Sous Vide Potatoes
Sous vide potatoes are tender, creamy, and tossed in garlic infused butter with a little fresh dill. A quick finish in a hot skillet adds golden, crispy edges.
Craving The Recipe Details?
What it is: Baby potatoes cooked sous vide in garlic infused butter and dill until creamy all the way through, then seared for crispy edges.
Why you’ll love it: The potatoes cook gently in a water bath, while the garlic butter adds rich flavor.
How to make it: Infuse butter with fresh garlic, chop potatoes into uniform pieces, and seal them in a bag with the butter and fresh dill. Cook sous vide for 1 hour, then brown in a hot skillet.
Defrosted the meat? Check! Have salad ingredients? Check!
Side dish? Oh no!
Don’t worry. Start these, then forget about them while you get on with cooking everything else. They end up light and tender, creamy and moist, and potato flavored. The texture is bang on.
Serve them alongside cross rib roast, smoked cheeseburger, or homemade meatloaf.
This sous vide potato recipe is dedicated to not worrying.
Key Ingredients:
Potatoes: Baby potatoes are ideal for this recipe, because they are small, easy to prepare and the thin skin is so delicate you can just leave it on. New potatoes (small, young potatoes) or fingerlings (a longer narrow variety) also work well, but in my experience, especially waxy fingerling potatoes need an extra 10-15 minutes in the water bath.
Butter: There’s just something about butter and potatoes. The butter is responsible for carrying the garlic and dill flavor in every bite and adding richness.
Garlic: Fresh garlic gently simmered in butter then strained gives the most luxurious garlic infused butter
Variations + Substitutions
- Potatoes: Swap the baby potatoes for Yukon Gold or other waxy potato variety cut into 1½ inch pieces.
- Oil: Substitute olive oil for butter at a 1:1 ratio.
- Garlic: In a rush? Skip the butter infusion step and use 1-2 teaspoons of garlic powder instead.
- Dill: I keep a stash of frozen dill I pilfered from my mom’s garden at all times, but if you don’t have fresh, use 1 – 2 teaspoons of dried dill!
How To Make Sous Vide Potatoes
- Step 1: Fill a sous vide container with water and preheat to 195°F. For this recipe, I like to use a large pot with a wide diameter because the sealed bag is wide and flat.
- Step 2: Roughly chop 3-4 cloves of garlic and add them to a small saucepan with ½ cup of unsalted butter. Simmer gently until the garlic is lightly browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Strain the garlic out of the butter with a fine mesh sieve. Discard the garlic, or reserve for use in another recipe.
- Step 3: While the butter simmers, scrub 1lb of baby potatoes (no peeling needed) and halve them.
- Step 4: Fold down the top of a vacuum seal bag. Add the potatoes, pour in the garlic butter, and tuck 3 to 4 sprigs of dill. Shuffle the potatoes into a single, flat layer. Vacuum seal the bag.
No vacuum sealer? See options below ↓
- Step 5: Carefully lower the bag into the 195°F water bath and cook for 1 hour. If the bag wants to float, use a sous vide weight or clip the bag to the edge of the water bath.
- Step 6: Check for doneness by gently squeezing a potato through the bag or with tongs. It should squish easily between your finger and thumb. If it still feels firm give it another 10-15 minutes.
- Step 7: Transfer the potatoes to a preheated cast iron skillet over medium heat. Let them sit undisturbed until a crust forms, then turn and brown the remaining sides.
- Step 8: Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with fresh dill or parsley, a couple cracks of black pepper, and a pinch of finishing salt.
5 Ways To Finish Sous Vide Potatoes
The sous vide makes them tender. The finish is where you decide how you want to serve them!
- Skillet sear (my favorite): Pour the bag into a preheated cast iron skillet and cook over medium heat, turning occasionally, until the edges are golden.
- Smashed (my husband’s favorite): Lightly smash each potato with a flat bottomed glass, then sear until crisp on both sides.
- Roasted: Spread on a sheet pan and roast at 425°F for 10-15 minutes until crisped.
- Air fryer: Cook at 400°F for 12-14 minutes, shaking the basket occasionally.
- As is: Serve ’em straight from the bag with a side of sour cream and sliced green onions.
Expert Tips
- Cut evenly. Uniform pieces cook at the same speed, so every bite is equally creamy. I halve my baby potatoes, and coarsely chop my full sized potatoes.
- Don’t skip the garlic butter. It’s “extra” but it’s also extra yummy! Short on time? Cube the butter, add garlic powder and toss it all right into the bag.
- Seal it tight. A vacuum seal bag handles a long, hot bath better than a zip-top bag but a heavy duty freezer bag can work if you use the water displacement method below.
- Weigh it down. Air trapped around the potatoes makes the bag float. A sous vide weight, a clip and a spoon, a heavy plate, or my personal favorite – tongs, all work to keep everything submerged and cooking evenly.
- Sear it right. The potatoes are already coated in butter so they don’t need any additional oil. Let them sit undisturbed in the hot skillet until they form a crust before disturbing.
- Seeing double. Make a second batch for later in the week. Having cooked potatoes in the fridge is a certified life hack.
Why This Recipe Works
The hot bath makes them extra creamy. Holding potatoes at 195°F softens them all the way through without water-logging them and diluting the flavor.
