What’s the easiest way to cook chicken? In my opinion, it’s boiling, because there is almost no mess to clean up. It’s also super easy to do, with few ingredients to use and a method that can be timed perfectly so you don’t have to keep adjusting the temperature or the chicken as it cooks.
If you are looking for a simple method of cooking chicken that you can try that will make the chicken taste succulent and flavorful, then try to boil chicken and see how easy it is and how good the chicken tastes when it is done.
Really the only thing that may cause your boiled chicken dish to spoil is if you cook it too long or not long enough. Ho long does it take to boil chicken? I’ll cover all the information you need right here so you don’t make the most common mistakes with boiling chicken.
How Long to Boil Chicken?
There are several factors that will determine how long to boil chicken for. You will need to take into account how much water is in the pot, how hot the water stays during cooking, and how much chicken is placed into the pot to boil.
The thicker your chicken pieces are, the longer they will take to boil. The denser pieces will prevent heat from passing through them as quickly as if you have smaller, thinner pieces.
So, for faster cooking, you can cut the chicken into smaller pieces. If you have a lot of chicken in the pot at once, that will slow down the cooking process as well.
Don’t crowd the pot, and make sure there is enough room for the chicken to rest in there without the chicken pieces being squished up against one another.
Make sure that you place your chicken into the water only once the water starts to boil. That helps you determine better how long to cook he chicken for.
Also make sure there is enough water to completely submerge the chicken but not more than that. Excess water means you will need to wait longer for the water to reach boiling point.
If you do all of that, then most chicken will boil in 20 minutes or less.
You know the chicken is done cooking when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, which you can check with an instant read thermometer.
How Long to Boil Chicken Breast
Chicken breast meat that’s boneless will cook in about 15 minutes in boiling water. Make sure the pot isn’t overcrowded, but as long as there is enough space for all of the chicken breasts, it should not matter how many you are cooking at once.
Ensure your pot is large enough to accommodate the chicken and consider boiling the chicken in batches for a smoother cooking process.
How long to boil chicken breasts? They should take about 15 minutes, but be sure to check the internal temperature before turning off the heat.
How Long to Boil Chicken Thighs?
Thigh cutlets cook the fastest, with bone-in thighs taking longer. The bone makes the chicken denser, so it takes longer to cook fully. Thin thigh cutlets can take about 8 minutes to cook, with bone-in thighs taking about 15-20 minutes. What’s the difference between boneless and bone-in pieces of chicken as well as thin and thick cuts.
How Long to Boil Chicken Legs and Wings?
These are some of the thinner chicken pieces coming so they won’t take as long to cook as thighs or breasts. Chicken wings and chicken legs should boil in about 10-12 minutes, as long as you put them in once the water is boiling and you don’t overcrowd the pot.
How Long to Boil Frozen Chicken?
Frozen chicken will take longer to cook, so if you’re wondering how long to boil boneless chicken breast that’s frozen compared to fresh chicken breasts or other chicken pieces, you want to keep this in mind.
Frozen chicken breast filets will take about 20 minutes to boil. Put the frozen pieces into the water once it’s boiling and allow them to cook all the way through. Compare that to fresh chicken breast filets, which can take 8 to 12 minutes.
How long to boil frozen chicken breast also depends on how many pieces you have in there at once. As long as the pot is not overcrowded, 20 minutes should be long enough for them to cook all the way through.
How Long to Boil Chicken Breast to Shred?
What if you want to cook the chicken so soft that it can be shredded easily to make BBQ chicken or chicken casserole? They will need to cook for extra long, and most people would use a slow cooker for this, but you can use a pot of water on the stove to make shredded chicken.
If you have fresh boneless chicken breast fillets, they will take about 20 minutes to boil on the stovetop until they’re ready to shred easily. If you don’t cook the chicken long enough, then we will still be a little tough, and it will be difficult to shred your chicken.
How Long to Boil a Whole Chicken
If you’re trying to boil an entire chicken at once, you’re dealing with a pretty thick a piece of meat that could easily fill the whole pot. Make sure that your pot is large enough to accommodate the whole chicken and place enough water in there to cover.
When cooking a whole chicken, put the chicken in the water before you turn on the heat, and once the water has started to boil, you can lower the heat and continue cooking for 50 to 60 minutes.
How Long to Boil Chicken Tenders
Chicken tenders are small pieces of boneless meat, so they should cook pretty quickly. You can put them into the water once it’s boiling and expect them to cook in about 8 to 10 minutes, depending on how many you put into the pot at once.
