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Home Chicken Breast

Poached Chicken – Juicy, guaranteed!

By:Nagi
Published:24 Jan '20Updated:11 Oct '22
293 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

This is the foolproof way to make the JUICIEST Poached Chicken of your life. Dead-easy and guaranteed to work every time, this is a cracker of a chicken breast recipe that everyone should know! Use the chicken for any recipe that calls for cooked chicken – sandwiches, salads, pastas, pies, wraps and burritos.

This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!

Sliced Poached Chicken breast on a cutting board

Poached Chicken 

I feel like poached chicken is a life skill that everyone should know. But depending how it’s executed, on the one hand it can be like chewing on chipboard: dismally dry, impossible to swallow and completely flavourless.

On the other hand – the successful hand – it’s unbelievably succulent, with chicken flavour you never dreamt was possible, and so tender and juicy you can literally SEE the chicken juices sparkling on the surface of every slice.

See?

Close up of the juiciest poached chicken in the world!

OK, so let’s get straight to the point – how to make this poached chicken in a way that literally cooks itself, has a huge margin for error, and yields the most incredibly succulent poached chicken you will ever have in your life!


How to poach chicken

  • Use 250g / 8.5 oz chicken breast that’s boneless and skinless

  • Place in boiling water, cover, then immediately take it off the stove

  • Leave for 20 minutes (up to 1 hour ok), then remove the chicken and slice/dice/shred

  • Prepared to be BLOWN AWAY by how juicy the breast is!

How to make the BEST poached chicken ever - unbelievably succulent, FOOLPROOF recipe!
Foolproof poached chicken in a saucepan

Barely cooking right?? *She says, smugly*

It’s not on the stove. You don’t need a thermometer. You literally walk away and just leave it, knowing that it’s fine even for up to 1 hour – which I have done countless times, lulled into a serious state of relaxation because of how much confidence I have in this recipe!


What you need to make poached chicken

Fundamentally, all you need is chicken breast. But if you’re intending to use the chicken without adding lots of other flavours, it’s nice to add some flavourings into the poaching liquid.

You can add other fresh or dried herbs and dried spices.

DO NOT add salt or other salted liquids like Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce etc. Salt will affect the temperature at which the water comes to a boil and cools, which may affect the chicken cooking through completely using this method.

What you need for poached chicken

Chicken breast this succulent and juicy is even delicious eaten plain when it’s freshly made. But here are a just a few more suggestions for what to make with Poached Chicken – the list is long, it’s a handy to have a stash!


What to make with Poached Chicken

  • Sandwiches – use sliced like cold cuts, or diced and used in a mayonnaise based filling (such as diced avocado, egg, mayonnaise, finely sliced celery, chives, red onion or green onion, mustard, salt and pepper);

  • Make your own Salad – slice, shred or dice and add to salads. Make your own – try it with the Honey Mustard Dressing (pictured above), French Dressing, Balsamic, Italian, Caesar, or a creamy Yogurt Dressing (5 varieties!);

  • Chicken Salad – Use it in any main course salad calling for cooked chicken, such as Chinese Chicken Salad, Thai Chicken Salad, Lemon Chicken Salad or Mexican Chicken Salad;

  • Add chicken into one of these salads to transform them into a meal:

Add poached chicken into one of these salads

Asian Slaw in a salad bowl with Asian Dressing, ready to be served
Asian Slaw – healthy, crunchy Asian Cabbage Salad
Noodle Salad (Lunch Idea for Work) in a glass container
Noodle Salad with Sesame Peanut Dressing (Work lunch idea!)
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Coleslaw
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Pea, Cabbage, Parmesan and Mint Salad
Brussel Sprout Salad - the combination of brussels sprouts, bacon, apple and hazelnuts is a magical combination! recipetineats.com
Brussels Sprout Salad
Greek Lemon Orzo Salad (Risoni) - All the fixings of a Greek Salad tossed through orzo / risoni and dressed with a gorgeous zesty lemon vinaigrette. recipetineats.com
Greek Lemon Orzo Salad (Risoni)
This Israeli Couscous Salad is fabulously addictive! Tender, flavour infused beads of couscous tossed with spinach, tomato, cucumber, herbs and a fresh lemon dressing. Summer in a bowl! recipetineats.com
Pearl Couscous Salad
This Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad with a Honey Balsamic Dressing is a magical combination. Terrific side or as a meal. recipetineats.com
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Lemon Potato Salad
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Side Salads
Pasta and Rice Salads
  • Add into a pasta or rice salad;

  • Soups – add protein into soups, or use in place of chicken in the recipes (except recipes where cooking the chicken forms part of the broth flavour). Here are some suggestions:

Soups for poached chicken (shred or dice)

