Dutch Oven BBQ Chicken Thighs - Shutter + Mint (2024)

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These Dutch Oven BBQ Chicken Thighs have tons of flavor, extra sauce, and they're super easy to make! Most of the cooking time is hands off, this is an amazing weeknight recipe!

You're seriously going to love this recipe for Dutch Oven Barbecue Chicken Thighs, it's versatile, the cooking process is easy, it takes less time to throw together than it would to order takeout, and its foolproof. You cannot mess this recipe up! WIth the help of your dutch oven and a few simple ingredients, you can have this dish on the table in about 40 minutes.

If your family is anything like mine, chicken is almost always a crowd-pleaser that nobody complains about. As a matter of fact, saucy chicken dishes are one of my favorite things to make! After you make this recipe, try theseDutch Oven Chicken Thighs, thisCreamy Ranch Chicken, or thisBoursin Chicken! Each of these recipes is perfect for making in a dutch oven because they can easily go from the range into the oven!

Cast Iron Dutch Ovens are my favorite, and Staub is my favorite brand. I actually wrote a pot all about my dutch oven and which brand and model I like bestright here.

Ingredients + substitutions

The ingredients are simple and easy to find. You're going to be making a very simple homemade bbq sauce for this recipe, and if you haven't done this before, don't worry, it's very easy! And somewhat customizable!

You'll need:

• Chicken thighs- bone-in chicken thighs (skin-on) are what I used for this recipe, they're a great cut of meat and affordable, too! Of course, you can mix in a few chickenlegs as well, or use boneless skinless chicken thighs (you won't have to cook them as long, though). Dark meat is very forgiving so you don't have to worry about overcooking them.
• Salt and black pepper- this is for seasoning the thighs before you sear them.
• Olive oil- for searing. You can also use salted or unsalted butter for searing or any neutral-tasting oil.
• Ketchup- this will be the base of your bbq cause.
• Brown sugar- this will be what sweetens your bbq sauce. You can swap it for granulated white sugar or date sugar.
• Apple cider vinegar- this will make your bbq sauce taste awesome! If you must, you can swap it for white vinegar but I'd really prefer if you use ACV!
• Dijon mustard- for a little tang. You can swap it for regular yellow mustard or stone ground mustard, if you'd like.
• Worcester sauce- for some flavor and saltiness. You can swap this for soy sauce.
• Spices- chili powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and onion powder.

Step-by-step (with photos)

Get the full recipe with all of the details by scrolling down to the printable recipe card below.

Let's discuss the steps! This is one of my favorite recipes because of how simple it is to make, and (good news) kids LOVE it! This is going to be a go to dutch oven easy recipe you want to make again and again!

Variations

• Make things easier - the great thing about this recipe is that you can make it even easier by adding 1 ½ cups of store bought bbq sauce mixed with ¼ cup of water to your chicken instead of making your own bbq sauce. Sometimes this is a short cut I take if I’m really short on time, and it works fabulously!
• Use a dry rub - increase the flavor by season the chicken with a dry rub. Just be careful not to use a super salty one, you don’t want overly salty chicken.
• Add hot sauce - add ¼ cup of Frank’s Red Hot to make bbq buffalo chicken thighs. Just be ready for a little heat!
• Get crispy skin - if you want your chicken to have crispy skin, turn the broiler on at the end for a minute or two (just long enough for the skin to get crispy. But if you do this, be sure to watch the chicken closely so that it doesn't burn. Don't turn the broiler on and walk away!
• Smoky BBQ chicken - these bbq chicken thighs already have so much flavor, but you can dial it up a notch by adding 1 tsp of smoked paprika. This will give your chicken a smoky flavor to contrast the sweetness of the bbq sauce!
• Use a dry rub - increase the flavor by season the chicken with a dry rub. Just be careful not to use a super salty one, you don’t want overly salty chicken.
• Add hot sauce - add ¼ cup of Frank’s Red Hot to make bbq buffalo chicken thighs. Just be ready for a little heat!

Serving suggestions

With steamed rice and veggies - this is my favorite way to serve this bbq chicken. Because it’s saucy the rice will soak up some of the sauce and it’ll be delicious along with a simple veggie side, brussels sprouts would be my choice!

With sliders - when the chicken is done cooking, pull it off the bone and shred it with two forks. Easy pulled chicken! Just discard the bones. Then toss it around in the bbq sauce and serve it with sliders.

With a salad - make a pretty salad to dress up your plate and lighten things up a little!

Consider serving these sides along with the main dish:

Storage + leftovers

Store leftover and the leftover sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

If you wish to freeze it, simply let everything cool off, put it into a freezer bag, squeeze the air out and seal. Then you should be able to freeze this for up to 3 months. Before reheating, thaw in the fridge overnight.

To reheat it, simply microwave it, covered, on high for 3-5 minutes.

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