Grilled BBQ chicken breasts that are moist and juicy are easy with a few simple steps. Fire up the backyard grill and enjoy one of our favorite and simplest grilled chicken recipes.
🐓Ingredients
Chicken—skinless boneless breast
BBQ sauce—your choice or use my Memphis Style BBQ Sauce
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Featured Comment from Basil :
"Best bbq'd SBCBs we've ever eaten. Perfect!"
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Everybody wants to grill juicy skinless boneless chicken breasts, but they all get dried-out hockey pucks. Let's get it right; it is not that hard to keep it moist and tender on your gas or charcoal grill with my simple step-by-step photo instructions.
👨🍳How to Grill BBQ Chicken Breasts—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Trim chicken breasts.
2. Thin to ¾ inches if thicker.
3. Optional brine if you wish.
4. Clean and preheat grill to 450° to 500°.
5. Pat dry the chicken and brush lightly with the BBQ sauce of your choice.
6. Place over direct heat. Flip every 5 minutes.
7. About 3-4 minutes before done, brush both sides with sauce. Remove from the grill at an internal temperature of 165°—about 30 minutes of total grill time.
8. Allow to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
⏲️How long to cook BBQ chicken breasts on the grill?
About 30 minutes of total grill time at the recommended grill surface temperature of 450°.
But total time will vary by the exact grill temperature and thickness of the breasts. The thinner breasts may be in the 25-minute range, and those huge thick ones may take 35 minutes.
🌡️When is chicken done and safe to eat?
According to the USDA, any chicken or poultry like turkey must reach 165° internal temperature to be safe. Chicken breasts are done at that temperature. Chicken thighs and drumsticks are more tender at 185°+ when the fibrous tissue has melted.
Should you brine
The brine will moisturize and tenderize the chicken and is recommended if you have time, especially if the chicken has been previously frozen, which may dry the chicken.
The recommended brine is relatively heavy in salt. According to Cooks Illustrated, this brine concentration is recommended for chicken for 30 minutes to 2 hours. The chicken gets saltier if over 1 hour, so I'm suggesting 1-hour maximum. Even 20 minutes of brining will do a reasonably good job of brining.
While we no longer recommend rinsing chicken, you should always rinse carefully after brining. Also, don't add any more salt after the brine is used. You can grill a chicken breast and keep it moist without the brine, but it requires attention and skill.
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Chicken Breast Recipes
For more grilled chicken breast options, see the complete guide to Grilled Chicken Breasts. For extra moist and juicy try Reverese Seared Chicken Breasts,
Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with chicken filets, and Grilled Honey Chicken Breasts for a fast and easy change of pace. For more oven chicken breast recipes, check out fast and juicy Convection Baked Chicken and super easy and fast Pan Seared Oven Baked Chicken Breasts.
How to serve BBQ chicken breasts
They can easily be served on a bun with condiments and more Memphis Style BBQ sauce. Served with chips or Grilled French fries. Other side dishes like a green salad, corn on the cob, or Grilled Mixed Vegetables.
How to store and reheat leftovers
Store any leftover BBQ chicken breasts in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days or frozen for 3 months.
Reheat them in the microwave, oven, or grill. If frozen, thaw first.
❓FAQs
Yes, but the final internal temperature for thighs should be 185°+ and will take a few minutes more grilling time.
A very light coat of BBQ sauce at the beginning creates a base for the last coat. You do not have to do that, but I recommend it. The sauce will adhere much better. It does not burn if you have the grill temp correct and don't overcook the chicken.
♨️Grill setup
A grill surface temperature of about 450° is best for any grilled chicken. A little less is fine, and a smidge more is OK, but never over 500°. You can NOT cook chicken properly on high heat. You will dry the outside long before the inside is even close to done or safe.
To get the grill temperature correct, you should use a grill surface thermometer. The hood thermometer is ALWAYS wrong. Please see my guide to controlling your Grill Temperature for more discussion.
