Many items in Breath of the Wildcan be sold for a high price or be used to upgrade Link’s gear. The elixirs, however, will give him the extra status enhancements that can help him dominate any fight. And the meals can save his life when things go bad quickly. This is why it is important for every player to know the best BOTW recipes for these valuable, edible assets.

Updated October 30, 2022 by Ritwik Mitra: Breath of the Wild is one of the best open-world games anyone can have the privilege of playing. The title boasts one of the most beautiful and iconic open worlds around, with the player being able to access pretty much anything on the map without any problems. It’s the incredible sense of freedom in Breath of the Wild that makes it such an iconic title, and it’s clear to see why the hype for Tears of the Kingdom is on a whole new level.

There are many mechanics that players can interact with in the game world, including the very art of cooking itself. There are several materials that players can combine in Breath of the Wild to craft a myriad of dishes, with the very best of the bunch being mentioned below.

A Basic Overview Of Cooking In BOTW

Cooking is a new mechanic to the Legend of Zelda series in Breath of the Wild. By combining monster parts, animal parts, herbs, mushrooms, gems, and other craftables in a pot Link is able to create potions and meals to aid his quest to defeat Calamity Ganon. It’s a satisfying system that actually changes a lot about the way a player goes about their journey.

To cook, players must find a cooking station out in the world – and there’s no shortage of these stony fires in Hyrule. Up to five ingredients can be used when cooking new recipes, and mix-and-matching ingredients with different effects tends to yield multi-effect consumables.

Some important tips to keep in mind include:

Combining more ingredients with the same effect amplifies that effect. For example, using two fairies in a Fairy Tonic heals more hearts than just using one. Sometimes Link can create something inedible, like when combining monster parts with non-compatible ingredients. Hey, everyone’s had kitchen experiments go wrong now and then. Ingredients are sorted by type in Link’s inventory, naturally separating non-compatible parts from one another. Some meals don’t need to be cooked at all. For example, killing an animal with a flame weapon creates the fully-cooked version of their dropped item. Even if the player isn’t going to use a cooked meal or brewed potion, they can often be sold for a decent price. Don’t discard anything; sell it instead.

15 Hasty Fruit And Mushroom Mix

Moving around in Breath of the Wild is pretty fun in its own right, but there are times when players wish that they could move faster than what the game allows them. This is where the Hasty Fruit and Mushroom Mix recipe in BotW comes into the picture, allowing players to gain a temporary speed boost that lets them zoom through Hyrule at their pace.

Players need to mix any fruit they have with a Rushroom to create this simple yet useful dish. Moving around quickly is a bonus in every situation, with this fast movement speed also aiding in combat as well!

14 Hearty Fruitcake

The Fruitcake is one of the most flexible BotW recipes that players can make. Not only is the base fruitcake pretty great in its own right, but the nature of this food item can change on the basis of which fruit Link uses in his cooking.

The Heart Fruitcake is made by combining an apple or a wildberry, a hearty durian, wheat, and cane sugar. Combining all these ingredients in a cooking pot leads to the creation of this dish, which maxes out the hearts of Link while also giving him additional health to make tougher fights easier to deal with.

13 Hearty Veggie Rice Balls

Combing any kind of vegetable with rice in a cooking pot leads to the creation of Veggie Rice Balls in Breath of the Wild. In fact, players don’t even need to use vegetables, with both herbs and flowers being enough to make this dish!

If players want to make a hearty variation of this dish, then they need to mix either a Hearty Radish or its bigger variant with Hylian Rice in a cooking pit to make this dish. Link replenishes all his health and gets some extra yellow hearts too, with the Big Hearty Radish being the most optimal ingredient to make the best version of the Hearty Veggie Rice Balls.

12 Fairy Tonic

Fairy Tonic is one of the best recipes BOTW has to learn early on thanks to its relative ease of crafting and its powerful healing effect. By combining a fairy with either a monster part, Guardian part, animal part, or a type of gemstone, Link will create a potion with a basic restorative effect that gets more powerful the more fairies are used.

The Fairy Tonic, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t involve actually cooking the fairies. That would be barbaric. Instead, fairies fly away after the meal has been prepared, implying that Link only needs their essence, dust, or whatever fairies leave behind.

11 Hasty Elixir

The Hasty Elixr is a cooking recipe all players should learn if they want to get around the world of Hyrule faster. By combining the parts of a fast creature, like the Hightail Lizard, with monster parts, Link will create a long-lasting potion that increases his speed when running, swimming, or climbing.

The Hasty Elixir does not reduce the depletion of Link’s stamina as he performs these activities, though, so it’s still necessary to pay attention to the stamina wheel. Otherwise, Link might find himself falling off of a cliff that the player thought he could scale at this higher speed.

10 Spicy Elixir

Keeping a supply of various elixirs is essential for any player who wants to survive and thrive in Hyrule and its fascinating locales. They give powerful boosts to Link’s stats and abilities, and the Spicy Elixir is one of the most valuable. Many of the mountainous regions in Hyrule are too cold for Link to traverse without facing the threat of being frozen. Drinking a Spicy Elixir is a quick and easy way to avoid an icy death.

To make a Spicy Elixir, the player must cook either a Sizzlefin Trout, Summerwing Butterfly, or a Warm Darner with any monster part. To make the strongest version of this or any elixir, the player will want to use a mix of the creature ingredients. This will also increase how long any elixir’s effect will last.

