Last year, we saw an explosion of vegan cookbooks, and this year is shaping up deliciously as well. It makes sense, as the popularity of compassionate eating is evident everywhere you look. New vegan products are flooding store shelves, and chain restaurants are consistently adding plant-based options. Allow us to present— vegan cookbooks 2017!
The diversity of the cookbooks on this list reflects that of clean eaters—from native New Yorkers providing diner and deli recipes to vegan athletes’ power-food recipes. There’s also a guide designed to help people over 40 transition to a vegan lifestyle, an author who healed her own illness with a plant-powered diet, and a famous vegan restaurant’s first cookbook.
Take a look!
Simple to Gourmet Vegan
It’s all here—from the easy-peasy to the fine and fancy. Loaded with more than 240 mouthwatering recipes, including familiar favorites such as Double Chocolate Brownie Cake, Hush Puppies, and Biscuits and “Sausage” Gravy, Peter Tarantelli’s book spans a spectrum of deliciousness that will make your culinary imagination run wild.
PLANTLAB: Crafting the Future of Food
This new 90-plus recipe book employs “a modern, creative approach organized in four sections that build on progressing skills: Fundamentals, Advanced Techniques, Professional, and Food Future.” This structure allows you to cook at your own level and build on what you learn.
The Naked Vegan: 140+ Tasty Raw Vegan Recipes for Health and Wellness
Chef Maz Valcorza traded in a corporate career to open the first organic, raw, and vegan café in Sydney, Australia: Sadhana Kitchen. In her second cookbook, she shares recipes for raw vegan delectables such as Bananarama Cupcakes, Zucchini Pasta Carbonara, and Mango Float Cake. Chapters are divided into helpful categories, such as “Super Food Smoothies,” “Main Meals,” “Snacks and Sides,” “Sweet or Savory Condiments,” and more.
Plant-Based on a Budget
Michelle Cehn and Toni Okamoto, creators of The Friendly Vegan Cookbook, bring you a new meal-planning book that’s full of simple, scrumptious plant-based recipes. This $5 guide will show you how to go to the grocery store with $25 in your pocket and get ingredients to create 21 meals. That’s only $1.20 per meal!
Beautifully Real Food: Guilt-Free, Meat-Free Recipes to Indulge In
Vegan chef Sam Murphy—the maker of gorgeous creations such as galactic toast—reveals her cooking and baking secrets in a new book. Recipes include Tex-Mex Cheese Toasties, Loaded Vegan Dogs, Salted Caramel Brownies, Pumpkin Pie, Cheesecake and Cookie Dough Cereal, and more.
This Cheese is Nuts!: Delicious Vegan Cheese at Home
Endurance athlete Rich Roll and his wife Julie Piatt introduced delicious vegan food to a new, athletic audience with The Plantpower Way. Now Piatt is back with a gorgeous collection of nut-based cheese recipes that will convince anyone to take cruelty off of their plate.
The VeganEgg Cookbook
Follow Your Heart’s ingenious, delicious VeganEgg is celebrated in this book, which features recipe contributions from Spork Foods, Olives for Dinner, Eat.Drink.Shrink., Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, and so much more.
Field Roast Cookbook: 101 Artisan Vegan Meat Recipes to Cook, Share, and Savor
To make your own delicious, plant-based meats, all you need are grains, vegetables, and spices. This book will teach you how to create cutlets, roasts, burgers, sausages, and so much more, without all the killing.
The First Mess Cookbook: Vibrant Plant-Based Recipes to Eat Well Through the Seasons
The First Mess blog has gained a substantial following because of mouthwatering recipes like Roasted Eggplant and Olive Bolognese and Earl Grey and Vanilla Bean Tiramisu. This highly anticipated cookbook is perfect for plant-based cooking enthusiasts looking for seasonal, whole-food recipes.
The Skeptical Vegan: My Journey from Notorious Meat Eater to Tofu-Munching Vegan―A Survival Guide
This book is both a memoir and a cookbook, and it’s a must-read for anyone who is interested in a plant-based lifestyle.
Raw Food Art: Four Seasons of Plant-Powered Goodness
From the Olenko’s Kitchen blog comes this must-have cookbook for anyone with a raw plant-based lifestyle. It features more than 80 recipes with stunning photos and tips for becoming your healthiest self.
One Part Plant: A Simple Guide to Eating Real, One Meal at a Time
Eating clean has helped many people overcome or improve medical conditions, and the author of this cookbook is a great example. Jessica Murnane’s endometriosis—a chronic and painful condition—dramatically changed after just a few months of plant-based eating. One Part Plant shares what she learned from healing her body through food, plus scrumptious recipes like Creamy Mushroom Lasagna, Easy Vegetable Curry Bowls, Triple Berry Skillet Cobbler, and Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
Naturally Nourished: Healthy, Delicious Meals Made With Everyday Ingredients
Sarah Britton’s signature photography is featured in this vegetarian cookbook. Main dishes, sides, soups, and salads are all easy to make with ingredients found in any grocery store, demonstrating that meat-free cooking is available to everyone. Vegan and gluten-free substitutions are offered for every recipe.
