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Hot water bath cooking, otherwise known as sous vide cooking, requires vacuum-sealed bags to do things properly. Getting all of the air out is important, which is why finding bags and sous-vide accessories are important when cooking.
If you are struggling to find the right bags and accessories for your sous vide cooking process, this list is for you.
The Best Sous Vide Bags (and Accessories)
| Best Bags to Sous Vide | Product Information | Check Price |
|---|---|---|
Top | Aobosi Vacuum Sealer Bags Vacuum Food Sealer | Check Price |
Top | Sous Vide Magnets to Keep Bags Submerged and In Place | Check Price |
Top | Vacuum Sealer, 25 PCS Handheld Food Vacuum Sealer Machine | Check Price |
Top | hajing Sous Vide Bags Kit for Anova | Check Price |
Top | Sous Vide Bags Kit 20 Pcs For Anova and Joule Cookers | Check Price |
Aobosi Vacuum Sealer Bags (Rolls)
- These rolls have an embossed dotted pattern that allows for maximum air extraction, keeping your sealed food fresher up to five times longer than alternative storage methods.
- Our Bags go through Internationally recognized testing by FDA to ensure no chemicals will leech into your food. Food-Grade/Commercial Grade.
- These recyclable dishwasher safe bags can be used in the microwave, the fridge or the freezer and, of course, they are perfect for use in sous vide cooking.
Abosi makes one of the most effective bag collections for sous vide for a couple of reasons.
First, They provide bags in rolls, which enable you to purchase large quantities easily. Compared to other companies that provide bags, those take up a lot of room because they aren’t rolled together.
Second, you get a decent number of bags for a reasonable cost. If you are looking for plastic bags for your sous vide vacuum sealing machine, this is exactly what you look for.
The bags claim to be BPA-free, which is common for all plastic sous vide cooking bags for legal reasons. So the buzzword doesn’t make it special.
These bags also come in many available sizes, making them suitable for cooking any dish. Overall, this is the most complete collection of it that you can find.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Comes in many sizes. | No bonus accessories (hand pump, vacuum sealer, etc.) |
| Incredibly cost-effective. | Doesn’t work with hand pump sealers. |
| Comes in rolls for easier storage. | |
| Best Bags to Sous Vide Reviews |
Impresa Sous Vide Magnets (To Keep Bags in Place)
- Use our pack of 10 light weight magnets to fully submerge your bags and keep them in place. This helps ensure you dont undercook meat, vegetables, or anything else.
- Ever wonder how French restaurants have perfected sous vide? Magnets! They allow you to easily change the cooking position of your bags. Simply slide the outside magnet up and down.
- Stop using weights for sous vide! They tend to roll off whatever you put them on and sometimes leave a weird taste on your food. A sous vide cooking rack can be flimsy and takes forever to set correctly.
Stepping more into bag accessories, Impresa has a line of magnets you can use to hold down bags. These are meant to exist as a substitute for sous vide balls, only better for holding food bags against the wall.
The joy of these is that they can work with any form of food-grade plastic cooking bag. This can be suitable if you don’t have a sous vide rack on hand as well.
Magnets can be pretty effective at holding food up. However, you cannot use them in some metal pots.
It also doesn’t work for sous vide containers that are thicker than average. So no containers with extra insulation.
For heavier foods, you might have to use multiple magnets. Otherwise, this is solid for ensuring your cooked food bags don’t fall into the hot water bath.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great accessories for sous vide bags. | Not good if your container has extra insulation. |
| Prevents your food from sinking into the bath. | Serves a similar purpose as a rack would. |
| Great for most standard sous vide containers. | |
| Best Bags to Sous Vide Reviews |
Abbletop 25 Pcs Handheld Food Vacuum Sealer Machine
- You will get 1*rechargeable vacuum sealer, 5*Large reusable food vacuum seal bags, 5*Medium reusable vacuum bags, 5*Small resusable food storage bags, 5*sealing clips, 2*suction nozzle,1*pen, 1*USB cable, 1*User Manual
- Handheld vacuum sealer, just press one button, new upgraded motor with 5L/min fast pumping.Great suction power of 50kPa, only needs 5 seconds to vacuum air.
- Vacuum Sealer Bags, constructed of BPA-free material. Sous Vide Bags are good food storage bags, zip lock food organization bags can be used for meats seafoods, vegetables, fruits, cereals, nut snacks and sandwich
Abbletop takes vacuum bags a step further through a complete vacuum sealer kit. It provides a high-quality method to remove air and store food.
Unlike standard freezer bags, the hole in the upper-right-hand corner of the bag is meant to be associated with the electric pump. It also works with some hand pumps if your included pump gives out.
