Ninja Foodi BBQ chicken breast

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I absolutely LOVE my Ninja Foodi 15-in-1. It is a real beast. A power horse! There are so many amazing features, and I love to use them all! My favourite feature, of my Ninja Foodi multi-cooker, has to be the air fryer / air crisp function. I love to use it to make this Ninja Foodi BBQ chicken breast, which is perfect for lunches, dinner and much more.

Ninja Foodis have really grown in popularity in recent years. They are frequently out of stock, such is their popularity, and I personally am on my second model now. I upgraded from the 9-in-1 to the 15-in-1, to make sure that I had all of the available features to make delicious meals with.

As busy working parents my husband and I love to meal plan, meal prep in advance, and often I’ll cook up a batch of chicken breast so I have lots on hand for simple meals and snacks.

On the days where my husband is working 12 hours I like to batch prepare 2-3 days lunches. This means we can make healthy decisions, and at 5:30am when he is packing for work he can just grab a tasty lunch from the fridge.

This BBQ chicken breast recipe is so simple to follow, add a few herbs and seasonings, cook a little, marinade with a lovely sauce, and then cook some more. That is all you need to do to be able to enjoy a tender, succulent, juicy BBQ chicken breast, with very minimal effort.

This chicken works great in salads and sandwiches. I also love to serve with Ninja Foodi white rice, or Ninja Foodi roast potatoes, as well as air fryer green beans. We can have a tasty, healthy meal in next to no time at all – and with very minimal effort.

Be sure to check out my Ninja air fryer recipes while you’re here!

Ingredients for Ninja Foodi bbq chicken breast

1 chicken breast per person (I cooked 3 for this recipe)

Spray oil 

Salt and pepper

Smoked paprika

Garlic salt or garlic powder

80ml BBQ sauce

How to make the Ninja Foodi BBQ chicken breast:

Once your chicken breasts are prepared, and any fatty parts removed, you’ll want to spray them with spray oil.

Sprinkle over the garlic salt, smoked paprika, and season well with salt and pepper.

Rub the chicken breasts to ensure they are all coated sufficiently.

Place the chicken breast into the Ninja Foodi crisper basket.

Air fry for 10 minutes at 180C (360F approximately).

Turn the chicken breasts over and place back into the crisper basket.

Air fry for a further 8 minutes, again at 180C (360F approximately).

Add the barbecue sauce. I brush mine on using a *silicone pastry brush, to give it a great level of coverage. You can just spoon or pour it on if you want to save some time.

Air fry for 2 more minutes at 180C (360F approximately).

Once the cooking time is up check the chicken breast, in the thickest part, has reached a minimum internal temperature of 74C (165F approximately) and then serve.

If you like you can rest for 5 minutes before you slice and serve. When I’m low on energy or short on time I will serve these up whole alongside the rest of my dinner.

Why not try some of my other Ninja Foodi recipes while you’re here?

• Ninja Foodi apple chips
• Ninja Foodi chicken tikka
• Ninja Foodi fruit scones
• Ninja Foodi fish fingers
• Pressure cooker mashed potatoes

Want to try some different seasoning blends for your chicken?

• Fajita seasoning
• Peri peri seasoning
• Cajun dry rub

What to serve with Ninja Foodi BBQ chicken breast? 

I personally love anything that is also cooked in the air fryer! When I want something a little different I go for OXO roast potatoes, or Marmite roast potatoes. Air fryer stuffing balls are a nice alternative dish – check out my air fryer side dishes if you want some more inspiration.

Bacon mac and cheese pasta bake or air fryer pasta bake would make an absolutely delicious side to serve too, as would homemade garlic bread made with my own cheap and easy garlic butter. 

Want to add some vegetables in while cooking? 

You’ll want to add more vegetables at least 1/2 way through the cooking time, if not 2/3 of the way through, to avoid burning. I love to add peppers, onions, garlic cloves, green beans, broccolini, carrots or courgettes. All work really well and bring some extra flavour to the dish.

Looking to try this recipe with a different cut of chicken? 

ANY type of chicken will work well for this. If you’re using chicken with a bone in, such as wings, drumsticks or legs, then you may need to add a few minutes to the cooking time, to ensure a safe internal cooking temperature.

Using a meat thermometer when serving chicken, and other meat, to your family is a great way to ensure everyone stays healthy!

Frozen chicken can be used for this recipe too, however, once again you’ll need to add some cooking time. I’ve made this with frozen chicken thighs, chicken tenders, frozen chicken strips and even used frozen chicken nuggets when I had limited ingredients on hand!

Personally I like skinless chicken breast for this but skin on chicken thighs are packed full of flavour and work very well for this recipe!

Want to make this in the Ninja Foodi grill?

If you have one of the press style grills then the cooking time should be similar. Around 20 minutes is perfect for medium thickness chicken breasts, though I would check and turn them 2-3 times during the cooking time.

While you’re here why not check out my favourite Ninja Foodi accessories?

How to make BBQ chicken breast in the Ninja Foodi: 

Note: All calorie information is for demonstration purposes only and is based on the specific uncooked ingredients that I used when creating the recipe. 

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