Looking for a gift for a vegan in your life? New to veganism and don't know where to start? Long-term vegan wanted some new vegan mealtime inspo? Wherever you're at you'll find a vegan cookbook to suit you in my list of the best vegan cookbooks. I've tried and tested them all and I'm pretty sure there's something here for everyone.
Covers of Vegan in 15, Deliciously Ella Plant Based Cookbook, Vegan Street Food, BOSH!, homemade vegan pantry, Vegan 100, The Wicked Healthy Cookbook and Thug Kitchen
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What makes a good vegan cookbook?
Well this is really going to depend on you. How long you've been vegan for, whether you miss meat and dairy, how spicy you like your food, whether you're an experienced cook, how much time you have - all of these will have an impact on what is the best vegan cookbook for you.
I've tried to include a range of different books here so whether you're new to vegan cooking or a long-term vegan who's looking for some new kitchen inspiration I think you'll find a book that you love.
Have I missed anything off my list of the best vegan cookbooks? If I haven't included your favourite vegan cookbook let me know what it is in the comments below and I'll add it to my wish list!
Covers for Vegan 100, Vegan Street Food, The Homemade Vegan Pantry and Vegan in 15 - four of my 15 best vegan cookbooks
NB: this post contains affiliate links. If you buy something after clicking on one of these links I may earn a small commission. The price to you remains the same.
Here are 15 of the best vegan cookbooks that I've found:
Peace and Parsnips* by Lee Watson
This is one of the first vegan cookbooks I bought when I started eating more vegan food and it's still one of my favourites. It's full of delicious recipes from around the world and has a whole chapter dedicated to veggie burgers. What's not to like?! It also has an incredible vegan chocolate cake recipe. Some of the recipes are quite involved and while not necessarily difficult use a lot of ingredients and take ages to prepare. Despite this it's still an excellent book.
Best for: a semi-experienced vegan looking to take their cooking up a notch
BOSH!* By Henry Firth and Ian Theasby
The Vegan YouTuber duo’s first cookbook contains plant-based versions of many classic recipes. This is a great book for a new vegan and is definitely one of the best vegan cookbooks to be published in 2018. It has a useful intro where the authors talk about what equipment they have in their kitchen and some staple ingredients that you’ll need to stock up on to be a successful vegan cook. I also like how the book is divided up into quick eats, big eats and showstoppers so you can easily tell which recipes you can make quickly and easily.
There are lots of Asian recipes in this book as well as pasta dishes, hearty British pies and Mexican feasts. Some of the recipes eg the seaside pie don’t work that well for me as I haven’t eaten meat or fish since 1991 and so recreating the taste of a fish pie isn’t that appealing to me but I can see how this would work for someone who is new to eating meat free.
As well as meals there’s a good section of side dishes, some healthy salad based bowls and loads of sauce and hummus recipes. A fairly extensive cocktail section is followed by some desserts and breakfast ideas. The book finishes off with a brief but useful nutrition section which tells you which plant based foods will give you protein, vitamins and other nutrients.
Best for: new vegans who love to cook
Vegan in 15* by Kate Ford
Food blogger Kate Ford's first book contains lots of quick and easy recipes as well as a very useful section on stocking your store cupboards. There's a good range of recipes made using beans, tofu and vegetables and recipes come from many different cuisines. NB: this is a paperback book and there aren't photos for every recipe.
Best for: vegans looking for quick, tasty meal ideas
Afro-Vegan* by Bryant Terry
Published in 2014 the book aims to share the vast and diverse food history of African-Americans. This is a lovely book for anyone who likes to cook food from other cultures. Most of the dishes are very vegetable-centric. Beans and tofu do appear but vegetables are really at the heart of this book and you won’t find any attempts to recreate meat here.
I also love that this book suggests a song to listen to with each dish!
Best for: established vegans looking to learn about food from another culture
Thug Kitchen* by Matt Holloway & Michelle Davis
I really want to love this book but to be honest I’m put off by the sheer amount of swear words. There’s at least one swear word on every page and while of course there’s a time and a place for an expletive I just found that this distracted me from the food. If you think you can get past that then you’ll probably like this book.
The message, swearing aside, is that we should all eat more veg and be a bit healthier. It’s an American book and this shows in the recipes (everything’s in cup measures FYI). I love the Mexican influences like chilaquiles which I haven’t heard of before, pozole rojo and flautas.
There are lots of Asian inspired recipes too. I particularly like the how to bake tofu section with marinade ideas. I sometimes feel like I’m on a one-woman mission to make tofu more interesting so this was good to see. There are also some cool graphics and type faces in this book making it an appealing book to look at.
