30 Best Food & Cooking Video Games

Who likes to eat well?

Fool’s question, because everyone does!

With over 12 million units sold, the Cooking Mama series took the popularity of cooking games to a whole new level.

Cooking games are a special type of game that can be a fun way to kill time and avoid the stress of cooking in real life.

Games where you cook, work in a kitchen, or run a restaurant have been around for a very long time.

But it’s only been in the past few years that a few amazing games have put the genre on the map and made it popular with the general public.

And it looks like every year there are more games that try to cover every part of cooking.

Some of these will make you laugh, while others will make you go crazy. But each of them is fun in its own way. Plus, you might learn a few things about cooking while you’re at it.

Here are some of our favorite food and cooking video games, which range from simple ones like making a meal for yourself to huge ones like running a pizza business.

30. Pac-Man (Series)

Back to real games, Pac-Man is meant to be a “maze” game, but it could be better described as “strategic eating action.”

The whole point of the game is to move the hungry yellow ball around the map as quickly as possible so it can eat all the tiny food while avoiding four ghosts.

Which you can also temporarily turn into food by taking some strange white pills.

This early 1980s arcade favorite is not the most gourmet thing on our list.

But eating is the last step in cooking, and this game gets credit for laying the groundwork for games that came after it.

29. Food Fight

If we want to know where we’re going, we need to know where we’ve been.

Atari Inc. put out the arcade game Food Fight in the early 1980s. It was one of the first games to be almost entirely about food.

What’s your goal? To get an ice cream cone and eat it before it melts.

It might seem easy enough.

But four bad cooks made things worse by throwing good food at you, which you could also throw back, balancing things out.

It’s not the smartest game out there, but back in the day, it was amazing. And it set the stage for future winners.

28. What’s Cooking? With Jamie Oliver

What’s Cooking? has the most odd picture of Jamie Oliver on the cover and a similar idea to the last book.

With Jamie Oliver gives players the chance to try to cook one of the famous chef’s meals while getting personal help from the chef himself.

The biggest difference between this game and Personal Trainer: Cooking is that Jamie Oliver talks you through the recipes in this game.

But it has some extra features, like a Shopping List mode to help you get the right items at the store and an in-game timer for things that need to be done in a certain amount of time.

27. Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale

Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale is a fun twist on the typical cooking game. Players go to an enchanted forest to run a restaurant for a range of fantasy characters.

Cook-Out is a game that can be played by up to 4 people. It stresses the value of working together to feed hungry people, but players can still do it on their own if they want to.

This VR game got great reviews because it puts players in a chaotic kitchen where they have to serve food and keep annoying and unsavory people away at the same time.

If you are playing with friends, make time for a sword fight or a sneaky attack with a sauce bottle.

26. Fat Princess (Series)

When talking about games about food, think about Fat Princess by Titan Studios.

This game is only for the PS3, and it’s about a young king who isn’t getting enough to eat.

You are in charge of a group of fighters in a battle that is similar to “capture the flag,” except that the flag is the princess of the other team.

But that’s easier to say than to do after they’ve given the ruler more than 20 pieces of cake and made her almost impossible to move.

It’s a fun little game that has a lot more to it than you might think.

It was first released for the PS3, but you can also get Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake for the PSP and Fat Princess Adventures for the PS4.

25. Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked

When a company puts a big media name like “Food Network” on a game, it’s usually the only thing that makes the game worth buying.

Imagine my surprise when I tried the Wii game Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked by Red Fly Studio and found that it was actually fun!

It’s a good cooking game where you have to make a whole multi-course meal by going through several steps of the cooking process.

You often have to keep track of different cooking times and do hard things with your motion controllers.

The comments from Mory Thomas and Susie Fogelson of Food Network only add to the fun.

24. Personal Trainer: Cooking

The Big N has always tried to go above and beyond what people expect from a portable game system like the NDS.

With their Personal Trainer games, people can learn important skills like… you got it… cooking.

