The world of vegetarian cuisine has exploded in recent years, moving far beyond the stereotypes of bland, uninspired dishes. Today, plant-based cooking is vibrant, innovative, and packed with flavor. Whether you're a seasoned vegetarian, a curious omnivore looking to incorporate more meatless meals, or a plant-based athlete seeking optimal fuel, there's a cookbook out there to inspire you. This guide explores some of the best vegetarian cookbooks available, spanning a range of styles, cuisines, and dietary needs.
Classics and Comprehensive Guides
For those seeking a foundational understanding of vegetarian cooking, a few cookbooks stand out as essential resources.
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison: This book is a comprehensive guide to cooking with vegetables, organized alphabetically for easy navigation. It covers both familiar and less common vegetables, offering a wide range of recipes and helpful notes from Deborah Madison herself. It's a tome, but it's utterly unintimidating.
World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey: A true culinary journey, this cookbook features 650 recipes from around the globe. Madhur Jaffrey, known for her expertise in Indian cuisine, invites readers to explore vegetarian dishes from various continents, making it a must-have for any vegetarian cookbook shelf.
The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen: A classic representation of a certain era of hippie-style vegetarian meals in the US. First published in 1977 as a collection of recipes from the Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, New York, it’s handwritten and illustrated, with recipes like mushroom moussaka, broccoli strudel, and gado gado that draw from many parts of the world.
Read also: Is a Vegetarian Elimination Diet Right for You?
Vegetarian for Athletes and Health-Conscious Cooks
For athletes and those focused on health and nutrition, several cookbooks offer plant-based recipes designed to fuel performance and well-being.
The No Meat Athlete Cookbook: Featuring 150 whole food, vegan recipes that are affordable and quick to get on the table, even on busy nights.
Thrive Foods by Brendan Brazier: This cookbook strikes a balance between health and flavor, with recipes developed to fuel a professional triathlete's career. While prioritizing health, the recipes are also appealing to a wide range of palates.
Eat and Run by Scott Jurek: Is not a pure cookbook, but it geared towards the athlete and tastes amazing. Every recipe is geared towards the athlete and tastes amazing.
Power Plates by Gena Hamshaw: A registered dietician, Hamshaw offers 100 recipes that contain the right mix of macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, fat) to feel nourishing.
Read also: Healthy Vegetarian Eating
The Complete Vegetarian: This collection makes important scientific connections between good health and vegetarianism. The Complete Vegetarian examines the diet's impact on chronic diseases and serves as a nutritional guide and meal-planning resource.
Vegan Cookbooks
For those following a vegan diet, which excludes all animal products, several cookbooks offer a wealth of plant-based recipes.
Veganomicon: A comprehensive vegan cookbook with a wide variety of recipes.
Appetite for Reduction: Focuses on simplifying vegan meals, making them quicker, healthier, and cheaper.
1000 Vegan Recipes: Offers a vast collection of quick and simple vegan recipes, making it a go-to for busy weeknights.
Read also: Is a Chicken-Inclusive Vegetarian Diet Right for You?
Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry: A collection of plant-based, farm-to-table recipes that reimagine soul food.
Vegan with A Vengeance: Has creative, full flavors that are substantive and satisfying.
Vegan Eats World by Terry Hope Romero: Features recipes that are really great and simple.
Vegan Fire & Spice: Includes different spicy foods from all over the world.
Vegan Planet: Great book that uses easy to find ingredients.
Quick and Easy Vegetarian Meals
For busy individuals and families, cookbooks that focus on quick and easy vegetarian meals are a lifesaver.
Fresh Food Fast: A collection of mouthwatering seasonal vegetarian menus that can be created in under an hour, from James Beard and IACP Award-winning chef Peter Berley.
The 30-Minute Vegan: Offers recipes that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less.
Supermarket Vegan: Features recipes that are easy to follow and use readily available ingredients.
Global Flavors
Exploring vegetarian cuisine from around the world can add excitement and variety to your meals.
Fresh India by Meera Sodha: A personal account of the fresh, easy recipes Sodha cooks at home.
Global Vegetarian Kitchen by Troth Wells: A phenomenal vego book for athletes. It’s ethnic food, but in a more North-American oriented approach. All the meals are fast, under an hour, most even under 30 minutes.
Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein: Everything in this book is delicious.
Afro-Vegan by Bryant Terry: The whole food recipes in this book brilliantly fuse flavors and ingredients from Africa, the Caribbean, and the American South.
The Mexican Vegetarian Cookbook by Margarita Carrillo Arronte: Features over 400 foolproof recipes that show how vegetable-diverse Mexican food is across every region.
Seasonal Cooking
Connecting with the seasons through food can enhance your appreciation for fresh produce and inspire new culinary creations.
Six Seasons: A New Way With Vegetables by Joshua McFadden: This book celebrates vegetables in all their seasonal glory, offering innovative and flavorful recipes.
The Modern Cook’s Year by Anna Jones: Organized by season, with 250 recipes for snacks, breakfasts, desserts, and, of course, dinners that run the gamut from aspirational to more realistic.
Vegetables from an Italian Garden: Divided by spring, summer, fall and winter.
Specific Diets
The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone: This book/cookbook is what made me transition from vegetarian to vegan. Informative book followed by yummy, healthy recipes. There are even 3 different “levels” of recipes depending on if you are “flirting” with vegan, an established vegan, or a superhero.
The Starch Solution by Dr. John McDougall: This book is absolutely life changing and also has some recipes, I would highly recommend any recipe book from his wife, Mary McDougall - who is obviously the cook in the family.
Other noteworthy cookbooks
Ruffage by Abra Berens: Berens offers the best of advice on produce shopping, storage and cooking. It’s weeknight cooking that highlights produce’s natural flavor, without too much fuss.
Tenderheart by Hetty Lui McKinnon: This approachable tome of vegetarian recipes will teach you how to make fruits and vegetables taste really, really good. The dishes are doable for just about every culinary skill level and use few ingredients-many of which are inspired by Lui McKinnon’s Chinese Australian upbringing.
Salad Seasons by Sheela Prakash: Teaches you how to turn whatever produce is around into truly great dishes.
Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi: The book is organized by common cooking techniques, such as “Steamed,” “Baked,” or “Sweetened,” and brims with innovative tips that make for some seriously flavorful plant-based eating.
Power Vegetables! by Peter Meehan and the Editors of Lucky Peach: Proving that, yes, vegetarian food can be fun, too.
The Mexican Vegetarian Cookbook by Margarita Carrillo Arronte: Features over 400 foolproof recipes that show how vegetable-diverse Mexican food is across every region.
The Modern Cook’s Year by Anna Jones: Organized by season, with 250 recipes for snacks, breakfasts, desserts, and, of course, dinners that run the gamut from aspirational to more realistic
Quick-Fix Vegetarian by Robin Robertson## The Dietitians Guide to Vegetarian Diets, Second Edition.
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