Sous vide can be intimidating for starter cooks, I know! But I promise these recipes are perfect for beginners. Translated from the French, sous vide means ‘under vacuum’ and involves sealing food in a bag before immersing it in a water bath and cooking it slowly at a low temperature. The result is perfectly cooked food that acquires a rich flavor from being simmered in its own juices. So let’s get started! Dig out your sous vide and prepare to explore the delicious world of tender meats, flavorful stews, and decadent desserts.
1. Sous Vide Steak
Season. Sous vide. Sear. Perfect steak becomes super simple with this easy recipe. Sous vide helps you get your steak right every time, with consistent cooking all the way through. So whether you like ‘em well-done, medium, or fresh from the cow, this is the recipe you need to make the best ever steak dinner.
2. Sous Vide Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
There are just five ingredients but lots of flavor in this healthy, tasty soup. Letting the veggies cook slowly keeps them tender and tasty. It only takes 20 minutes to pull together this velvety, rich soup that stores well and freezes perfectly, so you can keep the goodness going all week along.
3. Sous Vide Guinness Beef Stew
Irish stew isn’t just for St. Patrick’s Day, especially when it comes to this hearty Guinness and beef version. Tender beef is cooked in a rich broth flavored with Ireland’s favorite stout. Save this one for cold evenings and chilly nights when only a bowl of rib-sticking comfort food will do.
4. Sous Vide Carrots
Many cooks go right to the mains when using their sous vide. But it’s a great way to ensure perfectly cooked veggies, too. Overcooked veggies are a thing of the past with this simple recipe, which delivers tender carrots with just the right amount of crunch. And don’t forget the brown sugar glaze. It’s the perfect finishing touch to bring out carrots’ natural sweetness.
5. Sous Vide Broccoli
If, like me, your childhood was blighted by mushy broccoli (I still have nightmares), this sous vide recipe is the answer to all that trauma. Broccoli is cooked until tender then tossed with browned garlic, salt, and pepper. It’s a wow-worthy side that elevates a humble veg into something much more decadent and delicious.
6. Sous Vide Chicken Drumsticks
If you’re not using your sous vide to cook chicken, you’re not doing justice to your poultry. This recipe gives you plump, juicy meat and crispy skin, simply by cooking and then finishing off the drumsticks with a quick sear. No brining, no marinating, just fuss-free, delicious chicken.
7. Sous Vide Asparagus
There’s nothing quite like fresh spring asparagus. It’s tasty, it’s healthy, and it’s perfectly cooked – if you sous vide that sucker. Sealed and cooked with a knob of butter, this is a vibrantly green, fresh-tasting side. The recipe includes some suggestions for serving – toss with garlic, top with a sprinkling of parmesan or just drizzle with some fresh lemon juice.
8. Sous Vide Brisket
Sorry, slow cooker, sous vide is the latest set-and-forget method of getting perfectly tenderized meat. The longer you cook your brisket, the more tender it becomes, so do the prep well in advance and let this hearty cut of meat simmer for at least 36 hours. Finished off in the oven, and flavored with spices like cumin, paprika, and oregano, it’s a melt-in-the-mouth-then-ask-for-more kinda dish.
9. Garlic Herb Sous Vide Potatoes
For perfect, fluffy, creamy potatoes every time, reach for the sous vide machine. And it’s a time saver, too. You won’t even need to peel your spuds here. Just chop, combine with garlic, olive oil, and herbs and immerse in your water bath until soft. If you want that just-fried golden brown look, simply sear your potatoes in a hot pan after cooking.
10. Sous Vide Hard Boiled Eggs
Great for devilled eggs, or tossing into a simple salad for extra proteins, there’s always a reason to have hard boiled eggs to hand. One of the best ways to do them is sous vide, which has one big advantage over conventional boiling. Eggs done in sous vide style peel perfectly. Yep, no more picking away at that stubborn shell, it’ll just slip off. Trust me, I’ve done a lot of eggy experiments.
11. Sous Vide Corned Beef with Fried Cabbage and Onions
Corned beef uses one of the cheaper cuts of meat, which can make it tricky to cook. These leaner meats tend to dry out quickly so it’s very easy to overcook them. With this recipe you can keep your corned beef moist and your cabbage tender by sealing them in a sous vide and letting the water bath do its work. If the Irish had sous vide machines when this dish was invented, they’d be serving it every night, not just on St. Paddy’s Day.
12. Sous Vide Ribs
These ribs are a meaty must for any carnivorous cooks. Seasoned with a smoky dry rub and cooked low and slow for 24 hours, they will fall right off the bone and into your belly. The sous vide does all the work here. All you’ll have to do is bring your appetite, and a bottle of BBQ sauce.
