Gamers that enjoy playing complex and long survival games have undoubtedly played Don't Starve since it's among the best in this genre. And that's because Klei Entertainment has created a unique survival game that puts players in an unforgiving environment that'll either make or break them. Furthermore, Don't Starve lets players choose how they want to survive, whether being a pacifist survivor or a hardened hunter that wipes out every living creature on the map.

And with the release of Don't Starve Together, players can now join forces with their friends and see how far they can survive the wilds. But, Don't Starve Together features more survival mechanics than its predecessor, so players will need to learn what to do if they want to survive. One crucial feature is managing Hunger, which is why players will need to know which food source is best to use while surviving the unforgiving wilds.

Updated April 9, 2024, by Alexandra O'Leary: One of the main draws of Don't Starve Together is how challenging it is. As the game's atmosphere and art might suggest, the Constant is a cruel and unforgiving place that is not for the faint of heart. Managing sanity, hunger, and health while building a solid and functioning base is by no means easy. A central reason that Don't Starve Together has been so popular is because it's far easier with friends. While that might mean double the food, it means double the help and potentially double the resources.

Food is one of the most fundamental aspects of the game. It can impact all three statuses, and is often the quickest way to save a character on the brink of death. Different foods have different effects, each character has a favorite meal, and some characters will refuse to eat certain dishes. Thus, knowledge of the best foods in Don't Starve Together can literally be the difference between life and death.

27 Raw and Cooked Mandrake

Best for: Hunger

• +100 Health
• +150 Hunger
• +0 Sanity
• Does Not Perish

Mandrakes are one of the rarest mobs in Don't Starve Together, which makes them a very valuable and useful resource. However, they're not always the easiest to find. This is likely due to their brilliant restorative properties. The downside is that it will instantly put the player to sleep. Both Raw and Cooked Mandrake will also put surrounding mobs to sleep. They can be incredibly useful in a tight spot, especially if players are looking to restore their stats before taking down a mob.

The good thing about Mandrakes is that they should spawn together, but it's important to note that they cannot be picked during the night. Picking them during the day will instantly kill them, but picking them at night will cause the Mandrake to uproot and follow the player around while screaming. All a player has to do to make Cooked Mandrake is put a raw Mandrake over a fire.

26 Cooked Eel

Best for: Hunger

• +8 Health
• +12.5 Hunger
• +0 Sanity
• Perishes in 10 days

Fishing in Don't Starve Together is one of the most effective ways to stock up on food, since there are numerous food sources that players can fish out of the water. Eels are among the best foods to fish for in Don't Starve Together, since they can be found in nearly any Pond, especially the Wild Pond.

Players only need to place a Raw Eel onto a Fire Pit to make Cooked Eel without needing to add any other ingredient. Moreover, players can take advantage while farming Eels to trade them with the Pig King since he exchanges five gold nuggets for a single Eel. So, even if Cooked Eel doesn't replenish Sanity, it still is worthwhile to make it as a quick meal or trade for some gold.

25 Surf 'n' Turf

Best for: Health

24

• +60 Health
• +37.5 Hunger
• +33 Sanity
• Perishes in 10 days

Surf 'n' Turf is one of the more normal dishes available in Don't Starve Together, and doesn't require any extreme or difficult-to-find ingredients. Players only need to combine Fish with a minimum value of 1.5 and Meat with a minimum value of 2.5, and they'll have this tasty meal on their hands. It restores all three statuses, and is Wickerbottom's favorite food.

A big benefit of Surf 'n' Turf is its long life, since it lasts ten days before spoiling. It also has a higher priority than Monster Lasagna, so Monster Meat can be used without the risk of ruining the dish. It only takes 20 seconds to cook in the Crock Pot, and has a wider variety in its recipe that make it one of the more accessible and repeatable dishes. As with all Fish dishes, Wurt will not eat this.

23 Roasted Juicy Berries

Best for: Hunger

• +3 Health
• +18.75 Hunger
• +0 Sanity
• Perishes in 1 day

Even though Roasted Juicy Berries only fills up +3 Health, it still merits being mentioned in this DST best food source list as it's easy to create a farm for it. Players can easily plant and harvest several Juicy Berry bushes around their base, and since they grow relatively quickly, players will have an unending source of them.

Unfortunately, due to its quick Perish Rate (2 Days), players must ensure they only harvest the amount they need since harvesting too many at a time will waste a lot of Juicy Berries. But, on the plus side, any Perished Juicy Berry can be used as a Fertilizer for other plant-based farms.

22 Frozen Banana Daiquiri

Best for: Health

• +30 Health
• +18.75 Hunger
• +15 Sanity
• Perishes in 15 days

While getting the ingredients to craft the Frozen Banana Daiquiri isn't easy since it involves traveling to the frozen glaciers, it's well worth the effort since it's one of the best food sources to cure Insanity. It's made with 1 Banana, 1 Ice, and 2 fillers. Players should not add twigs, or else they will make a Banana Pop. As players will notice, the Frozen Banana Daiquiri replenishes Sanity by 15 points, which is useful if they use ranged weapons that decrease Sanity like the Fire Staff.

On top of that, the Frozen Banana Daiquiri has a special perk that lowers a player's temperature by 15 degrees over 15 seconds, which will come in handy during summer.

21 Asparagus Soup

Best for: Health

• +20 Health
• +18.75 Hunger
• +5 Sanity
• Perishes in 15 days

The Asparagus Soup is a great food source in the Vegetable Food category since it's quick and simple to craft. Players will only need 1x Asparagus and 1.5x Vegetable Filler; after that, players can place it inside the Crock Pot and wait 10 seconds.

On top of that, the Asparagus Soup is one of Wormwood's (one of the best starting characters in Don't Starve Together) favorite meals, which means they'll reap other benefits from consuming it. This food source also lasts up to 15 days before perishing, which is high despite its low stats.

20 Roasted Potato

Best for: Hunger

• +20 Health
• +25 Hunger
• +0 Sanity

The Potato is a cheap and effective food players can eat to restore a huge chunk of Health and Hunger. But, if players want to get the most out of it (and avoid losing Sanity and Health), they'll need to cook it on a Fire Pit. Players who enjoy playing as Wolfgang will be happy to know that eating Roasted Potatoes fills him up twice as much (40 Hunger).

Normal Seeds have a slight chance of turning into Potato plants, but the most effective method to get Potato Seeds is by feeding Normal Seeds to a Bird in a Birdcage as it will drop a Potato Seed. Players can also use potatoes to make Creamy Potato Purée, Grim Galette, and Puffed Potato Soufflé.

19 Jellybeans

Best for: Health

• +2 Health
• +120 Health over 2 Minutes
• +0 Hunger
• +5 Sanity
• Does Not Perish

Jellybeans are one of the more interesting and unique foods in Don't Starve Together. Not only does it not spoil, but it's one of the few foods that restores health over time rather than immediately, which can be useful in certain situations. It will also heal players for a small amount of Sanity, which is great for keeping the bar topped up. It's one of the few non-meat foods that Wigfrid will eat, making it a great dish for Wigfrid mains.

Jellybeans are surprisingly easy to make, but they do require Royal Jelly, which is only dropped by the Bee Queen — one of Don't Starve Together's bosses. If players manage to obtain Royal Jelly, they only need to add 3 filler ingredients to make Jellybeans. These ingredients cannot be Monster Food or inedible resources, but anything else will produce 3 portions of Jellybeans.

18 Salsa Fresca

Best for: Sanity

• +3 Health
• +25 Hunger
• +33 Sanity
• Perishes in 15 days

Players with a lot of extra Vegetables in their storage will want to craft this meal as it's one of the best food in DST to recover Sanity. Salsa Fresca can be crafted by combining Toma Root, Onion, and two Filler items like Berries or Ice. On top of that, it only takes 10 seconds to prepare and lasts for 15 Days before perishing.

Of course, Salsa Fresca isn't the best food source to recover Health, so players will need to bring additional meals that help them regain Health.

17 Jelly Salad

Best for: Sanity

• +0 Health
• +37.5 Hunger
• +50 Sanity
• Perishes in 6 days

Jelly Salad might look and sound complicated to make, but the recipe is relatively simple. It requires leafy meat, which can be acquired by harvesting a Lureplant, or killing grass gators and gekkos. Combining two leafy meats with a sweetener (the easiest being honey or honeycomb) with a value of at least 2 in the crock pot will produce a Jelly Salad.

The best part about this dish is its Sanity benefits, and its relatively long life of 6 days. This makes it an excellent dish for players who struggle to keep their Sanity up. It's particularly good for Wigfrid, who will eat this dish as leafy meat technically counts as meat, and won't eat vegetables that are commonly used for Sanity restoration.

16 Ice Cream

Best for: Sanity

• +0 Health
• +25 Hunger
• +50 Sanity
• Perishes in 3 days

Ice Cream may not look like much if players are after big hunger points, but the most impressive aspect of the dish is the sheer amount of sanity it can restore. The downside of Ice Cream is that it isn't super easy to make, and it's certainly one of the more specific dishes in the game. However, it's tied for the best DST sanity-restoring dish, so those characters with low sanity will want to pay attention.

Making Ice Cream requires one Dairy Product, one Ice, and one Sweetener (honey or honeycomb are the easiest to find). It will restore +50 Sanity and will cool down any character by 40 degrees, making it the perfect summer dish to prevent overheating. For those who love Webber, this is his favorite food and will give him an extra +15 health when eaten. It might not be the easiest choice, but in the right circumstances, it can be an absolutely huge boost.

15 Trail Mix

Best for: Health

• +30 Health
• +27.5 Hunger
• +5 Sanity
• Perishes in 15 days

Trail Mix is one of the best early game food sources in Don't Starve Together since it only requires 1x Roasted Birchnut, 1x Berry, and 1x Fruit Filler. Furthermore, players who eat Trail Mix as Walter will recover an extra +15 Hunger, making it even better.

