Best Sous Vide Lemon Chicken Recipe

This recipe was written by Stephanie Searor, MS RD LDN

Chicken performs beautifully in a sous vide situation. Chicken breast is notorious for being tough, stringy, dry, and dull, but sous vide chicken breast comes out tender, succulent, and perfectly cooked. This recipe uses boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which can be found at any grocery store. Most of the time, a similar recipe might call for tenderizing the chicken, or flattening it out to ensure that it doesn’t overcook.

Since the chicken will cook low and slow, there is no need for flattening or tenderizing; however, if the pieces of chicken are very large, it would be OK to butterfly them into two pieces. It’s an easy, hands off dinner that can be made on a weeknight, but is special enough to serve on a weekend or for a special occasion. Serve this simple recipe for a fresh, lemon-y chicken with asparagus and roasted potatoes for the perfect dinner.

Equipment

Sous Vide Machine – our favorite right now is the Anova or the Joule.
Container – not necessary, but nice to have for bigger cuts of meat. We recommend the Lipavi as it is large and sturdy. You can also use a pot.
Vacuum sealer and bags, or a freezer Ziploc bag. If you only have a Ziploc make sure to check our our article on the water displacement method. You can find our favorite vacuum sealers here – 5 Best Sous Vide Vacuum Sealers (Reviews Updated 2021)

Sous Vide Lemon Chicken Recipe

4 servings

15 minutes total prep time

2 hours total cook time

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, excess fat trimmed (each breast about 4 ounces)
½ cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
juice and zest from three lemons
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons capers (optional)
zest from one lemon (for serving)

Directions:

Prepare the sous vide circulator in a water bath. Set the temperature to 146 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a vacuum bag, or zip-top bag, combine the chicken, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and lemon juice and zest, making sure the chicken gets coated. Spread the chicken into one layer in the bag, remove the air with a vacuum sealer, and submerge.
Cook for 1 ½ hours, up to 2 hours depending on your preference; the chicken will be cooked through but will have a softer texture at 1 ½ hours, and will be a bit firmer at 2 hours.
When chicken is finished, transfer to a serving platter; pour the reserved juices from the bag into a medium sauté pan.
To the chicken/olive oil drippings, add the white wine and boil for several minutes, or until sauce is thickened and reduced. Stir in the heavy cream and capers, remove from heat, and pour over chicken. Garnish with additional lemon zest.