Sous Vide Chicken Breast – Easy and Perfect

You’ll never have tough, dry, stringy boneless skinless chicken breasts thanks to this Sous Vide Chicken Breast Recipe. Say hello to juicy, tender breasts – perfect for all your chicken needs.

Gone are the days of dreading cooking boneless skinless chicken breasts. It is now a pure pleasure when I cut into that juicy, tender, flavorful piece of chicken.

I wasn’t familiar with sous vide cooking until about a year ago (where have you been my whole life??) I won’t go into too much detail here (you can check out this post all about sous vide cooking if you want to learn more), but sous vide cooking is essentially vacuum sealing your food, then submerging it in a water bath that is held at a very precise temperature.

This ensures the food is cooked through and through at the exact chosen temperature. You no longer need to excessively cook the outside in order for the inside to be thoroughly cooked. It’s truly remarkable! (This is also true for this amazing Sous Vide Burger – Bacon Blue Cheese!)

Sous vide cooking requires a tool called a sous vide circulator (or sometimes called a sous vide precision cooker). There are several of these available for the home cook now (woohoo!).

I use the Joule (you can find it here on Amazon) because it heats up very quickly and is very consistent (it’s also really cool looking! lol!) But this recipe will work with any brand you have (or get).

How to Make Sous Vide Chicken Breast

1. Season the boneless skinless chicken breasts on both sides with salt, pepper, and seasoned salt. (see full recipe below)
2. Place chicken in a ziptop bag. Place fresh sage or rosemary on top of chicken breast (optional) and remove all air from bag (use the displacement method by slowly submerging the bag into the water bath and slowly zip the top as the air gets pushed out. Remove as much air as possible. Or use a vacuum sealer).
3. Heat up a large pot of water using your sous vide circulator to 149 degrees and submerge the bag of chicken for 90 minutes.
4. Remove, discard fresh herbs, and sear the fully cooked chicken in olive oil or butter in a hot skillet for 2 minutes per side. Slice and serve.
5. It’s also great in recipes that require pre-cooked chicken like my Spaghetti Chicken Casserole.

What Temperature Do You Cook Chicken Breast Sous Vide?

My favorite sous vide chicken breast temperature is 145 degrees. I cook it for 2 hours at this temperature and get fantastic results. But people do have different preferences so feel free to modify accordingly. Increase the temperature to 155 if you prefer slightly dryer chicken.

I created this Sous Vide Time and Temperature Chart to make it quick and easy for you to know what time and temperature to use when cooking chicken (and other meats) sous vide. Get your Sous Vide Time and Temperature Chart here!

A note about searing your chicken – Your sous vide chicken breast will be fully cooked when it comes out of the water bath, but it’s always nice to add a sear or a char on the outside. Either sear it in butter or olive oil in a very hot pan (here’s the pan I use and love) or toss it on the grill for 1-2 minutes per side. And your chicken will be perfectly cooked AND beautiful.

Watch me make it on my YouTube Cooking Show!

Once you sink your teeth into a juicy, tender, perfectly cooked sous vide chicken breast, you’ll never go back to your “other way” of making boneless skinless chicken. You just won’t.

And be sure to check out my Sous Vide Brisket if you’re in a beef kind of mood!

Items used in this recipe

• Joule Sous Vide Circulator
• Mealthy Stainless Steel Pan

Other recipes you might like

• Sous Vide Burgers
• Sous Vide Infused Vodka