How to Poach Chicken Breast

essentialspoultrymeat & seafoodeasy recipesquick recipes

Apr 1

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy

Poached Chicken is incredible if you are looking for a low calorie and pure protein source. Our **Simple Poached Chicken** recipe is no fuss and works great for salads and sandwiches.

Poached Chicken is seriously so overlooked, but when I started incorporating it into my dishes I realized how amazing of a cooking method this is! Poaching chicken gives you juicy, tender chicken that’s just an absolutely perfect blank canvas for whatever you’re going to use chicken in! As I discuss in my free motivational guide to explore your potential in the kitchen, Make Cooking Fun!!, working with ingredients that act as a blank canvas open up a world of opportunity in terms of discovering new recipes. I’ll share ideas for how to use your poached chicken at the bottom of this post!

Boneless chicken breast are simply going to be poached in water with a touch of salt. Everything happens on its own!

I seriously recommend this method for beginner cooks. At first I was hesitant to recommend this because it’s hard to tell if the chicken is cooked by simply looking at it, and perhaps chicken is a pesky protein of yours. However, I now realize it’s probably the most effortless way to cook chicken! No worrying about heating a pan, no need to baby it, you just throw it on the stove and it cooks with next to no effort! If chicken breast is a pesky protein for you because it gets dry and it’s bland, then fear not! Try making your own boiled chicken as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge and I’m sure you’ll make boiled chicken as a staple in your regular cooking! Get the free challenge and my motivational guide by signing up to my newsletter, plus you’ll never miss out on a new recipe!

Making poached chicken is also a wonderful option for meal prepping. You can make extra chicken breasts and save the extra for later, so that you always have some cooked chicken on hand. This will save you time in the kitchen later on!

Follow along as I make the best boiled chicken for shredding in the video at the bottom of this post! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you’re not already, and be sure to press the bell button to get notified when all of my video recipes go live! Let’s get cooking!

Why Poach Chicken Breasts?

Easy: You’ll see when we get to the instructions that this process is super easy! You only need one pot and a couple of ingredients!
Fresh: If you have rotisserie chicken on hand, you can use that to shred your chicken. Trust me, I really love rotisserie chicken and I pick it up whenever I’ve got a craving, but you’ll see just how fresh and soft poaching your own chicken breast is!
Customizable: The best part - depending on what you’re looking for, you can make poached chicken in so many different ways! I’ll list some variations to Poached Chicken later on in this post to inspire you.

Tools for Boiled Chicken Breast

Ingredients for Simple Poached Chicken

Of course the main ingredient here is chicken breast, but let’s see what else we’ve got going on! You can get all ingredient measurements by scrolling to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card or by pressing the “Jump to Recipe” button. Depending on how many chicken breasts you want to cook, you can also scale the recipe and all individual ingredient quantities will automatically be adjusted for you!

Chicken breast
Garlic cloves
Onion
Bay leaf
Salt & pepper
Water or chicken broth, as needed
Cilantro
Lemon, optional

How to Boil Chicken Breasts

In a cold pot, add chicken and fill the pot with water.

Add the rest of the ingredients and turn the heat to high.

Once the water starts boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low to bring the water to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 - 20 minutes. Once the chicken registers 165 F, take the pot off the heat and let the chicken rest in the water for 5-10 minutes.

Then remove the chicken and slice, dice or shred to use as needed.

Tips for perfectly poached chicken

If cooking multiple portions, try to use portions that are boneless and are of an even size and weight to ensure even cooking.
Use a poaching liquid that’s flavourful to season the chicken. You can use a good vegetable or chicken broth, or proceed as we did in this recipe and use water with various herbs and aromatics.
Ensure you completely submerge the chicken in the poaching liquid before cooking. During cooking, ensure the water is at a gentle simmer and not a boil.
Once the chicken is cooked, allow it to rest in the poaching liquid before shredding or cutting.

How to Know when the Chicken Is Cooked?

The internal temperature of the chicken should reach 165 F. A meat thermometer will easily help you to determine this!

Can I boil chicken Beast From Frozen?

It’s not recommended to boil or poach chicken breast from frozen. While boiling the chicken, the outside will cook much faster than the frozen inside and it will take much longer to evenly cook the chicken so that the internal temperature reaches 165 F.

You would have to cook the chicken for longer which will result in a final product that is drier and tougher than chicken cooked after thawing.

