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This easy Honey BBQ Chicken recipe is perfect for summer cookouts or family dinners! Juicy chicken smothered in homemade honey BBQ sauce—better than store-bought
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Best Honey BBQ Chicken Recipe for Grilling
I’m so excited to share this Honey BBQ Chicken recipe with you. This chicken recipe is smothered in my all time favorite BBQ Sauce and it is so tasty! Whether it’s a summer cookout or a cozy family dinner, this dish always steals the show. There’s just something magical about making your own barbecue sauce—it’s fresher, tastier, and so much better than store-bought!
This chicken is tender, juicy, and smothered in a sweet, tangy, homemade honey BBQ sauce that’s a breeze to make. I’ll walk you through the entire process, from preparing the chicken to creating the sauce, so you can serve up a dish that’s sure to become a family favorite.
Why You’ll Love This Honey BBQ Chicken
- Homemade BBQ Sauce: Say goodbye to store-bought with this easy, delicious recipe. It’s sweet, tangy, and perfectly balanced.
- Versatile: Great for grilling, baking, or even air frying! Pair it with sides like potatoes, salads, or your favorite veggies.
- Quick & Easy: From start to finish, this dish is ready in about 30 minutes.
BBQ Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what you’ll need to make the perfect honey BBQ chicken:
For the Chicken:
- Chicken breasts: Pound them slightly for even cooking.
For the Honey BBQ Sauce:
- Garlic: Adds depth and aroma.
- Vegetable oil: Helps sauté the garlic and brings out rich flavors.
- Ketchup: The base for most BBQ sauces.
- Apple cider vinegar: A tangy kick to balance the sweetness.
- Brown sugar: For a deep, caramel-like sweetness.
- Honey: Use local honey for the best flavor and health benefits.
- Worcestershire sauce: Adds umami richness.
- Yellow mustard: Enhances the tangy-sweet combo.
- Soy sauce: Adds a salty, savory edge.
- Chili powder: For just a hint of heat.
Recipe Variations
Love experimenting? Try these variations:
- Use boneless chicken thighs for extra juiciness.
- Add a teaspoon of smoked paprika for a smoky kick.
- Swap honey for maple syrup for a unique twist!”
How to Make Honey BBQ Chicken
Making this dish is as easy as 1-2-3:
- Cook the Sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Sauté garlic for 1 minute, then whisk in the remaining sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside half the sauce for basting.
- Grill the Chicken: Preheat your grill to medium-high. Grill the chicken for 7–10 minutes per side, turning only once.
- Baste and Serve: Generously baste the chicken with the reserved sauce every 3–4 minutes. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Serve with extra sauce for dipping!
More Cooking Options
If you don’t have a grill or it’s to cold for grilling outside you still have some great alternate cooking options!
- Baking: Bake in the oven at 375°F for 25–30 minutes, basting with sauce halfway through.
- Air Frying: Cook at 400°F for 10–12 minutes, flipping halfway.
Pro Tips for Perfect BBQ Chicken
- Use a Thermometer: Don’t guess! A digital-read thermometer ensures your chicken is perfectly cooked—juicy, tender, and never dry.
- Let It Rest: After grilling, let the chicken rest for a few minutes to lock in the juices.
- Customizable Spice: Love heat? Add sriracha or cayenne to the sauce for a spicy kick!
Reviews About Our BBQ Sauce
“This is my go-to BBQ sauce since it was first posted years ago. I’ve grilled it, roasted it, used an air fryer for it and even pan fry it. It’s used on chicken, steaks and even ribs. Friends and family have always asked for this recipe after tasting it. Thank you for sharing this recipe!”
-IR
Questions About Honey BBQ Chicken
The honey bbq sauce is made of ketchup, tomato puree, honey, garlic powder, onion powder, and apple cider vinegar. There may be more or less in addition to this list of ingredients depending on the recipe.
Honey bbq sauce incorporates more honey-based flavors that blend well and have a thicker sauce base. Honey powder, brown sugar, and molasses powder usually are the main ingredients in honey bbq sauce whereas sweet bbq is more of seasonings and has fewer ingredients. The base of a sweet bbq sauce is usually homemade bbq sauce then added sweet seasonings are.
Depending on the type and cut of the chicken pieces you have depends on the temperature of the chicken. Most chicken is cooked or needs to be cooked to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. For a whole chicken, cook to 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Yes, this sauce would make great Honey BBQ Chicken Wings. Its also great on chicken tenders or strips or chicken thighs.
Add a little sriracha or cayenne pepper to the sauce to give it a little kick.
