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My sous vide chicken breast recipe is a surefire way to juicy and moist chicken every single time. You can make it with or without a sous vide machine.
Love sous vide recipes? Try my sous vide chicken thighs, sous vide flank steak, sous vide salmon, and sous vide egg bites next.
Sous vide cooking sounds super fancy, but it’s honestly one of the most hands-off and easiest cooking methods out there. As someone who eats chicken breasts on a weekly basis (and does plenty of meal prep!), cooking chicken breast sous vide has made things so much easier (and tastier!).
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Hands-off cooking. The beauty of a sous vide cooker is that it does all the hard work for you.
- Healthy. Chicken breast on its own is super healthy, and cooking it in the sous vide keeps things wholesome, too, as there is no oil or butter needed to achieve juicy and moist meat.
- Easy to customize. I purposely kept the seasonings minimal, but you can jazz the chicken up with any spices, seasonings, or marinade!
Ingredients needed
- Chicken breast. Opt for boneless AND skinless chicken breasts because the addition of either bone or skin will alter the cooking time needed.
- Lemon. A few lemon slices give the chicken citrusy notes and brighten up its flavor.
- Rosemary. Fresh herbs please, not the dried kind.
- Garlic. Freshly minced.
- Kosher salt and black pepper. To taste.
- Butter. To sear the chicken at the end (this step is optional).
How to sous vide chicken breast
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
Step 2- Vacuum seal. Place the chicken breasts in a vacuum bag along with slices of lemon, minced garlic, and fresh sprigs of rosemary.
Step 3- Sous vide. Set the sous vide machine to 132F degrees. Submerge the chicken breasts in water and cook.
Step 4- Pan sear. Remove the chicken from the bag, add it to a greased hot skillet, and sear both sides on medium-high heat before serving.
No sous vide machine? No problem!
Yes- it is possible to cook the chicken without using a machine. You will need a big pot and a thermometer. The only difference is the cooking time. I suggest checking the internal temperature until it reaches 165F.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Use a vacuum sealer to seal the bags as tightly as possible. They are super affordable and trust me, worth the expense!
- Always check the temperature of the water bath before adding the chicken to it.
- Feel free to add seasonings, aromatics, or even a marinade to the bag before vacuum-sealing the chicken. Try my 4-ingredient chicken marinade or a fun Asian sauce like eel sauce.
- If you don’t have fresh chicken, use frozen chicken! You don’t need to defrost it before cooking it in the water bath. Simply cook it for 30 minutes longer to compensate (this is from frozen. Do not thaw the chicken first!).
Storage instructions
To store: Place leftovers in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to five days.
To freeze: Cooked and cooled chicken can be frozen for up to six months in a ziplock bag.
Reheating: Reheat leftovers in the oven, in a skillet, or in the microwave.
Frequently asked questions
It is unsafe to eat chicken cooked to 145 degrees. To be safe for consumption, poultry, including chicken, should be cooked to 165 degrees.
If you overcook the chicken even by a few minutes, you risk the chicken drying out and being dense/rubbery. Please keep an eye during the cooking process and use an instant-read meat thermometer to check.
More delicious ways to cook chicken breast
- Air fryer chicken breast
- Instant pot chicken breast
- Smoked chicken breast
- Baked chicken breast
- Cast iron chicken breast
- Or any of my healthy chicken breast recipes
Sous Vide Chicken Breast
Video
Ingredients
Instructions
- Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
- In a vacuum bag, place the chicken breasts with lemon, rosemary, and garlic, and vacuum seal it.
- Set the sous vide to 55C.132F and place the bag with chicken inside the pot with the water and cook for 57 minutes.
- Remove chicken breasts from the bag and preheat the skillet with butter over high heat.
- Sear chicken breasts for 1 minute per side and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published November 2022, updated and republished July 2024
This is the best sous vide chicken breast recipe EVER! So juicy and tender.
Love this sous vide chicken breast. It’s so juicy and tender.
My Girlfriend really hates chicken breast filet. It’s the most overdried cut of meat there is according to her.
I made this today, and she liked it, really really much.
Cheers mate, great recipe!
Appreciate it! 🙂
Thanks. I really love 132°F for cooking chicken breast. Other websites have said to cook it at 140° or 145°. Those temperatures sometimes produce chicken that with a tender and juicy texture, but will often produce a dry stringy and tough chicken breast.
When cooking frozen chicken breast, I add about 20 minutes.
PS I cook beef at 132° F a well. It turns a cheap cut of beef into a buttery treat after 24 hours!
Perhaps there’s an error in translation somewhere because twice your instructions say to sous vide to 132C. I’m in the US, so 132C to F is 269.6°. 🤪 Just a tad overdone then yeah? I think I’ll stay at 160° which allows some extra degrees for searing.