Boiling chicken breasts is easy and a great way to cook chicken to enjoy them as they are or to serve in other easy dinner recipes.
Much like boiling a whole chicken, boiling thighs, and boiling chicken legs, it’s easy to boil chicken breasts too.
If you’re planning to boil chicken breasts to use the chicken meat in other recipes, as we do with our slow cooker shredded chicken, you’ll love using this cooked chicken in this White Chicken Chili, Buffalo Chicken Lasagna, and this Taco Chicken Casserole.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s easy: Boiling chicken breasts is so easy. Simply add water and chicken breasts to the stock pot and cook!
- Versatile: We kept this tutorial for how to boil chicken breasts basic, as we weren’t sure how you’d use the chicken, so we kept the ingredients low. Feel free to adjust and add your favorites. See our suggestions below.
- Ready in less than 30 minutes: In less than 30 minutes, you’ll have cooked chicken breasts ready to enjoy or to serve in other dishes.
Ingredients Needed
We only used salt, pepper, and chicken breasts in this tutorial but you can add other ingredients to fit your needs if desired. We’ve given suggestions below on what else you can add if you’d like a flavorful chicken.
- Chicken Breasts – Sizes of chicken breasts can vary and it could change how long the cooking time is, if the chicken breasts are very large or very small. Boneless chicken breasts may take less time to cook than bone-in chicken breasts. However, you’ll find all of the cooking times below.
Substitutions and Variations
If you’d like to add other ingredients to flavor your chicken breasts while boiling, here are some suggestions that may help:
- garlic
- onions
- fresh herbs – such as rosemary, thyme, parsley
- bay leaves
- carrots
- celery
Equipment
Large stockpot or Dutch oven that’s big enough to house the chicken and any other ingredients, while keeping in mind that water will need to be used to cover the breasts completely.
How Long to Boil Chicken Breasts
There’s not much to boiling chicken breasts because it’s really easy!
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
STEP 1. Add chicken. Place chicken breasts in a large stock pot of dutch oven. (Image 1).
STEP 2. Add salt & pepper. Next, season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. The amount can depend on your desired flavoring. (Image 2).
Tip: Remember that you can always add salt and pepper after they’re cooked but you can’t take it away. However, adding water can dilute the flavor of the chicken’s seasoning, so more is usually recommended. You can also use the leftover chicken water as homemade chicken broth.
STEP 3. Add water & boil. Add water to the stockpot, making sure to add enough that it sits about an inch above the chicken.
Boiled Chicken Cooking Times
For all chicken types, cook on “high” until a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium and follow the below guidelines:
Fresh boneless chicken breasts: Simmer on medium for 20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken breasts is 165 degrees (Image 3).
Frozen boneless chicken breasts: Simmer on medium for 25-30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Fresh bone-in chicken breasts: Simmer on medium for 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Frozen bone-in chicken breasts: Simmer on medium for about 30-40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
STEP 4. Remove chicken. Once the chicken breasts have finished cooking, remove them from the broth and serve or use it in other recipes (Image 4).
Recipe Pro Tips
- Dips & Seasonings. If serving boiled, feel free to add extra seasoning or your favorite sauces to the cooked chicken. Seasonings such as garlic powder or your favorite BBQ seasoning are delicious. For sauces, BBQ sauce, easy teriyaki sauce, or this delicious jalapeno ranch dressing is a great choice.
- Meal Prep. Boiling a lot of chicken breasts at one time is a great way to plan for future meals. Or, you can even freeze cooked chicken breasts for later. This works great if chicken breasts are on sale and you want to stock up on them and save them for later.
- Shred Warm. It’s easier to shred chicken when it’s warm, so shredding right after boiling is best if you can. You can also shred chicken easily by using two forks or even easier; shred using a stand mixer.
Recipe FAQs
Boiling fresh, boneless chicken breasts for 20 minutes is a good gauge for how long to boil chicken. However, the cooking time can vary, depending on how small or large the breasts are, if they’re frozen or fresh, and if they have bones or are boneless. Make sure the internal temperature of the chicken breasts is 165 degrees.
Boiling for 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 should make the chicken breast easy to shred, especially is shredding while still warm.
Putting the chicken in the pot at the same time as the water, is just fine. Allow it to come to a boil and then simmer to finish cooking.
How to Serve Boiled Chicken Breasts
Boiled chicken breasts can be served alone, as is, or with other seasonings and dips. The chicken breasts can also be shredded or diced in to small pieces to be included in casserole recipes, salad recipes, in to easy sandwich recipes, comforting pasta recipes, or in soup recipes.
Storage
Leftover chicken breasts: Store cooled leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Freeze: Store cooled chicken breasts in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag for 3-4 months.
Thaw: To thaw, place frozen chicken breasts in the refrigerator to slowly thaw.
More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
Chicken can be used in so many recipes! Here are some of our reader’s favorites:
Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!
Recipe
How to Boil Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts Or see different types of chicken breasts and their relative cooking times, below. Amount of chicken breasts can vary.
- water
- salt Season as desired
- pepper Season as desired
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in a large stock pot (large enough to hold chicken breasts – in a single layer if possible).
- Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
- Cover chicken breasts with enough water that there's at least an inch of water above the top of the chicken.
- For all chicken types, cook on "high" until a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium and follow the below guidelines:
Fresh boneless chicken breasts:
- Simmer on medium for 20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken breasts is 165 degrees (Image 3).
Frozen boneless chicken breasts:
- Simmer on medium for 25-30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Fresh bone-in chicken breasts:
- Simmer on medium for 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Frozen bone-in chicken breasts:
- Simmer on medium for about 30-40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
- Remove chicken from water and serve or shred/dice/slice for other recipes.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Melissa says
This was so life changing for me! I had never thought to boil the breasts. It made the yummiest chicken to top off our dinner. Loved it!
jess says
this was everything that I needed and more! thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe, you helped make it so easy!