Food Perler Beads (75+ Free Patterns!)

Make all kinds of fun food shapes with these perler bead patterns! These food perler beads include dessert, sushi, pizza, tacos, and more.

Food is one of those things that we all have in common. Let’s face it . . . these days it can, at times, feel like we don’t share a lot with our fellow man.

But everyone’s gotta eat!

No matter what your background, your favorite hobbies, color of your skin or hair, educational level, car you drive . . . or 1,000 other things . . . you eat food. Of some sort.

What goes into our stomach is the great equalizer. It unites us!

My niece and I have recently become obsessed with perler beads, and we knew that one thing we wanted to tackle was food perler beads.

It started with desserts like mini popsicles and cupcakes, then quickly escalated into a hamburger and fries with a large bowl of ramen!

It’s really fun to make food perler beads. Once you start you’re not going to stop. And we have over SEVENTY FIVE patterns for you to try!

Categories include junk food, sushi, donuts, ice cream, cake, cupcakes, fruits, vegetables, pizza, tacos, milk, burgers, breakfast food, condiments, Starbucks coffee, and more!

If there’s a food you like that’s cute, it’s probably on this list. You can always suggest we make a pattern if you’re looking for something specific. Just leave us a comment because we love coming up with new food perler beads.

Just FYI, perler beads are recommended for ages six and up, so this is a very fun idea to try with your elementary age kids. All children seem to love perler beads (also known as hama beads, fuse beads, or melty beads). But don’t be shy – adults love them too!

Tips for Using Perler Beads

Before we get into the cute perler beads food, I want to review a few basics of using fuse beads to make sure you get the best results. If you don’t want the tips, scroll down to the bottom to get the patterns and tutorial.

Remember that the overall goal is to melt the beads together on both sides while still leaving the holes open. Here’s how you achieve success (with a rainbow as an example).

Use Ironing or Parchment Paper

Place ironing paper or parchment paper over the beads on the pegboard. Be gentle so you don’t disturb the beads underneath.

Heat your iron to the medium setting (no steam). In a circular motion, begin to iron the project. Don’t press down too hard with the iron. When ironed properly, the beads will still have an open center. Check and make sure your edges are melted. Let the design cool on the pegboard.

Note: BE CAREFUL about lifting up the paper while you’re ironing! If you want to check, carefully peel back paper around the edge of your design and see if all the beads are melted.

If you lift the paper up quickly and there are a lot of unmelted beads, they will easily fall off or go flying and you may be forced to start over. Sometimes the edges need more time so when you check, just check the edges and peel paper back slowly.

Peeling back the paper to check if the beads are melted

Another Note: some beads melt faster than others (clear melts faster than white, for example). So some holes might be larger than others. It’s okay! That’s part of the look of the project.

Iron the Other Side

Remove the bead design from the pegboard. Flip it over to the non-melted side and repeat the fusing process.

Ironing the other side of a fuse bead design

Remove the Paper

Let cool completely and remove the paper again (which is reusable). Some people pull the paper off after they iron the first side, but I just wait until the end and peel off both pieces. It’s up to you!

Peeling the ironing paper off the finished project

Now that you’ve had a refresher on how to melt the beads, you can get the patterns! Keep on reading.

Food Perler Bead Patterns

A few of these patterns are larger than a 29 x 29 pegboard, so you’ll either need a extra large pegboard (49 x 69 tall) or to put multiple square peg boards together to form a larger “canvas.”
You’ll see a couple of the pattern backgrounds below aren’t white – that’s simply to give contrast so you can see where all the white beads should go. You don’t need to add the background (but you can if you want to).
In addition to square pegboards, you’ll see round, star, and hexagon pegboards. These are fun to have in your arsenal if you plan to do a lot of perler-ing.
You don’t have to stick to my color choices. A lot of times I just use what I have on hand, so feel free to customize.
I typically start with easier, smaller patterns in my list and then move on to the more difficult ones. If you’re looking for something a bit more advanced, just keep scrolling!

Mini Desserts

You’ll get ice cream, lollipops, popsicles, a fudge pop, a tiered cake, cupcake, cookie, candy, and a banana split.

Small Foods

The patterns include pear, banana, pineapple, watermelon, bread, waffle, pie, pancakes, cookie, chicken, pizza, avocado, blueberry muffin, cake, kiwi, and an egg.

Junk Food Night

Patterns for pizza, a hot dog, popcorn, and a taco.

