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What Would You Like to Sous Vide?
Simple Sous Vide Chicken Breast Recipe and Master Guide
I love a sous vide chicken breast, they are so much more tender and juicy than ones that have been traditionally cooked. I prefer my chicken breasts cooked at 140°F (60°C) until pasteurized, but they are safe as low as 136°F (57.8°C), and some people like them as high as 150°F (65.5°C). It usually take 2 to 3 hours.
Chicken breasts are one of my favorite foods to make, especially when I use sous vide. Sous vide chicken is so much more moist and tender than when it is traditionally cooked.
Because of the longer cooking times, you can safely cook chicken at much lower temperatures than you can if you grill or pan fry it. This is because sous vide pasteurization occurs over time, so you can go with lower temperatures. I go into this in more detail in the Why Are Sous Vide Chicken Breasts Safe?
I prefer my chicken breasts cooked at 140°F (60°C) for 2 to 4 hours. They are safe as low as 136°F (57.8°C) but then they are a little too raw-tasting for me. Some people like them as high as 147°F (64°C) but I find them a little too dry for my taste. At any temperature, they just need to be cooked long enough to pasteurize them by thickness.
I go back and forth about whether I sear the chicken breast after sous viding it. It can be hard to get any browning without over cooking it, but it also looks much nicer when seared. If I'm using the breast as the centerpiece of the dish, I usually end up searing it, but if it's just for me I'll just eat it straight from the bag.
Due to the moisture present in sous vide cooking any skin that was in the pouch can struggle to become crispy. The best solution to this is to take it off of the bird before cooking the meat sous vide and then before serving crisp it in a 375ºF oven. When I'm feeling lazy I'll just sear it for a little longer after sous vide and the skin is adequate for a normal meal.
Once the chicken is cooked, you can use it in a variety of different ways. I love using it on salad, in soups, or even breaded and fried!
Here are some of my favorite sous vide chicken recipes:
Chicken breasts are an inherently tender meat so they usually just need to be cooked long enough to be pasteurized by thickness. This usually takes 2 to 3 hours for a standard sous vide chicken breast, but the pasteurization tables will give you specifics based on the thickness and the temperature you use. Lower temperatures take longer to paseurize.
Because they are already tender, sous vide chicken breasts do not benefit from the very long cooking times that sous vide allows. After about 4 or 5 hours the meat begins to get too tender and takes on a slightly mushy texture. It's definitely not ruined, and in a pinch I've gone 8 or 10 hours, but it just loses much of the spring that makes chicken tasty.
Best Sous Vide Chicken Breast Temp
Compared to traditionally cooked chicken breasts, with sous vide you have a lot more options for the temperature you want to use. You can drop the temperature pretty low and still be safe, but most people don't go below 136°F (57.8°C).
After experimenting a lot over the years, I've settled on 140°F (60°C) as the best sous vide chicken breast temp for my preferences. It is still super juicy, but it tastes like a "cooked" texture to me. Some people prefer a few degrees higher, just to ensure the texture is even more "cooked" tasting. I'll also use a slightly higher temperature if I am going to be serving it cold, such as in my Curried Sous Vide Chicken Salad or even occassionally my Sous Vide Chicken and Avocado Bowl.
For a more traditional texture, people will go as high as 150°F or 160°F (65°C to 71°C). This is much closer to the temperatures used when grilling or pan frying chicken.
However, I highly recommend keeping the temperature at or below 154°F (68°C). Above that temperature the meat starts to really squeeze out a lot more moisture and will be significantly drier. The only potential exception is if you want to have shredded chicken breasts, then the higher temperatures will break down the chicken more and might be worth the tradeoff.
Benefits of Using Sous Vide
The main benefit of sous vide chicken is the ability to create a perfectly cooked chicken breast with very little effort and allowing you to cook chicken to lower temperatures than would be safe using traditional techniques.
This can result in chicken with a different texture when cooked below 140ºF and chicken that is much more moist when cooked below 154°F (68°C). This is because water loss speeds up the hotter the meat gets, so keeping the temperature of the chicken below 154°F (68°C) slows down the loss of moisture.
I also love to use sous vide before parties to fully cook the chicken breasts, then I can reheat them on the grill during the party. I don't have to worry about making anyone sick, the chicken always turns out amazing, and I'm free from standing over the grill and worrying the whole time!
