Enshrouded Guide: Cooking, Recipes, and Food Buffs Explained

Unlike most survival titles, food in Enshrouded isn’t directly tied to staying alive. You won’t get hungry, so you don’t need to worry about filling your belly. Instead, food serves a different purpose: support. Meals grant improved status effects that help in combat and on your adventures. That makes food important even if it’s not vital for survival. The wide variety of buffs also makes Enshrouded’s food system quite complex, with dozens of ingredients and recipes to choose from. Today we’ll take a closer look at how it all works.

Enshrouded cooking basics: foods and recipes

You can gather or cook food in many different ways. From simple berries in the wild to hunting animals and crafting multi-ingredient recipes, there are plenty of options. In general, you can eat up to three meals at once, which are then shown in your character menu. With the "Dessert Stomach" skill in the Survival tree you can even unlock a fourth slot if you want to eat more.

There are different preparation methods depending on what you want to eat. We always recommend not eating ingredients raw, but processing them. Most can be simply grilled at the Cooking Station, while others need to be prepared by the Farmer in the Oven or Seafood Oven. Not everything can be processed, though. Every meal has two attributes to watch: its effect and its duration. Both matter and should be balanced.

We already have separate articles on different ways to get food:

• (Enshrouded animal taming: Build a barn and breeding guide)
• (Enshrouded Fishing Guide: Bait, Rods, Fish & Locations)
• (Enshrouded Farming Guide: Grow Plants, Soil & Update 7)

Enshrouded ingredient categories and foods at a glance

Enshrouded meat recipes for health and long duration

A classic choice is to live on meat, since plenty of animals drop it. From wolves and goats to chickens, you’ll find a wide range of hearty meats. Meat keeps you sated for a long time, with most buffs lasting around 50 minutes.

Buffs:

• Health
• Damage
• Frost resistance

We recommend:

• Chicken Soup
• Meat Wrap
• Beef Stew

Enshrouded fish and recipes for underwater breathing and stamina

Fish were added with Update 7 and can be obtained by fishing. Along with them came a variety of fish species and matching recipes. They cover a wide range of effects and dishes, letting you pick the best for your build. Fish are especially good for stamina and more air while diving.

Buffs:

• Health
• Stamina
• Underwater breathing

We recommend:

• Fish Soup
• Sushi
• Grilled Fish with Coconut Rice

Enshrouded fruit for quick regeneration in combat

Enshrouded also offers a large selection of fruit to feast on, and they’re great for farming at your base. In general, fruit regenerates your health, which is especially useful in combat. Some heal slowly but for a long time, while others provide a quick burst that’s gone within seconds.

Buffs:

• Health regeneration
• Stamina regeneration

We recommend:

• Fruit Salad
• Strawberry Milkshake
• Plantain Curry

Enshrouded vegetable buffs for rangers and assassins

If you play a bow user or rely on daggers, you should definitely eat vegetables. They boost ranged damage and dagger damage, perfect for assassin-style builds. Vegetables are also ideal for your farm and can be grown sustainably.

Buffs:

• Dagger damage
• Ranged damage
• Stamina regeneration

We recommend:

• Pumpkin Soup
• Vegetable Purée
• Taro Root Curry

Enshrouded herbs for strong mana regeneration

As a mage, you’ll want to grow herbs, since they’re essential for regenerating mana. Many herbs can be picked and eaten as-is without processing, making them far more flexible than most foods. Depending on your progress and the biome, found herbs last longer and restore more mana. Some herbs are also used for potions.

Buffs:

• Mana regeneration

We recommend:

• Gentian
• Seaweed
• Grilled Seaweed Buds

Enshrouded mushrooms for more magic damage and mana

Embervale is full of mushrooms, and they’re best suited for mages. They won’t regenerate mana, but they grant more damage and a higher max mana pool. Grill your mushrooms or use them in recipes to get the most out of them.

Buffs:

• Mana boost
• Magic damage

We recommend:

• Roasted Shiitake Mushroom
• Seaweed Salad
• Yellow Glow Soup

Enshrouded grain recipes for melee damage

Of course, there are recipes for anyone who charges in with sword and shield. Focus on grain-based dishes to boost your melee damage. You can also grow different grains like rice or corn, making them renewable.

Buffs:

• Melee damage
• Health
• Stamina regeneration

We recommend:

• Sandwich
• Fried Rice
• Creamy Mushroom Spaetzle

Enshrouded sweets and snacks for short bursts of regeneration

Enshrouded also features plenty of tasty sweets and snacks. Depending on the type, they generally offer regeneration for stamina or mana. Some can also increase your damage. The trade-off is their short duration, making them better for a quick, active boost. Just like in real life, sweets are energy-dense but not very filling.

Buffs:

• Health regeneration
• Mana regeneration
• Stamina regeneration
• Damage boost

We recommend:

• Strawberry Cake
• Purple Berry Cake
• Honey-baked Banana

Enshrouded drinks for stamina and universal buffs

Finally, you can craft a wide range of drinks to accompany your adventures. They benefit every player, with a focus on stamina. Some also regenerate health or boost overall damage output, making them great all-rounders.

Buffs:

• Stamina boost
• Stamina regeneration
• Health regeneration
• Damage for all classes

We recommend:

• Coconana Smoothie
• Rooibos Tea
• Coffee (three types, depending on class)

Conclusion: making the most of Enshrouded cooking and food buffs

With a huge selection of recipes, Enshrouded offers a varied diet for every playstyle. Depending on your class and combat approach, it pays to specialize. While mushrooms and herbs are great for mages, rangers benefit more from vegetables, and melee fighters from grain-based dishes. Some foods are universally strong and boost your health and stamina.

To try every dish, rent your own Enshrouded server with us and eat your way through Embervale. Discover a wealth of recipes with friends and cook everything you can find.