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    Home » Recipes » Sous Vide » Sous Vide Chicken » Sous Vide Chicken Temperature and Time Guide

    Sous Vide Chicken Temperature and Time Guide

    Published: Jun 22, 2020 · Modified: Sep 21, 2022 by Jenna Passaro · This post may contain affiliate links.

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    chicken sous vide temp and time chart for light and dark chicken meat

    Want expert help choosing the right chicken sous vide temp and time? Today, I’m going to lay it all out for you. Get temperatures and times for breast, thighs, legs, and from frozen right here.

    chicken sous vide temp and time chart for light and dark chicken meat
    Sous vide chicken turns out juicy when you master temperature control. Thanks to the sous vide machine, it’s super easy to set the exact temperature. This guide is going to teach you how to choose a chicken sous vide temperature for your particular cut of meat.

    After years of sous vide cooking, and tons of testing for The Home Chef’s Sous Vide Cookbook – I have plenty of advice for cooking perfectly cooked white or dark chicken meat. Let’s dive in!

    Table of Contents

    • At what temp and how long do you sous vide chicken?
    • Chicken sous vide temp and time overview
    • Sous Vide Chicken Breast
    • Sous Vide Chicken Tenders
    • Sous Vide Shredded Chicken 
    • Dark chicken sous vide temp and time tips
    • The difference between a chicken leg, thigh, drumstick
    • Sous vide settings for legs, thighs, drumsticks, wings
    • Chicken thigh sous vide temperature example
    • Chicken wings sous vide time and temp guide
    • Whole chicken sous vide time and temperature
    • What about half chicken sous vide?
    • Sous viding frozen chicken breasts / legs / thighs
    • Why is sous vide chicken cooked at a lower temperature?
    • Put these chicken sous vide temp and times to use
    • More chicken, coming your way!

    At what temp and how long do you sous vide chicken?

    One of my most famous beginner tips for sous vide cooking is this simple one: always check and double-check times and temps before setting your precision cooker.

    Many of my sous vide chicken recipes call for a sous vide time of 60 minutes and a temp of around 140-150ºF. But – – and this is a huge but – – there are so, very many, specific recommendations for different parts of the chicken.

    sous vide chicken breast tenders cooked at 140 degrees F with lemons
    Make perfect sous vide chicken breasts with the right temperature and time. This time and temp chart will help you identify the right sous vide machine settings for your particular taste and desired texture.

    Chicken sous vide temp and time overview

    Today you’ll learn everything you need to know when it comes to chicken sous vide time and temp recommendations. From precision cooking one piece of the bird (leg, wings, breast, thighs, drumsticks), to cooking the whole bird sous vide style, I’m going to lay it out for you.

    The short of it is…

    • Sous vide chicken breast (light meat) for at least 1 hour (up to 3 or 4 hours) between 140-167°F.
    • Sous vide dark chicken meat (legs, drumsticks, thighs, wings) for 1-5 or 6 hours at around 148-150°F.
    • Since sous vide whole chicken has both the light and dark meat, I have a special way of preparing it and a special time for sous vide cooking it. More on that below.
    • Sous vide meal prep is so helpful with a toddler in the house! For smaller cuts of chicken (breast, wings or thighs) I’ll add 1 hour on to the chicken sous vide cook time from frozen.

    So let’s dive in and learn about chicken sous vide temp and times to make your favorite sous vide recipes at home. This includes both Fahrenheit and celsius for my international friends.

    Try these sheet pan drumsticks.

    sous vide chicken breast temp and time chart

    Sous Vide Chicken Breast

    Temperature for sous vide chicken breast

    The chicken breast sous vide temp is 140-167°F.

    finishing sous vide chicken in a cast iron pan
    Absolutely juicy and tender chicken is exactly what you get when sous viding chicken at the right time and temperature. Here it’s finished in the cast iron skillet for a tasty exterior.

