Die at a PVM challenge again? Wasting a part of your profit on expensive foods? Learn which foods In Oldschool Runescape to use for money and efficiency.
If you click that little cooking pot in your skills tab on Oldschool Runescape, you’ll be faced with all of the different options for food within the game. There’s fish, cakes, vegetables, alcohols, and even gnomish baked goods… and that’s not even half of them. So how do you know which foods are the best? Well, the answer is that it’s different for everyone.
Maybe you’re a new player that needs to get past the dreaded wizards outside the entrance of Varrock, but every time you find yourself in Lumbridge. Maybe you’re a skiller working towards the firemaking skillcape at Wintertodt. Or maybe you’re a PVMer hunting for all the boss pets you can get your hands on. Based on your current level, your amount of gold to spend, or the circumstance that you need the food for, there are many different options to choose from.
Remember that with any food, it is more efficient to buy it from the Grand Exchange than to make it yourself, but if you’re an ironman or short on cash, I will also tell you how to make each of these foods. So buckle down. Here is my list of the best foods in Oldschool Runescape.
10. Anchovy pizza
While everyone was discussing if pineapples should be on pizza, someone decided to add anchovies to pizza.
Who doesn’t love a good pizza? If you don’t, there's something wrong with you. Not the pizza. Fortunately for F2P players, anchovy pizzas have the highest possible healing in F2P. Making pizza in Oldschool takes a lot of steps, which makes it more difficult than simply cooking a fish. But don’t let that deter you. The benefits of anchovy pizza pass up any other non-members food.
Anchovy pizzas heal 18 hitpoints (almost as much as a shark) per inventory slot, although they have to be eaten in 2 bites (9 hp each bite). This means that you can restore your hitpoints faster with swordfish, but over time, more with anchovy pizza. In most cases, this makes pizzas the superior choice. You'll see extended trips and, in turn, more experience from this.
The power of pizza doesn't stop there. Anchovy pizza is also the best F2P combo-food. Normally, you can eat food or drink a potion every 3 game ticks. Combo-eating is specific foods that can be eaten the same game tick as another food. You can pair a bite of anchovy pizza with a swordfish and eat both in the same game tick, which will heal 23 hp. This offers the quickest healing for F2P players. Note: Combo-eating can only be done with the first bite of pizza, not the second.
Perks:
- Heals 18 hp
- Can combo-eat with the first bite of pizza
How to get it:
- F2P option: Mix a pot of flour with a bucket of water to make a pizza base (35 cooking)
- Add tomato then cheese
- Cook the pizza
- Add cooked anchovies to it (55 cooking)
- You stop burning plain pizzas at 68 cooking
- P2P option: Buy plain pizzas from warriors guild (47gp) and bank nearby, then add cooked anchovies to it
9. Jug of wine
Don't have too much fun. Jugs of wine are a great option, but I can't help with the hangover they may cause.
If you'd consider yourself a party animal, jugs of wine are an option to consider. As one of the best options for hp gained per gp spent, they also make you a cheap date. They are consistently under 5gp due to the fact that making them is one of the fastest methods to train cooking in the game, creating a surplus. Wines heal 11 hp. So they are perfect for those with low hitpoints, such as a skiller who needs a good healing method, or a main trying to save money.
Unfortunately, they do have a downside. Not only is too much drinking bad for your liver, but it's also bad for your attack level. Drinking a jug of wine temporarily lowers your attack, making them not viable to use while training melee. That does not make them useless though. Using wines is great while training range or magic because those skills will not be affected by the stat drain.
Another option for wines is any skilling methods that causes you to lose health. Use them when thieving or to counter the fall damage while training agility. The most common location they are used is the Wintertodt boss. Your combat stats do not matter when skilling, which makes them the cheapest option without any negative side effects.
Perks:
- Heals 11 hp
- Cost 4gp on Grand Exchange
How to get it:
- Buy jugs of water and grapes (you can get them cheap from the Culimancer’s chest)
- Add the grapes to the jug and bank (35 cooking)
- Repeat process while jugs ferment in your bank
8. Purple Sweets
Colorful and sweet! These will feed your sugar craving while giving you health and energy (just don't tell your dentist).
Maybe you would consider yourself to be somewhat of a sweet tooth. Luckily, Oldschool has candy. Although you can munch on these candies all day if you’d like, purple sweets are really only used in specific situations. Often, low defense players use them to help when attempting to get a fire cape. The reason being? They stack. This creates a potential unlimited healing supply per inventory spot. This means that those who are struggling with a firecape can safespot behind a rock and will be able to heal up as much as they need to.
What else does candy do? It makes you hyper. That’s why purple sweets also restore 10% of your run energy each bite. This is another reason people use them when attempting the fight caves. It allows players to always have high run energy and they can kite out and safespot the melee monsters easier.
