Food list

92 foods with the numbers that matter, sorted by calories. Filter by type or search by name; every name links to the item page. Updated for Build 42.21, November 2026.

A kitchen — Calories keep you alive through winter

01Part

Every food, by calories

Hunger and thirst are for the whole item (negative means it satisfies). “Never” means no spoil timer; canned food spoils only once opened.

Food	Type	Hunger	Thirst	Calories	Fresh for	Rots after	Notes
Lard	Pantry	-24	–	4095	Never	Never	No; Unhappy +30
Pasta	Dry goods	-60	+60	3360	Never	Never	Cook in a pot or add to soup; Unhappy +40 raw
Butter	Dairy	-24	–	3200	Never	Never	No; Unhappy +20 alone
Lentils (Dried)	Dry goods	-60	–	3000	Never	Never
Rice	Dry goods	-60	–	2880	Never	Never	Cannot be eaten raw: cook in a pot
Peanut Butter	Pantry	-25	–	2660	Never	Never	No; Unhappy -15
Cereal	Dry goods	-40	–	2360	Never	Never	No
Ice Cream	Snack	-30	–	1680	1 day	2 days	No; Unhappy -10
Ham	Meat	-60	–	1560	5 days	10 days	Optional (20 min)
Can of Oats	Dry goods	-50	–	1500	180 days	365 days	For oatmeal and cookies
Watermelon	Fresh	-60	-140	1355	6 days	8 days	No
Pizza Slice	Meal	-25	–	990	3 days	5 days	No; Unhappy -10
Rabbit Meat	Meat	-30	–	969	2 days	4 days	Required (25 min)
Chocolate Bar	Snack	-20	–	850	Never	Never
Canned Corned Beef	Canned	-24	–	720	Never sealed; 2 days opened	4 days opened	Optional
Chips	Snack	-15	–	720	Never	Never	No; Unhappy -5
Mac and Cheese	Meal	–	–	690	180 days	365 days	Open, then cook
TV Dinner	Meal	-23	–	670	3 days	5 days	Optional (10 min); Unhappy +20 cold
Honey	Dry goods	-20	–	660	Never	Never
Fruit Jam	Pantry	-30	–	550	Never	Never	No; Unhappy -10
Canned Spaghetti Bolognese	Canned	-24	–	540	Never sealed; 3 days opened	5 days opened	Optional
Baguette	Bakery	-23	–	532	3 days	6 days
Bread	Bakery	-30	–	532	3 days	6 days
Canned Dog Food	Canned	-30	–	498	Never sealed; 5 days opened	7 days opened
Canned Evaporated Milk	Canned	-10	-10	472	Never sealed; 4 days opened	7 days opened
Beef	Meat	-80	–	440	2 days	4 days	Required
Venison	Meat	-80	–	440	2 days	4 days
Beef Jerky	Meat	-20	–	410	Never	Never	No
Pumpkin	Fresh	-40	–	404	14 days	28 days	Optional (30 min); Unhappy +10 raw
White Sugar	Baking	-30	–	387	Never	Never	No
Sugar	Dry goods	-30	–	387	Never	Never
Canned Tuna	Canned	-18	–	370	Never sealed; 2 days opened	4 days opened	Optional
Salami	Meat	-20	–	330	10 days	15 days	No
Canned Corn	Canned	-16	-4	315	Never sealed; 2 days opened	4 days opened	Optional
Ground Beef	Meat	-40	–	300	2 days	4 days	Required (50 min)
Canned Peas	Canned	-16	-3	280	Never sealed; 2 days opened	4 days opened	Optional
Granola Bar	Snack	-15	–	270	Never	Never	No
Salmon	Fish	-30	–	270	2 days	4 days	Required
Canned Chili	Canned	-16	–	260	Never sealed; 3 days opened	5 days opened	Optional
Canned Peaches	Canned	-15	–	250	Never sealed; 5 days opened	7 days opened	No; Unhappy -10
Canned Pineapple	Canned	-15	–	250	Never sealed; 5 days opened	7 days opened	No; Unhappy -10
Canned Fruit Cocktail	Canned	-15	–	250	Never sealed; 5 days opened	7 days opened	No
Canned Fruit Beverage	Drink	-15	-85	250	Never sealed; 5 days opened	7 days opened	No
Chicken Fillet	Meat	-30	–	230	2 days	4 days	Required (30 min)
Steak	Meat	-40	–	220	2 days	4 days
Jar of Potatoes	Canned	-48	–	210	30 days sealed; 2 opened	60 days sealed; 4 opened
Fish Fillet	Fish	-25	–	205	2 days	4 days	Required (20 min)
Fish	Fish	-25	–	205	2 days	4 days
Cabbage	Fresh	-24	-10	180	2 days	4 days	No
Sausage	Meat	-20	–	180	2 days	4 days	Required
