BBQ Chicken Marinade
Posted Jun 26, 2023, Updated Jun 14, 2024
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This 7-ingredient BBQ chicken marinade is easy to make & results in moist, flavorful barbecue chicken every single time!
Barbecue chicken is my favorite grilling main dish. Served with a side of coleslaw, potato salad and juicy watermelon it’s the perfect summer dinner!
This bbq chicken recipe is easy to make with 8 ingredients. It’s infused with flavor, super moist and delicious served in so many ways – especially as the main ingredient in this BBQ chicken salad or as a topping on BBQ chicken pizza – Yum!
BBQ Chicken Marinade: Ingredients & Substitutions
- BBQ Sauce. Choose your favorite variety. I prefer this organic BBQ sauce because of it’s flavor and ingredients list.
- Olive Oil. avocado oil or canola oil are suitable substitutes.
- Dijon mustard. choose your favorite variety such as spicy mustard, yellow mustard or honey mustard.
- Light Brown sugar. dark brown sugar, coconut sugar, maple syrup or honey are good substitutes.
- Smoked paprika. I adore the flavor of smoked paprika – regular paprika works well too.
- Minced garlic. 1 tsp garlic powder can be used in place of 1 Tablespoons minced garlic.
How to Make BBQ Chicken
Let’s walk through how to make barbecue chicken step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video!
Marinate the Chicken
Begin by marinating the chicken breasts. Put them into a glass container with a lid or in a plastic bag inside another container (in case the bag leaks).
Then, in a medium bowl, whisk together marinade ingredients – reserve ¼ cup of the marinade for brushing onto the chicken while grilling.
Next, pour the remaining marinade over the chicken and turn to coat the chicken.
Then, marinate the BBQ chicken in the refrigerator for up to 6 hours, or at room temperature for up to 1 hour.
Grill the BBQ Chicken
Once the chicken is thoroughly marinated, remove the breasts from the marinade and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
Then, grill the barbecue chicken over medium heat for about 5 minutes on the first side, and 3-5 on the second side, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.
Important note: grilling time with vary depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts. Thinner breasts cook faster.
Brush the chicken with the remaining marinade during grilling.
Serve
Let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes on a serving plate before cutting and serving. Serve it with your favorite BBQ sides! Here are some of mine:
- Italian Pasta Salad or Lemon Summer Pasta Salad
- The best coleslaw recipe
- Summer Fruit Salad
- Feta Watermelon Salad
- Homemade Mac and Cheese or Baked Mac and Cheese
- Homemade Sweet Potato Fries
- Also try the BBQ classics like potato salad, broccoli salad and 3 bean salad!
My two favorite ways to enjoy BBQ chicken are in this Barbecue Chicken Salad Recipe or on BBQ chicken pizza!
Store/Freeze
Store leftover barbecue chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Cover and reheat in the microwave or in the oven set to warm until heated through.
Grilled BBQ Chicken Recipe FAQs
Yes, always! I always marinate chicken before grilling because it keeps it moist and infuses it with flavor.
Yes! I use BBQ sauce in this recipe because it helps tenderize the meat and infuse every bite with flavor.
You can marinate this barbecue chicken for as short as 1 hour or long as 6 hours in the refrigerator. Do not marinate longer than 6 hours.
No, I do not recommend doing this. Marinades diffuse into the meat from areas of high concentration to low concentration. Holes won’t help!
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BBQ Chicken Marinade Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- salt & pepper
BBQ Marinade:
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
Instructions
Marinate chicken
- Place chicken breasts into a glass container with a lid or in a plastic bag inside another container (in case the bag leaks).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together marinade ingredients – reserve ¼ cup of the marinade for brushing onto the chicken while grilling.
- Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken and turn to coat the chicken.
- Marinate in the refrigerator for up to 6 hours, or at room temperature for up to 1 hour.
Grill
- Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade and sprinkle them with salt and pepper
- Grill over medium heat for about 5 minutes on the first side, and 3-5 on the second side, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. (NOTE: grilling time with vary depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts).
- Brush with remaining marinade during grilling.
- Cover the chicken and let it rest for 5 minutes on a serving plate before cutting and serving.
Video
Notes
- BBQ Sauce. Choose your favorite variety. I prefer this organic BBQ sauce because of it’s flavor and ingredients list.
- Olive Oil. avocado oil or canola oil are suitable substitutes.
- Dijon mustard. choose your favorite variety such as spicy mustard, yellow mustard or honey mustard.
- Light Brown sugar. dark brown sugar, coconut sugar, maple syrup or honey are good substitutes.
- Smoked paprika. I adore the flavor of smoked paprika – regular paprika works well too.
- Minced garlic. 1 tsp garlic powder can be used in place of 1 Tablespoons minced garlic.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
