This easy chipotle peach BBQ chicken breast recipe features a smoky-sweet peach BBQ sauce that’s basted over chicken breasts on the grill.
BBQ chicken is a summer dinner winner that keeps everyone happy. Much like my basic BBQ chicken recipe, this chipotle peach version is so fast and easy, it’s one anyone can master. While I love, love, love my Greek chicken marinade, this recipe doesn’t need any extra soaking time or fancy rubs. All you need is good quality chicken breasts, a hot grill or oven, and your new favorite peachy BBQ sauce to slather.
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During the summer when it’s at its peak, I’m all about adding fresh produce into as many dishes as possible and this chipotle peach BBQ sauce is no exception. The peaches cook down on the stove with a bit of garlic, ketchup, and honey to get nice and jammy. A quick blitz of the sauce in my food processor gets it smooth for basting while the chicken cooks on the grill. It’s the ideal blend of savory, sweet, smoky, and spicy.
What’s in This Chipotle Peach BBQ Chicken?
You don’t need a slew of ingredients to make this simple BBQ chicken recipe.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Garlic
- Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- Fresh peaches—you could use frozen but fresh, ripe peaches work best here
- Ketchup
- Honey—brown sugar would also work great
- Apple cider vinegar—you could also use lemon juice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Chicken breasts—I use boneless skinless to save time because they cook faster
How to Make Chipotle Peach BBQ Sauce
This BBQ grilled chicken couldn’t be simpler to make. There’s no rub or marinating required, and the sauce comes together in mere minutes.
Here’s how to make it:
Get saucy. Sauté your garlic and chipotle peppers, peaches, ketchup, honey, and vinegar, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking the peaches up with a wooden spoon. Let the mixture cool. Then transfer to a food processor and blend until smooth (or use an immersion blender).
Which is Best: Boneless Chicken Breast or Bone-in Chicken Breast?
For chicken that’s cooked quickly, I use skinless, boneless chicken breasts. If I have more time, bone-in always delivers more flavor. Either way, the same cooking method for this BBQ chicken works for skin-on, bone-in BBQ chicken breasts, or for legs and thighs too with the cooking time adjusted as needed.
Note: If you want an extra fast BBQ chicken breast, slice your boneless breasts in half lengthwise to make two thin cutlets. They’ll cook in half the time.
How to Grill the Chicken
Check out my in-depth post on How to Grill the Best Chicken Breasts and The Best BBQ Chicken recipe.
Prep your grill. Clean the grates, which helps minimize sticking. Preheat to 400-450°F. Drizzle the chicken breasts with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Ready, set, grill. Place the chicken breasts on the hot grill, cover, and cook for about 5-6 minutes. Flip and cook for 4-5 minutes longer. Baste the chicken breasts with BBQ sauce, flip, and cook for 2 minutes. Baste again and flip, and cook for 2 minutes. Cook the chicken is firm and opaque all the way through, registering 160°F internal temp (the temp will rise to 165°F as the chicken rests).
Grill the peaches while the chicken cooks. Grilled fruit gets ultra soft and can be hard to flip when cooking. To make things easier, skewer the peaches or use a grill basket to easily flip them on the grates.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Transfer the chicken to a plate, cover with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve with the grille peaches and more BBQ sauce if desired.
How Long do I Cook Chicken on a Barbecue?
Whether you cook this BBQ chicken on the grill or in the oven, you’ll want to cook the chicken ¾ of the way through before adding the BBQ sauce at the end. The peaches in this sauce contain a fair amount of sugar that can easily burn, so adding the sauce at the end and searing quickly helps prevent this from happening.
What to Serve with Chipotle Peach BBQ Chicken
- How to Make the Best Potato Salad
- Celery Slaw With Apple and Blue Cheese
- Classic Macaroni Salad
- The Best Easy Grilled Vegetables
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes Recipe — How to Make the Best!
- Grilled Vegetable Skewers
- How to Make the Best Grilled Corn On the Cob
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Chipotle Peach BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil , plus more for the grill
- 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce , finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
- 4-5 fresh peaches , 2 cups peeled and chopped with the extra peaches cut into thick slices
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons honey , or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt , plus more for the grill
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper , plus more for the grill
- 4 boneless , skinless chicken breasts
- extra-virgin olive oil , for grilling
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a medium-sized saucepan and heat over medium. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring for about 2 minutes. Add the chipotle peppers and sauté for another minute. Add the peaches, ketchup, honey, and vinegar, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally while breaking the peaches up with a wooden spoon. Let mixture cool then transfer to a food processor and blend until smooth (or use an immersion blender). Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. This makes about 1 ½ cups of sauce.
- Prepare the grill for direct cooking at high heat (450°F). Brush the cooking grates clean.
- Drizzle the chicken breasts with extra-virgin olive oil and rub over the breasts. Season generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the sliced peaches in a grill basket.
- Place the chicken breasts on the hot grill. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes or until they easily release from the grates. Flip the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes longer. Add the peaches to the grill and cook for 4-5 minutes or until softened. Baste the chicken breasts with BBQ sauce, flip, and cook for 2 minutes. Baste again and flip, and cook for 2 minutes. Cook until the breasts are firm to the touch and opaque all the way through, registering 160°F internal temp (the temp will rise to 165°F as the chicken rests).
- Transfer to a plate and cover with a piece of aluminum foil and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve with the grilled peaches and more BBQ sauce if desired.
Notes
- Add more chopped chipotle peppers to taste.
Nutrition
More Summer Chicken Recipes to Try
- THE BEST Greek Chicken Marinade
- Potato Chip Crusted Chicken Breasts Recipe
- Baked Buffalo Chicken Breasts
- Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken
- 30-Minute Caprese Chicken Recipe
- The Best Grilled Chicken Breast Recipe
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grilling and late summer peaches are such a perfect combo, thanks!
This looks amazing!!! Will be making soon. Question – the sauce looks amazing as it is, but I know that it is actually the sauce to baste with. Have you ever done half and half? So covered with the pureed sauce and then before serving added the remainder on top as is?
Thanks, Tina! We haven’t tried that but it sounds like it would be delish and should work just great. If you give it a go, let us know how it turns out!
I made this chicken recipe last night and it was a big hit. So delicious. We will be making it again and again. Thank you.
So glad you enjoyed it Cathy. Thx for the rating and the comment.