7 Best Cooking Books for Beginners: Learn to Cook Like a Pro in 2024

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7 Best Cooking Books for Beginners

Whether you want to become a chef or a home cook, or you’re just into organic, home-made foods, whatever the case may be, you’re at the right place.

Cooking is one of those skills that are easy to pick up but hard to master. This is especially the case with the younger generation since their palates are influence by a variety of local and international cuisines, and who often lose track of the mission for the side quests.

But that’s what we’re here for. This list of the best cooking books is for everyone who is just starting out.

Best Cooking Books for Beginners

The Forgotten Chef: Winning the culinary battle: finding yourself, igniting your passions and building confidence in the food journey one skill at a time! by Phil D. May

Let’s start off with a unique entry in the cookbook genre, A phenomenal book in its own right, The Forgotten Chef owes its credit to home cook turned culinary mentor, Phil May. The book combines culture, history, and culinary art, along with the essence of cooking, the cooking process, transcending from a typical cooking guide to a must have for every aspiring chef and home cook.

What does the book exactly offer though?

The book recounts the history behind every dish, telling mesmerizing cultural stories and turning the whole cooking activity into a culinary adventure

But, of course, the meat of the book is its masterful recipes explained in a clear and simple manner, catering beginners and veterans alike. The book is especially tailored for beginners; hence, the recipes are broken down into step-by-step tutorials. Also, the abundance of personal tips makes the whole cooking process easier to approach.

In truth, most cooking books forget to infuse the soul of cooking, the cook’s personal bond with the process. And this is what sets The Forgotten Chef apart: it gives life to the culinary art with rich history and cultural traditions, hence topping our list of cooking books of 2024.

The Forgotten Chef Book by Phil D. May

Gordon Ramsay Quick and Delicious: 100 Recipes to Cook in 30 Minutes or Less by Gordon Ramsay

Do you wish you could make delicious dishes quickly? Of course, you do! Chef or not, everyone does. It’s basically a fantasy of every Gen Z person since everything is so fast paced.

Fret not though, for it is no more a fantasy with Gordon Ramsay’s Quick and Delicious.

Now, you can make learn to make 100 dishes in 30 minutes. You just have to believe in the teachings of Gordon Ramsay. But why should you trust this Ramsay guy in the first place?

Well, since you have been living under a rock, Gordon Ramsay is a super popular chef. He’s a celebrity in the professional cooking community and a household name around the world. He achieved this status from his stellar career as a chef, establishing multiple high-end restaurants, including a 3 Michelin-Star restaurant and a burger joint in Las Vegas.

Recently, Gordon has made a name for himself as the foremost judge on the popular TV show MasterChef.

Gordon Ramsay Quick and Delicious Book by Gordon Ramsay

What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking – A Cookbook by Caroline Chambers

The thing with cooking is that you don’t see the results until you have served the dish. So, sometimes it’s hard to gather enough motivation to cook something, even if you usually like cooking. Add to that the frustration that comes with being a beginner cook and you have the perfect recipe for procrastination with a side of hunger induced lethargy. (See what we did there?)

 So how do you turn this lazy dish into an energy drink? You read What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking.

It is one of the best cooking books for beginners. The book gives you choices based on the time you have and the ingredients you can throw together. You can find rudimentary recipes that start from 15 minutes and go up to multiple hour-long full meal courses.

The book also includes Chambers’ personal tips and tricks to save both time and money. The book consistently makes the lists of cooking books in 2024

If you care anything about the author, Caroline Chambers cooked her way to success as a chefpreneur, starting from her mother’s kitchen and making it big as the author of multiple acclaimed cookbooks.

What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking - A Cookbook by Caroline Chambers

The Weekday Vegetarians Get Simple: Strategies and So-Good Recipes to Suit Every Craving and Mood: A Cookbook by Jenny Rosenstrach

Veggie lovers rejoice! This is the ultimate cookbook for vegetable recipes. It’s a follow-up to Rosenstrach’s book The Weekday Vegetarians, for the sole purpose of proving that vegetarian cooking is easy (and of course to help newbies with cooking).

The book comes with 100 new vegetarian recipes, all packaged in different chapters for different cooks. For example, there is one chapter on comfort foods with recipes for hearty meals, addressing the complaint “Vegetarian dinners just aren’t filling!”.

And, yes, there’s even a chapter for the lazy and confused cooks, where she provides a starter kit, mixing and matching 15 ingredients to create 8 different dishes.

So, whether you’re a veggie lover or just don’t feel like eating meat, this cookbook should be your top pick.

“Liked these top Cooking Books for Beginners? Check out our previous post on Best Cookbooks for Beginners in 2024 for more recommendations and reviews!”

The Weekday Vegetarians Get Simple book by Jenny Rosenstrach

Leiths How to Cook by Leiths School of Food and Wine

Everything you need to know about this book is in the title. It’s a step-by-step tutorial of cooking for the day one cooks. Leiths How to Cook is a classic for many reasons: it has a whopping 500 recipes covering everything from classics, Continental, Asian, and other international cuisines; it has over 800+ photographs illustrating each step of the cooking process; and it teaches 130 comprehensive cooking skills and techniques.

The best thing about this book has to be the tutorial on preparing every ingredient from scratch. Yes, you heard that right, EVERY ingredient from step one.

Leiths How to Cook is one of the best cooking books for beginners in 2024.

Leiths How to Cook Book by Leiths School of Food and Wine

Dolci! American Baking with an Italian Accent: A Baking Cookbook by Renato Poliafito

We can’t forget to satisfy our sweet tooth, so let’s turn our attention to baking. In this beautiful presentation of his Italian-American roots, author and baker, Renato Poliafito combines American and Italian baking traditions.

Think classic, modern, and a blend of both for this amazing baking guide. Pastiera, Torta Caprese, Aperol Spritz Cake, Krispie Treats, Panettone Bread Pudding, Mocha Orange, and Orange Whoopie Pies, you’ll find every popular and classic sweet dish here.

And for good measure, Poliafito also threw in some recipes for savory foods as well.

This unique trans-continental approach to baking and some new recipes from the author himself, adding up to almost a hundred recipes, make this one of the best cooking books of 2024.

Dolci! American Baking with an Italian Accent Book by Renato Poliafito

Health Nut: A Feel-Good Cookbook by Jess Damuck

For our last pick, we have a book that combines modern ingredients and health concerns into a hippie cookbook. The book includes over a hundred accessible recipes for beginners and experimenters alike.

But what’s the deal with the title?

The “feel good” aspect points to the overall vibe of the book. Health Nut caters to cooks who want to rest their mind and bodies but also want to eat healthy. Its recipes are easy to make and focus more on vegetarian dishes.

So, if you’re in search of cooking books for beginners in 2024, you won’t be disappointed with Health Nut.

Health Nut Book by Jess Damuck

Conclusion

By now, your mouth must be watering, so we shouldn’t keep you waiting. Have a go at one of these cooking books, whether you’re a master chef looking for a more comprehensive culinary experience or a beginner looking to step into this hobby.

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