13. Sous Vide French Dip Sandwiches
French dip sandwiches consist of shredded roast beef served in a soft bun with a piquant gravy. The beauty of this recipe is that any roast cut will work. Even inexpensive meats become perfectly tender in the sous vide. All you’ll have to worry about is whipping together the tasty sauce and making sure you’ve enough for seconds.
14. Sous Vide Beets
Confession time – I’m not a big fan of beets. But I could be convinced with this easy recipe which offers a new way to cook the earthy, sweet veg. One big benefit to using the sous vide is that it eliminates the need to prep your beets. If you’ve ever peeled and sliced fresh beets you know they can turn your kitchen into a crime scene faster than you can say, “will these red stains wash off?” Here you just wash, trim, and cut your beets before dumping them in their bag and letting them simmer for a few hours. When they’re done, the peel should slip right off.
15. Spiced Sous Vide Eggplant
This recipe is for you if you like the sound of smooth, velvety eggplant flavored with a tangy, spicy sauce. Inspired by Korean flavors, you’ll have to hunt down some Deonjang paste to make this heavenly dish. It’s well worth trawling your local Asian food stores to find some. The unique ‘umami’ taste is unforgettable.
16. Sous Vide Corn on the Cob
This simple side screams summer. Fresh tender corn falls off the stalk after simmering in butter and water in your sous vide machine. It’s a must if you’re planning on backyard BBQs or outdoor eating on warm nights.
17. Sous Vide Mashed Potatoes
Boiling potatoes can lead to watery, tasteless mash. Not so when they’re done in the sous vide, which allows the spuds to keep their flavor without draining away the goodness. Creamy and buttery, with a hint of garlic, this is the perfect puree to accompany meat, chicken, or basically anything on your plate.
18. Bolognese Sauce
Every cook has those nights when they can’t be bothered to make sauce from scratch. With this recipe, you can enjoy homemade bolognese without the work. Just pour the ingredients into a bag and let them simmer for 8-24 hours. The long cooking time releases all the rich flavor of the tomatoes, browned beef, garlic, and herbs. It’s much more delicious than anything you’ll get from a jar.
19. Sous Vide Brussels Sprouts
You may think you’ve eaten Brussels sprouts. You may even think you enjoyed them. But you’ve never truly tasted their wonderful flavor if you haven’t tried them sous vide. Sprouts stay perfectly tender and retain all their nutrition and taste with this easy method. Toss them with seasonings like olive oil and garlic after cooking to create a holiday-worthy side.
20. Sous Vide Fajita Vegetables
What are ‘fajita’ vegetables? They’re a fresh and colorful mix of several different varieties of bell peppers and onions. Crispy, tender and charred, these are just begging to be served with grilled steak or spicy chicken. They’re also a great choice for meatless Mondays when paired with spicy rice or soft tortillas.
21. Sous Vide Caramelized Onions
Caramelizing onions is a lengthy process that’s good, but also kinda annoying and time-consuming. If you want those richly-flavored silky soft onions but don’t have the time or the energy, the sous vide machine is your friend. After 24 hours your pale onions will become golden ribbons of yumminess. Add to broth for a delicious French onion soup or serve as a simple but amazing side for steaks.
22. Sous Vide Coffee
Did you know you can make fragrant, rich, dark coffee in a sous vide machine? Nope, me either, but I’m truly amazed by this inventive recipe which does just that. It’s very on-trend too – serving up not just any coffee, but cold brew coffee. Cold brewing means that you brew the beans using cold water rather than hot. It pulls out more of the coffee’s smoky flavor and is ideal for hot days when you want an icy coffee with plenty of kick.
23. Sous Vide Pork Carnitas
Pulled pork doesn’t get any better than this sous vide version. Flavored with Mexican spices and cooked until melt-in-the-mouth tender, this pork can be done ahead of time then stored in the fridge. Just pull out a forkful when you need protein in your salad, a sandwich filling, or a quick snack.
24. Sous Vide Poached Pears
Sous vide isn’t just for savory mains and sides, it also comes in handy at dessert time too. Here, pears are poached until soft, gooey and delightfully sweet. Their tangy pear flavor shines with this recipe which teams the fruit with spiced pecans and mascarpone cream.
25. Sous Vide Bananas Foster
Bananas foster is one of my favorite desserts as it brings together two of my great loves – fruit and alcohol. Stewed in a deliciously rich rum sauce, the bananas take on all that amazing flavor. Serve them with vanilla ice-cream and you’ll be in dessert heaven. Click on a star to rate it!
Average rating 5 / 5. Vote count: 2 No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.
Share on social media: Let us improve this post!