Enjoy the taste of a restaurant steak at home with this recipe for Sous Vide Filet Mignon! A stellar cut of beef meets a stellar cooking method to create an absolutely fabulous dinner. Pair the perfectly-cooked steak with a creamy peppercorn sauce for a meal that’s truly perfection.
How to Sous Vide Filet Mignon
Just the term sous vide can seem intimidating, but frankly, turning on the sous vide is the hardest part. It’s a set-it-and-forget it method that nearly guarantees you won’t over cook it.
Choose the temperature you want to cook the steak to, seal the steak in a bag with whatever seasonings inspire you, and submerge the steak for 1 ½ to 4 hours.
When you’re ready to eat, remove the steaks, pat dry and sear over really high heat just to get a nice crust on the steak.
Super-high heat is essential for searing. The goal is to sear hard and fast—to achieve color and crust without overcooking the perfectly cooked interior.
How Long to Sous Vide Filet Mignon
The cook time for sous viding a filet mignon all depends on the thickness of the steak(s) you have. We recommend using filets that are 1 ½ inches thick.
If you’re using thinner steaks, they will likely only need to be cooked for 45 minutes but can be cooked for up to an hour and a half.
In general, a filet mignon that’s 1 ½ inches to 2 inches thick should cook for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours. With one caveat—for food safety reasons—steaks that are cooked below 130ºF should not cook in a sous vide for more than 2 ½ hours.
Filet Mignon Sous Vide Temperature
Here is a chart that will help you determine what temperature to cook filet mignon at and for how long. It all depends on your desired doneness (and thickness of steak).
Keep in mind, the final doneness of your steak is determined by the temperature of the sous vide bath. The final searing step may increase the internal temperature by a degree or two, but count on the sous vide temperature as the determining factor of doneness.
That being said, if you take the steak out of the bath and want it to be a bit more cooked, you can sear it slightly longer in the skillet to achieve ideal doneness—just know you will sacrifice that even doneness, from edge to interior, if you sear it too long.
| Doneness | Temperature Range | Time Range |
|---|---|---|
| Very Rare to Rare | 120ºF–128ºF (49ºC–53ºC) | 1 –2 ½ hours |
| Medium-Rare | 129ºF–134ºF (54ºC–57ºC) | 1–4 hours (2 ½ hours max if under 130ºF/54ºC) |
| Medium | 135ºF–144ºF (57ºC–62ºC) | 1–4 hours |
| Medium-Well | 145ºF–155ºF (63ºC–68ºC | 1–4 hours |
| Well Done | 156ºF and up (69ºC +) | 1–4 hours |
I like to cook filet mignon at 130ºF for 1 ½ hours—I find that’s the perfect time and temp for medium-rare. We should note, the USDA recommends cooking beef to a minimum internal temperature of 145ºF (63ºC).
FAQs About Sous Vide Filet Mignon
The beautiful thing about slow cooking a steak in a sous vide is that you don’t need to rest it prior to slicing and serving. The moment it comes out of the skillet you can start serving. I like to remove the steaks from the pan, set the cast-iron pan aside, prep my plates and then slice and serve immediately.
Yes you can! You’ll need to increase the cook time by at least an hour. If your steak is more than 2 inches thick, increase the cook time by 2 ½ hours. This extra time accounts for the time required to thaw the steak before cooking it.
Unlike many traditional cooking methods, sous vide allows you to nail the internal temperature of a steak right on the nose. All the guesswork is taken out of it! That being said, if you cook a steak for longer than 4 hours you will start to impact the texture of the meat. It doesn’t get overcooked, but it does lose that chew we all love about steak.
You can reheat steaks in a sous vide by setting the sous vide to the original cooking temperature. Place the steaks in a bag and sous vide for about an hour. Open and enjoy!
I’ve written and shared many videos on social media about my love of reverse searing steak. It’s a great method to have in your arsenal for cooking steak. That being said, neither method is better than the other, they’re just different. Want something that’s absolutely foolproof and that you don’t need a thermometer for? Try sous vide.
