Crispy-skinned sous vide potatoes cooked with garlic-infused oil and smoked paprika. In the unlikely event that you have leftovers, think potato salad.

Potatoes are a versatile and popular side dish that can be cooked in a variety of ways. Maybe you are used to baked potatoes from an oven, making them in an air fryer or an instant pot, or simply cooking them on the stove. I say that sous vide potatoes are a delicious and foolproof way to get restaurant-quality potatoes right in your own kitchen. In this post, we will be discussing why to cook potatoes sous vide, how to do it step by step, and the perfect recipe for garlic paprika sous vide potatoes—a flavorful and vibrant side dish that can be enjoyed in multiple ways. 

Why Sous Vide Potatoes 

We’ve explored the benefits of sous vide vegetables a little bit before. Potatoes are a root vegetable, and the sous vide method not only tenderizes them evenly and retains the flavor and nutrients like no other cooking method, but it is also mostly hands-off, with no hassle and no guesswork required. On top of these amazing benefits, I found that sous vide potatoes are extremely convenient and versatile. Here’s what I mean by that. 

Crispy-skinned sous vide potatoes cooked with garlic-infused oil and smoked paprika. In the unlikely event that you have leftovers, think potato salad.
  • Sous vide potatoes are easy to make and great for meal prep. Cook a big batch of potatoes sous vide in multiple bags. You can eat one bag right away, keep some in the fridge and reheat them throughout the week, or freeze them for later. 
  • Sous vide once and savor in multiple ways. When you have a few bags of sous vide potatoes on hand, you can easily create different potato dishes by roasting them in a hot pan or oven, making mashed potatoes, tossing them with a dressing for a potato salad, or throwing them into soups. Seriously, it saves so much time. 

Sounds good, right? I will show you how shortly. But first, let’s talk about potatoes. 

The Best Potatoes to Sous Vide

Potatoes come in many shapes, sizes, and even colors. The best kind for sous vide depends on what you are making and your personal preference. Here is a brief guideline on what potatoes to choose to sous vide for different dishes.

Garlic Paprika Sous Vide Potatoes
  • Waxy potatoes: The smaller varieties, like baby potatoes, also known as new potatoes and fingerling potatoes, are a little bit waxy. They generally have thin and smooth skin, so you don’t have to peel them. Personally, waxy potatoes are my favorite potatoes to sous vide because they hold their shape well and can go right into a hot pan or oven afterward to crisp up the skin. They are also best for potato salads. 
  • All-purpose potatoes: Yukon Gold potatoes are the all-time stars as you can use them for pretty much any potatoes recipe. Purple Majesty and All Blue potatoes follow suit. Those have medium starch content and medium moisture content. When in doubt, go for Yukon Gold potatoes. You can’t go wrong with them. 
  • Starchy potatoes: Russet has its name written all over this category. Along with many types of sweet potatoes, they are high in starch and low in moisture. They are good at soaking up other ingredients like milk or butter. So if you are going for an extra creamy texture, Russet is your guy.

Regardless of the starch content, the sous vide cooking method is suitable for all types of potatoes. The best kind to sous vide depends on what potato dish you want to make and your personal taste. 

Sous Vide Potatoes Temperature and Time 

Although all vegetables can be cooked at 185°F (85°C) sous vide, including potatoes, the best temperature to sous vide potatoes is 194°F (90°C) for an hour. You can expect your potatoes to be tender and cooked all the way through when pierced with a fork—without fail, every time.

What You Need

Essential Ingredients

For these super delicious Garlic Paprika Potatoes, you’ll need the following ingredients. 

Ingredients for Garlic Paprika Sous Vide Potatoes
  • Garlic. Use fresh garlic cloves to infuse some olive oil and add to the potato cooking bags. This is the best practice for both flavor and safety if you are concerned about using raw garlic in sous vide
  • Olive oil. Fat not only helps hold shape but also helps fix the aroma of your potatoes when cooking sous vide. When using infused oil, the flavor is enhanced even more. You can also use unsalted butter for this recipe. 
  • Red or yellow baby potatoes. As mentioned earlier, these potatoes are waxier and hold their shape well even after cooking in a compressed bag without air. Leave their smooth and thin skin on for searing. They are divine. 
  • Salt and pepper. The basics. We are building up the flavor with the next ingredient. 
  • Sweet or smoked paprika. Besides the garlic in the infused oil, this is the other main flavor bomb to make your potatoes stand out. 
  • Oregano. Either dried or fresh oregano works. I used both for this recipe—dried oregano to rub the potatoes and fresh sprigs in the sous vide bags for additional aroma when cooking. 
  • Fresh herbs. Add a touch of elegance to your potatoes by garnishing them with chopped fresh thyme, oregano, dill, or parsley.  
Crispy-skinned sous vide potatoes cooked with garlic-infused oil and smoked paprika. In the unlikely event that you have leftovers, think potato salad.