But, of course, in order to have a steady source of Trail Mix, players will need to create an efficient Birchnut Tree farm, which can be challenging to know without prior preparation. But, once created, players can enjoy a stable source of Trail Mix.

14 Fishsticks

Best for: Health

• +40 Health
• +37.5 Hunger
• +5 Sanity
• Perishes in 10 days

For newer Don't Starve Together players, Fishsticks are a fantastic early-game option because they're cheap and easy to make. They restore a lot based on how much it takes to make them, which makes them a go-to choice every time. Fishsticks is an apt name since it literally takes one fish and one twig to make them: ergo, a fish stick. The filler slots could have monster meat or veggie options like mushrooms and berries and the result will still be Fishsticks, which means they're easy to make.

Once players are more comfortable running around The Constant, Fishsticks can also be used to get a Kittykit. This gives players a fun little companion to stop them feeling lonely. Wigfrid will eat fish-based dishes, so it's great for her too. It's important to remember that using more than one twig in the recipe will ruin it, so one twig only is absolutely paramount.

13 Fancy Spiralled Tubers

Best for: Hunger

• +3 Health
• +37.5 Hunger
• +15 Sanity
• Perishes in 10 days

Most players are quickly put off using the Fancy Spiralled Tubers when they see what little it fills their HP bar, but the truth is players should mainly use this food source to cure Insanity. On top of that, it's quite easy to craft since players only need 1x Potato, 1x Twigs, and 2 Meat Fillers.

But, of course, players should not depend on the Fancy Spiralled Tubers to heal them in a pinch, so carrying a different food source is highly recommended. Moreover, players can carry up to 40 Fancy Spiralled Tubers in their inventory, lasting up to 10 days before perishing.

12 Puffed Potato Souffle

Best for: Hunger

• +20 Health
• +37.5 Hunger
• +15 Sanity
• Perishes in 10 days

The Puffed Potato Souffle is a viable vegetable food source players can craft while surviving the wilds. Players can start crafting this food source as soon as they set up an Intermediate Farm, but they'll need to have Sweet Potatoes to plant. It requires two potatoes and an egg to create this dish, and it's only available in Warly's Portable Crock Pot.

And players that want to kick up a notch, the Puffed Potato Souffle can instead use Cooked Sweet Potatoes and create Ratatouille which further increases its healing attributes. There are also Don't Starve Together mods that can help players craft this food source in bulk.

11 Pierogi

Best for: Health

• +40 Health
• +37.5 Hunger
• +5 Sanity
• Perishes in 20 days

Players who dislike cooking meals constantly in Don't Starve Together will be happy to know that the Pierogi food source lasts up to 20 days before perishing. On top of that, it only takes 20 seconds to cook Pierogi, which gives players another reason to stock up on it. It requires 1 meat, 1 egg, and 1 vegetable to craft this item.

Unfortunately, while the Pierogi is great for recovering Health and Hunger, it doesn't raise a player's Sanity by too much. So, players do well in carrying other food sources that increase Sanity or suffer the consequences of losing their minds.

10 Barnacle Nigiri

Best for: Health

• +40 Health
• +37.5 Hunger
• +5 Sanity
• Perishes in 10 days

The Barnacle Nigiri was first introduced in the Return of Them update in May 2021. This food source is quite useful for players to have in their inventory since it significantly replenishes the Health and Hunger bar. Requiring only 1 Barnacle, 1 Kelp Frond, and 1 Egg, this dish can be a bit hard to make but worth it.

To craft Barnacle Nigiri, players will need to harvest Sea Sprouts found in the Rough Ocean. Barnacles spawn every 2 to 4 days, depending on the season. Be careful while harvesting Barnacles, as Sea Weeds tend to spawn after a couple of days.

9 Meatballs

Best for: Hunger

• +3 Health
• +62.5 Hunger
• +5 Sanity
• Perishes in 10 days

At first glance, players may dismiss Meatballs as a poor food source. However, the truth is that Meatballs are the best meat food source in Don't Starve Together since they only require cooking 1x Meat (any meat will suffice since) in the Crock Pot.

That alone makes it the perfect food source to mass-produce, since nearly every monster drops Monster Meat. But, of course, players should only use Meatballs as a way to raise their Hunger Bars, since it only recovers +3 Health.

8 Barnacle Linguine

Best for: Hunger

• +10 Health
• +75 Hunger
• +20 Sanity
• Perishes in 6 days

When discussing Don't Starve Together food sources, the Crock Pot is a must-have as it helps players craft unique meals that are highly beneficial for their Hunger and Sanity. The Barnacle Linguine is another meal players should consider crafting in a Crock Pot since it's easy to prepare and only takes 40 seconds to complete.

This food source requires 2x Barnacles and 2x Vegetables, which are easy to obtain, especially once the player has a Barnacle and Potato Farm. The only downside of preparing Barnacle Linguine is that it has a short shelf life (6 Days), meaning it's not suitable for long trips.