How to Make Potatoes in Minecraft

Fear the (potato) reaper

Potatoes are one of the best go-to foods in Minecraft. This self-sustainable natural food is best served baked but can be eaten raw with no real problems. And while in its most pure state, it can also be used to produce more of itself. Here’s what you need to know about making more potatoes in Minecraft.

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How to Make Potatoes in Minecraft

To start harvesting potatoes, you need to find your first potato naturally. Potatoes are most commonly found in chests or villages but can also be rarely dropped from husks and zombies. Whichever method you use to find your first one doesn’t really matter as long as you hold that potato as if your whole life depends on it (and it might do, otherwise you might starve to death).

Now you gotta make a small farming plot to start harvesting them. Villages will occasionally spawn with premade farms that you can use (and even find potatoes!), but you might want to make one of your own. For that, use the Crafting Table to get a hoe to till dirt blocks. 

You can make a plot near an ocean or any other water source to keep your tiles hydrated, but the best option is to remove the central block in your plot to replace it with water you brought with a bucket. Make sure to construct fences and other protections to keep it safe from monsters

Screenshot by Prima Games

As an example, here’s a 3×3 basic plot with water in the middle. You can replicate it with bigger proportions, but make sure to keep an odd number so it can work (5×5, 7×7, etc).

Related: How to Make a Map in Minecraft

With the potatoes receiving enough sunlight and water, it’ll be only a couple of days before you can harvest them. Use the hoe to make things faster when reaping the crops. Each crop can give you from 1 to 5 potatoes, and you can start all over again after obtaining your bounty. 

There are many methods to make the crops grow faster, such as using Bone Meal as a fertilizer or bringing bees to pollenize them. Putting torches near the crops is also a good call so they can receive light even while the sun’s out.

You can later use the furnace to make Baked Potatoes, but those cannot be used for farming and only serve as a better way to end your hunger.


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About the Author

Patrick Souza

Patrick has been working for Prima since 2022 and joined as a Staff Writer in 2023. He's been interested in gaming journalism since college, and that was the path he took once he had his degree in hands. Diligently ignores his ever-growing backlog to keep raiding in Final Fantasy XIV, exploring in Genshin Impact or replaying some of his favorite RPGs from time to time. Loves tackling hard challenges in games, but his cats are still the hardest bosses he could ask for.