Personal Trainer: food isn’t really a game. It’s more like a food book with extra features that can help you make a good meal.

It has a voiceover for each meal, pictures and video clips, and a lot of other cool stuff.

The Big N has always tried to go above and beyond what people expect from a portable game system like the NDS.

With their Personal Trainer games, people can learn important skills like… you got it… cooking.

Personal Trainer: food isn’t really a game. It’s more like a food book with extra features that can help you make a good meal.

It has a voiceover for each meal, pictures and video clips, and a lot of other cool stuff.

23. Cake Mania (Series)

Since I turned 14, I haven’t been a big fan of flash games.

But Sandlot Games’ Cake Mania series is one of those secret gems that can keep even the most bored people busy for a while.

In the game, the main character, Jill Evans, retraces the steps of her grandparents and learns to bake so she can bring back the family business.

To do this, you need to take orders from people and finish them as quickly as possible. This will earn you money that you can use to improve your bakery with better tools and other things.

When you think that it started out as a simple game built on the PopCap Games Framework, it’s amazing how far the series has come.

22. The Sims 4

Maxis is well known for The Sims, which has been around for over 20 years.

Even though The Sims 4 isn’t really about food, it is a game about, well, everything in a person’s life, which includes cooking.

From the beginning, being able to make good food was an important skill for any Sim worth their salt. With expansions like Get to Work and the Dine Out Game Pack, you could build your own restaurant.

How cute!

As a chef, you’ll get to do a lot of different things, like cook good food, buy items in a smart way to save money, and really hope that no one gets sick from the food.

21. Bakery Simulator

Nothing says “immersive” like running a virtual bakery, especially when you don’t have to get up early to do it!

In Bakery Simulator, players experience the many challenges of running a successful bakery, from measuring ingredients to timing baking to getting in a car to deliver the goods on time.

If players don’t measure their ingredients and methods correctly, they will have to deal with the real-life effects of their mistakes in the harsh world of baking.

Make the most of not having to get up before the sun, because the game also needs a careful presence on the roads to make sure the delicious baked goods get to the customers in one piece.

20. Don’t Starve Together

The super-popular Don’t Starve series from Klei Entertainment may look like a dark and dangerous survival game, but the truth is right there in the name: it’s a game about food.

There are monsters and bad things going on in the background, yes.

But don’t let that keep you from your main goal, which is to find food, cook it, and not go hungry.

Of course, you also need light sources and other kinds of safety to avoid becoming a monster’s dinner, but that’s just one part of your journey to avoid getting anemia.

I like Don’t Starve Together better than the first game because it’s always more fun to eat with friends.

19. Star Chef

Star Chef is the best cooking simulator because it lets you do everything from grow your own veggies to serve dishes from all over the world.

Players are in charge of a restaurant and must respond to the different wants of their customers to give them the best dining experience possible.

The game lets you change a lot of things about the restaurant, like the wall decorations and waterfalls. It also has a backyard where you can grow your own food to add to the menu.

Because the game is so detailed, players can go after cooking success with all their heart.

18. Diner Dash

In Diner Dash by Gamelab, you play as Flo, a worker at a stock market company who is sick of her job and wants to buy a run-down restaurant and fix it up.

She is living her ideal life.

Managing a restaurant, on the other hand, can be hard.

Just like a real waitress, you have to pay attention to a million things at once as you seat customers, take their orders, and hurry up the kitchen so you can bring them their food when it’s ready.

But it’s all worth it as you slowly fix up the diner, buy other businesses, and watch Flo go from an unhappy worker to a real food mogul.

17. Campfire Cooking

Anyone who has been camping knows that cooking over an open fire is very different from cooking on an electric stove at home.

And in Campfire Cooking by Layton Hawkes, it might even feel like a puzzle.

In this game, you’ll move your pots and marshmallows around on a square grid so that they get just the right amount of fire.

