This Cast Iron BBQ Chicken Breast is incredibly flavorful, tender and super simple. Cooking a chicken breast in a cast iron skillet is a perfect way to get perfectly charred yet juicy chicken. And slathering on a tangy barbeque sauce ensures you’ll have anything but a boring skinless, boneless chicken breast.
There are many ways to cook a chicken breast, but our favorite is in a cast iron skillet. That’s because cast iron holds heat incredibly well, plus if the skillet is well seasoned, it’ll be nonstick and simple to clean. Our preferred method is to season the chicken in salt and spices, add a bit of oil to a cold skillet and add the chicken to the skillet and then crank the heat to medium-high. Yup, there’s no need to preheat the skillet.
Once the chicken starts to sizzle, turn the heat down to medium and cook until golden brown and slightly charred, then flip and and transfer to a 425°F oven and finish cooking until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 155°F and let the residual heat carryover cooking the breast to a food safe temp of 165°F. Be sure to use a good instant read thermometer like this ThermoPro TP19H Digital Thermometer to ensure the chicken is properly cooked.
Ingredients that Matter
There is a lot of flexibility in the ingredients you’ll use for this recipe, but here’s what we like:
- Chicken Breast. We can’t argue with the popularity of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They are super lean, available just about everywhere, and just about everyone loves them. They are, however, a challenge to cook properly. The problem is they are so lean that they dry out easily. We’ll share our tips to avoid dry chicken later in this post.
- Barbecue Sauce. Pick your favorite! This is really user choice. We’re partial to our homemade Five-Ingredient Blueberry BBQ Sauce, but you can up your favorite from the grocery store.
- Spice Rub. We use a simple spice rub to enhance the flavor of the chicken. Sure, the barbecue sauce is the prominent flavor of this recipe, but using some spices that compliment a bbq sauce will make for a more delicious chicken breast. We use a combination of chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. You could also try our Homemade Chicken Taco Seasoning!
- Oil. If your cast iron skillet is well seasoned, you won’t need a lot of oil. We use just 1 tablespoon of oil to cook our chicken. Use a light flavor, high heat oil like olive, peanut or vegetable.
How to Cook BBQ Chicken in a Cast Iron Skillet
You’ve probably cooked chicken breasts in a nonstick skillet, but if you’ve never tried it in a cast iron skillet you are missing out! We’ll save the argument about the environmental and health risks of using nonstick for a later post, but for our culinary purposes, we like cast iron for its consistent heating. Here’s how to make barbecue chicken in a cast iron skillet.
Start by drying the chicken breasts well with paper towels. The chicken may stick in the skillet if it’s still wet from its packaging. Now rub the spices (chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder and salt) on all sides of the chicken.
Add oil to a large cast iron skillet and then the seasoned chicken breasts. We’re going to start the chicken in a cold skillet (stick with us here, this method works really well!). Heat the skillet over medium-high until the chicken starts to sizzle. Now reduce the temperature to medium. We are looking to sear one side of the chicken slowly so the middle starts to cook as well. This should take about 6 minutes.
Flip the chicken then transfer to a preheated 425°F oven with a rack in the upper third position. Finishing the chicken in the oven encourages even cooking and reduces the chances the inside will cook through as well. Continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 155°F, another 4-6 minutes.
Remove from the oven and turn the broiler on high. Brush the chicken with some of the barbecue sauce, about 2 tablespoons per breast. Then return the chicken to the upper third of the oven and cook for another 2 minutes, until the barbecue sauce starts to char on the breast and the internal temperature reaches 160°F.
Remove the skillet from the oven and leave in the skillet for 5-10 minutes. The residual heat will continue cooking the breast until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Once rested, cut into ½-inch thick slices and slather with more barbecue sauce.
Storage and Serving
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Either serve cold with more barbecue sauce, or reheat in a 350°F oven until hot.
Serve the chicken alongside fresh corn on the cob, a salad like our Strawberry and Goat Cheese Salad, with some Air-Fryer Steak Fries, or our Seared Green Beans with Spiced Almonds.