Frozen Yogurt and Ice Cream Cones

The frozen yogurt on the left uses 40 black, 47 white, 24 honey, and 26 pastel yellow beads. The cone on the left uses 40 sherbert, 47 pastel green, 51 pink, 32 tan, and 43 gingerbread beads.

Big Banana Split

This sundae uses 61 mint, 4 red, 29 white, 12 cheddar, 25 cream, 21 cocoa, 30 pink, 8 apricot, 24 pastel green, 31 yellow, 13 magenta, 19 light pink, and 10 twilight plum beads.

Two Ice Cream Sundaes

These patterns use 217 cranapple, 105 peach, 11 magenta, 8 red, 6 cherry, 34 white, 29 light gray, 9 sand, 8 gray, 6 light brown, 119 flamingo, 51 rose, 38 pastel yellow, 11 brown, 33 cream, 89 turquoise, 62 sky, and 56 mint beads.

Cupcakes with Frosting

The cupcake on the left uses 88 fruit punch, 92 white, 2 orange, 3 pastel green, 4 fuchsia, 2 sky, 2 yellow, and 99 blush beads. The cupcake on the right uses 11 fruit punch, 1 white, 69 pink, 115 cocoa, 52 sky, and 44 blush beads.

Round Treats and a Pretzel

You’ll get patterns for a sprinkle sugar cookie, donut with sprinkles, half eaten chocolate chip cookie, and a pretzel (that uses a small pegboard). The round ones are fun for coasters.

cookies, donuts, and pretzel perler beads

Pink Frosted Donut

This pattern uses 66 black, 116 cotton candy, 10 white, 45 bubble gum, 57 tan, 4 yellow, 4 parrot green, 35 brown, 2 pastel lavender, 2 red, and 2 pastel blue.

Strawberry Cake

This pattern uses 23 shamrock, 104 cranapple, 7 bright green, 76 pink, 41 white, 9 light pink, 33 purple, 23 pastel lavender, 128 cream, and 262 peach beads.

Cake Slices

The cake on the left uses 49 black, 12 dark green, 8 pastel green, 28 cherry, 42 white, 80 rust, 15 cranapple, 2 light brown, 84 cream, 5 sand, and 6 pink beads.

The cake on the right uses 22 dark green, 4 pastel green, 76 cranapple, 57 cherry, 25 pink, 2 white, 40 bubble gum, 27 light pink, 44 tan, and 61 pastel yellow beads.

Time for Sushi

This pattern uses 525 black, 294 white, 112 peach, 93 salmon, 29 pastel green, 37 dark green, 25 yellow, 74 light gray, 63 tomato, 27 tangerine, 12 cheddar, 3 pastel yellow, and 9 honey beads.

Bowl of Ramen

This pattern uses 52 gingerbread, 27 hot coral, 48 mint, 159 pastel blue, 284 white, 37 honey, 66 tan, 17 dark green, 15 magenta, 5 kiwi lime, 7 yellow, and 40 light gray beads.

Starbucks Run

Get three frappuccino patterns including a unicorn frap. Then there are four regular coffee cups, including the Starbucks holiday cup pattern.

Big and Little Boba

These patterns use 12 pastel blue, 61 white, 82 clear, 30 pastel green, 23 honey, 138 sand, 29 toasted marshmallow, and 57 black beads.

Slice of Pizza

This pattern uses 98 cocoa, 76 cream, 80 yellow, 27 pastel yellow, 10 tomato, 31 light brown, 11 hot coral, 44 sand, 17 rust, 33 cranapple, 11 light pink, 39 cherry, and 26 cheddar beads.

Loaded Pizza

This pattern uses 94 honey, 96 cheddar, 190 yellow, 164 red, 61 dark green, 97 light brown, 28 bright green, 100 tomato, 48 black, 22 pastel green, 79 cocoa, 36 dark gray, 105 raspberry, 56 white, and 114 cotton candy beads.

Jar of Nutella

This pattern uses 393 white, 123 light gray, 48 gray, 149 black, 315 brown, 27 light brown, 61 red, 14 shamrock, 12 tan, 5 yellow, and 6 rust beads.

Cookies and Milk

The milk and cookie pattern on the left uses 167 black, 116 mint, 28 plum, 213 blueberry creme, 283 light gray, 276 white, 84 brown, 38 gingerbread, 72 light brown, 220 fawn, and 19 blush beads.

The milk carton pattern on the right uses 145 pastel blue, 132 white, 27 black, and 6 blush beads.

