This smoked chicken breast recipe delivers tender and juicy meat infused with rich and robust flavor!
With a simple dry rub, and slow cooked smoky flavor, these chicken breasts become so tender, juicy and flavorful!
So, fire up your smoker, fill it with your favorite chip or pellet flavor, and get ready to bring the heat!
Best Smoked Chicken Breast
- Whether you own a Traeger pellet, a Masterpiece electric grill, or a Weber, this simple recipe is for new and seasoned smoker enthusiasts.
- Homemade smoked chicken breasts add a serious flavor upgrade to sandwiches, salads, soups, and casseroles.
- If your smoker has dual grills or extra space, smoke chicken breasts with drumsticks, or meatballs!
Ingredients and Variations
Chicken – This recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Be aware that bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts will take longer to cook. Frozen breasts should be patted dry to allow the rub to adhere, they’ll take longer than thawed chicken.
Rub – This DIY rub has a little bit of sweet, savory, and spicy elements to it. Feel free to adjust the amounts to your liking. Make a double batch and have plenty for seasoning chicken all summer long!
Smoking Equipment
For perfectly cooked, juicy and flavorful smoked chicken, always use a meat thermometer to gauge doneness. This helps in two ways; you won’t undercook the chicken and you can prevent overcooking – when smoking any kind of meat this can mean a matter of minutes. A dual-pronged digital BBQ thermometer allows for temperature tracking of the smoker and the meat inside, plus it’s got smart wireless technology.
Smokers
Choose the brand and type of smoker based on your budget, the space you have to use and store it, and how often you’ll be using it. Fuel type (wood, electric, charcoal, gas) will also determine what kind you’ll find easiest to use and maintain. No matter if it’s a Traeger, Weber, or other brand, follow the manufactures guidelines for best success.
Pellets & Chips
Wood pellets are genuinely classified as mild, medium, or strong and mostly come in alder, hickory, oak, pecan, mesquite, apple, or cherry.
How to Make Smoked Chicken Breast
- Preheat smoker and place chips in the smoker chamber.
- Make the rub, according to the instructions in the recipe below.
- Coat chicken breasts with olive oil and rub.
- Cook chicken to an internal temperature of 160°F.
- Remove chicken from smoker and rest it under foil for 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Ways to Use Smoked Chicken Breast
These smoked chicken breasts are so delicious and perfect paired with rice, potatoes or a simple pasta or quinoa salad. Use them to make a delicious bistro-style smoked chicken salad sandwich on ciabatta bread or tasty chicken lettuce wraps.
Add leftover chunks of smoked chicken to a creamy ranch chicken salad, or add a delicious smoky flavor to a chicken and noodle entree.
Storing Chicken
- Keep leftover smoked chicken breast in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Only slice what you need at the time to prevent the rest of the breast from drying out.
- Reheat chicken in the microwave, air fryer, or on the stovetop covered with a little water.
- Freeze in zippered bags for up to a month.
- Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before enjoying hot or cold.
Sides For Smoked Chicken Breasts!
Did you try this recipe for Smoked Chicken Breasts? Leave a comment and rating below!
Smoked Chicken Breasts
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 4 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
Rub
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat smoker to 225-235°F. Add hickory wood chunks to smoker chamber.
- In a small bowl, combine the rub ingredients.
- Brush olive oil over both sides of chicken breasts and season the chicken pieces with rub.
- Place chicken on rack of smoker (upper or lower).
- Insert digital BBQ 1st probe inside smoker to maintain range of 225˚F-235˚F. Insert digital BBQ 2nd probe inside center of chicken breast.
- Smoke at 230°F for 45 minutes or until internal temperature of chicken reaches 160°F.
- Remove chicken from smoker, tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 30 minutes, ensuring temperature reaches 165°F.
Notes
- Refrigerate leftover smoked chicken breast in a covered container for up to 5 days.
- Slice only what you need to prevent the rest of the breast from drying out.
- Reheat in the microwave, air fryer, or on the stovetop covered with a little water.
- Smoked chicken can be frozen in zippered bags for up to a month.
- Use leftovers in other recipes.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information does not include optional ingredients or garnish and is an estimate. It may change based on actual ingredients and cooking methods used.
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Thanks to Weber’s Greatest Hits for amazing smoking tips
Thanks for writing this! I’ve been bbqing all year and looking forward to it again this weekend! Excited to try burgers for my next cookout.
Enjoy the recipe Miquel, we do love these quick and easy smoked chicken breasts! We’ve got burgers on deck ourselves this weekend!
Good rub , takes a lot longer on the Treager
Thanks David, so glad you enjoy the rub! Perhaps your chicken breasts were much larger than the ones we used?
My chicken took twice as long to get to temp that what recipe said it would. It seems like everything I cook takes twice as long as it says it will. Am I doing something wrong?
Hi Vivienne, are you using a digital thermometer to make sure that the cooking temperature is correct? That would be my thought, that your smoker isn’t staying at temperature. Hope that helps!
These were so good and so juicy! I loved the seasoning mixture!
Thank you Holly! So happy you enjoyed them!