Minecraft: Every Food Item’s Hunger And Saturation Values

In order to survive at any difficulty level in Minecraft, you’ll have to regularly eat food. There are many things players can survive on found all around the world, but not all of them are made equal. Some are also excessively difficult to find and get your hands on early on, so knowing which food to prioritize and make is absolutely key.

Every food is characterized by a hunger saturation, which basically determines how long you’ll stay satiated after consuming the food. Different foods also restore different amounts of hunger on the hunger bar, and some even have nefarious side effects which make them less attractive for consumption. Here’s where all food types stand in terms of saturation and hunger points.

Bad Foods

These foods are generally not recommended for consumption in the long term. They have poor saturation and hunger points, and may even have adverse status effects.

Raw Salmon – 1 Hunger Point, 0.4 Saturation

Salmon is generally better than cod, but when it’s eaten raw, it has the same, poor values for both hunger and saturation. Make sure to cook it first.

Raw Cod – 1 Hunger Point, 0.4 Saturation

Cod has a slightly lower hunger point value when cooked than salmon, but when eaten raw it has the same low hunger and saturation values.

Pufferfish – 0.5 Hunter Points, 0.2 Saturation

Pufferfish is extremely poisonous and will restore half a hunger point, as well as inflict Hunger III, which will make you hungrier sooner. It’ll also cause Nausea for 15 seconds and Poison IV for 60 seconds.

Tropical Fish – 1.5 Hunger Points, 0.2 Saturation

Used mainly for taming ocelots, tropical fish is an extremely bad source of food. It restores half a hunger point on top of having low saturation.

Sweet Berries – 1 Hunger Point, 0.4 Saturation

Found in taiga biomes, sweet berries restore only one hunger point. They can also be found in taiga village loot chests.

Cookie – 1 Hunger Point, 0.4 Saturation

Cookies are made from wheat and cocoa beans. They restore one hunger point only. It’s also possible to trade for cookies with a Farmer villager who has reached the Journeyman level.

Cake – 1 Hunger Point Per Slice, 0.4 Saturation

Cakes might look delicious, but one slice only restores one hunger point. The whole cake totals seven hunger points. You can bake a cake by combining wheat, sugar, eggs, and milk, or trade with a Farmer villager who has reached Expert level.

Rotten Flesh – 2 Hunger Points, 0.8 Saturation

Dropped when a zombie of any type is slain, rotten flesh restores two hunger points, but due to being rotten will give you the Hunger status for 30 seconds. This will deplete your hunger bar faster.

Honey Bottle – 3 Hunger Points, 1.2 Saturation

Bottled honey restores three hunger points, but despite that has poor saturation. Its main benefit is that it cures any Poison status effects. It can be harvested from beehives with an empty glass bottle.

Spider Eye – 1 Hunger Point, 3.2 Saturation

Spider eyes drop occasionally when spiders are slain. They are poisonous, which means you’ll take poison damage for 5 seconds when consuming one. They restore only one hunger point.

Weak Foods

These foods are still quite poor in saturation and hunger points, but work well in emergencies. Many of them could benefit from cooking.

Dried Kelp – 0.5 Hunger Points, 0.6 Saturation

Kelp can be harvested from the ocean floor, and once smelted turns into dried kelp. Eating it will restore half a hunger point. Kelp is best turned into fuel to be used in furnaces rather than consumed.

Potato – 0.5 Hunger Points, 0.6 Saturation

Potatoes, when consumed raw, only restore half a hunger point. They can be found at shipwrecks amd village chests. They’re sometimes dropped by zombies.

Poisonous Potato – 1 Hunger Point, 1.2 Saturation

The poisonous raw potato restores one hunger and inflicts Poison damage for 5 seconds. They can be dropped randomly when potatoes are harvested, or found in shipwreck food chests.

Melon Slice – 1 Hunger Point, 1.2 Saturation

Melons can be found in jungles and savanna villages. Harvesting them will yield melon slices, which restore one hunger point. Generally speaking, melon slices are only good when turned into Glistening Melons for potion making.

Raw Beef – 1.5 Hunger Points, 1.8 Saturation

Despite being one of the best meats, when beef is eaten raw it only restores one and a half hunger points and has incredibly low saturation when compared to its cooked version.

Raw Porkchop – 1.5 Hunger Points, 1.8 Saturation

Porkchops are identical to beef when cooked in terms of hunger points and saturation, and the same goes for its raw version.

Raw Rabbit – 1.5 Hunger Points, 1.8 Saturation

Rabbits are a rare kind of meat found when rabbits are slain. You can find rabbits most often in desert biomes. Raw rabbit has the same values as porkchop and beef.

Raw Mutton – 1 Hunger Point, 1.2 Saturation

Mutton is the only raw meat with slightly lower hunger and saturation values. Its raw version restores only one hunger point.

Raw Chicken – 1 Hunger Point, 1.2 Saturation

Raw chicken restores one point but also gives the Hunger status effect for 30 seconds, which will make you grow hungry faster.

Chorus Fruit – 2 Hunger Points, 2.4 Saturation

Chorus fruit is a unique plant found in the End dimension. It’s the only food readily available there but has the inconvenience of teleporting the player to a random spot when consumed. It restores two hunger points.

Apple – 2 Hunger Points, 2.4 Saturation

Chopping down an oak or dark oak tree has the chance of dropping apples. They can also be found in village chests and stronghold chests. Apprentice level Farmers might also trade apples. They restore two hunger points.

