Guides/Crock Pot Dishes

The following is a guide to all of the Crock Pot dishes. There are many crock pot dishes in this game that do not serve a very good purpose, as they give less hunger than all of the ingredients separately. So, this guide is a list of all the crock pot dishes, organized into what is most and least effective.

Calculation
Bonus Points

A crock pot dish must give more than the ingredients sacrificed to make it, and ideally be better than other dishes in some way. This can become irrelevant in times of extreme abundance, but it can be helpful in some situations to know the value of crock pot recipes.

The Hunger, Health, and Sanity gained from eating a crock pot dish, that you wouldn't have otherwise gained from eating the ingredients individually, can be regarded as the Bonus Points.

Examples:
 * A meatballs recipe (62.5 hunger points) consisting of four morsels (50 hunger points) gives 12.5 bonus hunger points.


 * A meatballs recipe consisting of three carrots and a large meat (62.5 hunger points) does not give any bonus hunger points.


 * A meatballs recipe consisting of three red caps and a monster meat (0 hunger points without a birdcage) gives 62.5 bonus hunger points.


 * A fist full of jam recipe (37.5 hunger points) consisting of 4 berries (50 points when roasted) deducts 12.5 hunger points from the ingredients. Not worth it unless the berries are spoiled.

This method can also be applied to the health and sanity gain of recipes.

Efficiency

Efficiency is a concept that only really matters in times of extreme scarcity (usually with modified game settings or in Adventure Mode maps).

Your ability to make recipes, and thus, ability to make bonus points, depends on having enough of the right ingredients to continue doing so. If you have less of a certain ingredient than others, it becomes important to spend it wisely to obtain the most bonus points. Efficiency is simply a measurement of the number of bonus points you're getting for each instance of a given ingredient. Simply take the bonus points of the recipe, and divide that number by the number of a given ingredient involved in the recipe.

Examples:
 * Two large meats and two morsels involved in a meaty stew recipe give 75 bonus hunger points. For every meaty stew recipe of this type, you receive 37.5 bonus points for every large meat invested.


 * A meaty stew recipe using three large meats and a berry would give 62.5 bonus points. Every meat invested this way pulls in about 20.8 bonus points per meat.


 * One large meat, two morsels, and a honey as a honey ham recipe give 15.625 bonus hunger points, which is how many you gain per large meat from this recipe.

Inedible ingredients

Things like red caps, monster meat, and spoiled food have penalties that arguably make them inedible, while twigs simply cannot be consumed. Furthermore, Wigfrid cannot eat any non-meat/non-egg foods, making everything else inedible outside of recipes.

These ingredients technically have a value of zero, and using these ingredients first should be a priority since they cannot be eaten. But there is an important distinction to make. You are improving the value of the ingredients, but you're not upgrading the total payout of the dish. It still takes effort to intentionally gain these ingredients.

In addition, such ingredients can't always be considered to have a zero points value. If the ingredient isn't literally inedible (like twigs), it can be consumed if you're willing to accept the penalty. Furthermore, the Birdcage can be used to convert any cooked meat or jerky into Eggs, giving them a base value of at least 12.5 hunger when the birdcage is available. Additionally, Webber can eat monster meat without penalty.

Tips

Before starting on the recipes themselves, here's a few basic things to know about the Crock Pot, for new players:
 * Check the Crock Pot page for a complete list of recipes. Pay special attention to ingredient order, since a recipe might not turn out the way you expect even if it seems you put in the correct ingredients.


 * High point vegetables, such as Corn, Pumpkin or Eggplant, should usually be eaten raw or cooked over a fire. You usually can't obtain a higher total value by including these high point items in a recipe. You might even want to consider cooking and eating Durians, since the penalty can be manageable.


 * Don't put more than 1 monster meat in a recipe, unless it contains at least 1 twig (excluding Kabobs). If you put 2 or more monster meats/durians in the crock pot, the recipe (almost) always comes out as Monster Lasagna, which drops health and sanity by 20 when consumed. However, monster lasagna cannot have twigs, which allows up to 2 to be included (3 makes Wet Goop). You can also feed a bird in a Birdcage cooked monster meat to receive Eggs.


