BBQ-Spiced Chicken Thighs with Tangy Honey Glaze
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You can make these flavor-packed, BBQ-spiced chicken thighs in under 30 minutes!
Inspired by one of the most popular Cooking Light recipes, these BBQ-spiced chicken thighs are a huge family pleaser and super-easy to prepare. The chicken is seasoned with a Southwestern rub, broiled for 10 minutes, brushed with an apple cider vinegar-honey glaze, and then flashed under the broiler again until caramelized and juicy. Finally, the chicken is doused with a bit more vinegar to balance the sweetness of the honey and also create a delicious pan sauce.
Start to finish, the recipe takes under 30 minutes! (In case you’re wondering, this recipe will work on the grill, but you’ll definitely miss those tasty pan juices for spooning over the chicken.) Serve the chicken thighs with any simple corn dish: corn on the cob, spoon bread, cornbread, or corn salad, to name just a few.
Table of Contents
“Super Easy! Super Quick! Super Yummy! A winner on all fronts! Thank you!”
What You’ll Need To Make BBQ-Spiced Chicken Thighs With Tangy Honey Glaze
It’s important to use boneless, skinless thighs as opposed to chicken breasts. They stand up better to the bold seasonings, are more flavorful, and won’t dry out. Just be sure to trim off most of the fat; I like to use kitchen shears as opposed to a knife, as it’s much easier.
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, combine the olive oil and spices in a large bowl.
Whisk to combine.
Add the chicken thighs and toss with the spice rub to coat evenly.
Arrange the chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet for easy clean-up.
Broil for 10 minutes, flipping once halfway through.
Meanwhile, combine the honey and cider vinegar in a small bowl to make the glaze.
Brush the cooked chicken with half the glaze, then broil for 1 to 2 minutes.
Flip the chicken over, brush with the remaining glaze, and broil for a few minutes more until the chicken is nicely caramelized.
Sprinkle the chicken with the remaining cider vinegar and serve with the pan sauces.
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BBQ-Spiced Chicken Thighs with Tangy Honey Glaze
You can make these flavor-packed, BBQ-spiced chicken thighs in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1¼ teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 2½ lbs), trimmed of fat
For the Tangy Honey Glaze
- 5 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar, divided
Instructions
- Set an oven rack in the top position and preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, salt, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, paprika, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper (if using). Add the chicken thighs and toss to coat evenly. Arrange the chicken on the prepared baking sheet.
- Broil the chicken for 10 minutes, flipping once halfway through.
- While the chicken is in the oven, prepare the glaze: In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk the honey with 1 tablespoon of the vinegar.
- Remove the pan from the oven and brush half of the glaze on the chicken; broil for 1 to 2 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove the pan from the oven and turn the chicken thighs over; brush with the remaining honey glaze and broil for 1 to 2 minutes more, until the exterior of the chicken is caramelized. Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the chicken with the remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar. Transfer the chicken and pan juices to a platter and serve.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Serving size: 2 thighs
- Calories: 321
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 28g
- Sugar: 26g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 28g
- Sodium: 900mg
- Cholesterol: 130mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Hey. Jen
I was wondering, is there any other piece of chicken that will substitute the thigh. I have all of the original ingredients but I cant find the thigh. Please let me know if I need to have that specific ingredient. Talk to ya later.😁
Hi Audriana, You can use drumsticks instead of thighs. The cook time will be slightly different — they’ll need about 20 minutes of cooking time under the broiler, and you may need to move the oven rack down a notch or two so they don’t brown too fast; you can always move it up again at the end when you add the glaze. Please let me know how they turn out.
Good morning Jenn!
I want to make this recipe for tonight’s dinner,but I have bone in chicken thighs (skin attached). Will that work ? If so I’m guessing there will be additional time needed. Maybe additional 15 minutes?
Any feedback is appreciated!
Hi Lisa, Yes it should work but I would remove the skin before cooking and add 10 to 15 min. Enjoy!
Delicious! The skin was beautifully caramelized. The spices are well balanced, with just a hint of heat. I added sumac to the mix. The meat was moist and fell off the bones. I grilled drumsticks on a gas barbecue and they were done in 20 minutes. The glaze was a great finishing touch. I omitted the vinegar drizzle.
This recipe is great, thank you for publishing it! I just have one question: I made it two times and followed the recipe exactly, but my chicken never caramelized properly and never reached that beautiful color like in your photo. Any ideas on what can cause that? Thanks!
HI AK, Sorry you’ve had a little problem with this — is your oven rack in the top position when you’re broiling?
Thanks for responding, Jenn. My oven rack is in the second top position, around 5″ from the heating element. I don’t have experience with broiling and was afraid that the top rack is too close. Should I have used the top? Thanks again for the recipe, the flavor is super yummy and it’s so easy to make!
My top rack is closer to the broiling element so I guess that accounts for the difference. I’d suggest that when you return the chicken to the oven after brushing on the glaze, you put it on the higher rack. Just keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn! Hope that helps. 🙂
Bringing the rack closer to the heat definitely helped. Thank you, Jenn!
This was so easy and delicious! Loved how quick it was to put together. My husband asked for this more often based off how good it was!
Hi Jenn, made this one but wanted to double check I did it right. The spices, after you mix with olive oil, end up making a bit of a dry paste. Rather than toss I more or less rubbed it on the chicken but I was getting spots where the spice was a bit caked on. That broiled off some and especially when I brushed it with the honey vinegar. The honey vinegar was a nice flavor mixed with the other spices. Could I have simply mixed the spices, honey, and vinegar together and brushed the chicken before broiling? It was good but I felt I may have got something wrong.
Hi Andrew, you did follow the instructions correctly. The spices can clump together just a bit; just make sure you mix the spices really well with the olive oil before adding the chicken. Also, as the oil heats up during cooking, the spices should spread out just a bit. I wouldn’t recommend adding the honey and vinegar before broiling. If the honey is on the chicken too long, it will burn. Hope that helps!
Absolutely delicious! The chicken was succulent and juicy. Thanks so much for another wonderful recipe!!
Super easy and super delicious. It was a hit with everyone and will be a regular on our dinner table. I couldn’t belive how fast it came together and how delicious it was.
I made this twice in a week, it was that good. The cayenne gives it a perfect kick and as someone who is not a fan of vinegar, the splash of vinegar at the end was not strong enough to make the chicken taste too vinegar-y. Easy to make with not a lot of clean up.
This was seriously so delicious and incredibly easy.
Thank you!
Wow! These are so good and easy, and I don’t usually like chicken! I only used 6 thighs but I feel anymore would have stretched the seasoning too thin. I might even increase the seasoning next time. Also I was a little concerned it wasn’t totally cooked. I’ll probably add 5 mins of broiling the next time I make this, which will be very soon