During their playthroughs of Tears of the Kingdom, players will quickly realize that having a large number of Hearts is incredibly important. The quantity of Hearts a player has can often determine their ability to withstand boss attacks and avoid losing their hard-earned progress. Unfortunately, increasing maximum Hearts can prove pretty time-consuming as players must complete numerous Shrines to obtain enough Light of Blessings for a single Heart Container.
Luckily, there are other methods for players to increase their maximum Hearts in Tears of the Kingdom. By cooking certain recipes, players can temporarily enhance their Hearts on the go, making it significantly easier to complete some of the more challenging tasks in the game. Players seeking the best recipes for giving Link more bonus Hearts can find some suggestions here.
Updated on August 17, 2023, by Bronwyn Lee: Now that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has been out for a few months, players have been able to find a wider variety of ingredients to use in their meals. These rarer ingredients are much more effective at providing Link with extra Hearts, making them perfect for players trying to stock up on powerful dishes before a boss fight. As a result, there are many more dishes players can now create, and players can find a few of the best ones here.
12 Steamed Fish
If Tears of the Kingdom players can manage to get their hands on the rare Hearty Bass, they can cook up some Steamed Fish. This recipe will not only restore all of Link's Hearts, but it'll also give him 8 bonus temporary Hearts.
For this recipe, players will need between one and four Hearty Bass and any vegetable that doesn't provide a bonus effect. Hearty Bass can be quite tricky to find, but are certainly worth tracking down, thanks to the bonuses they provide. Players are best looking for them in the West Hebra Sky Archipelago and the Necluda Sky Archipelago.
11 Seafood Rice Balls
One incredibly simple recipe Tears of the Kingdom players can cook to boost their Hearts is Seafood Rice Balls. For this recipe, players will need to gather between one and four Hearty Bass, and some Hylian Rice.
Hearty Bass can be quite difficult to find, as they're most commonly found in the Sky Isles. However, they're worth finding, as they provide a huge boost to Link's Hearts. Players should search the ponds in West Hebra Sky Archipelago and the Necluda Sky Archipelago if they're running low on Hearty Bass to cook. This recipe will restore all of Link's Hearts, and give him 8 temporary bonus Hearts, too.
10 Cream of Vegetable Soup
To make some Hearty Cream of Vegetable Soup, players will need some Fresh Milk, Rock Salt, and up to three Big Hearty Radishes. Players who don't have any Big Hearty Radishes can substitute them for regular Hearty Radishes, albeit for fewer bonus Hearts. This recipe should provide players will an additional ten bonus Hearts, as well as full regular heart recovery.
Big Hearty Radishes are pretty rare, and can only be found on select Sky Isles, making them pretty tricky to gather. However, they provide such valuable effects to the player that they're totally worth hunting down.
9 Veggie Porridge
Players may have already cooked a variant of the Veggie Porridge recipe in the side quest, Gloom-Borne Illness. Whilst the recipe in the quest uses Sundelions, players can actually swap out which herbs they use to change the recipe's effects. In this case, if the player uses some Big Hearty Radishes, they'll receive a rather nice boost of some bonus Hearts.
For this recipe in particular, players will need some Hylian Rice, Fresh Milk, and up to three Big Hearty Radishes (or regular Hearty Radishes for a lesser effect).
8 Salt-Grilled Meat
If players are looking for a way to increase their Hearts in Tears of the Kingdom, the Hearty Salt-Grilled Meat is a particularly great choice. This dish offers complete restoration of Hearts and grants players up to twelve additional bonus Hearts.
To prepare Hearty Salt-Grilled Prime Meat, players will require Raw Meat, Rock Salt, and up to three Big Hearty Truffles (which can be substituted for regular Hearty Truffles or Hearty Radishes). Raw Meat can be obtained by hunting smaller wild animals, Rock Salt can be found through mining or purchased from certain vendors, and Big Hearty Truffles can be discovered in select caves.
7 Hearty Elixir
Players who are looking to put their accumulated monster parts to use will find that the Hearty Elixir is a pretty good option for them. This elixir will provide players with up to sixteen bonus Hearts by combining four Hearty Lizards with any monster part of their choice. Opting for a more common monster part is recommended, as they don't really impact the elixir's effects.
However, the key ingredient for this recipe is the Hearty Lizards. These small creatures are commonly found in the Gerudo Highlands and East Necluda regions, making those areas the best locations for players to look for them.
6 Mushroom Rice Balls
Cooking some Hearty Mushroom Rice Balls is a fairly straightforward process. All players will require is some Hylian Rice and between one and four Big Hearty Truffles. The number of mushrooms used directly correlates to the amount of bonus Hearts the player will receive.
If the player finds themselves lacking Big Hearty Truffles, they can substitute them with regular Hearty Truffles, albeit resulting in a lower number of bonus hearts. Hylian Rice can be purchased from various vendors throughout Hyrule or occasionally found while cutting grass.
5 Tomato Mushroom Stew
Players who don't know what to do with all the Hylian Tomatoes they have can use them to make some Tomato Mushroom Stew. This recipe requires a Hylian Tomato, and up to four Big Hearty Truffles (or some regular Hearty Truffles). This recipe can give players up to sixteen additional bonus Hearts, on top of full recovery of their base Hearts.
If the player hasn't yet stumbled across any yet, Hylian Tomatoes are luckily pretty common and can be found throughout Hyrule. However, they can be located most commonly in East and West Necluda, usually near trees.
4 Salt-Grilled Mushrooms
Players can make some Salt-Grilled Mushrooms by using up to four Big Hearty Truffles (or regular Hearty Truffles), and some Rock Salt. Rock Salt can easily be found whilst mining, whereas Big Hearty Truffles are a little more complicated. Big Hearty Truffles can only be found in certain caves, and only one per cave will grow, making them pretty tricky to get ahold of.
However, they're worth hunting down because having lots of extra hearts can make surviving some of the tougher bosses in Tears of the Kingdom a lot easier.
3 Fragrant Mushroom Saute
To prepare a delicious Hearty Fragrant Mushroom Saute, players must make sure they collect between one and four Big Hearty Truffles (or Hearty Truffles for a lesser impact) and acquire some Goron Spice.
For players trying to locate Big Hearty Truffles, these incredibly rare but valuable ingredients can be found within numerous caves scattered across Hyrule. Big Hearty Truffles can only be found in a select few caves though, and usually only one can be found per cave. As for obtaining Goron Spice, it can be conveniently purchased from the General Store located in Goron City.
2 Mushroom Skewer
Cooking a Hearty Mushroom Skewer is one of the easiest methods for players to gain bonus Hearts in Tears of the Kingdom. Players can easily create this recipe effortlessly by cooking up to five Big Hearty Truffles. As a result, they will be rewarded with an extra twenty temporary hearts.
This meal is particularly ideal for players who struggle to handle enemies capable of defeating them in a single blow. This is a pretty common challenge for players with lower heart counts, and temporarily raising their maximum hearts serves as a rather effective solution to overcome this problem.
1 Steamed Mushrooms
In Tears of the Kingdom, Hearty Steamed Mushrooms is one of the best recipes for granting Link additional bonus Hearts. To create this amazing dish, players will simply need to combine four Big Hearty Truffles with one Big Hearty Radish. This recipe proves particularly valuable for players who have fewer hearts, allowing them to survive attacks that would otherwise be fatal.
Hearty Steamed Mushrooms serve as a vital resource for players who find themselves struggling against some of the most difficult enemies in the game.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available for the Nintendo Switch.