Affordable chicken thighs take center stage in this flavor-packed baked BBQ chicken thigh recipe. The best part? You can make your own BBQ sauce – or simply use your favorite store-bought brand.

Baked BBQ chicken thighs: This recipe is simple a full of good BBQ flavor!

Need another good recipe to make use of budget-friendly chicken thighs? Then you have to try these BBQ baked chicken thighs.

Chicken thighs are cheaper, juicier, and more flavorful than chicken breasts. And with this recipe, the sweet-tangy-smoky flavors from the BBQ sauce – what are you waiting for? Make it this week – or better yet, tonight. 

Use Skinless Chicken Thighs For The Best BBQ Baked Chicken Thighs

I have made baked BBQ chicken thighs using both skin-on and skinless chicken thighs. I recommend using skinless chicken thighs. 

Because this recipe is heavy on the sauce (yum!), the skin of the chicken doesn’t get crispy without overbaking the chicken. Trust me, no one likes gummy chicken skin.

Love crispy skin? This original baked chicken thigh recipe uses skin-on chicken thighs, which turns out deliciously crispy. But when making BBQ chicken thighs, it’s more difficult to get a crispy crust – so I recommend skipping the skin altogether for the best results.

Shopping tip: You can purchase skinless chicken thighs, or you can remove the skin yourself before baking. The latter is the cheaper option.

Baked BBQ chicken: Learn how to make the best BBQ chicken thighs at home.

Baste The Chicken 3 Times

To ensure your chicken is thoroughly coated in BBQ sauce, you’ll coat the chicken a total of 3 times:

  • Before you put in the oven
  • After it’s baked 15 minutes, when you’ll turn the thighs over and baste the bottoms
  • Again after 15 minutes when you’ll turn the chicken again and coat the top

If you really love the BBQ sauce, feel free to put more on at the end, or serve with more on the side.

Baked BBQ chicken thighs: Make your own BBQ sauce or used bottled. Either way it's delicious.

Make Your Own BBQ Sauce – Or Use Store-Bought

The best part of this recipe is how easy it is. It can be as simple as brushing chicken breasts with your favorite bottled BBQ sauce.

But if you’re out of BBQ sauce – or if you’re feeling like experimenting in the kitchen – consider making your own homemade BBQ sauce at home.

This BBQ sauce recipe is made from pantry staples like ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, and spices. And it only takes about 5 minutes to make!

Learn how to make flavorful BBQ chicken thighs at home.

Save Money By Incorporating More Dark Meat Chicken

Dark meat chicken is almost always cheaper than popular white meat chicken breast. 

On average, a pound of bone-in chicken thighs is $1.25, while boneless, skinless chicken breast is $2.28. 

Take advantage of the cheaper chicken cuts (like thighs, drumsticks, chicken leg quarters, and even whole chickens) by mastering some delicious recipes. Add them to your meal rotation, feed your family delicious food – and save money in the process!

Baked BBQ chicken thighs: This recipe is simple a full of good BBQ flavor!

Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Additional Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 5 hours

Purchase skinless, bone-in chicken breasts. If you can't find, buy skin-on chicken breasts and remove the skin yourself.

Ingredients

  • 2 to 2.5 lbs bone-in skinless chicken thighs (5 to 6 chicken thighs)
  • 1 bottle BBQ sauce (or homemade BBQ sauce)
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • Salt and pepper
  • Fresh parsley and lemon, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Marinate: Place chicken thighs in a large bowl. Pour 1/2 cup BBQ sauce, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper on chicken and mix to evenly coat. Allow to marinate for 4+ hours.
  2. Preheat oven to 425F. Line a large baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper. Place chicken thighs on baking sheet, meat side up, evenly spacing out on the baking sheet.
  3. Brush each chicken thigh with a tablespoon or two of BBQ sauce. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, turn over using tongs, and brush other side with BBQ sauce. Bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and turn once more and brush with more BBQ sauce. Bake for another 15 minutes. Then turn heat to broil and broil chicken for about 2 minutes, to brown the chicken. The internal temperature should register 165F or higher.
  4. Remove chicken from oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes before serving.

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