We’ll admit it, we’ve drooled over videogame food before. I mean come on, have you seen how tasty Skyrim’s sweet rolls look? And that's just the start -- there are loads of tasty food games out there. The holidays are all about enjoying good food, but unfortunately, you can’t eat pixels. Not unless you pick up a gaming cookbook that is!
If you know a video game fan in your life who also enjoys earning achievements in the kitchen, then consider buying them a gaming cookbook this holiday season. Not only will it improve their culinary skills, it’ll probably let you enjoy the fruits of their work as well! Sneaky. Read on for our video game cookbooks holiday gift guide 2022. Be warned: you may start salivating.
(Is your kitchen lover also an Xbox owner? Browse our Xbox holiday gift guide 2022 by clicking here!)
Video game cookbooks - holiday gift guide
The Elder Scrolls: The Official Cookbook
© Bethesda, Chelsea Monroe-Cassel
We started off with sweet rolls, so let’s get straight back to them with the official cookbook for the The Elder Scrolls series. There’s no better way to explore the countries of Tamriel than with your stomach, and this cookbook offers dishes from several different entries in the Elder Scrolls catalog. Food may not have looked pretty in the muddy the graphics of the older games, but there’s no reason it shouldn’t be delicious when following these instructions! Buy the cookbook on Amazon here.
Minecrafter's Cookbook
© Tara Theoharis
Trying to convince a young mind to craft things in the kitchen? The Minecrafter's Cookbook may be your greatest ally. We can't guarantee that all the recipes within will turn out blocky banquets, but the 40 dishes inside this unofficial cookbook include game-themed creations with simple recipes that children should be able to follow (with a little help around the kitchen) to whip up creeper crispies, cookies, and more! Here's the Amazon link.
Destiny: The Official Cookbook
© Bungie
At first glance, Destiny's sci-fi shootouts and intense raids seem like an odd fit for a cookbook. But given we've been baking goods in-game for yearly special events for a good while now, we're kind of down with this classy take on the universe. The cookbook includes fun takes on in-game ideas, as well as some tasty-looking cocktails. Plus, you can finally put Cayde's Spicy Ramen coupon to use by making your own! Get the cookbook on Amazon here.
Fallout: The Vault Dweller's Official Cookbook
© Bethesda, Victoria Rosenthal
We’re not sure that an irradiated wasteland offers quite as many tempting food opportunities as a fantasy land filled with cakes, magic potions and more, but hey, we’re not going to judge. If you know someone who prefers mutants to mudcrabs, this might be the perfect alternate present. Click here to find it on Amazon.
Overwatch: The Official Cookbook
© Blizzard, Chelsea Monroe-Cassel
Overwatch is a gorgeous game, and the colorful art style that brings its characters to life only makes the brief glimpses of food in-game and during cinematics all the more delicious. Thankfully, the new Overwatch 2 fanatic in your life can now try their hand at cooking up ramen even Hanzo would be proud of by picking up the game’s official cookbook. Thanks to the country-hopping nature of the game, it makes for a truly international feast with German, Korean, Japanese meals and more. You can pick it up on Amazon by clicking here.
Alternatively, if Hearthstone is more their thing, consider buying the Hearthstone: Innkeeper’s Tavern Cookbook for some hearty dishes and drinks. Here’s the Amazon link. Warcraft still ruling their life? Get them off the servers and into the kitchen with the World of Warcraft: New Flavors of Azeroth: The Official Cookbook.
Heroes' Feast: The Official Dungeons & Dragons Cookbook
© Kyle Newman
In our opinion, there's little point to all that adventuring and monster slaying if you can't follow it up with a hearty feast afterwards. Thankfully, that's where this official D&D cookbook comes in. It features 80 recipes inspired by the Dungeons & Dragons World, serving up both meaty platters and meady beverages to enjoy as a group when you're ready to take a break from the roleplaying table. Find it on Amazon here.
Tomb Raider: The Official Cookbook and Travel Guide
© Tara Theoharis, Sebastian Haley, Megan Marie
Lara Croft takes being a worldly person to the extreme, having travelled to pretty much every corner of the planet in search of rare artifacts and treasures. As such, it's no surprise that she's eaten a lot of good food along the way. This fascinating combo of cookbook and travel guide takes you through the locales and cuisines of many of Lara's famous outings. This cookbook complements the steps required to create international cuisine with a dash of cultural history and a healthy pinch of color photography. Learning while you eat like Lara? Sign us up! Grab the book on Amazon here.
Binging with Babish
Andrew Rea has made a name for himself by whipping together your favorite dishes from TV shows and movies on YouTube, but there’s plenty here to enjoy for video game fans as well. A quick scroll down the recipes list on his website reveals dishes inspired by Apex Legends, Pokemon, Red Dead Redemption 2 and many more popular games. So whether they're a TV, anime, cartoon or gaming fan, the Binging with Babish cookbook is an excellent choice for a holiday gift that'll broaden culinary horizons. Find it on Amazon by clicking here.
(Shopping on a budget? We've got an affordable gaming gifts list available here!)
The Pokemon Cookbook: Easy & Fun Recipes
© The Pokemon Company, Maki Kudo
If you know a geek who likes making food that looks adorable, the Pokemon Cookbook is a great purchase, filled with recipes designed to replicate the popular critters while also tasting mighty good. One point of warning is that if you buy this video game cookbook for children, they may need helping following the more complicated recipes through. Either way, the results should speak for themselves. They’ll probably taste great too, if you can bring yourself to eat them! Click here for the Amazon link.
The Ultimate Final Fantasy XIV Cookbook: The Essential Culinarian Guide to Hydaelyn
© Victoria Rosenthal
Final Fantasy 14 continues to grow in size, and you likely will too after enjoying more than a few of the delectable dishes within this official cookbook. In addition to recipes introduced via in-universe conversations, this video game cookbook sprinkles in special insights from game director Naoki Yoshida. Make sure to try the Chocobo cake!
The Geeky Chef
© Cassandra Reeder
Movies, video games, books and TV shows all get a look in as part of the Geeky Chef’s cookbook. Though it’s lacking on pictures, the recipes included are far from disappointing and cover a huge base of popular fantasy worlds including The Legends of Zelda, World of Warcraft and Super Mario Bros. This book goes heavy on the drinks, including alcholic ones, so makes a great gift for grown gamers. You can get a taste of the style of recipe by visiting the Geeky Chef website. Want to grab some as a gift? There are two books available, so check them both out and pick your favorite. Here’s the link to the first. Click here for the second.
Those are our picks of great gaming cookbooks to buy as a gift this holiday season. Know of any more? Let us know in the comments below! We’re always after new recipes. For more holiday gift guides, click here to see our hub page!
