Sous Vide Chicken Breast Meal Prep: 5 Flavors and 5 Unique Chicken Meals

Sous vide chicken breast meal prep once and make at least five unique, healthy, and delicious chicken meals in under 15 minutes each. 

In the sous vide world, chicken breast is often the first thing to try if you are a beginner. After you taste the difference, you are feverishly addicted to this cooking method. Admittedly, that’s how I started my sous vide journey. 

In the realm of fitness and wellness, chicken breast stands firmly at the top of the protein list due to its exceptional nutrient profile.

A 3.5-oz. (100-g) serving of cooked chicken breast provides 165 calories, 31 g of protein, and 3.6 g of fat, which translates to approximately 80% of the calories in chicken breast coming from protein and only 20% from fat. 

No wonder this protein bomb is essential for weight loss and muscle building. So many people consume it for its function and its function only. It’s often dry, flavorless, chalky, and tastes like old kitchen cloth wipes. 

Giving up the joy of eating for the sake of “being healthy?”

Nope, not on my watch!

In this article, you will cook the tenderest and juiciest chicken breast and do sous vide chicken breast meal prep simultaneously! 

I will show you how to prepare a bunch of chicken breasts with five flavors at once, sous vide them all together but separately in one sous vide tank, and enjoy them in different ways whenever you want. We are talking about at least five unique, healthy, and delicious chicken meals in under 15 minutes each. Something like this:

Intrigued? Let’s dive in.

Sous Vide Chicken Breast Time and Temperature 

First and foremost, sous vide time and temperature. After years of experimenting, I’ve comfortably settled on 140°F (60°C) for 1.5 to 2 hours for sous vide chicken breast. It produces the softest and most juicy chicken breast on the planet. Something I want to eat straight out of the sous vide bag. If you’d like a different texture, here’s a chart for your reference. 

Chicken Breast Texture	Temperature	Cook Time
Soft and juicy	140°F (60°C)	1.5 to 4 hours
Tender and juicy: Ideal for shredded chicken and chicken salad	150°F (66°C)	1 to 4 hours
Traditional, juicy, firm, and slightly stringy	160°F (71°C)	1 to 4 hours

Essential Equipment

If you’re reading this article, my hunch is that you’re serious about using sous vide for meal prep. (You are at the right place, my friend.) Let’s get you appropriately equipped to ensure your success. Use the following as a checklist. 

• A sous vide immersion circulator, AKA a sous vide machine. My go-to is the Anova Precision Cooker. I will also recommend the KitchenBoss Sous Vide Cooker. (Full review here.)
• A sous vide container. Usually, I’d say a large pot does the job just fine, but not in this case of meal prepping because you’ll cook a big batch of chicken (or other food in the future). A proper container provides room for the food and water to circulate well. My go-to is an Anova sous vide cooking container, which holds up to 16L of water with a removable lid and a rack. If you’re ready to pick up proper sous vide gear, consider getting this Anova set, which includes a sous vide machine and a container. 
• A vacuum sealer is essential for sous vide meal prepping. The vacuum sealing process guarantees the result and eliminates any opportunity for bacteria to contact your perfectly cooked chicken. That’s how it keeps your sous vide food fresh for longer and freezes quickly without freezer burn. This is what I use.
• Vacuum sealer rolls or pre-cut vacuum bags. For sous vide chicken breast meal prep, I cut five custom-cut bags from an 8-inch 50-ft vacuum sealer roll from Avid Armor for ten chicken breasts, two breasts in each bag. You can also choose their pre-cut vacuum bags to save time. I would NOT recommend zip-top bags for sous vide meal prepping. If you are wondering how to select suitable bags for sous vide, read Sous Vide Bags 101.

Sous Vide Chicken Breast Meal Prep Basics 

Now fully equipped and knowledgeable, let’s get your chicken breasts ready. 

Step 1: Deciding on The Flavors 

Let’s keep it simple by using dry rubs. No measurement is needed. Whether you cook for one or six, whether your chicken breasts are large or small, it doesn’t matter. Everything is to taste. 

Here are some of my go-to combinations, just for your reference. One dry rub requires a maximum of three ingredients. That’s how simple it is.

• Paprika Chicken: Salt, pepper, smoked paprika
• BBQ Chicken: Salt, BBQ seasoning, liquid smoke
• Cajun Chicken: Salt, cajun seasoning
• Curry Turmeric Chicken: Salt, curry powder, ground turmeric
• Mushroom Basil Chicken: Salt, mushroom powder, dried basil

Remember, these five flavors are just the tip of the iceberg when seasoning chicken breast. You might have a few of your favorite combinations to flavor your chicken – fajita seasoning and taco seasoning, and there are also all kinds of pre-mixed chicken seasonings in the store. By all means, if you like it, go for it. 

You can certainly do more than five flavors or less. The idea is to incorporate variety in your meal prep. 

Step 2: Vacuum Seal and Sous Vide

Once the chicken breasts are seasoned, put them in sous vide bags and vacuum seal them. As mentioned before, the best way to effectively meal prep with sous vide is to vacuum seal food for cooking and storage, as it’ll keep your cooked food fresh for much longer and is easy to freeze.

You can seal multiple chicken breasts with the same flavor in one bag, which generally works well if you cook for more people. (I sealed two in one bag here.) Otherwise, you can pack the chicken breast individually, especially if you cook for one. 

