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ChefSteps is a team of chefs, writers, and food lovers who develop recipes, techniques, and guides to help people cook better at home.

ChefSteps

Okay, real quick: here is what you need to know in order to start cooking frozen food sous vide right now.

Packaging: Sometimes, you can cook food directly in the packaging that it comes in. You can find more details on that in the FAQ below. But if you have any doubt about whether the packaging is suitable to cook in, put your mind at ease by transferring the food to a sous vide bag or a ziplock-style bag. (Note: For best results, we recommend cooking in a ziplock-style bag only at temperatures below [f 150]. Also, when you’re cooking something heavy—like a roast or a rack of ribs—sous vide bags are the better option thanks to their strong seams.)

Cooking times: Generally speaking, there is an easy rule for determining the cooking time for a frozen food. (There are exceptions, and we get into those below.) Take the recommended time for cooking fresh food and divide it by two, then add that number to the original fresh cooking time. So if you typically cook a one-inch <a href="/recipes/sous-vide-steak">steak</a> for an hour and you want to cook a frozen one, you can calculate the cooking time with this equation: 60 + (60 / 2) = 90. Voilà! Your steak will cook in an hour and a half. 

Cooking, freezing, then reheating: Everything you need to know about this is over <a href="/guides-tools/sous-vide-a-simple-and-stress-free-way-to-reheat-almost-anything">here</a>.

Cooking From Frozen: The Nuts and Bolts

Cooking From Frozen FAQ

Oh, welcome! You must be new.

<a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/sous-vide">Here</a> is a good place to start.

Oh, and <a href="/guides-tools/a-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-packaging-safety-sustainability-and-sourcing">here</a>. And of course <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/joule">here</a>. 

Take your time. We’ll still be here when you’re finished.

What exactly is this “sous vide” thing?

Really, it’s super convenient. Freezing meat and seafood means you don’t have to worry about pesky expiration dates or eating every last piece of chicken in your fridge before moving on to the next recipe. Not being a slave to your food’s shelf life allows you to be more creative and innovative.

Cooking frozen food sous vide also saves you money and lets you cook your favorite food at a moment’s notice, even if it is out of season. Is your local grocery store having a sale on spring lamb? Find an amazing deal on late-autumn duck? Buy seasonal food to your heart’s content and freeze it for later use.

Why should I cook frozen foods sous vide?

Absolutely not. In fact, test after test in the ChefSteps kitchen and beyond has shown that people cannot tell the difference between previously frozen meat and fresh cuts. (However, improperly handled meats are sometimes frozen incorrectly or put through several freeze-thaw cycles, which can damage meat. Just look for high-quality meats and stick with brands you trust, and you’ll be good to go.)

Also, make sure there is room in your freezer for whatever you’re saving. If your freezer is too packed, your meat may freeze into a funky shape. It’ll still taste great, but you don’t want your dinner looking like a laboratory experiment.

Will my food come out less tasty if I cook from frozen?

You betcha. Cooking frozen meats sous vide is exactly as safe as cooking fresh meats. In fact, cooking food directly from the freezer actually cuts down on cross-contamination in your kitchen. We just suggest aggressive labeling of everything in your freezer. Is something raw or cooked? When was it frozen? How long can it last? Carefully labeling your ingredients means more accountability and safer cooking. 

Worried about cooking with plastic? Check out <a href="/guides-tools/a-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-packaging-safety-sustainability-and-sourcing">our complete guide to sous vide packaging</a>, where we get into the nitty-gritty.

Is it safe?

Nope! Whether you’re cooking from fresh or frozen, a ziplock-style bag will usually do the trick. Since we recommend food-grade, freezer-style bags to begin with, you can throw the frozen bag right in the water to cook low and slow for as long as it needs.

Also, many frozen foods come vacuum sealed already: fish filets, chicken breasts, organic steaks. As long as your bag has the right type of plastic and seal (which we’ll cover later), you’re good to go straight from shopping cart to freezer to sous vide.

Do you need a vacuum sealer?

The cook time is really the only thing that changes when you cook from frozen. The taste stays the same—you just need to add a little time to defrost smaller cuts.

The rule of thumb for cooking from frozen is this: Fresh Cook Time + (Fresh Cook Time / 2). 

So, if your fresh salmon cooks in 30 minutes, your frozen one cooks in 30 + (30 / 2) = 45 minutes. There is no difference in temperature or technique—just some extra time.

However, here’s one exception: When you’re cooking a super-tough cut for a really long time, you don’t need to add any cooking time. Fresh or frozen, that bad boy is going to have more than enough time to defrost over the many hours it spends in the water.

