Highlights

  • Cooking Mama franchise sold over 12 million units, proving the popularity of cooking games and their ability to help people relax and avoid the stress of real-life cooking.
  • Diner Dash is a challenging game that tests players' skills in turning a restaurant into the ultimate dining experience, providing rewards and upgrades along the way.
  • Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale is a VR game that emphasizes teamwork and chaotic kitchen experiences, allowing players to have fun while serving customers and fending off unsavory guests.

Who loves good food? Trick question; everybody does! The Cooking Mama franchise accelerated the cooking game popularity to new heights, selling over 12 million units. Cooking games are a niche genre that can be a great way to pass the time and avoid the stress of real-life cooking.

Related: Greatest Cooking Games Of All Time

Cooking games can either be strategic restaurant management games that require players to look after their finances or peaceful life simulations where they can harvest their own ingredients, taking them straight from the farm to the oven. Can't handle the heat? Get out of the kitchen, and into a virtual one. These are the best immersive cooking games available on the market.

Updated September 19, 2-23: The specifications have been added for every immersive cooking game​​​​​​.

13 Diner Dash

The title image for Diner Dash Adventures

For those who always dreamed of owning their own restaurant, or plotted an entire business plan over a few drinks with friends, Diner Dash is a test of a player's skill in turning a dining establishment from culinary zero to hero.

The game presents an ever-increasing challenge to seat customers, take their orders, and clean tables speedily to guarantee the satisfaction of all who walk through the doors of Flo's restaurant. Success is rewarded, as new products and upgrades are earned throughout the game to help turn the restaurant into the ultimate dining experience.

Diner Dash

Platform(s)
Nintendo DS , PC , PSP , Wii , Android , iOS
Released
December 3, 2003
Developer
Gamelab
Publisher
PlayFirst

12 Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale

The title image for Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale

Putting a quirky fairytale spin on the standard cooking title, Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale transports players to an enchanted forest to run a restaurant for a variety of fantasy characters. A game that can be played by up to 4 players, Cook-Out stresses the importance of teamwork to fill some hungry stomachs, but players can still go it alone.

This VR game received glowing reviews on the back of its chaotic kitchen experience that has players juggling food service with warding off disruptive and unsavory guests. For those playing with friends, be sure to find the time for an impromptu sword fight or a cheeky attack with a sauce bottle!

Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale

Platform(s)
PC
Released
September 3, 2020
Developer
Resolution Games
Publisher
Resolution Games

11 Cooking Mama

The title character from Cooking Mama surrounded by different cooking ingredients

Cooking Mama is a fun and instructional virtual kitchen experience that directs players to complete the creation of a variety of dishes under the supportive eye of the title character. From boiled rice to fried shrimp, Mama is here to help turn players into true culinary geniuses.

Related: New & Upcoming Cooking Sims

Through a variety of challenges, players are tasked with grating, chopping, frying, and serving up an array of different dishes, all while being cheered on by the matriarch of the kitchen. Cooking Mama is a great immersive experience and a positive way to wind down after a long day.

Cooking Mama
Platform(s)
Nintendo DS , iOS
Released
September 12, 2006
Developer
Office Create
Publisher(s)
Majesco Entertainment , Taito , 505 Games

10 Food Truck Simulator

Food Truck Simulator

Food Truck Simulator is an immersive first-person simulator game in which players drive a food truck around a city; pretty self-explanatory. Before players set up for the day, they will need to be mindful of their location, paying attention to minute details like traffic levels and congestion for a truly engaging and realistic experience.

Players can try their hand at creating their own culinary masterpieces, from sushi to a cheeseburger special! Of course, the truck can be fully customized, and the cooking equipment can be upgraded as the player's prestige grows. In Food Truck Simulator, take each day as it comes and drive around a living city with a dynamic day and night cycle.

Food Truck Simulator
Platform(s)
PC
Released
August 10, 2022
Developer
Drago Entertainment
Publisher
Drago Entertainment, Movie Games, HeartBeat Games

9 PlateUp!

PlateUp!

PlateUp! is in a similar realm to the famous Overcooked, as players are thrown into the midst of a chaotic kitchen and are tasked with managing it while plating up food. Up to four players can participate and build this restaurant from the bottom up.

Related: Great Immersive Sims That Are Short & Sweet

There is some classic co-op cooking action, from preparing vegetables to boiling ingredients - take care not to get in each other's way! PlateUp! allows for a totally personalized experience, as the chefs can curate their own menu and add their own flair to the interior decor. From steaming soups to tender steaks, there is something for every customer to enjoy.

PlateUp!
Platform(s)
PC , PS5 , Switch , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
Released
August 4, 2022
Developer
It's happening
Publisher
Yogscast, Numskull Games

8 Epic Chef

Epic Chef

Embark on the culinary quest of a lifetime as players take on the mantle of Zest, the lead character in Epic Chef. It's a story-driven adventure game combining elements of life-sim-farming and crafting to create a unique beast of a game with comedic value. Epic Chef features some hilarious cutscenes that fans of the Food Wars anime will enjoy.

Ingredients in Epic Chef each have their own properties, and with the dynamic recipe creation system, players can experiment with thousands of different ingredient combinations to create a menu of delectable delights. The food looks good enough to dive through the screen and eat!

