30 Best Cookbooks of All Time, According to Food Experts
We included picks for beginners, pro chefs and everyone in between.
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If you're a kitchen savant ready for the set of Chopped, or you're trying to spend more time in the kitchen and less with takeout containers, we've got a cookbook for you. The best cookbooks of all time offer easy to follow, step-by-step instructions to help cooks of any experience level make delectable meals at home, along with photography that shows you what the finished product is supposed to look like.
To put together this list, we worked with the culinary experts in the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, who selected classic standbys and new releases that caught their eyes (and stomachs) this year. You may recognize some updated versions of old favorites from your mother's or even grandmother's kitchen, as well as a handful of new and exciting options to make creating any course a breeze.
You'll find great options for a range of dietary restrictions, preferences and cuisines on our list, as well as a few to help make the most of the tools you may already have in your kitchen. And don't forget: A reliable cookbook also makes an excellent gift for just about any person (or occasion!). I still use the dog-eared copy of the Joy of Cooking my mom got me when I graduated from college, and it's probably the most useful present I've ever received!
Smitten Kitchen Keepers: New Classics for Your Forever Files
If you're in the market for your new go-to cookbook for everything from salads to desserts, you can stop reading now. This one from one of today's most beloved cookbook writers has 100 recipes that you'll turn to over and over again.
- Author: Deb Perelman
- Pages: 320
- Originally published: November 2022
If taking on decadent new recipes is your favorite weekend pastime, Julia Child's got your back. Her superbly-detailed instructions ensure that you will accomplish even the most complex creation. Just be warned: it's hard not to hear her voice in your head as you work your way through them.
- Author: Julia Child
- Pages: 684
- Originally published: 1961
Your grandmother probably had a copy of an earlier Joy edition for a reason. This definitive tome comes packed with instructions on making everything from a classic roast to perfect brownies. Its no-frills, no-nonsense recipes include clear, easy-to-follow instructions anyone can use, even if you tend to burn water.
- Author: Irma S. Rombauer
- Pages: 1200
- Originally published: 1931
Good Housekeeping One-Pot Magic: 180 Warm & Wonderful Recipes
With 180 fast and delicious recipes straight out of the GH Test Kitchen, you can have dinner on the table before the kids start asking what it's going to be. And with just one pot, there won't be a mountain of dishes to deal with afterward.
- Forward: Kate Merker
- Pages: 256
- Originally published: November 2022
Cook As You Are: Recipes for Real Life, Hungry Cooks, and Messy Kitchens
Look, not every meal has to be a work of art. Sometimes you just need to feed yourself, and this is the cookbook for those times. With no-chop, one-pot, family-feeding and solo diner recipes, this one has something homey and delicious to suit just about every cook and situation.
- Author: Ruby Tandoh
- Pages: 352
- Originally published: November 2022
Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking: Traditional Family Recipes From Italy’s Best Home Cooks
It's a truth universally acknowledged: Nobody does pasta like nonna. In this cookbook that more than lives up to its name, each recipe has a QR code that you can scan to watch a YouTube video of its creator, which turns it into a multimedia experience.
- Author: Vicky Bennison
- Pages: 256
- Originally published: November 2022
Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico
Deeply personal, gorgeously vibrant and absolutely mouthwatering, this cookbook-meets-travelogue will make you want to book a ticket to Mexico while you create some of the country's most iconic dishes.
- Author: Rick Martínez
- Pages: 304
- Originally published: May 2022
For author Eric Kim, food has always been central to his first-generation family and this book is a love story to his origins. But it's also just a fantastic cookbook, whether this is your first foray into Korean cooking or you're a longtime fan.
- Author: Eric Kim
- Pages: 288
- Originally published: March 2022
Arabiyya: Recipes from the Life of an Arab in Diaspora
The aromas and flavors of Arab cuisine leap off the page as Assil takes readers with her on an exploration of her Palestinian and Syrian roots through food. You'll fall in love with the people and stories in this book just as much as the dishes.