 * Wet Goop works as bait for Traps, so it isn't completely useless. It can be created with four twigs.


 * You must also consider time expenditure. If it takes less time to gather ingredients for a lower points recipe, it could easily result in a better rate of points gain.

Mandrake Soup
Restores:

150, 100,  5

Pros:
 * Has no knock-out effect, unlike eating a Mandrake raw or cooked.

Cons:
 * The knock-out effect is usually desirable for crowd-control.
 * Arguably a waste of a Mandrake that could be better spent on a Pan Flute.

Using it best:
 * Only in emergencies.

Dragon Pie
Restores:

75, 40,  5

Pros:
 * HP restoration is more than most hunger-point focused dishes.
 * 15 day spoil-time makes it decent for long trips. You can stack a few of these to avoid needing to worry about food for a while.
 * Chew time is relatively short, making it useful for Wolfgang to use in fights to maintain his mighty form.
 * The best non-meat dish - can be carried safely around Bunnymen.

Cons:
 * Requires a focused effort to produce en-masse. A Birdcage and a good supply of manure is needed.
 * Wigfrid cannot eat this dish.

Using it best:
 * If you can get production established, this can be your main food. This is made much easier by settling near Beefalo.

Meaty Stew
Restores:

150, 12,  5

Pros:
 * Meaty stew provides the most hunger while also being made from reasonable ingredients.
 * Also provides 25 degrees of heat in expansion content.
 * Needs no special structures or tools aside from the crock pot.
 * Stale meaty stew restores 100 hunger, still a very large amount, as long as you're not Wickerbottom.

Cons:
 * Spoil time is fairly low, at 10 days (though stale meaty stew can be usable).
 * Many characters do not have a maximum hunger sufficient to hold all 150 hunger points.
 * Can be annoying and dangerous to manage eating Meaty Stew on the go, since you usually need to wait until hunger is empty to get the most out of it. Not being topped off can lead to you going into starvation at an inconvenient moment.

Using it best:
 * In situations of scarcity, this can enable you to stretch your food supplies very far. You can also sleep with low hunger, and eat this on waking up to instantly gain maximum hunger. Meaty stew is not usually ideal for long travel, and is usually best used at home base.
 * An upgraded WX-78 can make decent use of this dish, since he has a higher hunger capacity, and the perk of getting full value out of spoiled food.
 * Meaty stew may seem ideal for Wolfgang, but the micromanagement of maintaining his forms combined with the timing issues of eating it can make this dish inconvenient for him.

Honey Ham
Restores:

75, 30,  5

Pros:
 * Restores more HP than bacon and eggs, while being made from similar ingredients.
 * Spoil-time is decent at 15 days.
 * Slight warming effect in Reign of Giants can ward off freezing for a short time.

Cons:
 * Needs ingredients from at least 3 different sources.
 * Needs honey production needs to be established first for consistency.
 * Not as long lasting as bacon and eggs.

Using it best:
 * This can become a main food with the right setup. If you settle your camp near some morsel producing food sources, you can generally make it using monster meat, honey, and morsels.

Bacon and Eggs
Restores:

75, 20,  5

Pros:
 * Has a very long spoil-time of 20 days.
 * Can be made from monster meat and morsels.

Cons:
 * Long chewing time can make this a bit more dangerous to use in tight situations.
 * Needs birdcage to make consistently.

Using it best:
 * This can become a main food with the right setup. If you settle your camp near some morsel producing food sources, you can generally make it using monster meat and a single morsel. As meat stores decay, you'll be inclined to turn them into eggs to preserve them, which will make this dish a means to utilize them.

Turkey Dinner
Restores:

75, 20,  5

Pros:
 * A bit more flexible with ingredients than other dishes, and can be made purely off of berry production.
 * Needs no special structures aside from the crock pot.
 * Reign of Giants' Buzzards make this a relatively easy dish to make (drop a piece of meat on the ground to bait them).