Essential Equipment

  • A sous vide machine. I used an Anova Culinary AN500-US00 Sous Vide Precision Cooker to sous vide my potatoes. 
  • A large pot or a sous vide container. While a large and deep soup pot is sufficient for sous vide cooking most of the time, consider investing in decent-sized sous vide container if you use this cooking method often, especially for sous vide meal prep
  • A vacuum sealer.  When it comes to sous vide vegetables, I’d highly recommend using a vacuum sealer. Vacuum sealing the vegetables helps get all the air out of the bag and prevents floating during the cooking process. It also preserves the vegetables’ freshness and nutrients. 
  • Vacuum-sealer bags. Cut your own size of bags with these high-quality vacuum-sealer rolls. I cut two bags for the sous vide potatoes in this recipe.
  • A cast-iron skillet. To crisp up the potato skin, I seared them in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat with the residual garlic-infused oil.

Let’s get to it. 

How to Sous Vide Potatoes Step by Step

Step #1 – Set up the sous vide: Preheat water to 194°F (90°C) using a sous vide immersion circulator. The temperature is high, so protect your counter surface if necessary. 

Step #2 – Make garlic-infused oil (optional): For the most basic sous vide potatoes, you can skip this step and use olive oil directly when you bag the potatoes. (You can use some garlic powder if you don’t feel like turning on the stove at all.) To take your potatoes to the next level, I’d highly recommend simmering fresh garlic cloves in good olive oil over medium heat for some aromatic infused oil. 

Make garlic-infused oil

Step #3 – Prepare the potatoes: Rinse and scrub the potatoes clean, cut them into 1-inch pieces, and season with salt and pepper or whatever seasonings you prefer. In this recipe, besides salt and pepper, I rubbed my red potatoes with smoked paprika and dried oregano. 

Prepare the potatoes

Step #4 – Bag the potatoes: Place the potatoes in one or multiple vacuum-sealer bags and add the infused oil (or olive oil) along with the garlic cloves and fresh herbs if desired. Arrange the potatoes in one single layer and vacuum seal the bag(s).

Bag the potatoes

Step #5 – Cook the potatoes: Once the water temperature reaches 194°F (90°C), submerge the bagged potatoes under the water and set the timer for 1 hour. 

Cook the potatoes

Step #6 – Sear the potatoes (optional): You can serve the potatoes right away once they are out of the sous vide water bath. But if you’d like that crispy skin (who doesn’t?), toss them in a hot pan coated with oil for about 2 minutes. 

Sear the potatoes

Multiple Ways to Enjoy Sous Vide Potatoes

Now that your potatoes are perfectly sous vide cooked, you can serve them in many different ways. Here are a few ideas hopefully to spark your creativity. 

StreetSmart Sous Vide Tips 

  • Leave the skin on. Not only does leaving the skin on save you time and give you the opportunity to make crispy potatoes, but it also has many health benefits. Potato skin is a great sauce of potassium and magnesium. It contains B vitamins, vitamin C, iron, calcium, and lots of fiber. So don’t peel them, especially if you are working with waxy small potatoes. 
  • Cut large potatoes into half-moon shapes. When cooking big potatoes like Russet, I recommend cutting them in similar shapes and sizes. Pieces that are 1 inch long and ½ inch thick cook well in the sous vide.
  • Arrange in a single layer. To ensure even tenderness, it’s important to arrange your potato pieces in one single layer in a vacuum-seal bag. Some people use Ziploc bags and the water displacement method to sous vide cook potatoes. It can be done, but the result is noticeably different compared to vacuum-sealing the potatoes in one layer.
  • Cover your cooking vessel. It will help prevent water evaporation and keep the temperature stable throughout the cooking process. 
  • Make ahead for meal prep. Prepare a big batch of potatoes, then portion and seal them in multiple bags. Sous vide them all at once and enjoy them throughout the week. This brings me to the next tip. 
  • Storage. For make-ahead potatoes, rapidly chill them in an ice-water bath immediately after they are out of the sous vide. Once chilled, about 15-20 minutes, transfer the potatoes (still in their cooking bags) to the fridge to store up for seven days, or to the freezer for up to six months. 
  • Reheating. For refrigerated potatoes, you can warm them up in a hot pan for a few minutes or microwave them if you are short on time. You can also reheat the potatoes (still in their bags) in a pot of boiling water for about six minutes. For frozen potatoes, let them thaw in the fridge or at room temperature, then follow the reheating options mentioned above to warm them up. 
  • Throw some eggs in their shells in the same water bath. Whenever I have a water bath running at a high temperature, I always add some eggs in their shells to the water for effortless sous vide eggs. You can cook perfectly soft-boiled eggs at 194°F (90°C) sous vide for 8 minutes. 

What to Serve with Sous Vide Potatoes

Sous vide potatoes are a great and elevated side dish that brings more flavor, goodness, and satisfaction to your meal. I usually serve them with steak, lamb, and poultry. Consider the following main courses for a perfect pairing. Most of them are sous vide recipes also.

Garlic Paprika Sous Vide Potatoes

FAQs

Can you sous vide potatoes too long?

Yes. If you leave potatoes in the sous vide bath for too long, say over 2 hours at 194°F (90°C), they will turn out mushy.

What is the lowest temperature for sous vide potatoes?

I wouldn’t go lower than 185°F (85°C). Vegetables don’t cook properly below this temperature.

