Garlic Paprika Sous Vide Potatoes

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. 

• 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.

• 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. 

• 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.  

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. 

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. 

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).

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. 

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. 

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. 

• Dip the sous vide potatoes in Garlic Lemon Aioli.
• Combine the potatoes in mayonnaise and yellow mustard with onions, hard-boiled eggs, and celery for a classic potato salad or other forms of potato salad. 
• Make mashed potatoes or mashed potato salad. 
• Throw them in a vegetable soup, a chicken soup, or a beef stew. 

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.

• Sous Vide Rack of Lamb with Garlic and Herb Crust
• Sous Vide Filet Mignon with Delicious Mushroom Sauce
• Dijon & Herb Rubbed Rib Roast with Chimichurri Sauce
• Sous Vide Whole Chicken (Not Poached)
• Sous Vide Turkey Breast with Honey Garlic Glaze
• Sous Vide Frozen Steak

FAQs

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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