Glass Milk Bottle

This pattern uses 82 midnight, 26 cobalt, 17 pastel blue, 114 white, 10 cranapple, 136 cream, 36 red, 8 blush, and 6 mist beads.

Flavored Milk Cartons

Get four cartons including strawberry, banana, original, and chocolate milk.

Golden Arches

These patterns use 28 white, 35 red, 139 yellow, 108 honey, 6 toothpaste, 9 kiwi lime, 2 bright green, and 7 brown beads.

McDonalds Fries and Coke

These patterns use 69 red, 129 black, 8 clear, 59 yellow, 17 sand, 37 brown, and 7 white beads.

Bottle of Ketchup, Fries and a Burger

The ketchup pattern uses 84 cocoa, 17 toasted marshmallow, 7 light gray, 8 gray, 83 cherry, 74 red, 34 hot coral, 17 flamingo, 13 honey, 17 pastel yellow, 25 brown, 43 yellow, 22 white, 4 bright green, 22 tomato, and 12 spice beads.

The burger and fries patterns use 53 cheddar, 47 yellow, 91 honey, 7 cream, 128 red, 13 bright green, and 22 brown beads.

Subway Sandwich

This pattern uses 121 gingerbread, 156 honey, 28 tomato, 15 salmon, 15 shamrock, 12 kiwi lime, 7 yellow, and 14 cream beads.

Deli Sandwich

Make two pieces of bread and then add cheese and lettuce using small boards. Make onion, the deli meat, and tomato using small round pegboards.

Minis on a Star Board and a Happy Banana

Get patterns for small pizza slices, watermelon, and ice cream cones you can make on a star board. The pattern on the right is a smiling banana with a scarf and uses a large hexagon board.

Corn Dog, Chicken Leg, and Beer

The corn dog uses 36 black, 19 red, 8 yellow, 34 honey, 2 cranapple, and 8 tan beads. The chicken leg uses 37 black, 34 cheddar, 24 orange, 6 robin’s egg, and 4 white beads.

The pint of beer pattern uses 58 black, 32 clear blue, 27 white, 33 honey, 22 yellow, and 20 cheddar beads.

Loaded Taco

This pattern uses 78 black, 32 white, 11 toasted marshmallow, 29 dark green, 66 light grown, 229 butterscotch, 91 brown, 14 red, and 18 cheddar beads.

Cheeseburger

This pattern uses 53 black, 105 tan, 13 white, 36 bright green, 21 red, 32 brown, and 24 cheddar beads.

Breakfast Bacon, Eggs, and Pancakes

These patterns use 92 white, 35 spice, 86 rust, 31 pastel yellow, 18 yellow, 23 black, 4 cheddar, 15 salmon, 4 blush, 129 sand, and 62 butterscotch beads.

Raspberry Jam and an Egg

The jam pattern uses 254 mulberry, 117 white, 210 raspberry, 146 pink, and 11 pastel green beads. The egg pattern uses 47 black, 125 white, 28 orange, 26 cheddar, and 22 robin’s egg beads.

Tons of Fruit

Get patterns for an orange, grapes, apple (including a cut open apple with seeds), lemon, and pineapple.

Fruit on Small Round Boards

Get a round lime, watermelon, cherry, and lemon slice. These are all done on small round pegboards.

Bunches of Bananas

The bunch on the left uses 52 black, 51 yellow, 52 orange, 29 cheddar, and 28 bright green beads. The peeled banana uses 106 black, 41 cream, 84 yellow, and 24 cheddar beads.

Tomato and Strawberries

The patterns on the left use 67 black, 35 bright green, 126 red, 1 dark green, 8 white, and 9 honey beads. The strawberry on the right uses 84 black, 19 shamrock, 41 pastel green, 127 red, 29 cherry, and 24 white beads.

Pineapple, Avocado, and Watermelon

The pineapple uses 48 black, 23 dark green, 9 bright green, 50 cheddar, 24 yellow, 31 pastel yellow, and 4 white beads. The avocado uses 40 black, 60 dark green, 29 pastel green, 27 sour apple, and 21 brown beads. The watermelon uses 32 black, 32 forest, 2 white, 14 light pink, 26 bright green, 94 red, and 22 dark green beads.

All the Veggies

You’ll get patterns for green onion, two carrot versions, an eggplant, radish, corn, and broccoli. It’s easy to omit the smiley faces if you they aren’t your thing!