Garlic-infused butter adds flavor that stays with the potatoes. Gently simmering garlic in butter infuses the fat with its aroma. In a sealed bag, none of the garlic flavor or butter evaporates, dissipates, or drains away. This coats the potatoes in infused butter and adds flavor.
The skillet adds texture. The water bath takes care of the interior. A hot skillet gives the tender potatoes a chance to develop browned, slightly crisp edges. It’s an optional finishing step, but it’s my favorite way to serve them.
Sous Vide Baby Potatoes FAQs
I cook potatoes at 195°F in the sous vide. Potatoes need a much hotter bath than meat, like sous vide chicken breast, because their cell walls stay firm at lower temperatures.
If your potatoes are still firm after an hour, they may have been larger than the pieces tested for this recipe, or the bag may not have stayed fully submerged. Confirm the water bath is holding at 195°F and cook for another 10-15 minutes, then check again. Halved baby potatoes are the tested method; larger potatoes should be cut into evenly sized pieces and checked for doneness before serving.
If your sous vide potatoes are mushy or falling apart, they were likely cooked for too long or cut too small. Shorten the time next round, or check for doneness sooner.
Either sauté them in a large pan over medium low heat until heated through, or pop the sealed bag back into a water bath to bring them back to serving temperature.
Baby potatoes make excellent candidates for sous vide. Halved baby potatoes take about an hour in a 195°F water bath. Check for doneness by squeezing a potato through the bag, it should squish easily. If it feels firm, cook it another 10-15 minutes.
No Vacuum Sealer?
No worries! While I prefer my Food Saver this recipe will work just as well with a heavy duty freezer bag.
Simply add all the ingredients to the bag, and place in a sink with a couple inches of water in it – keeping the zipper above the water. The weight of the water will push most of the air out of the bag. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer, seal the zipper, and you’re ready to cook!
Make Ahead
These sous vide potatoes are perfect for make-ahead and meal planning.
After cooking, cool the sealed bag in a bath of ice water and chill the potatoes promptly. Once cold, transfer to the refrigerator and use within 2-3 days.
To reheat, open the bag and sauté the potatoes in a preheated skillet until hot throughout. If reheating in a water bath, reheat to at least 165°F.
Try These Sous Vide Favorites
If you tried this Sous Vide Potatoes recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Printable Recipe
Sous Vide Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb baby potatoes
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic
- 3 to 4 sprigs dill
- finishing salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Fill a sous vide container with water and preheat to 195°F.
- Roughly chop 3-4 cloves of garlic and add them to a small saucepan with ½ cup of unsalted butter. Simmer gently until the garlic is lightly browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Strain the garlic out of the butter with a fine mesh sieve and discard or save for another recipe.
- While the butter simmers, scrub 1lb of baby potatoes (no peeling needed) and halve them.
- Fold down the top of a vacuum seal bag. Add the potatoes, pour in the garlic butter, and tuck 3 to 4 sprigs of dill. Shuffle the potatoes into a single, flat layer. Vacuum seal the bag.
- Carefully lower the bag into the 195°F water bath and cook for 1 hour. If the bag wants to float, use a sous vide weight or clip the bag to the edge of the water bath.
- Check for doneness by gently squeezing a potato through the bag or with tongs. It should squish easily between your finger and thumb. If it still feels firm give it another 10-15 minutes.
- Transfer the potatoes to a preheated cast iron skillet over medium heat. Let them sit undisturbed until a crust forms, then turn and brown the remaining sides.
- Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with fresh dill or parsley, a couple cracks of black pepper, and a pinch of finishing salt.
Notes
Expert Tips
- Fingerlings take longer. In my experience, waxy fingerling potatoes need an extra 10-15 minutes in the water bath.
- Cut evenly. Uniform pieces cook at the same speed, so every bite is equally creamy. I halve my baby potatoes, and coarsely chop my full sized potatoes.
- Don't skip the garlic butter. It's "extra" but it's also extra yummy! Short on time? Cube the butter, add garlic powder and toss it all right into the bag.
- Seal it tight. A vacuum seal bag handles a long, hot bath better than a zip-top bag but a heavy duty freezer bag can work if you use the water displacement method below.
- Weigh it down. Air trapped around the potatoes makes the bag float. A sous vide weight, a clip and a spoon, a heavy plate, or my personal favorite - tongs, all work to keep everything submerged and cooking evenly.
- Sear it right. The potatoes are already coated in butter so they don't need any additional oil. Let them sit undisturbed in the hot skillet until they form a crust before disturbing.
- Seeing double. Make a double batch for later in the week. Having cooked potatoes in the fridge is a certified life hack.
- Time by size. Larger or whole potatoes need longer. Adjust as needed.
- No vacuum sealer: Use a heavy duty freezer bag. Lower it into water with the zipper above the water line to push the air out, then seal.
- Make ahead: Cool the bag in ice water, refrigerate for up to 3 days. Then sauté until hot throughout, or reheat in a heated water bath to 165°F.
This was an awesome addition to dinner. I had to leave out the dill for my hubby, but it was still a winner!
Happy to hear Tracey, sorry he doesn’t like dill!
Wow! Definitely doing this again! I DID use granulated garlic, next time going the fresh garlic route. But it was still amazing!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Followed the recipe and they were delicious!
What temperature …
Hey Ed, sorry it’s not more clear, in the recipe card, it specifies to preheat the water bath to 195f, the potatoes should be cooked at the same temperature!