- Author: Reem Assil
- Pages: 304
- Originally published: April 2022
Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew
This is the story of the culinary impacts the African continent and Jewish diaspora have had on American cuisine, with recipes to back up his point. Food can be a deep unifier and expression of culture, and that's deeply evident in this book.
- Author: Michael W. Twitty
- Pages: 400
- Originally published: August 2022
The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family
For many of us, food isn't just sustenance: it's the story of who we are. That's the case in this beautiful and useful cookbook that will not only teach you to make delectable Chinese dishes you know and love (not to mention those you might not have discovered yet), but also introduce you to one family whose food blog shows just how much cuisine can mean.
- Authors: Bill Leung, Kaitlin Leung, Judy Leung, Sarah Leung
- Pages: 320
- Originally published: November 2022
The title of this one pretty much covers it: All salads, all the time, in every permutation you can imagine. If you're sick of your usual Caesar or Cobb, this one will help reinvigorate your salad game.
- Author: Jess Damuck
- Pages: 272
- Originally published: March 2022
Originally published in 1896 as The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Fannie Merritt Farmer, this O.G. cookbook stands the test of time. In addition to tried-and-true recipes, it offers advice from Marion Cunningham that feels like you've got a cheerleader by your side, every step of the way. If you're not a confident cook, this book can help.
- Author: Marion Cunningham
- Pages: 896
- Originally published: 1896
The Taste of Country Cooking: 30th Anniversary Edition
You'll feel like you're sitting down to dinner with her family as Edna Lewis describes the American country cooking she grew up with over 50 years ago in a small Virginia farming community that was settled by freed slaves. With recipes for all four seasons, you can work your way through this beautiful book all year long.
- Author: Marion Cunningham
- Pages: 896
- Originally published: 1896
Sometimes called "the book that changed the way America cooks," this classic earned its spot in the James Beard Hall of Fame with 350 flawless dishes. Updated with full-color photographs, this collectible and usable version is part cookbook, part history book and a necessary addition to your collection.
- Authors: Julee Russo and Sheila Lukins
- Pages: 452
- Originally published: April 2007
Good Housekeeping Instant Pot® Cookbook
If you love your Instant Pot as much as I do, you've got to grab this cookbook. With 60 awesome, easy recipes, it'll quickly become one of your new favorites. And because each of the recipes are triple-tested by our kitchen experts, you know you can trust them.
- Author: Susan Westmoreland
- Pages: 128
- Originally published: January 2018
Food Network Magazine The Big, Fun Kids Cookbook: 150+ Recipes for Young Chefs
What better time to get the kids in the kitchen than right now? This cookbook has more than 150 recipes to get the little ones cooking, that adult palates will also enjoy. They're fun, colorful and a great way to introduce small fry to where their food comes from.
- Forward: Maile Carpenter
- Pages: 192
- Originally published: April 2020
Good Enough: Embracing the Joys of Imperfection and Practicing Self-Care in the Kitchen
Many people, especially beginner home cooks, feel paralyzed by the pressure of creating a perfect meal. Let this cookbook change all of that. With essays and stories about how food can heal, the importance of slowing down and looking at food as nourishment and how to let go of perfectionism, this is a self-care book as much as a cooking guide.
- Author: Leanne Brown
- Pages: 288
- Originally published: January 2022
Solo: A Modern Cookbook for a Party of One
Solo diners, rejoice! Single people often have to settle for lots of leftovers when making standard-sized recipes designed to feed four or more. But all the dishes in this funny, self-deprecating cookbook are meant for parties of one. But if you're having company, never fear: They also scale up well.
- Author: Anita Lo
- Pages: 256
- Originally published: October 2018
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking
Chef and writer Samin Nosrat believes that anyone can cook if they master the four basic elements of food: salt, fat, acid and heat. This book breaks down this simple philosophy into workable steps, while explaining the science behind it. There's also a canon of 100 essential recipes and tons of variations to help you put it into practice.
- Author: Samin Nosrat
- Pages: 480
- Originally published: April 2017
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