This may sound too good to be true, but purple sweets, just like candy, also have their drawbacks. They only heal 1-3 hp when eaten and can only be eaten every 3 game ticks. If you are fighting something that will be hitting you with consistent damage, you will be eating so often you will never get any attacks off. And at over 2000 a pop, you will very quickly rack up expenses if you use these casually. This is why they are not a common option for food.
Perks:
- Heal 1-3 hitpoints
- They are stackable, creating a potential unlimited healing supply in one inventory spot
- Restore 10% run energy
How to get it:
- Can only be obtained from clue scrolls
7. Monkfish
These may look terrifying, but once you cook them up they can't hurt you anymore. In fact, they do just the opposite.
Gloomy atmosphere, a huge tentacle monster, and giant fish with razor-sharp teeth? That’s the Piscatoris Fishing Colony. This is where you can catch monkfish if you’re brave enough to complete the Swan Song quest. These evil looking creatures are great for mid-level players or those trying to save a bit of money. Since they are a very common method for those going for 99 fishing, their supply is constant and their price is consistent.
They make a good choice due to the price they cost compared to the amount they heal. While healing a flat 16, which is only 4 less than sharks, they are just a little over half the price of sharks. They find a balance between high healing food (more than lobsters), while still being a cheap alternative to the more costly options.
Perks:
- Heal 16 hp
- Cost under 500gp on Grand Exchange
How to get it:
- Must complete Swan Song (100 Quest points, 66 magic, 62 cooking, 62 fishing, 45 smithing, 42 firemaking, 40 crafting)
- Fish the monkfish at Piscatoris Fishing Colony (62 fishing) and cook them (62 cooking)
- At Hosidius house range with cooking gauntlets, you stop burning monkfish at 82 cooking
6. Basket of strawberries
Maybe you would consider yourself a gardener, not a fisher. Strawberries are a sweet treat.
Maybe instead of eating candy, you’d rather opt out for nature’s candy. A hearty fruit to stay healthy. Baskets of strawberries have got you covered, and are one of the more interesting foods in the game. It holds the place as the highest hitpoints gained per inventory slot while still being cost-effective, unlike purple sweets. Although, like purple sweets, it takes a lot of clicks to heal up a large amount. Each basket holds 5 strawberries and you have to eat each one individually to gain the entire healing effect.
These are considered a good option because they can heal massive amounts, yet are a fraction of the cost of some of the better food options. A basket of strawberries has the potential to heal 30 hp, yet 5 strawberries cost around 700gp. This means that it heals 10 more life than sharks while costing around the same price. They heal 8 more than tuna potatoes while costing much less.
An important note is that strawberries heal more based on your hitpoints level. They only heal 6 each when you are level 84 hitpoints or above. They are still cost-effective from level 67-83 hitpoints, healing 5 instead of 6 for a total of 25 hp (still more than sharks and tuna potatoes). If you have a lower hitpoints level than that, you are better off getting a different type of food.
Perks:
- Heal 1-6 hp each
- Heal a potential of 30 per inventory slot
- Highest healing food per slot (other than purple sweets)
How to get it:
- Obtain strawberries from farming them or stealing from fruit stalls (31 farming or 25 thieving)
- Buy baskets from a farming shop
- Stock each basket with 5 strawberries
5. Cooked Karambwan
These spikey little guys may look inedble, but that is not the case.
You know those fancy foods with the names you can’t pronounce and they look inedible? A karambwan is kind of like that. Gathered from the exotic lands of Karamja and imported to your local Grand Exchange, they are the highest healing of the combo foods. This makes them quite useful in PVM and PVP battles.. Like pizzas, they can be eaten in the same game tick as another food, allowing you to heal the max amount in the shortest amount of time. Unlike anchovy pizzas, healing 9 per bite, karambwans heal 18. Paired with a tuna potato, dark crab, or anglerfish, this gives the potential of healing 40 hp in 1 game tick.
The reason this is so important is each game tick that is used eating is one less attack that you can get off. This becomes important for bossing and speeding up your kill rates. The more time you can spend attacking instead of eating is less time that you will be taking damage from the NPC you are fighting, resulting in longer trips and savings in supplies.
Perks:
- Heal 18 hp
- Used to combo-eat
How to get it:
Must have completed Tai Bwo Wannai Trio (15 agility, 30 cooking, 5 fishing, 34 herblore)
- Option 1: Buy raw karambwan from Tiadeche’s Karambwan Stall (110-146gp each)
- Cook the raw karambwan (30 cooking)
- Option 2: Catch karabwanji bait with a small fishing net (nearby fairy ring code CKR)
- Use a karambwan vessel and the karabwanji bait to catch raw karambawn (nearby fairy ring code DKP) and cook it (65 cooking)
- At Hosidius house range with cooking gauntlets, you stop burning karambwans at 93 cooking
4. Shark
These are a great food for the price! Put that on shark week.
