Skip to Content

10 Best Vegan Cookbooks (That I’ve Used for Years)

What are the best vegan cookbooks on the market today? I’ve tried dozens of vegan and plant-based cookbooks since I went vegan 9+ years ago. Today I’d like to share 10 of my favorite best vegan recipe books that I’ve used countless times over these years, and do a quick review of each one.

10 best vegan cookbooks: an honest review by a vegan of 9 years

Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you make a purchase through my blog, I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thank you!

Note: this post was originally published in 2015, and included first five books on this list. In October 2022 I’ve added another 5 cookbooks that I discovered since then.

For someone who just switched to the vegan or plant-based diet, owning a useful and dependable vegan cookbook (or ten) can make or break the whole deal with this new dietary choice.

Of course, I know that being vegan goes beyond just what we put on our plate (I hear ya, ethical vegans!), but since food still remains the most frequently used tool on the way to a cruelty-free world, today I’d like to focus on vegan food, and particularly cooking it with the help of useful vegan cookbooks.

For today’s post, I’ve put together a list of my top 10 best vegan cookbooks. In doing so, I went beyond selecting books with pretty pictures and nice fonts, but rather asked myself these questions:

  • Do I use this cookbook a lot?
  • Does this book call for everyday, easy-to-find ingredients?
  • Is it easy to use?
  • Are the recipes oil-free, or can they be made oil-free?
  • Have I used this book for a while (at least a few weeks of heavy rotation)?

In my attempt not to go overly nerdy here (or is it too late? 😄 ), I’ve saved you from detailed answers to each of these questions about each book, and instead did a quick summary of all these aspects.

I’ve also added a special ranking for each book’s usability: from 5 points for the best book layout that makes my life in the kitchen super easy, to 1 point for the most confusing cookbook ever.

(None of the books above ranked that low, of course, since this is a list of my favorites!)

What Makes My List of 10 Best Vegan Cookbooks Different

I know that the Internet is abundant with articles that claim to have “Top XYZ Vegan Cookbooks of This Year”, so I want to draw a distinction between these articles and my list below.

A lot of times these articles are written by editors who take whatever newest, prettiest vegan cookbooks were sent to their office, and put them together in a single article.

Best case scenario, the authors of these articles may cook a recipe or two out of each one, and include that in their review.

This is why the list I’m sharing with you today is different: I actually spent years cooking recipes from each of these cookbooks. Some of these books I know like the back of my hand.

There are pages that have been splattered with tomato sauce and cooking grease – a true indicator of recipes that have been cooked and enjoyed many times over.

After all, pretty pictures and cute fonts in a cookbook are worthless if that book ends up never leaving your bookshelf.

There’s also a reason why most of these books have been released a while ago: it would be a lie to say that I used a cookbook for years if it came out in 2022 😉

Without further ado, here’s my list of 10 best vegan cookbooks from my vegan recipe book collection, in no particular order:

The Happy Herbivore Cookbook by Lindsay S. Nixon

The Happy Herbivore Cookbook is one of the first vegan cookbooks I’ve ever bought, and the one I still have in heavy rotation in my kitchen.

All of Lindsay’s recipes are oil-free, with majority of them being low-fat without compromising the flavor. Most of the ingredients can be easily found in any grocery store – probably my favorite thing about all of Lindsay’s books.

The Happy Herbivore is a great book for those of us who are new to the plant-based diet, or looking to cut down on oil usage in their vegan cooking.

In addition to recipes for just about any occasion, there’s also a nice selection of Thanksgiving-themed recipes which made my life much easier the first year Rob and I celebrated Thanksgiving as vegans.

The Happy Herbivore Cookbook - one of my top 5 favorite vegan cookbooks

My Favorite Recipes from Happy Herbivore Cookbook:

Cheater Pad Thai – called so because of the use of peanut butter, which is not a low-fat food but makes the sauce for the Pad Thai delicious and quick.

Hippie Loaf – my go-to veggie ‘meatloaf’ that I was glad to discover after trying countless other vegan loaf recipes that either took forever to make, or made me run to the store like a professional sprinter for ingredients I didn’t have.