    Time for sous vide chicken breast

    Once you choose a chicken breast sous vide temp, choose your time: between 1 – 4 hours. Don’t go over 4 hours, because the chicken breast will become mushy. Here are a few sous vide chicken texture options…

    • SOFT AND JUICY sous vide chicken breast: 140°F/60°C
    • TENDER CHICKEN THAT’S VERY JUICY sous vide chicken breast: 149°F/65°C
    • WELL DONE sous vide chicken breast: 167°F/75°C

    Don’t be alarmed when you star to pat sous vide chicken dry with a paper towel. Learn why sous vide chicken looks strange and see the video on weird looking sous vide chicken.

    adding sous vide chicken to bath with anova precision cooker

    More on sous vide chicken breast time and temperatures

    A few times a week, someone will reach out to me and ask, “what temperature do you sous vide chicken breast?”

    My go-to sous vide chicken breast temperature is 140°F for 1 hour. This is both my preferred skin on AND boneless skinless chicken breast sous vide temperature.

    Sous Vide Chicken Tenders

    Time

    When cooking sous vide chicken tenders, choose the same time and temp as what you’d use for regular sous vide chicken breast. My preferred sous vide chicken tenderloin temp is 1 hour.

    Temperature

    At one hour, I like to cook chicken tenders at 140°F.

    cooking sous vide chicken tenders temp at 140°F

    Chicken tenders cooked sous vide are perfect to toss on a salad or turn into a caprese chicken sandwich.

    Sous Vide Shredded Chicken 

    Time

    Want to sous vide chicken for pulled chicken sandwiches and tacos? Raise the heat, and if you have time, cook it 2-3 hours instead of just 1.

    Temperature

    My favorite pulled chicken sous vide temperature is around 150°F. And for time in the pressure cooker, I aim for 3 hours. 

    sous vide shredded chicken temperature and time chart

    Settled on the best temperature to sous vide chicken breast? Now it’s time to move on to dark meat.

    sous vide chicken leg on a plate
    I love using fresh herbs with sous vide cooking. This chicken leg sous vide cooked is finished with chives.

    Dark chicken sous vide temp and time tips

    When it comes to dark chicken sous vide temp recommendations, you’ll see quite a few different cuts of meat that taste delicious sous vide style. Let’s sort out the basics so you can try them yourself.

    chicken legs sous vide with The Home Chef's Sous Vide Cookbook
    Dark meat chicken sous vide style includes legs (made up of the thighs and drumsticks), plus the chicken wings.

    Did you know that dark meat is a different type of muscle than white meat? It’s true. That’s why the time and temp for sous vide chicken breast is different than sous vide chicken wings, thighs, and one of my favorites – sous vide chicken drumsticks.

    sous vide chicken legs and sous vide chicken thighs cooking in a cast iron skillet
    Experimenting with different marinades… here’s sous vide chicken legs and sous vide chicken thighs cooking in a cast iron skillet. What’s it marinated in? Red pepper hummus. It was so tasty!

    The difference between a chicken leg, thigh, drumstick

    First, let’s make sure we are on the same page so the time and temps for dark meat chicken make sense.

    A chicken leg is made up of a drumstick and a thigh. Similar to humans, the thigh of the chicken is the top, larger section of the bird. The drumstick is the smaller part – like the chicken calf.

    sous vide dark chicken temp and time chart

    Sous vide settings for legs, thighs, drumsticks, wings

    Temperature

    Recommendations will vary by recipe. Most sous vide dark chicken meat recipes call for 149-167°F, but may go as low as 148. I find it’s a bit pinker when cooked that low.

    Cooking Times

    Sous vide dark chicken cook times are between 1-5 hours.

    sous vide dark chicken meat
    Sous viding chicken thighs at the perfect time and temperature. 

