsp normal white vinegar
- Onion powder - sub garlic powder or 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- Mix sauce WITHOUT water
- Use 1 kg / 2 lb breast or boneless thighs
- Follow the cooking directions in this recipe - Sticky Baked Chicken Thighs. ie coat with 2/3 sauce, bake on high, baste with remaining sauce & broil/grill to finish.
- Pan - light scrubbing will be required to clean! So either use glass/ceramic OR metal pan lined with foil then parchment/baking paper.
- Sauce thickness at end depends one many factors eg - how snug the chicken is in the baking dish, how juicy / fatty the chicken is, oven accuracy. But very easy to adjust - too thick, add splash of water, too thin, return just the pan to the oven for a minute or two (thickens super quickly)
Nutrition Information:
Originally published October 2016. Given a much needed spruce up with new photos and new video, as well as an update on Life of Dozer!
Life of Dozer
When my brother took Dozer out for a walk. This is why I trained Dozer NOT to give slobbery kisses!!! 🤢
And from the original publication date:
Dashing inside when he heard / smelled / his sixth sense told him there was FOOD ready to be photographed.
So good – I could drink the sauce by itself! Thank you!
Hey Nagi,
I am new to RecipeTin, however my sister is a long time user! I am in LOVE with your recipes so far! The detailed instructions leave for full-proof cooking! I would also love to see your recipes in an app!
PS The Oven Baked BBQ Chicken was delicious!
Loved this! Chicken was so tasty and tender, and so easy to make. Made it with 3 Marylands, roughly halved the sauce but kept the same temperature and time. Turned out perfectly, like all your recipes. Thanks Nagi!
This recipe is another winner…. I made the marinade put the chicken in the oven, my children (teens) were in charge of basting while I ran an errand and dinner was a hit. A hit I tell you!! Thank you.
Everyone wanted to lick the bowl, or at least scrape up the extra sauce from the tray! Thx Nagi, that was yummy!
so this has apple cider vinegar. can you taste it in the end product(i’ve had bad experiences)?
Hi Geoff, it balanced the flavours here without overpowering. N x
Hi there! I’m about to try this tonight I can’t wait!. I have bone-in thigh cutlets (no skin). Would I need to amend as the cutlets are skinless?
Thanks!
Oh Nagi! This is delectable! Thank you so much 😊
You’re so welcome Melinda, I’m so glad you love it! N x
I am so happy I found you! I love cooking but have exhausted all of my favourite recipes and was searching for something new. I have some food intolerances but am finding it easy to substitute. This dish was amazing. The sauce was a little oily but we stirred it around and poured it over. So good and served with your cornbread and some coleslaw. Thank you.
Hi, Nagi! I tried your honey garlic chicken recipe and loved it, so I thought of trying this one, too. Unfortunately, I don’t have mustard — would yellow mustard sauce be an okay substitute?
Hi Liz – yes that will work fine! N x
Did anyone else’s chicken end up really oily? My baking pan was full of oil (like it looked watery but i know it was oil). So at the end mine didn’t turn out like it was suppose to, the sauce was watery due to how much oil was in there. Is it because the chicken I bought was too oily? I got the thighs with bone in.
Hi Billy, sorry you had issues here – the only reason it would have been overly oily is if the thighs were super fatty. – N x
Thanks I’ll try using breast next time!
Nagi-I discovered you and your amazing recipes during iso and am so pleased-All of my family has loved every dish (Agreement from all is unheard of!). Love your workarounds and substitutes, too. Practical, delicious, family food-Thank you!
Pssst…better than my mom’s recipe! My kids loved it! Thanks Nagi!
Woah, what a great compliment, thanks so much Celest!!! N x
I made this for dinner. Super delicious my kids loved it! Will definitely make it again. Super easy and fast. Thank you Nagi😊
I made this with chicken thighs no skin on & added in cooked Jamaican rice at the end. My chef friend was amazed at flavour & so was I. I did regularly baste & very moist chicken was a wonderful result. I plan to make this again.
Sounds perfect Maryanne! N x
Hi Nagi,
Im going to make this tonight with chicken breast, skin on, bone in. What would be the cooking time for this cut, still 50 mins?
Hi nagi I am in need of help right now looking how to. Make a good chicken for my friends but I don’t have most of the ingredients so how I go about with this
Hi Batch, that’s a tough one without knowing what you have available! N x
I made this thank you Nagi another success I had it with your recipe coconut lime rice delicious and I will be making this again many times
Perfect Robyn! N x
I’m drooling. BBQ chicken is my second favorite food on earth after sushi. I adore it in any way shape or form as long as it’s thighs but I’ll even scarf down breasts if I must. I LOVE this video and plan on making this very soon!! I’m on a Nagi recipe rotation right now. Just finished your Lemongrass chicken with some noodles. YUM. I may have to make a new notebook for the recipes I print of just yours Nagi!! Thanks for all of these delicious meals!!. 🙂
You’re so welcome Jana, I’m so glad you love them all! N x
Hi Nagi, so going to try this! As a big fan of your recipes I just wanted to thank you for adding the ability to switch to metric on some of your recipes. Will you be adding this to your older recipes? Many thanks
Caroline
Hi! I have made so many of your recipes since getting married a year ago and they are always a hit – now my husband thinks I am a great cook (Shh don’t tell him)! I would love to try this too – do you think it would work in a slow cooker?
That’s great to hear Eilish!! Sorry this one isn’t suitable for the slow cooker – you want that sauce to cook down and caramelise 🙂 N x