Ok, I know that you’re probably thinking that that this oven baked barbecue chicken is nothing to alert the media about, but hear me out, because I think it deserves to have a moment. This recipe is a little different from many of the other ones out there on the world wide web because you make your own (five ingredient) barbecue sauce. The base of the barbecue sauce is ketchup, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, garlic and a touch of liquid smoke, for that ultimate barbecue taste. It’s that easy. Trust me. You could also use your favourite bottled variety, but this homemade version is so simple and it’s much better for you than store-bought barbecue sauce. It’s also not as sweet, which to me is a good thing which means there is the right balance (I often find store-bought barbecue sauce to be incredibly sickly sweet).
I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve shared a recipe that wasn’t simple. I just really like simplicity, and I think you do too. Life is complicated and busy, but cooking doesn’t have to be that way. I really believe that weeknight dinners don’t have to be complicated. There are many simple recipes that you can add to your repertoire that everyone will love, and no one will believe how easy they are. You’ll feel like you’re pulling a fast one on your friends and family, but you won’t be. Cooking shouldn’t be a chore, I’m here to try and show you that. I think that’s my goal with this space, show you that cooking can be simple, fresh and flavour. But most importantly, that cooking can be Fun. Capital-F, fun, that is.
Chicken is definitely a popular dinner choice in my house. I would say that we eat chicken probably once or twice a week, whether it’s a roast chicken or shredded chicken tacos there’s usually some type of chicken in our fridge. Often on the weekend we’ll have a roast chicken, then use the leftovers throughout the week to toss into pasta, and of course, use the bones for homemade chicken stock (which is always in our freezer). It’s kind of a no-brainer type of dinner for us and I like cooking and developing recipes that use chicken because it’s ridiculously versatile. If you check out the chicken recipes archive, you’ll see a whole bunch of different dishes you can make using this protein. For this dish, I used bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts which are much more budget friendly than their boneless, skinless counterparts. I love the look of these chicken breasts and find they have a more “homestyle” feel to them, plus the bone actually adds flavour to the dish, did you know that?
The other day I was craving barbecue chicken, and while we do have a bottle of barbecue sauce sitting in the fridge right now, I wanted to try and make something that is as simple as slathering a chicken breast with store bought barbecue sauce but that is a bit healthier for you. So, voila!
Yields 4 servings
Make your own oven baked barbecue chicken with a simple, 5-ingredient homemade barbecue sauce.
10 minPrep Time
45 minCook Time
Save Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts
- olive oil, for sauteing
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- ⅛ teaspoon liquid smoke
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- In a large pan, heat enough olive oil to cover the pan over medium-high heat.
- Once oil has heated, sear chicken, skin side down, for 4-6 minutes per side.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan whisk together ingredients for the sauce. Heat over medium heat, bring to a boil, then remove from heat.
- Place seared chicken, skin side up, on a baking sheet. Brush with barbecue sauce.
- Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.
Give this oven baked barbecue chicken a try this weekend.
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