Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Poached Chicken – Juicy, guaranteed! Recipe
That is the foolproof method to make the JUICIEST Poached Chicken of your life. Lifeless-easy and assured to work each time, it is a cracker of a chicken breast recipe that everybody ought to know! Use the chicken for any recipe that requires cooked chicken – sandwiches, salads, pastas, pies, wraps and burritos.
It is a reader-favourite recipe included by fashionable demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
It is a reader-favourite recipe included by fashionable demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
I really feel like poached chicken is a life ability that everybody ought to know. However relying the way it’s executed, on the one hand it may be like chewing on chipboard: dismally dry, unimaginable to swallow and fully flavourless.
However – the profitable hand – it’s unbelievably succulent, with chicken flavour you by no means dreamt was potential, and so tender and juicy you’ll be able to actually SEE the chicken juices glowing on the floor of each slice.
See?
OK, so let’s get straight to the purpose – tips on how to make this poached chicken in a means that actually cooks itself, has a enormous margin for error, and yields probably the most extremely succulent poached chicken you’ll ever have in your life!
-
Use 250g / 8.5 oz chicken breast that’s boneless and skinless
-
Place in boiling water, cowl, then instantly take it off the range
-
Go away for 20 minutes (as much as 1 hour okay), then take away the chicken and slice/cube/shred
-
Ready to be BLOWN AWAY by how juicy the breast is!
Barely cooking proper?? *She says, smugly*
It’s not on the range. You don’t want a thermometer. You actually stroll away and simply go away it, realizing that it’s positive even for as much as 1 hour – which I’ve performed numerous occasions, lulled right into a critical state of leisure due to how a lot confidence I’ve on this recipe!
Essentially, all you want is chicken breast. However in case you’re intending to make use of the chicken with out including a lot of different flavours, it’s good so as to add some flavourings into the poaching liquid.
You possibly can add different contemporary or dried herbs and dried spices.
DO NOT add salt or different salted liquids like Worcestershire sauce, scorching sauce and so on. Salt will have an effect on the temperature at which the water involves a boil and cools, which can have an effect on the chicken cooking by way of fully utilizing this methodology.
Chicken breast this succulent and juicy is even scrumptious eaten plain when it’s freshly made. However listed below are a only a few extra strategies for what to make with Poached Chicken – the listing is lengthy, it’s a helpful to have a stash!
-
Sandwiches – use sliced like chilly cuts, or diced and utilized in a mayonnaise based mostly filling (resembling diced avocado, egg, mayonnaise, finely sliced celery, chives, pink onion or inexperienced onion, mustard, salt and pepper);
-
Make your individual Salad – slice, shred or cube and add to salads. Make your individual – strive it with the Honey Mustard Dressing (pictured above), French Dressing, Balsamic, Italian, Caesar, or a creamy Yogurt Dressing (5 varieties!);
-
Chicken Salad – Use it in any principal course salad calling for cooked chicken, resembling Chinese language Chicken Salad, Thai Chicken Salad, Lemon Chicken Salad or Mexican Chicken Salad;
-
Add chicken into one among these salads to rework them right into a meal:
-
Add right into a pasta or rice salad;
-
Soups – add protein into soups, or use instead of chicken within the recipes (besides recipes the place cooking the chicken kinds a part of the broth flavour). Listed here are some strategies:
-
Serve with Sauce – Certainly one of my favorite methods to serve it as a meal is with a easy sauce, like this Honey Mustard Sauce pictured under. Both make a salad (the sauce is basically only a dressing, so it’s made for salads!), or serve it over mashed potato or rice, or for low carb choices, strive creamy mashed cauliflower or cauliflower rice!
Extra sauces for poached chicken – listed below are some extra sauce choices for poached chicken. A few of these recipes have one other protein within the recipe – simply skip that half and make the sauce!
-
Ginger Shallot Sauce – this makes use of this poached chicken recipe! Tastes like Hainanese Chicken.
-
Creamy Mushroom Sauce
-
Lemon Cream Sauce
-
Chimichurri Sauce
-
Honey Garlic Sauce
-
Pesto!
