This smoked chicken breast is boneless skinless chicken that’s coated in a homemade BBQ seasoning, smoked to tender and juicy perfection, then brushed with BBQ sauce. The best chicken breasts you’ll ever eat!
Once you try cooking chicken breasts in a smoker, you’ll never want to eat chicken any other way. Serve your smoked chicken with sauteed mushrooms and onions, glazed carrots and baked potato wedges for a complete meal.
I’ve been smoking a lot of different meats lately, and I have to say, I think this smoked chicken breast is my favorite! The chicken is full of flavor, super juicy, and is easy to make. I like to make a double batch so that I have plenty of leftovers the next day for sandwiches.
Smoked chicken breasts are fabulous, but if you want to smoke other parts of a chicken, take a look at my recipes for smoked chicken wings, smoked chicken thighs and even a whole smoked chicken!
Table of Contents
Smoked Chicken Breast Ingredients
To make this smoked chicken breast you will need chicken brine, chicken breasts, BBQ rub and BBQ sauce.
How Do You Make Smoked Chicken Breast?
To make smoked chicken breast first make chicken brine. Brine your chicken for a couple of hours before you smoke it. Remove the chicken from the brine, pat it dry with a paper towel and coat the chicken in BBQ dry rub. Smoke the chicken until a meat thermometer shows that the chicken has reached 165 degrees F. Slather the chicken in BBQ sauce and smoke it for an additional 10 minutes. Take the chicken out and dinner is ready!
Tips For The Perfect Smoked Chicken Breast
- Make sure your chicken breasts are roughly the same size so that they cook evenly and are all done at the same time.
- In my opinion, homemade BBQ rub and homemade BBQ sauce taste best. If you need to use store bought, that’s also fine too! You can also skip the rub and soak the chicken in my BBQ chicken marinade for a lot of extra flavor.
- The BBQ rub and BBQ sauce recipes will make more than you need for this particular recipe. The rub will keep in a cool dry place for 6 months, and you can freeze any leftover BBQ sauce.
- Smoked chicken leftovers reheat well. Place whole smoked chicken breasts in a covered baking dish and cook at 325 degrees F until warmed through.
Quick Tip
Brine the chicken so that it is infused with flavor and stays moist in the smoker. I use a half batch of my favorite chicken brine recipe.
Recipe FAQs
I typically use apple wood to smoke chicken, as it imparts a mild, slightly sweet flavor. Other great choices are cherry wood, hickory or maple wood.
Chicken breast is done when the internal temperature of the thickest part of the breast registers at least 165 degrees F. I use a probe thermometer to continuously monitor the temperature of my chicken as it cooks, that way I can pull the chicken out of the smoker at the right time without worrying about it getting overcooked.
I smoke my chicken breasts at 250 degrees F. You can also smoke your chicken at 225 degrees F, but it will take a little more time.
It takes roughly 60-90 minutes to smoke chicken breasts, depending on the size of the breasts. Smaller breasts (4-6 ounces) will take an hour, while larger breasts (8 ounces or more) will take closer to 90 minutes. The best way to gauge whether your chicken is cooked is to use a thermometer to test the thickest part of the chicken breast to make sure it has reached 165 degrees F.
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Smoked Chicken Breast Variations
While this chicken breast is delicious, you can make some changes to fit your own preferences.
- Spicy: Add some crushed red pepper flakes or hot sauce to your BBQ sauce.
- Mexican: Instead of BBQ rub, use a tablespoon of taco seasoning then omit the BBQ sauce.
- Herb Chicken: Use a tablespoon of my homemade chicken seasoning instead of BBQ rub and skip the BBQ sauce.
- Italian: Coat the chicken in two tablespoons of Italian seasoning and skip the BBQ rub and sauce.
I served this smoked chicken breast at a family gathering recently and it got rave reviews, there were no leftovers. I love how easy and versatile this recipe is, it’s one of my all time favorite ways to eat chicken.
More Great Chicken Recipes
Grilled Chicken Kabobs
30 mins
Grilled Chicken Tenders
15 mins
Bacon Wrapped Chicken
40 mins
Chicken Souvlaki
40 mins
Bruschetta Chicken
55 mins
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Smoked Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 1/2 batch chicken brine optional but highly recommended
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/3 cup BBQ rub homemade or store bought
- 1 cup BBQ sauce homemade or store bought
Instructions
- Follow the brine recipe as instructed, cutting all the ingredients in half. Place your chicken breasts in the bowl of brine, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Remove your chicken from the brine. Pat dry. Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees F.
- Coat the chicken breasts with the spice rub.