If you don't have a surface thermometer (you should), medium to medium-high heat will be about 400°-500° on most gas grills. The cooking time will be different, but you will do OK if you get the end-point of an internal temperature of 165° correct with an instant-read thermometer.
Charcoal Grill
With charcoal grills, you need to be very careful about surface temperature. And, of course, times will vary. On most charcoal grills, you will need to adjust the venting and the amount of charcoal. And it is a good idea to have a cooler area on the grill surface to use if needed.
📖 Recipe
Grilled BBQ Chicken Breasts
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Ingredients
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoon BBQ sauce of choice
Brine (optional)
- 3 cups water - cold
- 1 ½ tablespoons table salt
- 1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper - optional
Instructions
- Trim skinless boneless chicken breast of any trimmable fat. Try to use chicken breasts of about the same size. And if you get some that are very plump, flatten them down a little with a meat mallet or the bottom of a pan to about ¾ inch thick.
- Optional Brine: Mix brine of 3 cups water, 1 ½ tablespoons table salt, 1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar, and ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional). Add chicken, submerge, and refrigerate for 30 minutes (no more than 1 hour). Remove chicken from the brine and rinse lightly under running water. Please be careful and wash up the surrounding area and your hands.
- Clean and oil grill grates and preheat to a surface temperature of 450°-500°, which is about medium-high on most grills. I recommend a surface thermometer to be able to control your grill well.
- Pat dry the chicken breasts with paper towels.
- Brush lightly with the BBQ sauce of your choice.
- Place over direct heat.
- Flip about every 5 minutes. About 3-4 minutes before done, brush both sides with sauce. Remove from the grill at an internal temperature of 165°—about 30 minutes of total grill time. But total time will vary by the exact grill temperature and thickness of the breasts. The thinner breast may be in the 25-minute range, and those huge thick ones may take 35 minutes.
- Allow to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
- This brine is relatively heavy in salt, so a maximum time of 1 hour please. Rinse to remove extra salt. The brine is optional but recommended.
- Total grilling time will vary by the exact grill temperature and thickness of the breasts. The thinner breasts may be in the 25-minute range, and those huge thick ones may take 35 minutes. But 30 minutes is average.
- If you have a breast that has a large variation in thickness, using a meat mallet to even things out a bit is a good idea. Try for about ¾ inches thick.
- I like a very light coat of BBQ sauce at the start to create a base for later. It does not burn, but omit if you wish.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.
Editors Note: Originally published August 1, 2011. It was in need of a rewrite, some better photo editing, and some clarification of technique.
Don says
I was really suspicious of this one... putting BBQ sauce on too early is recipe (pardon the pun) for burned chicken. However, I dutifully did as instructed and put a LIGHT coating of sauce on at the start. I was also VERY careful to watch the grill temp as instructed. The result was the best BBQ Chicken I've ever made. Our youngest LOVED it and has been begging me to make it again!
DrDan says
Hi Don,
Welcome to the blog.
That light (very light) coat of sauce really does add a lot. I have been doing it for 30 plus years. It does go against the "no sauce until the end due to burning rule" But if you think about it, the meat is much cooler than the surface temperature which prevent the burning. It adds some taste and it holds the sauce so much better at the end.
Thanks for the note and glad it worked well for you.
Dan
Adriana Enríquez says
Wow! I've never brined chicken before and I really think his made all the difference. I was so impressed with how juicy and delicious the chicken came out. My family loved it and finished it all. Can't wait to make it again.
Greg T says
Thank you for this! Every time I cooked chicken on the grill it was burnt, dry, and gross. I gave up grilling chicken for the last 4 years and just stuck with oven methods that I could get a consistent enjoyable meal from. Yesterday I found this recipe and figured it was worth a shot. Holy diver! This was the best grilled chicken I've ever made! We opted for an hour brine, and it was a bit on the salty side. Will do a 30 min brine next time!
Such a detailed explanation without much fluff, great breakdowns, excellent followups in the comments. Really one of the best recipes from start to finish. I'm hooked and now digging through the website to find more things to try. Thank you!
