Video games have become a huge part of pop culture which allows it to enter new worlds. The popularity of the games has video game culture more beloved than ever with various brands thriving because of it. Whether you have nostalgia for legendary video games of the 90s or are a fan of the new hit franchises, most people have some sort of adoration for the gaming world. This has crossed over into other fields. Cooking is one we will look at today when it comes to meals created thanks to inspiration by video games.
The recipes are typically traditional foods that have just enough of a twist to add in the video game aspect. Some of the food options are made due to looking like something related to a specific game. Others are the actual foods that were found in a game and have been made in for real. All foods to become a real thing here have been created because of the love of video games. It truly is a form of entertainment that keeps on finding ways to give. Find out if your favorite game has a food. These are twenty of the most unique food items inspired by video games.
20 Pokémon Cafe Pikachu Burger
The Pokémon Café in Tokyo is relatively new and home to some of the most unique meals. It celebrates the iconic television and video game franchise. Naturally, most of the meals on the menu have tie-ins to various Pokémon references and characters.
This specific item is the Pikachu Teriyaki Burger. The top bun is decorated to look like the beloved character Pikachu. Otherwise, it’s a pretty standard burger with some chips on the side. Regardless, any food item adding Pikachu to the mix instantly improves thanks to the décor alone. Pikachu’s burger certainly looks appealing and shows why the Pokémon Café is worth checking out in Tokyo.
19 Super Mario Fire Flower Appetizers
The inception of social media and the internet growing massively through the years makes it easier for cooks to share their creative sides. Super Mario fan Rosanna Pansino likes to make nerdy themed treats and decided to honor a memorable visual from the legendary video game franchise.
The fire flower from Super Mario games was the topic selected as the inspiration for the veggie appetizer. Cheese and vegetables are used to wisely fit the design of the fire flower for the gorgeous visual and a delicious snack. Super Mario Fire Flower Appetizers get you the best of both worlds if a fan of Mario.
18 Blue Slime Meat Buns
The Dragon Quest slime is the next video game related inspiration for a meal. This one features an item officially made to be released in convenience stores across Japan. The slime from Dragon Quest is the visual as seen by the picture, but many would be surprised to find out it’s a meat bun.
Many people were a bit confused at the idea considering a blue meat bun does not appear as appealing to the average person looking to buy one. However, fans of Dragon Quest likely want to give it a chance given the love of the game and the unique way to tie it in for a food idea.
17 Bento X-Box
The clever naming of the Bento X-Box makes it a successful addition to the list based on that alone. Bento boxes are a great eating option at restaurants in Japan that have become popular in restaurants all over North America.
This specific Bento X-Box is clearly named after the XBOX gaming system. A chef created this box as a fun gift for her husband. The impressive work of using rice to form an XBOX controller inspired many others to try their own attempt at the Bento X-Box. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to match the work of a very talented chef.
16 Kirby Macaroons
Another successful creation by online personality Rosanna Pansino saw her bring Kirby Macaroons to the world. Kirby is a legendary video game character of the 90s that is still relevant today with new games finding huge success for Nintendo.
The Kirby Macaroons take a lot of work and precision to reach this level of success. Macaroons are delicious little treats that will put anyone in a good mood in the most basic form. Factor in the design of the adorable Kirby and it’s an extremely tempting dessert to attempt to make. Kirby and macaroons are a pair made to work well together.
15 Angry Birds Sandwich
Cooking Channel provides a lot of unique recipes for folks looking to get creative in the kitchen. One idea saw the popular video game Angry Birds become the subject when looking to create a fun sandwich and salad combination.
The Angry Birds Sandwich does not look like the most visually appealing item, especially compared to the other treats on this list. However, it will likely put a smile on the face of any kid that loves the video game franchise. This is one strange video game related food item specifically aimed towards parents trying to make fun things for their children.
14 Twenty-Sided Dice Lollipop
Dungeon and Dragons is a very popular fantasy role-playing game. Most are aware of Dungeon and Dragons for the tabletop game, but it has been a part of multiple video game projects. In fact, many future games were inspired by the popularity of it.
The Twenty-Sided Dice Lollipop is a reference to the twenty-sided dice used in the game. This is a simpler food item, but it is still quite strange to see as a real thing. The numbers on the lollipop help it appear to look like the real thing. Luckily, the lollipop is a lot less intense than rolling the dice in the game.
13 Pokémon Go Strawberries
The popularity of Pokémon Go over the past two years has helped the Pokémon franchise become even bigger with new fans falling in love with it. Pokémon truly proved they could thrive with many generations thanks to parents now playing the new version of the game with their kids.
People Magazine’s website spotlighted a recipe of Pokémon Go Berries. The stunning designs are meant to look like the legendary Pokeball and the color scheme of Pikachu. Children are wild about Pokémon again, and it leads to fun recipes like this making the delicious experience of eating fruits more entertaining for youngsters.
12 Mario Pizza Stuffed Biscuits
Super Mario is the video game likely most responsible for the most food ideas coming to life. The beloved mushrooms in the game are an aspect that makes it easy to tie in. A creative person decided to test out a fun recipe idea and later share it online.
The Super Mario Pizza Stuffed Biscuits are meant to look like the various mushrooms in Super Mario that helped Mario get an extra life or grow to a large size. Pizza stuffed biscuits are a unique food combination in general that came out looking delicious. Mario and Luigi would be very proud.
11 Zelda Triforce Lemon Bars
Another creation by Rosanna Pansino featured the use of legendary video game The Legend of Zelda. Anyone to play Zelda is likely aware that the Triforce is the ultimate source of power in the game and it is the balance of the forces in the game.
