Visible-near-infrared spectroscopy was examined as a tool for rapidly determining water-holding capacity (WHC) in broiler breast meat. Reflectance measurements for 85 breast filets were recorded over the 400 to 2,498 nm wavelength range at 0.5-nm intervals and 32 scans. Chemometric analysis was performed utilizing Savitzky-Golay derivative processing and multiplicative scatter correction. Both partial least squares regression and discriminant analysis were used to develop calibration models tested by cross-validation. Partial least squares regression modeling resulted in coefficients of determinants of 0.72, 0.67, and 0.62 for WHC, pH, and lightness (L*) values, respectively. The mean spectra of samples categorized as either high or low WHC, pH, and L* showed significant differences between absorption peaks between 400 to 800 nm and between 1,400 to 2,500 nm (associated with heme pigments and water absorption, respectively). The results showed potential use of visible-near-infrared spectroscopy as a predictor of WHC in pale broiler breast meat.