Are you newly vegan and lost on what to cook? Or maybe you’re a vegan veteran in search of some fresh recipes to add to your repertoire? We have curated ten of the best plant-based cookbooks that contain everything from vegan versions of cultural cuisine to mouth-watering desserts.
The two founders of the vegan sourdough bakery BReD in Whistler wrote a complete plant-based book for bakers that goes beyond just making bread. Experienced bakers and novices alike can take their baking to the next level with gorgeous vegan baked goods from cakes, muffins, and scones to biscuits, cookies, and tarts. Passionate about a vegan lifestyle for the benefit of all people and the planet, the book also includes gluten-free recipes (bread and other baked goods), discard starter recipes to further zero-waste efforts, and an offering of dips, spreads, and accompaniments to complement the breads.
Most people, even non-vegans, are familiar with the ingredients that make up most of the meals in this book. But only author Bryant Terry could have imagined all the creative ways to bring these ingredients to life. His book defies the myth that vegetables, grains, and legumes are bland, with a wide range of exciting recipes for tons of different veggies.
His cookbook is super detailed and it’s arranged alphabetically, so you can take your time and go through each main ingredient, recipe by recipe. This cookbook also features accompanying music suggestions for when you’re cooking one of the vegan salads, soups or stews like the Millet Roux Mushroom Gumbo.
With more than 30 years of vegan cooking experience, musician and animal rights activist Moby has now curated his own cookbook. This book is a collection of 125 plant-based recipes from Moby’s “Little Pine” restaurant and showcases the endless possibilities of plant-based cuisine.
The cookbook contains healthy vegan dessert options like butterscotch pudding and vegan chocolate bread pudding. But also features meals like his panko-crusted piccata, which is specially crafted to ease the journeys of those transitioning into veganism. This book holds secrets that could sway even the most stubborn non-vegan (we all know one).
Love is Served is one of the best plant-based cookbooks with cuisines originating from the Café Gratitude in Southern California. The book, just like the restaurant, seeks to feed both body and spirit and inspires with recipes where the titles double as affirmations.
You’ll find recipe names like “I Am Humble,” “I Am Fearless,” and “I Am Open-Hearted” throughout the cookbook, as a reminder that food is more than just nourishment for the body. We love how their recipes are created with an intention behind them, with others including “I Am Warm-Hearted” (Grilled Polenta with Mushroom Ragout) and “I Am Gracious” (Radicchio and Roasted Butternut Squash with Sundried Tomato Pesto Grain Salad).
Korean culture is incredibly rich, and it is no surprise that many aspects of the culture have become popular in other parts of the world, especially when it comes to food.
Unlike the more common Korean delicacies, which are chock-full of meat, dairy and eggs, the Korean Vegan Cookbook contains recipes with that original Korean taste but without the animal-based ingredients.
Written by Joanne Lee Molinaro, these authentic recipes are straight from Omma’s Kitchen (mother in Korean), containing dishes like gochujang (chilli sauce), Gamja Guk (a potato-and-leek soup) and Chocolate Sweet-Potato cakes for the sweet-toothed. There is something for everyone in this cookbook.
One misconception people often have about the vegan lifestyle is that it’s expensive. But there are so many amazing dishes you can make on a budget. . Take some solid recommendations from Toni Okamoto, who has lived the “vegan on a budget” lifestyle herself. This cookbook features vegan recipes that will allow you to eat for less than $30 per week on a vegan diet!
There are over 100 recipes in this book including 5-ingredient peanut butter bites, real deal chocolate chip cookies, banana zucchini pancakes, tofu veggie gravy bowl, and sick day soup. And best of all, they all take less than 30 minutes to make.
How do you know which vegetables and plant-based ingredients are the most nutritious? You can spend hours researching on Google or you can simply pick up The Sprout Book by Doug Evans. Doug has been in the plant-based food business for many years and co-founded an exclusively plant-based chain of restaurants back in 2002.
It’s no surprise that he has written this fantastic cookbook that focuses on the benefits of sprouts, a.k.a “the planet’s healthiest food.” Learn how to combine different sprouts and other ingredients for healthy meals that can help with weight loss and general well-being.
The Greenhouse Cookbook contains 100 recipes, 50 of which are edible and the other 50 are DIY beverages. The book focuses on making these meals and drinks as simple as possible so anyone can make them.
The Greenhouse Cookbook includes secrets to juicing from the founders of Greenhouse Juice Co., a leading company in the pressed juice business. It contains their secrets to creating delicious juices, smoothies, nut milk, tonics, and cleanses and lets you know which are the most nourishing ingredients to use.
Because most people are raised on a diet containing meat and animal products, it can be difficult to transition to a vegan diet. What does that even look like? If you’re trying to switch to a plant-based diet or cooking for someone who is, then Gabriel Miller’s “The Plant-Based Diet for Beginners” is the perfect book.
The book starts with suggestions on adjusting to the vegan lifestyle, including smart shopping and storage ideas, plus options for eating out. It describes healthy ingredients and alternatives to processed food additives like sugar and salt. The concluding chapters suggest an assortment of recipes like Mango-Ginger Chickpea Curry and Oat Crunch Apple Crisp, which have enough flavour and pizzazz to excite the palate of a new vegan.
Abra Berens’ book is appropriately named Ruffage for its focus on vegetable-based meals. It’s a comprehensive guide to cooking healthy and savoury meals with just about any vegetable. This cookbook is a whopping 464 pages long containing 300 different recipes using 29 different vegetables. And there are 140 photos to help guide you through it.
These recipes can help transform you into a total vegetable guru with some real gems, including Shaved Cabbage with Chili Oil, Cilantro, and Charred Melon, Tomatoes and Wild Rice, or Poached Radishes with White Wine.
Imagine having 100 delicious vegan meals in your toolbelt, with eight or fewer ingredients per meal. That is the expertise that Brandi Doming has packed in The Vegan 8.
The Vegan 8 is a cheat book of easy and healthy recipes that are plant-based, dairy-free, primarily oil-free, gluten-free, and either nut-free or containing an alternative.
With this book, you can make fast, simple meals like Cajun Veggie and Potato Chowder or try some vegan baking with Vegan Blueberry Muffins.
These are some of our favourites, and in our opinion, the best plant-based cookbooks you can get your hands on. No matter your dietary requirements or culinary expertise, there is a plant-based cookbook on this list for you.
Why not check out our favourite vegan baking cookbooks and sourdough cookbooks
