Perfect Soft Poached Chicken Breast Recipe
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This poached chicken breast is so soft, it just melts in your mouth! This is the only recipe you’ll ever need to make extremely soft, moist and juicy chicken breast!
Does your chicken breast always turns out dry and rubbery? You owe it to yourself to try this amazing easy poached chicken recipe! Poaching is the foolproof way to make the chicken breast extra soft and juicy, and it’s super easy to make!
Making poached chicken involves cooking chicken in a small amount of water over low heat. Note that poaching is not the same as boiling! If you envisioned the tough rubbery boiled chicken, be assured that poached chicken is not the same as boiled chicken :) With poaching, you bring the chicken breast to a boil, then take it off the heat immediately and cover the pot, and the chicken will be perfectly cooked in 20 minutes! It’s as simple as that, and works perfectly every time!
My basic recipe for poached chicken just uses the simplest seasonings of salt, pepper and Italian herbs. Feel free to add more seasonings of your choice! You can also add chopped onions and carrots to the water, and even take it a step further by using the chicken stock instead of water.
You can serve the poached chicken breast as a main dish (try it with my homemade BBQ sauce or tzatziki sauce – it’s amazing!) or chop it and use as a protein for salads (check out this chicken apple salad and chicken pasta salad). This chicken is so soft, it will be your go-to quick & easy chicken breast recipe!
How To Make Poached Chicken Breasts
- Put chicken breast in the pot.
- Add water to cover the chicken plus 1 inch.
- Bring water to boil, cover and take off the heat.
- Let stay, covered, for 20 minutes.
- Take the chicken out of the liquid, slice and serve.
Perfect Soft Poached Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- Water
Instructions
- Put the chicken breasts in a pot. Add enough water to cover the chicken plus 1 inch on top. Add salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
- Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat. When it starts boiling, cover the pot and take it off the heat. Let stand for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (make sure to not open the lid until the 20 minutes are up).
- Remove the poached chicken from water, put it on a cutting board and slice.
Thank you for this. I was overcooking my poached chicken breasts and they were rubbery and not soft. Your recipe works well!
I’ve struggled with dry, rubbery chicken breasts before, so this poached chicken recipe was amazing. Great technique to achieve softness and juiciness.
Thanks for the tip on poaching chicken! It’s great to know that it’s different from boiling and that it results in such tender, juicy chicken. This method is so easy and effective