Retain Food Freshness With One of These Editor-Recommended Vacuum Sealers (2024)

Oxygen is what causes food to break down and rot, so the best way to prolong the life of fruit, veggies, and meat is to remove and block all oxygen from entering the bag or container. That makes a vacuum sealer a great investment to reduce your food waste (and wasted money!).

In fact, vacuum-sealed raw meat keeps on ice for up to three years, and stays fresh and free of freezer burn when you unseal it. It’s why most of our favorite meat subscription services ship their products in vacuum-sealed packages.

Along with retaining freshness in meats and produce, vacuum sealers are also good for food prep, says Tina Martinez, food producer in Good Housekeeping’s test kitchen.

“I love a vacuum sealer, especially for freezing meats or a quick marinated meat or vegetable—great for concentrating the flavor,” she says.

Whether you’re new to cooking sous vide or are looking to stock up on game, these are plenty of great options here to serve your needs.

When operating a vacuum sealer, be sure that you leave enough room in the bag (about 4 inches from the top) to properly suck the air out. If the bag is filled to the brim with food, there won’t be room left to seal it properly, and it could lead to contamination. And though this might go without saying, sealing foods that are usually refrigerated does not prevent them from spoiling in warmer temperatures; sealing simply prolongs their freshness in the environment that they’re usually stored in.

Also, note that you should blanch vegetables before you freeze them to help keep their shape. When you’re ready to defrost your food, take it out of the bag that it was frozen in; Letting it thaw in the vacuum-sealed bag can lead to food poisoning caused by the bacteria clostridium botulinum, which thrives in low-oxygen environments.

Settings and Modes

Vacuum sealers have settings that vacuum air out of a bag, seal a bag, or do both. Some models we cover also have a pulse feature for slowly vacuuming air out by hand, which is best for more delicate foods like vegetables and raw fish.

Some vacuum sealers have different modes to distinguish between wet and dry foods for a more efficient seal. This is a good feature for fast marinades or sous vide cooking, but if you want to just store and freeze leftovers, it isn’t a must-have.

Heat sealing is another function needed for sous vide cooking, as it provides the most pressure and reliable seals. Meaning literally under vacuum, sous vide cooking is achieved by vacuum-sealing food (usually meat) and cooking it at a low temperature for a long period of time in a pot of water. This process achieves an even cook while retaining moistness. However, models that seal bags with heat need time to cool off after a certain number of uses (usually around 40 seals in succession).

Extra Features

Some vacuum sealers come with bags to get you started, but if they don’t you can always get universal bags online. Larger vacuum sealers typically have a storage compartment for extra bags along with a bag cutter attached. Smaller models forgo these extra features but are generally more compact—better if you have limited counter space or won’t use a vacuum sealer often.

We include vacuum sealers that have an attachment port for vacuuming air from jars and other food canisters with a detachable hose. You can preserve food like pasta, beans, and nuts or ingredients like sugar, flour, or even breadcrumbs.

We researched in-depth reviews of food vacuum sealers and pooled products that would suit occasional users as well as those looking to stock their freezers. We also asked Martinez for her take on the vacuum sealers we rounded up and for intel on their uses and best practices. Our selection includes vacuum sealers that are reliable and user-friendly, whether you’re using them for marinating meats, sous vide cooking, or just keeping food fresh.

The Nesco American Harvest VS-12 is an efficient and reliable vacuum sealer at a reasonable price for most households. In addition to great suction and a variety of settings, this sealer comes with a built-in bag cutter and a compartment to store your rolls.

It has a large control panel that’s easy to read and intuitive to use. Along with the standard wet and dry seal functions it also includes a “double-heat seal” which uses a double vacuum pump to ensure all air is removed—a reliable feature to have when vacuum sealing odd-shaped items. There’s an accessory port to attach a hose to seal jars and canisters but a hose isn’t included.

It uses a powerful motor for reliable sealing but that comes with a caveat: it’s quite loud. Still, it delivers steady results, is fully featured, and easy to use.

This Bonsen has a great pulse mode that won’t crush fragile foods and ingredients. Its small footprint is easy to store though it forgoes bag storage and a cutter to stay nimble. It’ll handle vacuum-sealing a couple of bags at a time but if you’re stocking the freezer frequently you may opt for a more powerful option.

While small, the Bonsen does an excellent job of vacuum-sealing dry food. The secure seal won’t leak and is great for sous vide cooking. For sealing wet food or marinating meat, you may need to seal it twice but at this price, it’s not a deal breaker. It also includes a hose attachment to vacuum air out of other containers, but the brand doesn’t offer any specific kind.

If you want a vacuum sealer with a sleek design that you won’t mind leaving out on the countertop, the Anova vacuum sealer is a great option for beginners and experts alike. It has three buttons for vacuum sealing, sealing, and pulse vacuuming—and does so quickly in just 20 to 30 seconds. However, it does lack convenient features like a bag cutter, accessory port, and roll storage. You can pair it with Anova’s Sous Vide Precision Cooker Nano for a complete sous vide set.

At a mid-range price, this heat-sealing Geryon machine is a pretty high-end product, ideal for storing bulk items despite its compact size. To get you started, the E2900-MS comes with bags, sealable material (for creating custom-sized bags), large compatible Tupperware, and an extension hose for non-food bags so you can seal and store other items.

Its sleek design isn’t an eyesore on the counter, and at just two pounds, it’s easy to pick up and store. Bonus: It has dry and wet settings to appropriately store foods like cereals and soups.

If you live in a tiny apartment or perhaps don’t use your vacuum sealer too often, this is a great option that you can easily stow away in a small space. Despite fitting easily in your hand, the FoodSaver V1100 can seal up to 60 one-quart bags on a 24-hour charge.

It has a lithium-ion battery for cordless operation so you don’t have to position it near an outlet during use. It’s also compatible with any of FoodSaver’s containers, bags, or accessories.

Vacuum sealers can be noisy. That might not be a deal breaker, but this model’s quiet operation is certainly a selling point for an already stellar product. Not only is it compact, it’s also speedy and able to seal a three-gallon bag in four minutes and smaller bags in seconds.

The PKVS18 seals both wet and dry foods, making it ideal for sous vide cooking. Although this model is small and light enough to move into storage, it’s also attractive enough to leave on the counter. Like most starter kits, the package includes five reusable bags and a roll of bag material.

This versatile vacuum sealer can handle pretty much any food thanks to its four settings, including pulse vacuuming, marinate, dry, and moist. The sleek, charcoal stainless-steel construction is not only attractive, but also practical with built-in roll storage, an alignment tool, and a bag cutter. The starter kit comes with two bag rolls, two pre-cut quart storage bags, and two quart zipper bags.