Surviving in the Nether can be tough in Minecraft. It operates by a different set of rules than the Overworld, has different foes, and has limited access to many resources. For players that aren’t properly prepared or looking to do a Nether only run, it can be really tough to get by.

Perhaps the most challenging aspect is finding enough food to stay nourished within the Nether. Fortunately, with some proper preparation and creativity players can keep starvation at bay. Here are all the ways to stay fed and obtain food when surviving in the Nether.

10 Dry Farming

The Nether is so hot that water blocks will evaporate the second they’re placed on the ground. This prevents players from establishing the traditional farms they’re accustomed to. Any cropland that’s hoed will quickly revert back to regular dirt.

That being said there is a way to still grow crops within the Nether. Once the player creates a block of farmland they need to very quickly plant the crop before it reverts. If the crop is successfully planted it will prevent the farmland from converting. The downside is that without water it takes forever to grow and it’s a very tedious way to do any largescale farming. Harvesting with a Fortune III Hoe will increase yields.

9 Transplant Villagers

There are a variety of villagers willing to trade for various forms of food. Farmers will offer things like Carrots and Potatoes while Butchers will trade for various uncooked and cooked meats. Having several villagers in the Nether can provide a consistent stream of food.

Now the player needs to keep in mind that they don’t spawn there naturally. The only way for villagers to end up in the Nether is to be pushed through a portal or taken through with a rowboat. It’s also important to keep in mind that Ghasts and other hostile mods will target Villagers so they need to be protected.

8 Transplant Animals

Animal farms through taming and breeding is a great source of food. In fact, Steaks and Cooked Porkchops are considered the best sources of farmable food in the game. And with access to tons of lava players can easily create farms that burn the animals alive resulting in instantly cooked meats.

Once again animals are not commonly found in the Nether and like the Villagers need to be coaxed through a portal. This is a bit easier as players can use Leads to drag them through. Breeding them for largescale farms will be a hassle due to dry farming so having that food in bulk prior to entering the Nether will be helpful.

7 Cocoa Bean Farm

Coca Beans can be a surprisingly effective sources of food in the Nether. Cocoa Beans only require to be planted on a Jungle Log in order to grow. Players can craft very efficient Coca Bean farms that can be combined with Wheat to make Cookies.

While Wheat farming in the Nether is a pain the player is benefited in that only one unit of Wheat is needed to make six Cookies. Rather than trying to make mass amounts of Bread which takes three Wheat players can combine it with easier to grow Cocoa Beans making Cookies a superior choice.

6 Berry Bush Planting

The easiest form of traditional farming is to plant Berry Bushes on dirt blocks in the Nether. Unlike standard crops they don’t require nearby water sources or farmland to grow. Berry Bushes will yield Sweet Berries that are equal to a Cookie in terms of sustenance.

It takes some time to set up and Berry Bushes must be transplanted into the Nether with Silk Touch, but it’s a viable food source. It’s recommended to harvest Berries with a tool that has Fortune III. Harvesting without yields one to two and harvesting with Fortune can yield one to five.

5 Wither Rose

The Wither Rose is a flower that drops when the Wither kills any mob. While meaningless on its own the Wither Rose can be combined with Red and Brown Mushrooms and a Bowl to produce Suspicious Stew.

This is highly impractical as this particular brand of Suspicious Stew will poison the player with Wither resulting in damage. It is possible to stave off starvation and stay alive, but it results in the player needing to eat far more often to offset the health loss. Not to mention simply removing the flower results in regular Mushroom Stew which has the same effect without the Wither side effect.

4 Zombified Piglin

Zombified Piglins will drop zero to one Rotten Flesh when they are killed. When using a Fortune III weapon they’ll drop zero to four. Rotten Flesh when consumed provides the nourishment equivalent to an Apple.

The downside is that it also has an 80% chance to inflict Hunger for 30 seconds. Eating multiple pieces of Rotten Flesh don’t stack Hunger so a player can eat enough to bring their Hunger near maximum before the Hunger wears off. It’s not terribly effective but it will keep the player alive and can be combined with Gold Nugget farming efforts.

3 Baby Zombified Piglin Chicken Jockey

In the Nether there is a .25% chance that a Baby Zombified Piglin riding a Chicken will spawn. In addition to dropping Rotten Flesh the Chicken when killed will also drop Raw Chicken. This can be cooked to provide a very potent source of nourishment.

Of course, the main flaw with this source of food is whether it will appear at all. The odds can be nudged slightly by having a Chicken in the Nether which brings the .25% up to 5%. But at that point the player would be better served having a Chicken farm.

2 Mushrooms

Mushrooms are a handy source of nourishment in the Nether. Brown and Red Mushrooms spawn just about anywhere and they don’t require specific light sources to do so. Players can establish massive Mushroom farms very easily in the Nether.

Players can also use Bone Meal from Wither Skeletons to grow giant Mushrooms. Harvesting from this with a Fortune III tool will yield an incredible amount. When combined with a Bowl Mushrooms make Mushroom Stew that’s on par with Bread. The only downside is that the Stew doesn’t stack which can take up quite a bit of inventory space or require crafting on the fly with a Crafting Bench.

1 Hoglin

By far the best source of naturally occurring food within the Nether are Hoglins. Found in the Crimson Forest biome of the Nether they can be killed to drop two to four Raw Porkchops and up to seven Porkchops with a Fortune III tool.

Thanks to the abundance of Lava players can create clever contraptions to kill the Hoglins with fire which causes them to drop Cooked Porkchops. Cooked Porkchops are one of the best farmable foods in the game on par with Steaks. Hoglins are hostile, but with fencing and placed blocks safe Hoglin farms can easily be established. They can be bred with Crimson Fungi.

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