Best for: people who love cooking (and swearing)
Vegan cupcakes take over the world* by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero
Isa Chandra has published a lot of vegan cookbooks over the years. I like this little book of cupcakes for its sheer simplicity. There are 75 vegan cupcake recipes inside as well as a good introduction to vegan baking, ingredients and decoration. NB: all measurements are in cup measures.
Best for: vegans with a sweet tooth
The Wicked Healthy Cookbook* by Chad Sarno & Derek Sarno
First of all this cookbook has the best front cover of any vegan cookbook I’ve ever seen. Like Thug Kitchen this is an American book so you’ll need to be prepared to adapt the cup measures. It’s a shame that they haven’t bothered to adapt the recipes to metric for this UK version. T
his is an extremely comprehensive book and is a good option for a serious cook. It includes things like sourdough starters, taco bar recipes, vegan meringues, dumplings and even vegan scallops. The book contains lots of useful info about stocking a pantry, cooking skills and getting healthy.
Best for: someone who's serious about upping their vegan kitchen skills
The Vegan Pantry* by Miyoko Schinner
This is another one of my favourite vegan cookbooks. This book covers all the things you need to know how to make if you want to make your own staples without having to pay for expensive brands. Think vegan butter, cheese, stock, soup, brownies, bread etc. I use this book weekly.
Best for: established vegans who want to make their own staples
The Deliciously Ella Plant Based Cookbook* by Ella Mills
The latest offering from Deliciously Ella this books aims to be a comprehensive vegan cookbook covering everything from breakfast and snacks to midweek meals and dinner parties. Like her other books this isn't a great book for families but suits younger single people or couples better. My kids love some of the sweet recipes but aren't keen on the dinners. The book also shares the story of Deliciously Ella and gives some insight into the business which I found an interesting read.
Best for: people who are interested in veganism for health
Vegan 100* by Gaz Oakley
This is a lovely book with stunning photos, although many of them are of Gaz and his hipster friends hanging out looking cool. I am personally not a big one for meat substitutes but if you're a new vegan who is looking for meat replacements then this is the book for you. The seitan burgers are well worth making as are the Kentucky BBQ pulled jackfruit wraps and the Moroccan eggless omelette. Some of the recipes have a lot of ingredients and will take you a fair while to put together. Gaz also has a vegan Christmas book* out this year.
Best for: vegans who miss meat and those with time to spend in the kitchen
Vegan Street Food* by Jackie Kearney
Remember Jackie? She was the first, and possibly only, vegetarian to get to the MasterChef final. That was back in 2011 and since then she's published three books. This is her first book and is a great choice for anyone who loves Asia and Asian food. It's full of stories and photos from her travels as well as lovely recipes from India to Indonesia. Some of the recipes are a bit fiddly but the ones I've tried have all been delicious and so it definitely deserves to feature amongst the best vegan cookbooks.
Best for: vegans who love to travel
The New Vegan* by Aine Carlin
The New Vegan is Aine Carlin's second book and it's full of lovely recipes. With less meat substitutes than some of the other books featured here this book suits me much more. The smoky orzo jamabalaya and the black bean taquitos are both awesome. Her third book, Cook Share Eat Vegan*, came out this year (2018).
Best for: vegans who don't want to recreate meat
Feed Me Vegan* by Lucy Watson
Once I got over the weirdness of the fact that this book is written by someone from Made in Chelsea I soon realised that this is actually one of the best vegan cookbooks I've tried. It's got loads of staples in it that I regularly come back to and the vegan waffles are the best I've ever made.
Best for: someone looking for a general introduction to vegan cooking
15 Minute Vegan* by Katy Beskow
I can't guarantee that all the recipes actually take just 15 minutes to make but they're definitely quick and the ingredients lists aren't intimidating. The Pad Thai and the Kerala cauliflower curry are my favourites.
Best for: those looking for quick vegan dinners
The Green Roasting Tin* by Rukmini Iyer
This is the only book I've featured here that isn't exclusively vegan. It's half veggie and half vegan but I think it deserves a space on my list of best vegan cookbooks because the half that is vegan is absolutely brilliant. Think smoked tofu with fennel and pak choi or all in one sweet potato Thai curry - delicious recipes that are cooked in one dish in the oven.
Best for: people who love sticking dinner in the oven and letting it cook
Still can't decide which of the best vegan cookbooks to buy? Take a look at my recipe index while you decide.
If you like this you might also like these cooking gifts for kids who love helping in the kitchen or this iced vegan Christmas cake.
Pin the best vegan cookbooks for later
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