Cons:
 * The short spoil time of 6 days means that this food is not suitable for expeditions.
 * Relies on resources that can be difficult to obtain. A large operation and good planning is required to farm Gobblers, while Pengulls don't drop them too often and can be dangerous to fight.

Using it best:
 * Probably eat as an occasional treat, not as a main dish, except as a desert food in RoG.

Meatballs
Restores:

62.5, 3,  5

Pros:
 * The most flexible food of all. Meatballs can be made from nearly any ingredient combination. Just make sure you have at least one morsel or monster meat, and it will probably work.
 * It can also turn trash into treasure. Mushrooms, Monster Meat, rotting food, or Ice can all become 62.5 points of hunger with no penalties.
 * Needs no special structures or tools aside from the crock pot.

Cons:
 * Only 10 days of spoil time means that you won't get far without having to deal with stale food. You also can't stockpile meatballs to preserve ingredients with much effectiveness.
 * Virtually no HP restoration.

Using it best:
 * Use this recipe when you have a lot of garbage food to get rid of. You can even make meatballs from pure monster meat if you have a birdcage to convert 3 of them to eggs.

Froggle Bunwich
Restores:

37.5, 20,  5

Pros:
 * Can be made with 2 twigs, preserving other ingredients.
 * Restores 20 HP per meal. You'll likely eat two per day, giving 40 HP and 10 sanity.
 * The smaller hunger payout (which uses less ingredients) makes meal scheduling more flexible than with larger meals.
 * 15 day spoil-time.

Cons:
 * Inflexible recipe.
 * Frog Legs typically come from dangerous biomes.
 * Froggle Bunwiches are only worth making using smaller vegetables such as Carrots, Mushrooms, or Cactus Flesh. Most of what is produced at a Farm isn't worth making this dish with.
 * Cooking up many of these can be a pain without several crock pots, with a 40 second cook time for each. This is compounded by needing to make more Froggle Bunwiches to equal other foods.

Using it best:
 * If a fairy ring or Desert biome is available nearby to a source of frog legs, you may be able to create Froggle Bunwiches on a regular basis. Otherwise, this should just be an occasional meal out of random frog legs and smaller vegetables. The presence of a Birdcage means that Dragon fruit should usually occupy every farm plot eventually, obsoleting this dish.

Butter Muffin
Restores:

37.5, 20,  5

Pros:
 * Can be made with 2 twigs, preserving other ingredients.
 * Restores 20 HP per meal. You'll likely eat two per day, giving 40 HP and 10 sanity.
 * The smaller hunger payout (which uses less ingredients) makes meal scheduling more flexible than with larger meals.
 * 15 day spoil-time.

Cons:
 * Inflexible recipe.
 * Needs silk to establish a good butterfly farm.
 * Butter Muffins are only worth making using smaller vegetables such as Carrots, Mushrooms, or Cactus Flesh. Most of what is produced at a Farm isn't worth making this dish with.
 * Cooking up many of these can be a pain without several crock pots, with a 40 second cook time for each. This is compounded by needing to make more Butter Muffins to equal other foods.
 * Wigfrid can't eat this.

Using it best:
 * If a fairy ring or Desert biome is available, you may be able to set up a flower farm for butterfly wings in or near them. Otherwise, this should just be an occasional meal out of butterfly wings and random smaller vegetables. The presence of a Birdcage means that Dragon fruit should usually occupy every farm plot eventually, obsoleting this dish.

Guacamole
Restores:

37.5, 20,  0

Pros:
 * Can be made with 2 twigs, preserving other ingredients.
 * Restores 20 HP per meal. You'll likely eat two per day, giving 40 HP.
 * The smaller hunger payout (which uses less ingredients) makes meal scheduling more flexible than with larger meals.
 * 10 day spoil-time.
 * Unlike its peers, it isn't too tough to farm the ingredients for this. Transplant live Moleworms to the Desert biome, and you'll be able to farm every ingredient you need to make this dish.
 * Cook time is much faster than other 37.5 hunger foods, at 10 seconds.
 * Production doesn't need special buildings aside from the crock pot. Only needs a Hammer to stun a Moleworm for transport.

