Can You Boil Vacuum Sealer Bags? Heat Ratings by Brand

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Yes, you can boil vacuum sealer bags if the maker rates them for it. Anova says its pre-cut bags handle boiling temperatures for up to 4 hours, Bonsenkitchen rates its rolls for water up to 230 °F (110 °C), and Avid Armor lists its chamber pouches for boiling and simmering. FoodSaver rates its standard rolls for water up to 195 °F (90 °C) and simmering, so keep FoodSaver bags at a simmer rather than a hard boil. Mylar bags and unrated bags are for storage only.

The rule of thumb is simple: check the bag's heat rating before it goes near hot water, and then follow normal food-safety temperatures for the food inside.

Heat ratings by brand

Ratings come from each maker's listing or product page. "See box" means we did not find a specific statement in the sources we read.

Boiling vs simmering vs sous vide

These are three different temperatures, and bag ratings line up with them:

• Sous vide baths usually run well below boiling. FoodSaver's 195 °F rating and ZWILLING's 197.6 °F rating cover typical sous vide cooking.
• Simmering is a gentle bubble below a full boil. FoodSaver lists its rolls for simmering.
• A rolling boil at sea level is 212 °F (100 °C). Only bags rated above that, or explicitly for boiling, belong in it: Anova's pre-cut bags, Bonsenkitchen's 230 °F rolls and Avid Armor's pouches and rolls.

If you are not sure what a bag is rated for, keep the water at a simmer and the time short, or move the food into a pot.

How to boil or reheat food in a vacuum sealer bag

1. Use a rated bag and a good, wrinkle-free seal. Double-seal if your machine can.
2. Leave headspace above the seal so the seal line stays out of the water if possible, or clip the bag to the pot edge.
3. Bring water to a simmer (or the temperature the bag is rated for).
4. Lower the bag in and keep it off the bottom of the pot, which can be hotter than the water. A small rack or trivet helps.
5. Heat until the food is hot all the way through. For leftovers, USDA FSIS's reheating target is 165 °F; check with a food thermometer once you open the bag.
6. Lift it out with tongs, cut the corner and pour.

Microwave tip: cut the bag open or vent it before microwaving, and never microwave a sealed bag. FoodSaver's listings describe its bags as suitable for microwave reheating on that basis.

Cooking raw food in the bag

Cooking raw food in a sealed bag is sous vide, and it is safe when done by the numbers:

• Keep sealed raw food cold (40 °F or below) until it goes into the water.
• Use the time and temperature charts from your cooker's maker.
• Cook raw meat, poultry and fish to safe temperatures as your recipe directs, and check with a thermometer.
• Chill bags fast if you are not eating right away: ice water, then the refrigerator. USDA FSIS advises refrigerating cooked food within 2 hours.

Our best sous vide bags guide compares bags by heat rating, and our best vacuum sealers for sous vide covers the machines.

Boil-in-bag meal prep

Sealing cooked chili, curries, rice dishes and stews in portions, freezing them flat, then reheating in simmering water is one of the most useful things a sealer does. A few tips:

• Cool food before sealing, then freeze flat.
• Freeze soups in a container first if you use an external sealer, then seal the frozen block.
• Reheat from frozen in simmering water; it just takes longer than thawed. Or thaw in the refrigerator with the bag opened, as extension services advise for sealed foods.
• Label each bag with the date and the bag's heat rating if you mix brands.

Our vacuum sealer meal prep guide has a full workflow.

Bags you should not boil

• Mylar bags. LEM rates its Mylar at 176 °F maximum. Mylar is for dry pantry storage.
• Unrated store-brand bags. If the box says nothing about heat, do not boil them.
• Zipper storage bags not rated for cooking. Zippers and valves can open in hot water.
• Bags with weak or wrinkled seals. Heat finds the weak spot first.

Is it safe to cook in plastic bags?

The bags sold for sous vide and boiling are typically multilayer polyethylene and nylon. Anova, for example, describes its bags as two layers of LDPE and one of nylon, FDA-approved and BPA-free. FoodSaver, Bonsenkitchen and Avid Armor also describe their bags or rolls as BPA-free. Use bags within the heat rating their maker gives, and do not use storage-only film for cooking.

Rolls vs pre-cut vs chamber pouches

Rolls let you size the bag and are cheaper per bag; pre-cut bags are faster. Chamber pouches are smooth and cheaper still, but they only vacuum in a chamber sealer. All three come in boil-rated versions. See our guides to vacuum sealer rolls, FoodSaver vacuum bags and chamber vacuum sealer bags.

Common mistakes

• Hard-boiling FoodSaver bags. They are rated to 195 °F and simmering.
• Letting the bag touch the pot bottom. Use a rack.
• Microwaving a sealed bag. Vent or cut it first.
• Reheating leftovers in a low sous vide bath and assuming they are safe. FSIS's reheating target is 165 °F.
• Leaving cooked bags at room temperature to cool. Ice bath, then fridge.

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