Sauces for Filet Mignon
- Try our Mushroom Sauce for Steak! It’s got such great texture and flavor!
- Or try this Tarragon Crème Fraîche Sauce that’s both fresh and decadent.
- For something traditional and bright, make this Chimichurri.
What to Serve with Filet Mignon
We’ve got so many great side dishes for steak!
- Try our Healthy Skillet Cornbread or Gluten-Free Cornbread. Both feature whole corn kernels for ultimate flavor!
- Any kind of pasta salad is also a great pairing for steak. If you like dill pickles, try our Dill Pickle Pasta Salad. Or enjoy classic Greek flavors with our Greek Orzo Salad.
- If you like the sound of a potato salad, try our Herby Sour Cream Potato Salad (a fan-favorite) or our Caesar Potato and Cauliflower Salad.
- For something a bit lighter, pair these filet mignon steaks with our Garden Salad, Butter Lettuce Salad, or for something super simple, our Fennel Salad.
More Steak Recipes to Try
If you love playing around with new techniques, learn how to reverse sear a steak! It’s a fun method that also results in an evenly-cooked steak. Plus, it’s great for all kinds of cuts of steak.
Enjoy steak frites at home complete with salt and vinegar oven fries!
Learn how to cook a ribeye steak then slice it up and enjoy it in our Blue Cheese and Steak Salad.
Our Italian Steak Sandwich is made with beefy tri-tip steak, pesto, provolone, roasted red peppers and a bunch of arugula.
Need more ideas for filet mignon? Try our Pan-Seared Filet Mignon with creamy tarragon sauce.
If you’ve got leftover steak, be sure you know the best way to reheat steak. Or check out this extensive list of leftover steak recipes.
Sous Vide Filet Mignon Recipe
Description
Ingredients
Sous vide filet mignon
- 2 filet mignon, at least 1 ½ inches thick, about 1 pound total
- Kosher salt
- 6 bay leaves, fresh or dried
- 6 sprigs thyme
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 tablespoons butter, ghee or vegetable oil
Creamy Peppercorn Marsala Sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- ⅓ cup marsala
- ¾ cup beef broth or stock
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
- Chopped fresh parsley, optional
Instructions
Sous Vide Steaks
- In a large container filled with water, preheat sous vide precision cooker to desired final temperature, refer to chart above (130ºF for medium-rare). Allow water bath to come to temperature.
- Season steaks generously with salt then add to bag with bay leaves, thyme, and garlic. Seal bag, either by using a vacuum sealer or, if using a resealable zipper-lock bag, with water displacement method. To do this, slowly lower bagged steak into a pot of water, letting pressure of water push air up and out through top of bag. Once most of air is out of bag, seal bag just above water line. Seal.
- Place bag in water bath so steaks are completely submerged. If sealed correctly, steaks should sink. Secure bags to side of container with clips, making sure bag does not block intake or output sections of precision cooker.
- Cook steak to desired doneness according to chart above (1–4 hours for medium rare).
Creamy Peppercorn Marsala Sauce
- Meanwhile, for the sauce, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium. Add 1 minced shallot, season with salt, and cook until softened and starting to browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add ⅓ cup marsala and cook until mostly reduced and “jammy,” 4 minutes.
- Stir in ¾ cup beef stock and bring to a simmer; cook until mostly reduced, 6–8 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon cracked pepper.
- Remove from heat and whisk in ½ cup cream, return to low heat and simmer (don’t let it boil) until slightly thickened about 4 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
Sear Steaks
- Preheat cast iron skillet over high heat for 5 minutes.
- Remove steaks and aromatics from bags and pat dry (discard bags). Add 2 tablespoons butter to skillet and swirl to melt. Add steaks and reserved aromatics, if using, and cook just until seared on each side, about 1 minute per side for medium-rare (removing and discarding aromatics as they start to burn). Shoot for internal temperature of 135ºF.
- Transfer steaks to a cutting board, slice and serve with sauce. Finish with fresh parsley, if using.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This post is written and created in partnership with the Iowa Beef Council. As always the thoughts, opinions, recipe, photos and content are all my own.