Can You Sous Vide Frozen Chicken Breast
Of course! Like most types of food you can sous vide frozen chicken breasts directly from the freezer, there is no reason to defrost them. My sous vide pasteurization charts don't take frozen chicken into account, but it usually adds on an extra 30 to 60 minutes.
The only downside to sous viding frozen chicken breasts is that they are more prone to floating. I usually err on the side of caution and use something to prevent the bags from floating, usually some magnets or clips.
Best Simple Sous Vide Chicken Breast Master Recipe
In my opinion, this is the best simple sous vide chicken breast recipe. It highlights the tenderness of using the sous vide process and is very easy to use as the basis of many of your traditional chicken meals. It also allows you to find the optimal temperature for your own preferences.
Tags: sous vide chicken, sous vide chicken breast, chicken breast, chicken, sous vide, easy, simple
Ingredients Needed
For the Chicken Breast
2 pounds chicken breast
1 to 2 teaspoons salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoons spice rub or herbs (optional)
To Assemble
Sides (optional)
Sauces (optional)
Garnishes (optional)
Recipe Instructions
Preheat the Sous Vide Machine: Preheat the sous vide machine to 141ºF (60.6ºC) for my ideal texture or up to 150°F (65.6°C) for a more well done version.
Trim and Season chicken breast: Lightly salt the chicken breast then coat with the spices.
Seal in a Bag: Place the chicken breast in a sous vide bag and then seal.
Sous Vide the chicken breast: Cook the chicken breast until pasteurized. That depends on the thickness and temperature but is usually one and a half to 3 hours for a 1" to 2" thick piece.
Remove From Pouch: Once fully cooked, take the sous vide bag out of the water bath and remove the meat from the bag. Pat it dry with a paper towel or dish cloth.
To Sear the Food: Sear the breast quickly to add a flavorful crust. Either a heavy pan over high heat, a grill turned to high, or a sous vide blow torch all work well.
Plating: Plate the meat like you would a traditionally cooked version.
How to Chill Sous Vide Chicken
If you want to either save your chicken breasts for later or serve them cold, then you can chill them in the bag. I usually use the 3-step sous vide chilling method.
This entails taking the bag out of the water bath and letting it rest for about 10 minutes. Then I put it into cold tap water for another 10 to 20 minutes. If i want to ensure it is very cold to maximize the safety, I'll then put it into an ice bath (half water and half ice) until it is fully chilled.
You can then safely store the sous vide chicken breasts in the refrigerator for a week or two, still in their pouches.
Reheating Chicken Breast with Sous Vide
Sous vide also works great at reheating chicken breasts. Just make sure you don't heat the chicken above the original temperature you sous vided it at. I'll usually use a temperature 10 to 15 degrees lower so I can give it a longer sear.
There are several other options for reheating sous vided foods, including searing them back to temperature or chopping them up and quickly reheating them in a sauce or soup.
Some people don't like the texture of cooked and chilled sous vide chicken breasts, but I eat it for a lot of my weekly lunches and I love it!
Can you Overcook Chicken in Sous Vide?
When people think of "overcooking" they often equate it to temperature. That's because on a grill or in an oven, if you let it go too long the temperature rises too high.
From this angle, you can't overcook chicken breasts with sous vide, because the temperature of the meat will never go above the temperature of the water bath.
However, with sous vide, the longer you cook something the more tender it becomes. While this sounds like a benefit (and it usually is!), for already tender items like chicken breasts, sous vide filet mignon, or sous vide pork chops the additional cooking time can start to have a negative effect.
One of the things that makes food "tasty" is the texture of the meat. And cooking it too long will result in a mushy texture with none of that bounce or "snap" that makes most meat appealing. So yes, you can overcook sous vide chicken breasts, it's just in a different way than with traditional cooking.
This process does take a while though, so if your chicken is done after 2 hours it'll still be fine for another 2 or 3, and then it'll slowly get more and more tender. I've gone 10 hours before and it was still fine, just not nearly as good as it normally is.
Why Is Sous Vide Chicken Breast Safe?
People are often very confused when they start using sous vide because of the low temperatures a lot of the food is cooked at. It's important to realize that it's just as safe at these temperatures (assuming you are not in the sous vide danger zone!) as it is at higher temperature, as long as you cook it for long enough.
