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    Home » Traeger Recipes

    Published: Apr 30, 2022 · Modified: May 30, 2022 by Emilee Mason · Leave a Comment

    Traeger Smoked Chicken Breast

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This Traeger Smoked Chicken Breast recipe will leave you with tender and juicy chicken every time! This BBQ chicken is so easy and grills up in less than 30 minutes. It’s such a versatile dish and is perfect for an easy, healthy weeknight dinner or to include in your weekly meal prep!

    An overview shot of juicy BBQ chicken in a cast iron pan next to a bowl of BBQ sauce topped with chopped parsley.
    Jump to:
    • Why You’ll Love This Recipe
    • Ingredients Needed
    • Ingredient Notes
    • How To Make This Recipe
    • How Long Does It Take To Smoke Chicken
    • What To Serve With This Smoked BBQ Chicken
    • Recipe FAQ’s
    • More Healthy Dinner Recipes
    • 📖 Recipe

    Why You’ll Love This Recipe

    • Tender and Juicy Chicken - This recipe makes incredibly tender and juicy chicken that the entire family will love! This Jerk Chicken is another tender and delicious smoked chicken that is juicy and full of flavor!
    • Less than 30 minutes - This BBQ chicken is so quick and easy making it perfect for busy weeknight dinners as it will be on the table in no time! It’s also great for meal prep! If you’re looking for more meat recipes that save well throughout the week try these Asian Meatballs and this Shredded Buffalo Chicken.
    • Incredibly Versatile - Traeger Grilled Chicken is one of my favorite staples to have on hand in the fridge. You can quickly and easy make various meals from this recipe or heat it up and throw it on a salad. This chicken is perfect for these Smoked BBQ Chicken Nachos!
    • Healthy Dinner Dish - It doesn't get any healthier and more delicious than a tender and lean piece of chicken for dinner! Using a Whole30 and paleo compliant BBQ sauce keeps this chicken a great primal dish.

    Ingredients Needed

    An overview shot of the ingredients needed for smoked BBQ chicken on a wood background.

    Disclaimer: Please note, some of the links on this page are affiliate links and I will earn a commission if you purchase through one of those links.  I personally own and use every product recommended and love them enough to share with you.

    Ingredient Notes

    • Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast - I always get my chicken from Butcherbox as the chicken is always organic, free-range, and humanely raised. This recipe works with thighs as well, just adjust the cooking time as need.
    • Avocado Oil - You can substitute for olive oil.
    • Seasoning Blend - Use your favorite seasoning blend in this recipe! I love The New Primal’s Citrus Herb blend as well as Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute. Feel free to also season your chicken with just salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
    • BBQ Sauce - To keep this dish primal and paleo compatible, I like to use a naturally sweetened BBQ sauce with no additives. One of my favorites is Good Food for Good.

    Butcherbox is a meat delivery service that delivers organic and free-range chicken, 100% grass-fed beef, wild caught seafood, and humanely raised pork straight to your door! We used this service for over five years before becoming affiliates and want to spread the word because we LOVE having a freezer full of delicious and high quality meats and we know you will too!

    Click here to see the latest Butcherbox offer!

    How To Make This Recipe

    • Preheat the Traeger grill (or other pellet smoker) to 450F for 15 minutes.
    • In a small bowl whisk the avocado oil, coconut aminos, garlic, and additional seasonings until well combined.
    • Pat the chicken breasts dry and place in either a large bowl or ziplock bag and pour the oil mixture over the top. Mix well ensuring the chicken breasts are well coated with the oil. Set the chicken aside or back into the fridge overnight.
    A side by side process shot of chicken marinade in a bowl and a chicken marinading in a bowl.
    • Once the grill is hot, place the chicken breasts directly on the pellet grill or bbq and grill for approximately 25 minutes, flipping the chicken breasts halfway through, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
    A side by side process shot of chicken on a traeger grill.
    • Brush the chicken with the BBQ sauce, if using, approximately 5 minutes before removing the chicken from the grill.
    • Remove chicken from the grill, cover, and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice or shred the bbq chicken and enjoy!
    A side by side process shot of chicken on a traeger grill and chicken breast being brushed with bbq sauce.

    How Long Does It Take To Smoke Chicken

    The grilling time for this chicken breast will vary based on the temperature you are smoking at, as well as the size of the breasts.
    The lower the temperature, the longer the cooking time and the more smoke flavor the chicken will have. The higher the temperature, the faster the chicken will cook however it will have less smoke flavor.

    You can customize this recipe and the cook time based on how much time you have and how much smoke flavor you would like.

    The cooking time will also vary based on the size and thickness of the chicken breasts. For best results use a meat thermometer. We use a meater plus bluetooth thermometer and love it!

    What To Serve With This Smoked BBQ Chicken

    Our favorite part about this BBQ Chicken recipe is how versatile it is! We love to serve this chicken with a salad or some delicious grilled veggies for a quick and healthy meal. These are some great options to serve with this smoked chicken:

    • Smoked Vegetables
    • Traeger Baked Potatoes
    • Traeger Asparagus
    • Broccoli and Bacon Salad

    Or use any leftover BBQ chicken in these easy and healthy recipes

    • Air Fryer Baked Sweet Potatoes - This chicken is delicious shredded and stuffed in these sweet potatoes, then drizzled with a little bit more BBQ cause and our favorite Tessemae’s Ranch!
    • Smoked BBQ Chicken Nachos - If you haven’t tried Smoked Nachos you’re missing out! This recipe is an all around family favorite.

