Sous Vide Time Calculator
Estimate sous vide cook time from the food’s thickness — the number that actually sets the clock.
How it works
core-heating time rises with thickness² — interpolated from Baldwin’s slab table (fridge-cold to within 0.5 °C of the bath)
The one number that sets a sous vide time is thickness, because heat has to diffuse to the center and diffusion time scales with the square of the distance. Doubling thickness roughly quadruples the heating time; weight and shape barely matter. These estimates use Douglas Baldwin’s slab tables for food going in from the refrigerator. After the core reaches temperature, tender cuts are done, while poultry and thin pork need an extra hold at temperature to pasteurize.
Worked example
A 25 mm (1-inch) steak from the fridge reaches a 55 °C core in about 35 minutes. A 50 mm piece is not twice as long but nearly three times — about 1 h 50 min — because the distance to the center doubled and heating scales with its square.
Sources: Douglas Baldwin — A Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking
Frequently asked questions
Do I measure thickness or weight?
Thickness, every time. A 1-inch steak and a 1-inch roast reach temperature in the same time even if one weighs four times the other — what matters is how far heat must travel to the center, not how much food there is.
Can I leave it in longer than the estimate?
For tender cuts, a bit — sous vide is forgiving because the food cannot exceed the bath temperature. But long holds do soften texture: fish turns mushy within an hour or two, and even steak gets a "pot-roast" feel after 4+ hours. Tough, collagen-rich cuts are the exception and want long holds on purpose.
Does a lower bath temperature take much longer?
Only a little. Heating time depends mostly on the temperature gap and thickness, and these estimates already assume fridge-cold food heating to near the bath temperature. The bigger effect of temperature is on doneness and, for poultry and pork, on how long you must hold to pasteurize.
Related calculators
This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.