How long does sous vide take?

It depends on the food. At the calculator's default settings a 1.5 inch steak needs at least 2 hr 15 min, a 1.5 inch chicken breast 2 hr 30 min, a 1 inch salmon fillet 45 min, carrots 45 min and a chuck roast 36 hr.

What sets the minimum sous vide time?

For tender cuts it is the time for the center to reach the bath temperature, which depends on thickness. Poultry and pork must also stay in long enough to pasteurize. Tough cuts need a tenderizing time of 8 to 72 hours.

Can you sous vide too long?

Yes. Baldwin's guide says meat and vegetables continue to soften in the bath and may become mushy if held too long. The calculator gives a medium-rare steak up to 1.5 inches thick a maximum of 4 hr.

How long can food stay in a sous vide bath below 131°F?

The calculator limits a steak in a bath of 130°F (54.4°C) or lower to 2 hr 30 min in total, because the food is not pasteurized. It should be served right away and not chilled to reheat later.

Does thicker food take longer to sous vide?

Yes, and the time rises faster than the thickness. At 131°F (55°C) a 1 inch steak needs 1 hr 15 min and a 2 inch steak needs 3 hr 45 min.

Why are these times longer than the times in many recipes?

Many recipes print one range for every thickness. The calculator's minimum comes from Douglas Baldwin's heating and pasteurization tables, where a thicker piece takes longer for its center to reach the bath temperature.

Sous Vide Cooking Times: Minimum and Maximum by Food

Sous vide cooking times are set by one of three things: the thickness of the food, the time needed to pasteurize it, or the time needed to make a tough cut tender. A tender cut only has to heat through, so a steak 1.5 in (3.8 cm) thick needs at least 2 hr 15 min at 131°F (55°C). Poultry and pork also have to stay in long enough to pasteurize, and tough cuts need 8 to 72 hours.

The calculator gives a minimum, a best window and a maximum for each food. This page explains where each number comes from.

How long to sous vide: five examples

Food	Setting	Thickness or size	Minimum	Best window	Maximum
Steak	Medium-rare, 131°F (55°C)	1.5 in (3.8 cm)	2 hr 15 min	2 hr 15 min to 3 hr 15 min	4 hr
Chicken breast	Tender and juicy, 145°F (62.8°C)	1.5 in (3.8 cm)	2 hr 30 min	2 hr 30 min to 3 hr 30 min	4 hr
Chuck roast	Moist and tender, 155°F (68.3°C)	Pieces up to 3 in (7.6 cm) thick	36 hr	36 hr	No maximum given
Salmon	Moist and flaky, 120°F (48.9°C)	1 in (2.5 cm)	45 min	45 min to 1 hr	1 hr
Carrots	Tender, 183°F (83.9°C)	Whole baby carrots or 1 in (2.5 cm) chunks	45 min	45 min to 1 hr	No limit, gets softer

"No maximum given" means the source recipe gives a single time. "No limit, gets softer" is the calculator's entry for vegetables, where the upper time is a texture guide.

Heat-through: tender cuts are timed by thickness

Steak, medium-rare at 131°F (55°C)Time by thickness
Thickness	Minimum time	Best window	Do not exceed	From frozen
0.5 in (1.3 cm)	30 min	30 min to 1 hr 30 min	4 hr	45 min
1 in (2.5 cm)	1 hr 15 min	1 hr 15 min to 2 hr 15 min	4 hr	2 hr
1.5 in (3.8 cm)	2 hr 15 min	2 hr 15 min to 3 hr 15 min	4 hr	3 hr 30 min
2 in (5.1 cm)	3 hr 45 min	3 hr 45 min to 4 hr 45 min	4 hr 45 min	6 hr 45 min not recommended
2.5 in (6.4 cm)	6 hr see warning	6 hr to 7 hr	7 hr	9 hr not recommended

Pasteurized at the minimum time for 2.5 in only. A warning applies at 2.5 in. The calculator gives the details. From frozen it is not recommended at 2 in, 2.5 in. Thaw the food first.

Heat-through is the time for the center of the food to come within 1°F (0.5°C) of the bath, starting from refrigerator temperature. For a whole, intact steak, chop or tender roast of beef or lamb at medium-rare, that time is the minimum. The 2.5 in (6.4 cm) row is an exception: the center takes more than 4 hr to heat through, so the calculator raises the minimum to the pasteurization time of 6 hr.

Douglas Baldwin's guide to sous vide cooking says cooking times depend critically on thickness, and the table shows it. At 131°F (55°C) a 1 in (2.5 cm) steak needs 1 hr 15 min. A 2 in (5.1 cm) steak needs 3 hr 45 min, three times as long.

