Sous Vide Cook Time Calculator
Sous vide time has two parts: the come-up time for the center to reach the water temperature, and the hold time to pasteurize. The come-up time follows the heat-diffusion equation, scaling with the square of the food thickness, so doubling thickness roughly quadruples it. This calculator multiplies a heating coefficient you take from a sous vide heating table by the thickness squared, then adds the pasteurization hold time you supply, giving a planning estimate from real conduction physics.
Sous vide time formula
Come-up time = heating coefficient * (thickness)^2
Total time = come-up time + pasteurization hold time
Total time (hours) = total time minutes / 60
Come-up time (hours) = come-up time minutes / 60
The thickness-squared term comes directly from the heat-diffusion equation for conduction into a slab. The heating coefficient and the hold time are values you take from a sous vide heating table and a pasteurization table for your food and temperature.
Sous vide notes
- Heat-through time scales with the square of thickness because of conduction physics.
- Measure the shortest distance to the center, the thickness, not the length or width.
- The heating coefficient depends on the food's thermal properties and shape.
- Hold time pasteurizes; it depends on temperature and the pathogen target.
- Always follow a validated time-and-temperature table from a food-safety authority.
Sous vide time: frequently asked questions
Why does sous vide time depend on thickness squared?
Heat moves into food by conduction, and the time for the center to reach the water temperature scales with the square of the thickness, a result of the heat-diffusion equation. Doubling the thickness roughly quadruples the heat-through time. This calculator multiplies the heating coefficient you enter by the thickness squared to estimate the come-up time.
What heating coefficient should I use?
The coefficient (time per unit thickness squared) depends on the food's thermal properties and shape, so it is not a single universal number. Use a value from a published sous vide heating table or a food-science reference for your food and geometry, then enter it here. Because it is empirical, the calculator takes it as your input rather than assuming one.
What is the pasteurization hold time?
After the center reaches temperature, food may need to hold at that temperature for a time to pasteurize, which depends on the temperature and the pathogen target. Government and food-science pasteurization tables give these hold times. Enter the hold time appropriate to your temperature and food, and the calculator adds it to the heat-through time.
Is the center temperature ever above the danger zone risk?
Sous vide holds food at a precise temperature. Safety comes from time at temperature, so both reaching the target (heat-through) and holding long enough (pasteurization) matter. Always follow a validated time-and-temperature table from a food-safety authority; this calculator is a planning estimate, not a safety certification.
How do I measure thickness?
Measure the shortest path heat must travel to the center, usually the thickness of the thickest part of the food in the bag, not its length or width. For a steak that is the height of the cut; for a cylinder it is the diameter. Enter that thickness in the same unit your heating coefficient uses.
Official sources
- U.S. Department of Agriculture FSIS: Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: FDA Food Code (time and temperature).
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 16 June 2026. See our methodology.