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Sous vide chicken breast is the trick that finally gave me juicy, never-dry chicken every single time, and this caprese version dresses it up with sweet tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and fresh basil. I started cooking chicken this way after one too many busy Tuesday nights of rubbery breasts, and now even Lizzie asks for the fancy chicken. If you love an easy chicken dinner, you will also want our Cracker Barrel grilled chicken tenderloins.
Tender, balsamic-marinated chicken under a fresh caprese topping makes this feel restaurant-special with almost no hands-on work.
Sous Vide Chicken Breast Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 2 hours
- ⏳ Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 2 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 361kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Juicy and herby with sweet tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and tangy balsamic
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy and hands-off, like our homemade chicken tenders
Quick Answer
To make sous vide chicken breast, set a water bath to 145 degrees F, then seal each seasoned, balsamic-marinated breast in its own bag and cook for two hours. The gentle, precise heat keeps the chicken incredibly juicy and tender from edge to edge with no guesswork. Finish this caprese version with a fresh tomato, mozzarella, and basil topping and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
Jump to:
- Sous Vide Chicken Breast Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Sous Vide Chicken Breast
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Sous Vide Chicken Breast FAQs
- Other Recommended Chicken Recipes
- Sous Vide Chicken Breast (Caprese)
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Precise low temperature. Cooking at 145 degrees F means the chicken can never climb past your target, so it comes out juicy instead of dry and stringy.
- Edge-to-edge doneness. Unlike a screaming-hot pan, the water bath cooks the breast evenly with no overdone gray outer layer.
- A built-in marinade. The chicken bathes in balsamic, oil, and herbs the entire cook, so the flavor goes all the way through instead of just sitting on the surface.
- Truly hands-off. Once the bags go in, the water bath does the work while you throw together the caprese topping.
- Fresh caprese contrast. Cool tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and bright basil balance the warm, savory chicken in every bite.
- Restaurant results at home. That perfectly tender texture is genuinely hard to hit with any other cooking method.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Foolproof, juicy chicken. The precise temperature takes all the guesswork out, so dry chicken is a thing of the past.
- An impressive full dinner. It plates up restaurant-pretty and pairs beautifully with the sides from our build-your-own taco bar or a simple green salad.
- Mostly hands-off. Season, seal, and walk away, which makes it perfect for busy weeknights or low-stress entertaining.
Key Ingredients
A few simple ingredients turn into a restaurant-worthy sous vide chicken breast. Quantities are in the recipe card below; here is why each one matters.
- Chicken breasts. Boneless, skinless breasts are the classic cut for sous vide and turn out beautifully tender and juicy.
- Balsamic vinegar and glaze. The vinegar marinates the chicken as it cooks, while the glaze adds a sweet-tangy finishing drizzle on top.
- Dried herbs and seasonings. Garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil, and oregano build a savory Italian flavor base, the same backbone we lean on in our grilled chicken sandwich.
- Cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. The heart of the caprese topping, bringing sweet juiciness and creamy, milky bites.
- Fresh basil. Brightens both the marinade and the topping with that classic, unmistakable caprese flavor.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
This sous vide chicken breast is easy to make your own, so adjust it to whatever your family loves.
- No sous vide machine? Marinate the chicken, then bake at 400 degrees F or pan-sear until it reaches 165 degrees F internally, and add the same caprese topping.
- Swap the cheese. Use fresh mozzarella slices, mini bocconcini, or even a few torn pieces of burrata for an extra-creamy topping.
- Add some heat. A pinch of red pepper flakes in the marinade or topping gives the whole dish a gentle kick.
- Use chicken thighs. Boneless thighs work great; bump the water bath to 165 degrees F for the best texture.
- Make it a salad. Slice the chicken and serve it over greens with the caprese topping as a hearty main-dish salad.
- Batch it for meal prep. Double the recipe the same way we batch our Southern fried chicken for easy lunches all week.
How to Make Sous Vide Chicken Breast
- Set your sous vide water bath to 145 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk together the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil, dried oregano, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.
- Place each chicken breast in its own bag, pour half the marinade into each, and massage to coat. Tuck three fresh basil leaves into each bag, then vacuum seal.