Portobello Steaks, a.k.a. sautéed giant mushroom caps – a delicious low-calorie substitute for that piece of steak you used to have as a centerpiece on your plate before going vegan.

Ease of Use: 5 out of 5. The book is arranged by chapters that make a lot of sense, like Breakfast & Brunch, Muffins & Breads, Soups, Burgers, One-Pot Dinners, etc.

Plus, there’s a useful alphabetical index at the end – the indexes in some cookbooks are pretty terrible, but this one makes plenty of sense.

Everyday Happy Herbivore, also by Lindsay S. Nixon

Everyday Happy Herbivore is the second book by Lindsay S. Nixon that made my list, and the second book she’s ever published.

This time, the emphasis was made on quick meals that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. I’ve never timed myself when cooking something from this book, but generally that’s about right.

Once again, no oil is used in any recipes. My favorite part about this book is even better structure: some of the chapters are even more specific (like Burgers), and each chapter has plenty of good recipes.

After this book, Lindsay and her publishing company changed the layout of her following cookbooks, and even though I own two more of them, I find myself using them way less often than her first two books.

Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook review - one of my favorite vegan cookbooks with lots of easy recipes

My Favorite Recipes from Everyday Happy Herbivore:

Most of the veggie burgers from the Burgers chapter.

Tofu ‘Crab’ Cakes – so closely resembling the real thing that it’s kind of eerie.

Cauliflower Manchurian – an unusual but oh-so-good Asian-inspired side dish that helped Rob get an appreciation for cauliflower for the first time in his life.

Dark Chocolate Pancakes – a big weekend staple in our house!

Ease of Use: 5 out of 5. The book is well-structured, with easy-to-find recipes thanks to a good list of contents in the beginning and a useful appendix at the end.

Once again, I kind of wish Lindsay went on with this format with the rest of her books, but my heart isn’t overly broken here.

Vegan Casseroles by Julie Hasson

Vegan Casseroles is my ultimate go-to source for vegan comfort food. When Julie’s cookbook came out last year, I read lots of raving reviews from various vegan bloggers, so I was very excited to get my own copy.

I reviewed Vegan Casseroles cookbook in detail in this post and even shared three recipes with Julie’s permission.

It may be the middle of the summer right now, but I still dive into this book every now and then to make a delicious and comforting casserole or two.

Vegan Casseroles by Julie Hasson - one of my top 5 favorite vegan cookbooks

The recipes here aren’t low-fat or oil-free, but I’ve had success cutting out oil in many recipes. For example, it’s easy to replace oil with veggie broth or water when sautéing onions and garlic.

As for the decadent things like nut-based cream sauces, let’s face it: even though they are full-fat, it’s most likely that they are still healthier than cream/butter/egg-based (and thus full of cholesterol) sauces of traditional casseroles.

My Favorite Recipes from Vegan Casseroles Cookbook:

Black Bean, Zucchini and Corn Enchiladas with a delicious homemade enchilada sauce.

Spinach Florentine pasta for when I’m craving something particularly decadent.

Bumbleberry Pie – the taste of summer any time of the year!

Ease of Use: 4 out of 5. The fifth point is taken out because the list of contents in the beginning of the book mentions all of the main chapters but doesn’t list each recipe within that chapter.

To find what you’re looking for, you need to go to your chosen chapter inside the book, and see a list of recipes over there. This structure doesn’t complicate things too much, but it still adds an extra step to your search.

Teff Love: Adventures in Vegan Ethiopian Cooking, by Kittee Berns

Teff Love is the result of Kittee’s lifetime fascination with Ethiopian cuisine that she nurtured while having lived in three very different parts of the US – Washington, DC; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Portland, Oregon.

I wrote about how Kittee personally (although not in person) introduced me to Ethiopian food, and reviewed her teff Love cookbook in detail in this post (there’s also a little interview I did with her!).

By now I’ve developed my own list of favorite recipes from Teff Love for times when that special craving hits, but every time I open the book, I find more and more interesting recipes to try.

Teff Love - a vegan Ethiopian cookbook, one of my top 5 favorite vegan cookbooks

Ethiopian cooking can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be.