It’s a simple idea, but every level is a new challenge because the board is so complicated.

16. Food Truck Simulator

Food Truck Simulator is a realistic first-person simulator game in which players drive a food truck around a city.

Before setting up for the day, players will need to be aware of where they are and pay attention to small details like the amount of traffic and crowding for a truly engaging and realistic experience.

Players can try to make their own wonders in the kitchen, such as sushi or a cheeseburger special.

The player can, of course, change everything about the truck, and as their reputation grows, they can get better food tools.

In Food Truck Simulator, you can take each day as it comes and drive around a real city where day and night change constantly.

15. Fruit Ninja

When smartphones were just starting out, Halfbrick’s amazing fruit-slicing game was a kind of “Eureka!” moment that made everyone realize that the future of casual gaming was in their hands.

Fruit Ninja was a huge hit because of how beautiful it looked and how addicting it was to play.

It involves cutting down flying fruit in a stylish way, gaining new patterns for the slicing effect, and beating the high scores of your friends.

The game has held up well over time, and even though you could only play it on an iPhone back in the day, you can now play it on Oculus Quest and PSVR.

14. Pizza Tycoon

Some games focus on the business side of running a restaurant, while others teach you how to make a great meal step by step. Pizza Tycoon does both.

…and even more.

You have to make sure that every pizza that comes out of your oven has the right amount of cheese, olives, and sausage. You also have to make sure that your pizzeria stays in business.

You can do this by selling it for the right price and being smart about business. And if necessary, hiring the mob to show other restaurant owners who’s in charge.

If you can get past the stereotypes about Italian-Americans, this is a great game that every pizza fan should try at least once.

13. PlateUp!

PlateUp! is a lot like the popular game Overcooked in that players are dropped into a chaotic kitchen and have to run it while serving food. This restaurant can be built from the ground up by up to four people.

There are some basic co-op cooking tasks, like chopping vegetables and boiling ingredients.

Be careful not to get in each other’s way! PlateUp! lets you have a completely unique experience because the chefs can choose their own food and decorate the space in their own style.

There is something for everyone to enjoy, from hot drinks to juicy steaks.

12. Epic Chef

In Epic Chef, players take on the role of Zest, the main character, and go on the cooking adventure of a lifetime.

It’s an adventure game with a story that combines life-sim farming and making to make a unique game that can be funny.

Cutscenes in Epic Chef are funny, and fans of the cartoon Food Wars will like them.

In Epic Chef, each ingredient has its own properties, and the game’s dynamic recipe creation system lets players try out thousands of different combos of ingredients to make a menu of tasty treats.

The food looks so good that I want to jump through the screen and grab a bite.

11. Good Pizza, Great Pizza

Do you ever miss the pizza shop minigame on Club Penguin? Good Pizza, Great Pizza is the only place you need to go.

With options like pepperoni, sausage, onions, peppers, and even pineapple, players get to feel what it’s like to run their own pizza shop.

There are more than 100 different customers, each with their own orders and personalities.

This makes the game more fun to play again and again. Good Pizza, Great Pizza is a great game to play while eating a real slice of pizza.

10. Order Up!

Order Up! from SuperVillain Studios is not to be confused with the online food delivery service. Instead, it is a cooking game that tries to recreate the pressure of a real restaurant kitchen.

It shows how a chef who is just learning to run their own restaurant gets ready for the Fortified Chef Competition, which is their chance to become a famous cook.

It was first made for the Wii, but there are now improved versions for the PS3, 3DS, and even mobile devices.

9. Lemon Cake

In Lemon Cake, you have to fix up an old bakery and make desserts from the farm to the table.

Players can get fresh organic eggs and milk from their cows, honey from their beehives, and honey from their beehives to add to their recipes.

With the help of a friendly ghost, they can even turn their cute house into a cute cat café.

Lemon Cake looks cute, but it is a smart life simulation game that needs a lot of attention.

