You can’t starve to death in Valheim, but you won’t get far without food either. Eating raises your maximum health, stamina and, from the Mistlands onwards, the Eitr you need for magic. This guide explains the three food slots, which stations you cook at, what feasts are and what to cook at every stage from the Meadows to the Deep North. It applies to Valheim 1.0 after patch 1.0.20 from 15 October 2026.
How food works in Valheim
There’s no hunger or thirst meter. Food works as a buff: it raises your maximum health, stamina and Eitr and speeds up their regeneration. Without any food you have just 25 health and 50 stamina, and you can’t cast with Eitr at all.
You can have three foods active at once. Each one takes a slot, so it pays to build combinations. There’s no single best food, it depends on what you’re doing:
- Combat and bosses: go for health foods.
- Building and exploring: stamina foods let you run and work for longer.
- Magic: without Eitr foods your staffs are useless.
Need to get rid of food you don’t want? Eat Bukeperries. Your character throws up, empties their stomach and your slots are free again.
Where you cook: the stations
You unlock more cooking stations as you progress. Since The Bog Witch patch (29 October 2024), cooking also works differently from what older guides describe.
| Station | What it does |
|---|---|
| Cooking Station | roasting meat |
| Cauldron | more complex recipes, has several upgrade levels |
| Stone Oven | baking, such as bread and pies |
| Food Preparation Table | uncooked dishes (since The Bog Witch) |
| Mead Ketill | mead bases (previously made in the Cauldron) |
| Mortar and Pestle | Cauldron upgrade from the Mistlands |
| Smoker | Cauldron upgrade from the Deep North |
The same patch added the Cooking skill, so you get better the more you cook. The full Bog Witch patch notes are on Steam.
Feasts
Feasts also arrived with The Bog Witch patch. They last longer than regular food and several players can share them, which makes them ideal for group play. The Bog Witch trader in the Swamp sells feast ingredients, more on her in our traders guide. The Deep North added the Northern Morning Fare feast.
What to cook at each stage
Your ingredients change with each biome. What grows and lives where is in our biome order guide. In short:
Meadows and Black Forest
Early on you eat whatever you find and hunt. The Meadows have Raspberries, Mushrooms, Honey, Boar Meat and Neck Tail, the Black Forest has Blueberries, Yellow Mushrooms and Bear Meat. Roast meat on the Cooking Station, and later the Cauldron and carrots from your own garden come into play.
Swamp and Mountains
The Swamp gives you Turnip Seeds, Bloodbags and Entrails, the Mountains Onion Seeds and Wolf Meat. Grow turnips and onions from seed at home with the Cultivator.
Plains
Barley and Flax grow on the Plains, and you’ll find Cloudberries and Lox Meat there too. Lox Meat Pie is one of the high-health dishes.
Mistlands
The Mistlands introduced Eitr foods such as Yggdrasil Porridge, Seeker Aspic, Stuffed Mushroom and Misthare Supreme. Poultry helps too: buy an egg from Haldor or let a hen lay one, and a chick hatches from it. The biome is covered in detail in our Mistlands guide.
Ashlands
The Ashlands added more than 15 foods and drinks, including Piquant Pie, Roasted Crust Pie, Marinated Greens, Fiery Svinstew, Mashed Meat, Sparkling Shroomshake and Scorching Medley. Piquant Pie is one of the highest-health foods in the game.
Deep North
Up north you grow Kale, Oats and Poteitr. New dishes include Meatballs and Poteitr, Oatmeal, Pancakes and Fish Soup, and Lingonberries are new as well. The Cauldron got the Smoker upgrade. More in our Deep North guide.
A few verified values
Exact food numbers often differ between guides, and the developers have tweaked food over the years. That’s why we only list values two publications agree on (guides from 2021 to 2025, checked on 19 October 2026):
- Serpent Stew: 80 health.
- Lox Meat Pie: 75 health.
- Fish Wraps: 70 health.
- Eyescream: 65 stamina.
Meads against the elements
Drinks matter as much as food. Brew a Poison Resistance Mead for the Swamp, a Frost Resistance Mead for the Mountains and Fire Resistance Barley Wine for the Ashlands. Since The Bog Witch patch, mead bases are made in the Mead Ketill.
Farming
You plant crops with the Cultivator from seeds found in the different biomes. Barley and Flax grow on the Plains. The Farming skill reduces the Cultivator’s stamina cost and gives a chance of a bigger harvest, and the Scythe speeds up harvesting. Raising animals for meat and eggs is covered in our taming guide.
Join our Discord to swap your favourite food combos and plan a feast together. Hop in via Discord GamersTogether.
FAQ
No. There’s no hunger or thirst in the game. Without food, though, you only have 25 health and 50 stamina and can’t cast with Eitr.
Three. Combine them for what you’re doing: health foods for fighting, stamina foods for building and exploring, Eitr foods for magic.
Eat Bukeperries. Your character throws up and empties their stomach, so your slots are free again.
Since The Bog Witch patch of 29 October 2024, mead bases are made in the Mead Ketill instead of the Cauldron. Uncooked dishes are prepared at the Food Preparation Table.
Feasts last longer than regular food and several players can share them. They’re best when you play in a group.
Information verified on 19 October 2026. More guides are waiting in the Valheim hub.