The Greatest Vegan Cookbooks: There’s Something for Everyone

Veganism seems to be gaining popularity by the minute, and with it, the world of vegan literature!

What exactly is the difference between veganism and vegetarianism? Although both are types of plant-based diets, vegans do not consume any animal products, while vegetarians do consume certain animal products such as dairy and eggs.

Whether you’re new to plant-based cuisine and want to include more vegetables into your diet, or you’re an experienced vegetarian trying to expand your repertoire, this list of the top vegan cookbooks will undoubtedly contain a beneficial addition or two to your culinary armory!

1. Best All-Purpose Vegan Cookbook: Vegan For Everybody: Foolproof Plant-Based Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and In-Between

By America’s Test Kitchen

This is a wonderfully instructive vegan cookbook with dishes that appeal to a broad variety of palates and tastes from the well regarded team at Americas Test Kitchen. Vegan For Everyone genuinely provides something for everyone, as the title suggests.

A Peek Inside Vegan for Everybody:

Vegan For Everyone includes vegan recipes for crave-worthy favorites like Fettuccine Alfredo, Black Bean Burgers with Pub Sauce, and even Blueberry Muffins! It doesn’t end there; it also provides some novel alternatives like Pesto Pizza with Fennel & Cauliflower and Pumpkin Cashew Cheesecake, as well as instructions for making key ingredients like vegetable broth and parmesan cheese.

When an author, such as Americas Test Kitchen, releases a cookbook, you can be certain that each dish has been thoroughly tested. This cookbook not only provides the final, refined recipe for each meal, but it also covers the process of how the team arrived at each recipe, what didn’t work, and why. This behind-the-scenes look is not only interesting, but also valuable for creating your own recipe modifications. In comparison to many other cookbooks, Vegan For Everyone is incredibly professionally shot, providing you with everything you need to know about cooking your way.

The disadvantage of a cookbook aimed at the general public, such as this one, is that some of the recipes may be outdated for more experienced vegan chefs. If you’ve been eating vegan for a while, you’ve probably developed a favorite muffin or burger dish. Plus, this isn’t the most sturdy cookbook available, which adds to the problem when you’re in the middle of a culinary frenzy!

Pros:

• Vegan versions of popular, crowd-pleasing foods are available.
• Recipes for multi-purpose goods such as parmesan cheese and vegetable broth are included.
• America’s Test Kitchen, the authority in recipe testing, has conducted more extensive recipe testing.
• Gives detailed information on many recipe variations, successes, and failures.
• Well-shot, with lots of recipe-specific images

Cons:

• Some of the recipes may be straightforward or anticipated.
• However, the overall quality is not the best, and the binding tends to wear out faster.

2. Best Cookbook for Vegan Basics: The Homemade Vegan Pantry: The Art of Making Your Own Staples

by Miyoko Schinner

The Handmade Vegan Pantry undoubtedly deserves a position on our list of top vegan cookbooks, owing to author Miyoko Schinner’s ability to make practical, adaptable, and, above all, tasty pantry essentials. After reading famed vegan chef and restaurateur Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s enthusiastic prologue, you will have no doubt in Schinner’s creativity when it comes to preparing yourself for vegan cuisine from scratch.

A Peek Inside The Homemade Vegan Pantry:

One of the most challenging aspects of being vegan is that many of your favorite items are no longer acceptable. Here’s where The Handmade Vegan Pantry comes in. It shows you how to quickly and simply manufacture your own pantry essentials like vegan butter, vegan mayonnaise, vegan yogurt, cookie dough, loads of vegan sauces, baking mixes, and much more.

By taking the effort to manufacture your own essentials, you may be certain of what is truly going into your meals, avoiding exposure to strange chemicals or additions and saving money! This book provides you the ability to put meals together with simplicity just by stocking your cupboard with excellent fundamentals like those featured in this cookbook. There are also numerous no-oil recipes and adjustments available for anybody who is sensitive to the quantity of oil used in many plant-based meals.

Sadly, there is a significant lack of images in this book, which is a major letdown when it comes to making pantry basics from scratch, which is likely a foreign procedure for most! It should also go without saying that these recipes are unsuitable for individuals who are short on time or patience. Rather, this book is best utilized on days when you have some extra time to devote to meal prep, laying the groundwork for future simple and quick vegan cooking.