Many recipes print one range for every thickness. J. Kenji López-Alt's time and temperature guide for Anova lists steak at 1 hr 30 min to 4 hr. The calculator's minimum comes from Baldwin's heating tables. It is shorter than that for a thin steak and longer for a thick one, because the center of a thicker piece takes longer to reach the bath temperature.

Warning

A 2.5 in steak at 131°F (55°C) is close to the 6 hour limit for the center to reach 130°F (54.4°C). A typical piece passes. A dense or unevenly shaped piece may not. A thinner piece or a higher temperature is the more cautious choice. Put the meat into the bath straight from the refrigerator, with the bath already at temperature.

The bath temperature sets the doneness, which the doneness guide covers. For the time, measure a steak through the thickest part, including the bone if there is one, and keep the bags in a single layer, fully under the water and not overlapping. The guide on how long to sous vide steak has the medium-rare and medium tables and the times from frozen.

Pasteurization: poultry and pork are held longer

Chicken breast, tender and juicy at 145°F (62.8°C)Time by thickness
Thickness	Minimum time	Best window	Do not exceed	From frozen
0.5 in (1.3 cm)	45 min	45 min to 1 hr 45 min	4 hr	1 hr 15 min
1 in (2.5 cm)	1 hr 30 min	1 hr 30 min to 2 hr 30 min	4 hr	2 hr 30 min
1.5 in (3.8 cm)	2 hr 30 min	2 hr 30 min to 3 hr 30 min	4 hr	4 hr 15 min
2 in (5.1 cm)	3 hr 45 min	3 hr 45 min to 4 hr 45 min	4 hr 45 min	6 hr 15 min
2.5 in (6.4 cm)	5 hr 30 min	5 hr 30 min to 6 hr 30 min	6 hr 30 min	9 hr

Pasteurized at the minimum time at every thickness listed.

For poultry, pork, burgers, sausage and the rolled leg of lamb, the calculator's minimum is the longer of two times: the heat-through time and the time needed to pasteurize a piece of that thickness. The minimum covers pasteurization, so it should not be shortened. A boned and rolled leg has outside surface rolled into the center, so the calculator does not treat it as an intact cut.

FoodSafety.gov lists 165°F (73.9°C) as the safe minimum internal temperature for poultry, and the calculator describes that figure as a single reading with no hold time. A lower bath pasteurizes only because the food is held for the full minimum time. Anova's chicken guide puts it as "Food safety is a function of both temperature and time."

A 1 in chicken breast needs 2 hr at 140°F (60°C), 1 hr 30 min at 145°F (62.8°C) and 1 hr 15 min at 150°F (65.6°C).

The poultry times use Baldwin's pasteurization table and the poultry tables in the USDA FSIS cooking guideline for meat and poultry products. 131°F (55°C) is the lowest temperature in the pasteurization tables this calculator uses, and it treats that as the floor. The chicken breast guide has the doneness options and the times by thickness, and is sous vide safe explains pasteurization in more detail.

Long cooks: tough cuts are timed for tenderness

Chuck roast doneness and temperature
Doneness	Temperature	Time	Texture
Steak-like, medium-rare	131°F (55°C)	24 hr to 48 hr	Pink and sliceable, with the tenderness of a steak.
Moist and tender	155°F (68.3°C)	36 hr	Moist, tender, and sliceable, like barbecue.
Fall apart	176°F (80°C)	12 hr to 18 hr	Very soft and shreddable, like a classic pot roast.

A tough cut stays in the bath long after it has heated through. The time is a tenderizing time. The calculator's note is that thickness changes it very little, so thickness is not an input for these foods.

Baldwin's guide gives the mechanism. Prolonged cooking tenderizes tough meat by weakening its connective tissue, and collagen begins to dissolve into gelatin above 122 to 131°F (50 to 55°C).

Each temperature gives a different texture, and the calculator's note is that each time comes from a different source, so the times do not rise or fall in step with the temperature. The chuck roast times apply to pieces up to 2.25 in (5.7 cm) thick at 131°F (55°C) and up to 3 in (7.6 cm) at the two higher settings.

At their default settings, short ribs take 48 to 72 hr at 131°F (55°C), brisket 24 to 36 hr at 155°F (68.3°C) and pork shoulder 18 to 24 hr at 165°F (73.9°C). The chuck roast guide and the short ribs guide compare the temperature options for those cuts.

Fish: short times and a low maximum

Salmon, moist and flaky at 120°F (48.9°C)Time by thickness
Thickness	Minimum time	Best window	Do not exceed	From frozen
0.5 in (1.3 cm)	20 min	20 min to 35 min	1 hr	25 min
0.75 in (1.9 cm)	30 min	30 min to 45 min	1 hr	45 min
1 in (2.5 cm)	45 min	45 min to 1 hr	1 hr	1 hr 10 min
1.25 in (3.2 cm)	1 hr 5 min	1 hr 5 min to 1 hr 20 min	1 hr 20 min	1 hr 35 min
1.5 in (3.8 cm)	1 hr 25 min	1 hr 25 min to 1 hr 40 min	1 hr 40 min	2 hr 10 min

Not pasteurized at the minimum time. This temperature is below the pasteurization tables this calculator uses.

