Buying guide for best vegan cookbooks
Whether you're a new vegan or have decades of veganism under your belt, trying out new recipes widens your culinary horizons. It doesn't matter if you're a gourmet chef or best acquainted with the microwave — a quality vegan cookbook can help you put a delicious meal on the table.
A quick search for vegan cookbooks will reveal thousands choices, so how do you decide which one to buy? First, consider whether you want a general cookbook with a wide range of recipes or a focused cookbook that features only desserts, regional recipes, brunch recipes, or something else. Also factor in whether you have any other dietary requirements, how complicated the recipes should be, and if you prefer cookbooks with ample photos.
There's plenty of information here to set you on the right path, including our top vegan cookbook recommendations and our full cookbook buying guide.
Key considerations
Vegan cookbook types
General cookbooks
These are cookbooks that feature a wide range of recipes from a variety of food traditions. They might have a mixture of classic American comfort food recipes, Italian pasta dishes, curries, and East Asian noodles, to name just a handful of options. There's generally a mixture of soups, salads, main dishes, sides, sandwiches, breakfasts, and desserts (though not all books feature all of these categories).
Regional cookbooks
Regional vegan cookbooks focus on food from just one country or region, such as India, Italy, or Latin America. You'll usually find recipes that are more authentic to the region's food traditions than any you'd find in a general cookbook.
Dessert cookbooks
As the name suggests, dessert cookbooks are dedicated to sweet recipes only. Some contain all kinds of desserts in one book, whereas others contain recipes for just one type of sweet treat, such as cookies or pies. A vegan dessert cookbook is an ideal place to start if you want to learn more about vegan baking — and rest assured that decent vegan dessert recipes are just as tasty as non-vegan desserts.
Other focused cookbooks
While less common, there are some vegan cookbooks that focus on one type of food but don't fit into the dessert or regional categories. For instance, you can find vegan cookbooks dedicated to brunch foods, burgers, and tacos.
Special diets
Certain vegan cookbooks cater to other special diets. Some, for instance, follow the whole foods plant-based (WFPB) diet, which is based around vegetables, wholegrains, and legumes only — so you won't find any recipes featuring refined grains, mock meats, or even cooking oil. Other vegan cookbooks feature gluten-free recipes only, though if you can't (or don't) eat gluten, many recipes are easy to adapt by making small switches, such as using rice or quinoa instead of couscous.
Features
Photographs
Vegan cookbooks aren't always produced with a large budget, so this may mean skimping on photographs — or forgoing them altogether. That said, with veganism growing in popularity, you can find a growing number of cookbooks that feature a photo for every recipe or most recipes.
Legibility
Some cookbooks try to make their design a little different from your average cookbook typeface or layout. It can be pulled off well, but sometimes, it simply makes a cookbook difficult to read. On Amazon, you can check out the "look inside" feature to get an idea of how legible a cookbook is.
Format
If you want a physical format, you can sometimes choose between hardback and paperback, though often cookbooks are available in just one or the other. You can also buy many cookbooks in e-book format.
Expert Tip
You don't need any fancy kitchen equipment to make vegan recipes, but some tasks are easier with the help of a food processor, and a blender is useful for soups and sauces.
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Features
Photographs
Vegan cookbooks aren't always produced with a large budget, so this may mean skimping on photographs — or forgoing them altogether. That said, with veganism growing in popularity, you can find a growing number of cookbooks that feature a photo for every recipe or most recipes.
Legibility
Some cookbooks try to make their design a little different from your average cookbook typeface or layout. It can be pulled off well, but sometimes, it simply makes a cookbook difficult to read. On Amazon, you can check out the "look inside" feature to get an idea of how legible a cookbook is.
Format
If you want a physical format, you can sometimes choose between hardback and paperback, though often cookbooks are available in just one or the other. You can also buy many cookbooks in e-book format.
Expert Tip
If you're new to the world of tofu, don't let its reputation for being bland put you off. When properly cooked and seasoned, it can be a delicious addition to all kinds of dishes.
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Vegan cookbook prices
Vegan cookbooks generally fall within the price range of $10 to $35. Paperbacks usually cost from $10 to $15, though some especially large paperback vegan cookbooks might cost up to $20.
Hardback cookbooks are more expensive, usually retailing between $20 and $35. You can save money by buying a cookbook in e-book format — most electronic versions of vegan cookbooks cost less that $10. Some may only cost $1 or $2 when on special offer.
Tips
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Think about what kind of recipes you want to make. Don't choose an everyday cookbook, for instance, if you want to make elaborate recipes for special occasions.
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Consider how much time you have to cook. If you usually get home late, you can find cookbooks dedicated to weeknight meals that take no more than 20 to 30 minutes from start to finish.
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Expand your horizons. Consider branching into unknown territory, especially if you already own plenty of vegan cookbooks. After all, you don't want a shelf full of books that all contain variations on the same recipes.
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Remember that you can usually make substitutions. You may get put off making a recipe because you don't have all the ingredients and don't want to go to the store, but it's usually possible to make substitutions. For example, you can use most beans and grains interchangeably.
"When a recipe calls for seitan and you don't want to make it from scratch, you can generally use commercial mock meat in its place. "
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Other products we considered
We selected our top vegan cookbooks, but some of them were almost too close to call. Check out these other suggestions that will have you salivating at the screen.
Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen is a must-have for any fan of Indian cuisine. Whether you're new to Indian cooking or you know your way around a thali, you're bound to find something you haven't tried before in this awesome cookbook. The whole-roasted cauliflower in Makhani gravy is perfect if you want to impress.
The Taco Cleanse: The Tortilla-Based Diet Proven to Change Your Life is not only a hilarious send-up of "cleanses" and the rhetoric around them, but it is jam-packed full of delicious taco recipes. Try the Mighty Migas for the ultimate breakfast taco.
Anyone with a sweet tooth should buy Chloe's Vegan Desserts. It contains basically any dessert or sweet treat you could hope to make, including cookies, bars, layer cakes, cupcakes, and pies. The ingredients are pantry-friendly, and the recipes are easy to follow.
FAQ
Q. What kinds of recipes can you find in vegan cookbooks?
A. Some people believe that vegan food is all salad and lentils. While salads and legumes certainly have their place in anyone's diet, vegan recipes are as varied as recipes that contain meat, eggs, and dairy. Depending on the vegan cookbook you choose, you can find recipes spanning everything from fried "chicken" to deep pan pizza to vegetable tempura. Basically, if you can think of a recipe, you can probably find a cookbook that contains a vegan version of it.
Q. Will I need to buy any novel or unusual ingredients to cook vegan recipes?
A. Not unless you want to. Sure, you'll always find some vegan recipes that call for chia seeds, pistachio butter, and five kinds of gluten-free flour, but there are plenty more recipes that use regular ingredients you'll find in any supermarket — or even in your own home, if you have a well-stocked pantry. There's absolutely no need to visit all your local health food stores to find the ingredients for one vegan cake, for instance, when you can use standard flour, sugar, canola oil, and non-dairy milk.
Q. What types of cookbooks are best for experienced vegan cooks?
A. For the most part, general vegan cookbooks contain fairly basic, everyday recipes. So, if you already have a large vegan cookbook collection or you’ve been cooking vegan food for years, you might not find anything particularly inspiring inside. Instead, consider challenging yourself with a regional cookbook dedicated to an area whose cuisine you're relatively unfamiliar with — perhaps the Middle East or Malaysia. Alternatively, choose a book related to a cooking style you use less often, such as a bread-baking book if you rarely work with yeast.
