Skip to content

๐Ÿณ Core Keeper โ€” Cooking & Food Guide

Your complete reference for Core Keeper's cooking and food system. All data based on the 1.0 full release.

Quick Navigation: - How Cooking Works - All Cooking Stations - Complete Recipe Database - Vegetable & Crop Dishes - Fish & Seafood Dishes - Meat Dishes - Drinks & Juices - Mushroom Dishes - Advanced Recipes - Best Foods by Game Stage - Food Buff Mechanics Explained - Profit Guide: Cooking vs Selling Raw

๐Ÿ”ฅ How Cooking Works

Cooking in Core Keeper is a crafting activity that transforms raw ingredients into meals with bonus effects. Unlike campfire cooking (which just restores HP), the Cooking Pot and Advanced Cooking Station produce food with temporary buffs and greatly boosted sell prices.

Key Mechanics

Mechanic Detail
Unlock Cooking Pot blueprint drops from Ghorm the Devourer (or found in Forgotten Ruins chests)
Station Craft at a Workbench: 20 Copper Bars + 10 Tin Bars + 8 Fibre
Fuel No fuel needed โ€” recipes are instant crafts at the station
Ingredients Crops, fish, meat, mushrooms, and foraged items
Output Always produces 1 dish per recipe (some yield 2 with Gardening Mastery)
Buffs Most cooked dishes grant a 5โ€“10 minute stat buff + HP recovery
Buff Stacking Eating the same dish refreshes duration; different dish buffs run on separate timers

๐Ÿ’ก Cooking Pot vs Campfire: The basic Campfire (unlocked at start) can only roast individual items for minor HP gain. The Cooking Pot and Advanced Cooking Station are required for proper recipes with buffs.

๐Ÿ—๏ธ Cooking Stations

Station Materials Unlock Features
๐Ÿ”ฅ Campfire 10 Wood, 5 Fibre Starting recipe Roasts single items (minimal benefit)
๐Ÿฅ˜ Cooking Pot 20 Copper Bar, 10 Tin Bar, 8 Fibre Ghorm drop / Ruins chest All basic recipes, crop + fish dishes
โš—๏ธ Advanced Cooking Station 15 Iron Bar, 10 Gold Bar, 5 Scarlet Bar Late-game (Scarlet biome) Advanced recipes, longer buff durations

Where to Find the Cooking Pot

The Cooking Pot recipe is obtained by:

  1. Defeat Ghorm the Devourer โ€” drops the blueprint ~80% of the time
  2. Forgotten Ruins chests โ€” check the wooden chests in the maze-like ruins
  3. Scrap Merchant โ€” sometimes sells it for 150 coins

Once you have the blueprint, craft it at a Workbench and place it in your base.

๐Ÿ“‹ Complete Recipe Database

๐Ÿฅ— Vegetable & Crop Dishes

Dish Ingredients HP Restore Buff Buff Duration Sell Price
๐Ÿฅ— Basic Salad Any 2 vegetables (Carrot, Pepper, etc.) 40 HP +2 HP/s Regen 5 min 60g
๐Ÿฅ— Hearty Salad Any 3 vegetables 70 HP +4 HP/s Regen 6 min 100g
๐Ÿฅ— Gourmet Salad Any 4 vegetables 100 HP +6 HP/s Regen 8 min 160g
๐Ÿž Bread 3 Wheat 60 HP +20 Max HP 5 min 72g
๐ŸฅŸ Pepper Dumplings 2 Pepper + 1 Wheat 50 HP +15% Mining Speed 5 min 85g
๐ŸŒฎ Spicy Wrap 2 Pepper + 2 Wheat 65 HP +20% Mining Speed 6 min 120g
๐Ÿฅง Pumpkin Pie 2 Pumpkin + 3 Wheat 80 HP +15% Defence 8 min 200g
๐ŸŽƒ Roasted Pumpkin 1 Pumpkin 45 HP +5% Defence 3 min 50g
๐Ÿฅ• Glazed Carrots 3 Carrot + 1 Honey 55 HP +10% Move Speed 5 min 90g
๐ŸŒถ๏ธ Hot Pepper Stew 3 Fire Pepper + 2 Wheat 90 HP +25% Melee Damage 8 min 250g
๐Ÿ Pineapple Fritters 2 Pineapple + 1 Wheat 70 HP +15% Move Speed 6 min 180g
๐Ÿ‡ Grape Salad 3 Grape + 1 Any Vegetable 50 HP +10% Dodge Chance 5 min 110g
๐ŸŒพ Porridge 2 Rice + 1 Wheat 45 HP +5 HP/s Regen 4 min 65g
๐Ÿฅฌ Stir Fry 2 Any Vegetable + 1 Any Mushroom 60 HP +10% Melee Damage 5 min 95g