Once the chicken breasts are neatly sealed, they are ready for the sous vide. Alternatively, you can leave the prepped chicken in your freezer and cook them when you are ready.

If your chicken breasts are frozen, you’ll need to add one more hour to the cooking time. 

Personally, I don’t want to wait several hours to have dinner on the table, so when I meal prep, I prefer to cook everything first. It totally depends on your preference and schedule, though. 

Now, let’s move on to labeling and storage. 

Step 3: Labeling and Proper Storage

When the chicken breasts are cooked, immediately plug them into an ice-water bath to chill rapidly. Label them before transferring them to the fridge or freezer. 

Sous vide chicken breasts in their vacuum-sealed bags (unopened) can last seven days in the fridge. They can also safely be left in the freezer for two years without freezer burn. 

That’s it–the whole meal prep process from start to finish doesn’t take much effort at all. Isn’t that easy? 

How to Reheat Sous Vide Chicken Breast

Before we assemble any meals, let’s talk about reheating. 

I have three recommendations for reheating chicken breasts. 

1. Return the chicken to a sous vide bath at 131°F (55°C) for 15-30 minutes. The key is to set a temperature lower than the temperature you originally cooked the chicken at so you don’t “recook” the chicken but rather warm it up. 
2. Drop the chicken bag directly into boiling water for six minutes. This is my favorite reheating method. It’s quicker than warming up in a sous vide bath or oven, and it doesn’t change the perfect texture compared to warming up in the microwave or on the stove. If your sous vide chicken breasts are frozen, thaw them first. 
3. For a chicken stir fry with vegetables, chop the chicken and add it to your skillet after cooking the vegetables to warm up.

5 Healthy Chicken Meals in Less Than 15 Minutes Each

Now, here is my favorite part! We are going to turn those flavorful chicken breasts into healthy, balanced, and super delicious meals. Each one will take you no more than 15 minutes, and you won’t have repeats. The best part? I’ve compiled all the recipes in one file for you to download instantly. Fill out the form below and grab it.

Here comes the rundown on each meal.

Meal #1: Paprika Chicken Salad

For the paprika chicken, here’s a glorious salad that checks off all the boxes: gluten-free, low-carb with high protein, healthy fat, and a good source of fiber. No dressing is necessary, and no cooking is required at all.

I built the salad with a bed of spring mix, cherry tomatoes, yellow bell peppers, mixed beans, sliced sous vide paprika chicken, and a large spoonful of kimchi, and then I topped it off with chopped walnuts. If you want the salad to have a bit more flavor, just drizzle it with the chicken juice from the bag. 

Meal #2: BBQ Chicken Buddha Bowl with Tahini Dressing

This is another meal that doesn’t require cooking if you are short on time. We start by making the tahini dressing in a blender. You’ll need tahini paste, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and water to thin. You can also use ranch dressing for this Buddha bowl. 

I built the bowl with purple kale (you can use any kind of kale), pickled onions, black beans, corn kernels, and sliced sous vide BBQ chicken. Then, I drizzled it with the tahini dressing and garnished it with chopped parsley. You may add grains like white rice, brown rice, or quinoa as the base. 

Meal #3: Cajun Chicken with Sautéed Kale 

To pair the Cajun chicken, I quickly sautéed some kale and mushrooms using the chicken juice from the bag to enhance the flavor. Broccoli or asparagus are good choices as well. While the vegetables were cooking, I brought a pot of water to a boil on another stove to warm up the Cajun chicken simultaneously. Once everything was done, I served the chicken with the sautéed vegetables and brown rice. 

Meal #4: Curry Turmeric Chicken with Spinach and Chickpeas

Similarly, I sautéed some spinach to pair with the sous vide curry turmeric chicken. The chickpeas are toasted in the same pan with a touch of curry powder and turmeric. 

Meal #5: Mushroom Basil Chicken Stir Fry 

First, I cut the sous vide mushroom basil chicken into cubes. Next, I fired up the stove to cook some mushrooms with garlic and added a pinch of salt. When the mushroom was almost cooked, I stirred in the chicken, followed by the cooking juice from the bag and a splash of Ponzu sauce (It’s a citric sauce. If you don’t have it, use Worcestershire sauce.). The chicken and mushrooms got stirred together at this point. As soon as the chicken was warmed, I turned off the heat and stirred in a big handful of fresh basil leaves. Yum! You can serve this over rice, quinoa, or couscous. 

Here you have it–my secret to meal prep with sous vide chicken breast. I hope you find it helpful. You can apply the same technique to pork, beef, shrimp, fish, etc. Then, have multiple perfectly cooked and delicious proteins at your fingertips for quick, homemade, healthy meals anytime!

Sous Vide Once, Savor All Week

If you want to take sous vide meal prep to the next level, my course Sous Vide Once, Savor All Week is a three-week program that goes the whole nine yards from the meal plan menu and meal prep timeline, which shows you what to cook when, what to cook together, and what to do in between in one chart. There are also step-by-step prep instructions, all individual recipes, meal assembling instructions, and a grocery shopping list. All done for you. 

Each week, you’ll prep three different proteins (not just one), three types of vegetables, three kinds of good carbs, a healthy fat like extra-virgin olive oil built into a multi-purpose dressing, and a bonus scrumptious dessert. The entire meal prep hands-on time is under 2 hours. 

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