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.
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.