This sous vide lemon chicken with herbs is incredibly juicy and flavorful. Using a sous vide machine to cook your chicken is a fool-proof way to cook chicken perfectly. It is also a great way to prepare chicken 95% of the way before guests arrive and only needing to quickly sear when it is dinner time.
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Key Ingredients
- Chicken: you can use your favorite cut of chicken, but I love using skin-on and bone-in chicken breasts for this recipe. Boneless and skinless chicken breasts or thighs and legs also work great!
- Herbs: I use a combination of parsley, thyme, and chives to make a delicious herby marinade and sauce!
- Lemon: I love the punchiness and acid that the lemon zest adds to this dish. You can slice the zested lemons into wedges to serve next to the chicken as an optional additional topping.
- Garlic: I like to grate my garlic so that it turns into a near paste that evenly coats the chicken. If you don't have a grater, you can finely mince the garlic.
Sous vide expert tips
If you have a sous vide machine, simply follow the machine's directions to set it to 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you do not have a sous vide machine, you can still sous vide! Check out these instructions by Martha Stewart for details.
Cook the vacuum-sealed chicken until fully cooked. It takes about 1 hour for boneless chicken breasts, and about 2 hours for bone-in chicken breasts. For either instance, you can leave the chicken in longer without it overcooking, just do not exceed 4 hours or the texture of the chicken can begin to change.
Kitchen tools you'll need
While you can sous vide chicken without this equipment, it makes your life so much easier!
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How to vacuum seal without a vacuum sealer
Yes, you can vacuum seal without a machine by displacing the water. Place the chicken breasts in a sealable bag that is okay in hot temperatures. Try getting out as much air as possible and seal almost all the way, leaving about an inch unsealed. Lower the bag into a large bowl or pot of water, leaving the top unzipped part out of the water. As you lower the bag the air will escape. When all of the air is out, finish sealing the bag.
Substitutions
You can add in other herbs that you have on hand such as chervil or tarragon. I recommend using bone-in skin-on chicken breasts because they tend to be the most flavorful. You can also use boneless chicken breasts for this recipe (and skinless, although the crispy skin is so delicious).
Serving suggestions
Here are a few of my favorite dishes to pair with this sous vide chicken breasts:
- Lemon and Garlic Smashed Potatoes are the perfect side!
- Cucumber and Elderflower Smash would be delicious to drink!
- Brownies with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting for dessert!
If you make this Sous Vide Lemon Chicken with Herbs, I'd love to know what you think in the comments below! And be sure to tag me on social @ccs_table so that I can see your creations!
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📖 Recipe
Sous Vide Lemon Chicken with Herbs
Ingredients
- ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup finely chopped parsley
- 2 teaspoon finely chopped thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped chives
- 2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- 2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 4 chicken breasts preferably bone-in and skin-on
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl or liquid measuring cup, stir together the ¾ cups olive oil, parsley, thyme, chives, lemon zest, garlic, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
- Fold over the edges of a vacuum-sealable bag and add a chicken breast to each bag. Add about 2 Tbsp. of the herb oil mixture to each bag. Rub your hands around the outside of the bag to make sure each chicken breast is coated in the marinade all over. Refrigerate the extra marinade in an airtight container. Use a vacuum sealer to seal each chicken breast (or see notes above for how to seal without one). Refrigerate for at least one hour, or ideally up to overnight.
- Preheat your sous vide machine in a large pot or container of water (see notes above for how to sous vide without a machine) to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Place each chicken breast in its bag into the water. Cook until chicken is fully cooked and has reached an internal temperature of 165, about 1 for boneless chicken breasts and about 2 for bone-in chicken breasts (note: the chicken can stay in there for up to 4 hours until the texture begins to change).
- Remove each chicken breast from the bag and pat dry. Heat a large skillet to high heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil and quickly sear each chicken breast all over until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.
- Serve immediately and spoon additional reserved marinade on top.
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