Sous Vide Steak
Do you want to be able to make perfectly cooked, perfectly tender steak every time you cook? Use this out-of-this-world Sous Vide Steak recipe to make the most flavorful steak for your celebrations.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe Using the Sous Vide setting on your steak ensures that your steak will be cooked to your liking, even when you’re relaxing while it cooks.
We’ve been getting requests for more Sous Vide recipes, and the steak recipe in our cookbook seemed like the perfect choice to adapt.
One of our favorite things about Sous Vide is that most of the cook time is hands off. However, it does take quite a bit of time to come to temperature, so make sure to leave yourself a cushion. (If you start with cold water it will take even longer.)
Also, don’t skip the compound butter we serve it with. It will give you that truly delicious ordered-at-a-restaurant taste!
We like to serve this Sous Vide Steak with our baked potatoes, au gratin potatoes, or twice baked potatoes. It’s also really tasty with risotto or air fryer green beans.
What is Sous Vide Steak like to eat?
It’s delicious and really tender. However, the texture is a little different than grilled steaks. The knife melts through it really, really smoothly, even though it holds firm.
(I say this in a good way; sous vide steak is definitely not the same as a too-chewy, underdone steak.)
If I’m serving it as a main dish, I prefer to finish it on the stove or grill so it looks more like a traditional steak and had the classic char on the outside.
What steak should I choose to cook sous vide?
This recipe is written for tender, boneless steaks. We tested this recipe with New York Strip steaks. You can also use rib eye or top sirloin.
Look for steaks that are between 1 to 1½ inches thick, about 10 to 12 ounces each.
In order to be safe to eat, the steaks need to be flat in a ziplock bag and be able to be fully submerged.
We were able to fit 3 steaks into our 6-quart pressure cooker, two in one bag, side by side, and one on its own in another bag.
What can go inside the bag with the steaks when cooking sous vide?
DO NOT include oil or butter in the bag! These fats will draw out a lot of the flavor compounds in the meat that you want to STAY in the meat for maximum flavor.
You can add rinsed and well-dried herbs like rosemary or thyme to the bag before cooking.
Do I need a vacuum sealer for making steak in an Instant Pot?
Jenn doesn’t have a vacuum sealer, so when she was testing the recipe she just used a freezer-safe ziplock bag.
We tested steaks in a single bag and double-bagged. The single-bagged steak was easier to get all the air out of with the water displacement method. However, if you’re nervous about water getting in, you can double-bag your steaks and still be successful. (It’s just harder to displace all the air from a double-bagged steak.)
Barbara has a vacuum sealer, so when we filmed the YouTube video (coming soon!), we used her sealer. It was definitely easier to submerge the vacuum sealed steak; however, once you get the hang of the Water Displacement Method, the ziplock works just as well.
What is the Water Displacement Method for Sous Vide?
When you’re cooking Sous Vide, you need to press out as much air as possible.
So like the name implies, the water displacement method is just the name for using the water to displace the air from the ziplock bag.
I prefer to use the water displacement method directly in the cooking pot. Here’s how I do it:
- Add the seasoned steaks, side-by-side in a single layer, to a gallon-sized freezer-safe ziplock bag. Seal the bag three-quarters of the way.
- Fill your Instant Pot cooking pot with water—as hot as you can comfortably put your hands into. I like to go up to the 4-quart line. You need enough water to completely cover the steak.
- Double check you have a trivet at the bottom of the cooking pot.
- Slowly lower the bagged steaks into the water, allowing the water to press the air out of the bag. As you do this, be careful to avoid water getting into the ziplock bag. Continue lowering the steaks until the water is right up near the zipper, then seal the bag. (It is easier to do this if you have one person lowering and one person to seal the bag; however, you can do this on your own if needed.)
- If the air is pressed out correctly, the steak will remain submerged in the water. If it rises to the top, there’s too much air in the bag. It’s OK if you need to try a few times to get it.
Do your best to make sure that the top of the bag remains out of the water when you lock the lid in place.
What cooking temperature should I use for making Sous Vide Steak?
In our testing, we tried cooking one steak at 132°F and another at 137°F for just under two hours. Both were delicious, so you can’t really go wrong with either.
The steak cooked at 132°F was closer to the medium-rare side of medium, while the steak at 137°F was closer to the medium-well side of medium.
The steak cooked at 132°F definitely retained more juices than the steak cooked to 137°F; however, most of my family preferred the texture of the steak cooked to 137°F.
How long should I cook steak in the Instant Pot on Sous Vide?
The exact amount of time depends on the thickness of your steak. Thicker steaks will need longer than thinner steaks.
Generally, once your steak as reached your desired temperature, cook it for at least 1½ hours and no more than 3 hours. (We cooked ours for just under 2 hours.)
The longer you cook it, the more tender it is, but sometimes the longer time can make the meat too “fall-apart-y,” which isn’t a pleasant texture for steak.
How to finish a Sous Vide steak?
In this recipe, we cook the steak sous vide and then finish it by pan searing it on the stove.
When they come out of the sous vide bags, the steaks are safe to eat, but they look a little gray from cooking without being exposed to air. Searing the outsides will help them look really appetizing and give them a lovely crust like you’d get at a steak house.
