Sous Vide Chicken Breasts are tender, moist, and perfectly seasoned. Use your Instant Pot or sous vide stick to make delicious sous vide chicken at home for a healthy and tasty meal.
Preheat your water bath- Fill a large pot or container with water and attach your sous vide machine to the side. Set the temperature to 150°F for a moist and tender texture.
Season the chicken- Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, or any other desired seasonings such as garlic powder, paprika, or thyme. For an extra boost of flavor, you can also marinate the chicken in a bag with oil and herbs for a few hours before cooking
Vacuum-seal the chicken- Place the seasoned chicken breasts in a vacuum-seal bag, making sure they are in a single layer and not overlapping. Seal the bag using a vacuum sealer, removing as much air as possible. If you don't have a vacuum sealer, you can use a zip-top bag and remove the air by partially sealing it and then immersing it in water until the air is pushed out.
Cook the chicken- Place the sealed bag of chicken in the preheated water bath and cook for 1.5-4 hours, depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts. For a perfectly cooked chicken, use a digital thermometer to ensure the internal temperature of the chicken is at least 165°F.
Finish the chicken- Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the bag and pat dry with paper towels. If desired, you can sear the chicken in a hot pan or on a grill for a crispy exterior. You can slice the chicken and serve it immediately, or refrigerate or freeze it for later use.
Prepare the chicken. Place the chicken, along with the prepared seasonings inside an airtight bag, ensuring there is no excess air inside the bag.
Place water in your Instant Pot. Fill your Instant Pot 1/2 to 3/4 of the way with water, enough to submerge your vacuum-sealed chicken.
Select Sous Vide on your Instant Pot. Select this setting on your Instant Pot and follow the prompts it gives you to finish the programming for the preferred time and temperature.
Set the sous vide temperature. Adjust the cooking temperature to reflect the texture you prefer for your chicken, according to the chart above. This will be between 140F and 160F
Set the sous videcook time. Again, this will vary depending on which texture you want your chicken to have when it is done cooking. This time will be between 1.5 and 4 hours.
Press start. Once you have successfully finished programming the sous vide time and temperature, you will place the lid on the Instant Pot and walk away! While it is a longer process than cooking shredded chicken in your Instant Pot, it will yield much more tender and juicy chicken and it is incredibly easy to do.