Cooking in Tears of the Kingdom is a complex system that’s crucial to get to grips with if you want to survive and save Hyrule once again. It’s your lucky day because this guide will cover everything you need to know about The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom cooking. From recipes, ingredients, how to cook, and other important information to get you in the metaphorical kitchen with your cooking pot.
While you will be spending a fair bit of time engaging in cooking now that The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom release date has arrived, it’s only one aspect of Link’s adventure. Being able to make Zelda Tears of the Kingdom vehicles for the first time will also dramatically change how you are able to cook and the ease at which you might be near a fire or cooking pot. So it’s safe to say that there’s lots to be excited about in The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom when it comes to cooking.
How does Zelda Tears of the Kingdom cooking work?
Cooking in The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom will let you make meals that provide various beneficial effects. This includes recovering health and stamina, granting bonus health and stamina, increasing stats, and resisting environmental factors when eaten.
Cooking and making meals is the main way players will heal and improve stats such as movement speed, attack, and defence. Moreover, it’s also the only way to get temporary bonus hearts, if it follows the same structure as Breath of the Wild. Therefore, it is key that players understand cooking in Tears of the Kingdom.
You will need to gather a variety of ingredients before you can cook, such as meat, fish, vegetables, and monster parts. These can be found around the world, in shops, and by defeating the relevant enemy for their monster parts. Stay on the lookout for new ingredients as you explore Hyrule.
Zelda Tears of the Kingdom cooking effects
The various cooking effects in The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom are:
| Meal Type Prefix | Bonus Effect |
| Hearty | Recovers all hearts and grants temporary bonus hearts |
| Energizing | Restores stamina |
| Enduring | Grants temporary bonus stamina |
| Hasty | Increases movement speed |
| Sneaky | Increases stealthiness |
| Mighty | Increases attack power |
| Tough | Increases defence |
| Fireproof | Fire resistance |
| Electro | Shock resistance |
| Chilly | Heat resistance |
| Spicy | Cold resistance |
Some ingredients will add bonus effects to a meal when cooked, as was the case in Breath of the Wild. It’s possible that new cooking effects will be added in Tears of the Kingdom, so we’ll update this guide as we learn more.
Nevertheless, you will want a variety of different types of meals in your inventory so you’re ready no matter what the game throws at you. Going up against some tough enemies or bosses? Eat a meal with the Hearty effect to heal and increase your maximum hearts temporarily. At the base of a towering cliff face? Eat an Enduring meal to gain bonus stamina. If that goes wrong and you find yourself stuck halfway up a cliff without enough stamina to continue, eat an Energizing meal. There’s food for every occasion in Tears of the Kingdom, so plan ahead and learn how to cook meals.
Remember though that a meal can only have one additional effect. For example, if you combine Hearty and Energizing ingredients, these effects will be cancelled out and you will receive a normal healing meal. Ingredient effects of the same type can stack, however, increasing the potency of the effect.
Zelda Tears of the Kingdom cooking recipes
Here are all The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom cooking recipes confirmed so far:
| Meal | Ingredients | Effect |
| Pepper Steak | Any meat, Spicy Pepper, Acorn | Spicy |
| Meat and Seafood Fry | Any meat, any fish | Standard healing |
| Steamed Mushrooms | Any vegetable, herb, or flower, any mushroom | Standard healing |
While it’s highly likely that many, if not all of the recipes from Breath of the Wild will be available to cook in Tears of the Kingdom, it’s possible that some may be absent or the recipes will be different. These are the ones currently confirmed to be in the game.
How to cook in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
To cook in The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, visit a cooking pot, select the ingredients from your inventory, and drop them into the pot. This can also be done with campfires.
This is easier said than done, however. To get the ingredients out of your inventory and into the cooking pot, select ‘Hold’ on each of the ingredients you would like to add to the dish. Now, close the inventory menu and walk up to the cooking pot holding the ingredients, where you will then be prompted to cook them.
