The Best Cookbooks for Beginners, According to Professional Chefs

This book was written more than 20 years ago, but still remains incredibly popular because it’s well-written, constructed and organized and full of vibrant pictures. “The cookbook is jam-packed with simple instructions and an introduction of fundamental cooking methods,” says Corrie Duffy, chef and food blogger at Corrie Cooks. “The enhanced ingredient lists and helpful visual guidance in this 20th anniversary edition give you greater choice.”

With healthy, quick, and budget-friendly recipes, this cookbook will help you start any year, day, week, or meal on the right foot. The book offers swaps if you’re looking for a lighter recipe or don’t have a specific ingredient on hand, and tips for storing and eating leftovers. There are also recipe spin-offs, allowing you make the same recipe in multiple ways, helping you keep meal time fresh and delicious night after night. Chef Melanie Underwood, Founder and CEO of Gather Culinary says the book has “great recipes that come out well, are easy to follow, and don’t take a lot of prep to accomplish.”

If you’re a foodie who also wants to try and eat healthy, this book is for you. As you can see by the beautiful pictures, it shares a plethora of mouth-watering recipes that are easy to prepare and good for you to boot. “In the introduction, Maitland spells out the bones of what makes a recipe work: It’s efficient, there aren’t any extraneous ingredients, and/or it’s a smarter, faster, easier version of a recipe that already exists,” says Fenn. “Plus, a well-thought-out recipe uses fewer pots and pans so you won’t have a sink full of dirty dishes.” Fenn is especially a fan of the Soups chapter (i.e. Red Lentil Soup with Cilantro-Lime Yogurt and Miso Chicken Noodle Soup)!

You won’t find any real-life pictures in this cookbook, but you will find your fair share of illustrations—pretty impressive ones created by the likes of Wendy MacNaughton. It breaks down basic cooking into four fundamental ingredients of cooking—salt, fat, acid, and heat. “Through the use of illustrated walkthroughs and 100 important dishes, the cookbook bridges the gap between home kitchens and commercial kitchens,” says Duffy.

If one of the reasons you have hesitated to cook all these years is the time in which it takes to do so, you’ll appreciate this cookbook that centers around 30-minute recipes. “It’s a dependable (and delicious) introduction [to] beginner’s cookbooks that will assist you in learning all the fundamental cooking methods, from panfrying to broiling,” says Duffy. “Additionally, it offers helpful advice on how to purchase wisely, maintain food safety, and save time by using shortcuts that enable you to prepare every recipe in 30 minutes or less.”

OK—while eating well on $4 a day might be a challenge in 2022 (thanks to inflation, it might be more like $5-$7), this cookbook will still help you save some serious cash while eating delicious and nutritious meals. It includes more than 100 dishes, ranging from chorizo and white bean rag to vegetable jambalaya, spicy pulled pork to barley risotto with peas, and utilizes each ingredient while demonstrating cost-effective cooking techniques, explains Duffy. “There are recipes for huge batch meals, soups and salads, lunches, snacks, and even sweets like gooey, caramelized bananas that are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside,” he says.

If you live a vegan lifestyle, or are looking to become more plant-based in your culinary endeavors, this book is a great starting point to help educate you on the ins and outs of cooking without meat-based ingredients. From soups and salads to suppers and sweets, author Katy Bsekow takes readers through an easy tutorial of vegan cooking and incorporates recipes that are cost-effective creations (while also being palate-pleasing).

If baking is more of your thing than cooking, this is a great cookbook to help you get started. From sweet delights like red velvet layer cake and Key lime pie to more savory finds like jalapeño-cheddar biscuits, this baking book does an excellent job breaking down the how-tos, emphasizing the importance of measuring correctly and providing clear and concise directions along the way.

Although this book is less of a cookbook and more of the science behind cooking, professional chefs who run some of the most famous restaurants in the U.S. swear by it. “I am the chef I am because of this book,” says Oleksiak. “It explains things like why salt is important, and how to use it effectively; why baking powder makes something rise and what to substitute in a pinch; how to achieve the best steak you’ve ever eaten; and how to save a dish that got way too spicy.”

As the title of this book suggests, this is a great starter book for college students looking to harness the power of their own cooking; but it can truly be for anyone new to the kitchen who wants to whip up really good, easy meals. It’s written by a registered dietitian, so it includes smart advice about how to use healthy ingredients. “There are tips about shopping on a budget while choosing the most planet-friendly foods—and a foundational cooking skill is covered in each of the 10 chapters,” says Fenn.

If you’re following the Mediterranean Diet, which focuses on foods high in healthy fats like omega-3s, as well as fish, fruits, veggies, grains and legumes, this is a great cookbook for you. It includes more than 500, innovative and easy-to-make recipes and is science-backed health info. “Bright flavors and easily accessible ingredients from the area make this dish at its finest, healthy, delicious, and surprisingly simple,” adds Duffy.

If you’re looking for comfort food (think fried chicken, chicken pot lie, and lasagne) that’s both delicious and healthy, then this cookbook by Erin Clarke delivers. The recipes are gluten-free, dairy-free, and paleo, so you can find something for everyone, even those with food allergies. “I love this one because of how close it says to the comfort food that we all love. It’s filled with simple, delicious recipes, tailored for multiple diets and plenty of advice on good habit building,” says Boston-based chef, Yankel Polak.

This cookbook is a nice option for beginners with easy-to-follow instructions and fun visuals, says Francesco Bonsinetto, a chef and CEO of Farm to Fork Culinary Experiences at Cucina Migrante. Designed for those long days where you’re exhausted and think to yourself “I don’t want to cook,” the book is filled with healthy, simple recipes that require no to little planning, prep work, or trips to pick up groceries.