It’s also pretty cost-effective, which likely comes from the inexpensive material the pump is made from. The vacuum sealer is more likely to go out, making the bags one of the best parts of this deal.
Thankfully, its flexibility in working with less expensive hand pumps makes this an excellent choice. So if you are looking for good food storage seal bags that work for sous vide, this is an excellent option.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Has high-quality food storage bags. | The electric pump has a history of going out rapidly. |
| Works with alternative hand pumps as a backup. | It doesn’t work with some food-grade bags. |
| Bags are of solid high quality for high-temperature sous vide cooking. | |
| Best Bags to Sous Vide Reviews |
Hajing Sous vide Bags Kit w/ Hand Pump and Sealing Clips
- Includes everything you need for Sous Vide Cooking - 1 hand pump,10 vacuum sealed bags (26x34cm), 10vacuum sealed bags(21x22cm)
- Vacuum Hand Pump is an innovative portable home vacuum device used to keep food fresh for longer, maintain flavour, and save money by reducing food wastage.
- Place food such as meat inside the Vacuum Bag with your favourite marinade and then vacuum seal.
Hajing’s sous vide kit comes with a hand pump, sealing clips, and thirty reusable food vacuum bags. These are solid for food use, but the cost-effectiveness of this comes from the bonus hand pump.
The bag sizes cover various needs and prioritize food safety due to their solid heat resistance. But there are other higher-quality storage bags out there.
Overall, this is a great entry-level collection if you don’t want to stick with freezer bags. If you are willing to hand pump your food and near an above-average amount of bags, Hajing offers an excellent option.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| It comes in 30 bags. | Not usable with non-hand-pump models. |
| It has clips and a hand pump. | Bags could be of higher quality. |
| Suitable for use with electric hand pumps or standard pumps. | |
| Best Bags to Sous Vide Reviews |
House Heart 20 Pcs Sous Vide Bags Kit for Anova and Joule Cookers
- The sou vide bags are BPA Free, made of Food Safe material-high-end polyethylene. They are safe to be used in freezer or sous vide cooking at high temperature
- Seal the bag with the bag sealing clip, just take few seconds to vacuum out the air and keep bag sealed tightly to start sous vide cooking, do not submerge the AIr Valve in water
- The vacuum bags are easy to clean with dish soap and warm water then store it in a clean and dry place before using again. Double zip sealing bag can be reusable up to 10 times
The last piece is from a small, unproven brand called House Heart. Their 20 pcs bags are suitable for all sorts of sous vide cookers. However, immersion circulators aren’t typically rated for use with specific bags.
Overall, these are rated for food safety and are easy to use and store. The included clip makes this a pretty familiar vacuum sealing model with a solid pump.
Overall, it’s similar in cost to other items on this list, which makes it about. These are reusable and great bags for sous vide cooking.
While House Heart doesn’t offer too much, they are just getting their business off the ground. We wish them the best of luck.
Pros Cons
It comes with a good amount of bags. No significant savings based on bag count.
Bags are suitable for storage and food safety. Only suitable for the manual type of vacuum sealer.
The pump is made of good quality material.
Best Bags to Sous Vide Reviews
What Should I Look for in Good Sous Vide Bags?
Below are what you should be looking for when deciding on good sous vide bags and bag accessories.
Can I Use Standard Storage Bags?
The answer to that question depends on the bag. The problem with using some plastic bags is that they might not be rated for usage with high temperatures.
For example, you wouldn’t wrap your food in a grocery bag and expect it to work. Instead, you want to be sure that you get bags rated for food safety and temperature.
Your best bet is to stick with bags that claim to be usable with sous vide. Stasher bags for example, are reusable silicone food-grade storage bags that specifically mention being functional with sous vide.
What Materials are Safe in Sous Vide?
The best kind of sous vide bags are different forms of polyethylene. The problem with using weaker blags, like Ziplock bags, is that they might break at the seam. However, this only happens at the highest temperatures, so you can still use thinner plastic bags at low temps.
You can sous vide in a vacuum-sealed bag, reusable silicone bags, and some jars. However, polyethylene plastic bags are preferred to ensure all ends of the food are cooked.
Different Methods Keep Sous Vide Bags Submerged
Submerging sous vide bags are essential when it comes to keeping your food items pure. An improperly packaged bag may lead to uneven cooking or burst seams. This can lead to the food being inedible.
To address there, you have a couple of different methods for holding down these bags:
- Sous Vide Magnets – Magnets are placed on either side of the sous vide bag to keep the bag firmly in place. They hold the bag on the outside of the container, making them less suitable for thicker containers.
