You've probably spent way too much time staring at the cooking pot in Disney Dreamlight Valley, wondering why on earth your five-star meal turned into a pile of generic crackers. It's frustrating. You have the ingredients. You have the coal. Yet, for some reason, the Dreamlight Valley smoked peanuts and anglerfish combination remains one of the most misunderstood interactions in the game's culinary system.
Honestly, the game doesn't do a great job of explaining the "hidden" logic behind recipe priority. Most players think if they throw a rare fish and a specialized ingredient together, they’ll get something magical. Usually, they just get a mess. If you’re trying to optimize your energy recovery or fulfill a specific villager request for Smoked Peanuts and Anglerfish, you have to understand that the game treats these two items very differently. One is a foundational protein for endgame meals; the other is a specialized snack ingredient locked behind a specific character quest.
The Anglerfish Problem: Location and Luck
First off, let’s talk about that ugly fish. The Anglerfish is arguably one of the most annoying creatures to catch if you don't know the timing. You can’t just walk up to any pond in the Meadow and expect to find one.
Anglerfish only spawn in the Forgotten Lands. That’s the spooky, fire-filled biome that costs a whopping 15,000 Dreamlight to unlock. Once you're there, don't waste your time on white or blue bubbles. You are looking strictly for orange ripples. Even then, the spawn rate is low. A lot of players make the mistake of fishing during the day and getting frustrated. While they can technically appear at any time, many veteran players (and data-miners from the early access days) have noted better RNG for deep-sea creatures during the "night" cycle of your local time.
The Anglerfish is a powerhouse for energy. Eating it raw is a waste, but it's the core of the "Anglerfish Pan Seared" recipe, which requires the fish itself, a potato, and a tomato. But what happens when you try to mix it with peanuts? That's where things get weird.
Why Peanuts Aren't Just "Nuts"
You can’t find peanuts in the wild. You can't grow them from seeds you buy at Goofy’s Stall. To even see a peanut in this game, you have to progress Remy’s friendship level. Specifically, you need to complete the "Remy's Recipe Book" quest. Once you've helped the little chef get his restaurant, Chez Remy, back in order, he starts selling "Peanuts" and "Slush Ice" at the back of the kitchen.
They cost 200 Star Coins. It’s a steep price for a nut.
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But here is the kicker: in the game's coding, Peanuts are categorized as a "Protein/Nut" hybrid but they often trigger specific "Smoked" recipes when combined with a single other ingredient. If you throw a peanut into the pot with a fish, the game has to decide: are we making a fish dish, or are we making a peanut dish?
Smoked Peanuts and Anglerfish: The Recipe Conflict
Here is the truth that most "Ultimate Guides" get wrong: there isn't actually a single five-star recipe titled "Dreamlight Valley smoked peanuts and anglerfish."
Instead, what happens is a conflict of recipe priority.
- If you cook just a Peanut, you get nothing.
- If you cook a Peanut with a Fish, you often trigger the Smoked Peanuts and Anglerfish logic—which usually results in a 2-star "Smoked Peanuts" dish.
Wait, why did the Anglerfish disappear?
In Dreamlight Valley, the "Smoked Peanuts" recipe is incredibly simple. It requires exactly two things: Peanuts and any Fish. Because the Anglerfish is technically a fish, the game's auto-fill or basic recipe logic consumes that rare, hard-to-find Anglerfish just to make a mediocre 2-star snack. It’s a tragedy. You are essentially burning an ingredient that sells for 1,500 Star Coins to make a dish that is worth significantly less.
Avoid the Auto-Fill Trap
If you are trying to make a high-value meal, never use the "any fish" slot for an Anglerfish if you have Peanuts in your inventory. The game's priority system often defaults to the simplest recipe possible. Since Smoked Peanuts only requires those two categories, the game "eats" your Anglerfish.
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If you want to maximize the value of your Anglerfish, you should be making Pan-Seared Anglerfish.
- 1x Anglerfish
- 1x Tomato
- 1x Potato
This recipe restores nearly 4,000 Energy. Compare that to the Smoked Peanuts variant which, even with a rare fish, barely breaks the 2,000 mark. It’s just bad math.
The Role of Remy's Pantry in Endgame Cooking
To really master the kitchen, you have to treat Remy’s pantry like a resource trap. Peanuts are great for specific recipes like Peanut Butter Sandwiches (Peanut + Wheat) or Peanut Butter Waffles (Peanut + Wheat + Eggs + Milk). These are consistent. They are easy.
But the moment you introduce fish into the mix, the priority shifts. Most players who search for "smoked peanuts and anglerfish" are actually trying to figure out why their rare fish didn't result in a better meal. The answer is that the "Smoked" tag in the game is a priority modifier.
Understanding Recipe Hierarchy
The game checks for recipes in a specific order:
- Unique Named Recipes (like Poached Basil-Buttered Sturgeon)
- Ingredient-Specific Recipes (like Smoked Peanuts)
- Generic Category Recipes (like Grilled Fish)
Because "Smoked Peanuts" specifies an ingredient (Peanuts) and a category (Fish), it sits higher on the hierarchy than "Grilled Fish." This means if you put an Anglerfish and a Peanut together, you will always get Smoked Peanuts. You will never get a high-tier Anglerfish dish that way.
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Star Coin Efficiency: A Reality Check
Let's look at the economy of this.
An Anglerfish sells for 1,500 Star Coins.
A bag of Peanuts costs 200 Star Coins.
Total investment: 1,700 Star Coins.
The resulting "Smoked Peanuts" dish sells for roughly 2,200 Star Coins (depending on the size of the fish used). While that is a "profit," it's a terrible one. If you used a simple Bass (which sells for 25 coins) with that same Peanut, you’d still get Smoked Peanuts and a much higher profit margin.
Don't waste your Anglerfish on Smoked Peanuts. It's like using a vintage Bordeaux to make a wine spritzer. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Better Alternatives for Your Forgotten Lands Haul
If you've been grinding in the Forgotten Lands and have a chest full of Anglerfish, stop mixing them with Remy's pantry items. Instead, focus on these three things to actually get value out of your catch:
- Hovering Energy: Use the Pan-Seared Anglerfish recipe to overfill your energy bar (the yellow bar). This allows you to "glide" or hover through the valley, which is essential for finishing your daily chores faster.
- The Raven Strategy: Ravens in the Forgotten Lands often crave 5-star meals. While Smoked Peanuts won't cut it, using Anglerfish in a 5-star Large Seafood Platter (using 4 other cheap shellfish) is a great way to tame them without wasting too many resources.
- Hoarding for Quests: Future updates often require rare fish for "Star Path" duties or new character friendship quests. Keep at least five Anglerfish in a storage chest. You'll thank yourself when a new villager arrives and demands an obscure deep-sea meal.
Actionable Strategy for Efficient Cooking
To stop wasting your rare ingredients, change how you approach the cooking station. Stop using the "All" tab and start filtering by "Fish" specifically.
- Step 1: Only buy Peanuts from Remy when you have a specific goal, like making Peanut Butter Waffles for a gift.
- Step 2: If you have Anglerfish, keep them in a separate chest away from your "common" fish like Herring or Bass. This prevents you from accidentally clicking them when cooking bulk meals for energy.
- Step 3: Use the "Autofill" feature with extreme caution. The AI will prioritize whatever is first in your inventory, which is often your rarest items if you have them sorted by "Type."
By separating your "Smoked" ingredient logic from your "Rare Fish" logic, you'll save thousands of Star Coins and hours of frustrated fishing in the Forgotten Lands. Stick to the Pan-Seared method for your Anglerfish, and keep your Peanuts for the bakery.