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This sous vide chicken breast recipe is a surefire way to juicy and moist chicken every single time. Made with or without a sous vide cooker.
We all know cooking chicken breast so that it’s juicy and moist isn’t the easiest thing.
If you’ve made our air fryer chicken breast, honey mustard chicken, or blackened chicken before, then you know we cook chicken breasts well. Now, we have a new addition in the form of this sous vide chicken breast recipe.
What is sous vide chicken breast?
Sous vide is a French cooking technique. It means ‘under vacuum’ and implies cooking food in a vacuum-sealed bag or container in a water bath. Sous vide is a precision cooking technique as you can control the temperature of the water.
Sous vide machines, also known as water ovens, feature a tub, an easy control panel, and a heated metal coil that warms the water and maintains a consistent temperature.
You can cook almost anything in them, including egg bites, steak, and juicy chicken.
Why this recipe works
- Perfectly juicy chicken every time. No cooking method offers you as much consistency as sous vide.
- Hands-off cooking. The beauty of a sous vide cooker is that it takes care of all the hard work for you.
- Healthy. Sous vide is one of the healthiest cooking techniques you can use. You don’t need any butter or oils to cook the chicken breast. Additionally, compared to other cooking methods, more minerals and vitamins are retained when the food is cooked sous vide.
What I love about this recipe is just how easy it is to customize! Chicken breast is like a blank canvas, and you can marinade this with almost anything!
Ingredients needed
This recipe calls for very few ingredients. Besides chicken and some spices, there isn’t much else. Here is what you’ll need:
- Chicken breast. Skinless and boneless.
- Lemon. A few lemon slices give the chicken breast citrusy notes and brighten up its flavor.
- Rosemary. Sprigs of fresh rosemary pair beautifully with lemon.
- Garlic. Minced.
- Butter. To sear the chicken to give it a charred look.
- Salt and pepper. To taste.
How to sous vide chicken breast at home
Start by seasoning the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
Next, place the chicken breasts in a vacuum bag along with slices of lemon, minced garlic, and fresh sprigs of rosemary.
Now, set the sous vide machine to 132F degrees. Submerge the chicken breasts in water and cook them for just under an hour.
Once cooked, remove the chicken breasts from the bags. Sear them in butter over high heat for only a minute per side. Slice and serve immediately.
Can I make this without a sous vide machine?
It is possible to cook the chicken without using a machine. You will need a big pot and a thermometer to cook it: The only difference is the cooking time. You’ll need to continue checking the temperature and ensure it remains around 150F.
Can you use frozen chicken breasts?
It is completely fine to use frozen chicken breast for this recipe.
You don’t need to defrost the chicken breasts before cooking them in the water bath. Simply cook them for 30 minutes longer than you cook fresh chicken.
Storage instructions
- To store: Place leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container or bag. Cooked chicken breast is good for 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
- To freeze: Freeze sous vide chicken in an airtight bag for up to 6 months. You can shred the chicken breasts before freezing them.
- To reheat: Reheat leftover sous vide chicken breasts in the oven, in a skillet, or in the microwave.
More sous vide recipes to try
Frequently asked questions
It is unsafe to eat chicken cooked to 145 degrees. Poultry, including chicken, should be cooked to 165 degrees to be safe for consumption.
Overcooking sous vide chicken breast is the main reason why it turns out rubbery. The long cooking time makes the protein fibers less elastic. As a result, the chicken breast becomes too chewy.
Sous vide chicken breast may be cooked for 1 to 4 hours at temperatures between 135-167 degrees. The minimum cooking time for a sous vide chicken breast is 60 minutes.
Yes, you can sous vide chicken breasts at 135 degrees so long as you cook it long enough. It takes a little over an hour to sous vide chicken breast at 135F degrees.
Sous Vide Chicken Breast | With Or Without A Sous Vide Machine
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 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.
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.