BE PREPARED! Pan searing a steak is often a smoky endeavor! You’ll need to really preheat your pan so it’s sizzling hot before you put the sous vide steaks on it. This is where the smokiness comes from, not from cooking the steak itself.
For best results, choose an oil with a high smoke point, like avocado oil.
You can also finish your steaks outside on a hot grill to avoid indoor smoke and to get the classic grill lines.
Be careful not to overcook your steak in this step! If you leave your steak in the pan or on the grill for too long, it won’t be cooked to that lovely medium all the way through. Just a minute or two per side is all you’ll need.
This recipe was tested in an Instant Pot Duo Plus and the Instant Pot Pro. We got the same results in both models.
More Sous Vide Recipes
Our list of Instant Pot sous vide recipes are slowly expanding. Here are some of our recent favorites:
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Sous Vide Steak
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless New York Strip steaks 1 to 1½ inches thick (about 10-12 oz each), well trimmed
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil if finishing steaks by pan searing (can use olive oil if needed, it just has as lower smoke pot)
Garlic-cheese butter
- 4 tablespoons butter room temperature
- 1 tablespoon finely grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon parsley
Instructions
Sous Vide the Steaks
- Fill your pressure cooking pot to the 4 quart line with warm/hot water. Select Sous Vide and set your temperature to 132°F or 137°F, depending on whether you prefer medium-rare or medium.*
- Season the steaks well with kosher salt and pepper. Add the steaks to a gallon-sized freezer-safe ziplock bag. (If you’re worried about leaks, place this ziplock bag inside of a second gallon-sized bag.) Arrange the steaks in single layer inside the bags. Seal the bag three-quarters of the way. (If the water in the cooking pot is too hot for you, you can do this in a separate bowl of cooler water.)
- Place a low trivet on the bottom of the cooking pot. Use the water displacement method to press the air out of the bags by slowly lowering the bagged steaks into the water and allowing the water to press the air out of the bag up to right near the zipper. Fully seal both bags. If the air is pressed out correctly, the steak will sink. It’s OK if you need to try a few times to get it.
- Lock the lid in place, and vent the pressure release valve. Once the cooking pot reaches the correct temperature, cook for at least 1½ hours and no more than 3 hours. (We cooked ours for just under 2 hours.)
Make the Parmesan-Garlic Butter
- While the steaks cook, in a small bowl blend together the butter, parmesan, and garlic salt. Set aside.
Remove from the Cooking Pot
- When your desired sous vide time is up, remove the lid. Prepare a plate lined with paper towels.
- Remove the steaks from the bags onto the paper towel–lined plate and pat the steaks completely dry with paper towels. Allow to rest until the grill or pan is completely preheated, then pat dry again.
To Finish on the Grill:
- At least 10 minutes before your sous vide time ends, preheat your grill at the highest heat (ideally 400 to 450°F). Brush your grates with avocado oil, then add the steaks. Cook, about 1 minute each side, until a deep, rich crust has formed, about 2 minutes total. (Take care that they don’t burn or overcook.)
- Remove from the grill, top with a little scoop of the compound butter, and serve immediately.
To Finish with a Pan Sear:
- About 5 minutes before the sous vide time ends, turn your stove on to medium-high heat and start preheating a cast iron pan or heavy bottom skillet. Once the pan is sizzling hot, add the avocado oil and wait for the oil to shimmer and distribute evenly across the pan. Transfer the steaks to the hot skillet. Cook for 1 minute until a dark crust forms. Flip and cook for 1 minute more. (Take care that they don’t burn or overcook.)
- Transfer to plates and top each steak with a little dollop of the compound butter. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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Can I do the sous vide part ahead n the grill part later? I want to do sous vide part at my house n then take them to friends house to do grilling. My steaks r frozen in vacuum bags. Can I vide them frozen n increase the time or should I thaw n reseal, then vide ?
OK, so we haven’t tried it, but here are the things that come to mind.
You can definitely sous vide steaks from frozen, just make sure to increase the cook time by an hour or two depending on how thick the steaks are. No need to thaw and reseal.
As far as sous vide first and transporting them—if your friend lives close by, I don’t think that would be much of a problem. However, the longer you have to travel to get to your friend’s house, the more cooled off your steaks will get while traveling. And then the longer you’ll have to sear/grill them in order to get them back warmed through, which risks cooking them more than you might want. (Also, for food safety, USDA recommends 2 hours or less for meats under 140F, so you definitely don’t want to sous vide before a long travel time.)
If you try it, we’d love to know how it worked out!
can I do the sous vide part first n then season n do the grill part later? I would like to sous vide first at my house then take my steaks to my friends house where will grill them later .
My steaks are currently frozen in vacuum seal bags. Do I thaw first or can I sous vide frozen n just increase cooking time? Thanks in advance for your help so I can hopefully do this on Christmas.
And yes, it’s OK to season the steaks after the sous vide. Press the seasoning into them after you’ve dried them off really well.
Thank you. This will be our Christmas Eve dinner
Sounds perfect for Christmas Eve. Enjoy!