• Guide

How to cook food - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Recover health, protect yourself from the elements, and more by cooking food in Tears of the Kingdom.

Sam Chandler

May 12, 2023 1:15 AM

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Cooking returns in Tears of the Kingdom giving Link all sorts of boons. He’ll be able to heal hearts, resist the chilly snow, and many other things all by eating a delicious dish. Below you’ll learn how to cook (simple dishes and with a pot) and how recipes work.

How to cook basic food

Took cook food in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom you need two things: fire and food. However, more complex recipes require a cooking pot. Make sure you know how to start a fire else you’ll be eating cold apples.

To cook basic items, approach an open fire and hold up on the D-pad. Use the right-stick to navigate to the item you want to cook. Press the X button to drop the item by a fire. The material will catch on fire and then eventually become its cooked variant. This is how you can cook meat, make Baked Apples, Toasty Skyshrooms, and other basic food stuffs.

How to cook dishes with a pot

A cooking pot is required to make complex dishes. There are pots found throughout the world over fires or you can bring your own using the Portable Pot Zonai Device. To cook using a pot, approach the pot and then open your menu:

1. Press the Plus button
2. Navigate to Materials
3. Press the A button on a cooking item
4. Select the Hold option
5. Select up to four more items
6. Press the B button to return to the game
7. Approach the pot and press A to place the items in the pot

The ingredients will bounce around while a tune plays. After a brief moment the recipe will be completed and the item will be added to your inventory. Cooking complex foods is a great way to gain various buffs, like being able to resist cold areas, regenerate stamina, and increase your attack power.

Using recipes

The first time you make a new recipe, it will be added to your recipe list.  Your recipes are found by pressing the X button on the Food tab in the menu. Instead of selecting ingredients one-by-one, it’s possible to have the recipe automatically assembled in Link’s arms ready for cooking:

1. Open Materials and press the A button on one item that you know is in a dish
2. Choose the Select for recipe option
3. Find the recipe you want to make and press A
4. Press B to return to the game

Link will be holding all of the items in his arms. Approach a cooking pot and interact with it to begin cooking the dish. This method will ensure you don’t need to individually select each item any time you want to make a large dish.

Take some time to familiarize yourself with cooking in the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Stock up on dishes that heal hearts, prepare meals before you head into a hostile environment, and otherwise keep Link supplied with food to keep him going. We’ve also got an ever-growing collection of recipes and ingredients so you know what you can create! For more help, check out our Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Strategy Guide.

Sam Chandler

Guides Editor

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as a Guides Editor. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler