Minecraft passive mobs are those that do not attack even if they are provoked. Some do attack other mobs, but won't fight back against the player. They add more life to the world and will also spawn on any difficulty setting, including Peaceful.
The best of them help out the player in some way, being more useful to the player alive than as the next meal. Some can even be tamed and used throughout the world, making them exceptional creatures to keep around.
10 Axolotls Help Fight Against Guardians
Axolotls are not just cute little friends that hide in dark, underground bodies of water. They also attack a fair number of aquatic creatures such as cod and salmon, making for easy food gathering.
Their best aspect, though, is that they help attack Guardians. Once they are at about half health, they'll play dead and regenerate, just to come back and attack again. They can be dragged along with a bucket of water and bred for one of five different colors.
9 Donkeys Can Be Ridden & Carry Extra Loot
When horses showed up in Minecraft, it was a big deal. Finally, there was something that could be ridden and controlled a bit better than a pig with a stick. While horses can wear armor and ride into battle with Steve and Alex, a Donkey can one-up that by being able to be equipped with chests.
Donkeys are perfect to bring along on a resource run, increasing both land speed and carrying capacity. Just don't forget where they are, or always keep them attached to a lead.
8 Foxes Bring Presents
Foxes can be tamed in the way they won't bolt from the player and will attack specific hostile mobs, but they don't behave like a tamed wolf or a cat. They will pick up any item on the ground they find and will usually present it to the player if they have gained their trust and can be dragged around with a lead.
Red Foxes like to hunt small, land-dwelling creatures, while arctic hunt fish more often. They also can get their heads stuck in a snow layer and wiggle out, which is always a really funny sight.
7 Mooshrooms Are Infinite Food Sources
Mooshrooms are red and white cows that spawn mushrooms on their backs and are the sole inhabitants of the Mushroom Fields biome. If the mushrooms themselves are removed with shears, they turn into regular cows. Additionally, there is a brown variant that happens when a Red Mooshroom is struck by lightning.
If an empty bucket is used on a Mooshroom, it will give milk like any regular cow. If a bowl is used on one, it produces Mushroom Stew. Even better, a Mooshroom can be fed small flowers to produce Suspicious Stew with varying effects based on the flower it was fed.
6 Glow Squids Light Up The Dark Waters
Glow Squids are a variant of regular Squids but with glowing sparkles and tentacles. They produce turquoise clouds of ink and drop Glow Ink Sacs when killed, which are useful for lighting up signs and item frames.
Even though they glow, making them easy to see in the dark, they don't actually produce light, which is a little awkward. However, since they are so easy to see, it makes difficult to see underwater enemies really easy to find.
5 Parrots Mimic The Sounds Of Nearby Mobs
Parrots are either a favorite or a hated mob within the game, no exceptions. They are extremely chatty mobs, so some players find them annoying, while others find them charming.
What makes a parrot a great companion, though, is that they will mimic the sounds of nearby mobs just at a higher pitch. Therefore, they can be really useful in alerting the player of nearby enemies when foolishly mining in the dark.
4 Cats Frighten Away Creepers
Cats were originally tamed variants of Ocelots, but have since gotten their own, smaller mob separate from the jungle cats. Now they can be found as strays wandering villages and will follow the player in exchange for some yummy fish.
They don't do a lot other than follow the player around, be cute, and get all over the player's things making it hard to use them. However, just their cuteness is enough to scare away one of the most dangerous, iconic, and feared mobs the game has ever produced; the explosive, hissing disaster known as a Creeper.
3 Chickens Constantly Produce Eggs
Chickens are silly little guys that show up in the strangest places and won't take damage from falling off of a high edges. However, they also are targets for a lot of other mobs to go after. Baby Zombies, for example, sometimes ride them and become Chicken Jockeys, terrifying little monsters out to wreck Steve's world.
The birds themselves though will just randomly lay eggs if the player is nearby and follow them around if they're carrying seeds. Their eggs can be tossed to produce more chickens or to make cakes and pumpkin pies. Those eggs can also be used to deal knockback without causing damage, which is extremely useful to knock things off sheer cliffs.
2 Sheep Produce Colorful Wool For Crafting
The only time a Sheep should be killed is when the player is absolutely desperate for food. Outside of that, these wool factories are too good to let go to waste. Shearing them results in at least one block of wool dropped in whatever color the sheep is, and that color can be changed with dye.
Therefore, that can be a much more efficient use of dye than using it on individual blocks. They will eat up grass into ugly bare patches in order to regrow their wool, but at least grass grows fast.
1 Striders Allow Safe Movement Across Lava
Striders are a unique mob, as they are completely unaffected by hot materials such as lava and magma. On top of that, they can be ridden, won't try to maul the player who is just entering the Nether, and can be directed with a warped fungus on a stick much like a pig can be with a carrot on a stick.
Additionally, they are the only mob native to the Nether that can be brought to the Overworld without turning into a zombie version of itself like Piglins and Hoglins. However, they are harmed by water and rain and move much more slowly if they are not on something hot.