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”!
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?
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!
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.
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
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)
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!
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.
And a few final ideas for other things to make with poached chicken:
Burritos
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!
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Poached Chicken – Foolproof, perfect, AMAZINGLY juicy breast
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:
- 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.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
The pool filter is working overtime!
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.
Ok- this was really impressive. I have tried and failed in previous attempts to make good poached chicken but this was fantastic. Totally tender and moist. Thank you very much!
It’s a game changer Marta!! N x
Hi Nagi- Simple and delicious. Question please: By leaving in boiling water, does this not suck out the nutrition from the breast leaving one eating breast that is largely nutrition-less? And the nutrition is now in the water? Or is that an old wives tail:). Thx Nagi
The beauty of this method is that it doesn’t dry out the chicken so you still retain the flavour and nutrition – you will lose a bit into the stock but then you could drink that as a refreshing beverage! N x
I haven’t tried this yet, but I plan to soon. I do have a question though. In your comments regarding different sizes of chicken breasts, you mentioned the smallest breast would be done at 150°. Is that just for the smaller chicken? I’ve never seen that mentioned. The temp is always stated that it needs to be 165°. Thank!
Hi Carol – Any size chicken breast is cooked once it reaches 150F/65C for 6 minutes which is the time/temperature recommended by the Australian Food Safety Standards Code. I understand that the USDA recommends a higher temp but if you do cook it to 165F, it will be drier. I am comfortable with the standard required here in Australia which yields a juicier, tastier breast. N x
Nagi you are a magician! I have tried for years to poach chicken using various methods and always end up with something resembling tasteless rubber. This recipe is incredible and dead easy! Thank you 🙏
This recipe is a revelation! I was fully mentally and physically prepared for this not to work even after reading all the reviews (ok yes I am a cynic)… I’ve just had some of the leftovers in one of the best chicken sandwiches of my life. AMAZING. Thank you!
You never have to be cynical about my recipes!! N x
Silly question- what happened if I forgot to bring it to a boil again and just put the lid on and just let the chicken stay in the water for 1 hr?
As long as the centre got to 65C Rowena then they are safe to eat. You would need to cut them open and check if they are fully cooked! N x
Came out full of flavor and not dried out! I cook eggs similarly – eggs in a pot, bring to a boil, remove from heat and let sit for 6-7 minutes. Perfect jammy eggs every time!
That’s a great tip Michelle!! Thanks! N x
Can i use frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts and adjust the cooking time? Thanks
You would need to thaw them first Joy. N x
Absolutely perfect poached chicken. I will never use any other recipe. Thank you Nagi. You are my first go to website for recipes.
Oh thanks Shirley!!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve come to rely on it for all my cooked-chicken needs. 🙂
Woo hoo!! I’m happy you enjoyed it Jessica! N x
Can’t wait to try this! Could this recipe be doubled?
Yes it can Natashya! N x
Hi Nagi! Would this work for boneless and skinless chicken thighs as well?
If so, could you give some tips or timings? Thanks!
It will work for thighs Jeff – in fact we just did a bunch of thighs for the 200 meals we did today in the RecipeTin Meals kitchen! You will have to play with the timings as thighs vary widely in size and thickness. I would try the minimum 16 minutes then check the internal temp. Let me know how you go!! N x
I haven’t tried this recipe yet. I’m curious before I dive in can I use a mixture of chicken stock and water to poach the chicken? It’s probably a 50/50 mixture approximately. I know you mention no salted liquids but this stock is a little lower in sodium (18-22%) plus mixed half and half with water. Please & thank you.
You can try that Lauren but the chicken will lose more moisture because of the sodium however I think it will still be tasty – let me know how it goes! N x
I would not normally comment, but this was fantastic. SUPER simple and perfect.
I had to pick up my partner from the airport and wanted to have a nice meal when we got home.
I poached the chicken, pulled it, let is cool while I went and got him. Heated the stock to a boil and popped the chicken in for 3 minutes to heat it.
it made a delicious and perfect dinner. A delight, thank you. I will certainly use this method again.
thank you.
I am so happy that you liked it Marin! N x
I spent the entire time convinced this couldn’t and wouldn’t work! but it came out beautifully and soooo tender. Thank you!
Now why would you doubt me Missy??!! 😀😂 N x
Incredible recipe – works like a charm !
I am happy that you liked it Vivien! N x
This comes out perfectly every time and it’s very forgiving if you leave it a little longer in the pot. It’s now my weekend prep for easy weeknight dinners. I don’t flavor the water so I can use it for anything. Thank you!
It’s great for a quick meal once you’ve got it in the fridge!! N x
This recipe for poached chicken is fabulous and does result in chicken that is amazingly juicy.
I’m happy that you enjoyed it! N x
This did not work at high altitude (6,000 ft) although I followed the instructions exactly, including the initial one minute boil, no salt, and making sure the chicken breasts were not too large. They weren’t done after 40 minutes so had to bring the water back to a simmer. I love all of your recipes and I’ve never had a bad result so I’m guessing altitude was to blame.
Hi PB – I am sorry that you didn’t have great success with this recipe. It could be the altitude – I don’t get to do a lot of testing at 6000 feet! N x
it worked for me and I’m at 7800, I just turned the burner off (glass stovetop) and let it sit on the burner until it cooled, about an hour