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The Spruce Eats / Lecia Landis
"The Cuban Table," a James Beard Award-nominated cookbook, is our No. 1 selection because it features more than 100 recipes accompanied by stunning full-page imagery. Those just diving into the cuisine can cook confidently with "Sabor!: A Passion for Cuban Cuisine."
Cuba is an island rich in culture, art, history, and gastronomy. The migration of hundreds of Cubans to the United States led to a proliferation and popularization of the cuisine, with people from all over experiencing and falling in love with Cuban classics, such as arroz con pollo, ropa vieja, plátanos de tentación, flan, and vaca frita. Nostalgia is an ever-present and requisite ingredient across every Cuban recipe, an edible reminder of those who fled the island and how politics shaped many of the dishes we know today.
Ahead, cookbooks that present the best of Cuban cuisine, from traditional to modern.
Best Overall
The Cuban Table: A Celebration of Food, Flavors, and History
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Amazon
Baked goods included
Full-page photos
May be too basic for experienced home cooks
Nominated for a James Beard Award in the international cookbook category, "The Cuban Table: A Celebration of Food, Flavors, and History" is penned by Cuban-American food blogger Ana Sofia Peláez with accompanying photos by award-winning photographer Ellen Silverman. The duo traveled together to Cuba, Miami, and New York to learn about traditional Cuban cooking from home cooks, chefs, restaurateurs, and food writers.
"The Cuban Table" highlights Spanish and African influences and provides historical context to its 110 recipes. It features recipes like the iconic Cuban sandwich, mariquitas con vinagreta de cilantro y limón (fried plantains with lime-cilantro vinaigrette), pastelitos de guayaba (guava pastries), and potaje de garbanzos (chickpea stew).
Price at time of publish: $38
Number of Recipes: 110+ | Pages: 336 | Date Published: 2014
Best for Beginners
Sabor!: A Passion for Cuban Cuisine
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Amazon
Humorous anecdotes
Family-friendly meals
Not as useful for two-person households
Author and Cuban-American Ana Quincoces was a cast member on the "Real Housewives of Miami" and founder of the popular Skinny Latina brand. The recipes from her cookbook "Sabor: A Passion for Cuban Cuisine" are easy to follow and approachable, like ropa vieja, plátanos maduros, and arroz con pollo. To make things foolproof for new-to-Cuban-cuisine cooks, Quincoces provides her favorite brand ingredient recommendations, tips, and tricks, plus a glossary of terms for those who may be unfamiliar with certain ingredients. Included are sample menus, conversion tables for measurements, and recommendations for which dishes complement each other well.
Price at time of publish: $16
Number of Recipes: 130+ | Pages: 240 | Date Published: 2012
Best Value
Memories of a Cuban Kitchen
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Amazon
Budget-friendly
Has alcoholic beverages
No color photos of food
The recipes from coauthors Joan Schwarz and Mary Urrutia Randelman are lauded time and time again. They unite the Spanish, Indian, African, Chinese, and Portuguese influences that make up Cuban cuisine across more than 200 traditional recipes against the storied backdrop of Randelman's childhood in pre-Castro Cuba. A history of pre-Castro Cuba precedes every section of recipes. As such, the recipes are also economical and utilize ingredients that can be readily found while remaining authentic.
From “the best arroz blanco” (white rice) recipes to appetizers like green plantain chips, bistec de palomilla (Cuban fried steak), pargo relleno (stuffed red snapper), moros y cristianos (black beans and rice), ensalada de aguacate y mango (avocado and mango salad), ajiaco Criollo (Cuban Creole stew), tropical rum-based drinks, and desserts like flan de coco (coconut flan).
Price at time of publish: $25
Number of Recipes: 200+ | Pages: 352 | Date Published: 1996
Best Traditional
Cocina al minuto
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Courtesy of Amazon
Written in Spanish
Flexible recipes
Some recipes from the first edition not included
Nitza Villapol is considered the Cuban Julia Child. She was born in New York but grew up in Havana. She was the host of the Cuban television program "Cocina al Minuto" ("Cooking in a Minute") during the late 1940s, which aired for more than 30 years and wrote several cookbooks inspired by the show: "Cocina al Minuto I" and "Cocina al Minuto II." Her cookbooks can be found on the shelves in most Cuban homes.
