The best Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild recipes for food and elixirs

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BOTW recipes for elixir, food and cooking in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

 Elixirs and their effects 

Elixirs are created by combining monster parts with small animals, like frogs, lizards, or insects. The monster parts dictate the duration of the elixir while the small animals dictate the buff.

As with cooking food, there are 11 types of effects that an elixir can bestow. 

  • Hearty Elixir: Extra hearts - Hearty animal + Monster part
  • Energizing Elixir: Restores stamina - Energizing animal + Monster part
  • Enduring Elixir: Extra stamina - Enduring animal + Monster part
  • Hasty Elixir: Increased movement speed - Hasty animal + Monster part
  • Sneaky Elixir: Increased stealth - Sneaky animal + Monster part
  • Mighty Elixir: Increased attack - Mighty animal + Monster part
  • Tough Elixir: Increased defense - Tough animal + Monster part
  • Spicy Elixir: Cold resistance - Spicy Animal + Monster part
  • Chilly Elixir: Heat resistance - Chilly animal + Monster part
  • Electro Elixir: Electric resistance - Electro animal + Monster part
  • Fireproof Elixir: Flame guard - Fireproof animal + Monster part

Elixir ingredient stats and locations

Catching bugs and other small animals, and slaughtering monsters, will fill up your inventory with everything you need to brew up elixirs. The small animals you use denote the effect of the elixir and as with food ingredients, they have grades ranging from E (weakest) to A (strongest).

The monster parts you add will dictate how long the effects of a potion will last. Not all potions have a duration effect so save the ingredients that are more generous with time for things like hasty or sneaky elixirs.

Each ingredient in the list below will be followed by a letter denoting its grade and the number of seconds the effects last for. Not all items will have both.  

Small Animals

Hearty elixir ingredients

  • Hearty Lizard, B - Gerudo Desert, Necluda Sea

Energizing elixir ingredients

  • Restless Cricket, D - Hyrule Field, East Necluda
  • Energetic Rhino Beetle, A - Akkala Highlands, West Necluda

Enduring elixir ingredients

  • Tireless Frog, B - Lanayru Great Spring, Hyrule Ridge

Hasty elixir ingredients

  • Hot-Footed Frog, B, 60 - Lanayru Great Spring, Hyrule Ridge
  • Hightail Lizard, E, 60 - West Necluda, East Necluda

Sneaky elixir ingredients

  • Sunset Firefly, E, 120 - West Necluda, Korok Forest

Mighty elixir ingredients

  • Bladed Rhino Beetle, E, 50 - West Necluda, East Necluda

Tough elixir ingredients

  • Rugged Rhino Beetle, E, 50 - Hyrule Field, Faron Grasslands

Spicy elixir ingredients

  • Summerwing Butterfly, E, 150 - Great Hyrule Forest, Eldin Mountains
  • Warm Darner, C, 150 - Akkala Highlands, Hyrule Field

Chilly elixir ingredients

  • Winterwing Butterfly, E, 150 - Hyrule Field, Tabantha Frontier
  • Cold Darner, C, 150 - Tabantha Frontier, Hyrule Ridge

Electro elixir ingredients

  • Thunderwing Butterfly, D, 150 - Hyrule Ridge, Gerudo Highlands
  • Electric Darner, A, 150 - Hyrule Ridge, Gerudo Desert

Fireproof elixir ingredients

  • Smotheringwing Butterfly, D, 150 - Eldin Canyon, Death Mountain
  • Fireproof Lizard, E, 150 - Eldin Canyon, Death Mountain

Monster Parts elixir ingredients

Level 1 - 190 seconds duration

  • Bokogoblin Guts - Dropped by Bokogoblin
  • Moblin Guts - Dropped by Moblin
  • Lizalfos Tail - Dropped by Lizalfos
  • Icy Lizalfos Tail - Dropped by Ice-Breath Lizalfos
  • Red Lizalfos Tail - Dropped by Fire-Breath Lizalfos
  • Yellow Lizalfos Tail - Dropped by Electric Lizalfos
  • Lynel Guts - Dropped by Lynels
  • Keese Eyeball - Dropped by Keese
  • Modulga Guts - Droped by Modulga
  • Hinox Guts - Dropped by Hinox
  • Ancient Core - Dropped by Guardians
  • Great Ancient Core - Dropped by Guardians

