Vegetarian cookbooks can be a great resource, whether following a diet or simply looking to add more vegetables to your meals. These cookbooks provide an excellent way to experiment with different plant-based foods, flavors, and preparations. They can also inspire creativity and home cooking.
When selecting our top vegetarian cookbooks, we considered the author’s credibility, skill level, availability of ingredients, equipment required, nutritional content, and variety of recipes. The best vegetarian cookbook has components and recipes you like that meet your dietary requirements and suit your lifestyle.
A registered dietician on our Review Board also reviewed this article to ensure accuracy. She looked at what to look for when buying vegetarian cookbooks, how vegan versus vegetarian is defined, and the nutritional value of a vegetarian diet.
Best Overall
Love and Lemons Everyday
Love & Lemons Everyday is the top choice because it is packed with various balanced, flavorful meals that can be easily prepared for everyday cooking. The author Jeanine Donofrio, of the Love & Lemons Blog, also includes helpful tips. These include quick-flavor fixes, seasonal produce guides, and plant-based protein lists. She also provides a cheat sheet for cooking grains and legumes and strategies to reduce food waste.
This book contains over 100 vegetarian recipes, including breakfast, snacks, soups and salads, dinners, side dishes, condiments, sauces, and more. The recipes are for everyday cooking and can be used by novices and experienced home cooks. These recipes are also family-friendly. This makes it easy to serve more plant-based food to everyone.
Best Comprehensive
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Completely Reviewed Tenth Anniversary Edition
This book contains ideas for those who believe a vegetarian lifestyle is restrictive. Mark Bittman is a legendary New York Times journalist, author of over 30 books, and a guide to everything vegetable in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.
This impressive collection has over 1,000 recipes showcasing the endless plant-based cuisine varieties. This book was named the best comprehensive one for a good reason. It covers everything, from teas to smoothies to pasta and grains, as well as plant-based protein, desserts, sauces, and more. The book also includes vegan substitutes for the staples used in the recipes to make them easily adaptable.
Best Gourmet
On Vegetables: Modern Recipes For The Home Kitchen
In his book Vegetables: Modern Recipes For The Home Kitchen, Jeremy Fox uses the “nose-to-tail” cooking method to cook vegetables. This book will encourage you to be creative and innovative in using all the parts of a vegetable. These recipes are a delight to cook, with beautiful plating and delicious dishes that would be worthy of a restaurant.
This section provides vital tips on storing, purchasing, and preparing over 30 different vegetable varieties. It is a great quick reference to prepare you for the book’s recipes. You will apply techniques usually reserved for meat to vegetables, such as braising. This produces a complex, rich flavor.
We recommend the Potato Beignets with Romesco and Charred Scallion for a savory treat. And for a sweet treat, try the Peas White Chocolate and Macadamia Blondie. This book is for home cooks who want to go beyond roasted vegetables and try new ways to prepare plant-based food.
Best Gourmet Runner-Up
Ottolenghi’s London: Plenty More: Vibrant Vegetable Cooking
If you want to experiment with new cooking techniques and elevate the flavor of plant-based foods, then try Lots More: Vibrant Vegetable Cooking by London’s Yotam Ottolenghi. Ottolenghi is a world-renowned Israeli chef known for his Mediterranean-focused restaurants and markets in London that serve some of the most creative vegetarian dishes and unique flavor profiles. This book will transport you into Ottolenghi’s kitchen to learn how to make his perfectly balanced dishes at home.
Each section is dedicated to one cooking method. These include tossed, steamed, or blanched vegetables, braised meats, and more. This book allows you to experiment with different ways of preparing and cooking plant-based foods. This book is for home cooks ready to go beyond the basics and create more complex flavors. Some recipes require multiple ingredients and may take longer to prepare and cook. These are not suitable for quick family meals or everyday cooking. The cooking techniques and flavor combinations you learn in this book will help you become a more confident and capable vegetarian chef.