The 10 best cookbooks of all time, according to Amazon
Our team is dedicated to finding and telling you more about the products and deals we love. If you love them too and decide to purchase through the links below, we may receive a commission. Pricing and availability are subject to change.
These days, you can get as many recipes, cooking tips and kitchen hacks on the internet as you want. It’s not hard to scroll through pages on Pinterest of “healthy lunch recipes” or find a hack on TikTok for making carrot bacon.
That being said, there’s nothing quite like flipping through the pages of a cookbook, learning the basic techniques and folding the corners of your favorite recipes.
The best cookbooks of all time, according to Amazon, not only provide you with dishes you’ll want to make again and again, but include some insight into the craft that is cooking. These cookbooks all feature at least a 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon, and have the positive reviews to back up the rating. Not to mention most have also won a few culinary awards.
If you want to learn from the best — or just like cooking and eating really good food — there’s a cookbook here for you.
1. “The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science” by J. Kenji López-Alt, $30.99 (Orig. $49.95)
Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
“The Food Lab” provides instructions for basic cooking skills along with the “why” or the science behind the craft. For example, if you’ve ever wanted to learn how to pan-fry a steak with a charred crust and a perfectly medium-rare center from edge to edge, you’ll find that here. The New York Times book review deemed it, “the one book you must have, no matter what you’re planning to cook or where your skill level falls.”
“In short, this is a good book for you if you want to learn the basic skills and science of cooking and have some fun doing it,” – Adam, Amazon reviewer
2. “Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat” by Chrissy Teigen, $16.87 (Orig. $29.99)
Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
Chrissy Teigen’s first cookbook is filled with cheesy, comforting recipes that the whole family will love, along with a few “things that seem hard but aren’t” (the name of one section for cooking a whole Branzino and risotto).
“Obsessed. Most of the recipes are super easy and use ingredients I already have. Chrissy’s voice makes it more fun and the photos are great. Of course, they’re not really healthy, but you can always substitute ingredients. Either way, everything is delicious and truly is what people want to eat,” – Samanthann92, Amazon reviewer
3. “The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime” by Ree Drummond, $14.80 (Orig. $29.99)
Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
Ree Drummond aka The Pioneer Woman makes country cooking easy with step-by-step instructions and accompanying photos. In her fourth cookbook, she puts a twist on her classic southern comfort dishes. It packs in over 125 recipes that combine pantry staples and fresh produce, including chicken taco salad, freezer meatballs and more.
“Fantastic! If you love Ree’s show, you’ll love the book! This one is comfort food with a twist. I love ‘The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl’ for straight comfort food. Ree’s books have photos of both the finished dish and photos of the process making the dish. Totally recommend!” – Jennifer Guerrero, Amazon reviewer
4. “The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook” by America’s Test Kitchen, $25.42 (Orig. $40)
Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
This cookbook doesn’t only scale back complicated recipes, but provides recommendations for cuts of meat that are smaller by nature and perfect for two. It’s a great gift for newlyweds, college students, empty nesters and more.
“I have a feeling this book is going to become my newest obsession for inspiration. There aren’t pictures for every single recipe, but that would make this a very big book — there are over 650 recipes! There are plenty of mouthwatering photos, so I am not disappointed at all. There are also great ‘how to’ tips that any cook would find helpful,” – Foodiewife, Amazon reviewer
5. “Food52 Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook” by Kristen Miglore, $24.49 (Orig. $35)
Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
Food52 Executive Editor Kristen Miglore transformed her James Beard Award-nominated Genius Recipes column into a cookbook. The recipes are curated from cookbook authors, chefs and bloggers and all deemed “genius” and include recipes like Jim Lahey’s No-Knead Bread and Nigella Lawson’s Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake.
