Sous Vide Chicken Breast -

4.38 from 8 votes

Sous Vide Chicken Breast

Sous Vide Chicken Breast is hands down one of the best ways to get a perfectly tender chicken breast without overcooking. It can be stored in the fridge for meal prep or made into chicken salad, chicken sandwiches or can be eaten as the main dish.

Prep Time5

Cook Time1

Total Time1 5

Course: Sous Vide

Cuisine: American

Keyword: how to sous vide chicken, Sous vide chicken, sous vide chicken breast, sous vide chicken temperature, sous vide frozen chicken, sous vide frozen chicken breast

Servings: Chicken Breast

Calories: 102kcal

Author: Valerie Skinner

Ingredients

1 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Salt
Pepper

Instructions

Preheat your water bath to 145 degrees (or select temperature for desired texture).
Trim excess fat off chicken breast, pat dry and season with salt, pepper or whatever seasoning you’d like.
Place in a bag to vacuum seal or use a freezer safe plastic bags and use the water displacement method (in notes below).
Add chicken to the water bath and cook for at least 1 hour or 1-2 hours if it is a bone in chicken breast or frozen chicken breast.
Once fully cooked, remove from the water bath. If using cold or saving in fridge, place in ice bath for 10 minutes and refrigerate. If you are cooking them right away, remove from bag, drain excess liquid and pat dry. Add desired herbs and seasonings and pan sear, broil or air fry (see notes) and serve hot.

Video

Notes

How Long Does It Take To Sous Vide A Chicken Breast?

For the most part, you can fully cook and pasteurize a chicken breast in one hour. The texture of the chicken depends on the temperature it’s cooked at. Here is what I’ve found to be the best cooking temperature for chicken breast.

Soft, Juicy and Slightly Rubbery - 140 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes
Tender and Juicy To Be Served Cold or In Chicken Salads - 150 degrees Fahrenheit 1 hour
Juicy and Tender but Slightly Stringy - 160 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour

Can You Sous Vide Frozen Chicken Breasts?

Yes! They can be cooked right from frozen. Make sure you add one hour to your cooking time in order to make sure it fully thaws and cooks all the way through to the center.

Cooking Sous Vide Bone In Skin On Chicken Breasts:

These can be cooked at the same temperature, but I would add 30 minutes to your cooking time.

How Do You Finish Sous Vide Chicken?

There are many ways to finish your chicken which makes this recipe even more versatile:

Shred it up - with meat claws or a kitchen stand mixer for cold chicken salads.
Broiler - pat the chicken dry, brush on some oil and broil for a few minutes until a crust is formed
Pan Sear - pat chicken breast dry, heat up a cast iron skillet to high heat with oil and sear for 1-2 minutes on each side until crust is formed
Air Fryer - pat chicken breast dry, brush with oil and cook at 400-450 degrees for 5 minutes or desired crust is formed

What If I Don’t Use Them Right Away?

Once chicken is cooked through, put them in an ice bath for 5-10 minutes to cool down and then place them in your fridge. They will stay fresh for up to 1 week and can be seared off at any time. I like leaving mine at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before cooking to ensure the inside isn’t cold.

What If I Don’t Have A Vacuum Sealer?

You don’t need a vacuum sealer to use a sous vide. Simply purchase freezer safe ziploc bags, place your marinated protein in the bag and leave a small opening in top of the ziploc about 1 inch. Submerge the bag slowly into the heated water bath allowing all of the air to filter out. Once air is taken out, seal the bag closed and cook.

Nutrition