This Korean BBQ chicken is the bomb diggity! It’s a simple recipe that packs in all the classic Korean BBQ flavors and spices. With only 5 minutes of prep for the marinade and a quick cooking time, this is going to be your new favorite Paleo and Whole30 grilled chicken recipe!
Oh that sticky sauce…..
Do you see that finger licking sauce on those perfectly grilled chicken thighs? It’s a simple marinade with basic ingredients but oh wow, does it pack a punch! Your taste buds will be blown away and you’ll be going back for seconds – you’ve been warned.
this recipe
A note about fish sauce
We use fish sauce in a lot of our recipes, and it really adds a depth of flavor that you can’t get with anything else. It doesn’t taste “fishy”, which a lot of people are afraid of. It really is the key ingredient in this Korean BBQ Chicken recipe, so we don’t recommend leaving it out or substitutions!
If you absolutely despise fish sauce or can’t eat it for some reason, simply add more coconut aminos to replace the fish sauce. We use Red Boat brand fish sauce, which we purchase from Thrive Market. It is clean tasting and doesn’t have any sugar. Watch out for added sugars in other brands!
What’s the best type of chicken to use for this Korean BBQ chicken recipe?
We want our recipes to be quick and easy, while still being as flavorful as possible. So, boneless chicken thighs really fit this recipe perfectly. They absorb the flavorful marinade well and cook quickly. Alternatively, you could use:
- Chicken breasts
- Bone in thighs
- Drumsticks
- Wings.
Basically, any type of chicken you want will work with this Korean BBQ chicken marinade!
Other cooking options
While grilling will provide you with the most flavor for this recipe, there are other cooking options.
- A cast iron grill pan is a good option for getting grill-like results indoors.
- A regular cast iron pan works too.
- Baked in the oven on a sheet pan or in a casserole dish.
If you choose any of these alternate cooking methods, just remember to baste the chicken with any remaining marinade while cooking. There should be plenty left over for basting.
Some sides that go well with this recipe
Your turn to try this Korean BBQ Chicken Recipe
Go ahead – fire up your grill and cook up this Korean BBQ chicken! We know you’ll love this simple, fun and flavorful recipe. Leave a comment below, and let us know how it goes. Also, take a pic to share on Instagram. Tag us@realsimplegood, and give us a follow if you don’t already. We’d love to stay connected!
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4.43 from 70 ratings
Get the Recipe:
Korean BBQ Chicken (Paleo + Whole30)
Prep: 5 minutes mins
Cook: 15 minutes mins
Marinate time:: 15 minutes mins
Total: 35 minutes mins
Servings: 4
An easy recipe and flavorful marinade, this Paleo + Whole30 Korean BBQ chicken is authentic and tasty! Grilled chicken thighs are an easy weeknight dinner.
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Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken thighs
For the Marinade:
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and grated on a microplane
- 1/2 cup coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes, (optional, omit or reduce for less or no spice)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Optional toppings:
- green onion, diced
- sesame seeds
Instructions
Make the marinade by combining all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mixing well.
Place chicken in a shallow dish or zip-top bag and cover with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or a couple of hours if you have time.
Heat your grill to medium high heat.
Add the chicken to the grill and cook, flipping once and basting chicken with any remaining marinade until cooked through, about 6-8 minutes on each side depending on the size of the chicken.
Remove from the grill, top with optional toppings if desired and serve.
Last Step:
Please leave a star rating and comment to let us know how you liked this recipe! Your ratings and reviews help our business grow, so we can continue to provide free healthy and delicious recipes for you.
Notes
For other cooking options, this recipe can be made in a skillet on the stovetop or baked in the oven. For the skillet, cook over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes per side. For the oven, cook at 400° Fahrenheit for 30-35 minutes, basting with any additional marinade.
Course: Main Course
Author: Justin Winn
Cuisine: Korean
Did you make this recipe?Tag @realsimplegood with hashtag #realsimplegood on Instagram. We love to see what you make!
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posted by Justin Winn on July 21, 2019 (last updated Aug 10, 2022)
38 comments Leave a comment »
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38 comments on “Korean BBQ Chicken (Paleo + Whole30)”
Leave a comment »
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Dede — Reply
Made this with fried cauliflower rice with died onion, bell pepper with little marinate
The flavors are wonderful. Will be making a lot.-
Justin Winn — Reply
Sounds tasty, thanks for coming back to share and leave a review!
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Heather C — Reply
Could this be done in a crock pot?
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Justin Winn — Reply
Yes, you could throw the marinade and chicken in the slow cooker. I recommend 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low.
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Anonymous — Reply
So delicious, I made it in the oven following some other cooking tips, I did 375 for 20 minutes fat side down, then flipped and did 10 more minutes, then put the broiler on and did 5 additional minutes to get the crispy finish! So delish! I made a coleslaw with toasted sesame and the green onions! Thanks for the marinade!
