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My mom made these BBQ chicken thighs for Easter dinner and they were so tender and flavorful. Everyone was raving about the chicken. I literally overheard my mom get props for the chicken at least 5 times.
I jotted down the recipe before heading home and was craving this grilled chicken for the next few days. I re-created it just as soon as I could. I was really craving that chicken! I love that you can prep them ahead of time and just toss ’em on the grill when you’re ready; making them perfect for parties.
You’ll want to marinate the chicken at least 6 hours and it’s best to let them marinate overnight. I’m sharing the detailed grilling and baking methods for this chicken so read on. This is an easy, excellent recipe!
Ingredients for the Tastiest BBQ Chicken:
3 lbs (about 10 count) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Sea Salt (about 1 tsp)
Pepper (about 1/4 tsp or to taste)
Mrs. Dash Seasoning (about 1 tsp), plain or garlic variety, or your favorite seasoning
Garlic Powder (about 1/2 tsp)
1 Tbsp Real Mayo
1 medium onion, thickly sliced
BBQ Sauce (Homemade or we love Stubb’s Original)
Marinating the Meat:
1. Season both sides of chicken thighs to taste. I used a total of 1 tsp sea salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash Seasoning, 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Turn the chicken to coat evenly with seasoning.
2. Stir in 1 Tbsp Mayo and mix the chicken until evenly coated.
3. Add thick-sliced onion and toss everything together. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or a lid and marinate 6 hours or overnight.
Grilling Method:
1. Preheat the grill and generously brush grill plates with oil. Reduce heat to low and place chicken thighs with a smooth side up.
2. Cover the grill and cook for 12-15 minutes. I rotated them once to make criss-cross grill marks. Before flipping the thighs, baste them with BBQ Sauce.
3. Flip thighs over, baste the flip side with BBQ sauce then cover and cook for another 12-15 minutes, rotating once to make grill marks. Check for doneness by cutting the thicker part of the chicken. If juices run clear then its done.
Flip the chicken again, coat it with BBQ sauce and remove from the grill. Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Baking Method:
Preheat Oven to 400˚F.
1. Place Chicken thighs flat with the smooth side up, spaced out in a single layer on a large rimmed baking dish. Bake at 400˚F for 30 mins.
2. Increase heat to 450˚ and Remove chicken from oven to brush the tops and sides generously with BBQ sauce. Return chicken to the oven another 5 minutes or until glaze has dried slightly onto the chicken.
Juicy Barbecued Chicken Thighs Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 lbs about 10 count boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Sea Salt, about 1 tsp
- Pepper, about 1/4 tsp or to taste
- Mrs. Dash Seasoning, about 1 tsp, plain or garlic variety, or your favorite seasoning
- Garlic Powder, about 1/2 tsp
- 1 Tbsp real mayonnaise
- 1 medium onion, thickly sliced
- BBQ Sauce
Instructions
Marinating the Meat:
- Season both sides of chicken thighs to taste. I used a total of 1 tsp sea salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash Seasoning, 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Turn the chicken to coat evenly with seasoning.
- Stir in 1 Tbsp Mayo and mix the chicken until evenly coated.
- Add thick-sliced onion and toss everything together. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or a lid and marinate 6 hours or overnight.
Grilling Method:
- Preheat the grill and generously brush grill plates with oil. Reduce heat to low and place chicken thighs with a smooth side up.
- Cover the grill and cook for 12-15 minutes. I rotated them once to make criss-cross grill marks. Before flipping the thighs, baste them with BBQ Sauce.
- Flip thighs over, baste the flip side with BBQ sauce then cover and cook for another 12-15 minutes, rotating once to make grill marks. Check for doneness by cutting the thicker part of the chicken. If juices run clear then its done. Flip the chicken again, coat it with BBQ sauce and remove from the grill. Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Baking Method: Preheat Oven to 400˚F.
- Place Chicken thighs flat with the smooth side up on a large rimmed baking dish, spaced out in a single layer. Bake at 400˚F for 30 mins.
