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Oven Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs

These Oven Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs are easy and delicious! Fall off the bone tender and juicy chicken thighs are slow roasted in the oven then topped with a sweet, tangy, and mildly spicy homemade barbecue sauce. This small batch recipe makes a great lunch, dinner, or romantic date night meal.

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Why I love this recipe

These BBQ Bone In Chicken Thighs are very easy to make and the meat is tender and juicy! You will probably already have most of the ingredients in your pantry.

Oven BBQ Chicken Thighs on a sheet pan.
Oven BBQ Chicken Thighs

Ingredients

(amounts are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of the post)

chicken thighs

ketchup

brown sugar

cider vinegar

lemon juice

Worcestershire sauce

dry mustard

chili powder

onion powder

garlic powder

Equipment used for this recipe

How to make BBQ Chicken Thighs in the oven

Step 1 – Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Step 2 – Spray an 8 x 8 baking dish with non-stick spray. Click for an 8 x 8 baking dish.

Step 3 – Place the chicken thighs into the baking dish, skin side up, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

four raw thicken thighs in a baking dish.

Step 4 – Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven.

Step 5 – Reduce the temperature to 300 degrees F. and bake for 45 more minutes.

Step 6 – Remove the aluminum foil and bake uncovered for 15 minutes.

Step 7 – Right after the chicken is uncovered, in a sauce pan over medium heat, stir together the ketchup, brown sugar, cider vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, mustard powder, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder.

barbecue sauce cooking in a pan.

Step 8 – Simmer the sauce for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 9 – Switch the oven from bake to broil.

Step 10 – Either drain the chicken broth from the baking dish or move the chicken pieces to a broiler pan and flip the chicken pieces over so the bottom side is up. Click for a toaster oven sized broiler pan.

Step 11 – Brush the bottoms with some barbecue sauce and broil about 3 – 5 minutes until the sauce is bubbly.

Step 12 – Flip the chicken thighs back over so the skin side is up and brush with more barbecue sauce.

4 bbq chicken thighs on a baking sheet.

Step 13 – Broil for another 3 – 5 minutes until barbecue sauce is browned and bubbly.

Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs on a baking sheet.
Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs

Recipe FAQ’s

Do you put BBQ sauce on chicken before or after baking?

Add the BBQ sauce on the chicken after it bakes. This gives the skin time to crisp up and doesn’t overcook the barbecue sauce.

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Yield: Serves 2

Oven Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs

Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs on a baking sheet.

These Oven Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs are delicious easy and delicious! Fall off the bone tender and juicy chicken thighs are slow roasted in the oven then topped with a sweet, tangy, and mildly spicy homemade barbecue sauce.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken thighs
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
  2. Spray an 8 x 8 baking dish with non-stick spray. Click for an 8 x 8 baking dish.
  3. Place the chicken thighs into the baking dish, skin side up, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven.
  5. Then reduce the temperature to 300 degrees F. and bake for 45 minutes.
  6. Remove the aluminum foil and bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
  7. Right after the chicken is uncovered, in a sauce pan over medium heat, stir together the ketchup, brown sugar, cider vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, mustard powder, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder.
  8. Simmer the sauce for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  9. Switch the oven from bake to broil.
  10. Either drain the chicken broth from the baking dish or move the chicken pieces to a broiler pan and flip the chicken pieces over so the bottom side is up. Click for a toaster oven sized broiler pan.
  11. Brush the bottoms with some barbecue sauce and broil about 3 – 5 minutes until the sauce is bubbly.
  12. Flip the chicken thighs back over so the skin side is up and brush with more barbecue sauce.
  13. Broil for another 3 – 5 minutes until barbecue sauce is browned and bubbly.

Notes

See recipe post for process pics.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

2

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 710Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 26gCholesterol: 333mgSodium: 1089mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 1gSugar: 31gProtein: 62g

Nutrition information is a guideline only, is calculated automatically by third party software, and absolute accuracy is not guaranteed.

Did you like this recipe?

Please leave a comment on this post and pin this recipe on Pinterest.

Hi and welcome. I’m Zona and I have a passion for recipes. I share recipes, tips, tricks, and resources to help you cook for two. Eat, drink, and enjoy!

Judy

Thursday 22nd of June 2023

Instead of the broiler can you air fry to crisp them?

Zona

Friday 23rd of June 2023

Hi Judy, I have not tested that method but it should work fine. Let me know how it goes for you. Thanks :)

Anne Hersch

Monday 12th of August 2019

11/2 hours seems like a very long cooking time especially with starting out at such a high temp.

Zona

Monday 12th of August 2019

Hi Anne, the temperature is reduced to 300 after the first 15 minutes.

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