Best Cookbooks to Give as Presents

Samin Nosrat’s book came out in 2017 and has already become a mainstay in kitchens around the world. That’s because Nosrat has tackled the basics in an approachable and fun way that makes anyone want to cook. Her lively writing makes cooking approachable. She believes that anyone should be able to achieve cooking that is both delicious and beautiful. She also believes food is a method of connection for families and loved ones, not an intimidating science, and that’s what really sings in this cookbook.

While the topics Nosrat covers are probably worth revisiting no matter how long you’ve been cooking, this book will be especially useful for a new or young cook! Gift it to someone moving out of their parents’ house for the first time—they’ll be sure to open it by the time they have to cook dinner for the first time!

Releasing in November 2020, Kindred Table by Emily Week, RDN, LD, is one of the most anticipated cookbooks of the year. (Emily is also one of my dear friends here in Dallas, and I am so very excited for her.) Weeks’ goal is to help overstressed, overworked families break free of the shackles of dieting and start eating intuitively.

The book explains why restriction always fails and how to create family meals that are both healthy and fun. It includes specific instructions on cooking for the whole family, as well as approaches to teach intuitive eating to children and teens. Achieving goal weights is not the point of this book—but rather joyful eating and a body positive relationship with food.

Do you have an aspiring hostess friend? Maybe someone who just finally moved out of their tiny studio and into a space where they can finally host friends and cook for them? Beautiful Boards might be the ticket.

My friend Meagan Brown (aka The Baker Mama) has put together a beautiful book full of gorgeous photos and step-by-step instructions to recreate the prettiest and most festive boards in your own home. Hallelujah!

Many boards include classic charcuterie while some move beyond that, arranging normal foods into whimsical designs and deliciously tempting arrays to draw in even the pickiest eater. It’s an entertaining game-changer, and will help any hostess spend less time in the kitchen and more time with loved ones! We’ve used this cookbook many times, and my older daughter adores it—especially the dessert boards, like the unicorn board, which was a centerpiece at her joint birthday party in the spring.

The newest edition of Mollie Katzen’s cookbook adds new recipes to the original 200 she created in the 1990s, as well as a section on how to make your own pasta at home. It is a fantastic guide for anyone looking to create more vegetarian meals for themselves and their family. It includes dishes from a number of cultures, too, which is a great way to expand your palate!

The Enchanted Broccoli Forest (as well as Katzen’s other cookbook, Moosewood Cookbook) have been staples in kitchens for generations—including mine!—and will probably stay in the family you gift it to for generations, too.

Molly Krebs’s cookbook is all about eating more plants in a way to add more color and fun to your diet. The tagline, ‘75 Delicious Ways to Pack More Vegetables into Every Meal,’ really says it all. Not only are Molly’s recipes beautiful, but they taste incredible, too.

My family has been enjoying it throughout the year because hi, I like packing more veggies into every meal while also letting those meals taste fantastic. I am so fortunate to know Molly and to have a copy of her cookbook on my bookshelf!

The third cookbook from Joy the Baker focuses on the best weekend meal: Brunch. In her book, brunches are long, relaxing, collaborative meals that easily straddle the best parts of breakfast and lunch. They are savory and sweet, and accompanied by her trademark beautiful photos.

There are 125 recipes that can tackle any brunch craving, from pancakes to sandwiches, juices to cocktails and all the combinations in between.

As they say, there’s an Ina Garten cookbook for everyone. And it was hard to choose which one to include here because she’s utterly fantastic (and it goes without saying that her recipes are, too.) Barefoot in Paris? Make It Ahead? Foolproof?

While those are all good, Cooking For Jeffrey made the list because it’s such a sweet book. It’s essentially a 272-page love letter to Ina Garten’s husband and covers all the recipes he really loves.

However, few of them are easy weeknight meals. This is a “weekend cookbook”—meaning, it includes long, meandering recipes that you’re not going to tackle after a long day at work. But if you can give them the care and attention, they will reward you.

For Chrissy Teigen, life, love and food are all the same. And her amazing cookbook Cravings will have you craving more of her humor, her authenticity and her insight on life and cooking. From her mom’s Thai classics, her husband John’s famous fried chicken, to all her favorite Instagrammable dishes, this book has so many recipes that a home cook of any skill level can recreate.

Readers also get Teigen’s classic witty insights, like using bacon as a home fragrance or how to not overthink Brussels sprouts (or men). Gift this one to anyone who follows Teigen on Instagram or Twitter.

So many classic cinematic moments happen over meals. Who could forget the orgasmic pie in When Harry Met Sally? Or how Brad Pitt seems to always be eating in his films? So for your resident movie buff, Eat What You Watch is the perfect combination of their favorite passions.

Author Andrew Rea (of Binging with Babesh fame) from more than 40 classics and cult films. Butter Poached Lobster from Annie Hall? It’s got it. Bourbon French Toast Sticks from Kramer Versus Kramer? In there.

Gift someone this cookbook then show up on their doorstep with a movie from the book—it'll put a fun spin on a classic rewatch.