The safety of food is not just based on the temperature, but also the time. With traditional cooking it is so hard to maintain a set temperature so most of us have grown up ignoring the time aspect of the equation. But for something like sous vide chicken breasts safety, once it is heated to a specific temperature it will become pasteurized and safe to eat when held at:
136°F (57.7°C) for 70 minutes
140°F (60.0°C) for 30 minutes
145°F (62.8°C) for 12 minutes
150°F (65.6°C) for 4 minutes
165°F (74°C) for 5 seconds
Note: To be clear, these are the figures from the exact same FDA report that is usually quoted for 165°F for food safety. You can get more details from Douglas Baldwin
This is why most sources say you have to cook chicken breasts to 165°F...because at that temperature it is pasteurized in just a few seconds. So as long as it hits that, everything is killed right away.
But with sous vide we can hold the chicken breasts at a lower temperature for a long enough time to pasteurize it the exact same amount. So enjoy your low-temp sous vide chicken breasts with the knowledge you are still being just as safe as normal!
Simple Sous Vide Chicken Breast Recipe
The process for making a sous vide chicken breast is just about the easiest one there is.
First take the chicken breast and salt it or apply a spice rub or sauce.
Place it in a sous vide bag and seal the bag. If you don't have a vacuum sealer you can always use ziploc bags for sous vide.
Place the chicken breast in the waterbath and cook until pasteurized by thickness, usually 2 to 3 hours, but it'll be fine up to 4 or 5 hours.
Once pasteurized, you can either chill the sous vided chicken and save for later, or use it now. When you are ready to eat, remove it from the sous vide bag and dry it off thoroughly.
If you are searing it, heat a pan over high heat and add the chicken breast. Cook it for 30 to 45 seconds, flip it, cook for another 30 to 45 seconds, and then repeat the process once more.
You are then ready to eat your perfectly cooked sous vide chicken breast!
Should You Sear Chicken Breast?
Like most sous vided foods, chicken breasts are better with a sear, especially when you are serving them whole or as the main protein. Unseared chicken really isn't that appetizing.
That said, if I'm using it in a dish, especially once with a sauce or for my regular weekly lunches then I'm honestly too lazy most of the time to sear it! It still turns out really well and I don't notice a huge difference.
So if you want to maximize the appearance and taste, then you should definitley sear your sous vide chicken breast, but if you are short on time or just using it for yourself, it's not a huge loss.
Should You Brine Sous Vide Chicken
I personally never brine my food, except for my sous vide fish. I go into a lot of reasons in my article should you brine sous vide food, but in general the meat is already so juicy and moist, that adding more moisture is almost a negative.
This is definitely personal preference, so if you love to brine you chicken breasts, go right ahead and give it a shot, you may love it! But for me, I think the end result is better without a brine, and it saves me the time of needing to brine it. So a win-win in my book!
How Can You Get Crisp Skin with Sous Vide?
Crispy skin is always a big concern, and I get it, I'm a huge fan of crispy chicken skin! With sous vide you can still get it crispy, but not like many traditional methods. The best thing to do if you really want crisp skin is to take it off the breast before sous viding it.
I go into a lot more detail about how to get crispy chicken skin, but removing it and then baking it in the oven or pan frying it separately will result is skin that is still pretty dang good, and can be very unique!
Is Bone-In or Boneless Better for Sous Vide?
People are very split on whether or not sous viding with the bone in makes a difference. For chicken breasts, the bones and skin do seem to add some flavor during the cooking process, but I haven't found the difference to be huge. So if you prefer boneless chicken breasts, go right ahead and use them, they will still turn out great!
How to Make Sous Vide Fried Chicken Breast
Chicken breasts that are coated are notoriously difficult to cook properly. It's hard to time the browning of the coating and cooking of the chicken to happen all at the same time, which is why most fried chicken like chicken piccatta, chicken parm, or chicken schnitzel is pounded thin.
But using sous vide to pre-cook the chicken breast let you to focus on the browning of the coating without worrying about the chicken itself. This lets you use thicker chicken if you want, and fry at hotter temperaures.
When I'm going to fry the chicken afterwards, I tend to go on the lower side temperature wise, usually around 138°F to 140°F (58°C to 60°C). That way the post sous vide frying will bring it up to an ideal temperature.
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What is the Best Sous Vide Breast Temperatures and Times?
