Nothing is more fulfilling than a full stomach. It gives you a feel-good sense of wholeness that gives you the energy needed for doing all sorts of tasks like lifting, walking, and other physical activities. Food is also something people chow down on just for fun, with candy, junk food, and similar things being available to make you feel the rush or the fat. With so much food talk, it’s pretty much a given that it’s a vital key to survival, and Project Zomboid takes that to the extreme by needing it, while a whole host of undead chase you down as their food, ironically enough.
Food in this game nearly mirrors real-life, wherein food can rot, be stale, and provide nutritional value to your character/other people that consume it. Zomboid’s use of food is plentiful. It’s a great source of health regeneration for those who are nearly critical with injuries, a way to keep your characters’ weight in check, and on the flipside, it makes your character gain weight if you choose weight-related negative traits that could impact your run. With so many food items in the game, we’ll be talking about a specific class of food that you’ll likely consume immediately given the future scarcity of electricity and water, cooked foods.
For this list, the list is made at the time of the game’s latest version (ver. 41.78 Steam) and is based on my experience on a friend-hosted multiplayer server, and items listed are from the vanilla version of the game, meaning no mod items are included. The food listed are either prepped to be cooked to eat as is or remade into better food items, better known as evolved food. Some cooked items can be remade at any point in the game with the right ingredients. The entries on this list are in no particular order
9. Pie
What’s Good About Pie?
With a choice between savory or sweet pies, they both offer some great benefits to your character, as they should, given that they mimic their real-life counterparts. Stack up on some good, baked deliciousness that extends the good into these benefits.
- Available cooked – Found in bakeries and some supermarkets
- Versatile filling – You can make Pie with any filling/ingredient compatible with
- Decent portions – You can divide it into pie slices to further ration it
The great news for any beginner player is that the zombie apocalypse hasn’t run you down yet, as food is still fresh and ready for the taking, with Pie, specifically Pie Slices, being one of the most available food items to grab and stash early into the game. If you spawn in a town where you can easily kite zombies, make it a habit to get this early, as with Pie in our world, it can go bad very quickly.
This means that Pie is only good for a finite amount of time before the good nutritional values of this go out the garbage bin and end up being as bad as the weird fillings you can put in it (pie with wasabi is possible here). If you do have a chef or dedicated baker in your server, making the Pie is as easy as getting the usual ingredients that make up Pie, though zombies will beg to differ on the “easy” part of that sentence.
How to Make Pie?
- Read a Cooking Recipe Magazine if you don’t have the Chef occupation
- Have a Bowl, and either a Fork, Spatula, or Spoon in your inventory to make Pie Dough
- Make Pie Dough by combining Water, Salt, Flour/Corn Flour, and either Butter, Margarine, or Lard
- Have a Rolling Pin, and a Baking Pan to your inventory after making the dough
- Make Pie Preparation by adding up to 4 ingredients of your choosing
- Cook in a heat source and turn off before it burns
- Divide into Pie Slices for better rationing and consumption
Pie Stats (Fresh):
- Hunger Reduction: 30
- Thirst Reduction: N/A
- Item Weight: 0.5
- Stale/Rotten Time: 3/5 days (in-game)
8. Soup
What’s Good About Soup?
Like the entry before it, Soup is a really good way to get your character into better shape, with the nutrients helping you buff up your current health for quite some time. It’s a simple way to get your hunger fix, and that’s not the only thing being fixed as it can also help with a few things listed below.
- Available cooked or uncooked – Found in some abandoned houses
- Simple options – Soup can be made from almost anything in a pot of water
- Reduces food waste – Stale and even rotten food can be salvaged by turning it into soup
Always dependable, always reliable, Soup is heaven for those wanting to have a huge enough ration without needing too many (and heavy) resources to make it. All you need to enjoy a good bowl of it is the aforementioned bowl for serving. Cooking is also equally easy, as a heat source, like an oven, is needed to heat up your cooking pot full of water to soup-ready standards.