Pros:

• Describes how to produce vegan pantry basics that can readily replace store-bought alternatives.
• Prepares you to be able to assemble meals fast.
• Provides a more nutritious alternative to processed vegan foods.
• Producing your own essentials means you’ll have more money in your pocket!
• There are several no-oil or low-oil recipe variants.

Cons:

• There aren’t enough photographs that match to the recipes and procedures.
• Creating the separate components takes time (but it is worthwhile in the end!)

3. Best Vegan Comfort Food Cookbook: Sweet Potato Soul: 100 Easy Vegan Recipes for the Southern Flavors of Smoke, Sugar, Spice, and Soul: A Cookbook

by Jenne Claiborne

Jenne Claiborne was fortunate enough to grow up eating soul cuisine in Atlanta, Georgia. She wanted to be able to enjoy her favorite, most comfortable southern tastes when she chose to become vegan. Sweet Potato Soul was established when she set out to make healthier vegan versions of her favorite soul cuisine recipes.

A Peek Inside Sweet Potato Soul:

It should come as no surprise that this book has an abundance of, you guessed it, sweet potatoes! Sweet potatoes may genuinely be found at every meal, from Sweet Potato Hummus to Sweet Potato Burgers and Sweet Potato-Pecan Cinnamon Rolls. This spud isn’t the only thing on the menu; there are also Low Country Grits, Coconut Collard Salad, and Jalapeo Hush Puppies, to name a few.

This cookbook begins with an instructional section on fruits, vegetables, spices, and other essentials of effective vegan soul food cooking. The cuisine’s relatability and the dishes’ approachability appeal to a broad variety of consumers. This is helpful when it comes to cooking for a family or any group with a varied eating style, since the recipes here are guaranteed to satisfy! The recipes are designed to use identifiable and readily obtained items that can be found at most grocery shops, in addition to giving healthy alternatives to some typically not-so-healthy foods.

While this book emphasizes health by veganizing southern culinary classics, it does include a lot of processed goods, such as vegan cheese and dairy replacements, which aren’t necessarily as healthy as you may think. Yet, although there are plenty of ideas for substantial meals and sides, there aren’t enough for entrees. Lastly, if you’re not a lover of sweet potatoes, you may want to look for another book since this one includes a lot of them!

Pros:

• Includes useful ingredient information and pantry essentials ideas to help you have a good cooking experience.
• The dishes will appeal to a wide range of palates, making them ideal for cooking for parties or families with mixed diets.
• This recipe puts a healthier twist on normally unhealthy soul food cuisine.
• The foods are accessible, with no complicated ingredients or difficult to find components.

Cons:

• Several recipes call for processed vegan items that aren’t necessarily as nutritious.
• There aren’t many entree selections.
• If you don’t like sweet potatoes, you’re out of luck with this one!

4. Best Cultural Vegan Cookbook: Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean, and Southern Flavors Remixed

by Bryant Terry

Bryant Terry, the author of numerous vegan publications including Vegan Soul Kitchen and The Inspired Vegan, understands plant-based cookery inside and out. In his most recent book, Afro-Vegan, he attempts to combine veganism with African Diaspora cuisine, bringing the tastes of Africa, the Caribbean, and the American South together in one joyful volume!

A Peek Inside Afro-Vegan:

This cookbook is nothing short of a celebrationnot only of food, but of music, culture, family, and life itself! Each recipe will put your culinary knowledge to the test, with dishes like Cinnamon-Soaked Wheat Berry Salad (cinnamon in a salad, yes! ), Caribbean-inspired Chocolate Spice Cake, Crispy Teff and Grit Cakes with Eggplant, and Roselle-Rooibos Drink.

Yes, you’ll be making vegan meals with this cookbook, but you’ll also be learning about new ingredients, tastes, methods, and how all of these things come together to form a cuisine. Afro-Vegan is particularly suitable for people who have some culinary expertise, are bored with the same old plant-based dishes, and want to (quite literally) spice things up! Apart from the many recipes, this book is a cultural as well as a gastronomic triumph. Each dish has a music recommendation, and the cookbook includes movie and book recommendations throughout to keep you entertained as well as informed!

