Top Recommended Vegan Cookbooks

If you were to explore our library of cookbooks, you would easily be able to tell which ones get the most use: the binding is torn and the pages stained, with hand-written notes of our variations, and post-it notes to flag our favourite pages. We love a good cookbook! But what defines a good cookbook? While preferences may vary, to me, a good cookbook has distinct sections, pictures showcasing the recipe, with simple, easy to find ingredients. Moreover, the recipes are easy to make, and a final bonus for me, emphasizes healthy meals for the most part (a woman also needs some comfort food).

Based on these factors, there are several cookbooks that I would highly recommend whether you are looking for a new cookbook, new to plant-based eating, a long-term vegan, or just wanting to change it up! These are tried and true cookbooks that have been in a staple in our household for years, while others are rather new additions. Nevertheless, they always have us coming back for more!

Oh She Glows (First Cookbook)

Honestly, if you are looking for a cookbook with images of every recipe, this fits the bill. Further to that, the recipes in this book are incredibly user friendly, with simple ingredients that you probably already have or can easily find in any grocery store without question. The recipes are simple but surprisingly delicious and do not take a whole lot of time to make.

By far, I would have to say that my favourite recipes in this book are the African Stew, Enchiladas, Tex Mex, and Protein Goddess Bowl. We have been making these recipes and others for years and still have not grown tired of them.

Isa Does It

Isa, to me, truly is the OG of vegan cookbook creators, as we own several of her books! If you are looking for a cookbook with countless recipes and images, this is definitely for you. There are several sections of this book dedicated to different styles of meals ranging from pasta to stirfries to lazy Sundays, which does separate it from other cookbooks. What also sets this book apart are the various recipes to make setian such as chickpea cutlets and sausages using vital wheat gluten, something not commonly found in many vegan cookbooks or at least the ones I have encountered.

Aside from her meals, her desserts and breakfast options are quite delicious, and Sharayah never grows tired of her pillowy pancake recipe that is, without a doubt, the easiest to make!

Made with Love

Forewarning: you are going to hear a lot about the baked goods section of this book. Sorry, not sorry.

Made with Love is brought to you by two Canadian bakers who own a successful bakeshop in Burlington, Ontario, that sells some pretty decadent treats! I have to be honest and say that I live and breathe for the dessert section of this book and have never been more impressed with a cookbook in my life solely because of this. Clearly, they know what's up when it comes to sweets!

Of course, this cookbook has more recipes other than dessert, but I will be upfront and say that this is what always has me coming back for more. If they created a cookbook solely dedicated to baked goods, I would be the first in line to buy it. I have not made one dessert that has turned out poorly. Their cupcakes always come out moist and pillowy, cookies soft and flavourful, and I yet to meet anyone who has not been impressed when sampling a baked good made from this book.

But enough about desserts and onto the book! There are countless images to highlight the recipes and is overall, very aesthetically pleasing. While the authors may focus on clean ingredients, you can easily substitute them without fail, and without compromising the recipe.

No Meat Athlete

A new addition to our collection, every recipe that we have tried to-date has yet to let us down. I have to admit, that the savoury chickpea olive waffles blew me out of the water along with the breaded tempeh!

I originally purchased this cookbook as I was looking for nourishing recipes to help fuel me during my athletic venture of completing my first marathon and you get just that, without compromising taste. If you are someone who is looking for nutritious meals to fuel your athletic endeavours, then you may want to pick up a copy of this book. This book offers various recipe ideas to fuel your body before, during, and after an exhaustive workout to help your body recover and replenish glycogen stores as needed.

Lastly, all recipes that we have tried have been incredibly easy to make with simple ingredients that you can easily find in any grocery store, with images for almost every recipe.

Vegan Richa's Everyday Kitchen

I cannot recommend Richa’s recipes enough! If you are looking to diversify your cookbook collection, I recommend starting with a Vegan Richa cookbook. I give her all the props for not compromising on flavour, especially when it comes to her spice blends. My wife and I have noticed that the portion of spices recommended in the average North American cookbook is not enough, and we end up doubling, if not tripling the amount of spice that the recipe calls for. But with Richa, what the recipe calls for in terms of spices, is the exact amount that you need. Further to that, Richa offers some fantastic spice blends and sauces and provides several recipes that pair well with these blends and sauces leaving you with a few meal options.

Hands-down, Richa's recipes are jam-packed full of flavour providing a diverse offering of meals that truly stand out from the crowd and are what sets her apart from other creators. Even her desserts are chock-full of flavour and never leave you disappointed!

Shortlisted

Veganomicon

Ah, my first ever vegan cookbook that I purchased over ten years ago when I was still vegetarian. As with Isa Does It, Veganomicon has countless recipes to choose from but is shortlisted, quite frankly, because there are not a whole lot of images showcasing the meal. Therefore, if you are someone like me who wants to see the final result, you may not be as motivated to cook from it. However, I must say that despite not having many images, every recipe that I have tried to date has been incredible!

Isa is pretty damn brilliant and even rocked our world with some potato mash buns, that will please any carb lover.

Thug Kitchen

I will be honest and say that every recipe that we have tried from Thug Kitchen has been great, but I do struggle with it due to the excessive vulgarity used throughout the book. However, if you can move past it, you will find some pretty fantastic recipes.

If you are looking for a recipe book that offers some delicious and comforting vegan meals and are okay with or can look past some vulgarity, this book may be for you.

Thrive Energy Cookbook

Brandon Brazier was one of the first vegans that I stumbled across when I first became vegan, and I admire his athleticism and business ventures. Thrive has some truly brilliant and easy recipes that will blow your mind; however, it does not make it in my top list, due to the layout and because some ingredients are not as easily accessible. Lastly, I am not a fan of cookbooks that refers you to a recipe on another page from the one that you are trying to make, and this book has a bad habit of that. Otherwise, the concept and meals of this book are quite delicious and nourishing and another great option if you want a book that offers meals to fuel your athletic adventures.

Afro-Vegan

Afro-Vegan is a recent purchase of ours, and the recipes that we have tried to-date are ah-mazing! Honestly, the only reason why this cookbook is shortlisted is that we have not sampled enough recipes to put in my top list. There is a carrot salad recipe that has completely changed my view on carrots and how yummy they can be. I know that without a doubt that this is a book that we are going to be using quite often, especially during the winter months.

---

Well there you have it, our favourite cookbooks to-date. If there are any cookbooks that you would highly recommend please feel free to share as we are always excited to grow our collection and try new food!