Smoked Chicken Breast is an easy and delicious way to cook chicken. Tender, juicy chicken breast with lots of flavor, this will be your new favorite way to cook chicken!
I know I’ve shared lots of tasty smoked chicken recipes (spatchcock, beer can, legs, quarters, herb butter etc) but I wanted to share one of my favorite easy smoked chicken recipes with you today.
What you need for smoked chicken breast:
- Chicken breast
- Seasoning- Salt, Pepper, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Paprika
- Olive Oil
Equipment Needed
- Smoker- I used my Camp Chef Pellet Smoker, but this works great in when I use my Vault Wood Smoker too!
- Smoker Thermometer- I love my Thermoworks Smoke thermometer.
- Instant Read Thermometer- I like to spot check the chicken once it reaches the temperature on my smoke thermometer. I use a Thermapen One.
- Pellets or Wood Chips- whichever is your favorite for poultry- I used an apple variety this time around.
Chicken Breast Meat
For this recipe I used Good Ranchers chicken. They sent me a box to try and honestly, I don’t know if I can go back to store bought chicken.
Good Ranchers is high quality meat raised and packaged all in the United States. Their goal is to support American Ranchers plus they give meals to shelters for every box purchased.
Pretty awesome. If you want to try their meat you can go here and use my code JOY at checkout for $30 off!
I've used their chicken for my chicken nuggets recipe, their steak for this pasta dish, and just recently shared these amazing Wagyu burgers! All of their meat is delicious!
That being said, I used 4 of their chicken breasts (for a total of 1lb) for this recipe but if you have larger chicken breasts you might only need 2 or 3.
How to smoke chicken breast?
- Preheat your smoker to 225°F.
- Mix seasoning together. Pat your chicken dry then coat with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning.
- Place on smoker and cook until and internal temperature of 165°F is reached. Then remove from the smoker, allow to rest for 5 minutes, then enjoy!
Smoking chicken breast is really a simple way to cook chicken.
What to smoke alongside chicken breast?
If you have extra room in your smoker, I highly recommend smoking some cream cheese and deviled eggs. They make for great sides for your meal.
Additionally, if you want to cook more meat alongside the chicken, I love smoking tri tip or ribeye!
Eating smoke chicken breast as the main entrée is great but you can also use it in enchiladas, tacos, or over with a loaded baked potato! You can shred it to use in dips or even soups!
A side of corn, mashed potatoes, and homemade rolls is always great. Or serve with pasta salad, pico de gallo, and spinach dip!
Smoked chicken breast is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
Refrigerate any leftover chicken in an air tight container.
Yes. Freeze cooked chicken in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
Watch how to make this recipe!
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Smoked Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast boneless skinless (4 small chicken breasts or 2 large chicken breasts)
- 1 tbs ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tbs olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat smoker to 225°F.
- Mix together seasoning in a small bowl.
- Pat chicken breast dry with a paper towel.
- Coat chicken breasts with olive oil, then coat with seasoning mixture.
- Smoke chicken until an internal temperature of 165°F is reached, typically, 2-3 hours depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts. There is no need to flip the chicken as it smokes.
- Once your chicken reaches 165°F, remove from smoker and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing to help retain the juices.
Notes
- The thickness of your chicken breasts will determine how long it takes to cook.
- If the chicken breasts are thin then it takes ~2hrs to smoke, thicker chicken breasts ~3 hrs.
Lisa
Hope you love this recipe as much as I do!