You Can Make BBQ Chicken With Only 2 Ingredients

Cooking during the week can be exhausting. But, if you don't want to spend your Sundays meal-prepping, you can keep things simple Monday through Friday to get some time back and still have a decent meal. For example, it only takes two ingredients for a filling barbecue chicken dinner: Barbecue sauce (we have a few grocery store barbecue sauce recommendations and some to avoid) and chicken.

Barbecue chicken is all in the technique, rather than the ingredients. There are a number of ways to prepare it, whether you bake it in the oven, toss it on the grill, or set it and forget it in the slow cooker. That last one is perfect for pulled barbecue chicken sandwiches! Just make sure you know how to prepare it and when to add the barbecue sauce. You don't want to save adding the savory sauce until the very end, for example, or it doesn't have a chance to caramelize and get that slightly sweet flavor and sticky texture that makes it so good.

If you have a grill, those grill marks add a little char and a lot of flavor. Once you flip the chicken, brush some barbecue sauce on it, then let it finish cooking to get that sauce just the way you want it. For an extra-saucy dish, top it with even more once it comes off the grill. Oven-baking has a similar technique: Let the chicken cook about halfway before pouring some barbecue sauce on top and finishing the process. If you want to make pulled chicken, you can essentially use the same technique as slow cooker pulled pork: Add the sauce after you shred the chicken or, for more flavor, add some while it cooks.

There are plenty of ways to improve store-bought barbecue sauce, too. Add some smoky chipotle peppers for a little spice, or some dark brown sugar for a hint of sweet. Even a can of soda makes a great addition to a savory sauce. If you want a sauce with a little extra bite, add some vinegar and chopped onions. Easiest weeknight dinner ever.