Best Oven Baked BBQ Chicken

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This juicy, sticky oven baked BBQ chicken recipe is the best way to have BBQ chicken any time of year. Made with a homemade dry rub and sweet and tangy homemade BBQ sauce, this chicken is finger-licking good and exploding with flavor!

Oven baked BBQ chicken was one of my mama's favorite things to cook for dinner growing up. It was cheap, quick, and easy and the whole family loved it!

This recipe is an elevated version of my mama's, with chicken marinated in a dry rub overnight, slathered in a robust, sweet, and tangy homemade BBQ sauce, and baked until sticky and delicious.

For more irresistible chicken recipes, check out our Hot Honey Chicken Thighs and Brown Sugar Glazed Chicken recipes next!

Oven baked barbecue chicken on a metal platter.

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Ingredients You Need To Make This Recipe
How To Make This Recipe
Variations and Substitutions
Can I Make This Chicken Ahead of Time?
More FAQs
What To Serve With Baked BBQ Chicken
Recommended Tools for This Recipe
More Dinner Recipes You Will Love!
📖 Recipe

Ingredients You Need To Make This Recipe

Chicken

Chicken legs and thighs. Bone-in, skin-on chicken legs and thighs work great for this recipe but you can also use boneless chicken breasts or wings.
Dry rub:
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Onion powder
- Chili powder
- Smoked paprika
- Brown sugar
- Celery salt

Homemade BBQ Sauce

Tomato sauce. The base for the BBQ sauce.
Molasses. For rich, warm caramel-like sweetness.
Dark brown sugar. For a lighter caramel-like sweetness.
Honey. For sweet floral notes.
Liquid smoke. To add the smoky flavor you would get from grilling.
Apple cider vinegar. For more acidity to balance out the sweetness.
Salt, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, mustard powder, and cayenne pepper. These spices add layers of flavor and depth.
Fresh garlic. Fresh garlic makes everything taste better, including this BBQ sauce!

Ingredients for making homemade barbecue sauce arranged on a wooden cutting board.

How To Make This Recipe

Wash the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels. Line a baking sheet with two sheets of foil, place a wire cooling rack on top of the foil, and set the pan aside.
Whisk together the paprika, salt, black pepper, onion powder, chili powder, brown sugar, and celery salt in a small bowl.
Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl and pour the dry spice rub over the chicken. Use your hands to toss the chicken in the spices, making sure every piece of chicken is completely coated.
Use tongs to transfer the chicken to the baking sheet, arranging it in a single layer. Loosely tent the pan with foil and place it in the refrigerator overnight.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator, remove the foil, and bake the chicken, uncovered, in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, add all of the BBQ sauce ingredients to a medium saucepan and heat the sauce over medium heat. Cover the pan and simmer the sauce for 25 minutes until reduced by half, stirring occasionally.
After 25 minutes, brush about ⅔ of the sauce over all of the chicken and continue to cook the chicken for an additional 20 minutes until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Keep the sauce warm while the chicken cooks.
Brush the remaining sauce over the chicken, turn on the oven broiler, and broil the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes until the exterior is caramelized. Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes then enjoy!

Step by step images for making oven baked barbecue chicken.

Variations and Substitutions

Feel free to make this recipe with bottled barbecue sauce if you like. I love Rendezvous "Charlie's Select" Sauce and Stubb's Barbecue Sauce.
You can make this recipe with different cuts of chicken, such as chicken breasts, wings, or boneless, skinless chicken. Just be sure to adjust cooking times accordingly.
To cut down on steps, feel free to brush on all of the sauce at one time and cook the chicken for a full 45 minutes.
If you are in a pinch, you can season the chicken with the dry rub and bake it right away, but I highly recommend letting it marinate overnight if time allows!

Can I Make This Chicken Ahead of Time?

Yes, this chicken can be made a day ahead of time and reheated in the oven when ready to serve. If making this recipe ahead of time, wait until you are ready to serve to broil the chicken.

Reheat the chicken covered with foil, then remove the foil and broil the chicken for 2-3 minutes,

Leftover oven-baked bbq chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

More FAQs

How do I make BBQ sauce stick to chicken in the oven?

It is best to cook the chicken in the oven partially or all the way before adding any sauce. This allows most of the juices to run before the sauce is added, helping it better stick to the chicken.

Giving this chicken a final brush of sauce and then placing it under the oven broiler helps give it a thick, sticky coating of BBQ sauce!

How can I tell when baked chicken is done?

Use an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of one of the chicken pieces to check the temperature of the baked chicken. The chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.

What cut of chicken is best for baked BBQ chicken?

I recommend bone-in chicken thighs and legs for the best oven-baked BBQ chicken. Thighs and legs contain more fat, giving you juicy, delicious baked chicken and the bones add even more flavor.

Two pieces of oven baked barbecue chicken on a gray plate with a silver fork.

What To Serve With Baked BBQ Chicken

Baked barbecue chicken is one of those dishes that you can pair with any side dish for an incredible meal! Some of my favorite pairings for BBQ chicken are: