This easy Smoked Chicken Breast Recipe is made on a pellet grill and is quick to make. The boneless, skinless chicken breasts are juicy and flavorful, coated in a delicious dry rub. This recipe does not require marinating or brining, so the entire smoking process only takes 1 hour. It's the perfect meal for busy weeknights!
This smoked chicken breast recipe is perfect any time of year. The outside of the meat is crispy, and the inside is tender and juicy. It always amazes me how the meat never dries out!
For other fantastic smoked chicken recipes, check out Smoked Chili Lime Chicken Breasts, Crispy Smoked Chicken Wings, Smoked Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs, and Smoked Chicken Legs.
Jump to:
- ❤️ Why you will love this recipe
- ❓ What are the best wood pellets for smoking chicken?
- 🐓 Ingredient notes and substitutions
- 📖 Variations
- 🧂 How to make smoked chicken breasts on pellet grill
- 👪 Dishes that use smoked chicken breasts
- 💭 Expert Tips
- 🥗 Side Dishes
- 📋 Recipe FAQs
- 👩🏻🍳 More Smoked Chicken Recipes
- Juicy Smoked Chicken Breast (Pellet Grill)
- 💬 Comments
❤️ Why you will love this recipe
- Versatile: Smoked chicken breasts can be prepared in a variety of ways. They can be served as is or used in sandwiches, salads, wraps, and pulled for tacos.
- Hands-off cooking: Making smoked chicken breasts is simple and easy with an electric smoker. The cooking time is only 1 hour!
- Flavorful: These pellet smoker chicken breasts are covered in a dry spice rub that elevates the flavor.
- Great for meal prep: Make a big batch of chicken breasts and reheat for an easy lunch or dinner!
❓ What are the best wood pellets for smoking chicken?
Some of my favorite wood pellets are cherry, applewood, maple, pecan, and hickory. I also like the Competition Blend by Pit Boss; it has a combination of maple, hickory, and cherry.
🐓 Ingredient notes and substitutions
Smoked chicken breasts are an easy recipe made with simple ingredients.
- Chicken breasts. I used boneless skinless chicken breasts. You can definitely use skin-on chicken breasts if you like. You could also use bone-in chicken, but it will require extra time to cook.
- Olive oil. The olive oil is used to help the spice rub stick to the chicken breasts.
- Homemade Dry Rub For Smoked Chicken. This seasoning blend contains 8 everyday pantry ingredients.
See the printable recipe card for exact measurements and a complete list of ingredients.
📖 Variations
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to the spice rub to add heat to the chicken breasts; just a pinch will do!
- Saucy - add your favorite barbecue sauce during the last few moments of smoking time.
- Sweet - add extra brown sugar to the spice rub for a sweeter taste.
- Herbs - Season the smoky chicken with fresh herbs for amazing flavor.
🧂 How to make smoked chicken breasts on pellet grill
Step 1: Preheat your pellet grill to 225 degrees F. I used my Pit Boss pellet grill for this recipe, but I have also made this chicken with my Traeger grill. Any type of smoker will work.
Step 2: Make the dry rub by combining brown sugar, garlic powder, Roasted Garlic and Peppers seasoning, paprika, onion powder, chili powder, seasoning salt, and black pepper in a small bowl.
Step 3: Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Apply olive oil to the chicken breasts with a brush or your fingers (Image 1).
Step 4: Apply dry rub liberally on the chicken. Ensure the rub covers all parts of the chicken breast: top, bottom, and sides. Use your fingers to push the rub into the meat (Image 2).
Step 5: Once the smoker comes up to temperature, place the seasoned chicken breasts directly on the preheated grill. Feel free to add a little more rub (Image 3). Insert a meat thermometer, horizontally through each side into the thickest part of the meat.
Step 6: Close the lid and smoke the chicken until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Flip the chicken halfway through the cooking time to get grill marks. If you like, brush chicken with your favorite BBQ sauce during the last few minutes of smoking (Image 4).
