How to Make Terracotta in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Smelt a clay block in a furnace to get terracotta. Dye it by surrounding 1 dye with 8 terracotta, and smelt dyed terracotta again to get patterned glazed terracotta. Badlands biomes have huge natural deposits.

What you need

Clay blocks (or mined terracotta from the badlands)
Furnace + fuel
Dye (for colored terracotta)
Crafting table (for dyeing)

Step by step

Get clay blocks: dig them up underwater in rivers, swamps and lakes, or from lush caves. Silk Touch gives the block directly; otherwise craft 4 clay balls back into a block.
Smelt each clay block in a furnace with any fuel: 1 clay block gives 1 terracotta (the undyed, reddish kind).
Dye it: place 8 terracotta around 1 dye on a crafting table for 8 dyed terracotta of that color. All 16 dye colors work.
Glaze it: smelt any dyed terracotta again in a furnace to get glazed terracotta with a unique pattern per color.
Skip the crafting entirely in the badlands (mesa): the biome is made of terracotta in many colors, so just mine it with any pickaxe.
Use terracotta for builds: it has the same blast resistance as stone, comes in 16 colors plus glazed patterns, and is a favorite for floors, pixel art and modern builds.

Java vs Bedrock

The smelting and dyeing recipes are identical in Java and Bedrock, including 8 terracotta per dye. Badlands biomes generate with the same terracotta layers in both editions.

Versions: 1.6.1 (hardened clay)1.12 (renamed terracotta, glazed terracotta added)

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between terracotta and glazed terracotta?

Terracotta is flat color; glazed terracotta is made by smelting dyed terracotta and has a unique repeating pattern per color (creeper face on cyan, flower on white, and so on).

Where can I find terracotta without crafting it?

The badlands (mesa) biome: entire mountains of red, orange, yellow, brown, white and light gray terracotta. Savanna villages also generate with some.

Does terracotta burn?

No. Terracotta is a fired clay block: it does not catch fire and has stone-level blast resistance, which makes it a safe roofing material.

Can you turn terracotta back into clay?

No. Smelting clay into terracotta is one-way, so only smelt what you need.