If you want a food that would eat you if you didn’t eat it first than sharks are a good option. They heal a flat 20 and are basically an upgraded monkfish, making them one of the most common options in the game. Fishing them can be easily AFKed or there is a more intensive method to fish them, resulting in more sharks per hour. Both of these options together cause sharks to be a stable price and in constant supply.
They are one of the best foods in the game for the price they cost, which makes them good for casual training and many PVM circumstances. Many foods heal 22 hp, yet they cost nearly double the price for only 2 more life per inventory slot. This makes sharks a good balance between hitpoints and cost.
Perks:
- Heal 20 hp
- Cost under 800gp on the Grand Exchange
How to get it:
- Option 1: Fish sharks (76 fishing) at fishing guild and cook (80 cooking)
- Option 2: Go to Kylie Minnow’s platform from the fishing guild (requires angler outfit)
- Catch minnows (82 fishing)
- Exchange minnows for sharks and cook (80 cooking)
- At Hosidius house range with cooking gauntlets, you stop burning sharks at 89 cooking
3. Tuna potato
Cover your food bases: veggies, meat, and dairy all in one.
You might expect this one to be flaked tuna mixed into a buttery potato. Absolutely delectable! But in Runescape, this is just an entire tuna on top of an entire potato (sounds difficult to eat). But it’s still a great option for food. Tuna potatoes are the first of the three foods that heal 22 hp each. This is the highest amount of health you can gain from one single food, without needing to click multiple times. This makes them preferred over baskets of strawberries at most high-level content.
Due to the massive amount of healing they provide, they ensure the longevity of your trip. You don’t have to worry about clicking repeatedly on small foods that heal little bits at a time and take more damage while you waste more time eating. These are great to combo with karambwans.
Perks:
- Heal 22 hp
- Cost less than 1200gp
How to get it:
- Grow potatoes and corn and then cook them both (20 farming)
- Add butter to potatoes (can be bought from Culimancer’s chest)
- Add corn and tuna (68 cooking)
- You need 53 cooking to not burn potatoes or sweet corn
2. Dark crab
Crab legs are a delicacy in real life and in Runescape.
Deep within the dark depths of the wilderness lies another option for high healing food. Dark crabs can be fished within the Wilderness Resource Area, making them a risky, but definitely worthwhile, catch. Dark crabs heal 22 hp, which makes them one of the best options for bossing and slayer. But why spend that extra gold on them when you could just stick with tuna potatoes? The answer: they weigh only .3kg instead of .5 like tuna potatoes. This seems like a minuscule difference, but it has its uses.
The reason this is helpful is to save on run energy while fighting. Your Bandos armor is definitely worth every gp you spent on it, but it sure does weigh a lot. And that’s not even counting the Armadyl switch you brought. There is no room for weight-reducing gear when you need to make each inventory slot count, and that’s where dark crabs come in. They are useful for any boss that involves kiting or dodging.
Perks:
- Heal 22 hp
- Only weigh .3kg each, compared to .5kg like tuna potatoes
How to get it:
- Be careful when catching dark crabs because they are located in the wilderness
- Gather dark fishing bait from killing various monsters in the wilderness
- Fish dark crabs with a lobster pot (85 fishing) and cook them (90 cooking)
- You stop burning dark crabs while wearing a cooking cape
1. Anglerfish
Don't let the spikes and teeth scare you. These are an amazing food option.
This is a fish that you wouldn’t want to be caught in the middle of the ocean with. Riddled with spikes and edges, the anglerfish is considered the best food in the game. Not only does it heal 22 hp, but they can overheal. This means that if your hitpoints level is 99 and you eat an anglerfish your health will temporarily be boosted to 121. That is the maximum level that your hitpoints can be, making it useful in situations where you could potentially be one shot. Pairing these with a combination of Saradomin brews and super restores is the best methods for most high-tier combat.
Something to note is, just like strawberries, anglerfish heal you based on your base hitpoints level. At level 10-19 hitpoints an anglerfish will only heal 3, making it not cost-effective at lower levels. You do not receive the full 22 points of healing until you are 92 hitpoints or higher. It is recommended to use tuna potatoes or dark crabs until you reach level 92 hitpoints.
Perks:
- Heals 3-22 hp
- Can overheal, giving a potential hitpoints boost of 121
How to get it:
- Obtain 100% Piscarilius favor
- Use a spade and bucket to gather sandworms from the Piscarilius shores or buy them from Tynan’s fishing supplies
- Bring a fishing rod and sandworms
- Fish (82 fishing) and cook anglerfish (84 cooking)
- At Hosidius house range with cooking gauntlets, you stop burning anglerfish at 93 cooking
As you can see, the options for food are numerous and the reasons to use them are numerous too. They range from low healing to high healing. Cheap as dirt (or even cheaper, since compost costs over 20gp) to expensive. Click intensive or single click. Keep falling at that dreadful agility course? There’s a food for that. Keep getting one shot at Jad? There’s a food for that. Keep dying against noobs when you PK? There’s a food for that. Take into account your stats and your situation and pick what best fits your scenario.
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