Her “sacred texts” may be likened to the fundamental cookbooks for home chefs like "Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook" or the "Betty Crocker Cookbook," but with basic, traditional Cuban recipes like picadillo, vaca frita, and arroz con pollo—with twists on how to make up for ingredient deficiencies from food rations. Her early recipes called for a variety of both Cuban and American ingredients, as her cookbooks also included American exports like spaghetti and lobster Newburg, which were considered trendy at the time of publication given the U.S.-Cuban trading relationship in the 1950s.
Price at time of publish: $15
Number of Recipes: 200+ | Pages: 288 | Date Published: 2019
Best New Cuban Cuisine
Paladares: Recipes Inspired by the Private Restaurants of Cuba
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Amazon
Photos with most recipes
Real-life stories
Small type font
While many Cuban cookbooks focus on traditional dishes, "Paladares: Recipes Inspired by the Private Restaurants of Cuba" by James Beard Award-winning writer Anya von Bremzen and photographer Megan Fawn Schlow. This cookbook shares the tightly knit secrets of paladares. It’s within these private restaurants that Cuban cuisine is experiencing a culinary modernization and progression. Von Bremzen gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at a “new Cuba” and the cultural secrets gleaned through Cuba’s chefs, restaurateurs, farmers, and food historians through 100-plus recipes and stories.
Recipes range from the traditional like picadillo, fritters, tamales, roast chicken stuffed with black beans and rice to pumpkin soup with blue cheese, ceviche with mango and black-eye peas, and coffee-rubbed pork.
Price at time of publish: $40
Number of Recipes: 100+ | Pages: 352 | Date Published: 2017
Best Restaurant-Based
The Versailles Restaurant Cookbook
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Amazon
Familiar ingredients
Appetizer recipes
Prep instructions not always clear
Cuban-American author Ana Quincoces of "Sabor!: A Passion for Cuban Cuisine" makes another appearance; this time as the coauthor of the cookbook from the popular Versailles restaurant located in Miami. Versailles is an institution in Miami and an integral part of the fabric of the city’s vibrant Cuban restaurant scene since 1971.
Can’t make it to Miami to taste Versailles firsthand? Quincoces and coauthor Nicole Valls, operations manager and public relations director for Valls Group, Inc. (the parent company for the Versailles restaurant) teach home cooks how to recreate their favorite Versailles meals and dishes at home, such as frituras de malanga, churrasco con salsa chimichurri, and arroz imperial.
Price at time of publish: $30
Number of Recipes: 60+ | Pages: 192 | Date Published: 2014
Best for Cocktails
Cuban Cocktails: 100 Classic and Modern Drinks
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Amazon
Illustrations of bar tools
Glassware graphics
Some harder to source ingredients
Ravi DeRossi is the co-owner of one of New York City’s best cocktail spots, Cuban rum bar Cienfuegos, which marries the art of mixology and tropical drinks.
His cocktail book is a collection of 100 recipes that celebrate Cuba's colorful spirits history, culture, and famed cantineros. It features popular Cuban classics like the Cuba libre, el Floridita daiquiri, and mojito, updated versions of a rum old-fashioned, and new recipes, such as the imperial fizz and cienfuegos (one hundred fires).
Price at time of publish: $25
Number of Recipes: 100 | Pages: 256 | Date Published: 2015
Best History
A Taste of Old Cuba: More Than 150 Recipes for Delicious, Authentic, and Traditional Dishes
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Amazon
Simple cooking cues
Includes historical info
No color images
This is as much of a memoir as it is a cookbook. Cuban expatriate and author Maria Josefa Lluria de O'Higgins grew up in Cuba during the 1920s and 1930s. A Taste of Old Cuba is a journal of her favorite childhood dishes on the island before the Castro revolution over 150 recipes. The recipes range from simple to complex, a reflection of Lluria De O’Higgins family’s experience of living with both wealth and poverty. Many of the recipes give alternate ways of preparing the food, such as how to prepare recipes using a pressure cooker and a stovetop.
Price at time of publish: $27
Number of Recipes: 150+ | Pages: 304 | Date Published: 1994
Best Chef’s Compilation
A Taste of Cuba: A Journey Through Cuba and Its Savory Cuisine, Includes 75 Authentic Recipes from the Country’s Top Chefs
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Amazon
Has bread
Includes regional info
Some recipes not traditional cuisine
"A Taste of Cuba" brings you inside the kitchens of paladares and introduces you to their chefs. The 75 recipes in authors Cynthia Carris Alonso, Valerie Feigen, and José Luis Alonso’s cookbook are sourced from Cuban chefs across the island. The recipes are translated from the Cuban chefs who cook intuitively by feeling rather than from precise written instructions, presented to American audiences using familiar ingredients and measurements.
