Easy Smoked Chicken Breast

Fire up your pellet grill and try this easy smoked chicken breast. Smoking chicken breasts low and slow ensures they remain moist and tender while a flavorful dry rub enhances every bite. Whether you're smoking just a couple or filling the grill, be sure to prepare extra for fantastic leftovers for tacos or salads. The results are delicious.

I've always loved smoky flavor and the smell of smoke. When we built our backyard, I was thrilled to finally have a place for a pellet grill (aka pellet smoker). Food off the pellet grill is so tender and flavorful. This smoked chicken breast has become a weekly staple because it's so easy and tastes great. Never smoked chicken breast? Try this easy recipe, it's sure to please.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Like This Recipe
• Recipe Ingredients
• Substitutions and Variations
• Smoked Chicken Breast Instructions
• Basic Chicken Brine (If Brining)
• Serving Suggestions
• Recipe FAQs
• More Chicken Recipes
• ⭐️Did You Make This Recipe?
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Why You'll Like This Recipe

• It's easy and mostly hands off.
• Makes a great dinner and terrific leftovers.
• Do two or do a dozen!
• Simple ingredients.

Recipe Ingredients

• Chicken: Get boneless chicken breasts the same size so they smoke at the same time.
• Mayonnaise: Instead of olive oil, I use mayo as my 'binder' for dry rub. I prefer the light clean taste of this brand, but use your favorite. I use the soy-free. Use just a little to make the rub stick.
• Dry rub: Use your favorite BBQ seasoning. I use my homemade BBQ spice rub, a blend of smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, and more. Check out the link and make a batch. It's super versatile.

Please see the recipe card for measurements. You'll also need avocado oil spray.

Chef's tip: For my BBQ dry rub you need smoked paprika, granulated garlic, ground cumin and coriander, brown sugar, onion powder, ancho chili powder, ground black pepper, and a little chipotle powder for some kick. There is no salt in my dry rub, as you have more control salting the meat separately. It also helps salt-sensitive people. Find the dry rub recipe here.

Substitutions and Variations

• If you prefer dark meat, use boneless skinless chicken thighs, cook to 175°F.
• Try different dry rubs.
• Try brining to understand the texture difference, and what you prefer.

For more smoker recipes, try my smoked salsa recipe.

Chef's tip: Always smoke to temperature, not to time. Time varies with weather conditions, your grill, and other factors. Use a digital kitchen thermometer to check the internal temperature of the meat. Be sure to insert the probe in the thickest part of the breast. Smoked chicken breasts will be firm with a little give but not rock hard when done.

Smoked Chicken Breast Instructions

Get the chicken breasts out of the refrigerator and unwrap them 45-60 minutes ahead of time to get the chill off. Yes, this is food safe.

Ready The Grill

Make sure your grill grates are clean and check the pellet level, then pre-heat your pellet grill to 225°F. I use the smoke plus setting. My pellet grill is a Twin Eagles but other grills like a Traeger pellet grill, Camp Chef, or Pit Boss, all work. I have not tried this on a charcoal smoker or an electric smoker.

For pellets, I use a blend of hickory wood, cherry, hard maple, and apple pellets from this company.

Step 1: Get the chicken ready. If you're using my dry rub (no salt recipe), sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt on both sides. Next, smear the chicken breasts with 1-2 teaspoons of mayonnaise per chicken breast. You only need a thin coat.

Lastly, shake a good amount of BBQ dry rub on the chicken on both sides so it is well coated. Start on the under side, the do the top side last so it's stays nicer.

Note - If you brined your chicken breasts, pat them dry with paper towels, skip the salting and just use the mayonnaise and dry rub. Discard the brine. If you're using your favorite seasoning blend, check the label as most contain a lot of salt (it's the first ingredient). You won't need extra.

Those last few degrees will rise when you pull the chicken off the grill due to carry over cooking. Cook time is between 60-75 minutes. Remember to cook to temperature, not time. Large chicken breasts could take longer.

Chef's tip: A little before the chicken breasts are done, I give them a quick spray with avocado oil. It gives them a little shine and moisture, which is why mine don't look dry. I do this when smoking other meats too such as boneless pork chops.

Basic Chicken Brine (If Brining)

While I am a big fan of brining (see my how to brine a turkey post), for simple smoked chicken breast I skip brining. It's up to you. The texture is good, and not brining gets the chicken on the grill faster.

Brining is like seasoning and adding moisture from the inside out. By using the mayonnaise, you're adding moisture plus the dry rub adds big flavor. Additionally, these chicken breasts are smoked at a fairly low temperature compared to high heat grilling (less risk of drying them out).

Brining changes the physical structure of the protein in chicken (the texture). If you cook the chicken to the correct temperature (don't over-cook it), it will be moist without brining. This is one time you can skip brining and still get great results.

If you want to brine, use my simple basic brine recipe. Smoked chicken breasts are fine with a short brine. Brine for 1 hour, and you can do this at room temperature as long as your kitchen is below 90°F (yes it is food safe to do so). If you are brining longer, say 2 hours, the chicken must be refrigerated.

You need enough brine to completely cover the chicken breasts:

• 4 cups of water (a quart). You can also skip the sugar and use part apple juice here.
• ¼ cup kosher salt (1 tablespoon per cup). Don't use table salt.
• ¼ cup of sugar (either brown sugar or white).

Serving Suggestions

Here are suggestions for side dishes and what to do with leftover smoked chicken breast:

• Slice it up and make a chicken salad with greens.
• Dice it up, mix with a little mayo, more of the dry rub, and make a creamy smoked chicken salad.
• Swap the shrimp in these tacos for smoked chicken breast and make terrific tacos.
• Serve with a cold green bean, corn, and tomato salad.
• Cool and creamy coleslaw is another terrific side.

For a terrific dipping sauce, make a batch of my favorite BBQ sauce. It's great alongside the smoked chicken.

Leftover chicken keeps refrigerated in an airtight container up to 4 days. If frozen after smoking and cooling, cooked chicken will taste best if kept frozen up to 4 months.

Recipe FAQs

More Chicken Recipes

Here are more chicken recipes to keep things interesting for your family! Be sure to check out the chicken recipe index page for more inspiration.

⭐️Did You Make This Recipe?

If you make smoked chicken breast, please comment and let me know, and if you loved it, please give it a 5 star rating! They really help other readers.

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