“I’ve been cooking from this at least twice a week. So far all the recipes have been BIG hits with the whole family. I even got sworn cauliflower-haters to admit to enjoying the roasted cauliflower with whipped goat cheese. Nobu’s asparagus recipe is a real winner. As is Suzanne Goin’s pork burger. None of the recipes have been difficult or too time-consuming so far.” – Kijang, Amazon reviewer
6. “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking” by Samin Nosrat, $20.98 (Orig. $37.50)
Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
You may recognize author Samin Nosrat from her Netflix show of the same title. Nosrat’s cooking philosophy is simple: Master the use of four elements — salt, fat, acid and heat — and whatever you make will taste delicious. The book features roasted vegetables, braised meats, flaky pastry doughs and more essential dishes.
“This book is worth its weight in gold. The author shares an extraordinary skill set organized in easily understood teaching modules. Mediocre fresh green beans turned into flavorful wonders, buttermilk plus chicken roasted to flavor and tenderness heaven — my guests were in awe and freely praised my cooking. Improve your cooking through easy lessons.” – Reudi, Amazon reviewer
7. “The Joy of Cooking” by Irma S. Rombauer, $16.55
Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
“The Joy of Cooking” was originally published in 1931 by Irma S. Rombauer, a St. Louis widow who used her life savings and worked with her daughter, Marion, to test recipes, draw illustrations and sell it from their apartment. The New York Public Library calls it one of the 150 most important and influential books of the 20 century, and Julia Child reportedly called it “a fundamental resource for any American cook.”
The book has been revised nine times and for this version marking its 75 anniversary, Marion’s son actually took on the updates that remember the past, but recognizes the way people cook now in the present.
“I love that it provides all these little tips, tricks, and explanations about the different foods and ingredients. It’s actually better than the internet when I’m trying to look up the best way to do something.” – Nissa Mai, Amazon reviewer
8. “How to Cook Everything: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food” by Mark Bittman, $16.74
Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
You read that right — this cookbook features 2,000 recipes, and each is simple, written with straight-forward instructions and uses basic kitchen equipment. What else could you want? In this special 10 anniversary edition (published in 2008), half of the writing is brand new from the original and updates old favorites.
“This will be the best cook book you’ll buy, ever, and you’ll save by discovering so many things you can cook from what you already have, or common ingredients and spices.” – Ally, Amazon reviewer
9. “The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays” by Ree Drummond, $17.19 (Orig. $29.99)
Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
There’s a reason Ree Drummond has two cookbooks on this list — they’re really, really good. In this cookbook, she shows how to celebrate holidays year-round with recipes for groups of different sizes — from small dinner parties to larger feasts. Recipes include: Dr. Pepper cupcakes for the Super Bowl, glazed ham for Easter, watermelon sangria for July 4 and caramel apple rolls for Christmas.
“This book is awesome from the photography to the blogs, to the captions and especially the recipes. Makes you feel warm inside, inviting and a pleasure to look at. Easy step by step recipe instructions. I have never quite seen a cookbook that was put together like this one.” – Amazon Customer, Amazon reviewer
10. “Jerusalem: A Cookbook” by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, $23.99 (Orig. $35)
Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
This cookbook features 120 recipes from the author’s cross-cultural perspective as men born in the city of Jerusalem — Tamimi on the Arab east side and Ottolenghi in the Jewish west. Inside, you’ll find recipes for vegetable dishes, rich desserts and savory meats.
“It’s become my top cookbook. However, these are not the kind of recipes where you look in the refrigerator, gather whatever you’ve got and you prepare a last minute dish. They take time, have a few ‘moving pieces’, require an artistic moment, and a couple of days of foraging for the ingredients (including going to Amazon to order some of the more exotic ingredients.) But the results are spectacular.” – Aeneas, Amazon reviewer
If you enjoyed this list, check out these 11 amazing cookbooks written by Black chefs and authors.
More from In The Know:
Spring pea and burrata pasta with prosciutto recipe
Here’s how to watch ‘Black Is King,’ a film by Beyoncé
7 top-rated air purifiers to add to your work-from-home set up
Shop our favorite beauty products from In The Know Beauty on TikTok
The post The 10 best cookbooks of all time, according to Amazon appeared first on In The Know.