As for the ingredients, there is also the choice of literally anything you can put in it. When you do have your ingredients of choice, it shouldn’t matter all that much as the nutrition levels stay the same, and even more impressive is that you can salvage food that went bad, assuming you have the level and expertise in Cooking. With that being said, this is a viable food source to get, and alternatively, the Stew can also work for ingredients that aren’t compatible with Soup but it cooks longer, so for the most part, serve up a bowl of Soup for the times when rations are at a premium.
How to Make Soup?
- Fill a Cooking Pot with water
- Right-click the Cooking Pot with Water and add up to 6 ingredients
- Cook in a heat source and turn off before it burns
- Use a bowl to create portions
Soup Stats (Fresh):
- Hunger Reduction: 40
- Thirst Reduction: 40
- Item Weight: 4.0
- Stale/Rotten Time: 3/5 days (in-game)
7. Eggs
What’s Good About Eggs?
A versatile entry into this list, this food source is simple enough to understand. From a simple ingredient that can enhance your recipes, or be taken as is. Depending on your expertise, you can use that to your advantage and gain advantages in survival below.
- Adds to evolved ingredients – Can be added to most recipes to increase the nutrition value
- Simple option – Scrambling or boiling the egg as is will net you quick food
- Long shelf life – Boiled Eggs are fresh for two weeks before being stale/rotten
- Decent rations – Eggs are usually found in cartons, so you get many of them to use
There’s not much to complicate here, it’s an egg, and it can be used in almost anything food related. Want a good-pick-me up? Boil or fry it. Want to give your Stir-Fry a good boost of nutrition? Add an egg. The point is, eggs are no-brainers for those who want a quick fix on food items in terms of cookables.
What remains to be seen is how the game will be able to replenish this, as currently there is no other way to get Eggs other than raiding a convenience store or Gigamart. There are currently plans to have livestock in the future Build 42 version of the game, but we won’t see how exactly until it releases supposedly this year. For now, play it safe with your rations, as you wouldn’t want to put all your eggs into one serving.
How to Make Egg?
- For Boiled Egg, put an Egg in a heat source to cook and turn it off before it burns
- For evolved foods, add an Egg to any compatible recipe
Egg Stats (Boiled Egg) (Fresh):
- Hunger Reduction: 10
- Thirst Reduction: N/A
- Item Weight: 0.1
- Stale/Rotten Time: 14/21 days (in-game)
6. Bowl of Oatmeal
What’s Good About the Bowl of Oatmeal?
A classic breakfast starter that can be good any time in the context of cooked food in Project Zomboid. While this is generally unappetizing in real life, the game has other plans for its use, such as the following below.
- Easy to make - Hot water is the only real cooking needed
- Instantly portioned - Bowls are required to make it, making it immediately rationed
- Single-resource - Only thing important to get is the Can of Oats to make
It’s definitely not a must-have food that should be stockpiled, but with its hefty unit amount, it can certainly cater to a lot of people wanting a quick fix on their hunger bar. There are only a few cookables in the game that aren’t as fussy to make, as more advanced stuff is classified differently, making this, cookable as easy as boil and serve. Keep note that the Oatmeal alone doesn’t give tremendous hunger reduction right off the bat, so have a few add-ons just to make it much healthier for your character and your survival.
How to Make Bowl of Oatmeal?
- Heat up Water by placing it in a bowl and using a heat source
- Have a bowl of hot water and a Can of Oats in your inventory
- Right-click the Can of Oats to make a Bowl of Oatmeal
Bowl of Oatmeal Stats (Fresh):
- Hunger Reduction: 8
- Thirst Reduction: N/A
- Item Weight: 0.8
- Stale/Rotten Time: 3/5 days (in-game)
5. Cake
What’s Good About Cake?
Who doesn’t love a good, old-fashioned cake? Cake by itself is a very good food source that you’ll quickly go through if you are reliant on getting it as early as possible. Regardless of what point of the game you find it, for as long as it’s fresh, it should be able to benefit you in the ways listed below.
