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Best Sure to Be a Classic: Cook This Book at Amazon
Many of the included recipes have accompanying QR codes that link directly to videos of Baz executing certain steps of the instructions.
Best for Families: The Unofficial Aldi Cookbook at Amazon
First-time shoppers and repeat customers will be surprised by the variety of dishes and beverages they can create from one shopping trip.
Best Sequel: Cook Once Dinner Fix at Amazon
Readers will be pleasantly pleased to discover how many different meals can be made from one entrée.
Best Instant Pot: The Lighter Step-By-Step Instant Pot Cookbook at Amazon
Most recipes are adaptable for a keto, paleo, gluten-free, vegetarian, or vegan diet.
Best Vegan: Dada Eats: Love to Cook It at Amazon
This cookbook will be a welcome addition to any kitchen thanks to Dada’s fresh takes on favorites that require minimal ingredients and labor.
Best for Easy Recipes: The Pepper Thai Cookbook at Amazon
Thai-inspired fare is the focal point of every dish, most of which requires eight ingredients or less to make.
Best for Dessert: How to Cook That: Crazy Sweet Creations at Amazon
Wow family and friends with elaborately decorative desserts that taste phenomenal using this baking primer.
Best for Italian: The Italian Deli Cookbook at Amazon
It's all about putting Italian delicatessen staples to good use by making memorable lunches and dinners or when entertaining guests.
Best Celebrity Chef: Nadiya Bakes at Amazon
This cookbook of hers is primarily focused on baked goods “high in demand” around the United States.
Best Popular Culture: Street Fighter: The Official Street Food Cookbook at Amazon
The included dishes are variations of street food it’s possible to stumble upon in various regions around the world.
Recipe repertoires occasionally need a refresh. Luckily, there is no shortage of cooking inspiration thanks to an array of food bloggers and professional chefs willing to share their go-to meals online or in print. Providing the inside scoop on creating new delish dishes, along with time-savings tips, has indeed boosted the popularity of home-cooked eats once more—so much so that a 15 percent increase in overall cookbook sales occurred in one year, according to market research company The NPD Group. The list below is fully loaded with trending themes curated for foodies ready to solidify their A game in the kitchen.
Here are the best new cookbooks.
Best Sure to Be a Classic: Cook This Book
Kitchen tool recommendations
Digital resources included
Slang and acronyms may be confusing
Since departing her previous day job as an editor at Bon Appétit magazine, Molly Baz has been utilizing Instagram, YouTube, and a recipe club on Patreon to regularly share advice and demos with fans. Her first cookbook channels the upbeat, yet down-to-earth mannerisms Baz is known for into a “foundational” guide for learning how to level up one’s cooking skills. In fact, many of the included recipes, like orzo al limone, pastrami roast chicken, and mushroom toast, have accompanying QR codes that link directly to videos of Baz executing certain steps of the instructions.
Number of Recipes: More than 90 | Pages: 304
Best for Families: The Unofficial Aldi Cookbook
Modifiable recipes
Inexpensive cookbook
Many ingredients only sold at Aldi
Thanks to its economical prices and wide product selection, Aldi is a prime shopping destination for parents. Author Jeanette Hurt has compiled a selection of wallet-friendly and tasty meals that can be made by using solely Aldi products. First-time shoppers and repeat customers will be surprised by the variety of dishes and beverages they can create from one shopping trip. Dalgona coffee, baked onion soup, pancake cereal, baked salmon with honey-mustard sauce, and cannoli dip are just the beginning of the affordable sustenance Hurt has developed specifically for busy families.
Number of Recipes: 75 | Pages: 128
Best Sequel: Cook Once Dinner Fix
Gluten-free options
Low-cost ingredients
Hardcover edition is pricey
Certified holistic nutritionist and Fed + Fit creator and podcast host Cassy Joy Garcia’s latest cookbook is all about repurposing leftovers to maximize taste, in addition to the number of servings. Filled with over 100 recipes, readers will be pleasantly pleased to discover how many different meals can be made from one entrée, such as when the “leftover roasted garlic turkey breast transforms into spiced turkey potato soup or dry-rubbed barbecue brisket becomes crowd-pleasing cheesesteak-stuffed peppers.”
Number of Recipes: 120| Pages: 304
Best Instant Pot: The Lighter Step-By-Step Instant Pot Cookbook
Cook time specs included
Allergen-friendly recipes
“Basics” challenging for new Instant Pot users
YouTube chef and Pressure Luck blogger Jeffrey Eisner’s second cookbook focuses on using an Instant Pot to make cuisine well-suited for a variety of food sensitivities. Most recipes, like the Mexican street corn, turkey taco soup, chicken congee, and pork pozole, are adaptable for a keto, paleo, gluten-free, vegetarian, or vegan diet, plus there are step-by-step photo instructions for each condiment, side dish, and main course.
Number of Recipes: More than 90 | Pages: 272
Best Vegan: Dada Eats: Love To Cook It
Whole-food focused
Flexible substitutions
Small-size font for text
In her debut cookbook, Samah Dada, host of NBC Digital’s #Cooking with Samah Dada, shows how easy it is to go plant-based. Combining stellar recipes with stories from her life in California, New York, and London, this cookbook will be a welcome addition to any kitchen thanks to Dada’s fresh takes on favorites requiring minimal ingredients and labor. Many of the recipes are also allergen-free, gluten-free, Whole30- and keto-compliant, and vegan. With a mix of hits from her blog and brand new recipes, home cooks will learn how to make modern, veggie-only versions of staple dishes, such as masala scrambled eggs and caramelized onion savory oatmeal.
Number of Recipes: 100 | Pages: 256
Best for Easy Recipes: The Pepper Thai Cookbook
Easy-to-follow steps
Contains celebrity information
Not a photo for every recipe
Fans of Chrissy Teigen’s “Cravings” and “Hungry For More” will want to snag a copy of her mother Pepper’s new cookbook. Thai-inspired fare is the focal point of every dish, most of which requires eight ingredients or less to make. The easy execution of the recipes is a big rave for readers. The same goes for Pepper’s contemporary spin on Southeast Asian cooking—best showcased in her renditions of roasted lemongrass chicken, pad see ew, and massaman beef curry.
Number of Recipes: 80 | Pages: 256
Best for Dessert: How to Cook That: Crazy Sweet Creations
Metric and imperial measurements stated
Affordable ebook
Time-intensive recipes
Get ready to wow family and friends with elaborately decorative desserts that taste phenomenal, too, using this baking primer written by award-winning YouTube series "How to Cook That" star and Australian food scientist Ann Reardon. Novelty cakes resembling popular "Minecraft" and "My Little Pony" characters are her jam, in addition to making fancy sweet treats adults will equally love, such as watermelon pizza and soft-serve Nutella-flavored ice cream.
Number of Recipes: 50 | Pages: 200
Best for Italian: The Italian Deli Cookbook
High-quality photos
Authentic recipes
Some expensive ingredients recommended
Chef Theo Randall has run restaurants in London, Bangkok, and Hong Kong, but his newest cookbook is about putting Italian delicatessen staples, like fine cheese, wine, cured meats, smoked fish, and olives, to good use by making memorable lunches and dinners or when entertaining guests. Popular entries include the spaghetti alla puttanesca; trofie with pesto, potatoes, and green beans; and sausage and squash risotto.
Number of Recipes: More than 100 | Pages: 256
Best Celebrity Chef: Nadiya Bakes
Many photos
Metric and imperial measurements given
Less recipes than some other cookbooks
Whip up brioche, flan, scones, and much more using the detailed instructions British baking maven Nadiya Hussain provides in her fifth cookbook for adults. This one, however, is primarily focused on baked goods “high in demand” around the United States. So "Time to Eat" and "Nadiya Bakes" fans will have a chance to test out a handful of recipes Hussain has not previously demonstrated on either show, such as spiced squash strudel, cheat's sourdough, and raspberry amaretti biscuits.
Number of Recipes: More than 100 | Pages: 256
Best Popular Culture: Street Fighter: The Official Street Food Cookbook
Dynamic illustrations
Fun read
May lack general appeal
In the video games realm, "Street Fighter" has become a cult classic, and this book is a quirky continuation of the journey a teen martial artist (Sakura Kasugano) embarks on, plus the other fighters—and their favorite foods—she encounters along the way. The included dishes are variations of street food it’s possible to stumble upon in various regions around the world, like platanos maduros, everything bagel, and matcha affogato.