Once you’ve done that, you’ll get a quick animation of all your lovely ingredients sizzling in the cooking pot until you are rewarded with your hard earned meal.
How to use the cooking pot in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
Cooking pots can either be found scattered around the world or you can use the Portable Pot in The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. The Portable Pot is a single-use cooking pot that will let you cook at any time without having to find a cooking pot.
It’s currently unknown how you get the Portable Pot, though we will be sure to update this guide once we know more.
Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Recipe Book
Tears of the Kingdom introduces a new Recipe Book feature that will keep track of recipes you have cooked, detailing their effects and the necessary ingredients. No doubt this is a welcome addition for any avid chef that struggled with remembering all the recipes available in Breath of the Wild.
To use recipes, select an ingredient and choose ‘Select for recipe’. This will automatically assemble the required ingredients for the recipe if you have them in your inventory. Recipes are unlocked after you make the dish for the first time.
All Zelda Tears of the Kingdom cooking ingredients and effects speculation
| Ingredient | Type | Bonus Effect |
| Apple | Normal | None |
| Hyrule Herb | Normal | None |
| Palm Fruit | Normal | None |
| Wildberry | Normal | None |
| Hylian Shroom | Normal | None |
| Skyshroom | Normal | None |
| Hearty Truffle | Hearty | Grants temporary bonus hearts |
| Big Hearty Truffle | Hearty | Grants temporary bonus hearts |
| Hearty Bass | Hearty | Grants temporary bonus hearts |
| Hearty Blueshell | Hearty | Grants temporary bonus hearts |
| Hearty Durian | Hearty | Grants temporary bonus hearts |
| Hearty Radish | Hearty | Grants temporary bonus hearts |
| Big Hearty Radish | Hearty | Grant temporary bonus hearts |
| Courser Bee Honey | Energizing | Restores stamina |
| Stamella Shroom | Energizing | Restores stamina |
| Endura Carrots | Enduring | Grants temporary bonus stamina |
| Endura Shroom | Enduring | Grants temporary bonus stamina |
| Chillshroom | Chilly | Heat resistance |
| Cool Saffina | Chilly | Heat resistance |
| Hydromelon | Chilly | Heat resistance |
| Spicy Peppers | Spicy | Cold resistance |
| Sunshroom | Spicy | Cold resistance |
| Warm Saffina | Spicy | Cold resistance |
| Electric Saffina | Electro | Shock resistance |
| Voltfruit | Electro | Shock resistance |
| Zapshroom | Electro | Shock resistance |
| Fleet-Lotus Seeds | Hasty | Increased movement speed |
| Rushroom | Hasty | Increased movement speed |
| Swift Carrot | Hasty | Increased movement speed |
| Swift Violet | Hasty | Increased movement speed |
| Mighty Bananas | Mighty | Increased attack power |
| Mighty Thistle | Mighty | Increased attack power |
| Razorshroom | Mighty | Increased attack power |
| Armoranth | Tough | Increased defence |
| Fortified Pumpkin | Tough | Increased defence |
| Ironshroom | Tough | Increased defence |
| Blue Nightshade | Sneaky | Increased stealthiness |
| Silentshroom | Sneaky | Increased stealthiness |
| Silent Princess | Sneaky | Increased stealthiness |
It’s likely that most, if not all ingredients from Breath of the Wild will return in Tears of the Kingdom with the same effects as many of the ingredients and recipes have been seen in trailers. However, there are also a number of new ingredients in Tears of the Kingdom, particularly ones found in the Sky Islands. We’ll update this guide once more information is available.
Now you know all about The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom cooking, including recipes, ingredients, effects, and how to cook. Outside of the makeshift kitchen, you will need to know about all The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom weapons you can use. And don’t forget about the new Tears of the Kingdom Fuse ability and Tears of the Kingdom Recall ability in what could be one of the best Nintendo Switch games and best Switch exclusives to date.