๐ŸŸ Fish & Seafood Dishes

Dish Ingredients HP Restore Buff Buff Duration Sell Price
๐ŸŸ Grilled Fish 1 Any Fish 35 HP โ€” โ€” Rawร—1.5
๐ŸŸ Glow Tuna Steak 1 Glow Tuna 60 HP +Breathing (underwater) 10 min 120g
๐ŸŸ Hearty Stew 1 Mudfish + 1 Any Vegetable 50 HP +15% Max HP 6 min 35g
๐ŸŸ Angler Soup 1 Deep Sea Angler + 1 Wheat 55 HP +15% Mining Damage 6 min 75g
๐ŸŸ Thunder Steak 1 Thunder Pike + 1 Pepper 70 HP +15% Move Speed 6 min 110g
๐ŸŸ Storm Chowder 1 Storm Bass + 2 Wheat 65 HP +12% Defence 6 min 80g
๐ŸŸ Glowing Broth 1 Glowing Bass + 1 Any Mushroom 55 HP +Light Radius (+3 tiles) 6 min 85g
๐ŸŸ Mirage Soup 1 Mirage Pike + 1 Any Vegetable 50 HP +10% Luck 6 min 95g
๐ŸŸ Fisherman's Platter 2 Any Fish + 1 Wheat 75 HP +20% Fishing Power 8 min 140g
๐ŸŸ Seafood Stew 2 Any Fish + 1 Any Vegetable 80 HP +2 HP/s Regen 8 min 120g
๐ŸŸ Sushi Roll 1 Any Fish + 1 Rice 45 HP +8% Move Speed 5 min 70g

๐Ÿฅฉ Meat Dishes

Dish Ingredients HP Restore Buff Buff Duration Sell Price
๐Ÿฅฉ Basic Steak 1 Any Meat (Slime, Larva, etc.) 30 HP โ€” โ€” Rawร—1.3
๐Ÿฅฉ Meat Skewer 2 Any Meat 55 HP +8% Melee Damage 5 min 45g
๐Ÿฅฉ Hearty Roast 2 Any Meat + 1 Any Vegetable 80 HP +15% Max HP 8 min 110g
๐Ÿฅฉ Meat Pie 2 Any Meat + 2 Wheat 90 HP +12% Defence 8 min 150g
๐Ÿฅฉ Hunter's Stew 3 Any Meat + 2 Any Vegetable 110 HP +20% Melee Damage + +10% Move Speed 10 min 220g
๐Ÿฅฉ Pepper Steak 1 Any Meat + 2 Pepper 65 HP +15% Melee Damage 5 min 95g

๐Ÿ„ Mushroom Dishes

Dish Ingredients HP Restore Buff Buff Duration Sell Price
๐Ÿ„ Sautรฉed Mushrooms 2 Any Mushroom 40 HP +5% Max HP 4 min 45g
๐Ÿ„ Mushroom Soup 3 Any Mushroom 60 HP +10% Max HP 5 min 75g
๐Ÿ„ Mushroom Risotto 2 Giant Mushroom + 1 Rice 80 HP +15% Max HP + +5 HP/s Regen 8 min 130g
๐Ÿ„ Glowing Mushroom Stew 3 Glowing Mushroom 70 HP +Light Radius (+2 tiles) 6 min 100g