Cons:
 * Inflexible recipe.
 * Spoil-time is only 10 days.

Using it best:
 * If the desert appeals to you, this is the food of choice to make there. You can forgo a lot of base building staples until you want longer lasting food to take on expeditions.

Waffles
Restores:

37.5, 60,  5

Pros:
 * 60 HP restoration.

Cons:
 * Requires Butter, a rare drop from Butterflies.
 * Wigfrid can't eat this.

Using it best:
 * An occasional treat from a butterfly farm.

Flower Salad
Restores:

12.5, 40,  5

Pros:
 * 40 HP recovery.
 * Easy to make, under the right conditions.

Cons:
 * Can only be made with ingredients from the desert, one of which only grows in the summer.
 * The spoil-time is only 6 days, so it can't be stockpiled.
 * If moleworms are established well enough, Guacamole obsoletes this.
 * Wigfrid can't eat this.

Using it best:
 * A decent HP restoring option for desert camping, if you lack moleworms, or are loaded with cactus parts.

Fishsticks
Restores:

37.5, 40,  5

Pros:
 * 40 HP recovery.
 * Flexible filler, can use honey, ice, mushrooms, or even two monster meats.

Cons:
 * Spoil-time is 10 days, half as much as a pierogi.
 * Needs fish, and possibly silk as a result.

Using it best:
 * If you have access to fish, you can whip this up for some quick HP. It can usually be said to use less edible food to make than other recipes, making it more ideal for just healing at base.

Pierogi
Restores:

37.5, 40,  5

Pros:
 * 40 HP recovery.
 * Spoil-time is 20 days.

Cons:
 * More stingy with the necessary ingredients: needs a birdcage, meat, and a vegetable to use.
 * Ideally made using smaller vegetables such as Carrots, Mushrooms, or Cactus Flesh. Farms don't usually produce small vegetables.

Using it best:
 * These can be used for stockpiling healing items for long trips, and a backup meal if you run out of other food somehow. If 15 days spoil-time is sufficient, dragon pie might be a better choice, if available.

Trail Mix
Restores:

12.5, 30,  5

Pros:
 * Made from relatively common ingredients likely found in the same biome.
 * No special structures or tools needed; a crock pot and an axe are enough.
 * Spoil-time is a decent 15 days.

Cons:
 * Vastly less hunger restoration than other HP restoring dishes.
 * Wigfrid can't eat this.

Using it best:
 * This is the most available HP restoring food in the game (in Reign of Giants). Great for the early game. It isn't tough to farm, either, and will last on long trips.

Honey Nuggets
Restores:

37.5, 20,  5

Pros:
 * Spoil-time of 15 days.
 * No special tools or resources required (you must at least kill bees or destroy hives to get honey).

Cons:
 * Changing the meat out for a fish, and one of the other ingredients for a twig doubles the HP gained by creating fishsticks.
 * Honey is required for regular production.

Using it best:
 * If you knock down a hive early on, before establishing other production, you can use the resulting honey with some meat for a quick bit of HP. For long-term production, making this instead of other dishes can save you a lot of time provided you have honey stockpiled.

Fruit Medley
Restores:

25, 20,  5

Pros:
 * HP restoration using only fruit.

Cons:
 * Producing this on purpose through crops is madness. Dragon fruit and Pomegranates can accomplish the same thing, but more easily.
 * Spoil-time of 6 days.
 * Wigfrid can't eat this.

Using it best:
 * This dish can be thrown together with certain fruits on occasion. Do not make this with pomegranates, they restore 20 HP each when fire-cooked.

Spicy Chili
Restores:

37.5, 20,  0

Pros:
 * Chili, like Dragonpie, gives the player 40 degrees of heat when eaten.
 * Special structures and tools are unnecessary to make this.