You already know and love the majority of ingredients each recipe calls for: simple vegetables like potatoes, cabbage, carrots, onions, green beans, tomatoes, etc.

Things get a bit more specific when it comes to the spices used, but as Kittee advises, even if you can’t find some of the more exotic spices, it’s fine to omit them. The dish may taste a bit different than its original version, but it will still be tasty.

The same thing applies to oil: most recipes call for it, but I’ve had success making lots of stews in the book oil-free.

My Favorite Recipes from Teff Love Cookbook:

Hands-down, the traditional Ethiopian injera bread is quite spectacular, and Kittee provides very detailed instructions on how to make it.

Ye’Misser Wot Be’Timatim – a spicy red lentil stew that frequently appears at our Ethiopian feasts at home.

Hirut’s Fasolia – a green bean and carrot side dish in a tomato-ginger sauce that finally had my husband start eating green beans.

A couple not-so-traditional favorites:

The Ethiopian Mac’n’Cheesie that’s become my family’s go-to vegan mac’n’cheese recipe.

Blueberry-Cinnamon Pancakes that use a little bit of injera bread sourdough starter – the most comforting pancakes ever!

Ease of Use: 3 out of 5. There is a similar contents list arrangement as in Vegan Casseroles above, only the opening page for each chapter inside the book doesn’t have a list of its recipes.

This makes it hard to find that one particular recipe you may be looking for.

Things get easier the more you use the book, but this is the reason a lot of really great recipes can end up overseen for a while.

Isa Does It, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Isa Does It is one of the latest additions to my vegan cookbook library, even though the book was released in 2013.

As soon as I opened this cookbook, I was taken away by the beautiful food photography, a variety of interesting fonts, and Isa’s little ‘stories’ about each recipe.

Right away I dove into exploring the recipes, and for two or three weeks this was the only vegan cookbook I cooked from.

Believe it or not, every recipe was a hit both with me and Rob, and I yet have to find a recipe that we didn’t like.

(Not that I’m actively looking for that 😄.)

Isa Does It - one of my favorite vegan cookbooks with easy recipes for every day

Isa Chandra has authored a number of other cookbooks, but what attracted me to this one was the the usage of simple ingredients and a 30 minutes or less of preparation time for most recipes.

Ingredients-wise, the book keeps its promise: you’ll be fine as long as you’ve stocked up on raw cashews, tofu, canned chickpeas and tahini in addition to the common vegetables, grains and flours.

As for the time, I found that it usually takes me longer than half an hour to make most recipes, but I’m known to be slower and very thorough with things, so maybe it’s just my experience.

A lot of recipes are quite decadent – cashew cream is used a lot, and most recipes call for oil, which I once again was able to omit quite often.

My Favorite Recipes from Isa Does It Cookbook:

Where do I even start?

Coconut Chana Saag – the Indian-inspired stew with chickpeas and kale in a tomato-infused coconut sauce that tastes like a dish from a sophisticated ethnic restaurant.

Tofu Mushroom Stroganoff – this comforting pasta dish was a big hit with my non-vegan parents while they were visiting me for a few weeks recently.

Moroccan Harira – a delicious soup with chickpeas, eggplant and thin pasta in a tomato-based broth that my parents also loved.

Korean BBQ Portobello Burger with kimchi that tastes like I’ve cracked the code of deliciousness!

Ease of Use: 4 out of 5. The book has a similar setup as Vegan Casseroles above, with a main chapter menu in the beginning, and a list of each recipe within those chapters in each individual chapter opening.

Somehow still, I find it quite easy to find the recipes I need because by now I’ve memorized the order the chapters are arranged in.

So if I’m looking for a stew and open the book at the sandwich chapter (a.k.a. Handheld), I know that I need to search a couple chapters over.

Overall, Isa Does It has good usability for my picky taste.

UPDATE 2022: Since I originally published this post, I’ve tried quite a few other vegan cookbooks. Some of them have become my favorites, so I decided to add a few more books to this post. Here we go:

The Superfun Times: Vegan Holiday Cookbook, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Isa Chandra released The Superfun Times cookbook just before the holidays of 2016.

