Grilled Honey BBQ Chicken

Grilled Honey BBQ Chicken — Tender, juicy, full of FLAVOR, and a great recipe to jazz up grilled bbq chicken. EASY, healthy, ready in 10 minutes, zero cleanup, perfect for backyard barbecues or easy weeknight dinners!

Grilled Honey BBQ Chicken Recipe 

Chicken on the grill is always a winner because it’s so tender, juicy, and full of flavor from the grill. With summer grilling season in full swing, this recipe will come in handy when you want to jazz up your usual grilled bbq chicken.

This bbq grilled chicken recipe is easy, healthy, and there’s zero cleanup! Plus, it’s ready in 10 minutes and you don’t have to heat your house up to make it. A win-win overall! 

Tip: If you know you’ll be making a lot of grilled chicken this summer, I recommend buying chicken tenders or breasts whenever they’re on sale and freezing them for later. And you might as well stock up on the ingredients for your favorite grilled chicken recipes so that you can thaw the chicken and start grilling at a moment’s notice! 

I used chicken tenders for this honey bbq chicken recipe (more on why I did that below), but you can make this bbq grilled chicken recipe with any cuts of chicken you have on hand.

Just keep in mind that you might need to grill the chicken for more or less time than my recipe says — it really just depends on how thick your chicken is and whether it’s boneless or not. 

BBQ Chicken Marinade Ingredients

I’m sure you have everything on hand in your pantry to make this simple but tasty honey bbq chicken recipe.

To make the bbq chicken marinade, simply add your favorite barbecue sauce to a large ziptop bag and then add honey, olive oil for moisture, apple cider vinegar for tenderizing, garlic for pizzazz, and the chicken.  I also like to add sriracha because I love a touch of spiciness, but if you’re not into that, feel free to omit it.

Then squish everything around and let the marinating process begin.

How Long to Marinate Chicken? 

I like to marinate my bbq chicken overnight for the full flavor effect, but if you’re running short on time, 30 to 60 minutes will do. 

What I love about this bbq chicken marinade is that I don’t find the chicken sticks to the grill at all, which is really nice.

There’s nothing worse than seeing your chicken (and your time, money, and energy) sticking to the grill! Not the case with this marinade at all.

How to Make Grilled Chicken 

Once you’ve made the honey bbq marinade and the chicken has had time to soak up all that flavor, you’re ready to grill the chicken. To make grilled chicken tenders, preheat your grill to medium-high heat, then grill the chicken for about 7 minutes.

You’ll need to flip the chicken a few times during the grilling process to ensure it cooks evenly throughout. But don’t flip the chicken too often, because you want those lovely grill marks! 

Tips for the Best Grilled BBQ Chicken

As a shortcut, I use chicken breast tenders (sometimes called breast cutlets or medallions) for this honey bbq chicken recipe. Their smaller size makes for faster grilling times and much more even cooking. 

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 using chicken tenders solves that issue! 

I always use my outdoor grill when making grilled chicken, but you can also try using an indoor grill pan.

The cook times should be approximately the same no matter which type of grill you use! 

Also, if you want to have extra honey bbq sauce on hand to dip your grilled chicken tenders into, make a little extra in a separate bowl and store in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.

This bbq sauce will last for up to a week, and it pairs well with any grilled meat or seafood! 

More Grilled Chicken Recipes: 

• Sweet Chili Grilled Chicken — Tender, juicy, and full of flavor from the sweet chili sauce! Easy, healthy, ready in 10 minutes, zero cleanup, perfect for backyard barbecues or easy weeknight dinners!
• Spicy Garlic Grilled Chicken – An EASY homemade marinade made with everyday ingredients that produces super FLAVORFUL, juicy chicken!! If you’re looking for a NEW marinade to jazz up grilled chicken, this is the one!!
• Peach Chili Grilled Chicken — Tender, juicy, and full of flavor from the sweet peach preserves and chili garlic sauce! The perfect contrast! Easy, healthy, ready in 10 minutes, zero cleanup, perfect for backyard barbecues or easy weeknight dinners!
• Foil Pack Barbecue Chicken — Ready in 15 minutes and such an easy way to enjoy barbecue chicken on the grill! A delish and healthy meal made in a foil pack with zero cleanup!
• Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken Kabobs – Juicy chicken and crisp vegetables coated in a sweet-and-tangy sauce! Great for parties or easy weeknight dinners! Everything tastes better grilled!

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4.51 from 63 votes

Grilled Honey BBQ Chicken

By Averie Sunshine

Grilled Honey BBQ Chicken — Full of FLAVOR and a great recipe to jazz up grilled bbq chicken. Ready in 10 minutes, plus there's no cleanup!

Servings: 4 servings

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Ingredients  

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• ▢ ½ cup barbecue sauce
• ▢ ½ cup honey
• ▢ 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 1 to 3 tablespoons sriracha, optional and to taste
• ▢ 2 to 4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
• ▢ 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• ▢ about 1.25 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts tenders
• ▢ fresh cilantro or parsley, optional for garnishing

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Instructions 

• To a large ziptop plastic bag, add all ingredients except the optional fresh herbs. Seal bag and squish the contents around so chicken is evenly coated.
• Place bag in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour (overnight is great if you can plan ahead).*
• Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat (or indoor grill pan) and grill the chicken for about 7 minutes, or until done; flip intermittently to ensure even cooking. Optionally garnish with fresh herbs and serve immediately.
• Chicken is best fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Notes

*Tip: If you want extra marinade to use as a dipping sauce for the chicken, add the full amounts to the ziptop bag and then to a small bowl, add half of all the amounts and stir to combine; set aside to serve with the cooked chicken.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 564kcal, Carbohydrates: 56g, Protein: 47g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 125mg, Sodium: 859mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 49g

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

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Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken Kabobs – Juicy chicken and crisp vegetables coated in a sweet-and-tangy sauce! Great for parties or easy weeknight dinners! Everything tastes better grilled!

Spicy Garlic Grilled Chicken – An EASY homemade marinade made with everyday ingredients that produces super FLAVORFUL, juicy chicken!! If you’re looking for a NEW marinade to jazz up grilled chicken, this is the one!!

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Foil Pack Barbecue Chicken – Ready in 15 minutes and such an easy way to enjoy barbecue chicken on the grill! A delish and healthy meal made in a foil pack with zero cleanup!

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Originally posted July 23, 2018 and republished August 19, 2022 with updated text.