But, learning about new substances may be a double-edged sword. If you haven’t heard of something, chances are you don’t know where to obtain it. The intricacy of these dishes is what makes them intriguing and capable of bringing new life to your standard dinner cycle. However, this also makes them unsuitable for daily cooking, since you may not have a lot of time to devote to meal preparation.

Pros:

• Will undoubtedly expose you to new foods and tastes that you have never heard of before.
• An fantastic resource for people with a basic familiarity of vegan cuisine who want to broaden their expertise.
• Further information about the culture and history of African tastes and cuisines is provided.
• Is a real mixed-media creation that incorporates allusions to music, cinema, and literature.

Cons:

• Recipes will ask for uncommon or difficult-to-find items.
• Most recipes are unsuitable for nighttime cooking because they demand more time or entail more complicated skills.

5. Best Visual Feast Vegan Cookbook: The First Mess Cookbook: Vibrant Plant-Based Recipes to Eat Well Through the Seasons

by Laura Wright

It was a logical step for author Laura Wright to completely commit to a vegan diet since she already had a lot of plant-based understanding and respect under her belt. She launched her own culinary blog, The First Mess, and rapidly gained a sizable fan base. She eventually put her delectable dishes into The First Mess Cookbook, an eye-catching seasonal ode.

A Peek Inside The First Mess Cookbook:

The fact that this cookbook is linked to an award-winning blog is a huge plus, easily propelling it to the top of the list of best vegan cookbooks. The First Mess blog is a wealth of information that might come in handy as you make your way through dishes like Root Vegetable Dal, Caramelized Onion Potato Salad, and Earl Grey and Vanilla Bean Tiramisu.

In addition to these delectable dishes, The First Mess Cookbook includes a plethora of seasonality lessons that will have you use the farmers market or local vegetable department like an expert. Did we mention how lovely this book is? Wright is a very brilliant photographer, and even if you never cooked a single meal from this book (which would be insane), just looking at the photographs would teach you a thing or two. This cookbook also contains a grocery and kitchen equipment recommendations, as well as detailed comments on which recipes are suitable for dietary restrictions.

Because of their regionality, the recipes in this book may call for ingredients that are unfamiliar to you or difficult to locate. Certain ingredients, such as arrowroot flour and nutritional yeast, are likely to be in the cupboards of experienced plant-based eaters, but newcomers may need to stock up. The dishes are also on the more complex side, so if you’re seeking for fast weekday suppers, this cookbook may not be for you.

Pros:

• For even more material, recipes, ideas, and techniques, visit an award-winning blog.
• It includes seasonal insights as well as plant-based recipes.
• Each recipe has stunning pictures.
• Contains a comprehensive pantry and kitchen equipment reference.
• Gluten-free, oil-free, sugar-free, and nut-free alternatives are clearly labeled.

Cons:

• Several diverse or seasonal components are required, which you are unlikely to have on hand.
• Certain dishes are labor hard and time consuming, making them unsuitable for those with hectic schedules.

6. Best Cookbook for Vegans on a Budget: Fast Easy Cheap Vegan: 101 Recipes You Can Make in 30 Minutes or Less, for $10 or Less, and with 10 Ingredients or Less!

by Sam Turnbull

Fuss-Free Vegan, Sam Turnbull’s debut cookbook, set the tone for the sort of author she is. She makes it plain on the pages of her debut book, as well as her massively popular vegan blog, that she is all about easy, accessible, delicious vegan food. She does it again in Quick Simple Cheap Vegan, presenting a selection of recipes that will help you put together vegan dinners with ease!

A Peek Inside Fast Easy Cheap Vegan:

Vegan cookbooks do not have to be dull. Quick Simple Affordable Vegan is a fantastic cookbook! With recipe titles like Get Em Done Garlic Noodles, Hash in a Dash, and No-Sweat Sweet and Spicy Corn Soup, thumbing through the pages is like an immediate mood boost. Moreover, the upbeat tone and simple methods are ideal for enticing children into the kitchen!