In the six holiday seasons that went by since then, I’ve cooked at least something from it every time. That’s not counting lots of non-holiday occasions I’ve used recipes from this book.

Isa didn’t leave any holidays behind: she included recipes both for traditional holidays like Christmas, New Year’s, Thanksgiving, Mother’s + Father’s Day, and the less conventional occasions like Oscar’s Night Party, Super Bowl, etc.

She also paid homage to her Jewish heritage by including recipes for holidays like Passover, Rosh Hashanah + Yom Kippur, and of course Hanukkah.

Review of Superfun Times Vegan Holiday Cookbook

My Favorite Recipes from The Superfun Times Cookbook:

Chickpea Cutlets – delicious seitan and chickpea-based patties that make a perfect comfort food dinner with some mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables any time of the year.

Shiitake BLT Bites – little skewers of smoky shiitake mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, vegan mayo, and bread cubes. I served them at my vegan baby shower to rave reviews from guests.

Classic Carrot Cake – I’ve tried at least half a dozen vegan carrot cake recipes over the years, and this one is still my favorite.

Rugelach – Totally epic. Better than what I remember from my childhood. Also, a great project to do with kids!

Ease of Use: 3 out of 5. The layout of this book may be confusing to us “normies” who are used to recipes classified into chapters like Breakfasts, Appetizers, Side Dishes, Desserts, etc.

Instead of this classification, recipes are arranged by holidays, so each chapter will have some (or all) of the above + additional recipes. I totally understand why Isa did it this way (it’s a holiday book after all!), so I’m not mad.

Thankfully, you’ll find an extensive recipe index at the end, so as long as you know what you’re looking for, you’ll find it there.

Vegan for Everybody, by America’s Test Kitchen

America’s Test Kitchen needs no introduction. This Boston, MA-based food lab meticulously tests their recipes more times than I would ever have patience for, all in search of the winning ingredient combination.

Vegan for Everybody, their vegan recipe cookbook released in 2017, is no exception.

This cookbook includes “Foolproof Plant-Based Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and In-Between” (the book’s byline).

What I like about this book is that in each recipe the authors first talk about various ingredient combinations and cooking techniques they tried, and which of those produced the best results.

Besides, the opening part of the book includes almost scientific explanations of various cooking methods and tricks, like how to make (and what to do with) the best aquafaba foam; how to boost flavors of your vegan meals; how to achieve great cheesy flavor without the cheese, etc.

What I don’t like: a lot of recipes care kind of labor-intensive and time-consuming. I understand why though – the authors didn’t want to cut any corners in search of perfect results, and sometimes this ends up taking time and effort.

Review of Vegan For Everybody cookbook by America's Test Kitchen

My Favorite Recipes from Vegan For Everybody:

Chickpea Noodle Soup – a comfort food classic straight out of our childhood. Chickpeas make a good plant-based substitution to chicken, and ditalini pasta is used to replace traditionally used egg noodles.

Pan-Seared Tempeh Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce – yep, it’s just as delicious as it sounds. Marinated tempeh is cooked until golden brown, and served with a vibrantly flavored parsley-based green sauce.

Any of the multipurpose sauces (p. 166-167) – these are perfect for using in a variety of plant-based bowls. If you have some ingredients in mind (think a protein, a grain, and some vegetables) but don’t know how to “tie them” together, these will work great.

Ease of Use: 5 out of 5. The recipes are arranged in logical chapters – Breakfast + Brunch, Soups + Stews, Burgers + Sandwiches, etc. Plus, the index at the end will help you find anything you need quickly.

Chloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen, by Chloe Coscarelli

Some of you may say, “C’mon, this book is ancient!” Yes, Chloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen was released in 2014, but I didn’t get my hands on it until 2017 or so.

That’s the year my daughter was born, and I remember cooking from this cookbook a lot in the first months after we welcomed her.