- Lower the sealed bags into the water bath and cook for 2 hours. Meanwhile, add the cherry tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, basil, and mozzarella pearls to a bowl.
- Stir the topping to combine. Remove the chicken from the bags, plate it, spoon the caprese topping over each breast, and drizzle with balsamic glaze.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use a reliable sous vide setup. An immersion circulator and a tall pot or container hold the temperature steady for the full two hours.
- Seal the bags well. If you do not have a vacuum sealer, use the water-displacement method with a zip-top bag to push out the air.
- Sear for color if you like. Pat the cooked chicken dry and sear it one minute per side in a hot pan for a golden exterior.
- Make the topping fresh. Toss the caprese together while the chicken finishes so the tomatoes and basil stay bright.
- Let it rest a minute. Give the chicken a short rest before topping so the juices settle back into the meat.
- Do not skip the balsamic glaze. That final sweet-tangy drizzle ties the whole caprese dish together.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
This sous vide chicken breast is hearty enough to anchor dinner all on its own. Serve it over a bed of greens, alongside roasted vegetables, or with a scoop of pasta to soak up the balsamic. It is light, fresh, and feels special enough for company yet easy enough for a weeknight.
For a bigger spread, plate it next to other crowd-pleasing chicken dishes like our air fryer buffalo chicken tenders or homemade chicken tenders for a fun chicken-night dinner. A basket of warm bread is perfect for mopping up every last bit of the caprese juices and balsamic glaze.
Leftovers are just as good. Slice the chilled chicken over a lunch salad, tuck it into a wrap, or pair it with sides from our taco bar spread. However you serve it, that juicy, herby chicken makes everything taste a little more special.
Sous Vide Chicken Breast FAQs
For tender, juicy sous vide chicken breast, 145 degrees F is the sweet spot. It cooks the chicken through while keeping it moist and silky, without the rubbery texture you get from overcooking. If you prefer a more traditional, firmer texture, you can go up to 150 degrees F, but 145 gives the best results for this caprese recipe.
Cook sous vide chicken breast for 2 hours at 145 degrees F. That window is long enough to bring the chicken fully up to temperature and tenderize it, but not so long that the texture turns mushy. Because sous vide holds a precise temperature, the chicken will not overcook even if it sits an extra 15 to 30 minutes while you finish the topping.
Yes, you can cook sous vide chicken breast straight from frozen, which is one of the best perks of this method. Simply add about 1 hour to the cook time, so plan on roughly 3 hours total at 145 degrees F. The marinade will not absorb quite as deeply, so consider seasoning a little more generously if you go the frozen route.
Searing is optional for sous vide chicken breast. Since this version is covered in a fresh caprese topping and balsamic glaze, you can skip the sear entirely and still have a beautiful plate. If you want a golden, slightly crisp exterior, pat the chicken very dry and sear it for about one minute per side in a screaming-hot skillet before topping.
Yes, sous vide chicken breast cooked at 145 degrees F for 2 hours is safe to eat. Food safety depends on both temperature and time, and holding the chicken at 145 degrees for that long pasteurizes it just as effectively as a quick blast to 165 degrees. The result is chicken that is both safe and noticeably juicier than oven-baked.
Sous vide chicken breast is great for meal prep. Cook the breasts, then chill the sealed bags in an ice bath and refrigerate for up to four days, or freeze for up to three months. Reheat gently in a 130 degree F water bath or a low oven, and add the fresh caprese topping right before serving so the tomatoes and basil stay vibrant.
Round out your dinner rotation with our cod piccata, an elegant 25-minute seafood main.
Craving comfort food? Our chicken noodle casserole bakes up bubbly with a buttery cracker topping.
For a foil-and-forget dinner instead, our Italian lemon chicken foil packets handle protein and potatoes in one pouch.
Sous Vide Chicken Breast (Caprese)
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless about 1.5 pounds
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 6 fresh basil leaves
For the caprese topping
- 1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cracks fresh pepper
- 1 small garlic clove minced
- 3 fresh basil leaves torn by hand
- 2 ounces fresh mozzarella pearls
- balsamic glaze for drizzling
Instructions
For the chicken:
- Prepare sous vide water bath to 145 degrees F.