Number of Recipes: Over 80 | Pages: 208
Best Meat-Alternative: Super Natural Simple: Whole-Food, Vegetarian Recipes for Real Life
Quick meals
Includes nutritional advice
Some content already published online
Best-selling cookbook author Heidi Swanson is back with a new roundup of meals that don’t require a lot of time or ingredients to make. Frugal vegetarians and flexitarians will appreciate her low-maintenance approach to preparing drinks, breakfasts, snacks, lunches, dinners, and desserts. Good recipes to break in this book include the dirty chai baked oatmeal, puffed rice party mix, California blender cookies, red-spiced tempeh with broccoli, and beet and feta socca.
Number of Recipes: 120 | Pages: 288
Best for Baked Goods: Zoë Bakes Cakes
Useful definitions
Many photos
Small print
Prolific baker Zoë François lets her expert skills and Magnolia Network flair shine in her first solo book. The introductory sections are packed with very helpful explanations for beginners related to separating eggs, making vanilla extract, and selecting oils and flours. Once the perusal of those initial pages is complete, getting started on creating a François-original, like raspberry Charlotte royal, blueberry muffin cake, and coconut candy bar cake, should be a cinch.
Number of Recipes: More than 85 | Pages: 275
Best for Southern Inspired: Rice: A Savor the South Cookbook
Gorgeous photography
Historical and cultural facts referenced
Less recipes than other cookbooks
Famed chef Michael W. Twitty reveals the key role rice plays in numerous soul foods, Creole, Low Country, and Gulf Coast cuisines. It’s not uncommon to consume a varietal of this grain via dishes eaten for breakfast, lunch, or supper in Southern homes and restaurants. Therefore, he demystifies how to maximize this staple’s versatility in such savory eats as Louisiana okra soup, Edna Lewis’s wild rice, sausage pilau, and crab fried rice.
Number of Recipes: 51 | Pages: 120
Best for Middle Eastern: The Arabesque Table: Contemporary Recipes from the Arab World
Diverse book
Unique content
High price point
Award-winning Palestinian writer Reem Kassis uses the rich history of traditional Islamic dishes to help home cooks understand the ongoing evolution of modern Arabic cooking. This bridge between the past and present is further illustrated by the collection of recipes she shares, demonstrating that foods from this region has always been and remain nourishing on a holistic level, especially when eaten in flavorful pairings, like pomegranate molasses and Aleppo roast chicken, mustard greens and labaneh, and muhallabiyeh and hibiscus rose tart.
Number of Recipes: 130 | Pages: 256
Best for Korean: The Korean Vegan
Gorgeous photography
Easy to read
May not appeal to meat eaters
The “real-life” narration synonymous with Joanne Lee Molinaro’s TikTok @thekoreanvegan has been authentically captured in captivating food photos and personal reflections on her lifelong journey to embracing her passion for cooking. Plant-based versions of traditional Korean cuisine, such as banchan, tteokbokki, kkanpoong tofu, and gamja guk, are the clear forerunners of this debut cookbook, which makes for a compelling read even when one is done using the oven.
Number of Recipes: More than 80 | Pages: 336
Best for Kids: Kitchen Chemistry
Vibrant graphics
Contains educational information
Not as many recipes as other books
Cooking isn’t just an art—it’s also a science. "Kitchen Chemistry" provides readers ages 8+ with the scientific know-how to be better cooks. This fully illustrated book pairs kid-friendly food (like overnight bread, gluten-free pizza crust, and chocolate candy shell) with chemistry lessons that explain why the recipes work the way they do. Also included is a logbook to rate the recipes, plus stories about chefs, inventors, and entrepreneurs—past and present—who have played a useful role in creating and developing many products we eat today.
Number of Recipes: More than 30 | Pages: 112
The 2021 cookbook most likely to withstand the test of time is Molly Baz’s debut "Cook This Book" (view at Amazon). For those eager to learn how to make more allergen-friendly fare, "Dada Eats: Love To Cook It" (view at Amazon) and "Cook Once Dinner Fix: Quick and Exciting Ways to Transform Tonight's Dinner into Tomorrow's Feast" (view at Amazon) will also make excellent additions to at-home libraries.
Why Trust The Spruce Eats?
Rachel Werner is a cookbook reviewer, culinary writer, and former World Food Championship judge. Her lifestyle content, food styling, and photography have appeared in a variety of regional and national publications including Fabulous Wisconsin, BRAVA, and Hobby Farms Magazine. A selection of Rachel's recipes is also included in "Wisconsin Cocktails," a regionally themed mixology book (University of Wisconsin Press, 2020). Recent examples of her pro foodie pics are available on Instagram @trulyplanted.
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