Baked Barbecue Chicken Thighs

When you’re craving BBQ but don’t want to fire up the grill, these baked BBQ chicken thighs are just the thing. They’re fast, easy, and scale up or down—make 2 or make 12. Leftovers are terrific for tacos, bowls, and quick lunches.

Prep Time10

Cook Time35

Total Time45

Course: Dinner, Entree, main

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 228kcal

Ingredients

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoons granulated garlic powder
1 ¼ teaspoons smoked paprika
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 pounds bone-in chicken thighs 6-8 ounce thighs
1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
½ cup BBQ sauce preferably low sugar

Instructions

Set up

Line a rimmed baking sheet parchment paper, or if you plan to use the broiler option for extra color at the end, use aluminum foil. Pre-heat the oven to 425°F. Set the oven rack in the center. Mix the salt, garlic, paprika, and pepper together.

Prep chicken

Trim extra skin and fat from the chicken. Pat dry with paper towels. Place on the baking sheet and rub both sides with the oil, then season both sides with the seasoning mix.

Bake chicken

Bake the chicken for 18-20 minutes until some of the fat renders out. Depending on the size they will be almost done.

Glaze and finish

Remove the tray from the oven, drop the oven temperature to 400°F. With a pastry brush, glaze the top of the thighs by dabbing on the BBQ sauce. Bake for 5 more minutes, then do the glaze step again. Thighs should be done between 175°F - 185°F.
If you want a little char on the top of the chicken thighs, turn the broiler on and broil for 1-1 ½ minutes. Do not walk away from the broiler as they go quickly.

Notes

Nutrition note: Bone-in chicken thighs are tricky to calculate because trimming and how much fat renders out can vary a lot. The nutrition estimate above is based on about 4½ ounces of edible cooked chicken per thigh (meat only). If you trim excess skin and fat as shown and discard the rendered fat from the pan, the fat and calories will be lower; if you eat the skin, they’ll be a little higher. I trim aggressively but keep a small amount of skin to hold the glaze.

Nutrition