Pumpkin Pie – 4 Hunger Points, 4.8 Saturation

Pumpkin pies restore quite a bit of hunger at a time — a total of four hunger points. However, their saturation isn’t great. To craft it, combine a pumpkin, egg, and sugar together.

Alternatively, they can be found from taiga village chests or traded with Farmers who have reached the Apprentice level.

Average Foods

These foods have a decent saturation. Many of them are leaner animal meats or plant-based foods that can be found or made easily at the beginning of the game.

Beetroot – 0.5 Hunger Points, 1.2 Saturation

Beetroot is the rarest farming crop between carrots, wheat, and potatoes. They restore half a hunger point, and are best used in a beetroot soup instead.

Carrot – 1.5 Hunger Points, 3.6 Saturation

Carrots have a decent saturation and can be found in village farms, shipwreck chests, or when a zombie is slain. They restore one and a half hunger points.

Bread – 2.5 Hunger Points, 6 Saturation

Bread is made with three wheat and is easily found in most village chests as food. Harvesting hay is a great way to craft a bunch of bread at once. It restores two and a half hunger points.

Cooked Cod – 2.5 Hunger Points, 6 Saturation

Cod is the more common type of fish found while fishing using a fishing rod. Cod is a less fatty type of fish, which means its saturation is lower than salmon. Cooked cod will restore two and a half hunger points.

Cooked Rabbit – 2.5 Hunger Points, 6 Saturation

Rabbit is considered lean meat, and when cooked restores two and a half hunger points. Most rabbits can be found in deserts, but they also spawn in select forest biomes. Butcher villagers of the Apprentice level can be traded with for cooked rabbit.

Baked Potato – 2.5 Hunger Points, 6 Saturation

Potatoes are best used when baked. They restore two and a half hunger points after being cooked in a furnace, smoker, or campfire.

Cooked Chicken – 3 Hunger Points, 7.2 Saturation

One of the most common meats in Minecraft, chickens spawn in almost any temperate biome. Once slain and cooked, they restore three hunger points.

Beetroot Soup – 3 Hunger Points, 7.2 Saturation

Beetroot soup can be made with a bowl and beetroot, and it restores three hunger points. It can also be found in snowy tundra village chests.

Mushroom Stew – 3 Hunger Points, 7.2 Saturation

Mushroom stew requires a wooden bowl and both brown and red mushrooms, restoring three hunger points.

Rabbit Stew – 5 Hunger Points, 12 Saturation

Rabbit stew is made with cooked rabbit, a bowl, carrot, baked potato, and mushroom, and restores five hunger points, firmly putting it among the strongest all-around.

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Suspicious Stew – 3 Hunger Points, 7.2 Saturation

The suspicious stew is found in shipwrecks and restores three hunger points. It can also be crafted with a bowl, red mushroom, brown mushroom, and a random flower. The suspicious stew will inflict a special status for a short period of time, but this depends on the flower used.

Good Foods

These foods are the bread and butter of Minecraft. It’s a good idea to prioritize these over any of the other foods, especially early on into the game. Many of them can be farmed easily.

Cooked Mutton – 3 Hunger Points, 9.6 Saturation

Cooked mutton is slightly inferior to steaks and pork chops, but is still a very solid food option since sheep are so easy to breed with wheat. They restore three hunger points, and on top of that, it allows players to farm for wool.

Cooked Salmon – 3 Hunger Points, 9.6 Saturation

When fishing, salmon is the second most common catch. It’s slightly better than cod, restoring three hunger points and with a higher hunger saturation as well.

Cooked Beef – 4 Hunger Points, 12.8 Saturation

Cows are perhaps the best animal to farm in the game. They yield leather, which is vital for the bookshelves needed for an enchanting setup.

Moreover, once their beef is cooked into steak, they make for extremely powerful food. Steak restores four hunger points and has great saturation.

Cooked Porkchop – 4 Hunger Points, 12.8 Saturation

Porkchop is another great option, but it’s harder to farm compared to steaks since pigs require carrots rather than wheat in order to breed. Cooked porkchop restores four hunger points, with the same saturation as steaks.

Excellent Foods

These foods have an almost magical and supernatural quality to them. Early in the game, it’s highly unlikely you’ll get your hands on them. However, when facing difficult battles like the Ender Dragon or the Wither, these should be your go-to foods.

Golden Apple – 4 Hunger Points, 9.6 Saturation

The easiest one to find and craft is the golden apple, found in dungeon chests and loot. It can be made by combining eight gold ingots with one apple. It restores two hunger points but also gives you Regeneration II for 5 seconds and Absorption for a full 2 minutes.

Golden Enchanted Apple – 2 Hunger Points, 9.6 Saturation

The enchanted version of the golden apple is only be found in loot, not crafted. It restores two hunger points and gives Regeneration II for 20 seconds, along with Absorption IV for 2 minutes as well as Resistance and Fire Resistance for 5 minutes.

Golden Carrot – 3 Hunger Points, 14.4 Saturation

Finally, there’s the golden carrot, which can be crafted with eight gold nuggets and a carrot. It restores three hunger points and is by far the highest hunger saturation in the game, meaning it will keep you satiated for the longest time. The only one that tops the golden carrot is a suspicious stew with the Saturation effect which is gained with dandelions or blue orchids.