🌶️🍗 Grilled Spicy BBQ Chicken with Sriracha is EASY, and the chicken is just spicy enough with that perfect BBQ chicken flavor! Grilled peppers on the side make for the PERFECT summer meal that’s accidentally HEALTHY but oh so DELICIOUS!
Spicy BBQ Chicken on The Grill
The chicken is spicy enough but not too spicy, with the perfect amount of barbecue sauce flavor. There’s just nothing like the flavor of chicken on the grill. If you like things extra spicy, I would add extra sriracha sauce to kick things up a few notches.
This has been one of my go-to recipes for years and is always a favorite with friends and family.
Whether you want to use this recipe to kick off summer and Memorial Day Weekend, for Father’s Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, or use it to please all your hungry fans for tailgating or game day parties, those heat-seekers will be thrilled with how amazing this grilled chicken recipe is!
And then give this Grilled Sriracha Lime Chicken recipe a try too since it’s got plenty of firepower and lime, too! Or, keep the spicy theme going with my spicy garlic grilled chicken or grilled sweet and spicy basil chicken.
Ingredients You’ll Need
To keep this spicy sriracha chicken recipe easy, I use a pre-made BBQ sauce, but you can make the sauce from scratch if preferred. Use the BBQ sauce from my oven baked BBQ beef short ribs, combining ketchup, light brown sugar, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, liquid smoke, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl.
- Chicken: I prefer boneless, skinless chicken breast, finding they take on the flavor of the sauce nicely. But you can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Just make sure to adjust the cooking time accordingly
- BBQ sauce: I start off using nearly a full bottle of this Sriracha Barbecue Sauce
- Sriracha: Add more or less to suit your spice preferences
- Olive oil
- Lime juice: Freshly squeezed is best! The acidity adds brightness to the marinade and helps tenderize the chicken
- Veggies: I grill the chicken alongside red bell pepper, orange bell pepper, and red onion seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper, and cilantro. Feel free to use any veggies you have on hand. I love mushrooms, zucchini, yellow summer squash, Brussels sprouts, carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, and corn
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Spicy BBQ Chicken on the Grill
This spicy BBQ chicken recipe is so easy to make! Here are the basic steps:
- To a large ziptop plastic bag or large bowl, add the chicken, sriracha barbecue sauce, sriracha, lime juice, olive oil, and black pepper. Seal and smoosh around to evenly coat the chicken.
- Place the bag in the fridge to marinate. I like to marinate my chicken overnight for the full and tenderizing effects, but if you’re running short on time, even 30 to 60 minutes will do.
- Lightly oil grill grates and preheat grill to medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken to one side of the grill; discard the bag with the marinade. Add the veggies to the other side of the grill. Grill the chicken for about 4 to 5 minutes on the first side with the lid closed.
- Flip over the chicken and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes on the second side with the lid closed. You’ll know your chicken is fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 165F. Optionally garnish with cilantro and serve immediately.
No Grill?
No problem! Marinate your spicy BBQ chicken, and cook it in a skillet or grill pan over medium heat on the stovetop. Or, bake it in the oven at 425F.
Tips for the Best Grilled Spicy BBQ Chicken
- Chicken cuts: As a shortcut, I used thin-sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts. Their thinner size makes for faster grilling times and much more even cooking. This recipe would be even faster with chicken breast tenders, or sometimes called breast cutlets or medallions, but as it is with the thin-sliced breasts, I only needed to grill them for about 4 minutes per side, and they were done. Many times with large chicken breasts on the grill, I struggle to keep the outside from becoming overly dark before the interior is fully cooked through, but with either thin-sliced or breast tenders, you don’t have to worry about that.
- Pound your chicken: If you are going to use “normal” chicken breasts, which tend to be thick on one side and thinner on the other, I highly recommend pounding the chicken with a meat tenderizer to make them uniform for even cooking.
- Grilling the veggies: I highly recommend a grill basket for the peppers and onion. Trying to grill peppers directly on the grill grates is always tricky because they like to fall through, and you really have to flip them one-by-one and babysit them, which is no fun. Throw them in a grill basket, douse with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and just stir it with your grill tongs a few times while the chicken is grilling. So easy!
What To Serve with Spicy BBQ Chicken
Grilled Sriracha Spicy BBQ Chicken
Equipment
- 1 Large Ziptop Bag
- 1 Large Grill Basket
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 ½ pounds thin-sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts, I had 4 breasts
- 16 ounces Sriracha Barbecue Sauce, or use your favorite barbecue sauce
- ¼ cup sriracha, or to taste (if using a regular barbecue sauce, add more to get the full flavor and heat if desired)
- ⅓ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Vegetables
- 1 large red bell pepper, sliced into 1/2-inch wide strips
- 1 large orange bell pepper, sliced into 1/2-inch wide strips
- 1 medium red onion, diced into wide wedges or segments
- 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 2 to 4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, optional for garnishing
Instructions
Chicken
- To a large ziptop plastic bag, add the chicken, sriracha barbecue sauce, sriracha, lime juice, olive oil, black pepper, seal, and smoosh around to evenly coat chicken.
- Place bag in fridge for at least 30 minutes, or overnight, to marinate.
- Lightly oil grill grates and preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Vegetables
- Add the peppers and onions to a grill basket, evenly drizzle with olive oil, evenly season with salt and pepper, and toss with your grilling tongs to evenly coat.
- Add the chicken to one side of the grill, place the grill basket on the other side of the grill, discard the bag with the marinade, and grill chicken for about 4 to 5 minutes on the first side with lid closed, flip, and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes on the second side with lid closed, or until chicken is cooked through and as done as desired.
- While chicken cooks, intermittently stir the peppers and onions with your tongs and cook as long as desired noting they may finish a minute or two faster than the chicken.
- Optionally garnish with cilantro and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Originally posted June 22, 2020 and reposting September 1, 2023 with updated text.
great
Wow….This is an amazing recipe and it perfect dish for me…….it looks sooo yummy & more delicious….Thanks for sharing…!
thank you! I like bbq chicken best, and siracha spiced even better, lime is a nice touch too, all of these flavors are just what I’m in the mood to eat
It is loaded with so many great strong flavors!
I am always looking for a new or different marinade for chicken….we seem to grill it quite often and this looks like a winner!
It’s really flavorful, not too spicy for me at least, and just gives tons of flavor. Summer is grilling season so I figured may as well post some new grilled chicken recipes!
I made this on my stove in a grill pan & then transferred to my broiler for 2 minutes. It was delicious. I know the effect is different than cooking on an outside grill with charcoal or wood chips, but my way made the clean up faster than the cook time. AND most important; It was yummy!
I made this on my stove in a grill pan & then transferred to my broiler for 2 minutes. It was delicious. I know the effect is different than cooking on an outside grill with charcoal or wood chips, but my way made the clean up faster than the cook time. AND most important; It was yummy!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am super impressed that you were making chicken in what would have been the middle of the night between the time I posted this recipe and a few hours later, you made it overnight! Bravo to you. Glad it was yummy!