Poached chicken is fantastic to have on hand for salads, pastas and sandwiches. Use it right away or freeze the extras for later. This tutorial shows you how to poach chicken breasts in minutes!
Knowing how to poach chicken breasts is a skill that you'll use over and over again for easy meal prep. It's a great way to add protein to your lunches and dinners. While chicken breasts can often be rather plain, poaching produces tender and flavorful chicken that can be used in everything from salads to pastas.
The beauty of making several poached chicken breasts at once is that you'll have meat for several meals. Either slice or shred the cooked chicken and store it in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
The best way to make poached chicken breasts?
If you read various cookbooks or cruise around on the internet, you'll find as many ways to poach chicken as there are cooking websites. Some require putting the saucepan in the water while others suggest you remove the saucepan from the heat altogether.
My favorite method is to place the boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a large saucepan with a variety of seasoning and aromatics, such as lemon slices, fresh or dried herbs and a dash of salt and pepper. Cover the chicken breasts with cold water, bring to a boil, then gently simmer for about 15 minutes.
You'll be rewarded with tender, juicy and flavorful chicken breasts that are perfect for tossing into a variety of dishes. Perfect for summertime entertaining or quick weeknight meals!
KEEP IN TOUCH
and receive recipes straight to your inbox!
How to Poach Chicken Breasts
⭐️ See full recipe card below. ⭐️
- COMBINE CHICKEN AND SEASONINGS: Place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a large saucepan, and add seasonings and aromatics.
- BOIL AND SIMMER: Cover the chicken breasts with cold water and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat to low to medium-low. The goal is a gentle simmer. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- COOL, SLICE AND STORE: Remove the cooked chicken from the pot and let it cool slightly. Slice or shred it to use in salads, pastas and sandwiches. Or store it in the refrigerator or freezer.
Tips for Poaching Chicken Breasts
• Saucepan size: Use a large saucepan so that the chicken breasts aren't crowded.
• Water temperature: Start with cold water to ensure that the chicken cooks evenly and to prevent it from drying out.
• Simmering is the way! For tender and juicy chicken, cook the chicken breasts at a gentle simmer.
• Take its temp: Use a meat thermometer to determine doneness. Chicken breasts should be cooked to 165 degrees F.
• Let them rest: Let the chicken cool slightly before slicing or shredding it. This allows the juices to absorb into the meat, rather than spilling out onto the cutting board.
Meal Prep and Storage
IN THE FRIDGE: Transfer the cooled, sliced chicken breasts to an airtight container for up to 3 days.
IN THE FREEZER: Cool and slice the chicken. To avoid freezer burn, I like to wrap meal-sized portions in plastic wrap, then transfer to a freezer-safe, airtight container. Store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
DEFROST: Defrost the chicken in the fridge overnight, then use it in your favorite dishes.
How to use poached chicken
There are seemingly endless ways to serve poached chicken breasts. Here a few ideas to get you started:
- Top your favorite green salad with the sliced chicken and toss with balsamic vinaigrette. Or add it my family's favorite Thai Chicken Salad.
- Add the poached chicken to a pasta dish, such as Skillet Chicken Penne Pasta.
- Make a quick and easy chicken wrap sandwich (sub for turkey) by rolling the chicken in a tortilla with cranberry sauce and vegetables.
- Stir the poached chicken into soups and stews, such as Light Chicken & Corn Chowder or Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash.
Frequently Asked Questions
It typically takes about 15 minutes to poach boneless chicken breasts at a gentle simmer. The time varies with the size and thickness of the breasts. The internal temperature of the chicken should be 165 degrees F.
Yes, bone-in chicken breasts can be used for poaching. They will take closer to 20 to 25 minutes to cook.
I highly recommend seasoning the poaching liquid. This is your opportunity to add flavor to the chicken! Adding salt and other seasonings to the cooking liquid, rather than seasoning afterwards, allows the meat to fully absorb the seasonings.
Printable Recipe
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email below & we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you'll get great new recipes from us every week!
How to: Poach Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 4 (6 ounces each) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 4 lemon slices
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
- Cold water
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts in a single layer in the bottom of a large saucepan. Season with salt and pepper. Top with lemon slices and fresh thyme and rosemary sprigs.
- Fill the saucepan with cold water until it reaches 1 to 1 ½ inches above the chicken breasts. Stir in the soy sauce.
- Bring the water to a boil, then cover the saucepan and reduce the heat to low to medium-low. The goal is a gentle simmer.
- Gently simmer until the chicken breasts are just cooked through and reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 15 minutes. The cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts.
- Remove the chicken from the saucepan and let the chicken cool for about 10 minutes. Slice or shred the chicken. Serve right away or refrigerate, covered, for 2 to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on April 17, 2015. Updated on October 5, 2026.
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Brett
Poached chicken is the best to have on hand. I look at your recipes every couple weeks and in joy your ideas. I want to make a suggestion on your poached instructions though. I notice that you have the chicken breast in the pot before bringing them to a boil. I see this being different stove to stove. Some stoves it takes longer to boil then others. I have found that bringing to a boil and putting the chicken breasts in after it reached a boil for 3 minutes boiling, then putting a lid on and removing pot from heat and leave the chix breasts in for 15 minutes while pot is off burner. This decreases the variance and has yet to fail me. For added moistened chix, I brine my chix breasts in a light salt water solution for 6 or so hours when I can.
Nutmeg Nanny
I LOVE poaching chicken breasts to shred them up and keep them on hand for easy meal additions. I have never thought to add lemon or herbs to my poaching liquid so I'm totally trying this next time.
Kirsten/ComfortablyDomestic
I roast chicken breasts to have on hand every week. I've never poached chicken because I envision bland looking, flavorless boiled chicken. Your method of simmering the chicken with aromatics is a total game changer.
Angie | Big Bear's Wife
Thank you so much for posting this!! I'm really bad about throwing chicken into a pot of boiling water and cooking it to death! Doing it this way next time!
Bill
Thank you for the recipe.......I noticed in the ingredients you have soy sauce, but no mention of the sauce in the directions...do you recommend the soy sauce?
Dara
Hi Bill, I'm sorry about that omission. Yes, I do recommend adding the soy sauce for an extra layer of flavorful and touch of salt. The directions are now edited to include the soy sauce. Thanks for stopping by!
Martha @ A Family Feast
Great tutorial and an essential skill that everyone should master! (Not to mention cooked chicken is so versatile and great to have on hand!)
Renee - Kudos Kitchen
I just poached chicken breasts the other day in order to have light lunches through the week. As always, I cooked them too long and they came out dry. I really need to set a timer and only cook them for 15 minutes as you suggest. I also made the error of putting them in boiling water instead of letting the water come to a simmer with the chicken already in it. It still tasted good (because of all the ingredients I put in the water) but next time I'll take a page from your book and not cook the things to death. LOL
The Food Hunter
I've never made poached chicken...thanks for sharing
Lauren Kelly Nutrition
My mother used to poach chicken and I have never tried it before! I bet this one taste delicious with all of these fresh herbs!
Liz
Thanks Dara for this recipe. Have a wonderful weekend!