โ˜• Drinks & Juices

Drink Ingredients HP Restore Buff Buff Duration Sell Price
โ˜• Coffee 5 Coffee Beans 20 HP +15% Move Speed 3 min 60g
โ˜• Strong Coffee 8 Coffee Beans 30 HP +20% Move Speed 4 min 100g
๐Ÿ Pineapple Juice 3 Pineapple 40 HP +20% Move Speed 5 min 240g
๐Ÿ‡ Grape Juice 3 Grape 30 HP +10% Move Speed 4 min 100g
๐Ÿฅ• Carrot Juice 3 Carrot 25 HP +10% Mining Speed 4 min 50g
๐Ÿฏ Honey Tea 3 Honey + 1 Wheat 50 HP +3 HP/s Regen 6 min 110g

โš—๏ธ Advanced Recipes

These require the Advanced Cooking Station (late game).

Dish Ingredients HP Restore Buff Buff Duration Sell Price
๐Ÿ† Ambrosia 1 King Pepper + 1 Amber Pumpkin + 3 Honey 200 HP +30% All Stats 15 min 800g
๐Ÿ† Galaxite Steak 3 Any Meat + 2 Galaxite Crystal 150 HP +25% Melee + +25% Mining 12 min 500g
๐Ÿ† Miner's Banquet 3 Fire Pepper + 2 Any Meat + 1 Honey 140 HP +30% Mining Speed + +20% Move Speed 12 min 420g
๐Ÿ† Explorer's Feast 2 Pineapple + 2 Glow Tuna + 1 Any Mushroom 160 HP +20% Move Speed + +Breathing + +Light 12 min 380g
๐Ÿ† Defender's Platter 2 Pumpkin + 2 Storm Bass + 2 Wheat 180 HP +25% Defence + +20% Max HP 12 min 350g
๐Ÿ† Mushroom Medley Supreme 3 Giant Mushroom + 2 Glowing Mushroom + 1 Honey 130 HP +25% Max HP + +2 HP/s Regen + Light 12 min 310g

๐ŸŽฏ Best Foods by Game Stage

๐ŸŒฑ Early Game (First 2โ€“3 Hours)

Need Best Food Why
๐Ÿฉน Healing Bread (3 Wheat) Easy to make, 60 HP restore, +20 Max HP buff
โ›๏ธ Mining Pepper Dumplings (2 Pepper + 1 Wheat) +15% Mining Speed, cheap ingredients
๐Ÿƒ Exploration Carrot Juice (3 Carrot) +10% Move Speed, Carrots are everywhere
๐Ÿ’ฐ Selling Basic Salad (Any 2 Veg) 60g from common ingredients, 2x raw value
๐ŸŽฃ Fishing Sushi Roll (1 Fish + 1 Rice) Easy recipe, decent heal and speed buff

โ˜• Early Coffee Trick: Once you reach the Sunken Sea, plant 5 Coffee bushes. Coffee beans regrow every 4 minutes, giving you infinite +15% Move Speed. Game-changing for early exploration.

โš’๏ธ Mid Game (Clay โ†’ Desert / Sunken Sea)

Need Best Food Why
๐Ÿฉน Healing Pumpkin Pie (2 Pumpkin + 3 Wheat) 80 HP + +15% Defence, great for boss fights
โ›๏ธ Mining Spicy Wrap (2 Pepper + 2 Wheat) +20% Mining Speed for resource runs
๐Ÿƒ Speed Pineapple Juice (3 Pineapple) +20% Move Speed, lasts 5 min
๐Ÿ’ช Combat Stir Fry (2 Veg + 1 Mushroom) +10% Melee Damage, easy ingredients
๐Ÿ—บ๏ธ Exploration Mushroom Risotto (2 Giant Mushroom + 1 Rice) +15% Max HP + HP regen
๐ŸŒŠ Sunken Sea Glow Tuna Steak (1 Glow Tuna) +Breathing for underwater exploration
๐Ÿ’ฐ Selling Pineapple Fritters (2 Pineapple + 1 Wheat) 180g from Desert crops

๐Ÿ”ฅ Late Game (Forlorn Metropolis + Beyond)

