BBQ Chicken Marinade

Say hello to the most delicious BBQ chicken marinade! It’s ready in 5 minutes with just 7 simple ingredients, and will leave your chicken juicy and delicious every time.

Never use a store-bought marinade again with this BBQ chicken marinade!

The #1 BBQ Chicken Marinade

This easy and deliciously savory BBQ chicken marinade is our go-to! We try to keep these 7 ingredients on hand at all times, so we’re ready to marinade BBQ chicken to perfection at a moment’s notice!

What You Need

All you need is 7 ingredients for this perfect BBQ chicken marinade. You’ll need to round up:

BBQ sauce: Any kind will do! Grab your favorite BBQ sauce or whatever you have on hand in the fridge.
Olive oil: The perfect amount of olive oil will help keep this chicken moist and delicious during the marinating process.
Smoked paprika: Smoked paprika gives this marinade a delicious smokey flavor.
Chili powder: Give your BBQ marinade a little
Garlic cloves: Don’t skimp on the garlic, friends! We keep a tube of minced garlic in the fridge at all times.
Salt and pepper: So simple, but adds such great flavor!

Easy Ingredient Swaps

Garlic cloves: Don’t have fresh garlic on hand? Sub half the amount of garlic powder.
Smoked paprika: Regular paprika will work!
Olive oil: Prefer avocado oil or vegetable oil? Most oils will work in this marinade.

How Long to Marinate BBQ Chicken

The biggest piece of advice we have when marinating chicken is the longer the better! If you can marinate your chicken for 24-hours, do it! The flavors will be the most infused and delicious this way.

However, if you only have 30 minutes or 2 hours, that’s okay too.

A few marinating tips

Feel free to use either a baking dish or gallon-size plastic bag to marinate your chicken in.
Make sure your chicken is fully submerged in the marinade. If you’re using a baking dish, flip your chicken halfway through.
Make sure to marinate your chicken in the fridge and not on the countertop to prevent food-borne illness.

Ways to Cook BBQ Chicken

BBQ Chicken Baking Instructions

Baking marinated BBQ chicken breast is super simple. Simply transfer the marinated chicken plus the excess BBQ chicken marinade into a baking dish.

Bake at 375ºF for around 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF. We suggest using a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of your chicken instead of eyeballing it.

Checks out full instructions here on how to bake chicken breast.

Freezing Instructions

One of our favorite things to do with chicken marinades is to batch produce them and freeze for later! For example, you can make 3 or 4 batches of this BBQ chicken marinade and freeze it for another time. Here’s how to do it:

Place the BBQ chicken marinade along with 1 to 1.5 lbs. of raw chicken chicken breast into a freezer-safe gallon-size bag.
Remove as much air as possible and then seal.
Write “BBQ Chicken” on the front of the bag along with the date. Freeze for up to 3 months.

How long does frozen chicken last? Your frozen BBQ chicken will last up to 3 months in the freezer.

More Ways to Use BBQ Chicken Marinade