The Best Sous Vide Cookers You Can Buy
Let this high-tech kitchen appliance do all the work for you.
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Once only used by professional chefs, sous vide cookers have thankfully landed in many of our homes. These affordable kitchen gadgets are best known for taking the guesswork out of cooking tender proteins and veggies—without using meat thermometers or cutting and checking your food periodically. With a few simple steps, you can wave goodbye to overcooking that pricey steak or churning out limp asparagus ever again.
A French term meaning "under vacuum,” sous vide is a slow-cook method that involves placing a sealed bag of food in heated water for an extended period of time. Immersion circulators, or sous vide cookers, work by heating the water to a specific temperature and keeping it there for several hours. This process ensures that food cooks precisely and evenly, producing flavorful dishes by sealing in natural juices and breaking down tough cuts of meat.
"It's especially good for stretching your dollar if you buy a pork butt or something that's lower price,” says Nicole Papantoniou, the Director of the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Kitchen Appliances & Culinary Innovation Lab. “You really make it taste gourmet or restaurant-like."
Our Top Picks for the Best Sous Vide Cookers of 2023
To help you make next-level meals in your home, we curated the four best sous vide cookers worth scooping up, below. FYI, they've all been tested by the experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute, so you know you're getting the real deal.
How We Picked These Products
Our friends at the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances Lab tested 13 immersion circulators based on ease of use and performance. Their team of on-staff experts—including professionally-trained chefs and kitchen tool product developers—rigorously put everyday products to the test in their New York City-based labs to determine which ones are actually worth your dollars.
During these experiments, the team cooked steak, chicken, and eggs using different sous vide cookers. The team assessed each model based on factors like how long it takes to heat a water bath, how intuitive it was to use, and whether it can be clipped easily to the side of a variety of pots or containers. Based on their findings, we’ve determined that these are the best sous vide cookers to buy in 2023.
Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker Pro
Pros
- Water heats fast
- Temperature is easy to maintain
Cons
- Quiet timer
The Good Housekeeping Institute calls this the best overall sous vide they tested. It heated the water bath quickly and maintained the set temperature within 0.1 degrees. Plus it has a large, easy-to-navigate touchscreen and adjustable, detachable clamp that can fit a range of pot sizes. Other highlights are that it comes with a helpful manual and connects to the Anova app via Wifi. The app has presets that can “act as both a cooking guide and recipe inspiration,” the team mentions, while allowing you to cook your food remotely and track its status.
The testers note that the timer is super quiet, but the cooker itself “won’t stop circulating until you turn it off,” so your food should stay at the set temperature “after the cook time is complete.”
- Dimensions: 13.8 x 3.5 x 2.4 inches
- Weight: 3 pounds
- Control method: Built-in interface and app
- Wattage: 1,200 watts
- Maximum water temperature: 197°F
Instant Pot Accu Slim Sous Vide Precision Cooker
Pros
- Compact design
- Helpful for beginners
Cons
- Clamp does not adjust
Although the Good Housekeeping Institute says Instant Pot's model isn't the most powerful option and may not fit with every pot in your kitchen, it's smaller (and cheaper) than most others. The team says its control panel is “clear and easy to program." Plus, it comes with a simple user manual and a thorough cooking guide to get you started. In terms of performance, testers say this maker passed their tests with solid ratings and "can be trusted to maintain a set temperature to cook chicken, steak and eggs."
Dimensions: 16.06 x 7.28 x 4.92 inches
- Weight: 2.82 pounds
- Control method: Built-in interface
- Wattage: 800
- Maximum water temperature: 203°F
Anova Culinary Nano Sous Vide Precision Cooker
Pros
- Intuitive touchscreen interface
- Compatible with app
Cons
- Water heats slowly
Also from Anova, the Nano is a great option for sous vide beginners who want many of the perks of the Pro without spending top dollar. This older model boasts the same “intuitive touchscreen control panel and app compatibility” as the Pro, but with a slightly lower price tag, says the Good Housekeeping Institute.
Since it's smaller than the Pro, it does have a reduced wattage. In fact, it took seven minutes longer than the Pro to heat the water bath to peak temperature. Still, the team says it "works effectively at a lower price."
Since it also has a non-adjustable clamp, you’ll need to be mindful of which pot you attach it to.
- Dimensions: 4.1 x 2.2 x 12.8 inches
- Weight: 1.7 pounds
- Control method: Built-in interface and app
- Wattage: 750
- Maximum water temperature: 197°F
Pros
- Sleek design
- Heats fast
Cons
- The cooker only has on/off controls
Despite its compact size, this stylish, minimalist design is powerful. The Good Housekeeping Institute team says the Joule heated water faster than nearly all larger models they tested. Even though the clamp is small, the “weighted suction bottom keeps it standing sturdily in a pot.”
The Wifi-enabled Joule connects to an app, which includes time and temperature preset functions. However, keep in mind this is the only way you can control this sous vide cooker, as the machine's sole buttons are for turning the device on and off. Make sure you have access to Wifi and that your phone battery is charged, since the device won't work properly otherwise.
- Dimensions: 11 x 1.85 x 1.85 inches
- Weight: 1.28 pounds
- Control method: App only
- Wattage: 1,100
- Maximum water temperature: 208°F
How do you use a sous vide cooker?
To sous vide, you’ll need a large, water-safe container or a traditional stockpot and a sealable bag for your food. You can either use vacuum-sealed or resealable freezer bags. The Good Housekeeping Institute team also recommends seasoning food with minimal spice, since sous vide boosts flavor. Once you fill your container with water, turn on the immersion circulator. Make sure to remove air from the sealed bag of food, then add it to the water bath until the food is done cooking.
What can you sous vide?
While sous vide can cook all kinds of foods, like yogurt and vegetables, they're best known for making tender proteins. The Good Housekeeping Institute team notes that you can make everything from soft-boiled eggs to juicy chicken and steaks with a sous vide machine. Just keep in mind that you should sear meat afterwards, as meat typically looks gray when it comes out of the bag. On average, Papantoniou says it takes a minimum of one hour to cook a thin steak. So, you’ll want to allow several hours for larger cuts of meat.
What to look for when shopping for the best sous vide cookers
Smart capabilities: Keep an eye out for sous vide cookers that are compatible with smartphone apps. These usually allow you to control and track the progress of your food. Other helpful capabilities include timer and preset functions, as well as access to curated recipes.
Temperature control: Sous vide machines need to accurately reach the required temperature to thoroughly cook your desired foods (for instance, the USDA recommends poultry should be cooked to at least 165˚F to ensure that it's safe to eat). These devices should have precise programming that you can set to the integer or half integer to keep the temperature consistent.
Attachment: Ensure that your sous vide cooker is able to attach to a pot or container. Per the Good Housekeeping Institute, most machines have a clamp or screw-on feature. Others may have a magnet on the bottom or side to work with metal containers.
Size: Immersion circulators will need to be able to fit in the pot itself, so make sure you check its size before you start cooking.
Wattage: A device's wattage determines how fast it will heat the water and how much water you can warm up. The bigger the pot of water, the higher the wattage you'll need in your sous vide cooker.
Why trust Delish
Nashia Baker is a commerce editor at Hearst covering the latest and greatest products across the home and lifestyle categories. Throughout her career, she has interviewed chefs and food experts to learn about top trends in the culinary world.
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