Level 2 - 110 seconds duration

  • Bokoblin Fang - Dropped by Bokobin
  • Moblin Fang - Dropped by Moblin
  • Lizalfos Talon - Dropped by Lizalfos
  • Lynel Hoof - Dropped by Lynel
  • White Chuchu Jelly - Dropped by Ice Chuchus
  • Red Chuchu Jelly - Dropped by Fire Chuchus
  • Yellow Chuchu Jelly - Dropped by Electric Chuchus
  • Ice Keese Wing - Dropped by Ice Keese
  • Fire Keese Wing - Dropped by Fire Keese
  • Electric Keese Wing - Dropped by Electric Keese
  • Octorok Eyeball - Dropped by Octoroks
  • Modulga Fin - Dropped by Modulga
  • Hinox Tooth - Dropped by Hinox
  • Ancient Gear - Dropped by Guardians
  • Ancient Shaft - Dropped by Guardians

Level 3 - 70 seconds durations

  • Bokoblin Horn - Dropped by Bokoblins
  • Moblin Horn - Dropped by Moblins
  • Lizalfos Horn - Dropped by Lizalfos
  • Lynel Horn - Dropped by Lynel
  • Chuchu Jelly - Dropped by Chuchus
  • Keese Wing - Dropped by Keese
  • Octorok Tentacle - Dropped by Octoroks
  • Octo Balloon - Dropped by Octoroks
  • Hinox Toenail - Dropped by Hinox
  • Ancient Screw - Dropped by Guardians

Special Items

These ingredients can be obtained by hitting the body part of the creature in question. Aim for the horn to get horns, the body for scales, the mouth for fangs, and feet for claws.

With the exception of the horns, adding multiples of the same item won't directly stack the duration, but will instead reduce the additional parts to 30 seconds. For example, adding one Dinraal scale will give a duration of 90, but adding two will give 120 seconds (an extra 30 seconds) rather than 180 seconds.

  • Dinraal's Scale, 90 - Shoot arrow at Dinraal's body
  • Dinraal's Claw, 210 - Shoot arrow at Dinraal's feet
  • Shard of Dinraal's Fang, 630 - Shoot arrow at Dinraal's mouth
  • Shard of Dinraal's Horn, 1800 - Shoot arrow at Dinraal's horn
  • Nydra's Scale, 90 - Shoot arrow at Nydra's body
  • Nydra's Claw, 210 - Shoot arrow at Nydra's feet
  • Shard of Nydra's Fang, 630 - Shoot arrow at Nydra's mouth
  • Shard of Nydra's Horn, 1800 - Shoot arrow at Nydra's horn
  • Farosh's Scale, 90 - Shoot arrow at Farosh's body
  • Farosh's Claw, 210 - Shoot arrow at Farosh's feet
  • Shard of Farosh's Fang, 630 - Shoot arrow at Farosh's mouth
  • Shard of Farosh's Horn, 1800 - Shoot arrow at Farosh's horn

 Cooking bonuses and fairies explained 

Cooking bonuses are usually random bonuses that can happen when you're cooking up food and elixirs, and is denoted by a special sound effect. If you don't want to leave it to chance, you can guarantee a bonus by cooking during the Blood Moon, or by using a Star Fragment or Dragon body part as an ingredient. 

These are the random effects that a cooking bonus can confer:  

  • One extra yellow heart
  • Three extra yellow hearts
  • Two extra stamina wheel parts (yellow or green)
  • Additional five minutes duration
  • Added effect level increased to next tier

Fairies are pretty rare but very useful. They usually hang out around Great Fairy Fountains, but you can find them in tall grass occasionally. Keeping one in your inventory will allow you to escape death. The fairy will replenish your HP gauge at the moment you would otherwise die, and then it'll bugger off.

You can also use them in cooking, but don't panic, they don't get cooked up. Instead they hover around the cooking pot and will enhance the potency of the dish or elixir you're making.

Shabana Arif
Shabana Arif
Freelance Writer

Shabana was born looking like a girl wearing a Pikachu hoodie, so when such things became popular, she fitted right in. She writes guides, reviews and features for GR+ when she isn't screaming at Dark Souls 2 on YouTube.