The Triforce design in the game served as the inspiration for the creation of Zelda Triforce Lemon Bars. It is one thing to experience video game themes in cookies or cakes, but lemon bars seem like a tougher job to get done. Zelda Triforce Lemon Bars look delicious and appear to do a great job making the Zelda fan base proud.
10 Pokeball Cakes
The artwork of the Pokeball was perfectly designed to lead to fun projects involving it. Some people liked to draw it, but multiple people with a love for baking decided to go forward with making it into a cake or mini-cakes.
This one does a great job designing the outside to look exactly like the Pokeballs from the video games and television shows. Its inside contains vanilla cake, red velvet cake and plain cake icing. Many kids likely have the time of their lives eating these absurdly adorable themed cakes from their favorite game. Unfortunately, it may lead to craving dessert next time one is playing a Pokémon game on the Switch!
9 Dig Dug Cookies
Dig Dug is a memorable arcade game from the 80s. Back when you had to go to an arcade to get your gaming fun, Dig Dug emerged as a beloved game that developed a fan base. Many were reminded or introduced to Dig Dug when it was part of the hit television show Stranger Things with it being the favorite game of the characters on the show.
Rosanna Pansino returns with another original creation paying tribute to the arcade game. Her Dig Dug cookies are designed to look exactly like the game with both placement of the coloring and placement of everything. Good luck finding a sweeter treat dedicated to a game that peaked in the 80s.
8 1UP Mushroom Burger
Another Super Mario reference makes the list with the second item related to the 1UP mushroom. The purpose of the mushroom in the game was to give you extra life, which provides a difficult challenge living up to the namesake with a food item.
A restaurant decided to create the 1UP Mushroom Burger to tie into the series with the look and food lining up. It is legitimately a mushroom burger as the patty with the top bun designed to look like the 1UP mushroom. Don’t fear the taste of the green bun being strange as it’s just food coloring with mozzarella cheese on the top.
7 Snorlax Hamburg and Seafood Rice Plate
The Pokémon Café has another relevant item to our list. One of the few items on the menu tied into a Pokémon other than Pikachu features the Snorlax Hamburg and Seafood Rice Plate. Snorlax was the laziest Pokémon that always wanted to nap which means this should be a relaxing meal for you.
The rice dish has Hamburg steaks intentionally cut to look like the face of Snorlax. It truly does look like the most peculiar and delicious art you’ll find. The meal even comes with a little soup and salad on the side even though Snorlax would go for the steak first.
6 Kingdom Hearts Paopu Pops
Kingdom Hearts is a legendary game that found a world of success for the Playstation. It is a beloved franchise that still gets love today as the ultimate testament for a franchise thriving in the gaming industry.
The previously mentioned Rosanna Pansino is also responsible for this idea. She went with the concept of cake pops and used the Kingdom Hearts design to make it look both delicious and fitting. The Paopu fruit is part of the game and made for the ideal design. Kingdom Hearts fans likely have both a desire to bite into the pops while playing the game again after seeing this item for the first time.
5 Pac-Man Pizza
This is one of the least elaborate food items on the list, but it deserves credit for the originality of the idea. Pac-Man is clearly an iconic arcade game and video game franchise that is still relevant today. An easy game to figure out can still relate due to how fun and colorful the world in it is.
One Pac-Man fan decided to make a pizza dish based off the Pac-Man game and upload it online. While it isn’t as committed to the baking work as Triforce Lemon Bars or Pokémon Café meals, the commitment of the love of the game is well and alive here.
4 Minecraft Creeper Crisped-Rice Treat
Minecraft makes its way to the list with a food item both beautiful and creative enough to live up to the legacy of the legendary game. Video game fanatics of all ages love Minecraft considering how long it has been around. Online personality Rosanna Pansino has another item originated from her mind and brought to our screens.
The Creepers in Minecraft attempt to make things difficult for the player at nightfall. They are a bit less intimidating when shaped into the crisped-rice treat. Anyone who loves crisped-rice treats will likely be enticed by the colorful design, especially if you have any love for Minecraft.
3 Zelda Fruit Salad
This selection isn’t as professional as a restaurant meal or an online vlogging series, but it certainly deserves a lot of respect from video game fans. The story of this one is very simple. Someone loves The Legend of Zelda video game franchise and decided to spend a lot of time creating a fruit salad for it.
The salad sees the colorful fruits perfectly positioned to look exactly like popular character Link. One can only guess just how much time went into making the fruit salad design this precise. It must have been a difficult task to eat the salad and destroy the hard work.
2 Super Smash Bros Bento Box
This is the second Bento Box to make the list, but it is absolutely the most impressive one. The visual of the food design is impressive enough to rank highly. Bento boxes usually have a plethora of food and this lives up to that reputation.
Various characters from the beloved Nintendo game Super Smash Bros are present here. We see Pikachu, Yoshi, Kirby and a few other small references in there. Bento box creator Anna the Red created this one. Anyone creating such precise characters with food in such a flawless manner deserves the respect of being a true artist.
1 Mario Kart 8 Koopa Shell Cake Pops
The visual of a koopa shell is already leading to the instinct kicking in to worry about it to die-hard Mario fans. This specific food creation is designed to look like the koopa shells often getting in the way on the course in Mario Kart 8. Rosanna Pansino is once again responsible for such a beautiful and unique food creation matching up to the video game.
The Mario Kart 8 Koopa Shell Cake Pops are like traditional cake pops but with the colorful designs meant to look like the shells. Even the spikes coming out of the shell look identical to the video game feature. These cake pops prove we need more video game themed food options in the world.
References: YouTube, Cooking Channel TV, Anna The Red