Many vegetarians love to collect cookbooks. This might be because so many vegetarians are converts—once meat eaters, they have transitioned to a meat-free diet with the help of experimentation and cookbooks.
Over time, you’ll likely build a full library of cookbooks, and you’ll find that different cookbooks are useful for different occasions. This list has been created to cover a range of cookbooks that are helpful for various situations.
These cookbooks are meant to provide a starting point for your vegetarian cooking library. As you become more aware of your tastes, you’ll discover more cookbooks that suit your preferences. Be sure to browse cookbooks at bookstores or check out cookbooks from your local library. Pay attention to the qualities you like in your current cookbooks, and look for those features when considering new ones.
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, Deborah Madison
Deborah Madison’s extensive 700+ page volume of vegetarian dishes is a comprehensive and indispensable cookbook for vegetarian cooking. The book includes a detailed introduction that covers essential information like how to create a nutritious vegetarian diet, which wines pair best with various vegetables, how to plan a vegetarian holiday menu, and extensive descriptions of seasonings, spices, knife techniques, and basic cooking methods.
The book also includes recipes for just about everything you could ever want to make—and many things no one thinks to make, like mayonnaise, flavored butters, dressings, and different types of vegetable stocks. Madison’s book is thoughtfully laid out, with tips and facts printed in the margins next to the recipes. The sturdy pages are not glossy, making them perfect for note-taking.
It’s hard to imagine there are recipes missing from this book. However, many of the recipes are so basic and simple they almost seem obvious. The text is long, with most pages containing two or more recipes. The directions are usually astonishingly simple, often described in just one or two paragraphs with clear and concise language. Beginner cooks will appreciate the simplicity of most recipes.
There are only a few downsides to this book. If you’re someone who enjoys seeing a lot of pictures in your cookbooks, this one offers very few, and those it does feature have a vintage aesthetic, almost as if they were taken in the 1970s.
Some cooks might also feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information in this book. With so many recipes to choose from, it can be difficult to decide where to start—especially since Madison does such a great job making each recipe sound both delicious and easy to prepare.
What’s Cooking Vegetarian, Jenny Stacey
This is a solid, reliable cookbook—a great addition to your regular collection. It includes a dessert section at the back, an appetizer section at the front, and a wide variety of delicious entrees in between. The book is full of recipes that are sure to become family favorites, including many basics like pizza, refried beans, enchiladas, and pasta dishes.
The full-color photographs give you a clear idea of what to expect from each dish. The directions are well-presented and easy to follow. Over time, you will likely make adjustments to some of the recipes as you discover what works best for you, but each recipe serves as an excellent starting point.
The Best of the Kitchen Library, Vegetarian, Williams Sonoma
This attractive, well-made book is filled with a variety of useful everyday recipes, but with an added flair—such as olive oil mashed potatoes and spicy grilled eggplant. Many of these recipes are great for daily use and could easily become family favorites. Although you might not use every recipe, this book will broaden your culinary horizons and introduce you to some ethnic cuisines, including Middle Eastern and Mexican dishes.
It also includes some more elaborate recipes perfect for special occasions, like sweet potato pudding, zucchini frittata, and wild rice and blue cheese skillet soufflé. The vibrant photographs make every recipe look enticing, while also providing creative presentation ideas. While this book is primarily vegetarian, many of the recipes are vegan or easily adaptable to vegan diets. Most of the recipes are made with ingredients commonly found in your kitchen, so you won’t have to make a special trip to the grocery store just to prepare a dish.
Fresh and Simple Vegetable Dinners, Better Homes and Gardens
The biggest advantage of this compact vegetarian cookbook from Better Homes and Gardens is that the recipes can be prepared quickly and with minimal difficulty. At fewer than 100 pages, this book features one recipe per page, with wide margins that provide plenty of space for notes or changes. Many recipes are accompanied by full-page color photographs. Since the number of recipes is limited, you won’t find yourself flipping through endless pages overwhelmed by options. This book is especially helpful for those with limited time, as most recipes are designed to be prepared in under 45 minutes. The estimated cooking time is noted at the top of each recipe.
Some readers might complain that some of the ingredients are not commonly kept in the kitchen. However, as you become more familiar with these easy-to-prepare, creative recipes, you may start keeping these ingredients on hand more often.
