We get a lot of feedback from readers who are trying to cook for families who all have different dietary needs and preferences, especially families with both vegetarians and meat eaters. So I wanted to make a series of a la carte proteins that can be cooked quickly and separately from a meal and added for those who want it. This Quick BBQ Chicken is an easy and tasty main dish that cooks up in under 30 minutes and is great for either serving as a main dish or topping several other dishes.
All recipes are rigorously tested in our Nashville Test Kitchen to ensure they are easy, affordable, and delicious.
What to Serve with Quick BBQ Chicken
BBQ Chicken is so versatile. I have it pictured above with mac and cheese and collard greens, but it also goes great with Cowboy Caviar, Potato Salad, or Roasted Broccoli. You can also slice it up and use it to make a BBQ chicken pizza, BBQ chicken quesadilla, use it to top a loaded mashed potato bowl, or a salad.
What Kind of Chicken Can I Use?
This recipe is designed for boneless, skinless chicken breasts OR thighs. It works great with both, but thighs are definitely my favorite, since they are just so tender and crisp up nicely on the edges because of their extra fat. Since this recipe uses a quick skillet cooking method, it isn’t appropriate for bone-in chicken. Bone-in chicken takes much longer to cook, so it’s better for baking, braising, and slow cooking.
How Much Does This Recipe Make?
This recipe is good for about 1 lb. of chicken pieces, give or take a little. If you’d like to double the recipe, just make sure to cook the chicken in batches to prevent overcrowding the skillet, which will prevent the nice browning action that you want.
What Kind of BBQ Sauce Should I Use?
You can use whatever kind of BBQ sauce you prefer. I am not picky when it comes to BBQ sauce, so I just used a Kroger brand hickory smoke BBQ sauce that I happened to have on hand. Sweet Baby Ray’s tends to have pretty good BBQ sauces that are very affordable, too.
Quick BBQ Chicken
Servings 4 ¼ lb. eachIngredients
- 1 tsp smoked paprika ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.03)
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken* ($4.63)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 1/4 cup BBQ sauce ($0.11)
Instructions
- If using chicken breasts, pound them to an even thickness to ensure quick and even cooking. To pound the breast, place them on a cutting board and cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Use a mallet or rolling pin to pound the thicker areas to an even ½ to ¾-inch thickness. There is no need to pound chicken thighs.
- Combine the smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Season both sides of the chicken pieces with the spice blend.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the cooking oil and swirl to coat the surface of the skillet. Add the seasoned chicken and cook on each side until well browned and cooked through (an internal temperature of 165ºF), about 5-7 minutes on each side.
- Turn the heat off and brush both sides of the chicken with BBQ sauce. Let the chicken rest five minutes before slicing and/or serving.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Color Cutting Boards
- Rolling Pin
- Nonstick Fry Pans
- Enamelware Dinner Plate
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Quick BBQ Chicken – Step by Step Photos
This recipe can be made with one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast, boneless, skinless chicken thighs, or a mix of both. If you are using chicken breasts, you’ll want to pound them to an even thickness of about 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick to make sure they cook quickly and evenly. To do this, place the chicken on a cutting board, cover with plastic to prevent splatter, then gently pound with a rolling pin or mallet until the thick end is even with the thinner end.
Prepare the seasoning for the chicken by stirring together 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.
Season both sides of the chicken with the prepared seasoning blend.
Heat a large skillet and heat over medium. Once hot, add 1 Tbsp cooking oil, swirl the oil to coat the surface of the skillet, then add the seasoned chicken pieces. Cook the chicken on each side until well browned and cooked through (internal temperature of 165ºF), about 5-7 minutes each side.
Turn the heat off and brush each side of the chicken with BBQ sauce.
Let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes before serving, or slicing. Enjoy!
This recipe was so good!!!! I can not say it enough. Simple, easy and great!!!
Wow! Looks so delicious, my entire loved chicken, especially grilled chicken. Can’t wait anymore, I will definitely try it your way, looks seem easy to make :D. Thanks so much for this guide. Looking forward to seeing more.
Quick and delicious. This is a regular recipe in our house. We usually use thighs.
Made this tonight. It is so quick, easy, and delicious. It was nice to have a meal come together so quick on a Monday night.
Made with mashed potato bowls – LOVED IT! Such a fun dinner 😀
Hmmm This recipe looks so good….
Quick and simple chicken entree. This combined with some mac and cheese and roasted broccoli left us both satisfied and very full. Definitely going to making this again soon!
This was a big win with my hubby! Very tender, moist chicken breast with lots of flavor!
One of your recipes that I’ve recommended to a friend who often needs to make dinner for both omnivores and vegetarians is a tweaked version of the Monterey Chicken Skillet. Bacon Bits are vegetarian, swap in veggie broth, add black beans as an added protein source for the vegetarian folks, add the chicken last/as topping instead of at the beginning. This sounds like it would be a great substitute for an entire rotisserie chicken.
Simple, yet surprisingly scrumptious! Another Budget Bytes success. Thanks, Beth!
*Be sure to select a BBQ sauce that truly pleases your palate, as that is the finishing touch on this dish!*
Tried this recipe and like it a lot. The chicken tastes very good after sautéing with the rub and consider the BBQ sauce optional. The chicken would make a good addition to many dishes. I pounded chicken breast fairly thin and cooked about 6 minutes total. A note about the rub: Smoked paprika tastes very different from plain paprika. I like a it as an accent and use 50/50 smoked and plain.
Have you ever done chicken like this recipe but baked in the oven? Or could you recommend how to do it please?
I haven’t tested that, so unfortunately I can’t recommend a time and temperature. I will note, though, that you won’t get the same kind of browning in the oven like you do with the chicken in the skillet. You’ll get better results baking bone-in, skin-on chicken. Sounds like I need to develop a recipe for that! :)
Hi. I am looking for a way to make my own BBQ sauce that is easy and doesn’t have some of the nasty ingredients we find in store-bought ones, like too much sugar. I’ve tried several recipes, but either they use way too much ketchup (lots of sugar) or they turn out too vinegary. Any ideas would be very much appreciated.
I enjoy your blog. Thank you!
We have a great recipe for Homemade BBQ Sauce (no ketchup)
Use chili sauce brown sugar not white or a jam don’t need as much for sweet but not overly sweet to get same result, with stewed tomatoes cooked down
I look forward to trying this recipe. Like Julie, I also struggle with ideas for chicken breasts (my go-to has recently been your Smoky Chicken Breast recipe). A little trick I use for chicken breasts (instead of pounding them down to proper thickness) is to just slice them right through the middle like a filet. To me, it’s easier (and less noisy).
I’m grateful you’re doing more recipes with chicken breast! Chicken breast is something I occasionally buy but then don’t know how to cook in a way that’s doesn’t leave it dry and bland. I tried this on a chicken breast that I defrosted and it was a tasty yet quick way to throw a little protein into my meal. Will definitely try again!