Who doesn’t love a mouthwatering barbecue, especially when it includes a Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce dripping over our grilled chicken. With a great taste and a 30 minute marinade, this recipe goes down as the bomb for us!

This recipe mixes the sweet sauce with just a hint of spice to deliver a surprisingly complex taste. The sauce only takes a few minutes to put together, so unless you are up against a huge time crunch, go ahead and make your own. It beats opening a jar filled with preservatives!
Jason and I love to spend our weekends grilling, not just for ourselves but for friends and family as well. We love gauging their expressions and reactions to recipes to see if they should go on the blog or not. Thanks to those faithful friends that step up to the plate and allow us to try out our creations on you!
When I think of BBQ Chicken, I think of our nation celebrating on the Fourth of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day. I think of yummy potato salad, dripping watermelon juices running down my hand, sun shining bright in the sky, the smell of a grilled meats. You get the picture. I think that is why we can’t seem to have enough grilled chicken recipes – BBQ chicken, in particular.
📌 Ingredients
Grab a few homemade BBQ sauce recipes and they usually all start with vinegar, brown sugar and ketchup. Yep, those are your staples right there. Pretty simple. Creating the magic is with all of the additional ingredients. For us, it is adding lemon juice and just a smidge of ground red pepper to add the zing.
If you want to customize your own sauce, think out of the box…add a finger of bourbon for some sweetness, your favorite craft brew for some earthy undertones or maybe even add bacon – Everything goes with bacon, right?
My mom always added molasses, I have a friend who swears by Worcestershire Sauce. Sautéed onions will take a few extra minutes but we all know how delicious they are! What creative ingredients do you add?
🔥 Grilling Instructions
Step One: Add the ingredients for the Sweet and Spicy BBQ Marinade in a Ziploc bag, but keep ½ cup reserved for later use.
Step Two: Add the chicken breasts to the Ziploc bag and work the marinade over the chicken.
This recipe only requires a 30 minute marinade!
Step Three: As with most of our BBQ chicken recipes, set up the grill for direct heat. Set the temperature to 375 degrees, remove the chicken breasts from the BBQ sauce marinade and add them to the grill.
Step Four: Brush on the reserved BBQ sauce before you remove the chicken from the grill.
Related Recipes
I think potatoes go with just about anything! That could be my upbringing but potatoes are always a hit! Add a green vegetable with the Grilled Brussel Sprouts and you have a full meal right there to please the entire family!
Grilled Steakhouse Potatoes – Learn the tips and tricks to make this impressive and rich potato dish. The cheese on top toasts just perfectly!
Grilled Parmesan Sweet Potatoes – Slice those sweet potatoes, add them to a cast iron skillet and grill them with fresh parmesan for a truly amazing side dish.
Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce for Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- 4-6 Chicken Breasts
Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce
- 1 cup Vinegar
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup Ketchup
- 1/4 cup Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Black Pepper ground
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Red Pepper ground
Instructions
Make the Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce
- Add all of the ingredients except for the chicken to a small saucepan
- Bring to a boil, stirring continuously.
- Reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Allow it to completely cool.
Marinade the Chicken
- Use 1/2 of the sauce to marinade the chicken in a Ziploc bag for one hour prior to grilling.
Grilling the Sweet and Spicy Chicken
- Using direct heat, bring grill up to temperature of 375 degrees and cook each side 5-7 minutes. The chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- During the last few minutes, brush on the sauce and keep flipping to create a thick coating.