    Chicken thigh sous vide temperature example

    We love chicken thighs for easy meal prep on a busy week. Choosing skin-on thighs and crisping them in the broiler after cooking is one of my favorite ways to prepare them.

    sous vide chicken thighs on a plate with thyme
    Boneless chicken thighs cooked sous vide style to a perfectly juicy and tender texture.

    For my recipe for Sous Vide Chicken Thighs with Lemon Tahini Sauce from The Home Chef’s Sous Vide Cookbook, I recommend leaving them in for a full four hours at 149°F. The same is true for my Curry Spiced Chicken Thighs recipe, too.

    perfectly tender sous vide chicken wings with buffalo sauce

    Chicken wings sous vide time and temp guide

    Football is a way of life in my house, and fortunately, this means making game day sous vide wings on repeat all season long. They are tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. See my complete guide to sous vide wings time and temps.

    Also see how long to smoke chicken wings…

    sous vide whole chicken cooked at the perfect temp with The Home Chef's Sous Vide Cookbook
    Sous vide whole chicken is one of my favorite dishes right now.

    Whole chicken sous vide time and temperature

    I wanted to share a special note on cooking sous vide whole chicken. Since it has both light and dark meat, I have a special way of preparing it and a special time for sous vide cooking it. Sous viding it takes a little bit of compromise.

    Time

    It will take several hours to cook a whole chicken in a water bath. Most of my recipes call for 6 hours, but depending on the size of the chicken you may need to vary that, or finish it in the broiler if the chicken isn’t completely cooked.

    Temperature

    My tried and tested temperature for whole chicken with the sous vide method is 182.5°F. 

    I always spatchcock before vacuum sealing a whole chicken for sous vide cooking to help it cook evenly. Watch my whole chicken vacuum sealing video on the Sip Bite Go channel.

    sous vide half chicken perfectly cooked at the right time and temp
    For chef hubs, the toddler, and myself – a half chicken sous vide cooked at the right time and temp is perfect for everyone to have a delicious and satisfying meal.

    What about half chicken sous vide?

    The sous vide temp for half chicken with the bone is the same as a whole chicken. Make sure to completely flatten out the chicken before you vac seal the bag. This is definitely a recipe I like to make in a vacuum sealed bag over a plastic bag because when you put the bag in the water bath, you don’t want it to float. Yes, you can always do the water displacement method, but I find it’s difficult to get the air completely out of the bag. 

    Wondering if you should use a plastic zip bag or a vacuum sealer? Learn more about vacuum sealing vs ziplock bags.

    Sous viding frozen chicken breasts / legs / thighs

    As a new parent trying to eat well and adhere to strict toddler dinner and bedtime routines, making dinner with frozen chicken makes life easier.

    It’s easy to sous vide chicken from frozen, and once you get the timing and temperature adjustments down, you’ll really enjoy this sous vide meal prep technique.

    For most standard chicken breast, wings, and thighs (smaller cuts of chicken) you can just add an extra sixty minutes on to your sous vide cook time. But always check the recipe notes for specific instructions.

    Frozen sous vide chicken time will vary to about 50% more of the cooking time when you’re cooking something large like a sous vide whole chicken.

    sous vide chicken cooked tender with limes in a meal prep container
    This sous vide chicken was meal prepped in bulk. It’s ready for a tasty wfh lunch without the hassle.

    Why is sous vide chicken cooked at a lower temperature?

    Many of us have heard that the best way to ensure that chicken is safe to eat is to cook it to 165⁰F. So, when your sous vide chicken recipe indicates that you should cook chicken at 140⁰F, you might start wondering if the delicious, juicy chicken you prepare will be OK to eat.

    While the 165⁰F rule (or some people may know it as 160⁰F rule) is indeed a good one to follow for traditional cooking methods, such as grilling or baking your chicken, this isn’t the end all be all of food safety. 

    Another way to make sure the chicken is safe for you to eat is to pasteurize it. Cooking the chicken breast sous vide pasteurizes it. In order to do it correctly, you need to keep the internal temperature at a certain temperature for a certain amount of time.

