• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Savory Nothings logo

  • Recipe Index
    • Easy Dinner Recipes
      • Slow Cooker
      • One Pot Meals
      • Quick Meals
      • Instant Pot
    • Side Dishes
    • Breakfast
    • Dessert
    • Small Meals
  • Dinner Ideas
  • About
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Dinner Ideas
  • Easter
  • Holidays & Occasions
  • About
  • Subscribe
×

Home / Recipes / Dinner / Chicken / Garlic Herb Sous Vide Chicken Breast

Garlic Herb Sous Vide Chicken Breast

1 hr 15 mins
| Leave a Comment |
5 from 4 votes
Jump to Recipe 11/12/19 | Updated: 01/03/20 | by Nora
Sous Vide Chicken Pin

Do you sous vide? If you’re here, you probably do – and chicken breast is one of the best cuts to cook this way, if you ask me. The difference in texture and juiciness is just unbelievable! I could geek out about this recipe all day, ahem.

white plate on a wooden platter, with two chicken breasts and rosemary twigs on top
sliced chicken breast on a plate of pasta

We bought our first immersion circulator (or “sous vide machine” for those of us who believe in layman’s terms) in 2014, we own Thomas Keller’s ancient book on sous vide cooking and my husband most definitely cooks from Modernist Cuisine at Home.

Needless to say, I’m pretty sure it’s time for some family-friendly sous vide recipes around here. And we’re starting off with a basic chicken breast recipe. I have one kid who refuses to eat chicken breast in any form, unless it’s cooked this way – so you already know this is a good one 😉

We like this chicken over some creamy Fettuccine Alfredo with sautéed green beans on the side. Such an easy and tasty meal everyone around the table likes. Enjoy!

Signature Nora Rusev
Printable Recipe Card
sliced chicken breast on a white plate, sitting on a wooden platter
Save Recipe Saved!

Garlic Herb Sous Vide Chicken Breast

Cooking chicken breast sous vide is one of the simplest things you can do if you're starting out with this cooking method - you just pack up the chicken in a sous vide bag with a little oil and seasoning, cook it at the appropriate temperature for 1 hour, then unpack it and do a quick sear in a skillet to give it a nice look.
Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings
made it? tap the stars to add your rating!
5 from 4 votes
Print Add Review

Recipe details

Prep 10 mins
Cook 1 hr 5 mins
Total 1 hr 15 mins
Servings 2 chicken breasts

Ingredients
 

Seasoning:

  • ¼ - ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon celery salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon dried garlic powder
  • Black pepper to taste

For the chicken:

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 1-2 sprigs fresh thyme

To finish:

  • 1 tablespoon butter

Instructions
 

  • Prep: Prepare your sous vide machine according to the manufacturer's instructions and set it to heat to 146.5°F.
  • Season chicken: Mix all ingredients for the seasoning in a small bowl, then rub all over the chicken.
  • Bag chicken up: Pour the olive oil in the sous vide bag. Then, place the chicken laying flat at the bottom of the sous vide bag (fold the rim over before inserting the chicken, to avoid contamination - see the step photos below). Add the thyme and rosemary sprigs (if using) and vacuum-seal the bag moderatly snug.
  • Cook: Place the bag in the heated water batch and, with the sous vide machine running, cook it for 1 hour or until done (check the internal temperature with a thermometer, if you're unsure).
  • Finish: Unbag the chicken, discard the aromatics. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once sizzling, add the chicken and brown 30-60 seconds on either side while pushin down on the chicken slightly to maximise contact between the meat and the skillet. Serve immediately.
Want to save this recipe?Create an account for free to start your personal recipe box. Save any recipe by tapping the heart in the bottom right corner.
Join Now

Notes

Step by Step Photos:

It's important to season the chicken well, or you'll have bland meat.
two chicken breasts on a chopping board with seasoning
Fold the sous vide rim over to add the chicken, to keep the seal from getting contaminated.
how to fold a sous vide bag
Place the chicken, oil and seasoning at the bottom of the bag before vacuum sealing.
chicken in a sous vide bag with rosemary
Vacuum snuggly, but not tightly - otherwise you'll squish the chicken too much. In this photo below you can see how the chicken is at the bottom of the bag, laying flat. This is important, or your bag will not properly stay below the water surface.
holding a sous vide bag with uncooked chicken
The chicken will look a bit weird after cooking, that's perfectly normal.
holding a sous vide bag with cooked chicken
Finish the chicken breast in a sizzling skillet in melted butter (you only want to do a quick sear on either side, or you'll overcook the chicken) to make it look delicious.
finishing sous vide chicken in a skillet

Ingredient Notes:

Chicken: For perfectly consistent results, use chicken breasts that are roughly the same size. As you can see in the photos, I defintiely didn't follow this suggestion. We buy our chicken from a small producer and the sizes are... not standardized 😉
Garlic: What, no fresh garlic?! No... I'm not a huge fan of the way fresh garlic turns out in sous vide chicken. So I use a high-quality dried garlic powder in the seasoning rub instead.

