If you find home cooking therapeutic, a great way to bond, or it’s just an essential part of your routine, I know we could all use some new ideas in the kitchen. The cookbooks on this list celebrate feel-good food and stories from around the globe. So please sit back, relax, do some armchair traveling, and get inspired in the kitchen with this list of cookbooks we’re looking to add to our shelves this fall!
Dinner Then Dessert by Sabrina Snyder
Learn how to make easy, practical, mouth-watering meals in this first-ever cookbook featuring over 100 full-color photos from the genius chef behind the very successful, no-nonsense food website Dinner Then Dessert.
Life Is What You Bake It by Vallery Lomas
The Great American Baking Show winner shares her story of personal growth and more than 100 delicious recipes. From Apple Cider Fritters to Lemon-Honey Madeleines and Crawfish Hand Pies to her Grandma’s Million Dollar Cake, Vallery shares heirloom family recipes from her native Louisiana, time spent in Paris, The Great American Baking Show, and of course sweets and bread inspired by her adopted hometown, New York City. Vallery’s “when life gives you lemons, make lemon curd” philosophy will empower legions of bakers and fans to find their inner warrior and bake their best life.
Malibu Farm Sunrise to Sunset by Helene Henderson
Maman by Elisa Marshall, Benjamin Sormonte, Lauren Salkeld
French café culture and urban-rustic design come together to create a cookbook as delicious as it is visually inspiring. Whether you’d like to make one of Elisa’s naked cakes for a special occasion or a roasted chicken sandwich with basil aïoli for lunch, maman welcomes you with open arms.
Once Upon a Chef: Weeknight/Weekend by Jennifer Segal
70 quick-fix weeknight dinners and 30 luscious weekend recipes that make every day taste extra special, no matter how much time you have to spend in the kitchen–from the beloved bestselling author of Once Upon a Chef.
The Quick Fix Kitchen by Tia Mowry
The beloved actress and star of the digital series Quick Fix saves you time and energy with her favorite mealtime hacks, tips to bring joy and balance to your kitchen, and 65 easy, delicious, and healthy recipes the entire family will love.
That Sounds So Good by Carla Lalli Music
Great food is an achievable part of every day, no matter how busy you are; the key is to have go-to recipes for every situation and for whatever you have on hand. The recipes in That Sounds So Good are split between weekday and weekend cooking. When time is short, turn to quick stovetop suppers, one-pot meals, and dinner salads. And for the weekend, lean into lazy lunches, simmered stews, and hands-off roasts.
Lemon, Love & Olive Oil by Mina Stone
Growing up in a close-knit Greek-American household, Mina Stone learned to cook from her Yiayia, who taught her that food doesn’t have to be complicated to be delicious–and that almost any dish can be improved with judicious amounts of lemon, olive oil, and salt. In this deeply personal cookbook, Stone celebrates her grandmother and the other influences that have shaped her life, her career, and her culinary tastes and expertise. Lemon, Love & Olive Oil weaves together more than 80 Mediterranean-style dishes with the stories that inspired them.
The Way of the Cocktail by Julia Momosé, Emma Janzen
With its studious devotion to tradition, craftsmanship, and hospitality, Japanese cocktail culture is an art form treated with reverence. In this essential guide, Japanese American bartender Julia Momosé of Kumiko and Kikkō in Chicago takes us on a journey into this realm. She educates and inspires while breaking down master techniques and delving into the soul of the culture: the traditions and philosophy, the tools and the spirits–and the complex layering of these elements that makes this approach so significant.
Cravings by Chrissy Teigen, Adeena Sussman
Chrissy Teigen has always found a big sense of fun in the kitchen, but more than ever, she turns to the stove for comfort and warmth. Now Chrissy shares the recipes that have sustained her and her family, the ones that made her feel like everything is going to be okay.
Provecho by Edgar Castrejón
100 plant-based Mexican, Colombian, and Salvadoran recipes to transform normally meat-heavy dishes into vegan celebrations of family and home.
Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen by Zoe Adjonyoh
Join Zoe as she shares the beauty of Ghana’s markets, culture, and cuisine, and tells the evocative story of using these tastes and food traditions to navigate her own identity. Whether you are familiar with the delights of Ghanaian cuisine or new to the bold flavors of West Africa, this book contains inspiration for extraordinary home cooking.
Black Food Edited by Bryant Terry
In this stunning and deeply heartfelt tribute to Black culinary ingenuity, Bryant Terry captures the broad and divergent voices of the African Diaspora through the prism of food. With contributions from more than 100 Black cultural luminaries from around the globe, the book moves through chapters exploring parts of the Black experience, from Homeland to Migration, Spirituality to Black Future, offering delicious recipes, moving essays, and arresting artwork.
Lidia’s a Pot, a Pan, and a Bowl by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, Tanya Bastianich Manuali
Lidia Bastianich makes Italian cooking easy for everyone with this new, beautifully designed, easy-to-use cookbook. Here are more than 100 homey, simple-to-prepare recipes that require fewer steps and fewer ingredients (not to mention fewer dirty pots and pans!), without sacrificing any of their flavors. The companion cookbook to the upcoming public-television series Lidia’s Kitchen: Home Cooking.
Cooking at Home by David Chang, Priya Krishna
The chef of Momofuku cooks at home . . . and that means breaking the rules that chefs, magazines, and everyone else tell you about, so you can get a great dinner done fast. This is his guide to the culinary dark arts of substituting, adapting, shortcutting, and sandbagging, like par-cooking chicken in the microwave before showing you seven ways to blast it with flavor in a four-minute stir-fry or a ten-minute stew, because he is as tired as you are of doing things the hard way.
Cookies by Jesse Szewczyk
Move beyond the same-old chocolate chip, peanut butter, and oatmeal cookies with Jesse Szewczyk’s collection of 100 brand-new, boldly flavored, and intriguing yet familiar recipes. Divided into chapters by flavor profile–Chocolatey (Salted Bittersweet Brownie Cookies), Boozy (Brown Butter and Guinness Skillet Cookie), Fruity (Chewy Blueberry Muffin Sugar Cookies), Smoky (Smoked Butter Chocolate Chunks), and Savory (Cacio e Pepe Slice and Bakes)–these treats offer a kaleidoscope of textures and flavors.
Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean by Claudia Roden
Join world-renowned food writer Claudia Roden on a culinary journey across the Mediterranean, all from the comfort of your own dinner table. Widely credited with revolutionizing Western attitudes to Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food, Claudia is a living legend. Though best known for her deep dives into cuisines, in this timeless collection of simple, beautiful recipes, she shares the food she loves and cooks for friends and family. You’ll find tried-and-true favorites from France, Greece, and Spain to Egypt, Turkey, and Morocco, inspired by Claudia’s decades of travel and research throughout the region.
A New Take on Cake by Anne Byrn
Inspired by the shifting landscape of the baking aisle, Anne has updated the way she bakes using not only natural cake mixes but also more olive oil instead of butter to create healthier cakes and cakes with more volume and better texture. Influenced, too, by modern flavor profiles like tahini and blood orange while staying true to the always-loved classics like chocolate and coffee, the recipes here are sure to please adventurous eaters as well as the traditionalists. With variations between simple sheet and loaf cakes, big cake projects, and decadent layer cakes, tortes, and more, even vegan and gluten-free options, these cakes are perfect for today’s busy home baker.
What do you think about the books on this list?
Have you read or cooked from any books on this list? What are some of your favorite cookbooks? What books would you add to the list?
Love this list! I love reading cookbooks as if they were novels.
It’d be really helpful to see more vegetarian or pescatarian cookbook suggestions.
Thank you!
Same here Lauren, I too read cookbooks like novels! And your suggestion has been noted for more vegetarian and pescatarian options. I think we can make that book list happen. Thanks for sharing!