Epic Chef

Released
November 10, 2021
Developer
Infinigon
Publisher(s)
Team17

7 Good Pizza, Great Pizza

Good Pizza, Great Pizza

Ever get nostalgia for the Club Penguin pizza parlor mini-game? Look no further than Good Pizza, Great Pizza. Featuring a multitude of toppings like pepperoni, sausage, onions, peppers, and yes, even pineapple, players get to experience firsthand what it's like to own a pizza shop.

There are over 100 different customers, each with unique orders and individual personalities, adding to the game's replay value. Good Pizza, Great Pizza is the perfect game to play to relax and unwind while enjoying a real-life pizza.

Good Pizza, Great Pizza

Platform(s)
Android , iOS , PC , Switch
Released
December 2, 2014
Developer
TapBlaze
Publisher
TapBlaze, PM Studios

6 Lemon Cake

Lemon Cake

Restore an abandoned bakery, and cook pastries, straight from the farm to the table in Lemon Cake! Players can milk cows, collect honey from their beehives, and get some fresh organic eggs to add to their recipes. They can even turn their cute cottage into an adorable cat café with the help of a friendly ghost!

Though Lemon Cake looks adorable on the outside, it is a strategic life sim game that requires a lot of attention. Players will need to keep their display counter well stocked for customers, and they must remember to water their plants and feed their farm animals, or else they will run low on their ingredients!

Lemon Cake
Platform(s)
PC , PS4 , PS5 , Switch , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
Release
2021-02-18
Developer
Cozy Bee Games
Publisher
Cozy Bee Games

5 Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!

Cook, Serve, Delicious

Cook, Serve, Delicious, is a simulation game in which players are tasked with running an old, run-down restaurant and restoring it back to its five-star rated glory. To do this, players must take orders from impatient customers and prove their culinary skills. Players must figure out the best way to pack out their restaurant full of customers, but beware of rush hours!

Related: The Best Games To Play If You Love Pixel Art

It is one of those games that is easy to learn but hard to master, as players may get overwhelmed with the number of orders they have to deal with. Cook, Serve, Delicious is an anxiety-inducing yet addictive game that will give players a rush!

Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!
Platform(s)
PC , PS4 , Switch , Xbox One
Released
October 14, 2020
Developer(s)
Vertigo Gaming
Publisher(s)
Vertigo Gaming

4 Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley

Far more than just a simple farming simulator, Stardew Valley features hours upon hours of content that will immerse players in its cozy cottage-core world. While improving their farm, honing their skills, and befriending their local community, players can also gather ingredients for cooking delicious home-cooked meals.

Stardew Valley features its own cooking show, the Queen of Sauce, and even 74 different recipes to bake, from a heartwarming Pumpkin Pie that is perfect for autumn to a Complete Breakfast to prepare for a hard day of work. Many of the dishes prepared in Stardew Valley can grant the player useful bonuses to help them in their day-to-day life on the farm.

Stardew Valley

Platform(s)
PC , Xbox One , Android , iOS , PS4 , Switch
Released
February 26, 2016
Developer(s)
ConcernedApe
Publisher(s)
ConcernedApe

3 Dungeon Munchies

Dungeon Munchies

Hunt down broccoli monsters and eat them in Dungeon Munchies! Dungeon Munchies is a side-scrolling RPG with beautiful pixel art and smooth-flowing combat animations similar to Terraria. Aided by the undead Necro-Chef Simmer, players must survive, eat, and find a way to escape the bizarre facility they find themselves in.

The combination of dishes players choose to eat will impact their entire playthrough, as different dishes grant unique abilities. The character can only handle seven dishes, so players must carefully craft a meal that will maximize their strengths. Any odd combinations of food may mean the difference between health regeneration or damage output.

Dungeon Munchies
Platform(s)
PC , PS4 , PS5 , Switch , Android , Xbox One
Released
June 5, 2019
Developer
maJAJa
Publisher
maJAJa, Chorus Worldwide, Serenity Forge

2 Cooking Simulator

A banner showcasing the game Cooking Simulator.

Cooking Simulator is definitely the most realistic cooking game currently on the market, as it is played from a first-person perspective - it can even be played with a VR headset for extra immersion. There are over 80 different recipes and 140+ lifelike ingredients, with realistic physics and an array of utensils to be used. Become a gourmet chef in no time!

The recipes are also detailed enough that should players wish to recreate these delicious dishes, they should realistically be able to use the in-game recipes from Cooking Simulator to make something edible in real life.

Cooking Simulator

Platform(s)
Android , PC , PS4 , Switch , Xbox One
Released
June 6, 2019
Developer
Big Cheese Studio
Publisher
Big Cheese Studio, PlayWay S.A., Forever Entertainment

1 Overcooked

Overcooked

Heavily designed to focus on cooperative play, the Overcooked games thrust players straight from the frying pan into the fire. Working together and co-operating, players must fulfill customer food orders, all while preparing and cooking the food themselves before their angry customers storm out.

Each new kitchen brings a tough challenge, steadily ascending in difficulty as players will have to juggle different dishes and multitask. Whether it be sliding around on an unstable pirate ship to simply having the kitchen split in half, the Overcooked games will test the strongest of friendships and the mettle of the bravest chefs.

Overcooked

Released
August 2, 2016
Developer(s)
Ghost Town Games
Publisher(s)
Team17

More: Most Immersive Simulation Games