Vegan for Everybody: Foolproof Plant-Based Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and In-Between
America’s Test Kitchen serves up 200 foolproof recipes, from breakfasts to late-night pizza. This cookbook offers something for vegans and nonvegans alike who are looking to revitalize their cooking with fresh, whole ingredients.
Sweet Potato Soul
Cookbook author and chef Jenné Claiborne explains, “I developed my love of sweet potatoes while growing up in beautiful Atlanta, GA… Now as a vegan chef sweet potatoes are still my favorite food, and one of the most delightful and soulful ingredients. The recipes in this blog aren’t all laced with sweet potatoes, but they are all made with a generous sprinkling of soul.” Sounds delicious!
The 40-Year-Old Vegan: 75 Recipes to Make You Leaner, Cleaner, and Greener in the Second Half of Life
This clever cookbook includes a 52-week plan for people 40 and older who want to go vegan. Lentil Shepherd’s Pie, Manicotti with Cashew Ricotta, Jackfruit Chili, and Rocky Road Nice Cream are offered up as comforting recipes to help with the transition. With this book, you’ll begin a journey of aging gracefully and compassionately.
The Greenhouse Cookbook: Plant-Based Eating and DIY Juicing
The 100 recipes in this book are divided into “50 to eat with a fork, spoon or your fingers, and 50 to serve in a glass.” It’s perfect for those who love to mix it up with juicing!
The Blossom Cookbook: Classic Favorites From the Restaurant That Pioneered a New Vegan Cuisine
New York City’s Blossom Restaurants began with a neighborhood vegan joint and quickly grew into a renowned and recognized name in the food world. This cookbook is for foodies who love to prepare elegant vegan entrées like Lobster-Mushroom Crusted Tofu and Seitan Piccata with Sauteed Kale or comfort food like Fettuccine with Cashew Cream and Curried Un-Chicken Salad.
The China Study Family Cookbook: 100 Recipes to Bring Your Family to the Plant-Based Table
This cookbook also includes stories from vegan advocates (including The China Study co-author T. Colin Campbell) whose families have adopted a plant-based lifestyle. And it offers “tips for getting your kids involved in the kitchen and fostering their love of plant-based cooking,” along with “strategies to negotiate the family menu from families made up of both those who eat plant-based and those who don’t.” Seriously helpful stuff.
The No Meat Athlete Cookbook: Whole Food, Plant-Based Recipes to Fuel Your Workouts—and the Rest of Your Life
No Meat Athlete (NMA) is a popular website with resources for every vegan athlete, and no, you don’t have to be a pro to benefit! For this cookbook, NMA founder Matt Frazier and health coach and nutrition writer Stepfanie Romine bring 150 recipes to the table that are affordable and easy to prepare, even on busy weeknights.
NYC Vegan: Iconic Recipes for a Taste of the Big Apple
A good cookbook must have a theme, and we love this one! Native New Yorkers Michael Suchman and Ethan Ciment created NYC Vegan as a tribute to their home city. You can almost hear the New York accent in the plant-based deli and diner food recipes. The diversity of the Big Apple is celebrated, too, with Chinese, Greek, Italian, and Jewish recipes, among others. This fun read includes a list of current New York City vegan restaurants.
Vegan Cheese: Simple, Delicious Plant-Based Recipes
If you’ve never considered making your own vegan cheese, now’s your chance. Author Jules Aron takes the mystery out of making dairy-free cheese sauces, cheese blocks, and spreadable options. Common, easy-to-find ingredients include homemade nut milks, vegetables, and natural helpers like agar-agar and nutritional yeast. The book also offers cheese-plate and drink pairings, so you’ll be on the fast track to becoming a connoisseur.
Veganize It!
Packed with more than 150 recipes, this cookbook helps you create pantry staples instead of buying them pre-made. Dishes like Bahn Mi, Sausage Biscuits, Meaty-Cheesy Pizza, Milk Shakes, Jambalaya, and Lemon Meringue Pie are included in this must-have book.
Sweet, Savory, and Free: Insanely Delicious Plant-Based Recipes Without Any of the Top 8 Food Allergens
The owner of Los Angeles–based cupcake shop Sweet Debbie’s Organic Cupcakes brings us a new cookbook with savory meal recipes, including Lemon Basil Blueberry Muffins, Sweet Miso Forbidden Rice Ramen Noodle Bowl, Roasted Butternut Squash Enchilada Rounds, Yam Gnocchi with Sriracha Pesto, and much more.
The Edgy Veg: 138 Carnivore-Approved Recipes
Can you even wait for this book to drop on October 16? Pre-order your copy today. You’ll want to have these recipes in your repertoire: Lox and Cream Cheese Bagels, Cobb Your Enthusiasm Salad, Buffalo Cauliflower Wings 7 Ways, Easy Cheesy Fondue, Chick-Fillet Deluxe and Thank You Very Matcha Ice Cream.
Hungry? So are we.
Have you been thinking about going vegan but haven’t quite made the jump? Our free vegan starter kit can help. Order one today!
PETA is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide websites with a means to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.