I love a sous vide chicken breast, they are so tender and juicy. I cook them at 140°F(60°C) until pasteurized, but they are safe as low as 136°F (57.8°C), and some people go as high as 150°F(65.5°C).
This recipe is for my friends who love a smoky, spicy (I'm talkin' HOT) sauce. In many ways this is just a suped up BBQ sauce but it's... zestier thanks to a hit of lime juice and the chipotles in adobo, which make it so delightfully smoky and spicy.
After making a Turkey Porchetta at Thanksgiving, I decided to adapt it to be a year round dish and this elevated sous vide chicken porchetta was the result.
This sous vide breakfast sausage is juicy, flavorful and very versatile. It can be used in stir fries, accompanied with eggs for breakfast or in a casserole.
In this episode of Ask Jason, Paul asked:"Schnitzel and sous vide, how does this work when you pound thin, sous vide, then fry. Is it worth sous viding it? Jason answered: It definitely works. Cole Wagoner did one a few weeks ago and said it was brilliantly crispy. I've done both sous vide chicken parmesan and chicken piccata, but not schnitzel.
Owen asked Jason: Why Does My Sous Vide Chicken Roulade Come Out Stringy?
I haven't done any chicken roulade, but I've made a decent amount of turkey roulade which is pretty similar and I've cooked a whole lot of chicken breasts. I'm not sure if you were using white meat or dark meat in the roulade or what sous vide temperature you used.
People often don't think about adding sous vide chicken to dishes that would normally cook it. A great example is this flavorful chicken soup. Normally you cook the chicken in the soup, but it usually dries it out and overcooks it. Making the soup separately with some flavorful chicken stock and lots of vegetables while you cook the chicken sous vide results in more tender chunks of chicken.
Sous vide chicken is an easy weeknight meal, regardless of how you serve it. When I'm in a rush I'll often just saute some vegetables to serve with it, in this case some broccolini and red bell peppers. I give it all a squirt of lemon juice, top it with some fresh herbs and edible flowers from the garden and it's ready to go!
This is a super simple recipe to toss together when you need a filling but quick meal. The lemon helps to brighten up the dish while the radishes and cucumber introduce a pleasant crunch. The lemon and olive oil add brightness to the dish without overwhelming it. This recipe works equally well with turkey breast.
Chicken salad is a classic summer dish, but sometimes it can be a little dry and bland, and no amount of mayonnaise can save it. Using sous vide to cook the chicken is a great first step, resulting in always moist and tender meat. To bump up the flavor, I turn to fruit chutney and curry powder. Then I round it out and add a ton of texture with diced celery, carrots, grapes, apples and pecans. It's a dynamic, flavorful dish that everyone loves.
When it is done right, Puebla-style mole is one of my favorite sauces. This recipe is for a more traditional preparation than the milder and cloyingly sweet versions found at chain restaurants. It takes advantage of the different chile flavors and is very bold and full flavored. When you sous vide the chicken, the dish elevates to a whole new level. The sauce does take a decent amount of effort, but I'll often double or triple the recipe and store the remainder in plastic bags in the freezer so I can easily use it later. The sauce works exquisitely with shredded pork or chicken breasts and thighs.
Sous vide chicken breast is always flavorful and moist, but you don't always just want to eat it by itself. This recipe combines it with a simple vegetable stir fry that bulks it out and bumps the flavor, all the while still being super simple to put together. It's a great go-to weeknight meal when you want something easy to make that is still tasty.
I think chicken salad is a great summer and spring meal but more and more I crave something refreshing during the winter months too. It comes together really quickly, especially when using sous vide chicken breasts. I love using varied garnishes to add texture and bursts of flavor. In this recipe I call for the typical celery and carrots, but I also add toasted cashews and green grapes to add even more flavor. Some basil rounds it all out. When served on a bed of greens it's an amazingly flavorful meal.
I recently took a Thai cooking class at the Institute of Culinary Education in Manhattan and ever since I've been trying to work traditional Thai flavors into my cooking. Classic Thai food has an amazing mix of hot, salty, and sour and I tried to work that into this flavorful soup. The soup pops in your mouth, with bright highs of all the flavor combinations.
Sous vide chicken tikka masala is a rich dish filled with tender, perfectly cooked chicken. It's great on rice or grains and is good any time of the year.
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