- Increase heat to 450 and Remove chicken from oven to brush the tops and sides generously with BBQ sauce. Return chicken to the oven another 5 minutes or until glaze has dried slightly onto the chicken.
I’m so excited for grilling season! Have you fired up your grill this year? What’s your favorite grill recipe?
What i o my have 3 hours of marinating time? Is it still worth it?
Hi Bethy! I think it could work. One of our readers wrote, “I did marinate the thighs for only 30 mins since I was short on time (since I wanted to have dinner ready before going to work) and they were full of flavor after completion!” I hope this helps.
Thanks for the reply! I ended up having a full 6 hours of marinating; it was awesome. Brought it to a congregation picnic and everyone was saying: “who brought the chicken? have you tasted the chicken? It’s really good chicken!” haha kudos to you Natasha 😉
That’s so great, Bethy! Sounds like a new favorite for you all!
Can you marinate them for a longer period of time? Let say several days? (camping trip)
Hi Yuliya, I haven’t marinated them for longer than 2 days but that could work.
Natasha, seems like another awesome recipe)
I have already marunated the meat and will leave it overnight.
Question:
What would be the main difference of the grilled vs baked meat in this case? Will the baked ine be as juicy as grilled?
Blessings 😊
Hi Viktoriya, the grilled will always give you an added smoky grilled flavor that an oven doesn’t provide but they will be both be juicy 🙂
This is the Best BBQ chicken recipe ever! Who would have thought that one TB of mayo will give such tenderness to the meat, that it is so delicious.
Thank you, Natasha! Your site is awesome, I have tried so many recipes already and they don’t disappoint.
You’r welcome Alex! I’m happy to hear how much you’re enjoying the recipes. Thanks for following and sharing your fantastic review!
This was so delicious!!! I’ve never heard of a marinade including mayonnaise, but it was awesome!! My husband grilled it and not usually a big chicken guy, he absolutely loved it!
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Meredith!
Natasha thank you for this recipe. I made this dish for our annual potluck Christmas party at office. It was so good. I got so many compliments. I tried it before but I used onion power and minced onions, hot sauce instead of barque sauce. This time I followed the recipe. I used onions. Walmart had eight yellow onions in bag for one dollar and ninety four cents. I usually pay one dollar for one large onion. I also store the onions in a old stocking it keep for months. Just make sure you keep from the potatoes. Other tip when I mardibate for 24 hours I put the onions at bottom of pan. That way it keep the chicken off of the pan. The flavor of onions will go through the meat. This recipe was so good. I didnt from Stubbs barque sauce so I use kraft bb sauce. I cut the chicken into bite size pieces into tooth pick to make it easy for pot luck.
Hello Veronica! I’m glad to hear you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing your helpful review with other readers!
Natasha I just finished making juicy chicken thighs. I got bag of Tyson skinless boneless chicken on sale when I bought the 2.16 pork lion from Walmart. Thanks to you Dagi it came out good. I wasn’t sure what do with thighs. But I used your recipe it was good. I didn’t have ms. Dash so I used poultry seasoning. I was out of onions. I used minced onions and onion power. I used hot sauce instead barbeque sauce. It still came out good. Iam try next time with onions ,ms dash and barbaque sauce. I baked it in oven at 400 for 30 minutes. Then 450 for 5 minutes get sauce to stick. I let it marinade for 6 hours. One reveiver say add Worcestershire sauce to marinade do you know how much? I have French’s Worcestershire sauce in cabinet. I have question for you Natasha when you marinade you cut up one onion . When you put in oven do you leave onions on top or do you put in bottom pan? When you bake in oven what size psn. I used my pyrex dish. What kind mayo use?I used Hellman’s or best food mayo. Because thats what I had in fridge. I also like Dukes its southern mayo company. Thanks for tip about using mayo for chicken thighs it really is juicy. Also recipe Lipton onion mix has hamburgers recipe for juicy burgers use 2.5 ground beef Lipton secret onion mix and bread crumbs it uses 1/2 cup mayonnaise. The burgers are so juicy. That’s a recipe for birthday party grilled chicken and juicy burgers.Thanks for answering my questions.