    Here’s an example: Once chicken is heated through, it will be pasteurized after cooking it at 140⁰F for 30 minutes. If you meet that minimum time, then you can feel confident when you’re eating that it’s fully safe.

    So, go forth and enjoy the juicier, more tender sous vide version of chicken, just make sure you’re following the instructions for your minimum cook time. 

    cast iron searing sous vide chicken breasts
    After cooking chicken at the best sous vide chicken breast temperature for you — finish it in the broiler or in a cast iron skillet with a little olive oil or butter.

    Everyone has their own preference for chicken texture. And depending on the recipe, the temperature may change. For example, sous vide spicy fried chicken recipe is prepared at a higher temperature than I usually choose.

    One reason to start with a lower sous vide temperature for chicken is that many recipes call for finishing sous vide chicken in a cast-iron skillet, or on the grill. This extra step at the end adds heat to the chicken which may change the internal temperature and texture of the chicken.

    What about cooking sous vide chicken from frozen? When cooking sous vide frozen chicken, add on an hour to the cook time. But keep the temperature at 140°F. This gives the chicken time to thaw in the sous vide bath but doesn’t overcook it to a complete mushy mess. More on frozen chicken sous vide temp and time info at the bottom of this page.

    setting the Anova sous vide chicken breast temperature for the water bath
    Setting the Anova sous vide chicken breast temperature for a weeknight meal with chicken breast and lemon slices. I turned it into this tasty sous vide lemon chicken and pasta dish.

    Put these chicken sous vide temp and times to use

    So there you have it, everything from my favorite chicken breast sous vide temperature and time to tricks to sous vide frozen chicken times and what to do when you’re cooking both dark and white chicken meat together.

    More chicken, coming your way!

    I’m passionate about sous vide cooking for my little foodie family. And perhaps that’s why Sip Bite Go is one of the most popular sous vide blogs on the web. I’m always sharing new videos and recipes so you can follow along.

    Some of my other favorite sous vide main dishes are sous vide bone in pork chops, sous vide chicken wings, and sous vide brisket. 

    Find me on Instagram @sipbitego and see my latest sous vide recipe videos on the Sip Bite Go channel.

    sous vide bbq chicken legs with The Home Chef's Sous Vide Cookbook

    Find new ways to enjoy your favorite food with sous vide cooking with my new book – The Home Chef’s Sous Vide Cookbook.

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    jenna passaro food blogger from Portland Oregon

    Hey, I’m Jenna Passaro.

    I develop easy recipes that can transform your kitchen into a restaurant – and you into a true home chef.

      

    Where to start?

    Learn the secrets to smoking tasty Traeger recipes and making pizza at home. And cook amazing tri tip steak dinners.

    Or, fall in love with something new to cook with your air fryer, pellet smoker, BBQ grill, sous vide cooker, and more…

    You’ll notice, I kind of geek out over new cooking trends and tools!

    Instagram me @sipbitego & chef hubs @handmodelpatrick

    My story. Growing up, I didn’t learn to cook.

    (I was actually banned from cooking for years)

    And then in my 20’s I didn’t have to cook because my job as an event planner involved a lot of travel and it was easier to eat out. At the time, I was 100% positive that restaurant food would always taste better than cooking at home, and there was nothing I could do about it.

    Until I fell in love with a chef. He would come over and cook me delicious meals right in my own kitchen. My mind was blown.

    Since then, I’ve been on a mission to figure out easy ways to make restaurant style food at home and share it here on Sip Bite Go.

    Love to eat out and travel? I can totally relate. See my guide on where to eat in Portland, OR.

    jenna passaro the home chef's sous vide cookbook

    Never in a million years did I imagine I’d ditch the 9-5 lifestyle in my late 20’s, move across the country on a whim, start a new life, start a food blog, and write a book.

    But here I am!

    See my book on Amazon: The Home Chef’s Sous Vide Cookbook.

     

       

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