Cooking Tips:

For the most precision: Use a meat thermometer if you want to go for the most precision vs an average timing. I prefer one that can be left in the meat during cooking. They aren't cheap, but I use mine all the time (for non-sous vide cooking, too, even to test the internal temperature of a cake).
Food floating? Make sure to vacuum the meat properly (see step photos above for reference). If you still have trouble, try claming the bag to the side of your pot. You can also use special floating plastic balls for sous vide, they help the food bags to stay submerged AND they help to keep energy usage lower by insulating the water surface.
Sous Vide Bags: I want to preface this by letting you know that I'm a big sceptic when it comes to plastic around food, and I'm a stickler about limiting single use plastic, too.
That being said... When cooking sous vide, I do not rely on things like ziploc bags, reusable food bags or the like. I only use BPA and phtalate free bags specifically sold to use in sous vide cooking (eg suitable for uing with heat).
Here's my reasoning: Bags specifically sold for sous vide cooking are designed to be used in a hot, wet environment - possibly with some acids like vinegar or lemon juice, too.
Ziploc bags are NOT designed to do that. Ziploc bags may be BPA free, but they are not designed to use in combination with near-boiling water.
The bags are in intense contact with raw meat etc, so I don't trust a reusable bag either - not even if I can wash it in the dishwasher. The risk of food-borne illness is just too big to me to consider this until someone convinces me otherwise. And I don't cook sous vide often enough to produce large quantities of reusable plastic waste - I'm currently still using up the roll of bags from my FIRST sous vide machine I bought 5 years ago!
tl;dr: You're obviously free to sous vide in a way that suits you, but I thought I'd share why I don't advertise the use of ziploc bags or reusable bags for sous vide cooking here on my blog.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 293kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 37gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 117mgSodium: 817mg
Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Uncategorized
Cuisine: Mediterranean

Try these chicken recipes next:

Greek Chicken Marinade

This is one of my all-time favorite marinades to add flavor to chicken in the summer.

Balsamic Chicken Marinade

Marinate your chicken before cooking it sous vide for even more flavor.

Honey Mustard Chicken with Bacon

This sauce is so good. Cook the chicken sous vide and finish it in the simmering sauce, if you prefer.

Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken

A quick and easy chicken recipe for busy weeknights. You could even sous vide the chicken and finish it on the grill!

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings
About Nora 
When I got married to my professional chef husband, I realized I had to step up my game in the kitchen. Now I share my favorite foolproof family recipes here on Savory Nothings: Chef-approved, kid-vetted and easy enough for everyday home cooks like you and me!   Learn more.

Reader Interactions

close up photo of a cookie

< Previous Post

plate with rice, carrots and glazed pork chops on a wooden board

Next Post >

Add a Review or Ask a Question Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Made this recipe? Rate it:




Primary Sidebar

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings

Hi, I'm Nora! I wasn't always a good cook, but then I fell in love with a professional chef and learned my way around the kitchen. Now I share all my secrets to effortlessly great food here on my blog, bite-sized for home cooks just like me and you.

More about me →

Cookie Recipes

  • The Perfect Soft Gingerbread Cookies
  • Chewy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
  • Christmas Pinwheel Cookies
  • The Best Cut Out Sugar Cookies

see all >

Popular

  • Garlic Parmesan Crispy Oven Fried Chicken
  • Oven Baked Chicken Breast
  • Crispy Oven Fried Chicken
  • TikTok Baked Oats: 6 Ways!
  • One Pot Rigatoni Bolognese
  • Southwestern Crockpot Chicken Tacos
  • Homemade Shepherd’s Pie
  • Whole Wheat Cinnamon Crunch Banana Bread

Trending on Pinterest

  • Balsamic Chicken Marinade
  • Swedish Meatballs
  • Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet
  • Instant Pot Pot Roast
  • Homemade Salisbury Steak
  • About
  • Contact

Footer

Footer

Follow Along













Recipes

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Sides
Dessert
Appetizers

Instant Pot
Slow Cooker
One Pot
Casseroles
Ground Beef
Chicken

Featured On

different logos of publications Savory Nothings' content has been featured on

↑ back to top

About | Contact | Work with Us

Copyright Savory Nothings © 2023

Made with lots of love and spices ♥︎
PRIVACY POLICY | ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT |
As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Yummly
  • Mix