Step 7: Remove the smoked chicken breasts from the grill, cover with aluminum foil, and rest for 5 minutes to allow the juices to reincorporate into the meat. Serve with your favorite side dishes.
👪 Dishes that use smoked chicken breasts
💭 Expert Tips
- For best results, cook by temperature, not by time. I use a digital thermometer to keep a close watch on the temperature of the meat to ensure it is always cooked to a safe internal temperature.
- Large chicken breasts will take longer to cook than smaller breasts.
- Flip chicken breasts halfway for even cooking.
- Make extra chicken breasts!! The leftovers are so good; you can use them in meal prep, lunches, or quick meals throughout the week, or in Smoked Chicken Noodle Soup!
🥗 Side Dishes
📋 Recipe FAQs
I love smoked chicken breasts served cold, but if you want to reheat them, place them in a microwave for 1-2 minutes on low heat, or in an air fryer on the reheat function for 1-2 minutes. You can also place them in a skillet over low to medium heat on the stove, or bake in the oven at 350 degrees F until heated through.
I recommend smoking chicken breasts at a temperature of 225-250 degrees F.
Store leftover smoked chicken breasts in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If you have lots of leftovers, wrap the chicken in plastic wrap, place it in a Ziploc bag, and pop it in the freezer for meal prep, school, or work lunches. It will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer.
No, it is not necessary - only if you want grill marks on the chicken.
Yes, you can smoked bone-in chicken breast, but you will need to increase the cooking time.
👩🏻🍳 More Smoked Chicken Recipes
If you like this post on Juicy Smoked Chicken Breast (Pellet Grill), please take a moment to rate the recipe 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 and leave a comment below with your thoughts!
Juicy Smoked Chicken Breast (Pellet Grill)
Equipment
- Meat Thermometer
- Pellet grill
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dry Rub for Chicken The recipe below makes 9 tbsp; save the extra the next time you make chicken.
Dry Rub For Smoked Chicken
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons Roasted Garlic and Peppers Seasoning a Club House seasoning
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the pellet grill to 225°F.
- Use paper towels to pat dry the chicken breasts.4 chicken breasts
- Apply olive oil evenly over the entire chicken breast.2 tablespoon olive oil
- Apply the dry rub over the chicken breasts and ensure it covers all parts; top, bottom, and sides.1 tablespoon Dry Rub for Chicken
- Place the seasoned chicken breasts directly on the grill grates of the preheated grill.
- Close the lid and smoke until the internal temperature of the chicken breast, measured in the thickest part of the meat, is 165 degrees F. This will take about 1 hour. Flip the chicken halfway through the cooking time to get nice grill marks.
- If you like BBQ sauce, apply it during the last few minutes of cooking time.
- Remove the smoked chicken breasts from the grill, cover with aluminum foil, and let them rest for 5 minutes.
- Serve with your favorite side dishes.
Video
Notes
- For best results, cook by temperature, not by time. I use a digital thermometer to keep a close watch on the temperature of the meat to ensure it is always cooked to a safe internal temperature.
- Large chicken breasts will take longer to cook than smaller breasts.
- Flip chicken breasts halfway for even cooking.
- Make extra chicken breasts!! The leftovers are so good; you can use them in meal prep, lunches, or quick meals throughout the week!
Lara M
The chicken breasts were absolutely perfect! The cooking time was spot on. I’ll definitely be using this recipe again & again!
Jeri Walker
Lara, thank you so much for your kind words! I'm so happy you liked the smoked chicken breasts! Thanks for taking the time to come back to leave a comment! 🙂
Mama Maggie's Kitchen
This dish looks so deliciously good. I wish I could eat that right this minute!
nancy
can't wait to try this recipe on the weekend. it looks so tasty and flavourful!
Jerika
Can't wait to try this Smoked Chicken Breast Recipe!:) YUM!:)
Giangi Townsend
I need to give the smoker a closer look. Simple and sounds super delicious recipe. Thank you for all the easy tips that you are sharing.
Jeri
The smoker is so easy to cook with! Everything is super easy and tastes delicious!