- Available cooked – Found in bakeries and some supermarkets
- High hunger decrease – A slice of Cake can remove a large amount of hunger
- Light carry weight – With only 0.2 item weight per slice, it is easy to store a lot of it
- Decent portions – You can divide it into cake slices to further ration it
Cake is usually a good choice for pre-made, portable food-to-go that can offer some good hunger decreases depending on how good or bad the cake has been. While premade cakes are good, it’s even better to have them as fresh as possible to reap the benefits, though that in itself is a challenging prospect. This is also perfect for hoarding down and eating all of it if you happen to get the Underweight debuff, that can ultimately make your character better, stat-wise.
That being said, like Pie, it has a quick shelf life before it starts to become bad, which can lead you to illness if you consume it as a rotten cake. In regards to your hunger bar, in Zomboid’s flesh eating, zombie-filled world, the big bonuses Cake brings can energize your character making it a must-have should you bring in the necessary ingredients to make it, as it’s a tedious process, with the extra step of fighting zombies at the side for sourcing said ingredients.
How to Make Cake?
- Read a Cooking Recipe Magazine if you don’t have the Chef occupation
- Make Cake Batter by having a Bowl, Butter, Flour, Sugar, Eggs, Yeast, and Milk
- Make Cake Preparation by putting the Cake Batter in a Baking Pan
- Right-click Cake Preparation and add ingredients to the Cake
- Cook in a heat source and turn off before it burns
- Divide into Cake Slices with a Knife for better rationing and consumption
Cake Stats (Fresh):
- Hunger Reduction: 40
- Thirst Reduction: N/A
- Item Weight: 0.2
- Stale/Rotten Time: 3/5 days (in-game)
4. Burrito
What’s Good About Burrito?
Packed with juicy meat and a variety of vegetables, this meal should not only sate your character’s hunger but also provide nutrition. Grab one of many to be found or cooked in your playthroughs and satisfy yourself with the benefits.
- Available Cooked – Found in refrigerators inside supermarkets and the like
- Versatility – Can be filled with different ingredients if you choose to cook one
- Quantity and Quality – Better eaten with multiple in your inventory without being cumbersome
Now that the majority of the population prefers human flesh over actual food doesn’t mean you have to follow the trend, their preference in fulfilling their cravings means less competition over good Mexican dishes. If you spawn, for example, in Rosewood, supermarkets and other fast-food chains of the like will be easily accessible, hence making all the Burritos you can find fair game.
Given that the Burrito is perishable, time is of the essence, which is just another way of saying to raid as many establishments as you can to find these gems. If you’re playing as a Chef or a Burger Flipper however, all you have to do is find the ingredients necessary and whip one out for yourself. Be careful when cooking though as no one wants a burnt Burrito.
How to Make Burrito?
- Look for Tortillas that can be found in supermarkets, gas stations etc.
- Make sure you have a Tortilla in your inventory
- Add a meat of your choice, like Cooked Bacon, Cooked Steak, Chicken Nuggets etc.
- Add fruits and vegetables of your choice like Tomato, Cabbage, Avocado etc.
- (Optional) Add canned goods like Canned Chili, Canned Tuna and Canned Corn.
- (Optional) Add condiments like Salt, Pepper, Ketchup etc.
- (Optional) Add spices like Cilantro, Jalapeno, Habanero.
Burrito Stats (Fresh):
Hunger Reduction: 25
Thirst Reduction: N/A
Item Weight: 0.1
Stale/Rotten Time: 3/5 days (in-game)
3. Chicken
What’s Good About Chicken?
Being relatively easy to prepare either on its own or in a variety of recipes, just like in real life, Chicken holds its own as an essential for your character. Find as much as you can and hoard them all for you to enjoy what it has to offer.
