Keto Baked Chicken Thighs (w/ BBQ Sauce)
These Keto Baked Chicken Thighs are a simple, healthy, and delicious keto dinner idea. Seasoned well and smothered in a delicious keto BBQ sauce, you’re family will be licking their fingers! Serve alongside my keto coleslaw recipe!
Who doesn’t love smothered chicken? These keto BBQ chicken thighs are perfect this time of year, whether eating inside or outside! I love to pair these thighs with my Low Carb Roasted Cauliflower or my Southern Green Beans for a super low carb, filling dinner. Using bone-in chicken thighs ensures you will have moist and juicy chicken every time. I love a good BBQ sauce, so I decided to smother my chicken with my homemade keto BBQ sauce, which adds a ton of flavor and moisture to the dish!
Ingredients:
- Bone-in chicken thighs– You can use bone-in or boneless chicken thighs, however bone-in yields a juicier chicken.
- Seasoning– The seasoning includes garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and Italian seasonings, so your chicken is anything but lacking flavor.
- Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce– The BBQ sauce is what makes these chicken thighs so delectable. You can make my homemade keto version or use your favorite low carb store-bought brand if you prefer.
Steps for making this recipe:
Step 1: Grease a 9X9 baking dish then pour my keto sugar-free bbq sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Add the chicken thighs on top of the sauce then sprinkle the seasoning on top.
Step 2: Bake the chicken thighs at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes. The skin gets crispy and golden brown.
Step 3: Add an additional half cup of BBQ sauce on top of your chicken thighs, and place the chicken on the top rack of your oven. Bake for 5-10 more minutes or until the internal chicken temperature is 165 degrees F.
The keto BBQ sauce
Although I have found store-bought sugar-free bbq sauce that tasted okay, nothing compares to homemade. If you are following a strict keto diet, this BBQ sauce is for you. It is low carb and sugar-free but doesn’t compromise the flavor. For my keto BBQ sauce, I found that Lakanto Monkfruit Golden Sweetener yielded the best results regarding sweeteners since it is a brown sugar substitute. If you don’t have this on hand, check out my homemade BBQ sauce recipe to see what other sugar-free sweeteners you can use.
You can purchase your favorite store-bought BBQ sauce if you have one. Just be careful before you purchase any sauce. Check the labels and watch out for added sugars or flour/cornstarch.
What is the best chicken to use?
You can make this keto chicken recipe with any type of chicken; however, your baking time may change depending on how thick your chicken is. I prefer to use BONE-IN chicken breasts because they result in the juiciest chicken that stays super moist inside. They are also very difficult to dry out, so they are pretty much fool-proof.
You can substitute boneless chicken thighs if that’s all you have or even chicken breasts if you prefer. Just know that boneless skinless chicken breasts tend to be drier, so make sure you don’t overcook them.
More Keto Recipes that use Low Carb BBQ Sauce
- Bacon-Wrapped Onion Rings
- Smoked Sausage & Cabbage
- BBQ Meatloaf
- Pulled Pork
- BBQ Chicken with Bacon & Cheese
- Keto BBQ Dry Rub Ribs
- Crockpot Chicken with Homemade BBQ Sauce
More Keto Chicken Recipes
- Tender & Flavorful Crock Pot Mississippi Chicken
- Oven-Baked Chicken Drumsticks with Marinade
- Low Carb Chicken Casserole
- Creamy Keto Chicken Marsala
- Keto Chicken Stir Fry with Vegetables
Don’t miss out!
If you aren’t already following my easy keto/low carb recipe page on Facebook, where I post all my new recipes, I’d love for you to join us! Also, make sure to follow me on Pinterest.
If you are just getting started following a keto diet and would like more information, there are tons of fantastic resources. Amazon has several great books you may want to check out here.
Keto Baked Chicken Thighs (w/ BBQ Sauce)
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp Onion Powder
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 cup homemade Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce (or favorite low carb store bought bbq sauce)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Grease a 9X9 baking dish then pour ½ cup sugar-free bbq sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.
- Add chicken thighs on top of the sauce and sprinkle all of the spices on top.
- Bake the chicken thighs at 400°F for 25 min.
- Add an additional half cup of BBQ sauce on top of your chicken thighs, and place the chicken on the top rack of your oven. Bake for 5-10 more minutes or until the internal chicken temperature is 165 degrees F.
It is a very tasty recipe but just wondering if I could make this in a slow cooker so it is basically ready to serve once we get home from work. Thanks for your response.
Hey Sharon, glad you enjoyed it! I would think you could make it in a slow cooker; you would just have to be careful of how much the chicken thighs fall apart. You know how chicken starts falling apart in the slow cooker. Let me know if you try it!