Today we serve up a veritable feast of delights as we pick our favourite foods from Nintendo Switch games. If you think something is missing from NL's potluck, then let us know in the comments.
Oh, and there's definitely a handful of stinkers down the bottom, too. We don't want those at our big fiesta...
The Tastiest Food in Switch Games
Pikmin - Sunseed Berry (or all of the fruit, really)
Image: Nintendo Life We mentioned all fruit in our intro, but specifically, it's the humble Sunseed Berry — strawberry — that has our mouths watering. Just one look at this berry, which first appeared in Pikmin 2 , has us dreaming of the most delicious strawberries and cream, and not just because Wimbledon is on the telly at the moment. We rarely see strawberries this shiny in real life.
Pikmin 3 deserves a special shout-out here because the main collectible in this game is the fruit, from Cupid's Grenade (Cherry) to the Portable Sunset (Persimmon) and the Slapstick Crescent (Banana). Fruit salad is on the menu with Pikmin, and from the looks of the demo, it looks even more delectable than ever in Pikmin 4.
Super Mario Odyssey - Stupendous Stew
Image: Nintendo At first glance, Super Mario Odyssey 's Luncheon Kingdom is a technicolour kaleidoscope of polygonal vegetables, meats, and condiments. But the kingdom's pride and joy sits in a steaming pot atop Mount Volbono — the Stupendous Stew.
It's so revered that Bowser and the Broodals steal some for the Koopa King's upcoming wedding to Princess Peach. The stew itself is packed full of tender pieces of meat and vegetable, all sitting in a silky, creamy stew base.
Lvl. 1 Chef made this recipe and while there are a lot of steps to it, the end result is irresistible.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Pon-Fried Croquettes
Image: Nintendo Life Aionios is a pretty dangerous world, so it's a good thing you've brought the chef with you in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 . Manana may be a ball of energy and a ray of sunshine, but she's also a pretty fantastic cook, able to whip up tasty meals to give Noah, Mio, and the party various bonuses.
Considering the limited cooking utensils Manana has to work with, almost everything the pink Nopon cooks up is impressive. But it's the Pon-Friend Croquettes that have us rushing towards the campsite. The bonuses aren't the best, but that crispy outside looks like the perfect home for a fluffy, tasty inside. We'd put up with a few monsters just to chow down on these.
Pokémon Sword & Shield - Decorative Curry
Image: via Serebii / The Pokémon Company Pokémon has a long tradition of cooking and making treats for your Pocket Monsters. But Pokémon Sword & Shield really upped the ante — after all, who can beat a curry? There are a few questionable recipes among the Curry Dex (Pasta Curry, anyone...?), but one of the strangest ingredients actually makes one of the best-looking dishes: Decorative Curry.
Made using Packaged Curry, this honestly looks like something you'd get out of the Pokémon Cafe in Japan. It's bright and colourful, but not in a way that would put us off. And who can resist the little Eevee and Pikachu on the top of the dish?
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Sweet Sweet Canyon
Image: Nintendo Life What is it with Nintendo and sweet treats? Perhaps the devs know just how much everyone loves cake and cookies. Sweet Sweet Canyon in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is just one of the food-based courses in the game, but it's still our favourite thanks to the eclectic mix of ice creams, confectionery, and cordial-based underwater sections.
The wafer windmills and the ice cream cones on the course are probably our favourite aspects of this sweet treat of a track, but even after Sky-High Sundae tried to take the sugary crown, the original MK8D sweet course still takes pole position for us.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Organic Bread
Image: Nintendo Life Update 2.0 of Animal Crossing: New Horizons introduced a brand new crafting method to the game — cooking! As long as you have a 'Kitchen' you can walk up to it and cook up any ingredients you have on you to make some delicious food.
There's so much to choose from, but we went very simple here — there are few things that smell as amazing as freshly-baked bread, and a basket full of Organic Bread in New Horizons looks delicious. We wish it was as easy to make a basket of bread like this in real life, but for now, we'll make do with whipping up a few loaves in-game.
Portal Companion Collection - Cake
Image: via Half-Life Wiki / Valve "The cake is a lie" is probably one of the most famous video game catchphrases of all time, immortalised in graffiti in Portal back in 2007, used to highlight false promises as GLaDOS lures Chell into doing tasks for her.
Amusingly, the cake does not turn out to be a lie. Reach the end of the game and you're greeted with a rather simple but decadent-looking Black Forest gateau adorned with a circle of cherries and a single candle. We couldn't leave this one off the list, and even without its iconic status, we're always up for a slice of cake.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Meat Skewers
Image: Nintendo Life Zelda's had lots of rather lovely-looking food over the year, but with the open world of Breath of the Wild , food — and in particular cooking — really stepped up to the plate in a big way. If you want to survive and save your rupees, you need to cook.
We're sticking with simple once again. If you have some meat on you, throw them in a pan and voila! Your juicy chops will become mouthwatering Meat Skewers. These are basic foodstuffs in the game, but they're easy to prepare and heal a decent amount of hearts quickly, so they're always handy to have. Plus, who doesn't like a kebab?
Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 ReMix - Sea Salt Ice Cream
Image: Square Enix It's amazing to think that this little blue popsicle was only introduced in Kingdom Hearts 2 , yet sea salt ice cream has become one of the most recognisable pieces of food in all video games.
We admit, the idea of salty ice cream didn't initially sound appealing, but the mix of salty, sweet, and cold is divine — it really is the perfect summer treat. Plus, it's become symbolic in the fandom as the item that represents the friendship between Roxas, Axel, and Xion.
Put simply, this is probably the best video game ice cream.
Monster Hunter Rise - Dango
Image: Capcom Monster Hunter is usually a rich tapestry of meats, which you consume to help you on your hunts. But Monster Hunter Rise 's Japanese-inspired setting opened up the Palico kitchens for some more unique food.
Dango is rice flour dumplings that are served on a stick and are a popular snack. In Rise, these little dumplings come in an assortment of colours, styles, and flavours that are unlocked as you progress through the game.
Sweet, sticky, and moreish, no matter how many hunts we go on, we're always excited to return to a fresh stick of dango.
Super Mario Party - Sizzling Stakes
Image: via Super Mario Wiki / Nintendo There are many food-themed minigames (and even the odd board) throughout the Mario Party series, but in terms of the best-looking one, Super Mario Party 's Sizzling Stakes makes a single cube of meat look like haute cuisine.
Whoever worked on the visuals really poured everything they had into this one little game, which sees you cook a cube of steak as evenly as you can. The shiniest metal pan; the shimmering oil; the steak as it gently browns. It doesn't feel like a competition — it's a feast for the eyes.
Overcooked - Burrito
Image: via Overcooked Wiki / Team17 In a game that is entirely about chaotic cooking, you don't get a lot of time to sit back and admire the food that you and your friends are able to prepare. But Overcooked 's food does look rather delicious. Particularly one of the game's most-difficult recipes, the burrito.
Introduced in World 5 of the original, rice and tortillas are all you need (with the added option of meat, or mushrooms in Overcooked 2 ) to make this deceptively tricky dish. Sometimes you'll need to avoid lava while delivering this too. But take the time to admire this Mexican favourite, and you'll be grasping for another.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Hylian Tomato Pizza
Image: Nintendo Life Every single recipe from Breath of the Wild returns in Tears of the Kingdom , but there are lots of new foodstuffs to make. Including, to our delight, pizza.
With the addition of cheese, Link is able to broaden his culinary horizons in Tears of the Kingdom. Cheesecake was a close pick, but we don't know anyone who doesn't like pizza. And like Manana, we think it's pretty impressive that Link can whip up some pizza dough and make a batch in a single cooking pot. We want whatever cooking skills Link is channelling.
Undertale - Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie
Image: via Steam / Toby Fox Spider donuts are great, but what else is more homely that a slice of Toriel's butterscotch cinnamon pie? Countless amateur cooks have recreated this rich, sweet dish, which combines two all-time classic flavours for a rather decadent dessert.
In Undertale itself, the pie is a rather useful healing ingredient, but for a more emotional gut punch, try eating it in front of one of the late-game bosses for a real kick in the feels. It hammers home Undertale's message in a rather simple form while being delectable to boot.
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy - Wumpa Fruit
Image: Activision One of the most iconic fruits in video games — but what is a wumpa fruit? Part apple, part mango (maybe?), Crash Bandicoot has been devouring these ever since his debut in 1996.
In the N. Sane Trilogy , these little fruits got a rather shiny glow-up, recementing their place in the world as one of the best fictional fruits. We think they'd make a rather excellent beverage.
Super Mario 64 - Peach's Cake
Image: Nintendo Life Super Mario 64 — available to play on Switch in two different forms — opens with the promise of cake. Princess Peach has baked one for Mario, and she's inviting him to visit to share it with her. We all know what happens after that, but beat the game, and you'll finally be able to have our cake and eat it.
And boy, what a cake it is. Nowadays, Peach is pretty synonymous with cake (see Peach's Birthday Cake in Mario Party, for example), but this two-tiered delight with white frosting and raspberries is still her best creation, we think. It makes us want to run through Mario 64 all over again.
Rayman Legends - Cheese
Image: Nintendo Life Rayman Origins ' Gourmand Land is a pretty great world, but the Mexican feast-inspired Fiesta de los Muertos in the follow-up — Rayman Legends — just has that much more variety to it. Guacamole platforms that you can create yourself, cake walls Murphy can eat through, and sausages and peppers adorning the walls, fiesta is just one word we can use to describe it.
But the slippery melted cheese platforms are what catches our eye every time. Dripping in the warmer levels of the world, this molten, creamy foodstuff makes for some fast motion-based platforming and it makes us dream about the perfect fondue.