- Easy to Find – Chicken can be found inside kitchens, supermarkets and restaurants
- Flexible – Chicken can be cooked by itself or used as ingredients
- Filling – Even by itself it reduces a good portion of hunger
Chicken is a common loot found inside residential homes; any beginner player can stock up on these, and especially during the first day, you won’t have to worry about finding them rotten as electricity will still be up and running for a while. Since it can be found inside houses, you can get your hands on one right from where you spawn.
If Chicken by itself isn’t too appealing for you, it can be used as an ingredient in various dishes to enhance how much you can fill your character’s belly and nutritional needs, which does wonders for specific builds that use traits like Underweight and Weak Stomach.
How to Make Chicken?
- Put the Chicken inside a heat source and turn off before it burns
- (Optional) Mix with Bread Slices or Baguette to make Chicken Sandwich or Burger
- (Optional) Mix with Tortilla and various vegetables to make Burrito
- (Optional) Mix with Rice Pot to increase its nutritional value
- (Optional) Once mixed with Rice Pot divide it with a Bowl for better rationing and consumption
Chicken Stats (Fresh):
- Hunger Reduction: 46
- Thirst Reduction: N/A
- Item Weight: 0.3
- Stale/Rotten Time: 2/4 days (in-game)
2. Steak
What’s Good About Steak?
With a lot of good food around, any protein is bound to give a huge boost to your character’s build. Chicken takes a proven food source for giving the most for your character and takes it to the usual heights it offers, such as the following.
- Versatile – Can be cooked by itself or used as a key ingredient
- Easy to Find – Steak can be found inside kitchens and grocery stores
- Large hunger removal – Can remove really bad hunger debuffs with a single, full piece
- Nutritional Value – Good amount of calories for removing traits like Underweight
Another perishable meat item that gives its lean composition to your lean body in the form of hunger reduction. Meat sources, especially this one, will single-handedly remove any extreme case of hunger a character has, and would take an average character’s body index a unit or two up, which is perfect if your character possesses the Underweight debuff.
This is another finite item that will not be replenished immediately, but this too will be addressed with the upcoming Build 42 version of the game, so expect poultry to be on the menu more often than now.
How to Make Steak?
- Put the Steak inside a heat source and turn it off before it burns
- (Optional) Add in Stew to increase its nutritional value
- (Optional) Add in Taco to increase its nutritional value
- (Optional) Add in Burrito to increase its nutritional value
Chicken Stats (Fresh):
- Hunger Reduction: 52
- Thirst Reduction: N/A
- Item Weight: 0.3
- Stale/Rotten Time: 2/4 days (in-game)
1. Burger
What’s Good About the Burger?
Who doesn’t love a good bread, meat, and extras combo? This may be unhealthy for some when taken into the context of real life, but it tastes so good that it should not be left out. Project Zomboid takes that unhealthy image and throws it out the window by giving you these benefits.
Available cooked – Found in Spiffo’s and even Spiffo’s vans
Cooked meat patty alone is a good food source – Meat patty gives generous hunger bar reduction as is
Decent portions – You can divide it into pie slices to further ration it
It’s one of the better early game foods to come across pre-made and ready-to-eat, as you only need to look at one part of the game world to guarantee it, Spiffo’s. The restaurant is a guaranteed staple for Fries and Burgers, so expect to have a few around, and hopefully not rotten. While the whole burger is nice and all, when the supplies are limited and the world has decayed far more, you’d realize that the main star of the show for finding the nutrition of the Burger is in its core component, the Meat Patty.
This one is more accessible and flexible to making other forms of dishes that can be enhanced, and the Meat Patty’s not too shabby to find, being available in most abandoned homes’ fridges and the town grocery or supermarket, making them perfect if you are craving both health regeneration and weight buffs to bring to your next adventure.
How to Make Burgers?
- Find Meat Patty in supermarket, stores, and home fridges
- Put the Meat Patty inside a heat source and turn off before it burns
- Combine with Sliced Bread and any other ingredients to make it
Burger Stats (Fresh):
- Hunger Reduction: 25
- Thirst Reduction: N/A
- Item Weight: 0.3
- Stale/Rotten Time: 3/5 days (in-game)
