Sous Vide Chicken Breast

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If you're tired of dry, overcooked chicken breast, this Sous Vide Chicken Breast is the recipe of your dreams! You just need a few simple seasonings to make the most juicy, tender and flavorful garlic butter chicken.

The sous vide makes it so easy and it goes perfectly with garlic mashed potatoes and/or these sous vide carrots.

Chicken breasts are usually a staple for weeknight dinners, but they're so easy to overcook and dry out. If this is your struggle, you will love boneless, skinless chicken breast prepared using the sous vide!

The sous vide method takes about 2 hours, but it’s mostly hands off and the controlled temperature of the water bath ensures the chicken stays moist, tender and juicy.

You can even make this sous vide frozen chicken breast if you didn't have a chance to thaw it. And for even more in depth info, check out this complete sous vide chicken guide!

Jump to:

• Why this recipe works
• What is Sous Vide?
• Reader's favorite sous vide recipes
• Ingredients
• Step by step instructions
• Expert tips
• Frequently Asked questions
• Make ahead instructions
• Serving options
• Recipe
• 💬 Comments

The sous vide is actually perfect for cooking all cuts of chicken. We love these sous vide chicken wings for game day, these sous vide chicken thighs for weeknights, and this sous vide whole chicken is great for Sunday dinner!

And, if fried chicken is your fav, this crispy sous vide fried chicken or sous vide chicken tenders are easier than frying chicken the traditional way!

Why this recipe works

1. It’s almost impossible to dry out chicken breast using the sous vide method. The water bath keeps the chicken at a set temperature, so while it will get softer the longer you leave it in the bath, it will never dry out.
2. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are readily available. You can find fresh or frozen chicken breasts at most local grocery stores. So, it's easy to have them on hand to make this recipe for busy weeknight dinners or for Sunday meal prep! 
3. The chicken breasts are ultra flavorful! They’re sealed in a bag with butter, garlic and other seasonings so they absorb all the flavor as they slowly cook in the water bath.
4. It's versatile, allowing you to switch out the seasonings, adjust recipe quantity, and make the chicken in advance for meal prep.

What is Sous Vide?

Sous vide is basically a method of cooking using what is called an immersion circulator (i.e. the sous vide machine). This immersion circulator circulates water in a temperature controlled water bath at a certain temperature to perfectly cook your food every time.

Because the temperature doesn't change, and it keeps your meat (or dessert, veggies, etc.) at the same temperature, your risk of overcooking becomes very minimal.

To learn even more about sous vide cooking, head over and read "what is sous vide cooking and the benefits of sous vide cooking."

What is the Water Displacement Method?

The displacement method is where you slowly submerge a ziplock bag in water pushing the air out of the top of the bag (the bag should be slightly open at the top to allow air to escape).

Use a clip (I use sous vide magnets) to clip the bag to the side to keep it from floating and getting air and/or water inside.

Tools Used

• Anova Precision Sous Vide Cooker
• 12 quart container
• Vacuum sealer
• Vacuum-seal bags

You will also want to check out these posts on the best sous vide containers and the best sous vide bags for more information!

Reader's favorite sous vide recipes

• Sous vide chuck roast
• Sous vide steak
• Sous vide poached eggs
• Sous vide pork ribs
• Sous vide creme brulee

Ingredients

For the full list of ingredients and quantities, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

You’ll need 1 ½ - 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast. This recipe is only for boneless chicken breast. If you use bone-in, you will need to add 30 minutes to the cook time. 

The seasonings sealed in the bag with the chicken include fresh thyme, sous vide garlic (or roasted garlic), salt and pepper. You can also substitute ½ teaspoon of garlic powder.

**I don't recommend using fresh, raw garlic as cooking garlic at low temperatures for a long time can potentially cause food safety issues.

If you can’t find fresh thyme, you can use dried thyme. Just reduce the amount to one-third as dried herbs are usually more potent than fresh. You can also use another type of fresh herb like oregano.

You’ll need 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter to cook the chicken. Half of the butter is added to the sealed bag with the chicken and the other half is used to brown the chicken at the end. 

The butter becomes infused with garlic as the chicken cooks and coats the chicken with flavor. If you only have salted butter, just reduce the amount of salt you add to the chicken when seasoning it.

Step by step instructions

Heat a sous vide water bath to 140°F degrees.

Combine the chicken with 2 tablespoons of butter, thyme, garlic (or garlic powder), salt and pepper in a vacuum seal bag.

Vacuum seal, trying to keep a little space between each breast so they cook properly.

Cook the chicken in the water bath for 2 hours.

Remove from the water bath and take the chicken out of the bag (set it on a plate), reserving the juice for serving.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium high heat.

Add the breasts and brown for 30 seconds on each side, spooning butter over the top while browning. Add the reserved bag sauce in the last 20-30 seconds.

Remove, slice and serve.

You can also serve it with one of he incredible sauces:

• Argentinian chimichurri sauce
• Red chimichurri sauce
• Barbecue sauce
• Spicy Cajun remoulade
• Thai peanut sauce
• Cilantro chimichurri

Expert tips

1. Adjust the recipe for more chicken breasts as desired. Cook as many as you can fit in a singer layer in vacuum seal bags.
2. To ensure the chicken breasts cook evenly and properly, make sure they’re not overlapping when you seal the bag. For this reason, I prefer to use vacuum seal bags instead of ziplock.
3. If you use bone-in chicken breasts, you will need to add 30 minutes to the cook time
4. For safe and even cooking of the chicken, make sure the bag doesn’t start floating in the water bath. If it floats, just open the vacuum seal or ziplock bag, let the excess air out and reseal it. 
5. You can also use something heavy to weigh down the bag to ensure it doesn’t float. I like to use this sous vide sinker weight or one of these sous vide magnets.
6. When browning the chicken breasts, make sure you only do so for 30 seconds per side. If you leave them for longer, they may overcook and dry out.
7. If you use salted butter, reduce the amount of salt you add to the chicken when seasoning it
8. For extra juicy and flavorful chicken breasts, be sure to baste with butter as you’re browning them.
9. I don't recommend using fresh, raw garlic as cooking garlic at low temperatures for a long time can potentially cause food safety issues.

Frequently Asked questions

Make ahead instructions

Using the sous vide method, you can cook the chicken breasts in advance and store them in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Once cooked in the water bath, quickly bring down the temperature of the chicken breasts by placing them in an ice bath. Once cooled, keep stored in the sealed bag in the fridge.

When you’re ready to eat, place the bag of chicken breasts in a water bath set to 140F degrees and keep them there until warmed through (about 30 minutes). Then, brown the chicken in a skillet with butter and serve.

You can also serve the chicken cold if you are using it in a salad or to make something like chicken salad.

Serving options

There are so many delicious side dish options for chicken breast! Here are a few of our go-to side dishes and serving options:

• Truffle Mashed Potatoes
• Instant Pot Carrots
• Sweet and Spicy Brussels Sprouts
• Instant Pot Cauliflower
• Air Fryer Broccoli
• Slice the chicken and serve it in a salad - it's delicious in this strawberry spinach salad
• Chop it up and serve it in this Korean rice bowl or Chinese fried rice, use in this claypot chicken rice, use in this sizzling rice soup, or this chicken pho.
• Use it to make homemade chicken salad.

Recipe