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Close up bird's eye view of grilled bbq boneless chicken thighs stacked on a white plate.
Course dinner

Grilled BBQ Boneless Chicken Thighs

By: Elysia Cartlidge
Servings 8 - 12 thighs
These grilled BBQ boneless chicken thighs are juicy, sticky, full of sweet smoky and flavor, and on the table in under one hour (including marination)! A simple BBQ marinade doubles as the glaze, so every bite is packed with the best flavor. {Dairy-free & gluten-free-friendly}
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes

Video

Ingredients
  

  • 2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs (about 8 larger thighs or 12 smaller ones)

For the marinade:

  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup barbecue sauce, store-bought or homemade
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Place the chicken thighs in a large resealable bag, bowl or container.
  • In a medium-sized bowl or jar, mix together the marinade ingredients. Set aside a quarter cup of the marinade.
  • Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken and toss to coat. Allow it to sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
  • When you're ready to grill the chicken, brush the BBQ with oil, and then preheat grill to medium (about 350-400 degrees F). Pick up chicken thighs, allowing excess marinade to drip off. Place on BBQ and cook for 4 minutes until nicely caramelized.
  • Flip chicken, and then brush generously with reserved glaze. Cook for 4 additional minutes. Flip, brush with more glaze, flip again and brush with remaining glaze. Chicken is cooked when it registers 170-175° F at the thickest part when tested with an instant read thermometer.
  • Place cooked chicken thighs on a plate and tent with foil. Allow to rest for for 3-5 minutes. Garnish with a sprinkle of chopped parsley if desired. Serve warm.

Notes

  • For the best flavor, I prefer marinating the chicken thighs for at least 2 hours in the sauce, but 30 minutes will work if you’re short on time.
  • Oil the grill: I like to oil the grill grates before I preheat my grill to prevent the chicken from sticking to the grill.
  • Adjust cooking time depending on size of thighs: If you’re using smaller chicken thighs, they tend to cook up a lot faster, so start with a shorter cooking time and keep an eye on them so that they don’t burn.
  • Use medium heat: Sweeter marinades like BBQ sauce have a tendency to burn quite easily on the grill due to their sugar content. The trick is grilling chicken thighs with BBQ sauce slightly longer over medium heat to prevent them from getting overly charred.
  • Don’t skip the basting step: This helps add additional flavor since some of the marinade is left behind when the chicken is transferred to the grill. This helps to lock in some extra flavor and juiciness right before serving and also provides that nice sticky glaze.
  • Nutritional info: The nutritional information is calculated based on using all of the marinade. Keep in mind that much of the marinade will be discarded when the chicken is transferred to the grill, so the nutritional values listed above will be lower than stated.

Nutrition

Calories: 289kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 22gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 108mgSodium: 435mgPotassium: 336mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 265IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 1mg
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