Recipe FAQ
Simply wash a cast iron skillet with a sponge or a soft-bristle scrubber using a mild dish soap. Never wash cast iron in a dishwasher. There are those who say never to use soap on a cast iron skillet, but you absolutely should! If there are hard to clean spots on your skillet, try adding Kosher salt and a little water and rubbing the salt into the skillet. Rinse and continue to scrub with salt until it’s clean. And do not skip this step: Once the skillet is clean, dry it well. We like to heat on a burner until it’s super dry, then remove from heat and add a little neutral oil and rub the oil all over the skillet (including the handle, sides and back). This will help maintain the seasoning on the skillet.
No problem! You can cook chicken breasts in a cast iron skillet entirely on the stovetop. We recommend cooking over medium heat, and flipping every few minutes to ensure even cooking on both sides. Add barbecue sauce once the internal temperature reaches 155°F and cook and flip frequently until the sauce is slightly charred. Remove from the skillet with the chicken reaches 160°F and let the residual heat carryover cook the chicken breast to 165°F.
Well, first, we recommend investing in one! They are so versatile and last longer than cockroaches! But, if you want to make this recipe without a cast iron skillet, simply use an oven and broiler-safe skillet. Most stainless steel skillets are also oven-safe. DO NOT PUT NONSTICK IN THE OVEN!
Try These Cast Iron Skillets
We’ve used a lot of cast iron skillets over the years, both in test kitchens and our home. Here’s what we recommend:
Lodge 15-Inch Cast Iron Skillet (Pre-Seasoned)
Lodge 12-Inch Cast Iron Chef Collection Skillet (Pre-Seasoned)
Lodge 12-inch Cast Iron Blacklock Skillet (Pre-Seasoned)
More Dinner Ideas
PrintRecipe
Cast Iron BBQ Chicken Breast
- Total Time: 25 min.
- Yield: 1 lb. chicken 1x
Description
This Cast Iron BBQ Chicken Breast is incredibly flavorful, tender and super simple. Cooking a chicken breast in a cast iron skillet is a perfect way to get perfectly charred yet juicy chicken. And slathering on a tangy barbeque sauce ensures you’ll have anything but a boring skinless, boneless chicken breast.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ tsp. chili powder
- ¼ tsp. garlic powder
- ¼ tsp. onion powder
- ¼ tsp. table salt
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- ¼ cup barbecue sauce, plus more for serving
Instructions
- Place an oven rack in the upper third position and preheat to 425°F.
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Sprinkle evenly with the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Add oil to a large cast iron skillet and then the chicken (the oil and chicken should be in a cold skillet at this stage).
- Heat skillet over medium-high until the chicken starts to sizzle then reduce heat to medium. Cook until golden brown and slightly charred, about 6 minutes. Flip and transfer to the oven. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 155°F, 6-8 minutes. Remove skillet from oven and brush the chicken evenly with the barbecue sauce. Turn the broiler oven to high and place skillet in the oven. Cook until the barbecue sauce starts to char on the chicken, about 2 minutes. The internal temperature of the chicken should be 160°F at this point (if not, return the skillet to the oven for another 1 to 2 minutes). Remove skillet from the oven and rest the chicken in the skillet until the internal temperature reaches 165°F, about 5 to 10 minutes. Thinly slice the chicken and serve with more barbecue sauce.
Notes
- It’s important to dry the chicken well to prevent it from sticking.
- Choose your favorite barbecue sauce, or make your own. Try our Five-Ingredient Blueberry BBQ Sauce.
- To clean a cast iron skillet, wash with warm soapy water (use a mild detergent) and use a soft-bristle brush to remove stuck on pieces of food. If the skillet is really difficult to clean, try adding some Kosher salt and a bit of water and rubbing the salt into the skillet. Rinse well.
- Be sure to dry your cast iron skillet well after each use and rub a small amount of oil all over the skillet.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Tastes great cold out of the fridge or reheat in a 350°F oven until hot.
- Prep Time: 10 min.
- Cook Time: 15 min.
- Category: Main
- Method: Skillet
- Cuisine: American
Jon Travis
This turned out great. I pulled the chicken at 160 and let it rest for a good 10 minutes
came out nice and juicy.