Sheet Pan Keto BBQ Chicken

There’s nothing quite like an easy to make dinner that’s delicious and nutritious, and that’s exactly what you get with this recipe for making a sheet pan keto BBQ chicken. As an added bonus, the recipe will also show you how to make a tangy homemade (and low carb) BBQ sauce.

How to Make Keto BBQ Chicken

You’ll first start by making a savory rub for your chicken thighs and drumsticks before adding the homemade BBQ sauce and oven baking to perfection:

• Preheat the oven. Preheat your oven to 425℉.
• Prepare the baking sheet. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a rack on it.
• Prepare the seasoning rub. Add the sea salt, black pepper, a low carb granulated sweetener like Stevia, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper to a small bowl and mix to combine.
• Rub. Rub the seasoning mixture all over your pieces of chicken.
• Bake. Place the chicken on the prepared baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
• Add the BBQ sauce. Remove the chicken from the oven and brush with ½ of the homemade BBQ sauce (see below for details on how to make).
• Bake again. Return the chicken to the oven and bake for an additional 40 to 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 165℉.
• Serve. Serve with the remaining ½ of the BBQ sauce.

How to Make Low Carb Keto BBQ Sauce

I would actually recommend preparing the homemade low carb BBQ sauce before you actually cook your chicken:

• Combine the ingredients. Add the tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, low carb sweetener, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, ⅓ cup of water, and salt to taste to a small saucepan and mix to combine.
• Boil. Bring the BBQ sauce to a boil over medium heat and then lower the temperature.
• Simmer. Allow the sauce to reduce in a gentle simmer until it has thickened to your liking.
• Set aside. Set the sauce aside until ready to use.

3 Tips for Making the Best Keto BBQ Chicken

Here are a few handy tips to keep in mind for when you’re making your own keto BBQ chicken:

• Aim to use dark meat. While you’re certainly more than welcome to use chicken breasts if that’s what you prefer, I personally think that you’re better off to use dark meat cuts like thighs and drumsticks when making BBQ chicken recipes like this one because they offer a perfect blend of both saturated fat and protein.
• Use homemade rubs. Making your own savory seasoning rubs with low carb herbs and spices is a fantastic way to add even more flavor to your BBQ chicken recipes.
• Brine can help. It can sometimes be useful to prepare a salt-water brine solution to submerge your chicken in before cooking. This can help to prevent dry, rubbery chicken.

How to Store Leftover Keto BBQ Chicken

If you’re planning on storing your leftover keto BBQ chicken, the first thing that you’re going to want to do is allow it to cool off completely after cooking.

Once the chicken has cooled, you can transfer it into an airtight container and then store it in either the fridge or the freezer. The chicken will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge or for up to 3 months when frozen.

You can also store the homemade BBQ sauce in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge as well.

The sauce will keep for up to 7 days when stored in the fridge.

(Also try: Creamy Tomato Keto Chicken Skillet)

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