Sous vide assembly for use in a microwave oven

A microwave oven appliance defining a vertical, a lateral, and a transverse direction, the microwave oven appliance comprising:

• a cabinet defining a cooking chamber;
• a door rotatably mounted to the cabinet for providing selective access to the cooking chamber;
• a microwave heating assembly for generating microwave energy within the cooking chamber;
• a sous vide assembly configured for receipt within the cooking chamber for cooking one or more food items, the sous vide assembly comprising an outer tank configured for containing a volume of water;
• and
• a controller in operative communication with the microwave heating assembly, the controller being configured to:
• obtain an initial water temperature of the volume of water and a target doneness level of the one or more food items;
• determine first stage sous vide parameters and second stage sous vide parameters based at least in part on the initial water temperature and the target doneness level, the first stage sous vide parameters comprising a first stage time;
• operate the microwave heating assembly using the first stage sous vide parameters;
• and
• operate the microwave heating assembly using the second stage sous vide parameters when the first stage time has elapsed.