Image: Nintendo You can't have a 'best video game food' list without the Super Mushroom. As memorable as a Turkey from Castlevania or Wall Chicken from Streets of Rage , the Super Mushroom goes way back to the original Super Mario Bros. and has been in every Mario game since.
Even if you don't like mushrooms, you can't deny how tasty and how helpful one of these speckled fungi looks. Chowing down on one makes Mario stronger and bigger, which is maybe the best argument any video game has made for eating your vegetables. There's also the Mega Mushroom if you really like them.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - Yakisoba Pan
Image: Atlus Vanillaware's watercolour food artistry has always been sublime, but there's something extra special about Takatoshi Hijiyama's love of Yakisoba Pan in 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim .
This dish is a sweet hotdog bun stuffed with fried yakisoba noodles — a popular convenience dish in Japan. Hijiyama was given one of these when almost collapsed from hunger, and ever since, he has been obsessed with the sweet, salty foodstuff, even calling his saviour the "Yakisoba Pan Angel". Atlus even published a recipe on how to recreate this dish .
Kirby's Dream Buffet - Basically everything
Image: Nintendo Look, we can't pick just one thing from Kirby's Dream Buffet . The aim of the game is to collect the most strawberries while rolling through levels jam-packed with baked goods, delicious food; a chef's chateau, a confectioner's wonderland, and a gourmand's dream.
Levels in Kirby's Dream Buffet vary from platters of sweet treats and cakes to strips of burger fillings, buns, and more. The burst of colours and variety are what really make us want to dive head-first into Dream Buffet ourselves.
Our only concern? Have you seen how big Kirby can get? We're not sure he can get any bigger...
Harvestella - Nemea Bolognese
Image: Nintendo Life Farming and cultivating crops is a big part of Square Enix's action RPG Harvestella , but my goodness, they didn't have to make all of the food you can make look that good, did they?
Apparently, they did, and while we were tempted to go all Kirby on this entry, nothing says comfort and delicious like bolognese. While pasta and meat sauce are enough on their own, a 10% defense buff and 80% stamina increase really sweetens the deal.
Shoutout to reader Nidorom
Sea of Stars - Pain Doré
Oh, look! Another RPG with cooking mechanics. And Sea of Stars goes to great lengths to even show us the cooking process in all of its gorgeous pixel art glory.
Pain doré — that's what French Toast is known as in French-speaking parts of Canada — was one of our go-to recipes throughout the game. It restores 9 MP to the whole party, and your special skills are invaluable throughout the journey. Also, who can say no to French Toast? Seriously. Sea of Stars also gets bonus points for having a Warrior Cook in the party. Garl is the absolute best.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - Snakes
Image: Nintendo Yes, this is absolutely meant to be in the "Best" category. Without snakes, Snake in Metal Gear Solid 3 arguably wouldn't have survived the soviet jungle. And snakes are iconic, right? It's in the title!
Anyway... Food is a big part of Metal Gear Solid 3, and Snake needs to eat in order to build up his stamina. Stamina allows him to recover from injuries much faster, so, you know, eating snakes is pretty vital to your survival. Just make sure they don't go spoiled, otherwise the taste — and the visuals — won't be very pleasant...
Super Mario RPG - Bundt
Image: Nintendo Life Another cake, we know, but Bundt, despite being a pretty dangerous confection, also looks pretty tasty to us. Chef Torte baked the cake to celebrate Booster's wedding in Super Mario RPG , but what he doesn't realise is that the cake is actually alive. Oops...?
There's a little bit of everything to enjoy with Bundt. Candy cane? Check. Wafer? Check. Raspberries? Of course . Oh, and sweets with the wrapper still on. And a face. And sandstorms. Look, we'd be really happy with this at our own weddings. We think.
Aaand the Worst Food in Switch Games
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet - Every single sandwich we make
Image: Nintendo Life Making sandwiches should be easy, right? For some reason, building the perfect-looking sandwich in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet is nigh impossible. Every single thing we create is either on the brink of collapsing or is just a weird mesh of ingredients. And, we'll be honest, the bread doesn't look all that great...
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Dubious Food
Image: Nintendo Life Oh, Link. Even the hero of Hyrule is susceptible to a bad dayin the kitchen.
If you throw the wrong combination of ingredients into a cooking pot, you get... this. Luckily, even if it looks hazardous, it doesn't hurt you — it just heals a quarter of a heart. But Link certainly looks uncomfortable as he wolfs it down.
Super Mario Sunshine - Watermelon
Image: via Super Mario Wiki / Nintendo We've got absolutely nothing against watermelons — they're really quite delicious — but Super Mario Sunshine 's Gelato Beach is home to the infamous Watermelon Festival. You need to bring the biggest watermelon to the bartender so they can make smoothies.
The problem is the rolling physics, coupled with the watermelon's ability to explode at the slightest scratch. After this festival, we never want to see a watermelon again.
What do you think is the best food on Switch? If there's any iconic Nintendo video game food we've missed out on, let us know in the comments. And tell us if you've tried making any iconic foods from video games, too — Switch or otherwise.