At fish settings that do not pasteurize, the calculator's minimum is the time for the center to come within about 5°F (2.8°C) of the bath. For salmon at 120°F (48.9°C) the maximum for a fillet up to 1 in thick is 1 hr, and for a thicker fillet it is the minimum plus 15 min. The calculator's note is that fish left longer turns soft and mushy.

Warning

Salmon at 120°F (48.9°C) is not pasteurized. The temperature is below 131°F (55°C), the lowest temperature in the pasteurization tables this calculator uses. For a fillet up to 1 in thick, keep the total time in the water bath to 1 hr or less, serve it right away, and do not chill it to reheat later. Do not serve it to pregnant women, children under 5, adults 65 and older, or anyone with a weakened immune system.

The calculator also says to use fish sold for eating raw that has been frozen to kill parasites. The salmon setting that pasteurizes is 140°F (60°C), where a 1 in fillet needs 1 hr 45 min. The salmon guide covers each temperature.

Vegetables and other fixed times

Potatoes doneness and temperature
Doneness	Temperature	Time	Texture
Pieces up to 1 in	183°F (83.9°C)	30 min to 1 hr	Cut pieces up to 1 in (2.5 cm) thick. Tender all the way through and still holding their shape.
Pieces of 1 to 2 in, or small whole potatoes	183°F (83.9°C)	1 hr to 2 hr	Pieces of 1 to 2 in (2.5 to 5.1 cm), or small whole potatoes. Tender all the way through.

Vegetables, eggs, shellfish and desserts have a time range taken from published recipes, and thickness is not an input. Every vegetable cooks at 183°F (83.9°C), and the calculator sets no maximum for them. The vegetables chart lists all eight.

Minimum and maximum by kind of food

Kind of food	What sets the minimum	What sets the maximum
Whole, intact steaks, chops and tender roasts of beef and lamb	Heat-through time for the thickness	Texture
Poultry, pork, burgers, sausage and rolled leg of lamb	The longer of heat-through and pasteurization	Texture
Tough cuts	Tenderizing time from the source recipe	Top of the source range, where the source gives one
Fish at settings that do not pasteurize	Center within about 5°F (2.8°C) of the bath	Texture, and safety at 130°F (54.4°C) and below
Eggs, shellfish and desserts	Low end of the source range	Top of the source range, where the source gives one
Vegetables	Low end of the source range	No limit, gets softer
Steaks and chops at 130°F (54.4°C) or below	Heat-through time for the thickness	Safety: 2 hr 30 min in total

The limits at 130°F (54.4°C) and below

A bath of 130°F (54.4°C) or lower is below the pasteurization tables this calculator uses, so the food is not pasteurized. Rare steak at 125°F (51.7°C) is one such setting. The calculator's warning for it reads: keep the total time in the water bath to 2 hr 30 min or less, serve it right away, and do not chill it to reheat later. It adds that the food should not be served to pregnant women, children under 5, adults 65 and older, or anyone with a weakened immune system.

That limit caps the thickness. A 1.5 in steak at 125°F (51.7°C) needs 2 hr 15 min to heat through and has a maximum of 2 hr 30 min. A 1.75 in (4.4 cm) steak needs 3 hr, which is longer than the 2 hr 30 min limit, so the calculator marks it and every thicker rare steak not recommended.

The 2 hr 30 min figure matches Anova's steak guide, which says steaks cooked under 130°F (54.4°C) should not be cooked longer than 2 1/2 hours. Baldwin's guide allows four hours for food that is not being pasteurized, such as fish and rare meat, and the calculator uses the shorter limit.

What happens when food stays in too long

At 131°F (55°C) and above, the maximum is a texture limit. The calculator's note is that once the food is pasteurized, extra time makes it softer but does not make it unsafe.

Baldwin's guide says meat and vegetables continue to soften in the bath and may become mushy if held for too long. Anova's chicken guide recommends never cooking chicken for longer than four hours, because overcooked sous vide chicken turns unpleasantly mushy.

For a medium-rare steak up to 1.5 in thick, or a chicken breast of that size at 145°F (62.8°C), the maximum is 4 hr. When a thick piece has a minimum close to or past the usual limit, the calculator sets the maximum at the minimum plus 1 hr and says to expect a softer texture than a thinner piece would have.

Cooking from frozen lengthens the minimum: the heat-through time is 1.55 times the thawed time. The guide to cooking from frozen has the details, and the time and temperature chart lists every food at its default setting.