How To Make Baked Barbecue BBQ Chicken Thighs

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Baked Barbecue chicken thighs is my go-to party dish.  I like to make baked BBQ chicken thighs because they are classier than BBQ chicken legs or wings, and they are more moist than BBQ chicken breasts.  Baked barbecue chicken thighs are very easy to make because they are very forgiving – you can cook BBQ chicken thighs for a long time and they won’t dry out.  Chicken thighs is dark meat, so unlike the white breast meat it doesn’t dry out easily.  Even the most picky eaters like baked BBQ chicken thighs, so this easy recipe is the ultimate crowd pleaser!

For the barbecue sauce for these baked chicken thighs, you can use store-bought bottled BBQ sauce or homemade BBQ sauce.  If I use bottled BBQ sauce, I like Sweet Baby Ray’s brand of barbecue sauce.  For the best taste and presentation, I make my own BBQ sauce.  On the above photo, the chicken thighs are baked with my homemade BBQ sauce- it’s chunky with a hint of sweetness and is finger-licking good!  Want my barbecue sauce recipe?  Go to easy homemade BBQ sauce recipe.

Baked Barbecue BBQ Chicken Thighs Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs chicken thighs
  • 2 cups of BBQ sauce
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375F.
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken thighs on both sides and rub it into the chicken with your hands.
  4. Pour 1 cup of barbecue sauce on the chicken, and toss with your hands so the chicken is coated on all sides with BBQ sauce.
  5. Put the chicken on a baking sheet and let stand on the counter of 20 minutes, so the BBQ sauce flavor penetrates the chicken.
  6. Put the chicken thighs in the oven and bake for 1 hour.
  7. Warm the remaining 1 cup of BBQ sauce in the microwave until it’s hot, then pour over the chicken.

Enjoy these yummy baked BBQ chicken thighs! These barbecue chicken thighs also reheat very well, so don’t hesitate to make a lot of them to enjoy them the next day!

If I’m making BBQ chicken thighs for the party, I often use make-ahead mashed potatoes as a side dish.  Those mashed potatoes are meant to be made a day ahead and then reheated in a slow cooker on the day of the party, and they taste so yummy, you could never tell they were made ahead.  Check out this make-ahead mashed potatoes recipe – you’ll love it!

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5 Comments

  1. I made this tonight and it was great. Next time I am going to cut up onions and place on the top. Thank you for such an easy recipe.

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