Sweet and Spicy Italian BBQ Grilled Chicken

Sweet and Spicy Italian BBQ Grilled Chicken – only 4 ingredients in the marinade! BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, chili powder, and red pepper flakes. Sweet and spicy in every bite! SO delicious! We make this once a week. Everyone cleans their plate. The chicken is so juicy and has TONS of flavor! We never have any leftovers.

Easy BBQ Chicken Marinade Recipe

New favorite alert! This Sweet and Spicy Italian BBQ Grilled Chicken has been on repeat at our house. O-M-G! SO good! There are only 4 ingredients in the marinade – Italian dressing, barbecue sauce, chili powder, and red pepper flakes. We made this for lunch last week and immediately added it to the menu for this week.

How to Make Sweet and Spicy Italian BBQ Grilled Chicken

This chicken marinade is effortless to make with only a few simple ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together barbecue sauce, Italian dressing,  chili powder, and red pepper flakes. Place boneless chicken breasts in a plastic bag. Pour the marinade over the chicken and refrigerate for a few hours to overnight. 

When ready to cook the chicken, remove the chicken from the marinade and discard. Prepare the grill and cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF. 

Helpful Tips & Frequently Asked Questions

• You can use this marinade on any cut of chicken – chicken breasts, chicken tenders, chicken thighs, chicken wings, or chicken drumsticks/legs.
• You can use boneless or bone-in chicken. Adjust the cooking time to ensure an internal temperature of 165ºF.
• I suggest pounding the chicken breast to an even thickness. We put the chicken in a ziplock bag and use a flat meat mallet to carefully pound out the hump. This ensures that the chicken cooks evenly and you don’t have juicy chicken and half-dry chicken.
• You can marinate this for as little as an hour or up to overnight. We almost always marinate our chicken overnight. It is just easier for me to prep for our meals at night.
• My favorite store-bought BBQ sauces are Sweet Baby Rays, Stubbs, G.Hughes, and Williamson Brothers. I buy them all at Walmart.
• Here is our recipe for Homemade BBQ sauce made with ketchup, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, salt, pepper, and  cumin: https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-bbq-sauce/
• I don’t have a grill. Can I cook the chicken in the oven or skillet? Yes! To cook the chicken breasts inside, heat olive oil in a skillet. pan sear it for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check for an internal temperature of 165ºF.
• Can I freeze grilled chicken? Yes! Cook the chicken and cool completely. Place the chicken in a freezer bag and freeze. Thaw and reheat in the microwave.

What to Serve with BBQ Chicken Breast

This is one of the best grilled chicken recipes we’ve ever eaten. We loved the flavor. It is sweet and a little spicy. We make this almost every other week. We like to serve the chicken with some rice or garlic mashed potatoes and smothered broccoli. This is equally delicious served on a bun topped with lettuce and tomato. Add this to your menu ASAP! It is sure to become a family favorite.

Looking for more side dish recipes? Here are a few of our favorite recipes that go great with this easy chicken recipe:

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Recipe Print Recipe

Sweet and Spicy Italian BBQ Grilled Chicken

Author: Plain Chicken

Yield: 6 people

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Marinating 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Sweet and Spicy Italian BBQ Grilled Chicken – only 4 ingredients in the marinade! BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, chili powder and red pepper flakes. Sweet and spicy! SO delicious! We make this once a week. Everyone cleans their plate. The chicken is so juicy and has TONS of flavor! We never have any leftovers.

Equipment:

• Charcoal Chimney Starter
• Grilling Tongs
• Cast Iron Grill Pan

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup BBQ Sauce
• ¾ cup Italian dressing
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp dried red pepper flakes
• 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Instructions:

• Whisk together BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, chili powder and red pepper flakes. Pour over chicken and refrigerate 1 hour to overnight.
• Remove chicken from marinade and grill for 12 to 15 minutes, until no longer pink.

Notes:

• You can use this marinade on any cut of chicken – chicken breasts, chicken tenders, chicken thighs, chicken wings, or chicken drumsticks/legs.
• You can use boneless or bone-in chicken. Adjust the cooking time to ensure an internal temperature of 165ºF.
• I suggest pounding the chicken breast to an even thickness. We put the chicken in a ziplock bag and use a flat meat mallet to carefully pound out the hump. This ensures that the chicken cooks evenly and you don’t have juicy chicken and half-dry chicken.
• You can marinate this for as little as an hour or up to overnight. We almost always marinate our chicken overnight. It is just easier for me to prep for our meals at night.

• My favorite store-bought BBQ sauces are Sweet Baby Rays, Stubbs, G.Hughes, and Williamson Brothers. I buy them all at Walmart.
• Here is our recipe for Homemade BBQ sauce made with ketchup, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, salt, pepper, and  cumin: https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-bbq-sauce/
• I don’t have a grill. Can I cook the chicken in the oven or skillet? Yes! To cook the chicken breasts inside, heat olive oil in a skillet. pan sear it for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check for an internal temperature of 165ºF.
• Can I freeze grilled chicken? Yes! Cook the chicken and cool completely. Place the chicken in a freezer bag and freeze. Thaw and reheat in the microwave.

Plain Chicken

https://www.plainchicken.com/sweet-and-spicy-italian-bbq-grilled/

All images and text © Plain Chicken, Inc.

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Steph