- Place the chicken in the smoker and cook for 60-90 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 165 degrees F.
- Brush the chicken breasts with the BBQ sauce then smoke for an additional 10 minutes.
- Let the chicken sit for 5 minutes. Slice and serve with any remaining BBQ sauce.
Notes
- Make sure your chicken breasts are roughly the same size so that they cook evenly and are all done at the same time.
- In my opinion, homemade BBQ rub and BBQ sauce taste best. If you need to use store bought, that’s also fine too.
- Brine the chicken so that it is infused with flavor and stays moist in the smoker. I use a half batch of my favorite chicken brine recipe.
My wife loves anything off the smoker, we do not use table salt and found this salty after brining overnight. it was very moist and the next time we’ll cut the salt in half.
Do you wrap the chicken or just straight on the rack
I typically put it into a disposable aluminum pan to catch the drippings!
HEY, I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY FOR THE RECIPE ARE WE RINISING THE BRINE OFF IN COLD WATER OR JUST PAT DRY?
I don’t rinse but you can if you prefer!
The chicken should already be cleaned of its slime prior to brining. Just pat it dry after, and before putting in the smoker. To help keep it moist, I put a pan of Apple juice in the lower section of the smoker to catch the drippings as well as providing moisture for the smoke
Recipe looks really good. I hate dry chicken and usually steer away from the breast and use dark meat. And to be totally honest, I’m not a big chicken fan. I know it’s unusual. So I usually only eat it if I dunk it in something or marinade the heck out of it. Mainly using Asian flavors. Soy sauce etc. Do you think I can marinade it or would the salt dry it out? I’m also new at smoking. And so far haven’t made anything edible lol. Nobody tells you how many wood chunks to use. And how often to replace them. Everything I’ve made tastes like I took a log out of a fire and licked it. Help!
This recipe calls for a brine which is basically marinade, it adds flavor and keeps the chicken from drying out. I typically use chips not wood chunks. What type of wood are you using and what kind of smoker do you have?
Put a pan of Apple juice in the bottom rack if the smoker. Use a thermometer or temperature probe and pull the chicken when it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Don’t run the temp above 225 degrees, and don’t fill the wood chip area more than 3 times, and be a little stingy wi tbe chips. If you have a window in your smoker, don’t add more chips till some of the smoke retreats and you can see part of the food in the smoker.
Check out Raichlen’s recipe for bourbon brined chicken breast..combine that brine with your smoking instructions..dynamite! That bourbon brine is the best chicken I’ve ever had..you know..here are the main ingredients..1/4 c bourbon, 1/4 c salt, 1/4 c packed brown sugar, 4 slices lemon, 2 cloves garlic (use more, mince or chop) one tablespoon each peppercorns, mustard seeds, coriander seeds (I powder them in a spice grinder, they don’t add much flavor in a short time to the brine if left whole.) Dissolve all in four cups cold water. Two to three hours brining time. You can use it for boneless, skinless pieces, or even whole birds, or pieces with skin and bones. Play with bourbon and spices amounts and kinds. He then recommends direct grilling in the original recipe.Use clarified butter or high smoke point oil..grill as you normally would. Or smoke as above..
Hey Sara
You shared an amazing piece of information for all the food lovers.
You maybe a supermom with yumm food cooking skills.
I would like to try this recipe for my wife (she likes smoked food a lot) but I will do in a smoker.
Will there be any changes if im smoking in smoker & not in a BBQ?
Your thoughts are welcome.
I will be waiting for it.
Thanks & keep sharing
This recipe is designed to be prepared in an electric smoker!
Chicken was awesome! I used the leftovers for a salad the next day.
YUM!!! This is the best smoked chicken ever!!! My family loved it!
SO much flavor! Love that homemade BBQ sauce!
It doesn’t get better than this for weeknight dinners! Looks great!
Your recipe looks mouthwatering! Everyone will enjoy this, I can’t wait to serve this delicious dish!
These sound heavenly, I’m going to make this, this Saturday. YUM
WOW! These chicken breasts were GREAT! Definitely a keeper recipe. Thanks !!!
Such a hit at dinner time! A great meal!
These look so tender and juicy! Can’t wait to make these for dinner!
My Hubby is going to love this chicken! It looks amazing!
Tastes like summer! Can’t wait to break out the smoker again.
My husband loved it! Taste really good!
We actually have a smoker, but I’ve never actually smoked chicken breasts. They look so good, that now I’m excited to try it! Thanks for sharing.
Smokey chicken is the best! We love making our own homemade BBQ sauce too – so much flavour.