    If you love the delicious flavor that cooking chicken on the Traeger gives you, try these Traeger Chicken Wings as well!

    A close up shot of sliced BBQ chicken in a cast iron pan topped with parsley.

    Recipe FAQ’s

    What’s the best way to store this recipe?

    This chicken recipe is best stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

    Can I make this BBQ Chicken recipe without a Traeger or other pellet grill?

    Yes! You can grill this chicken on a traditional propane or charcoal grill over medium high heat. I recommend a meat thermometer to prevent from undercooking or overcooking the chicken.

    Can I use frozen chicken breasts in this recipe?

    While you can, I really recommend using thawed chicken breast in this recipe for a couple reasons. It obviously takes longer to cook frozen chicken breast and there is a greater possibility of undercooking the chicken. Because it takes longer for the middle of the chicken breast to thaw, I find that using frozen chicken causes the outer portion of the breast to dry out before the center has reached a safe temperature.

    If you grill frozen (or partially thawed) chicken breasts, be sure not to keep the temperature of your pellet smoker at too low of a temperature as this will cause the chicken to be in an unsafe temperature range for too long, and always ensure you cook to an internal temperature of 165F.

    More Healthy Dinner Recipes

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      Atlantic Salmon vs Pacific Salmon: What's the Difference?
    • Two bowls of butternut squash soup with a text overlay of side dishes to serve with soup.
      What to Serve with Butternut Squash Soup: 25 delicious side dishes
    • An overview shot of smoked chicken thighs plated and topped with parsley.
      Smoked Chicken Thighs
    • A sliced grilled flank steak topped with chimichurri next to a bowl of chimichurri.
      Traeger Smoked Flank Steak

    Love this recipe? Consider leaving a 5-star 🌟 rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. We LOVE to hear from you!

    📖 Recipe

    An overview shot of juicy BBQ chicken in a cast iron pan next to a bowl of BBQ sauce topped with chopped parsley.

    Traeger Smoked Chicken Breast

    Emilee Mason
    This Traeger Smoked Chicken Breast recipe will leave you with tender and juicy chicken every time! This BBQ chicken is so easy and grills up in less than 30 minutes. It’s such a versatile dish and is perfect for an easy weeknight dinner or to include in your weekly meal prep!
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 25 mins
    Marinade Time 12 hrs
    Total Time 30 mins
    Course Dinner
    Cuisine American
    Servings 4
    Calories 289 kcal

    Equipment

    • Traeger or other pellet smoker

    Ingredients
      

    • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
    • ¼ cup avocado oil or olive oil
    • 2 tbsp coconut aminos
    • 1-2 cloves garlic minced
    • ½ tbsp poultry seasoning or your favorite blend
    • ¾ cup BBQ sauce

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat your pellet grill to 450F.
    • In a small bowl whisk the avocado oil, coconut aminos, garlic, and additional seasonings until well combined.
    • Pat the chicken breasts dry and place in either a large bowl or ziplock bag and pour the oil mixture over the top. Mix well ensuring the chicken breasts are well coated with the oil. Set the chicken aside or back into the fridge overnight.
    • Once the grill is hot, place the chicken breasts directly on the pellet grill or bbq and grill for approximately 25 minutes, flipping the chicken breasts halfway through, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160F.
    • Brush the chicken with the BBQ sauce, if using, approximately 5 minutes before removing the chicken from the grill.
    • Remove chicken from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes until internal temp reaches 165F and the chicken is fully cooked. Slice or shred the chicken and enjoy!

    Notes

    Ingredient Notes
    • Chicken Breast - This recipe works with thighs as well, just adjust the cooking time as need.
    • Seasoning Blend - Use your favorite seasoning blend in this recipe! I love The New Primal’s Citrus Herb blend as well as Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute. Feel free to also season your chicken with just salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
    • BBQ Sauce - To keep this dish primal and paleo compatible, I like to use a naturally sweetened BBQ sauce with no additives. One of my favorites is Good Food for Good.
    Smoking/Grilling Notes
    • The lower the temperature, the longer the cooking time and the more smoke flavor the chicken will have. The higher the temperature, the faster the chicken will cook however it will have less smoke flavor.
    • The cooking time will also vary based on the size and thickness of the chicken breasts. For best results use a meat thermometer, like the Meater Plus.
    • You can grill this chicken on a traditional propane or charcoal grill over medium high heat. I recommend a meat thermometer to prevent from undercooking or overcooking the chicken.
    Storage Notes
    • This chicken recipe is best stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 289kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 26gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 72mgSodium: 526mgPotassium: 590mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 167IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 27mgIron: 1mg
    Did you try this recipe?Leave a comment below and let me know on instagram @theprimitivedish!
    « Smoked BBQ Chicken Nachos
    Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes »

    About Emilee Mason

    Emilee Mason is a Whole30 certified coach, food photographer, and recipe developer. As a health foodie, grill enthusiast, and mom of two young boys she has a passion for creating healthy, delicious, and family friendly recipes that are simple and fun to make!

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    My name is Emilee. I'm a fire wife, boy mom, and lover of grilling and smoking real foods and paleo desserts!

    I'm glad you're here and hope you'll follow along on this healthy living journey, one delicious meal {or cupcake} at a time!

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