How to get food in Subnautica 2

If you don’t get food, you won’t survive Subnautica 2. Since you’re dropped in the middle of an ocean brimming with tasty-looking fish, finding food may not appear to be your biggest problem in the early game, but it actually is; cooking fish isn’t all that useful when you can’t digest it.

Here’s how to get food recipes and fix the digestion problem in Subnautica 2.

[Ed. note: Before you dive in, be sure to open the character menu and enable all landmark signals. This will make it easier to spot the locations mentioned in this guide.]

Update (June 8): This guide now includes all food recipes in Subnautica 2.

How to make food in Subnautica 2

Upon starting a new game in Subnautica 2, you get to choose between survival and creative mode. If you pick “survival,” you must manage your hunger (as well as your health, thirst, and oxygen). The yellow meter in the bottom left corner of the screen shows your character’s food status; a full yellow circle means you’re satiated, but a near-empty circle means you’re starving.

Luckily, when you’ve cleared Subnautica 2‘s prologue and find yourself in the stranded Lifepod (above water), you can open the storage inside the Lifepod to find three nutrient blocks. They restore 40 food points each, which should keep you alive for the next hour or so. Since you have a maximum of 100 food points, don’t eat the nutrient blocks until you’re down to 60 points, or you’ll waste valuable nutrients.

There are two easy ways to get more food in Subnautica 2. First, you can catch small fish with your bare hands; just swim close enough and click on them to catch them. Secondly, you can use the survival multitool (you’ll need three pieces of titanium to craft it at the Fabricator) to collect fibrous pulp from an underwater plant. Obtaining these ingredients will unlock the food recipes for cooked fish (+25 to +40 food) and oily salad (+20 food), respectively. You can make food recipes at the Fabricator.

Note that you can consume raw fish, but this will restore fewer food points and slightly reduce your health (so don’t go crazy on the sushi). The picture below shows two types of edible fish on the left, and an anemone that drops fibrous pulp on the right. All are found in the area below the Lifepod.

Graphic: Marloes Valentina Stella/Polygon | Source images: Unknown Worlds Entertainment/Krafton via Polygon

There’s just one problem in early-game Subnautica 2; you can’t digest anything other than nutrient blocks yet. Your main priority, therefore, is to obtain the “digestion” adaptation.

How to fix digestive incompatibility in Subnautica 2

Can’t eat cooked fish and oily salad in Subnautica 2? This means you haven’t obtained the “digestion” adaptation yet. Starting from the Lifepod, swim 160 meters to the north-northeast (25 degrees). If you pick up the signal to Anita’s Blackbox, follow it.

Right next to Anita’s Blackbox, you will see a very large, blue plant with a shiny pink core. Interact with the pink core to unlock the “digestion” adaptation, allowing you to eat cooked fish and oily salad from now on.

Graphic: Marloes Valentina Stella/Polygon | Source images: Unknown Worlds Entertainment/Krafton via Polygon

Later in the game, especially once you’ve discovered salt, you can craft more advanced recipes that restore more food points.

All food recipes in Subnautica 2

Tired of cooked fish and oily salad? Here’s an overview of all food recipes in Subnautica 2 and how to make them:

If you’re starting out in Subnautica 2, we have a plethora of guides to help you navigate the deep blue sea. Our Subnautica 2 beginner’s guide will set you off in the right direction and our base building tips will assist in planning out your sprawling base. Don’t forget to stock up on food and water, too. (And if you want to get fancy with your food, you’ll want salt!)

If you need help finding materials, we explain how to get the sonic resonator, which you’ll want to mine tons of materials. We have guides on where to find these resources, like lead, sulfur, copper, quartz, and gold.