- Place boneless chicken breasts into separate sous-vide bags.2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
- In a small bowl, whisk together the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil, dried oregano, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar until combined.1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/4 teaspoon fresh black pepper, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- Pour half of the marinade into each sous vide bag. Gently massage the marinade into the chicken until coated.
- Add three basil leaves into each bag.6 fresh basil leaves
- Alternatively, if you would like to marinade the chicken before cooking, add all the ingredients for the chicken marinade to a bowl and stir to combine. Add the chicken and marinade as desired. Then, add to bags.
- Vacuum seal the bags separately. Place the plastic bag into the hot water bath for 2 hours.
For the caprese topping:
- When the chicken is finished cooking, take them out of the water bath with tongs, set aside, and make the topping.
- Place the tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, basil, and mozzarella into a small bowl and stir to combine.1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 2 cracks fresh pepper, 1 small garlic clove, 3 fresh basil leaves, 2 ounces fresh mozzarella pearls
- Cut open bags and place chicken on serving plates.
- Top each with half of the tomato mixture. Drizzle balsamic vinegar over top to your liking. Serve.balsamic glaze
Notes
- You can use slices of fresh mozzarella on this if you like.
- Make your own balsamic glaze or use store-bought.
- Double this recipe to make for more people.
- Make sure that you get the correct bags that are made for Sous Vide.
- This recipe is also delicious grilled, you can skip the bags! If grilling, allow the chicken to marinate for at least 2 hours before cooking.
- This would also be great with pork chops, however cooking time may vary.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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Love caprese? Try our caprese chicken wraps next.
It’s the balsamic vinegar in the marinade.
How do you achieve that roasted appearance?
My fiance and I loved this. I would cut the heat back but think it really worked. Served it with shredded lettuce salad and balsamic vinegar on top.
No, the topping is not cooked.
There are no grill marks… unless you are referring to the balsamic vinegar drizzled on top… which are not grill marks.
The picture shows grill marks on the chicken which is impossible using this cooking method. Fake news
I have made this several times and it is always a hit! The only thing I change is cooking my chicken for 1.5 hours at 150. 🙂 . This is just how I always sous vide my chicken and keeps it really tender and juicy!
I made this a couple of days ago and really liked it. The only thing I did differently was I cubed my chicken and dropped the temperature to 160. I think this was some of the best chicken that I’ve ever had. Thank you for the great recipe. I’ll definitely be making this a lot.
Yes, 5 turns of a peppermill. Or, just to taste.
What does 5 cracks of black pepper mean? measurement wise? or am i just turning my pepper grinder 5 times?
170 is way to hot considering the FDA says to cook chicken to 165, at 170 for 2 hours it’s just to hot. You may need to look at your cookers instructions again. All of the cookers I’ve used suggest a range of 136 to 150 max.
Hi Elizabeth! Thank you so much for the kind words, you got me choked up! I do not have a recipe for buffalo chicken wings (yet! 😉 ), that will be on my to-do list just for you. BUT, I make them a lot at home, just haven’t been able to post yet – similar to my baked bbq wings I have on the site already, you can find that recipe here: https://thissillygirlskitchen.com/last-nights-dinner-baked-bbq-wings/ (this is one of my first recipes so please excuse the horrid photos and unstructured post.) Seasoned with just garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, then cooked the same way except finished off with Franks Buffalo Sauce instead of bbq. They are SO GOOD!
Well, first off, I LOVE all of your recipes, although I have not tried ALL of them. I am working on this. The recipes are easy to follow, and a wide variety of them, they look so good. I have been cooking all my life (at least 56 years of them). Every morning I get up and go straight to your site and browse, to see what I can make today. I cook for a lot of my elderly family members. I noticed that you did not have a recipe for “BUFFALO CHICKEN WINGS”. Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you for the feedback, I used timing and temp based on my sous vide machine. I thought it was great, maybe the size of the chicken should be taken into account as well? If you cooked it at 145 in the past, then I would definitely stick with what you know works.
The marinade and Caprese were fine, but 170 is way too high to cook the chicken. I made the chicken for a dinner party and it was so terribly tough. It was hard to even cut and lost all of its flavor. I was so embarrassed. The chicken should cook at 145 for tender, moist chicken.