Donut	Bakery	-7	–	180	3 days	5 days
Croissant	Bakery	-8	–	180	3 days	5 days
Bread Slices	Bakery	-10	–	177	3 days	6 days
Canned Potato	Canned	-18	-7	175	Never sealed; 2 days opened	4 days opened	Optional
Canned Beans	Canned	-24	–	170	Never sealed; 2 days opened	4 days opened	Optional; Unhappy +10 opened
Peanuts	Snack	-8	–	161	Never	Never	No
Canned Mushroom Soup	Canned	-10	-4	160	Never sealed; 2 days opened	4 days opened	Optional
Bacon	Meat	-12	–	160	3 days	5 days
Canned Sardines	Canned	-14	–	150	Never sealed; 2 days opened	4 days opened	Optional
Pork Chop	Meat	-30	–	150	2 days	4 days	Required (50 min)
Canned Vegetable Soup	Canned	-25	-4	125	Never sealed; 2 days opened	4 days opened	Optional
Jar of Carrots	Canned	-40	–	125	30 days sealed; 2 opened	60 days sealed; 4 opened	Optional
Muffin	Bakery	-7	–	120	5 days	8 days
Cheese	Dairy	-15	–	113	14 days	20 days
Banana	Fresh	-16	-5	105	5 days	7 days	No
Dehydrated Meat Stick	Meat	-10	–	100	Never	Never	No
Apple	Fresh	-16	-7	95	5 days	8 days
Canned Tomato	Canned	-12	-8	90	Never sealed; 2 days opened	4 days opened	Optional
Corn	Fresh	-14	-4	88	5 days	8 days	Optional; Unhappy +5 raw
Popsicle	Snack	-15	–	80	1 day	2 days	No; Unhappy -10
Crackers	Dry goods	-5	–	70	Never	Never	No
Potato	Fresh	-18	-7	70	28 days	280 days
Orange	Fresh	-12	-8	65	6 days	9 days	No
Eggs	Dairy	-7	–	63	14 days	21 days
Grapes	Fresh	-15	-5	62	5 days	8 days	No
Jar of Tomatoes	Canned	-48	–	56	30 days sealed; 2 opened	60 days sealed; 4 opened
Lettuce	Fresh	-15	-7	54	3 days	5 days	No
Dry Ramen Noodles	Dry goods	-10	+40	52	365 days	730 days	Soup or stir-fry ingredient; Unhappy +20 raw
Flour	Dry goods	-60	–	50	Never	Never
Gummy Bears	Snack	-5	–	40	Never	Never	No; Unhappy -10
Yogurt	Dairy	-10	–	30	10 days	15 days	No
Onion	Fresh	-10	–	28	14 days	28 days	No
Carrot	Fresh	-8	-4	25	6 days	8 days
Berries	Fresh	-10	-1	23	6 days	10 days	No
Tomato	Fresh	-12	-8	14	4 days	12 days	No
Canned Carrots	Canned	-12	-4	10	Never sealed; 2 days opened	4 days opened	Optional
Strawberries	Fresh	-5	-1	4	2 days	5 days	No; Unhappy -10
Coffee	Drink	-30	+60	2	Never	Never
Juice Box	Drink	–	–	–	–	–	No
Tea Bag	Drink	-5	+10	–	Never	Never	Brew as a hot drink; Unhappy +10 raw; tiredness -15
Vodka	Alcohol	–	–	–	–	–	No
Water Ration Can	Drink	–	–	–	Never	Never	Open with a tool

02Part

The best foods for each job

Most calories

Lard, butter, rice, pasta, peanut butter and cereal: thousands of calories that never spoil. Cook rice and pasta first.

Best cans

Corned beef (720 calories) and spaghetti bolognese (540) for weight; vegetable soup for hunger.

Mood food

Peaches, pineapple, chocolate, gummy bears, peanut butter and pizza all lower unhappiness.

Thirst

Watermelon (−140) and canned fruit beverage (−85).

Eat first

Fresh meat, fish, cabbage and lettuce spoil in two or three days.

Keeps forever

Honey, sugar, rice, pasta, jerky, chocolate and sealed cans.

How to cook and preserve them: cooking and nutrition.

03Part

Quick answers

What food has the most calories in Project Zomboid?

Lard, butter, rice, pasta and peanut butter, each with thousands of calories, and none of them spoil.

How long does canned food last?

Sealed cans do not spoil. Once opened, most last 2 to 5 days.

Which foods make you happier?

Canned peaches and pineapple, chocolate, gummy bears, peanut butter, jam and pizza.

Food values from the Build 42 item scripts as published by pzfans.com. Drinks and alcohol are fluid containers in Build 42 and have no fixed values here.