Players will need to keep their display counter well stocked for customers and remember to water their plants and feed their farm animals or they will run out of their fixings!

8. Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is much more than just a simple farming simulator. It has hours and hours of material that will make players feel like they are living in a cozy cottage-core world.

Players can get items for making delicious home-cooked meals while improving their farms, getting better at their skills, and making friends in their communities.

Stardew Valley has its own food show, the Queen of Sauce, and 74 different recipes to bake, like a heartwarming Pumpkin Pie for fall and a Complete Breakfast to get you ready for a hard day at work.

In Stardew Valley, many of the foods you cook can give you boosts that will help you in your everyday life on the farm.

7. Cook, Serve, Delicious! (Series)

But Cook, Serve, Delicious! by Vertigo Gaming is the game for you if you really want to feel the stress of running a kitchen by yourself.

At first, you might feel safe as you look at the cute hand-drawn pictures and enjoy the calm atmosphere of the place.

But once you have six different meals cooking at the same time with different times, and you have to remember to serve each one with the right wine, you’ll start to understand what this game is really about.

Even though the original is already a great game, I’d recommend Cook, Serve, Delicious 3!?, which you can get on Steam.

6. I Am Bread

I Am Bread by Bossa Studios is the most unusual food game you’ll ever play.

And maybe one of the strangest games in the world as a whole.

Simply put, you are a piece of bread with a mind that is trying to make its way through the world to become toast.

And hopefully get jam and other tasty things all over yourself in the process.

You did understand all of that.

Most of the time, though, you’ll end up falling and getting too dirty to eat. Trust me, it’s a lot of fun.

5. Dungeon Munchies

In Dungeon Munchies, you can go on a hunt for vegetable monsters and eat them. Like Terraria, Dungeon Munchies is a side-scrolling RPG with beautiful pixel art and fluid battle movements.

With the help of the undead Necro-Chef Simmer, players must stay alive, eat, and figure out how to get out of the strange place they are in.

The dishes that players choose to eat will affect their whole game, since different dishes give different powers.

The character can only eat seven foods at once, so players must carefully plan a meal that makes the most of their skills.

Any strange mixtures of food could make a difference in how well you heal or how much damage you do.

4. Battle Chef Brigade

You can play the part of a cook in a lot of games, but not many of them have you go out and hunt monsters and gather magical ingredients for your dishes.

Battle Chef Brigade is the best food-related game for people who don’t find it fun to pretend to have a bad job in the food business.

With some RPG elements and very detailed hand-drawn graphics, this is a great game that I wouldn’t hesitate to suggest to anyone.

3. Cooking Mama (Series)

You can’t write a piece about cooking games without talking about Cooking Mama, which started the whole thing.

The first cooking game I ever played was Cooking Mama: Cook Off for the Wii.

Even though it’s not the most realistic simulator out there, seeing so many different foods from all over the world made me want to cook as a hobby and try new things outside of my culture.

Check out this series for sure, because you won’t regret it.

There was a new book out recently, but it was taken off the shelves. Keep an eye on this series, though, because there are always new books coming out.

2. Cooking Simulator

Cooking Simulator is the most realistic cooking game on the market right now. It’s played from a first-person view, and you can even use a VR headset to make it even more real.

There are more than 80 different recipes, more than 140 actual ingredients, and a wide range of tools to use. Learn to cook like a gourmet in no time!

The recipes are also thorough enough that if players want to make these tasty dishes in real life, they should be able to use the ones in Cooking Simulator to make something edible.

1. Overcooked 1 & 2

The Overcooked games put players right from the frying pan into the fire because they are based on group play.

Players must work together and cooperate to cook and serve the food that customers have ordered before their angry customers storm out of the restaurant.

With each new kitchen comes a hard challenge that gets steadily harder as players have to juggle different food and do more than one thing at once.

The Overcooked games will put even the best friends and bravest chefs to the test, whether it’s moving around on a shaky pirate ship or just having the kitchen split in half.