Recipes from paladar chefs, such as cuatro leches (four-milk cake), boniato and plantain chips, and la guarida coffee (espresso with whole and sweetened condensed milk, rum, lemon peel, and cinnamon) as well as ceviche, salmon roll with eggplant, almond pesto sauce, and arroz con pollo are paired with stunning visuals.
Price at time of publish: $35
Number of Recipes: 75 | Pages: 304 | Date Published: 2018
Best Photography
Cuban Flavor: Exploring the Island's Unique Places, People, and Cuisine
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Amazon
Big pantry list
Interesting cultural sidebars
Not many photos of finished dishes
This dreamy, visually stunning ode to Cuba is a cookbook, art gallery, travel guide, and history book housed in 240 pages. Author and photographer Liza Gershman shares the story of Cuban cuisine in the post-revolutionary era. Recipes are accompanied by gorgeous photography. Think flan (served in a soda can), plátanos en tentación, chicken and rice, and bruschetta Cubano (a Cuban take on the Italian appetizer spiced with cumin). The shopping list at the beginning of the book makes it easy to gather and organize your Cuban culinary adventure.
Gershman shares a seven-day itinerary for visiting Cuba, which includes art and shopping destinations, restaurant and bar recommendations, and packing tips.
Price at time of publish: $30
Number of Recipes: 50+ | Pages: 240 | Date Published: 2018
Best New Release
The Essential Cuban Cookbook: 50 Classic Recipes
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Patty Morrell-Ruiz
One-pot options
Cultural information included throughout
Fewer recipes than other books
The Mad Table founder and food stylist Patty Morrell-Ruiz showcases her skills in this debut cookbook filled with classic Cuban recipes. Readers rave about how easy the instructions are to follow—so much so that even kids can join in to help prepare many of the included dishes. The book also has content relevant to each meal of the day and a whole chapter dedicated to beverages and desserts. However, the biggest plus is the authenticity of the entrees. Make-at-home versions of albondigas, ropa vieja, ham croquettes, and tostones appeal to natives of the Caribbean island nation as well as those who became enamored with its cuisine via travel, family, or friends.
Price at time of publish: $15
Number of Recipes: 50 | Pages: 134 | Date Published: 2022
What to Look for in a Cuban Cookbook
Expertise
Are you just starting out cooking, or are you an expert? Your experience level plays a part in selecting the right cookbook for you. Simple, easy-to-follow recipes with beautifully detailed photos and recommended side dishes are ideal for beginning cooks. An experienced cook might prefer complex dishes with more ingredients and processes.
Visuals and Text
Step-by-step photos and a visual of the finished dish to show how the recipe is supposed to look are great for both beginner and visual cooks. A clear, legible text face that is easy to read is equally important when it comes to the ease of preparing recipes. You want that cookbook to be one you'll reach for again and again.
Ingredients
Cookbooks from other countries and cuisines sometimes use ingredients that are not readily available where you live. Make sure you have access to all of the recipe's ingredients or that there are substitutes included that you can use in their place.
FAQs
What should be included in a cookbook?
A good cookbook will not only offer recipes but include storage tips, nutrition information, ingredient substitutions, serving suggestions, an index of recipes, measurement conversions, and a glossary of cooking terms.
What are the typical spices used in Cuban food?
Cuban cooking is influenced by a few cultures, including Spanish, French, Caribbean, and African, among others. It has a few commonly used spices, including garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, oregano, cilantro, and bay leaf.
What basic cooking tools should be in a kitchen?
Must-haves in every kitchen include measuring cups and spoons, mixing bowls, cutting boards, spatulas, wooden spoons, knives, whisks, tongs, and a cookware set.
Why Trust The Spruce Eats?
Cuban-Panamanian food writer and recipe developer Marisel Salazar grew up eating Cuban food at home with her family and has dined at the best Cuban restaurants in the United States. She has cooked from the worn pages of the most traditional cookbooks, traveled firsthand to Cuba, and experienced home cooking on the island as well as at many paladares.
Rachel Werner, who updated this roundup, is a culinary writer who has been reviewing food-focused books and businesses for almost a decade. Her food photography and recipes are also featured in content she creates for a variety of regional and national publications, such as TOPS News, The Gourmet Insider, and Fabulous Wisconsin. See examples of Rachel’s work behind the camera capturing shots of plant-based eats on Instagram @trulyplanted.
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