Hi Veronica, I haven’t tried adding Worcestershire sauce because I didn’t think it needed any. When grilling, I did not put the onions on since they would just fall through the grates. It wouldn’t hurt to add them when baking if you wanted to. I have actually used both brands (Hellman’s and Best Foods with great results. Thank you for sharing your tips and ideas1 🙂
Can I use chicken breasts instead of thighs? Have you ever tried?
Are they going to be the same juicy and yammie?
Hi Natalya, I would suggest this recipe/method for chicken breast. It is a family favorite 🙂
Perfect chicken recipie!! My husband and kids love this, I like to add a bit of Worcestershire sauce in the marinade and it’s amazing🙌🏼👌🏼 Thank you!😊
Tanya, thank you for such a great review and you are very welcome 😀
Perfect taste! Kids approved🙌🏻👍🏻
YES! I love it when the whole family enjoys a recipe! Thanks for sharing Alena 🙂
I’m so sad 🙁 Made this recipe baked (followed directions to the T), and it was no good. I really think it needs to be grilled.
Hi Ruth, I’ve had good results with grilling and baking. What went wrong exactly? I’m always happy to help troubleshoot! Did you possibly use chicken breast instead of chicken thighs?
Hi Natasha,
Would it work just fine if I baked it in a glass baking dish instead?
Thanks!
Hi Marina, that would be ok if they are in a large enough pan that they aren’t touching/crowded. 🙂
My boyfriend is not a great fan of chicken, but i made this today and his comment was “from now on we do chicken only this way” so i think it was a big success!! Thx for sharing
Nora, thank you for the nice review and you are welcome 😀. I spent some time on your blog, looking at all of your travels around the world 👍🏻.
Yeah but what temperature in the BBQ do you recommend
Hi Dave, once you’ve preheated your grill, reduce the heat to low to grill the chicken.
We made this yesterday for our son’s 2nd birthday party and followed the recipe exactly. We did 13lbs of chicken to serve 20 adults and a few kids. Everyone loved it and we got several compliments. There wasn’t a piece left over! Thanks for the recipe, who would have thought mayo? Will definitely cook this chicken again. Juicy and delicious!
Woah Woah Woah!! 13 lbs of chicken is alot of chicken! I’m so happy it was a big hit for you 🙂
LOVE this recipe. I also added Malt Vinegar to the marinate. Thanks!
Hi Dylan, I’ll have to try that! Thanks for sharing your great review 🙂
We made these last night. I handled the marinade and hubby manned the grill. I seasoned my chicken thighs (bone in, unskinned) with garlic powder, onion flakes, savory, parsley, salt and cracked pepper. And then followed your directions exactly using Shedd’s southern spicy/sweet sauce. The end result was the most delicious chicken thighs I have ever eaten! And I don’t normally like thighs or any other dark meat. Thanks, I’m a convert and will definitely make these again!
Dee, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
They turned out perfect and juicy. Thank you!!!
Thank you so much for the fantastic review! 🙂
Would this recipe work in the oven? If so, on what temp and how long?
Hi Alina, I have instructions above for the oven. Enjoy! 😉
Hi Natasha,
I just made these and they were awesome! I ended up marinating them for about a day and a half but didn’t really need to. BTW, if you have a food vacuum system (like FoodSaver), it works great for marinating quicker. This recipe was great served with your crisp sauteed red potatoes! Thanks for the recipes!
I love the idea of marinating with the foodsaver. It does make it so much faster! I’m so glad you liked the recipes! 🙂
hi natasha, would i be able to grill this on one of those grill pans?
Yes I think that would work fine. Do you have a cover for it? I think it would need to be covered so it could cook through properly.
would i need to oil the pan?
Yes 🙂