Essential Sous Vide Equipment

Sous vide machines are sleeker, cheaper, and smarter than ever before. We tested seven immersion circulators priced from $129.99 to $274.95. We used each to prepare eggs, salmon, flank steak, pork loin, and beef short ribs. We evaluated accuracy and speed by tracking the water temperature as we programmed each machine to heat and maintain water baths at 149°F/65°C and 190°F/88°C for 3 hours. We also measured weight, height, distance between minimum and maximum water levels, and footprint. Our winner does require a smartphone in order to work, so we also recommend our runner up. You can read more about our testing of sous vide machines in our review.

You can sous vide in a Dutch oven, a large saucepan, a stockpot, or a large plastic container. We call for a 7-quart container in most of our recipes. In some of our recipes, we cook large cuts of meat, so for these recipes, we recommend investing in a 12-quart container. Cambro containers are inexpensive and easy to use, and we recommend buying one for your larger-scale sous vide cooking.

Originally, sous vide was done with vacuum-sealed foods—after all the name sous vide is French for “under vacuum.” But buying a vacuum sealer and special vacuum bags are not a necessity when it comes to sous vide. In fact, we recommend you use zipper-lock freezer bags instead. It's important to use high-quality freezer bags, as low quality bags can contain BPA, which is not safe for cooking. Most of our recipes call for 1-gallon bags.