The Potion of Healing is the fastest way to top off your health mid-fight: it restores hearts instantly instead of over time, which makes it a staple for boss fights and PvP. This guide covers the exact recipe, how to upgrade and throw it, and the mistakes that catch people out.
Everything here is confirmed in the current 2026 version of Minecraft (26.2).
Quick answer: brew an Awkward Potion (water bottle + nether wart), then add a Glistering Melon Slice to get a Potion of Healing. Add glowstone dust for Healing II (heals more), or gunpowder to make a throwable Splash Potion of Healing.
Potion of Healing at a Glance
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Base recipe | Awkward Potion + glistering melon slice |
| Effect | Instant Health: restores 4 HP (2 hearts) |
| Healing II (glowstone) | Restores 8 HP (4 hearts) |
| Splash version | Add gunpowder |
| Redstone (duration)? | No effect (the potion is instant) |
| Corrupts into | Potion of Harming (fermented spider eye) |
Step 1: Brew an Awkward Potion
Every useful potion except Weakness starts with an Awkward Potion:
- Fill glass bottles at water to make water bottles, and place them in the bottom slots of the brewing stand.
- Put nether wart in the top ingredient slot.
- Add blaze powder as fuel and wait for it to finish.
You now have Awkward Potions, the flavorless base for almost everything.
Step 2: Add a Glistering Melon Slice
You craft a glistering melon slice from 1 melon slice surrounded by 8 gold nuggets on a crafting table, so keep a little gold handy if you plan to brew a batch.
Put a glistering melon slice in the top slot with your Awkward Potions. That converts them into Potions of Healing (Instant Health), which restore 4 HP (2 hearts) the moment you drink.
Step 3: Upgrade or Make It Throwable
Two upgrades matter for healing:
- Glowstone dust turns it into a Potion of Healing II, which restores 8 HP (4 hearts) per drink. Because Instant Health has no duration, upgrading with glowstone has no downside here; there is no shortened timer to trade away.
- Gunpowder turns it into a Splash Potion of Healing you can throw. This is huge: splash healing affects everyone in the cloud, so you can heal teammates, or throw it at your feet to heal instantly while your hands stay free.
Note that redstone dust does nothing to a Potion of Healing. Redstone extends duration, and Instant Health has no duration to extend, so do not waste it here.
A Handy Trick: Healing Hurts Undead
Instant Health works the opposite way on undead mobs (zombies, skeletons, withers, the wither boss). A Splash Potion of Healing thrown at them deals damage instead of healing. It is a niche but real combat tool, especially against the wither. If you would rather damage the living, add a fermented spider eye to corrupt healing into a Potion of Harming.
Frequently Asked Questions
Brew an Awkward Potion (water bottle plus nether wart), then add a Glistering Melon Slice in the brewing stand. That gives you a Potion of Healing that restores 2 hearts instantly.
It restores health instantly rather than over time. The base potion heals 4 HP (2 hearts), and the upgraded Healing II heals 8 HP (4 hearts).
Add glowstone dust to a Potion of Healing. Since the effect is instant, there is no duration trade-off, so glowstone is always worth adding if you have it.
Add gunpowder to a finished Potion of Healing. It becomes throwable, which lets you heal yourself instantly or heal teammates in the splash cloud.
No. Redstone only extends a potion’s duration, and Instant Health has no duration, so redstone has no effect on it.
Instant Health damages undead mobs like zombies, skeletons, and the wither. If you throw splash healing at them, it deals damage instead of restoring health.
Making a Potion of Healing comes down to two ingredients on top of your Awkward base: a glistering melon slice for the potion, and glowstone or gunpowder to make it stronger or throwable. Keep a few splash Healing II potions in your hotbar, and you will survive fights that would otherwise end you.