Jack says
I thought i would use lemon pepper, leave off bbq sauce
Jack says
Would it be o k to use lemon pepper power in the brine, with water, salt for boneless skinless chicken breast. Iam trying on grillgrates at 450 to 500 degrees. What do you think?
DrDan says
Hi Jack,
That would be fine if you are ok with the lemon taste with the BBQ sauce. I can't say how much since I never use lemon pepper.
Dan
Sparks says
Don't like a wet brine with chicken.
T e d says
I bookmarked this brine recipe and have used it several times. I also use it with wings and tinker with ratios. Not sure that doubling everything is the wayto go. This one is a winner.
DrDan says
Hi Ted,
First, sorry for the delayed response.
This ratio I call 1:1. 1 cup water to 1 tablespoon table salt. If you add a sugar of some type then match the salt. You can double the salt but if you do never brine for over 2 hours and it may still taste too salty.
Thank for the note.
Dan
Tia says
I made these last night and they were amazing! I loath dry chicken breasts, so I rarely grill them. These were so juicy and delicious! I'm never going back to non-brined chicken breasts. Thanks for an awesome recipe!
DrDan says
Hi Tia,
Sorry for the delayed response.
Yes, the brine can make a huge difference. You can get good without it if your careful but not great. Better with.
Thanks so much for the note.
Dan
Sheila says
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It was simple and delicious. We had a great family dinner yesterday. Everyone was enjoying this grilled chicken and it was indeed chicken heaven.
DrDan says
Hi Sheila,
Thanks for the note. Glad it worked well for you.
Dan
inductioncookwaregirl says
Sorry to hear about the passing of your dog -- I was looking recipes but you had my attention with the pictures of your dogs before I even got to the recipes!
I hadn't thought of brining chicken breast but it sounds like an easy solution to dry chicken breast. Not popular in this family! When baking chicken breast with a simple sauce, I also find that it can be dry. Any reason you can think of that brined chicken couldn't be baked in the oven? Thanks!
DrDan says
Thanks for the thoughts about Jake. Gone but not forgotten.
You can always brine chicken breast but be sure to rinse and not to add any more salt.
Dan
Cheryl says
better get that dogs eye checked out, doesnt look good
DrDan says
In this picture, he is blind and the eye you are looking at is artificial. He died a few months later of cancer.
Dan
Jason rimler says
came out great, forgot to poke holes but seemed fine, I put BBQ sauce in the brine intstead of sugar. Family loved
Rick says
Hi Dan -
I was excited to try this recipe yet cautious as my wife is a retired chef. I did everything according to the recipe but the chicken came out rubbery. Temp was 165° when I took it off the grill. I flipped the meat every 4-5 minutes, total cooking time was 30 minutes. The chicken ended up in the trash. I really hoped I could finally grill chicken the right way but failed.
DrDan says
Hi Rick,
Sorry it didn't work well for you. You might want to try a brine for a few hours next time. A simple brine of 1/4 cup of kosher salt dissolved in 1 quart (4 cups) of warm water. I like to add a 1/4 cup of brown sugar also. Add the trimmed chicken and brine in the refrigerator for a few hours. Rinse well, add some pepper and grill.
Dan
Lauri Freers says
I'm planning to try this today, Do you have any recommendations for a Foreman grill regarding the 2nd coat of Barbecue? I'm going to be using small sized pieces cut thin so It will cook quickly--there may be no time for the 2nd coating of sauce(?).
DrDan says
I haven't used a Foreman for many years. I have no idea of time etc. I'm worried that the direct contact with the grill surface that the Foreman requires would burn the sauce quickly. So I'm not even sure of the first light coat.
Dan
Kristopher S says
Incredible! The best BBQ chicken I've had!
DrDan says
THANKS
Dan
Dani M. says
Hello! Question...is any additional seasoning is required?
DrDan says
Not for me. The salt is in the brine and lots of spice in the sauce.
Dan