Cons:
 * Spoil-time of 10 days.
 * Guacamole is superior in almost every way.
 * Same problems as other vegetable recipes: ok in the short term when using random red caps or carrots, but farming the ingredients for it only really makes sense in limited situations.
 * Requires 1.5 meats and 1.5 vegetables, forcing the use of higher quality ingredients. A two red-cap recipe will not work.

Using it best:
 * Much like the fruit medley, this food can be put together with random ingredients early on. Most of the time however, there are better options unless you want the warming effect.

Ice Cream
Restores:

25, 0,  50

Pros:
 * Best food-based sanity restoration in the game.
 * Reduces temperature by 40 degrees.

Cons:
 * Rare dairy ingredient requirement.
 * Wigfrid can't eat this.

Using it best:
 * A nice way to fix sanity and cool off, but nothing to be relied upon.

Melonsicle
Restores:

12.5, 3,  20

Pros:
 * Relatively easy sanity restoration for warm weather, provided ice supplies are stocked up and farms are producing Watermelons.
 * Reduces temperature by 40 degrees.

Cons:
 * Wigfrid can't eat this.
 * Could cause some problems in winter.
 * Only lasts 3 days (you can keep the ingredients in storage to avoid this issue).
 * Needs farming to work (but can be worth it).

Using it best:
 * If anything can dethrone dragon pie as the thing to use farms for, it's this recipe. This dish can replace Taffy as the main Sanity restoring food for expansion content. Melonsicles can even be used in winter so long as you have a roaring fire going to warm back up with.

Taffy
Restores:

25, -3,  15

Pros:
 * An established honey producing base can easily make more than enough honey to make Taffy on a regular basis, enabling you to recover all of your sanity this way.

Cons:
 * The -3 HP penalty isn't exactly stellar (though easy to offset by eating a single honey).
 * Needs honey production.
 * Other methods of sanity restoration may be better, especially in Reign of Giants.
 * Wigfrid can't eat this.

Using it best:
 * Make Taffy, then eat a honey to offset the health loss. Don't make pumpkin cookies; instead, make Taffy, and just fire-cook the pumpkin. The end result is more hunger restored, and the health penalty is offset by the pumpkin.

Low Worth Dishes
Most of these are only worthwhile to upgrade freshness of stale or spoiled ingredients, for the 5 sanity almost every dish can get, or to put some variety into Warly's varied diet as he gets higher benefits from Crock Pot recipes but lower benefits from separate ingredients.

Fish Tacos
A slight adjustment to the recipe allows fish tacos to become the superior fishsticks. Fish tacos also require two specific, fairly high effort to obtain ingredients for no gain over other dishes.

Unagi
Another instance where the recipe can easily become fishsticks.

Fist Full of Jam
Fist Full of Jam gives less hunger than the involved ingredients, unless ice is used. Even in that case, Meatballs are better.

Kabobs
Some combinations of ingredients can turn a profit when spent on Kabobs, but those same ingredients are better spent on meatballs.

Stuffed Eggplant
Stuffed Eggplant is generally a waste of twigs, as it normally provides no bonus hunger. It can be used to convert inedibles into hunger points, but there are more profitable ways.

Pumpkin Cookie
Pumpkin Cookie is outperformed by taffy if you have another honey and twig to spend. The Pumpkin itself is best eaten cooked, and will offset the health penalty of the taffy.

Ratatouille
Most Ratatouille recipes give less stat restoration than its individual components. That being said, in an emergency this is an ok way to spend multiple red caps (but far from the best use of them). Ice can also make this dish pay out more than the input, but meatballs is once again the superior dish to spend these ingredients on.

Monster Lasagna
Monster Lasagna is only really worth it for Webber, and only if his cooked monster meats are about to spoil. There are usually far better ways to spend monster meat.

Powdercake
Powdercake is a joke item, which takes 3 health when eaten. It can, however, be used as an extremely long-lasting bait for Tooth Traps.

Wet Goop
Wet Goop is made whenever an invalid recipe is made. Wet Goop has no positive, or negative effects on the player, and lasts 6 days before it spoils. Other than bait for some mobs, it's completely useless.