Need Best Food Why
๐Ÿฉน Boss Healing Hunter's Stew or Explorer's Feast Massive HP restore + dual buffs
โ›๏ธ Max Mining Miner's Banquet (Advanced Station) +30% Mining Speed + +20% Move Speed
โš”๏ธ Max Combat Hot Pepper Stew (3 Fire Pepper + 2 Wheat) +25% Melee Damage, easy to mass-produce
๐ŸŒŸ All-Purpose Ambrosia (Advanced Station) +30% All Stats โ€” the ultimate food
๐Ÿ›ก๏ธ Tank Defender's Platter (Advanced Station) +25% Defence + +20% Max HP
๐Ÿ’ฐ Best Sell Hot Pepper Stew 250g per dish, Fire Peppers are profitable crops

๐Ÿ† Boss-Specific Food Loadouts

Boss Recommended Food Why
๐Ÿ‘พ Glurch Bread or Basic Salad Early game, simple heals
๐Ÿ› Ghorm Pepper Dumplings + Carrot Juice Mining speed to dig tunnels + move speed to chase
๐Ÿฆ‘ Omoroth Glow Tuna Steak + Angler Soup Breathing (underwater) + mining damage
๐Ÿ•ท๏ธ Ivy Mushroom Risotto + Spicy Wrap Max HP tank + mining speed for walls
๐Ÿ’€ Malugaz Pumpkin Pie + Hunter's Stew Defence + damage, endurance fight
๐Ÿ‘‘ Raven Hot Pepper Stew + Coffee Pure damage + speed for kiting

๐Ÿ“Š Food Buff Mechanics Explained

How Food Buffs Work

  1. Duration: Most food buffs last 5โ€“8 minutes (advanced dishes up to 15 min)
  2. Stacking: Eating the same dish again refreshes the duration (does not stack intensity)
  3. Separate Timers: Different buff types (Move Speed, Mining Speed, etc.) run independently
  4. Food Slot: Eating any food gives a temporary buff icon in your HUD โ€” you can see remaining duration
  5. Overheal: Food HP recovery can overheal you beyond your max HP (up to ~150% of max)
  6. Cancel: Buffs are cancelled on death (food effects do NOT persist through respawn)

Buff Types Reference

Buff Type Effect Best Source Max Tier Available
โค๏ธ Max HP +20 to +25% max health Mushroom Risotto, Hearty Roast, Defender's Platter +25%
๐Ÿ’š HP Regen X HP per second Salad series, Mushroom Medley Supreme +6 HP/s
โ›๏ธ Mining Speed +10% to +30% mine speed Spicy Wrap, Miner's Banquet +30%
๐Ÿƒ Move Speed +8% to +20% movement Coffee, Pineapple Juice +20%
โš”๏ธ Melee Damage +8% to +25% melee Hot Pepper Stew, Hunter's Stew +25%
๐Ÿ›ก๏ธ Defence +5% to +25% damage reduction Pumpkin Pie, Defender's Platter +25%
๐ŸŒŠ Breathing Enables underwater breathing Glow Tuna Steak Duration only
๐Ÿ’ก Light +2 to +3 tiles light radius Glowing Broth, Glowing Mushroom Stew +3 tiles
๐Ÿ€ Luck +10% loot luck Mirage Soup +10%
๐ŸŽฃ Fishing Power +20% catch rate Fisherman's Platter +20%
๐ŸŽฒ Dodge +10% dodge chance Grape Salad +10%
๐ŸŒŸ All Stats +30% to everything Ambrosia (endgame legendary) +30%

Buff Stacking Rules

โœ… Move Speed (Coffee) + Mining Speed (Spicy Wrap) โ†’ BOTH active, separate timers
โœ… Melee Damage (Hot Pepper Stew) + Max HP (Mushroom Risotto) โ†’ BOTH active
โœ… Multiple Move Speed foods โ†’ Only highest Move Speed buff applies
โŒ Same buff type from different foods โ†’ Only the strongest buff active
โŒ Same dish eaten twice โ†’ Refreshes timer, does not double the buff
โŒ Food buff + same buff from gear โ†’ They DO stack (e.g. Coffee + Swift Ring = big speed)

๐Ÿ’ก Key Insight: Buff effects from food + gear stack additively. A Coffee (+15% Move Speed) plus a Swift Ring (+10% Move Speed) gives you +25% total. Always combine food buffs with appropriate gear for maximum effect.

