How to cook recipes in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom & the best recipes

How to cook recipes in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom & the best recipes
Images via Nintendo

Written by 

Harry Boulton

Published 

16th Aug 2023 11:12

Contents

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has been one of the biggest games of the year, and is completely packed full of cooking recipes providing a great way to get the necessary boosts that will help you explore the land of Hyrule

So, read on below to learn all of the best recipes in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, along with a primer on how cooking works.

How to cook in the game

All you need to do to cook a recipe in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is to find a fire with a pot over it and place your desired items into it - easy enough, right?

  • To select your items, just head to the items tab of the menu and press the 'hold' option on your desired items.
  • Then, move close enough to the pot and press A to start cooking.

an image showing how to cook in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Click to enlarge

You can select up to five ingredients to cook at any one time, and increasing the quantity of a specific item will enhance its effect. While some combinations will create a more generic result, the best recipes will ensure that all ingredients work together to create something unique and well worth eating.

What's more, you're also able to cook individual items if there is no pot present by placing them near a fire. While this won't create any recipes - and only works on one item at a time - it can be handy in a pinch when needing some additional health or minor boosts for your next objective.

Best early recipes for cooking

While you could combine any old ingredients to make a good meal, you're better off choosing one of the best recipes for cooking in TotK to ensure that you're getting the most out of your items - especially early on in your journey!

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom recipe cards
Click to enlarge

Below, you'll find our recommendations for which recipes you should be cooking early in Link's adventure in Tears of the Kingdom, alongside what you'll need to make it and the benefits it provides.

Recipe Name Ingredients Recipe Effect
Hasty Fruit and Mushroom Mix Rushroom, Fruit

Health + Speed Boost

Tough Mushroom Skewer >2 Ironshrooms

Health + Defense Boost

Hearty Fried Wild Greens Hearty Radish

Full Recovery + Temporary Hearts

Spicy Simmered Fruit Spicy Pepper, Fruit, Nut

Health + Cold Resistance

You obviously can't always get your hands on every ingredient found in the list above, but you will want to keep them in mind every time you encounter a cooking pot in the wild.

Furthermore, while some of the meals will be rather situational, there are some that you will always want to have on your person and be used whenever possible: The Tough Mushroom Skewer is incredibly handy in any challenging fights, and the Hearty Radish is great to save you from certain death.

Best Tears of the Kingdom recipes for Hearts

an image of the Hearty Elixir, one of the best cooking recipes in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for Hearts
Click to enlarge

Getting extra hearts in Tears of the Kingdom is vital for some of the tougher enemies, areas, and boss fights. Luckily, there are plenty of recipes that let you boost your HP beyond its current maximum.

Here are the best Tears of the Kingdom recipes for Hearts:

Recipe Name Ingredients Recipe Effect
Cream of Vegetable Soup Fresh Milk, Rock Salt, three Big Hearty Radishes Full recovery and +10 Hearts
Hearty Elixir Four Hearty Lizards and any monster parts Full recovery and +16 Hearts
Hearty Mushroom Rice Balls Hylian Rice and four Big Hearty Truffles Full recovery and + 16 Hearts
Hearty Mushroom Skewer Five Big Hearty Truffles Full recovery and +20 Hearts
Hearty Steamed Mushrooms Four Big Hearty Truffles and a Big Hearty Radish Full recovery and +22 Hearts

Best Cold Resistance recipes

Image shows Link cooking Spicy Sautéed Peppers in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Click to enlarge
Images via Nintendo

There are some areas in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom that will require you to brave the biting cold, so having a few recipes under your belt to boost your cold resistance is essential. Remember, the more Spicy Peppers that you add, the more time will be added to your cold resistance.

Recipe Name Ingredients
Sautéed Peppers 5x Spicy Peppers
Spicy Pepper Seafood Fish + Spicy Peppers
Pepper Steak Meat + Spicy Peppers
Spicy Fruit and Mushroom Mix Mushrooms + Spicy Peppers

Best Heat Resistance recipes

Image shows Chilly Fruit and Mushroom Mix, one of the best cooking recipes in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Click to enlarge
Images via Nintendo

Like Cold Resistance, Heat Resistance is just as essential in navigating Hyrule. Some climates and enemy passives (such as the Flame variant of the Gleeok, one of Tears of the Kingdom's toughest enemies) require you to shed a few layers and top up your Heat Resistance to avoid overheating:

Recipe Name Ingredients
Chilly Meat and Seafood Fry Fish + Meat
Chilly Mushroom Skewer 5x Chillshroom
Chilly Fruit and Mushroom Mix Fruit + Chillshroom

Best recipes for Stealth

Image shows an in-game menu showcasing Sneaky Veggie Porridge in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Click to enlarge
Images via Nintendo

Sometimes, a silent approach is needed to get the first blow on an enemy, So cooking up some sneaky recipes will go a long way toward helping that:

Recipe Name Ingredients 
Sneaky Wild Fried Greens 5x Blue Nightshade
Sneaky Veggie Porridge Hylian Herb, Hylian Rice, Milk, Silent Shroom

Best recipes for Haste

Image shows Link cooking the Hasty Mushroom Skewer, one of the best cooking recipes in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Click to enlarge
Images via Nintendo

Need to make a quick getaway? Then some Hasty food may just do the trick in giving you a much-needed speed boost in Tears of the Kingdom. In this case, the more Rushrooms you add to a dish, the longer the speed duration:

Recipe Name Ingredients
Hasty Meat & Mushroom Skewer Meat + Rushrooms
Hasty Fruit & Mushroom Mix Fruit + Rushrooms
Hasty Fish & Mushroom Skewer Fish + Rushrooms
Hasty Mushroom Skewer 5x Rushrooms

Best recipes for Stamina

A recipe card showing the ingredients to make Fried Wild Greens in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Click to enlarge
Images via Nintendo

Climbing a steep incline and suddenly realise you won't have the stamina to see you make it to the top? Well, it's time to make some stamina-restoring recipes to help you make the final push. The more Stamella Shrooms and Stambulbs you have, the more stamina you will restore:

Recipe Name Ingredients
Energizing Mushroom Skewer Stambulbs + Stamella Shrooms
Energizing Steamed Fruit Apples + Stambulbs
Energizing Meat & Mushroom Skewer Meat + Stamella Shrooms

Best recipes to cure Gloom

Image shows Link cooking Sunny Fried Wild Greens, one of the best cooking recipes in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Click to enlarge
Images via Nintendo

Following The Upheaval, Gloom has become a common occurrence and is also the root cause of one of the most dangerous status effects new to Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. When afflicted with Gloom, Link's maximum hearts will decrease, meaning you can only heal up to a certain point.

Gloom is particularly prevalent when fighting a King Gleeok, or when traversing The Depths. Thankfully, there are a few recipes that can help mend your broken hearts:

Recipe Name Ingredients
Sunny Fried Wild Greens 5x Sundelions
Sunny Steamed Meat Meat + Sundelions

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If you're looking for more Zelda content, make sure to check out our dedicated Zelda homepage for all of the latest news and guides like how to get the Cece Hat and how to find and defeat the Rare Stone Talus in the game.

Harry Boulton
About the author
Harry Boulton
Harry is a Guides Writer at GGRecon, having completed a Masters of Research degree in Film Studies. Previously a freelance writer for PCGamesN, The Loadout, and Red Bull Gaming, he loves playing a wide variety of games from the Souls series to JRPGs, Counter-Strike, and EA FC. When not playing or writing about games and hardware, you're likely to find him watching football or listening to Madonna and Kate Bush.
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