I’m a firm believer in making homemade sauces when you have the time. Homemade BBQ sauce is one of my absolute favorites to make from scratch, especially in fun flavors! Like this peach bourbon version. It’s SO good! Just has a subtle sweetness from the puréed peaches and honey, and a slight depth and warmth from the bourbon! It’s so simple to make too. Don’t be intimidated by making your own BBQ sauce. I promise it’s easy!
BBQ chicken is one of my favorite things. It so flavorful and delicious, and takes the boring-ness out of chicken. I eat chicken evvvvery single day, and it gets old after awhile. I’m always looking for ways to dress it up and make it more flavorful. This recipe definitely fits the bill.
Totally unrelated but sort of related: this BBQ chicken dip recipe from my blog is INSANE and one of my favorite appetizers EVER.
This BBQ sauce might look like it has a ton of ingredients, but most of them are things you probably already have in your pantry. Ketchup, bourbon, apple cider vinegar, honey, molasses, dijon mustard, Worcestershire, and hot sauce. So all you’ll really need is onion, garlic, and peaches!
You peel the peaches and purée them so they completely blend and disappear in the sauce. It gives that extra “something” that will have people guessing!
This is the perfect recipe to make for guests on a hot summer day when you definitely don’t want to turn on the stove or oven. Grilling outside in the summer is one of my favorite things ever. I live in a condo currently with no space for an outdoor grill, so I miss it so much! I use an indoor grill pan or mini indoor countertop grill at the moment, and they’re great, but I sure miss grilling outside on a real grill.
I’m on vacation right now in Michigan, and the vacation house has a grill so I’ve been getting my fix this week! Love it. Last night my brother and I made dinner for everyone, and we made this delicious grilled cod with a ginger garlic scallion sauce and it was to die for! And tonight I think we’re having grilled smoked BBQ chicken! SO excited.
This BBQ sauce would probably be incredible on ribs too!

Peach Bourbon BBQ Grilled Chicken
This BBQ chicken is coated in a delicious homemade peach bourbon BBQ sauce! It's SO flavorful and perfect for summer cookouts!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup diced yellow or sweet onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup bourbon
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup puréed peaches (about 3 large peaches, peeled and diced, then pureed in a food processor or blender)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- dash of hot sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Instructions
Heat a medium saucepan to medium-high heat. Add the butter, onion, and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened.
Add the ketchup, bourbon, apple cider vinegar, puréed peaches, honey, molasses, mustard, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and pepper and whisk to combine.
Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure the bottom doesn't burn. If it starts really boiling, reduce to medium-low.
For the chicken, preheat an indoor or outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and grill for 3 minutes per side. Baste liberally with the BBQ sauce, and grill for another 3 minutes per side. Keep basting with desired amount of sauce and grill until chicken is cooked through. Timing with vary depending on how thick the chicken breasts are. I ended up having to finish off mine in the oven because they were so big!
BBQ sauce adapted from this recipe.
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