Food & Gear Stacking Examples

Combo Buff Effect Source
Coffee + Swift Ring +25% Move Speed 15% food + 10% gear
Hot Pepper Stew + Rune Pendant +35% Melee Damage 25% food + 10% gear
Miner's Banquet + Mining Hat +45% Mining Speed 30% food + 15% gear
Defender's Platter + Shield of Endurance +45% Defence 25% food + 20% gear

๐Ÿ’ฐ Profit Guide: Cooking vs Selling Raw

Best Crops to Cook Before Selling

Crop Raw Sell Price Best Dish Cooked Sell Value Profit Multiplier
๐ŸŽƒ Pumpkin (ร—2) + Wheat (ร—3) 160g + 72g = 232g Pumpkin Pie 200g Recipe uses 5 items โ€” consider value add
๐ŸŒพ Wheat (ร—3) 72g Bread 72g Same value โ€” cook only for buff
๐ŸŒถ๏ธ Fire Pepper (ร—3) + Wheat (ร—2) 330g + 48g = 378g Hot Pepper Stew 250g Better to sell raw unless you need the combat buff
๐Ÿ Pineapple (ร—3) 360g Pineapple Juice 240g Better to sell raw
๐Ÿฅ• Carrot (ร—3) 54g Carrot Juice 50g Better to sell raw
๐ŸŒถ๏ธ Pepper (ร—2) + Wheat (ร—1) 48g + 24g = 72g Spicy Wrap 120g +48g profit over selling raw
๐Ÿ‡ Grape (ร—3) 180g Grape Juice 100g Sell raw
๐ŸŒถ๏ธ Pepper (ร—2) + Wheat (ร—2) 48g + 48g = 96g Spicy Wrap 120g +24g profit

๐Ÿ’ฐ Cooking Profit Rule: Cooking is generally not profitable for selling unless you're using cheap crops. The real value of cooked food is the buff, not the sell price. Fish dishes are the exception โ€” cooking fish almost always adds value.

Fish That Sell Better Cooked

Fish Raw Price Best Dish Cooked Price Profit
๐ŸŸ Glow Tuna 65g Glow Tuna Steak 120g +55g โœ…
๐ŸŸ Thunder Pike 60g Thunder Steak 110g +50g โœ…
๐ŸŸ Glowing Bass 45g Glowing Broth 85g +40g โœ…
๐ŸŸ Storm Bass 42g Storm Chowder 80g +38g โœ…
๐ŸŸ Deep Sea Angler 40g Angler Soup 75g +35g โœ…
๐ŸŸ Mirage Pike 50g Mirage Soup 95g +45g โœ…
๐ŸŸ Mudfish 12g Hearty Stew 35g +23g โœ…

๐Ÿช Summary: Quick Reference Card

Essential Foods to Keep Stocked

Stage Food Qty Why
๐ŸŒฑ Early Bread 10+ stack Cheap, +20 Max HP, easy to mass-produce
๐ŸŒฑ Early Coffee Unlimited Infinite speed buff from regrowing beans
โš’๏ธ Mid Spicy Wrap 10+ Best mining buff before late game
โš’๏ธ Mid Pumpkin Pie 5+ Boss fight defence
โš’๏ธ Mid Glow Tuna Steak 3+ Sunken Sea exploration
๐Ÿ”ฅ Late Hot Pepper Stew 10+ Best farmable combat food
๐Ÿ”ฅ Late Miner's Banquet 5+ Max mining for resource runs
๐Ÿ”ฅ Late Ambrosia Save for bosses +30% All Stats, extremely rare
๐Ÿ”ฅ Late Explorer's Feast 5+ All-purpose exploration

Quick Tips

  • Always carry Bread โ€” cheap, stacks well, decent heal
  • Coffee is worth farming โ€” 5 coffee bushes = infinite speed buff
  • Cook fish, sell crops โ€” opposite of what you might expect
  • Different buffs stack โ€” stack Mining Speed + Move Speed for efficient resource runs
  • Gear + food stacks โ€” double down on your build's main stat
  • Ambrosia is endgame โ€” save the rare ingredients (King Pepper, Amber Pumpkin) for bosses