Barbecued chicken is great any time of year, whether you are slathering sauce on and baked it in the oven or cooking it over a grill. Amish Oven-Baked Barbecued Chicken is a very versatile recipe in that you can baste your bird with this stuff during the summer and stick it on the fiery grill just as easily as sticking it in the oven. So enjoy either way !

As is typical with many Amish recipes instructions are a little spare, but basically, you just mix everything up and baste it to the chicken and grill or bake. This is a photo of a big barbecued chicken leg using this recipe that I saw at an Amish gathering. I quizzed the cooks on what they used and it is the recipe at the end of this post.
The gathering than I saw this chicken at was in the Pearisburg, Virginia Amish settlement and they were having a school benefit lunch. That was one delicious lunch: chicken, a vegetable, homemade roll, and plenty of pie for dessert. If you ever have a chance to attend an Amish benefit supper, do so, you will not regret it!
It's interesting because the term "barbecued" has kind of become, well, barbecued over the years. This is a typical dictionary definition of "barbecued": a meal or gathering at which meat, fish, or other food is cooked out of doors on a rack over an open fire or on a portable grill.
The reality is that a recipe like this Amish Oven-Barbecued Chicken doesn't fit that definition, I mean, it can if you cook it on a grill. But if you put it in the oven is it "barbecued?" Technically, no. But the sauce is called "barbecue sauce", so if you are going to use barbecue sauce and then oven bake, it I guess it could fit the broad definition.
Some Amish do use store-bought brands. Seems "Open Pit" is a popular brand among the Amish, but a homemade sauce like the one below would be the way to go in my book. Enjoy!
You can use store-bought tomato sauce, if you do...it should be the equivalent to a quart, most Amish homemakers would use a quart of home-canned.
Chicken like this is a popular way to enjoy an oven-baked barbecued chicken recipe, but you can use any cut of the chicken.
🍗 Amish Oven-Baked Barbecued Chicken
- 4 cups catsup
- dash Worchestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 cups vinegar
- 2 teaspoons ginger
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 /2 cup chopped onion
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 can store-bought or homemade tomato sauce
- 2 pounds chicken pieces, breast, thighs, drumsticks
📋 Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix everything together well.
- apply to chicken pieces with a brush.
- and then grill or bake in glass baking dish in preheated oven at 350.
- Bake for about 40 minutes or until desired doneness, can also be prepared on a grill.
🍗 More Amish Chicken Recipes
Amish Cheat Chicken - Easy!
Brown Sugar and Garlic Chicken - Wow!
Chicken with Peas and Rice - So good!
One-Pan Smothered Chicken and Bacon - Best of the best!
🖨️ Full Recipe
Amish Oven-Baked Barbecued Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 cups catsup
- dash Worchestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 cups vinegar
- 2 teaspoons ginger
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 15-oz. can store-bought or homemade tomato sauce
- 2 pounds chicken breasts, thighs, drumsticks
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix everything together well.
- apply sauce to chicken with a brush, coating evenly everywhere.
- and then place in glass baking dish
- Bake for about 45 minutes at 350 until desired doneness
lorraine stoddard
I don't like anything bbq. This chicken looks so delicious that I copied the recipe and I will try it. Thanks Kevin for sharing this!
Debi
I decided to make BBQ Chicken on the spur of the moment today & I remembered seeing this recipe here. It was SO delicious & so simple to make. Better than any bottled BBQ sauce I've ever used! I served it with garlic mashed potatoes, corn-on-the-cob & tomato salad. All rave reviews! Thanks for posting this fantastic recipe.
Paula
Looks good Kevin. But what size can of tomato sauce -8, 14, or 28 oz?
Kevin
By "can" that would be a home-canned version, a quart jar....thanks for asking, paula!
kathy
Why is it called oven baked? I don,t see directions for baking in oven? Sounds good but I would like to bake it.
terri
@ Kathy.....The directions he posted are for oven baked.
Claudine Bratcher
Tomato Sauce is listed in the ingredients, but you mention tomato juice in the narrative. So is it tomato juice or tomato sauce that is to be used in the recipe?
Kevin
Oops, tomato SAUCE!
Claudine Bratcher
OK, great! Thank you so much!
Carolyn
Thanks Keven. Looks great. I have a recipe from a molasses jar that I got a long time ago. It is very good too. I am anxious to try this one.