Check out all of our recommended times and temps for sous vide splendor:
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This is our guide to preparing your favorite foods—from juicy steak to tender vegetables—exactly the way you like them.

Sous Vide Time and Temperature Guide

How long should I cook frozen foods sous vide?

Sure! You can marinate fresh or frozen meats for sous vide. However, we have found that certain marinades can change the texture of different proteins. Here’s a quick guide: 

Salty marinades: Some marinades contain salty ingredients and end up acting like a brine when packaged and cooked sous vide. Take our word for it: do not use a marinade that includes salt or salty ingredients prior to the cooking step unless you want the characteristic texture of lightly brined food. If lightly brined is what you’re going for, then salt away!

Acidic marinades: Some marinades contain acidic ingredients (or, less frequently, alkaline ones) that can alter the texture of foods in a way that’s similar to cooking with heat. 

Sugary or boozy marinades: Sugars and alcohols can enhance flavor but also can draw moisture out of the meat, making it less juicy.

Oily marinades: Oils add flavor to the surface of meat or seafood, but they’ll slowly wilt and soften plant tissue.

Don’t know exactly what’s in that marinade? Listen, don’t stress it. Differences in texture and flavor tend to be pretty subtle, and your food is likely to taste good anyway.

A great way to add flavor, whether you’re cooking from fresh or frozen, is to package your food with fresh herbs and spices before cooking sous vide. Just make sure not to overdo it—you need less seasoning when everything is tightly sealed inside sous vide packaging because you don’t lose all those flavor compounds to the pan or the air.

Also, when cooking frozen, marinated meat sous vide, check out the state of your marinade. Is a giant, frozen block encasing your food? If so, throw it in the water but don’t start your timer until the frozen marinade has broken down a bit. An marinade iceberg takes longer to cook than a simple, frozen filet—and prevents the protein from moving around while cooking.

Can you sous vide marinated frozen meats?

Some people may tell you they can detect a difference in meats cooked from frozen, but in all of our studies, there has not been a noticeable difference.

Our team of chefs and food scientists took it upon themselves to try to scope out the difference between sous vide meats cooked from fresh or frozen. Using a triangle test—a method for finding the difference between two products—we cooked two pieces of meat the same way. One was fresh and one was frozen. Then, we tasted two samples of one and one of the other and tried to pick out any differences. Then we did it again and again. We were not able to find any conclusive, noticeable differences between the meats. Don’t just trust us—try it yourself!

Is it worth it to thaw meats before cooking them sous vide? Does the flavor change?

Cooking your food sous vide in the original packaging is a mixed bag. It is super convenient, which is why we use it <a href="/guides-tools/tips-tricks-the-world-s-best-bacon-cooks-allllll-night-long">here, in our tip for making the best bacon you’ve ever had.</a> However, not everything is packaged equally.

First off, try to find out if your food was sealed in sous vide–safe plastic. If your chicken breast or filet of cod came vacuum sealed, make sure the packaging is of high quality and made from BPA-free polyethylene or polypropylene. You want to use the same type of bag for frozen goodies that you would use for fresh food. If this info is hard to find, you can always just repackage your food before freezing.

Next, check out your bag. Give it a good, long up-and-down-and-all-around. Is it heavy duty? Does it have good seals that can hold up to the sous vide process? If you’re unsure, just repackage your food before freezing. This is important because poorly constructed bags can fall apart while cooking, leaving you with soup rather than sous vide meat.

Also, make sure there isn’t an absorbent pad in your prepackaged food. This is not something you want hanging out in hot water with your beef chuck for 24 hours. When in doubt, repackage.

Do I have to repackage my food, or can I cook it in the plastic it came in?

We’ve got more answers! Give us your best in the comments below.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Cooking sous vide is about heating food just enough to make it taste really freaking great. It’s about predictable results, and it’s about achieving success after success, easily and cleanly, with little fuss. And this isn’t true only for fresh foods—you can easily make extraordinary sous vide meals using frozen food as well.Like sous vide, cooking from frozen is all about convenience. Freezing your favorite meats and seafood makes meal planning easier, keeps healthy food in your home for longer, and can be a huge cost savings—allowing you to stock up when your favorite stuff goes on sale, even if you don’t have an immediate use for it. When you’re cooking sous vide, there is no need to worry about thawing meat first; you just grab it out of the freezer, pop it in the pot of heated water, and prepare for delicious results.Below, find our complete guide to cooking sous vide food from frozen. Still got questions? That’s cool. Hit us up in the comments. Nothing melts our icy hearts like getting feedback from you all.

You Can Cook Frozen Food Sous Vide Without Defrosting! Here’s How.