9 Tough Mushroom Skewer

No matter how good a player is, Link will need to be ready to take a hit on occasion. To survive a savage blow from powerful enemies such as the fierce Lynels or the intimidating Guardians, it’s a good idea for the player to prepare some meals that will give Link some much-needed durability, making it one of the best BOTW recipes.

That is where the Tough Mushroom Skewer proves to be a perfect option. By cookingmultiple Ironshrooms together, the player can net a valuable meal that both restores some hearts and offers a defense boost. Since Ironshrooms are plentiful and easy to find throughout Hyrule, it’s a simple matter to casually collect them while exploring and cook a bunch at once.

8 Electro Elixir

In certain environments and when battling specific enemies and bosses, being able to defend Link against electricity is an invaluable ability. The paralyzing effects that electricity can have on him are often devasting, and they can leave him vulnerable to additional attacks. By using an Electro Elixir, the player can make things fairer for the hero.

The Electro Elixir is made by cooking monster parts with any creature that offers shock resistance, such as the Electric Darners or Thunderwing Butterflies. After consuming this elixir, Link will still take damage from electric strikes, but the amount of damage and the overall effect will be much less crippling.

7 Enduring Fried Wild Greens

Many players, especially ones new to the game, will often focus on and stress about how many hearts Link has. However, they should also be careful not to ignore the importance of having enough stamina. A bunch of hearts won’t do Link much good if he’s too exhausted to run from danger or climb a large cliffside. This is why players should increase their stamina with Spirit Orbs, but they should also carry meals that will give Link an extra boost of energy.

Cooking the Enduring Fried Wild Greens is a simple process. All it takes is a single Enduring Carrot. One of these meals will restore some hearts while also completing filling Link’s Stamina Wheel while giving him bonus stamina. If the player cooks more carrots together, the amount of hearts and extra stamina provided will increase, making it one of the Breath of the Wild best recipes to learn for its simplicity.

6 Chilly Elixir

In the reverse situation for the Spicy Elixir, there are times when the player needs to protect Link from the harsh heat of more arid locations, particularly the Gerudo Desert. When the sun is at its zenith, the desert can become scorching and quickly sap Link of his health.

To counteract this, the best option the player can use is to keep a stock of Chilly Elixirs. These elixirs, made from cooking any creature or plant with heat resistance (such as a Chillwing Butterfly or a Cold Darner) along with one monster part, will keep Link cool and protected as he treks across the desert sands.

5 Hearty Mushroom Skewer

As valuable as the elixirs and meals that boost Link’s defense and stamina are, it’s still important that the player keeps some health-restoring options somewhere in their inventory. Few such options are as beneficial as the Heart Mushroom Skewer.

Throughout Hyrule, the player can find the occasional Hearty Truffle or Big Hearty Truffle. Cooking one of these will yield this skewered meal, which can restore all of Link’s hearts and give him some bonus hearts along with them. Multiple truffles can be cooked together, but this will only provide additional extra hearts. With that in mind, it’s most worthwhile to cook one at a time.

4 Fireproof Elixir

Death Mountain is one of the most brutal and harsh environments in Hyrule. This mountainous terrain is teeming with rivers and pools of lava, and the heat they produce makes it impossible for the typical Hylian to traverse the area on their own. This means that without some heat-resistant gear or elixir, Link will burn up within minutes of entering the fiery domain.

Luckily, an elixir exists that is specifically designed for this situation. The Fireproof Elixir, as with all other elixirs, is made by mixing a monster part with any of the creatures that have fire resistance. Examples would be Fireproof Lizard and the Smotherwing Butterfly. Once Link drinks it, the elixir will keep him cool and safe from the heat.

3 Mighty Simmered Fruit

There will come a time when the player needs to go on the offensive against powerful enemies. Run-ins with Lynels and Hinoxes are inevitable, and many of the game’s shrines pit the player against powerful adversaries. The player will want to find the best weapons and armor for the battles, but they will also want to prepare some Mighty Simmered Fruit.

Mighty Simmered Fruit is made by cooking Mighty Bananas. The more Mighty Bananas used, the greater the boost to Link’s attack power. They also, of course, will restore a number of Link’s hearts. The attack-boosting effect matched with the healing effect makes for one of the best Zelda: Breath of the Wild recipes.

2 Enduring Elixir

Consuming a meal such as an Enduring Fried Wild Greens is a good option for keeping Link’s energy up, but having multiple options for restoring stamina is important. With monster parts and creatures being plentiful, gaining stamina via elixirs is a quick and equally valid option.

By mixing at minimum one Tireless Frog with a single monster part, the player can create an elixir that has the same effect as the Enduring Fried Wild Greens. The greens may only need one ingredient at a minimum to create it, but the meal can only be made with an Endura carrot. If those aren’t available, making an elixir is the best alternative.

1 Hearty Fried Wild Greens

As is the case with the Hearty Truffles, Hearty Radishes and Big Hearty Radishes are found throughout Hyrule. The only difference is that the radishes are slightly easier to spot thanks to both their long stems and their bright flowers.

Creating the Hearty Fried Wild Greens involves the same steps as the Hearty Mushroom Skewer. The player simply needs to cook a single Hearty Radish in a pot. Again, multiple radishes can be cooked together, but the benefit does not warrant doing so.

More: Breath Of The Wild: Things You Didn’t Know About The Goron