Can you sous vide potatoes at 135 degrees?

No. Again, potatoes will not cook through at such a low temperature. 

Can you overcook potatoes in sous vide?

Leaving potatoes in sous vide for long periods of time will not result in overcooking but it will have a negative effect on the overall texture.

What is the best way to cook potatoes in sous vide?

The best way to cook potatoes sous vide is to cut them into similar-sized pieces (about 1 inch long and ½ inch thick), then vacuum-seal the pieces in one single layer before sous vide cooking.

What are the benefits of sous vide potatoes?

Using the sous vide method to cook potatoes is hassle-free and produces the best results every single time. They are easy to make and are great for meal prep. Cook a big batch of potatoes sous vide in multiple bags. You can eat one bag right away, keep some in the fridge and reheat them throughout the week, or freeze them for later. When you have a few bags of sous vide potatoes on hand, you can easily create different potato dishes with them. Think mashed potatoes, potato salads, etc.

How long should you cook potatoes in sous vide for best results?

Cooking potatoes sous vide at 194°F (90°C) for an hour creates the best results.

What does sous vide mean?

Sous vide is pronounced: “sue veed.” It’s French, meaning “under vacuum.” With this method, you put your foods and seasonings into containers, typically plastic bags that are airtight—or as close to it as possible—or jars.

The sealed food pouch then goes into a water bath that stays at a precise and constant temperature thanks to a gadget called an immersion circulator. The cooking process is gradual and controlled, with the water circulating around the bag and heating the food evenly.

To learn more about sous vide, check out this complete guide to sous vide cooking

Now it’s your turn! How would you enjoy your sous vide potatoes? Tell us StreetSmart home chefs about it in the comments section below.

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Crispy-skinned sous vide potatoes cooked with garlic-infused oil and smoked paprika. In the unlikely event that you have leftovers, think potato salad.

Garlic Paprika Sous Vide Potatoes Recipe

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  • Author: Sharon Chen
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour and 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
  • Yield: 46 servings 1x
  • Category: Sides
  • Method: Sous Vide
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

Crispy-skinned sous vide potatoes cooked with garlic-infused oil and smoked paprika. In the unlikely event that you have leftovers, think potato salad.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 pounds new red or yellow potatoes
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano or/and 2 sprigs of fresh oregano
  • 1 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
  • Fresh herbs for garnishing
  • Garlic Lemon Aioli for serving (optional)

Instructions

  1. Set up the sous vide: Preheat a water bath to 194°F (90°C) using a sous vide immersion circulator. The temperature is high, so protect your counter surface if necessary. 
  2. Infuse the oil: In a skillet that you’ll later use to sear the potatoes after sous vide cooking, heat olive oil with the garlic over medium heat. Allow the garlic to cook and release its aroma into the oil. Tilt the skillet to let the garlic submerge in the oil; flip occasionally; cook until the garlic is lightly brown and wrinkled, about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from heat, transfer the oil and garlic into a small bowl, and set aside. By now, your skillet is well coated with oil for searing later. 
  3. Prepare the potatoes: Rinse and scrub the potatoes clean. Depending on the size of your potatoes, halve or quarter them into about 1-inch size pieces. If your potatoes are smaller than that, leave them whole. Place the potatoes in a large mixing bowl or a colander with a plate at the bottom to catch any drippings. (You can also do this directly in the sink.) Add salt, freshly ground black pepper, dried oregano, and paprika. Mix until the potatoes are evenly coated. 
  4. Bag the potatoes: In one or two large vacuum-sealer bags, arrange the potatoes in a single layer, and add the garlic-infused oil along with the garlic into the bag(s). Divide the oil and garlic if you use two bags. Vacuum seal the bag(s). 
  5. Cook the potatoes: Once the water temperature reaches 194°F (90°C), add the bagged potatoes and set the timer for 1 hour. Vacuum-sealed potatoes usually don’t float. If they do, weigh them down with a rack or a pot lid to make sure the potatoes are fully submerged under the water for the entire cooking time
  6. Sear the potatoes: Once the potatoes are done, remove the bag(s) from the water bath, open it, and drain. Pat the potatoes dry with paper towels. In the same skillet, heat the residual oil over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the potatoes, skin side down. Allow them to sear for 2 minutes or until the skin is crispy, stirring occasionally. Do it in batches if necessary.
  7. Dish and serve: Transfer the heavenly potatoes to a serving plate, season with more salt and paprika if desired. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve as is or with garlic lemon aioli! So good!


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 serving
  • Calories: 181
  • Sugar: 1.3g
  • Sodium: 269.8mg
  • Fat: 7.2g
  • Saturated Fat: 1.1g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 27.6g
  • Fiber: 3.5g
  • Protein: 3.3g
  • Cholesterol: 0mg

About the Author

Sharon Chen, StreetSmart Kitchen

Sharon Chen is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and author of the Complete Sous Vide Cookbook. She believes food not only brings healing but also connection. As the creator of StreetSmart Kitchen, she aims to make meal prep easier than ever and help you find balance, ease, joy, and simplicity in the kitchen as you improve your well-being.