We are obsessed with bbq chicken thighs in oven at 400 lately. Years ago we made baked teriyaki chicken thighs and they were so good we didn't mess with them. Had them on meal rotation every month. This time we used our favorite barbecue sauce!

If you want an easy 2 ingredient recipe you have got to make these. Yes you could use breasts but dark meat has so much more flavor and are more tender. On top of that they are cheap and super family friendly to enjoy during the week.

If you are a believer like we are in this cut of meat you may have already tried a few of our quick chicken thigh recipes and fallen in love. We get it, we are right there with you. Some nights we need EASY like with a huge capital E though, you are nodding your head with us right now aren't you. Keep reading.

So we had already made slow cooker bbq chicken thighs over and over again. Low and slow cooked all day worked great, except they didn't get crispy so we moved on to trying this method. So great.

Now if you wanted to make these as tender, but faster you could follow our Instant Pot bbq chicken thighs recipe. You will still need to use the broil function of your oven at the end though to get crispy skin (if you care about that). SO if you want both we would skip cleaning two pans and use these steps.

Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs Frozen

The directions are kinda' 1-2-3 if you ask us. We used defrosted meat for this one so the cook time is appropriate for that. Now if you need instructions on baking frozen chicken thighs read this post instead with this sauce of choice once directed. Both are super simple, you can't screw them up if you follow along.

remember to bake, season and sauce, then bake again until it reaches a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees F. The trick to not drying out poultry is to check often, in the thickest area, and you can take it out at 160 to keep warm because while resting it will rise another 5 degrees too.

How Long to Cook BBQ Chicken in Oven

With our Jerk Chicken in Oven or this one, 35-40 minutes give or take depending on size and whether they are bone-in. If you want to add a sauce to the top we suggest brushing that on during the last 10 minutes so it doesn't burn but rather has time to caramelize a bit.

Instructions are below in a printable recipe card so you can keep it handy for the future, or come back because we will miss you. Once you get the hang of it go beyond and try other sauces like teriyaki, our Asian chicken sauce or your favorite hot sauce.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce for Chicken

Making your own homemade barbecue sauce allows you to customize the flavors and tailor it to your preferences. Here's a simple recipe for a good homemade barbecue sauce:

1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper
Optional: hot sauce or cayenne pepper

In a saucepan, combine all the ingredients over medium heat. Whisk together and allow to bubble for about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust flavors as you'd like. Allow to cool so it thickens more and then use as you'd like! We use this many times to make our air fryer frozen chicken thighsor even on chicken breasts.

Is it better to bake bone-in or boneless skinless chicken thighs?

To us this comes down to budget and convenience. The latter is going to be more expensive for sure but less work to eat, and take less time to bake. We will pay a bit more for these because it is worth it, for sure, unless it is ridiculous. You have to make that choice when you are at the store in the meat section yourself.

There isn't a taste difference though you will get a tad less meat if the bone is in tact because some of it will surely stick. We will say that when baking you may have as much as a 15 minute difference and decrease in timing depending on how large they are. No need to worry about floppy skin since there isn't any either.

We went into more detail about how long to bake chicken thighs at 375 here in this article. We have added vegetables on to the sheet pan at times, and share which ones are better for that. Talks about different marinades you can try to vary it up and differences between with bones and without. Yes we cook these a lot!

BBQ Baked Chicken Thighs in Oven Recipe

By BBQ Chicken Thighs in Oven at 400 are easy and cheap to make. Use bone-in or boneless skinless with barbecue sauce on a sheet pan for a family friendly dinner idea. Prep: 10 minutes minsCook: 40 minutes minsServings: 6 Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

6-8 medium chicken thighsbone in were used
1-2 cup barbecue sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pinch salt

Instructions

Place chicken thighs skin side facing up on non stick rimmed baking sheet. Dry skins with paper towels, brush on a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 35-40 minutes in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F.
During the last 5-10 minutes baste with bbq sauce and put back into oven until thickest part reaches 165 F.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: EntreeCuisine: American Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom! What temperature do you grill chicken in the oven?

Well you can't “grill chicken” inside your house technically but if you want tender meat with crispy skin we would recommend 375 degrees for best results. If you want it crispy at the end you can increase temp to 400 for last 10 minutes or switch to broil for 3 minutes or so.

Is it better to bake chicken thighs at 350 or 400?

We prefer 400 to achieve crispy chicken skin on the outside while still maintaining fork tender protein in the middle. Baked uncovered you will get this result in about 40 minutes depending on the size and thickness of your pieces. Bone-in thighs will take longer than boneless as well.

How to save leftovers

If you have been following our blog for any length of time you know we hate wasting food so let's talk about what to do with them shall we. First off saving leftover meat correctly is important. You want to keep it moist and air is the enemy, remember that. Having freezer bags is what you need. wait until they are room temperature, package up in there and suck all of the air out. Store in fridge for up to 3 days and then use one of our leftover bbq chicken recipes We have here.

Jump to recipe below and if you have something else you like to make with food that needs to be used up next day let us know so we can add it to our list here. Sharing is caring right friends? We bet you have a goodie you have been keeping a secret and you're ready to share.