Oven Baked BBQ Chicken

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I love an easy dinner and this Oven Baked BBQ Chicken is just the ticket. Chicken thighs and legs are seasoned with seasoning salt, slathered with homemade BBQ sauce and baked until sticky sweet perfection. Similar to my classic baked chicken legs recipe, but covered in bbq sauce.

The Best Chicken to Bake in the Oven

Everyone has their preference as to which kind of chicken they like best: thighs, breasts, legs or wings. While you can certainly bake ANY of these cuts as BBQ Chicken in the oven, the baking time will be dependent on whether or not they have a bone in them or not.

Baking Chicken Legs & Thighs vs. Chicken Breasts

As a general rule of thumb, if chicken has a bone inside of it, it will take longer to bake than the same piece without a bone. For this recipe, I used chicken drumsticks and chicken thighs that still have their bone but I removed the skin. This is so they will both cook at about the same rate. I love using dark meat for this recipe.

If I was cooking boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I wouldn’t need to bake it as long because it doesn’t have a bone. Chicken wings happen to have a quicker baking time (if you are choosing to bake them) because they are quite small and don’t need all that much time. Check out my Crockpot Chicken Wing recipe…they’re really tasty!

How to Make BBQ Chicken in the Oven

So, this simple Oven BBQ Chicken recipe only requires three main ingredients:

• Chicken Thighs and Legs
• Seasoning Salt
• and BBQ Sauce

I used my homemade barbecue sauce, but feel free to use a store bought sauce for ease and speed. Here’s how to make it:

1. Prep Chicken

Preheat oven to 375° F. Line half sheet pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. Blot extra moisture off of chicken using paper towels and place pieces onto prepared foil. Sprinkle both sides with seasoning salt, to taste. (I used about a tablespoon for all 8 pieces.)

2. Bake BBQ Chicken in Oven

Spoon or brush chicken pieces with bbq sauce, then transfer to oven to bake 35-45 minutes or until chicken registers an internal temperature of 165° F. The best way to check for doneness is using a digital, instant read thermometer. This is the one I own and use. It works perfectly!

Half way through cooking, feel free to brush with more BBQ sauce. Remove from oven, cover and rest 10 minutes before serving.

Making Ahead & Storage Options

While you can certainly bake this chicken ahead and store in the fridge until you’re ready to serve, it really is best served hot and fresh from the oven. To reheat, simply microwave until warm. Feel free to add more BBQ sauce as desired. Because this recipe calls for chicken thighs and drumsticks (both dark meat!) they maintain their moisture well. I don’t recommend freezing this, unless you remove the bbq chicken from the bones first. Then store in an airtight plastic bag or container with a tight fitting lid.

Favorite Sides to Serve with BBQ Chicken

While I’m sure you have your go-to favorite side dishes to serve with a simple chicken dinner, here are some of mine! My whole archive of side dishes can be found here in case you’d like to browse.

• Favorite Wedge Salad
• Butter Rice
• Perfect Baked Potatoes
• Buttery Mashed Potatoes
• Classic Coleslaw
• Italian Pasta Salad
• Chinese Cabbage Salad

So, that is my favorite way to Bake BBQ Chicken in the oven! I hope you love it as much as me and my family does. Be sure to pin, print, save, bookmark and share this gem. It’s simple, but hits the spot every time.

If you make this recipe, I would really appreciate it if you would give it a star rating and leave your review in the comments! If you have a picture of your finished dish, post it on Instagram using the hashtag #laurenslatest and tagging me @laurens_latest.