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No need to defrost your chicken for dinner! Learn how to cook Sous Vide Frozen Chicken Breast that’s tender and juicy with very little hands on time!
We’ve all been there. It’s mid-afternoon and you realize you forgot to defrost your boneless chicken breasts for dinner that day! No worries. If you own a sous vide cooker, you can have your chicken fully cooked in just 2.5 hours.
The best part is that it turns out just as moist, juicy and tender as this sous vide chicken breast recipe! It cooks perfectly and never dries out.
Serve it for dinner with some Instant Pot jasmine rice and air fryer carrots, or use it for meal prep during the week by adding it to salads, soups and sandwiches!
And for more in depth information, check out this complete sous vide chicken guide!
If you don’t use a sous vide, you can check out this post on how to cook frozen chicken breast in the air fryer!
Jump to:
Why this recipe works
- This recipe is super convenient. It involves very little prep time or hands on time.
- It’s a great recipe for meal prep as chicken can be incorporated into so many different meals.
- Chicken breasts tend to dry out easily, but when you’re using the sous vide method, it’s almost impossible to dry them out.
- The chicken breasts are super flavorful with just a simple seasoning made with ingredients you probably already have on hand.
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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
You will also want to check out these posts on the best sous vide containers and the best sous vide bags for more information!
More sous vide chicken recipes
- Sous Vide Whole Chicken
- Sous Vide Chicken Thighs
- Sous Vide Teriyaki Chicken
- Sous Vide Chicken Wings
- Sous Vide Fried Chicken
Ingredients
For the full list of ingredients and quantities, please see the recipe card below.
You’ll need 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. This recipe has only been tested with boneless chicken breasts. If you use bone-in, you will need to adjust the temperature and cooking time.
The seasonings include unsalted butter, salt, pepper, lemon zest, honey and garlic.
If you only have salted butter, just reduce the amount of salt you add to the chicken.
Make sure you’re using fresh lemon zest (the outer yellow portion of the lemon) and not dried lemon zest. You can use a zester or the small holes on a box grater to zest the lemon.
Step by step instructions
Heat a sous vide water bath to 140F degrees.
Combine the chicken breasts and remaining ingredients in a vacuum seal bag and seal.
Cook for 2 ½ - 3 hours.
Remove from the bag, reserving the bag juice.
Heat a skillet over medium high heat and brown the chicken breast for 30 seconds on each side (be careful not to overcook).
Serve drizzled with the bag sauce and fresh lemon juice.
Expert tips
- To keep bacteria out of the sealed bag, make sure you seal the bag properly. This is very important for food safety.
- If the bag starts to float in the water bath, just open the bag, let the excess air out and reseal it.
- You can also use something heavy to weigh down the bag like this sous vide sinker weight.
- The chicken breasts are fully cooked when they come out of the water bath, but I recommend browning them in a skillet for flavor and presentation.
- For the best browning, pat the chicken dry with a paper towel when it comes out of the water bath.
- When browning the chicken breasts, make sure you only do so for 30 seconds per side. You don’t want them to overcook and dry out.
- Don’t throw out the bag juices! Serve it over the chicken with some fresh lemon juice.
- If your chicken breasts are large, they may take closer to 3 hours to cook.
- Save yourself some time and season your fresh chicken breasts before sealing them in bags and freezing them. Then, you can just drop the bag in your water bath when you're ready to cook them.
Common questions
For soft, tender and juicy chicken breasts, I recommend setting the temperature of the sous vide water bath at 140F degrees. If you prefer firmer chicken breasts, you can set the water bath to 165F degrees.
It takes about 2.5-3 hours to cook frozen chicken breasts in a sous vide water bath. The great thing about the sous vide is that you can keep the chicken in the bath for up to 4 hours without impacting its texture.
It’s difficult to overcook anything in a sous vide water bath as the controlled temperature of the water bath brings food to the temperature you select and keeps it there. Just keep in mind that the longer you cook the chicken breasts, the softer the meat will be. So while it won’t dry out, if you keep it in the water bath for more than 4 hours, it will start to break down and get mushy.
Serving options
There are so many ways to enjoy chicken breasts. Here are a few of our favorite recipes to serve with it:
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Carrots
- Air Fryer Broccoli
- Instant Pot Basmati Rice
- Honey Roasted Parsnips
If you love this recipe, leave a comment below and let us know your favorite thing about it. We'd also love to connect on Instagram! Follow us at @went_here_8_this for awesome recipes and all sorts of fun food stuff 🙂
Recipe
Sous Vide Frozen Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 garlic clove minced
- Fresh lemon for serving
Instructions
- Heat a sous vide water bath to 140F degrees.
- Combine the chicken breasts and remaining ingredients in a vacuum seal bag and seal.
- Cook for 2 ½ - 3 hours.
- Remove from the bag, reserving the bag juice.
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat and brown the chicken breast for 30 seconds on each side (be careful not to overcook).
- Serve drizzled with the bag sauce and fresh lemon juice.
Expert Tips:
- To keep bacteria out of the sealed bag, make sure you seal the bag properly. This is very important for food safety.
- If the bag starts to float in the water bath, just open the bag, let the excess air out and reseal it.
- You can also use something heavy to weigh down the bag like this sous vide sinker weight.
- The chicken breasts are fully cooked when they come out of the water bath, but I recommend browning them in a skillet for flavor and presentation.
- For the best browning, pat the chicken dry with a paper towel when it comes out of the water bath.
- When browning the chicken breasts, make sure you only do so for 30 seconds per side. You don’t want them to overcook and dry out.
- Don’t throw out the bag juices! Serve it over the chicken with some fresh lemon juice.
- If your chicken breasts are large, they may take closer to 3 hours to cook.
- Save yourself some time and season your fresh chicken breasts before sealing them in bags and freezing them. Then, you can just drop the bag in your water bath when you're ready to cook them.
Nutrition
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