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Justin Winn — Reply
You’re very welcome, glad you enjoyed the recipe!
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Michael Eugene Shaner — Reply
Thank you for sharing this recipe; My HoneyWife and I tried it tonight for dinner.
The deep umami flavors arrived at via overnight marinating is #TotallyLegit
Our only regret? Opting to NOT cook on the grill!
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Justin Winn — Reply
You’re welcome, so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
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Jasmine Turner — Reply
Simple and very delicious! We are a gluten free and dairy free family so finding kid friendly recipes can be a challenge. This Korean BBQ was spot on the first try! Thank you!
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Erica Winn — Reply
We love hearing that! Thanks so much for giving our recipe a try. We hope you find lots of family friendly recipes on our site! Every thing is gluten free and if we ever use dairy, it’s optional.
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Anna — Reply
This was delicious! Finally a soy free dish that tastes just like the real deal. And so simple and kid approved too! I served with a mix of brown rice and cauliflower rice and some steamed green beans. Thanks for the recipe, will definitely be making again.
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Justin Winn — Reply
You’re very welcome, thank you for the kind review!
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Rebekah Gettinger — Reply
My family loved this! As a mom of 4 boys I’m always looking for recipes that are easy and a crowd pleaser! This fit the bill! We used bone in and skin on chicken thighs and it worked beautiful on the grill. We 3X’d the recipe and it worked great! We made added coleslaw mix and rice to the meal for side. My husband and I are low carb so we used cauliflower rice. We’ll keep this in rotation for sure! Excited to try some of your other dishes
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Justin Winn — Reply
So glad this worked for your family Rebekah :).
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Carrie — Reply
Anyone every tried this in the instant pot??
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Justin Winn — Reply
We haven’t tried it but it should work just fine in the Instant Pot!
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Mary — Reply
Love, love, love this chicken!!! So easy and everyone loved. Great leftover the next day too! It’s a keeper for sure!
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Justin Winn — Reply
Glad you liked the recipe Mary!
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ShanBwell — Reply
Oh my goodness!!! What a great and easy recipe. It was so delicious. I want to try the marinade on wings next. Hands down one of the best chicken recipes I’ve ever made.
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Justin Winn — Reply
What a great review, thank you!
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Taylor — Reply
This is a household-must!! Such a yummy sauce, so much savory goodness!
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Emily — Reply
So yummy! My family loved! Even our 12 year old wanted seconds!
Sadly I couldn’t find fish sauce in time but it was still delicious.
Love this site and can’t wait to try more recipes. ?-
Justin Winn — Reply
That’s great to hear Emily, glad you all loved it :).
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Iris — Reply
I loved it, but adding 2 Tbs of fish sauce was too salty. I’m going to make this again and I will only use 1 tbs of fish sauce.
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Anonymous — Reply
So good!!
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Monica — Reply
What would you recommend pairing this with? I mean sides and such. Thanks!
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Justin Winn — Reply
Really any side dish goes well with this chicken. Salads, roasted veggies, potatoes, etc. Here is a link to browse our side dish recipes.
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Chantelle Weiss — Reply
This recipe was absolutely amazing! My husband found it and used it for wings one night and we are hooked on it now. We have made this 3 more times since finding it. Love it!
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Justin Winn — Reply
Thanks for trying this one and putting it on rotation :).
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Tara — Reply
Can i marinade this over night.? Sometimes you can with fresh ginger
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Justin Winn — Reply
Hi Tara, you should omit the fresh ginger from the marinade if doing it overnight. You could just add it in before cooking though.
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CW — Reply
These were so good and sooo easy!! Now that we made them once, we have all the ingredients around and will definitely be coming back to this recipe. Yummmm!
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Misty — Reply
Made this recipe today. Only substitution was coconut aminos for low sodium soy sauce. I marinated for 3.5 hours. Great flavor! Hub said it was a bit spicy but good spicy! This is definitely a keeper!
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Erica Winn — Reply
We’re so happy to hear you guys enjoyed it! And agreed on the spicy…it’s kind of that addicting spicy, where there’s a bit of heat but you just keep coming back for more! Thanks for taking the time to come back and share. We really appreciate it! 🙂
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Christina — Reply
Fantastic!Definitely a new favorite.
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Justin + Erica Winn | Real Simple Good — Reply
Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
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Christine — Reply
This dish was a huge hit in our family. Our store was out of boneless chicken thighs but did have boneless drumsticks, so we used that instead. So delicious! Will definitely be making this one again!
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Justin + Erica Winn | Real Simple Good — Reply
So happy you all enjoyed the recipe!
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