Close up of chicken and rice soup in a rustic beige bowl, ready to be eaten.
Chicken and Rice Soup
Soul warming Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup. Simply and utterly divine. recipetineats.com
Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup
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Laksa Noodle Soup
This Chinese Corn Soup with Chicken takes just 15 minutes to make - with no chopping! It's just like what you get at Chinese restaurants! recipetineats.com
Chinese Corn Soup with Chicken
It's a miracle - this creamy soup is super low cal, low carb, gluten free and unbelievably tasty. The secret: peeled zucchini, cauliflower, onion and garlic cooked then pureed. Imagine the possibilities! recipetineats.com
Super Low Cal Healthy Creamy Vegetable Soup
Quick Taco Soup with Pulled Pork
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White Chicken Enchilada Soup (or Turkey!)
Ultra Tasty Healthy Vegetable Soup - My version of the Zero Weight Watchers Points soup. This has 0.4 points but it's countless times tastier! recipetineats.com
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Hot and Sour Soup
Why settle for a bland Lentil Soup when you make a standout one? Just a hint of spices and finishing it off with lemon zest makes all the difference! www.recipetineats.com
Lentil Soup (seriously amazing!)
{350 calories, super easy} Foolproof method to make perfect poached chicken for this delicious noodle soup!
Foolproof Poached Chicken Chinese Noodle Soup
Corn Chowder - the world most easy soup recipe, ever!
EMERGENCY Corn Chowder Soup – Easy Soup recipe!
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Soups
  • Serve with Sauce – One of my favourite ways to serve it as a meal is with a simple sauce, like this Honey Mustard Sauce pictured below. Either make a salad (the sauce is really just a dressing, so it’s made for salads!), or serve it over mashed potato or rice, or for low carb options, try creamy mashed cauliflower or cauliflower rice!

Pouring honey mustard sauce over perfectly poached chicken
Close up of fork stabbing piece of Poached Chicken breast with Honey Mustard Sauce

More sauces for poached chicken – here are some more sauce options for poached chicken. Some of these recipes have another protein in the recipe – just skip that part and make the sauce!

  • Ginger Shallot Sauce – this uses this poached chicken recipe! Tastes like Hainanese Chicken.

  • Creamy Mushroom Sauce

  • Lemon Cream Sauce

  • Chimichurri Sauce

  • Honey Garlic Sauce

  • Pesto!

  • Spanish Romesco Sauce

  • Creamy Peppercorn Sauce

  • Hollandaise or Béarnaise sauce

And a few final ideas for other things to make with poached chicken:

  • Burritos

  • Chicken Pot Pie

  • Chicken Lasagna

  • Enchiladas

  • Chicken Tacos

  • Toss into stir fried noodles or fried rice

  • Make a giant Baked Frittata, add into Quiche or make Mini Quiches

  • Chicken Rice Casserole – stir it in at the end

  • Pasta! Use in place of cooking chicken in any pasta recipe (like this Creamy Chicken Pasta) or add it into a meat free one for an extra hit of protein

And with that – I’m out! I hope this poached chicken becomes a staple recipe for you like it is for me. 🙂 – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

Sliced Poached Chicken breast on a cutting board

Poached Chicken – Foolproof, perfect, AMAZINGLY juicy breast

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Total: 35 mins
Dinner
Asian
4.96 from 85 votes
Servings2 breasts
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. Forget every other method you've used. This recipe GUARANTEES the juiciest chicken breast you've ever made in your life. No special equipment, no fancy gadgets. It's dead easy and foolproof. Use for anything that calls for cooked chicken. Slice it, dice it, shred it, pile onto sandwhiches. HIGH ALTITUDE locations – please see note 4

Ingredients

  • 2 chicken breasts , boneless skinless, 250g/8.5 oz each (Note 1)

Optional flavourings (Note 2)

  • 1 lemon , quartered
  • 1 bay leaf , dried or fresh
  • 2 garlic cloves , minced

Instructions

  • Take chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
  • Fill a saucepan with water so the chicken breast will be well submerged with at least 2" / 5cm of water above it in a single layer (can be snug but do not stack).
  • Add Flavourings, if using (squeeze in lemon juice, add used lemon).
  • Bring water to boil.
  • Place chicken breast in water, place lid on, bring back up to the boil. IMMEDIATELY remove saucepan from stove and set aside for 20 minutes (it's fine up to 45 min to 1 hr, won't overcook).
  • Remove chicken from water. Slice and be amazed how perfectly juicy and tender the breast is!! Or chop/shred and use as desired.
  • If reserving for later use, cover loosely to cool then refrigerate whole – see Note 6.

Recipe Notes:

WHY THIS METHOD WORKS – This recipe works consistently every time because the chicken starts off in boiling water which is 100°C/212°F no matter which country, what stove, and what pot you’re using! Chicken cooks at 65°C/150°F, so while the boiled water is at or above this temperature, the chicken is cooking. Once it falls below this temperature (as the water cools off the stove), the chicken stops cooking and thus prevents the breast from overcooking, yielding a guaranteed perfectly cooked juicy chicken breast every single time!
1. Chicken breast size and cook times
  • 250g/8.5oz each chicken breast – leave in water 20 minutes
  • 300g/10oz each breast – take out of fridge 30 minutes prior, leave in water for 25 to 30 minutes
  • Larger than 300g/10oz – are you sure they are CHICKEN breasts?? ?
  • 220g / 7oz or smaller – recipe works fine but is not quite as juicy, but still juicier than normal simmering method. Can pull out of water earlier using a thermometer – cooked breast is 66°C / 151°F, check at 16 minutes. 
  • Up to 45 minutes, and I still do not notice any loss of juiciness in the breast
  • Around 1 hour, I notice that it is slightly less juicy – but still way juicier than the usual methods of poaching!
  • Frozen chicken – must be fully thawed before using.
2. Flavourings are optional, they provide a subtle hint. Good if you plan to eat without adding tons of extra flavour eg slice and use on sandwiches. Feel free to add more fresh or dried herbs or dried spices.
DO NOT add salt or anything with salt in it (sauce or powders). Will affect boiling point and cooling rate of water = might affect chicken cooking through properly.
3. Pot – Big enough so breast lies in single layer. If scaling recipe up, use larger pot. I’ve done 6 breasts in a large pot.
4. High altitude locations: The higher above sea level you are, the lower the boiling point of water. This means that if you are located in a high altitude area, the recipe needs to be amended to boil water with chicken in it before taking it off the stove, to ensure the chicken cooks through. I recommend using a meat thermometer to check chicken for doneness – start by boiling for 1 minute, take off stove for 20 minutes, check temperature (cooked breast 66°C / 151°F). If undercooked, remove chicken from water, bring back up to boil, put breast back in and take off stove. Check internal temp every few minutes. Then next time you make poached chicken, increase or decrease boiling time prior to taking off stove!
5. Slicing tip – for the most tender bite, look for direction of grain and cut 90 degrees across the grain (see video).
6. STORAGE – Remove from water. Best to store whole, uncut, for juiciest chicken. Airtight container in fridge for up to 4 days. It’s incredible how juicy it is even cold, straight from fridge.
Freezing – not as juicy but can be frozen. Thaw and use.
7. Nutrition per chicken breast (250g/8.5oz)

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 250gCalories: 285cal (14%)Protein: 53g (106%)Fat: 6g (9%)Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)Cholesterol: 160mg (53%)Sodium: 290mg (13%)Potassium: 925mg (26%)Vitamin A: 75IU (2%)Vitamin C: 3mg (4%)Calcium: 13mg (1%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Keywords: poached chicken, poached chicken breast
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

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293 Comments

  1. Amanda says

    January 9, 2023 at 12:53 pm

    5 stars
    I left my 350g chicken breast in the water for 45 mins and it came out perfectly moist. Thanks Nagi!

    Reply
  2. Michael Allen says

    December 4, 2022 at 4:48 pm

    5 stars
    Works very well indeed! I had a very large chicken breast and it needed a couple of more minutes.

    Reply
  3. Mark Forde says

    October 26, 2022 at 2:55 am

    5 stars
    I would have said absolutely no to poached chicken for human consumption. But seeing it on your site, Nagi, I gave it a bash. Wow. Delicious. Started with your chicken pasta salad as I had sour cream left over from your chicken stroganoff (both delicious as well). So making your Chinese sticky chicken wings with thighs prep for tomorrow, poached the rest of chicken and having chicken sambos for dinner. Best recipes on the net. And it’s also super efficient energy wise. Thank you AGAIN! My husband thinks you are a Gem. Even the Irish recipes on your site are very authentic to what we make here. 🥰

    Reply
  4. Ainslie says

    September 2, 2022 at 3:10 am

    5 stars
    Thank you so much for including high altitude suggestion. I live in the mountains (boiling point 199 degrees) and have to adjust most recipes myself. Thanks for giving me a place to start! Love all your recipes!

    Reply
  5. Jenny says

    August 26, 2022 at 10:13 am

    5 stars
    Awesome Dozer video!

    Reply
  6. Kate says

    August 19, 2022 at 9:00 am

    5 stars
    Use this recipe weekly in your delicious asian noodle soup recipe! One question, is there a reason for not adding salt to the poaching liquid? It was always my understanding that you should season this to transfer flavour through

    Reply
  7. Ed Trouskie says

    July 20, 2022 at 6:52 am

    I poached a chicken breast using a similar method except I poach it in chicken stock.

    Reply
  8. Karol Traviss says

    June 12, 2022 at 12:43 pm

    Wonderful! Our daughter gave us a tip to shred chicken using the paddle attachment on the KitchenAid mixer and the job was done in no time!

    Reply
  9. Kathryn says

    June 9, 2022 at 2:45 pm

    5 stars
    So easy and super moist. Question: do u think it would work with turkey?

    Reply
  10. Gemma hamlin says

    June 7, 2022 at 2:20 pm

    Hi Nagi! Weirdly the chicken breasts at Woolies are 500g each this week!! Do you think I could still try poaching this way or better off halving the breast before hand?

    Reply
  11. Clara says

    June 1, 2022 at 11:04 am

    I just had my craving for Hainanese chicken rice satisfied. I made the chilli sauce. Had your chicken. Had the whole rice dish at work for lunch. Made my colleagues envious. Lol.

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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