This cookbook’s whole premise is to demonstrate that cooking (whether vegan or not) does not have to be a time-consuming task. Each of these dishes requires 10 ingredients or fewer and can be finished in 30 minutes or less, as promised in the cookbook title. Your pocketbook will thank you as well, since each dish is budget-friendly. This book will walk you through the process of preparing yourself for grab-and-go cooking, with instructions on how to prepare your own spice blends, smoothie kits, and baking mixes, to name a few.

The disadvantage of all of these fast and easy recipes is that some of them are too simple. Several of the dishes aren’t really innovative—different varieties of popcorn, toast toppings, and so on. Moreover, many of the recipes are knockoffs, such as BLT salad (without the actual B, of course), rather than ones that emphasize the deliciousness of complete vegan ingredients.

Pros:

• Has an interesting layout, a distinct photographic aesthetic, and incredibly creative recipe titles!
• Excellent for cooking with children, vegan or not.
• Recipes save time and are easy to follow.
• Saving money since the recipes are meant to cost $10 or less.
• Describes how to produce your own convenience meals and prepared foods.

Cons:

• There are some excessively easy recipes included.
• Several recipes are made using replacement components rather than entire foods.

7. Best Cookbook for Vegan Asian Cuisine: Vegan Asian: A Cookbook: The Best Dishes from Thailand, Japan, China and More Made Simple

by Jeeca Uy

Jeeca Uy, the founder of the massively popular blog The Foodie Takes Flight, is no stranger to creating vegan versions of recipes, whether they be childhood favorites or ideas gleaned from her travels. She pulls together famous meals and tastes from Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, and beyond in Vegan Asian: A Cookbook!

A Peek Inside Vegan Asian: A Cookbook:

From homemade Pad Thai to Mango Sticky Rice, this cookbook will have you making takeaway-worthy foods in no time. You’ll discover that there’s no need to pay the upcharge or make the journey to obtain the delicious takeout tastes you desire. You’ll also learn how to make Satay Tofu Sticks with Peanut Sauce, Japanese Yakisoba, Tofu Tonkatsu, and Kimchi Pancakes.

It is not often evident that many of the ingredients that provide the greatest flavor to Asian meals are not vegan, such as oyster sauce or bonito flakes. Asian Vegan: A cookbook may provide the same amount of taste without the usage of animal products. Many of your favorite dishes, such as satay and tonkatsu, are still available, but without the meat or other faux meat products. There are also recipes for basic components like dumpling dough and oyster sauce (without the oyster, of course), which will assist you to conjure the tastes of Asian cuisine in your cooking more swiftly and effortlessly. Whether you’re new to vegan meals or Asian food in general, you’ll like the fact that practically every recipe has a picture. There are not just recipes, but also a wealth of knowledge about Asian food in general, from shopping for and dealing with tofu to folding dumplings.

But, if you dislike tofu or prefer not to use it, this cookbook may not be for you. Several of the recipes contain tofu and do not give alternatives; however, in certain situations, such as the Satay Tofu Sticks with Peanut Sauce recipe, you could probably substitute whatever vegan meat product you choose. However, if you don’t already have a few Asian food staples in your kitchen, this cookbook may be extra difficult or costly. Some of these goods, such as Chinese black vinegar, may be more difficult to get than others.

Pros:

• Vegan recipes for a variety of Asian cuisines, as well as takeaway favorites
• Here are several recipes for useful and flexible pantry staples.
• Almost every recipe has a picture, which is very useful if the foods or processes are unknown.
• Includes some more useful information, such as how to buy for and deal with tofu, how to fold dumplings, and more.

Cons:

• Certain ingredients may have to be obtained from a speciality shop or replaced.
• If you’re not a lover of tofu, these recipes aren’t for you!

Best Books for Vegan Cooking: The Final Say

Whether you’ve been following a plant-based diet for a while or have just recently chosen to stop eating meat, there’s a vegan cookbook for you! Some cookbooks are written to appeal to a broad audience, while others are written for enthusiasts of certain cuisines and cultures.

Even if you are not vegan, selecting a book from our list of the greatest vegan cookbooks can help you live better, consume more vegetables, and broaden your understanding of tastes and methods. Send us an email and tell us which vegan cookbook is your fave!