If you’re a parent, you most likely know what this means: if a new mom chooses a cookbook to use during the chaos and stress of the first months of parenthood, the recipes in that book must be really easy to make 😀

That’s true: Chef Chloe shares lots of easy recipes for Italian-style appetizers, pasta, pizza, sandwiches, breakfasty things, and amazing sweet treats.

(The last one is obvious since Chloe came to prominence after winning the Cupcake Wars reality cooking show on Food Network.)

10 best vegan cookbooks: honest review of Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen cookbook

My Favorite Recipes from Chloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen:

Bowties in Garlic Cream Sauce – a delicious and creamy pasta with sliced mushrooms and chopped sundried tomatoes. I usually make it with a different shape of pasta like penne or rotini.

Crumbled Sausage and Mozzarella Pizza – the mushroom and walnut-based sausage alone is a revelation. It looks and tastes exactly like regular crumbled sausage, yet it’s way less greasier.

Italian Wedding Cake – so good that I made it twice in one month in 2019. And then again for my daughter’s 2nd birthday.

Ease of Use: 5 out of 5. No complaints here: the book has a detailed table of contents in the beginning, plus an index at the end.

30-Minute Vegan Dinners, by Megan Sadd

I’ve never heard of Megan Sadd before coming across this book. But when I found it in a local bookstore, I knew I had to buy it right away.

I firmly believe that there can never be too many vegan dinner ideas (I even put 10 of my own family’s favorite vegan dinners into a free e-book) – and this is why this book stood out to me.

30-Minute Vegan Dinners splits its recipes by chapters like Fast-Casual California Cuisine, Southern Comfort Made Simple, Instant Pan-Asian, Quick and Easy Latin Flair, etc.

You’ll find plenty of sandwiches, noodles, curries, soups, meal-sized salads, tacos, bowls, etc.

My favorite thing about this book is that it doesn’t just claim that you’ll make everything in 30 minutes – it actually tells you how to make it happen.

The instructions for each recipe include lots of time-saving shortcuts, like putting the vegetables to roast in the oven before it’s fully preheated.

If something takes longer to cook, or needs time to marinate, you’ll be notified in advance.

Review of 30 Minute Vegan Dinners cookbook by Megan Sadd

My Favorite Recipes from 30-Minute Vegan Dinners:

Tomato Spicy “Tuna” Sushi Rolls – a game changer in the homemade sushi game. A simple marinade turns tomato slices into a perfect plant-based stand-in for tuna in sushi rolls and sashimi.

Hearts of Palm Cioppino – you won’t miss seafood in this traditional stew full of tender hearts of palm, sliced mushrooms, and potatoes. The addition of seaweed powder gives the broth a rich seafood-like flavor.

Quesadilla Cubano with Mojo Tempeh – I never had a traditional Cuban sandwich before I went vegan. But if it tastes half as delicious as this decadently smoky, cheesy tempeh quesadilla, then I understand what the hype is about 😀

Ease of Use: 5 out of 5. Everything is straightforward: table of contents at the beginning, logically arranged chapters, index at the end.

The Plantiful Table, by Andrea Duclos

The Plantiful Table was another vegan recipe book that I knew I had to get ASAP when I first stumbled upon it.

Andrea Duclos shared lots of wholesome, family-friendly plant based recipes in traditional cookbook categories: breakfast, sandwiches, appetizers, salads, soups, pizza, pasta.

Plus, she included some “shortcut” recipe chapters like Easy Plant-Powered Dishes, Dressings, Sauces, Toppings, and even plant-based dog treats.

But my favorite part about this book is her stories of her family’s Colombian food she grew up eating, and how it influenced the way she now cooks for her vegan daughter and her non-vegan chef husband.

This reminds me of what food blogging used to be before 2016 or so – lots of good recipes and good stories from bloggers who (or at least it felt so) invited us to sit down at their table and enjoy life’s casual moments.

(This was long before everyone became obsessed with Google rankings, Jump to Recipe buttons, etc. – but I digress 😄)

10 best vegan recipe books: review of The Plantiful Table cookbook by Andrea Duclos

My Favorite Recipes from The Plantiful Table:

Baked Plantains – a super easy 2-ingredient recipe for restaurant quality plantains. I used to be fascinated with plantains, but was intimidated to cook them myself until I tried this recipe.

