7 best Minecraft mods to turn the game into Stardew Valley

There's inarguably a ton of crossover in the Minecraft and Stardew Valley communities. They're both adorable survival games, though the former focuses more on the survival aspect and the latter focuses more on farming and socializing with NPCs. However, the large overlap among the fans of these titles means that there are many mods to make them feel more similar to one another.

This article lists seven of the best examples of mods that end up making Minecraft feel much more similar to Stardew Valley.

Note: This list is subjective and solely reflects the opinions of the writer

---

7 of the best Minecraft mods for a Stardew Valley-like experience

1) Farmer's Delight

A small Farmer's Delight farm (Image via Mojang)

• Latest game version: 1.21
• Creator: vectorwing
• Link: https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/farmers-delight
• Modloader(s): Fabric, NeoForge

Farmer's Delight might be the single best mod for Minecraft players wanting a Stardew Valley-esque experience. It adds four new crops to the game: rice, cabbage, tomato, and onion. This might not seem like a lot on the surface, but the mod's true depth comes from its cooking system.

Players can take these new crops and combine them with the vanilla ones in a bunch of new and interesting ways. There are new sandwiches, soups, stews, and more to create and discover, similar to how different food recipes need to be discovered before they can be used in Stardew Valley.

---

2) Villager Names

A villager with a random name (Image via Mojang)

• Latest game version: 1.21
• Creator: Serilum
• Link: https://modrinth.com/mod/random-village-names
• Modloaders: Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, Quilt

One of the most iconic aspects of Stardew Valley are its loveable NCPs. Minecraft villagers, the closest thing that Java and Bedrock players have to these NPCs, are quite a bit less interesting.

Thankfully, the Villager Names mod helps with this issue quite significantly. It gives villagers randomly generated names, which makes them feel much more alive and like Stardew Valley's NPCs.

---

3) Overweight Farming

An assortment of giant crops (Image via Mojang)

• Latest game version: 1.20.1
• Creator: Binome
• Link: https://modrinth.com/mod/overweight-farming
• Modloaders: Fabric, Forge

Overweight Farming makes it possible for regular Minecraft crops to become larger variants when they grow up. This is very similar to how some crops in Stardew Valley, namely melons and cauliflower, can combine into huge variants when planted in large patches.

The mod also adds a bit of much-needed visual interest to otherwise bland stretches of farmland.

---

4) Damp Soil (Forge)/Moisturization (Fabric)

A sprinkler watering a farm (Image via randommcsomethin/Modrinth)

• Latest game version: 1.20.1 (Deep Soil), 1.19.3 (Moisturization)
• Creators: Sarinsa (Deep Soil), randommcsomethin (Moisturization)
• Damp Soil link: https://modrinth.com/mod/damp-soil
• Moisurization link: https://modrinth.com/mod/moisturization
• Modloaders: Forge (Deep Soil), Fabric (Moisturization)

These two Minecraft mods feature the same slot because they are the same mod, just maintained by different people for different modloaders. They give players control over how farmland behaves around water through a configuration file.

By default, water will now only irrigate the blocks directly next to it. Players will need to craft sprinklers to make larger farms. Sprinklers are one of the most important items in a Stardew Valley farm, making this a great mod for bringing that game's vibe over to Minecraft.

---

5) Serene Seasons

• Latest game version: 1.21
• Creator: TheAdubbz
• Link: https://modrinth.com/mod/serene-seasons
• Modloaders: Fabric, Forge, NeoForge

Every veteran Stardew Valley player knows that one of the most important parts of the game is the passing of seasons. New crop types, fish, and features are unlocked at different points of the year.

That's what makes the Serene Seasons mod so great for bringing this vibe to Mojang's blocky masterpiece. The mod adds seasons to the game that affect crop growth and weather that players will pass through over time, just like in Stardew Valley.

---

6) Shifty Hotbar

Being able to quickly swap out the entire hotbar is a huge advantage (Image via Mojang)

• Latest game version: 1.20.4
• Creator: Kir_Antipov
• Link: https://modrinth.com/mod/shifty-hotbar
• Modloaders: Fabric

Shifty Hotbar gives Minecraft fans the ability to scroll their hotbar through the different rows of their inventory. This is similar to how players can switch hotbars in Stardew Valley.

Being able to quickly access an entirely new set of items with a press of a button is both powerful and convenient and will make working on large-scale building projects, like farms and mega bases, easier.

---

7) Random Village Names

The name of a village as a player enters it (Image via Mojang)

• Latest game version: 1.21
• Creator: Serilum
• Link: https://modrinth.com/mod/random-village-names
• Modloaders: Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, Quilt

This Serilum mod makes Minecraft feel similar to Stardew Valley for many of the same reasons as Villager Names. It adds a bit more realism to villages by giving them names that appear when the Areas mod is installed.

This bit of immersion makes these towns feel much more like Stardew Valley's adorable Pelican Town than the vanilla villages do.