What does it cost to level Cooking right now?

121g in reagents at today's US auction prices, over about 85 crafts. Sell the results and it comes back to 94g.

Where do these numbers come from?

The skill thresholds are read from the game client data for build 12.1.0.68914. The prices are the region-wide auction house, refreshed every few minutes; these are the snapshot taken at 16:57 UTC.

Why does the route change when I reload?

Because the prices did. The cheapest recipe for a stretch of skill is whichever one's reagents are cheapest at that moment, and that moves through the day.

Profession leveling · Shadowlands Cooking · US · prices as of 16:57 UTC

Cooking leveling 1 → 75 · Shadowlands Cooking

121g in reagents over about 85 crafts. Sell what you make and it comes back to 94g.

Start skill

Trainer recipes only

Recipe names carry the colour the profession window gives them: orange is a point every craft, yellow is three in four, green is one in four.

Before the first craft — buy it all at once

One trip to the auction house. Vendor lines are cheaper from the profession vendor than from the board.

ReagentNeedEachTotal

Lusterwheat Flour×4095

×4038

Medley of Transplanar Spices×2988

×2925

Lost Sole×3540

×3514

Inconceivably Aged Vinegar×2162

×2113

Shadowy Shank×1717

×17111

Rich Grazer Milk×7212

×728

Raw Seraphic Wing×647

×644

Pallid Bone×395

×391

Smuggled Azerothian Produce×1512

×151

Silvergill Pike×207

×201

Iridescent Amberjack×157

×151

Total121

Step 1 · Skill 1 → 40

Orange→Green

Meaty Apple Dumplings

trainer

About 49 crafts.10

per skill point26

Shadowy Shank×147

Step 2 · Skill 40 → 52

Orange→Yellow

Bonemeal Bread

needs the recipe item

About 13 crafts.16

per skill point1

Pallid Bone×39

Rich Grazer Milk×26

Medley of Transplanar Spices×13

Step 3 · Skill 52 → 60

Orange

Steak a la Mode

trainer

About 8 crafts.29

per skill point3

Shadowy Shank×24

Raw Seraphic Wing×24

Rich Grazer Milk×16

Medley of Transplanar Spices×16

Inconceivably Aged Vinegar×16

Step 4 · Skill 60 → 65

Orange

Iridescent Ravioli with Apple Sauce

trainer

About 5 crafts.21

per skill point4

Iridescent Amberjack×15

Lost Sole×15

Smuggled Azerothian Produce×15

Lusterwheat Flour×10

Inconceivably Aged Vinegar×5

Step 5 · Skill 65 → 75

Orange

Seraph Tenders

trainer

About 10 crafts.44

per skill point4

Skill 75 — done. Now sell what you made.

Crafted itemUnitsEachTotal

Meaty Apple Dumplings14712

Iridescent Ravioli with Apple Sauce1512

151

Bonemeal Bread0/390

0/390

Capped at what the market takes in 3 days, so a route never pretends to sell hundreds at once.

Back in your pocket94

What's worth crafting with Cooking right now

Questions

How this route is built

What does it cost to level Cooking right now?: 121g in reagents at today's US auction prices, over about 85 crafts. Sell the results and it comes back to 94g.
Where do these numbers come from?: The skill thresholds are read from the game client data for build 12.1.0.68914. The prices are the region-wide auction house, refreshed every few minutes; these are the snapshot taken at 16:57 UTC.
Why does the route change when I reload?: Because the prices did. The cheapest recipe for a stretch of skill is whichever one's reagents are cheapest at that moment, and that moves through the day.

A first craft pays Knowledge, not skill, so it is shown as a badge and left out of the craft count. Vendor reagents are priced at the lower of the vendor and the auction house.