Breaded Eggplant – this recipe will make even the staunchest eggplant haters change their mind. A game changer for vegan eggplant Parmesan, or Italian-style eggplant sandwiches.

Kale and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta – the combination of walnuts and sun-dried tomatoes makes a surprisingly good, “meaty” sauce for pasta. Also great as a sandwich spread.

Ease of Use: 4 out of 5. The Table of Contents in the beginning lists all chapters, but not the individual recipes. It may take a minute to find the exact recipe you need. It gets easier if you look it up in the recipe index though.


Of course, I have way more vegan cookbooks in my possession than these ten, but I find myself using these ten most often. Now that I’ve shared my experience with each of these best vegan cookbooks, I’d like to ask you:

Question for you: What are your favorite vegan cookbooks that you use over and over?

Please let us all know below in the comments!

Disclaimer: None of the above mentioned cookbook authors or their publishers have paid me to write this post, although I did receive Julie Hasson’s Vegan Casseroles and Kittee Berns’ Teff Love for free back in the day in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own, and thus 100% genuine.

If you’ve enjoyed this post, share it with your friends on social media! And stick around for more awesomeness – subscribe to Vegan Runner Eats to receive the latest posts (I’ll send you a free copy of my vegan dinner recipe e-book as a thank you), or follow the blog on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

author avatar
Alina Zavatsky - Vegan Runner Eats
Alina first made a switch to a vegan diet in 2013 to optimize her athletic performance as a marathon runner. Eventually she embraced veganism as a way to be kinder to fellow living beings and the environment. Alina hopes that this blog helps its readers on their path to becoming vegan and making this world a better place.

Kari

Thursday 28th of February 2019

I have quite a few vegan cookbooks, but I haven't tried any of these cookbooks yet! They all look interesting to me. I have never tried Ethiopian food, so I think that would be first on my list.

Alina Zavatsky - Vegan Runner Eats

Thursday 28th of February 2019

I highly recommend that book, Kari - it has lots of plant-based recipes that have become staples in my kitchen!

Kelli

Saturday 17th of February 2018

Vegan nom nom is still a favorite

Karen

Saturday 2nd of January 2016

I would like to order the recipe books but I would like to know the recipes oil-free

KathyD

Wednesday 2nd of September 2015

I like Lindsay nixon's cookbooks, too along with Jo Stepaniak's (Vegan Vittles, Table for Two, The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook) and Jennifer Raymond's The Peaceful Palatte and Fat-Free abd Easy.

Alina

Thursday 3rd of September 2015

Awesome, Kathy! I need to look up those last two authors you've mentioned.

Sandy

Thursday 20th of August 2015

My all time favorite vegan cookbook is The Great Vegan Bean Book by Kathy Hester. I use it once or twice a week. My favorite recipes include: Beluga Lentil Borscht, Cornbread-topped Casserole, Beluga Lentil Stew over fresh spinach, and Triple Lentil Soup with wheat berries (I use quinoa instead.) Most of the recipes have and oil-free option.

My next favorite cookbook is Eat Right, Live Longer by Neal Barnard. I make the cornbread, rice pudding, and shepherd pie most often.

I also use Veganomicon by Moskowitz and Romero. I adjust the recipes to use no oil. I love the roasted portobellos (although, I tweak it quite a bit) and the lemony roasted potatoes.

I have just begun to use The Happy Herbivore cookbooks. The mayo recipe is wonderful! I used it to make potato salad this week. We have been having a lot of salads because it has been very hot in the SF Bay Area.

Most of my favorite recipes come from you and Susan Voisin online.

I look forward to all your postings.

Sandy

Alina

Thursday 20th of August 2015

Thank you for stopping by, Sandy, and thank you for the nice words about my recipes :) You've reminded me of The Great Vegan Bean Book - I used to cook a lot from it when I first got it, but it's been covering dust on my bookshelf lately for some reason. The Chocolate Pea-Nut Butter Pie from that book is Rob's all-time favorite vegan pie! And the chocolate chip-chickpea cookies are also great!