-
Spanish Romesco Sauce
-
Creamy Peppercorn Sauce
-
Hollandaise or Béarnaise sauce
And some remaining concepts for different issues to make with poached chicken:
-
Burritos
-
Chicken Pot Pie
-
Chicken Lasagna
-
Enchiladas
-
Chicken Tacos
-
Toss into stir fried noodles or fried rice
-
Make an enormous Baked Frittata, add into Quiche or make Mini Quiches
-
Chicken Rice Casserole – stir it in on the finish
-
Pasta! Use instead of cooking chicken in any pasta recipe (like this Creamy Chicken Pasta) or add it right into a meat free one for an additional hit of protein
And with that – I’m out! I hope this poached chicken turns into a staple recipe for you want it’s for me. 🙂 – Johnsat x
This recipe options in my debut cookbook Dinner. The e book is usually new recipes, however it is a reader favorite included by fashionable demand!
This recipe options in my debut cookbook Dinner. The e book is usually new recipes, however it is a reader favorite included by fashionable demand!
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts , boneless skinless, 250g/8.5 oz each (Note 1)
- 1 lemon , quartered
- 1 bay leaf , dried or fresh
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
Instructions
- Take chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
- Fill a saucepan with water so the chicken breast will be well submerged with at least 2" / 5cm of water above it in a single layer (can be snug but do not stack).
- Add Flavourings, if using (squeeze in lemon juice, add used lemon).
- Bring water to boil.
- Place chicken breast in water, place lid on, bring back up to the boil. IMMEDIATELY remove saucepan from stove and set aside for 20 minutes (it's fine up to 45 min to 1 hr, won't overcook).
- Remove chicken from water. Slice and be amazed how perfectly juicy and tender the breast is!! Or chop/shred and use as desired.
- If reserving for later use, cover loosely to cool then refrigerate whole – see Note 6.
Notes
WHY THIS METHOD WORKS – This recipe works consistently every time because the chicken starts off in boiling water which is 100°C/212°F no matter which country, what stove, and what pot you’re using! Chicken cooks at 65°C/150°F, so while the boiled water is at or above this temperature, the chicken is cooking. Once it falls below this temperature (as the water cools off the stove), the chicken stops cooking and thus prevents the breast from overcooking, yielding a guaranteed perfectly cooked juicy chicken breast every single time!
1. Chicken breast size and cook times
250g/8.5oz each chicken breast – leave in water 20 minutes
300g/10oz each breast – take out of fridge 30 minutes prior, leave in water for 25 to 30 minutes
Larger than 300g/10oz – are you sure they are CHICKEN breasts?? ?
220g / 7oz or smaller – recipe works fine but is not quite as juicy, but still juicier than normal simmering method. Can pull out of water earlier using a thermometer – cooked breast is 66°C / 151°F, check at 16 minutes.
Up to 45 minutes, and I still do not notice any loss of juiciness in the breast
Around 1 hour, I notice that it is slightly less juicy – but still way juicier than the usual methods of poaching!
Frozen chicken – must be fully thawed before using.
2. Flavourings are optional, they provide a subtle hint. Good if you plan to eat without adding tons of extra flavour eg slice and use on sandwiches. Feel free to add more fresh or dried herbs or dried spices.
DO NOT add salt or anything with salt in it (sauce or powders). Will affect boiling point and cooling rate of water = might affect chicken cooking through properly.
3. Pot – Big enough so breast lies in single layer. If scaling recipe up, use larger pot. I’ve done 6 breasts in a large pot.
4. High altitude locations: The higher above sea level you are, the lower the boiling point of water. This means that if you are located in a high altitude area, the recipe needs to be amended to boil water with chicken in it before taking it off the stove, to ensure the chicken cooks through. I recommend using a meat thermometer to check chicken for doneness – start by boiling for 1 minute, take off stove for 20 minutes, check temperature (cooked breast 66°C / 151°F). If undercooked, remove chicken from water, bring back up to boil, put breast back in and take off stove. Check internal temp every few minutes. Then next time you make poached chicken, increase or decrease boiling time prior to taking off stove!
5. Slicing tip – for the most tender bite, look for direction of grain and cut 90 degrees across the grain (see video).
6. STORAGE – Remove from water. Best to store whole, uncut, for juiciest chicken. Airtight container in fridge for up to 4 days. It’s incredible how juicy it is even cold, straight from fridge.
Freezing – not as juicy but can be frozen. Thaw and use.
7. Nutrition per chicken breast (250g/8.5oz)
Did You Make This Recipe?
How you went with my recipes? Tag me on Instagram at @PenciDesign.
