How to Eat in Tears of the Kingdom

If you want to survive the wild world of “Tears of the Kingdom” (TotK), you’ll need to eat a lot. Eating is one of the main ways to heal in TotK. The best foods can refill multiple hearts on your health bar. Not only that, but some recipes can even give you handy status boosts, like extra strength or fire resistance.

This guide will show you how to eat food, as well as explore the cooking system in TotK.

How to Eat Food in TotK

Eating food is one of the simplest skills you’ll learn early on in your adventure. It’s crucial for keeping yourself alive. Luckily, it’s straightforward to do. Just follow the steps below to help Link munch on apples, Skyshrooms, stews, and more:

1. Press the “+” button to access your inventory.
   
2. Use the “L” and “R” buttons to navigate over to either the Materials tab (which has an apple symbol) or the Food tab (which looks like a pot).
   
3. Scroll through the list of items to find a piece of food you want to eat.
   
4. Press the “A” button on your chosen item, then select “Eat.”
   
5. Wait a moment and watch the animation of Link eating his food.

How to Cook Food in TotK

Like in “Breath of the Wild” (BotW), TotK allows you to eat raw or cooked food. Typically, cooked food is a lot better. Raw snacks may only give you half a heart of health, while steaks, skewers, and stews will heal you much more.

The method of cooking in TotK is just like it was in BotW. If you didn’t play the previous game or have forgotten how it works, here are the steps to follow:

1. Before cooking, you’ll need to gather ingredients. You can find food all over the map.
2. You’ll also need to find a cooking pot. There are many scattered around the world, or you can use a portable Zonai pot instead.
   
3. When you’re ready to begin, press “+” to access the inventory and scroll to the Materials tab.
   
4. Find the ingredients you wish to use, press the “A” button, then select “Hold.” Repeat this for up to five ingredients.
   
5. Leave the menu, face the pot, and press “A” again to drop your ingredients in and cook them.
   
6. Wait for the cooking animation to end and receive your new food.

How to Learn Recipes in TotK

If you want to get the most helpful healing foods in your inventory, you’ll need to master some recipes. Luckily, TotK has more than 200 recipes to discover, and there are a few different ways to figure them out:

Trial and Error

Arguably the most fun way to learn recipes in TotK is through trial and error. You can gather ingredients from your adventures and then mix and match them in different combinations. It may take multiple attempts, but eventually, you might learn some terrific recipes this way. The downside is that you may also waste ingredients along the way.

Talk to People

Speaking with NPCs is another way to unlock recipes. Several in-game characters will share their culinary wisdom with you. You can also sometimes spot recipes listed on posters in shops or stables throughout the game world. Try to pay close attention to them and note down the ingredients for later.

Check Online

You can consult an online guide if you want immediate access to all the best TotK recipes. Various walkthroughs and guides have already been created to show you exactly how to make the tastiest meals.

Other Tips and Tricks for Eating and Cooking in TotK

Like most other things in TotK, there’s a surprising amount of depth to the game’s eating and cooking system. You can figure out the basics early on in your playthrough. But it takes time to master the art of munching apples and cooking skewers. Here are some bonus tips related to eating and cooking in this game:

Using Fire

You don’t necessarily have to use cooking pots to prepare food. You can drop items directly into the fire and wait for them to bake. This takes a little more effort, as you’ll need to keep an eye on the food and grab it when the smoke animation ends. If you wait too long, the food will burn, making it far less effective at healing you.

Saved Recipes

Once you’ve learned a recipe, you won’t have to note it down or memorize it to use it again. The game automatically saves all recipes. To find stored recipes, select a food item in your inventory and highlight the “Select for recipe” button. You’ll see a full list of all recipes involving that ingredient, and you can quickly gather all the ingredients by pressing the “A” button again.

Adjusting Ingredients

Most of the recipes in the game can be altered slightly to make them even more restorative. For example, if you use high-quality “Prime Meat” instead of “Raw Meat,” you’ll usually get food with better healing properties. Or, adding just one extra ingredient to a recipe you already know may give it a bonus status effect, like Fire or Cold Resistance.

Gather Ingredients

You’ll find ingredients all over Hyrule. There are apples in trees, mushrooms on the ground, and meat to be collected by hunting animals. Look far and wide across the map and gather all the ingredients you can find. The more components you have, the easier it will be to stay alive.

Raw Food

In general, you should only eat raw food if you have no other option. These food items usually only provide minor health boosts. On the other hand, cooked food will give you many more hearts, along with other beneficial effects. It’s best to save ingredients and cook meals regularly so you always have a supply of nutritious meals to refill your health bar.

FAQs

Why do you need to eat in Tears of the Kingdom?

Eating is the main way to restore health in TotK. It will help you stay alive when battling the various beasts of Hyrule and completing your many quests. It’s always recommended to have some food in your inventory so that you can heal up whenever needed.

Are there any alternatives to eating in TotK?

There are two other ways to replenish hearts in TotK. The first is by sleeping. You can find beds at inns around Hyrule or in the Emergency Shelter at Lookout Landing. This is a quick and easy way to get your hearts filled back up. The other option, which is much more dangerous, is to complete a Shrine Challenge. Once you finish a challenge, your hearts will automatically be refilled.

Can food give you extra hearts in TotK?

Some of the best recipes can temporarily give you some bonus hearts. The “Hearty Elixir,” for example, has this effect. However, to permanently add new hearts to your health bar, you must either beat bosses or finish Shrine Challenges to collect Lights of Blessing. You can take Lights of Blessing to Goddess Statues and trade them in for a new heart.

How do I cook without a pot?

You can drop items directly into a fire to cook them without a pot. Cooking directly into a fire is convenient because you can make your own fire anywhere in the world with the help of a wood bundle and flint.

Eat Up to Stay Alive in TotK

At the beginning of TotK, you may only have a few basic apples to eat. But as the game goes on, you’ll collect many more ingredients and master an array of recipes. Remember to gather as much food as you can and experiment to learn new recipes that will help you stay alive.

Have you found any amazing recipes or super rare ingredients? Let us know in the comments below.