Making poached chicken breasts is a simple, foolproof cooking method every home cook should know. It’s the key to tender, juicy chicken perfect for quick weeknight meals, salads, and meal prep. If you’ve never tried poaching chicken, don’t worry—it’s incredibly easy! In under 20 minutes, you’ll have perfectly cooked chicken, ready to shred, slice, or enjoy as-is. Let me show you how to master this essential technique with minimal effort and maximum flavor.
Poaching is a gentle cooking method where food is submerged in barely simmering liquid, allowing it to cook slowly and retain moisture. The poaching liquid can be anything from flavored water to wine, broth, or other aromatic liquids, adding subtle flavor to the food. Whether served warm or cold, poaching chicken is a quick and efficient way to get dinner (or lunch) on the table when you're short on time.
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Why You'll Like This Recipe
- It's a basic cooking method everyone should learn.
- It's super easy, great for meal prep.
- Use poached chicken in many ways.
- Takes 20 minutes!
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts.
- Celery: To flavor the poaching broth.
- Garlic: To flavor the poaching broth
- Aromatics: I like to use both onion and leek but just onion is fine. Shallot works too.
- Lemon: For acidity and flavor.
- Wine: White wine, optional.
- Herbs: Dried or fresh bay leaves and fresh thyme sprigs.
For measurements, salt, and pepper please see the recipe card.
Substitutions and Variations
- Vary the poaching liquid by adding more wine, or using a dry white vermouth, or a combination of chicken broth or vegetable broth.
- Vary fresh the herbs.
How to Poach Chicken Breasts
Many recipes tell you to start by bringing the water to a boil, then adding the food and turning the heat down to poach. I start my chicken breasts in cold water and bring the pot up to temperature because the chicken stays more tender.
Step 1: Trim boneless, skinless chicken breasts of any fat. Place chicken breasts in a pot or pan just large enough to hold them in a single layer. Cover with water by an inch or two, just enough so that the chicken will be totally submerged.
Step 2: Bring the water and chicken up to a simmer (just below boiling) over medium heat then turn the heat down to low. Skim any grayish foam that develops, then add your aromatics. Poach chicken breasts until they reach 165°F internally, then remove them from the pan. Use a digital thermometer to test them.
Step 3: Remove the chicken from the pot when done. Discard the poaching liquid and vegetables. Serve warm, or cool completely then refrigerate or freeze.
Temperature and Timing for Poaching Chicken Breasts
- Target water temperature for poaching is between 160°F - 180°F.
- Timing for poaching chicken breasts depends on the size of your chicken breasts and water temperature. When I cooked the chicken for these photos, the breasts were huge. Two chicken breasts were almost 1 ½ pounds, enough to serve 4 people. For reference, they poached in approximately 16-18 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
How do I use poached chicken? Glad you asked. Here ideas
- Cut poached chicken into small cubes and use for chicken salads, like my creamy curried chicken salad with cashews and red grapes.
- Use it sliced over a Chinese chicken salad with creamy ginger dressing.
- Dice it and use it in this Caesar pasta salad.
- Chop it and make my 1 minute chicken salad with a little mayo and Dijon mustard.
- Use poached chicken in casseroles, with pasta, in soups and sandwiches.
Chef's note: A pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts after poaching yields 12 ounces of cooked poached chicken. Just beware if you are ocoking them for a specific recipe and need a certain amount.
Storage
Poached chicken breasts last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container, so make them on a Sunday afternoon and enjoy them through the week in a variety of ways.
If freezing, cooked chicken tastes best if kept frozen up to 4 months. Be sure to label and date the container.
Recipe FAQs
You'll get the best results if you thaw the chicken completely first, then poach. For safe thawing, place in the refrigerator overnight. To quick thaw, submerse chicken package in cold water in the sink, changing the water every 30 minutes, until totally thawed, then poach.
Cooked chicken should reach 165°F to be safe. Be sure to use a digital kitchen thermometer to measure the chicken internally, inserting the probe into the thicken part of the chicken breast.
Keep the poaching liquid at a gentle simmer and don't boil to keep the poached chicken breasts moist and tender. Also, don't over cook. The target temperature is 165°F. They cook pretty quickly.
⭐️Did You Make This Recipe?
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📖 Recipe
Easy Poached Chicken Breasts
Equipment
- Medium size pan or pot
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ small onion or use leek or shallot, sliced
- ½ lemon sliced
- ½ cup white wine optional
- 1 rib celery chopped
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 small handful fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 teaspoons black peppercorns
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
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Instructions
- Trim chicken breasts of any excess fat. Place chicken breasts in a pot or pan just large enough to hold them in a single layer. Cover with water by about two inches, enough so that the chicken will be totally submerged. They must be totally under water.
- Bring the water up to almost a simmer (you will see small bubbles) and skim any grayish foam that develops. The water temperature should be between 160° - 180°. Turn the heat to low so there are almost no bubbles. After skimming, add the onion, lemon, wine, celery, garlic, and bay leaf.
- Poach chicken breasts until they reach 165° internally then remove them from the pan. Use a digital thermometer to test. Timing for poaching depends on the size of your chicken breasts. Typically they will cook in 15-18 minutes. When they are done, remove the chicken breasts from the pot and serve warm, or cool then refrigerate. Well wrapped they will be good for up to 4 days, or freeze for future use.
Nutrition
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Madonna says
I love poached fish or chicken, but I seem to do something wrong. I think I should have been starting with cold water instead of simmering. I am going to try your technique. And the leek sounds like a good idea also. 🙂