To poach chicken in a hurry, it’s best to run the chicken under a stream of cold water to thaw or keep in the refrigerator to thaw naturally before cooking.

Variations to Poached Chicken

Now you’ve seen how easy it is to poach chicken! You can switch it up and poach chicken in some broth instead of water if you want additional flavours. Depending on what you’re using poached chicken for, you could even cook in some herbs and aromatics, such as garlic, onions, and herbs, that will complement the recipe.

To truly take your poached chicken up a notch, you could even add a splash of white wine to the liquid!

How to Shred Boiled Chicken Breast

You can use a pair of forks by holding the chicken in place with one hand and with the other, pulling along the fibres of the chicken to shred to the desired consistency.

Alternatively, a stand or hand mixer can also be used to shred the chicken quickly.

Favourite Recipes Using Poached Chicken

You could make some poached chicken for almost any recipe that simply calls for cooked chicken. I typically make poached chicken when I’ll be shredding it afterward for some barbecue chicken. Here are some examples of where poached chicken comes in handy:

Open-Faced BBQ Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich: Here you can poach the chicken in just water, as we want a truly blank canvas to add in the barbecue sauce and other goodies for this delicious chicken grilled cheese sandwich!
Guacamole and Chicken Bruschetta: If you want to add some chili powder or cayenne pepper to your chicken, then this would nicely complement the guacamole!
Crispy & Cheesy BBQ Chicken Quesadillas: These quesadillas feature shredded chicken in BBQ sauce, lots of cheese, and crispy flour tortillas! An easy 20-minute weeknight meal!
Better Chicken Salad Sandwich: Why is it a “better” chicken salad sandwich? No celery! Celery grosses me out, but check out the recipe to see how we compensate for it!
Savory Creamy Chicken Crepes: Bring this French delight to your home for a special brunch or dinner! Chicken mixed with cream cheese, mozzarella cheese and spinach, and butter, these delicate crepes are thin, crispy and so satisfying with the warm and hearty filling!
Loaded Sheet Pan BBQ Chicken Nachos: These nachos are so easy to whip up for any game day party or just if you’ve got a midnight snack craving! Plus, having the chicken cooked will save lots of time!

Serving suggestions

If you don’t want to shred the chicken and eat it whole, then go for it! Here are some recipes that you can mix and match to make a healthy and balanced meal:

Storing Poached Chicken

I recommend using Poached Chicken Breast in your recipes as soon as possible for best results. Storing boiled chicken plain in the fridge can smell a little odd if left for too long in my experience! That being said, having some basic boiled chicken is known to be a meal prep staple, so if you want to make a big batch to save it for quick meals, then go ahead and do so! Store your leftover boiled chicken in an airtight container. I wouldn’t keep cooked boiled chicken breast in the fridge for longer than three days.

Watch How to Poach Chicken Breast Here:

Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!

poached chicken, healthy chicken, boiled chicken, how to poach chicken, how to boil chicken, shredded chicken

Poultry, Basics, Healthy

American

Yield: 2 chicken breasts (2 cups cooked)

Author: Anadi

Master Poaching Chicken In Just 15 Minutes - Here's How!https://youtu.be/1wWf21J6zTMIn this video, I’m going to show you how to master poaching chicken in just 15 minutes! Poaching chicken is a great way to cook a whole bunch of chicken in a short amount of time, so you can have fresh, delicious chicken any time you want! Once you've poached your chicken, you can then shred chicken easily! I'll walk you through the steps required to master poaching chicken and make sure that you end up with perfectly tender, delicious chicken every time. After watching this video, you'll be able to poach chicken like a pro!2023-04-01

How to Boil Chicken Breast

Poached Chicken is incredible if you are looking for a low calorie and pure protein source. Our Simple Poached Chicken recipe is no fuss and works great for salads and sandwiches.

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 15 MinInactive time: 10 MinTotal time: 30 Min

Ingredients

2 x 6 oz chicken breasts
2-3 garlic cloves
1/2 onion, cut into 2 or 3 chunks
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper
4 Cups water or chicken broth
3/4 sprigs of cilantro or thyme or rosemary
1/2 lemon (optional)

Instructions

In a cold pot, add chicken and fill the pot with water. Add the rest of the ingredients and turn the heat to high.
Once the water starts boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low to bring the water to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 - 20 minutes. Once the chicken registers 165 F, take the pot off the heat and let the chicken rest in the water for 5-10 minutes.
Then remove the chicken and slice, dice or shred to use as needed.