- Sous Vide Clips – Sous vide clips are meant to hold bags up using sous vide racks. Many of the sets available on this list come with clips, enabling you to hold the bags up easily. This prevents the bag from tipping and eventually sinking.
- Weight – Any amount of weight can assist you in ensuring that your sous vide bags are held down. Just be sure that whatever weight you use is food-friendly
- Vacuum Sealing – Vacuum sealing creates a dense area for your sous vide bag. Any air enables the bag to float and displace, increasing the chance of unwanted water. This is what the vacuum machine is for.
Regardless of your chosen method for submerging your bags, always be sure that your bags have a good seal. Regardless of using silicone bags or vacuum-sealed bags, water should not be inside the bag.
How To Clean Sous Vide Bags
While some reusable bags out there will tell you how dishwasher-safe they are, that isn’t suitable for some. Also, trying to position those bags to get a decent clean inside of a dishwasher isn’t fun.
So regardless of whether or not you find a bat that makes the dishwasher claim, you need to hand wash your bags.
To wash them, you can use standard dish soap and hot water. The dish soap works to remove any old food debris, and the hot water removes any potential for bacterial.
After, you’ll want to dry them with a small towel and store them in a dry place. If the bags are stained, you can take a sponge to them; just be careful not to wear the edges.
Making Sure your Sous Vide Cooking Stays Safe
If you’ve heard about sous vide cooking being dangerous, they’ve probably experienced food entering the temperature danger zone. This “danger zone” is anywhere between 40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
The problem with sous vide cooking is that it operates closer to these temperatures than other forms of cooking. To get the softened texture, sous vide takes advantage of a low and slow technique.
To remain safe, ensure that you eat whatever comes out of the bag within a couple of hours. Also, if you plan on storing the food, relocate it to the fridge quickly.
If you plan on storing your cooked food right away, immediately transfer sous vide cooking to an ice bath. The ice bath will enable temperatures to drop rapidly, enabling the food to skip being in the danger zone.
Best Sous Vide Container Brands
Many of the brands we went through on this list are smaller brands in the sous vide world. Here is some love for them here:
- Aobosi – Aobosi is a smaller brand mostly known for its Amazon presence. This company provides heating cups, wine shelves, juicers, and other kitchen appliances. Aobosi works on the idea of bringing joyfulness to its users.
- Impresa – Impresa is Italian for business. Their company offers a wide range of products, including home, kitchen, pool, and fidget toys.
The remaining brands: Hazing, Househeart, and Abbletop are all incredibly small brands. They offer solid sous vide bag products, which is why they made their way on this list.
Amazon happens to be one of those environments where anyone can sell. With these smaller brands, it’s good to give them some recognition.
Sous Vide Bags FAQs
Is It Okay if the Bag Touches the Sous Vide Machine?
No. The heat coming from the sous vide machine is meant to be hot enough to boil the surrounding water. So you should not touch the metal surface of this machine.
Covering the sous vide machine’s bottom half will also make it impossible to move the water. Immersion involves the water moving throughout the device.
How Many Times Can You Reuse Sous Vide Bags?
Most sous vide you can use bags tens of times before you start to notice ware. High-quality bags are sturdy, enabling repeated use.
For a firmer answer, check the owner’s manual of any bag you own. They should make similar claims.
What Happens if the Sous Vide Bag Leaks?
If water enters your sous vide bag, it will ruin the contents. It will turn your water bath into a soup of sorts, but typically not in any pleasant way.
If the bag leaks, it might be time for you to make a replacement. Repairing sous vide bags requires experience working with plastic.
How Long Can You Keep Meat Inside of a Sous Vide Bag?
Standard shelf-life rules apply in this case, but vacuum-sealed bags have greater potential to keep unwanted flavors out. You should eat the leftovers inside of any bag within a week.
Some people have been known to keep food inside of their vacuum-sealed bags for up to two weeks. However, stick to standard food safety protocol when choosing whether or not to eat them.
Final Thoughts
Out of all the potential sous vide bags, the Aobosi Vacuum Sealer Bags are the best. This is because they are the most cost-effective without sacrificing quality. Having them come in a roll also helps.
Other bags on this list come with additional electric hand pumps. If you don’t own a pump, those might be more suitable. If you already own bags, you might consider magnets to help hold them up. Regardless of what you choose, always be sure you prioritize your family’s needs.
We hope this list has helped you learn about sous vide bags. If any of these seem suitable for your needs, clicking our affiliate links would be most appreciated. We earn a small commission on these links, enabling us to continue to create helpful tips to help your kitchen become complete.