What to Serve with BBQ Chicken
We made this chicken with our favorite pesto potatoes, corn on the cobb, and fresh sliced watermelon and it was a delicious dinner! It would also be perfect to cut up over a salad. This chicken with bbq is the perfect combination and can be used as a main dish or an addition to other meals as well.
Great BBQ Side Dish Recipes
Looking for the perfect sides to complement this dish? Try these crowd-pleasers:
Honey BBQ Chicken
Video
Equipment
- Outdoor Barbecue Grill
Ingredients
- 6 chicken breasts
For the sauce:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar firmly packed
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons Worcetershire sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
Honey BBQ Sauce:
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the vegetable oil. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes. Set aside. Pour ½ of the sauce in a small bowl for basting the chicken.
Grilling the Chicken:
- I like to pound the chicken a little before I grill it so it cooks evenly. Grill the chicken on medium high heat, you want to cook it 7 to 10 minutes on each side. It tastes best if you only turn it once. Baste generously with the small bowl of sauce every 3 or 4 minutes.
- Serve with the remaining sauce on the side for dipping.
Nutrition Information
Trust me, once you try this Honey BBQ Chicken, you’ll be making it on repeat. It’s a tried-and-true recipe that has my family and friends asking for seconds—and the recipe!
Let me know how it turns out for you in the comments below. I’d love to hear what you paired it with or any tweaks you made!
Happy grilling!
Just wanted to say thanks!
I haven’t made it yet, but I gave a five star rating for the recipe truly sounds authentic. I do have a question, my Husband is the one who grills in the family and would like to know your tips on how he should grill the chicken in this Honey BBQ recipe. Should he use a low heat, medium or high heat? Should he start out with low and end on high heat? All he knows is how to season and grill chicken for BBQ, without using any sauces. He once tried to grill chicken with a soy sauce once, but burnt the chicken and the sauce. I’d like to do it right for the recipe sounds right on the money for a delicious BBQ dinner! Thank you!
Make sure to oil the grill before adding the chicken and grill over medium heat! Keep some extra BBQ sauce beside the grill to brush over the chicken if it looks a little dry.
Great! I just finished it last night and the result was unexpected, My wife loves it. She got surprised. Yeah. I am going to try this for my friends too. Nice. Thanks for your guide.
Had my tastebuds doing a happy dance! 😛
As Pooh would say, “time for something sweet” & I say, this did not disappoint 🙂
barbecue is perhaps the the most iconic American food that has regional flavours similar to the country itself barbecue, from the smoked brisket of Central Texas and the sticky ribs of Memphis to Kansas City’s burned ends and vinegar-and-mustard-sauced pork from the Carolinas. The cult cuisine has more than meets the eyes.
I made your recipe at home very tasty. Please add more.
I love a good BBQ chicken recipe and this is absolutely delicious. Thank you!
Absolutely delicious and it came together so easily – love the honey in the sauce omgsh so good.
Grill was broken so we fried it in the sauce in the frying pan and covered with the lid. The chicken was so tender. Definitely recommend frying!
This is my go-to BBQ sauce since it was first posted years ago. I’ve grilled it, roasted it, air fry it and even pan fry it. It’s used on chicken, steaks and even ribs. Friends and family have always asked for this recipe after tasting it. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Thank you so much for the 5-star rating! We are so glad you love this recipe as much as we do!
I love the idea of never having to buy a jar of bbq sauce ever again. What a great way to save some money without giving up the tangy flavor of homemade bbq sauce.
This was a huge hit at my house!! Love that sauce!
Oh my goodness does this sauce look and sound incredible. Perfect for the chicken.
This is such a delicious BBQ sauce! I could drink it! Can’t wait to make some more!
I don’t have a grill. Neither do i have a crock pot. Can i fry the chicken in a pan? Would that be okay?
Yes! I actually had someone tell me they tried frying it in a pan and it worked out great!
I completely agree about not cutting meat to see if it’s done!! It drives me nuts. That said, I can’t get over how easy the barbecue sauce is and how amazing it looks with the chicken! Thanks for sharing.
Honey and meat is great combination! It really makes meat soft and juicy! Thank you I will try this recipe!
GLUTEN FREE SOY SAUCE
If you dont want to bbq it, what about baking the chicken? My problem is that I have an event at noon, and dont want to be cooking it at the last minute. Can I bbq it the night before and heat it up in the oven the next day? Thanks so much!
I don’t see why not. Sometimes cooking it and than reheating in a crack pot keeps it from getting dried out.
I don’t have a grill and am wondering how putting it in the crock pot might work?
I haven’t tried it in the crockpot, but I am sure it would work!
You have 1/4-cup honey listed twice… (?)
Thanks! I will fix that.