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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsSerious Eats’ 2025 cookbook roundup brings together 26 staff recommendations, not a scored ranking. The picks range from regional food histories and vegetable-led cooking to baking projects, ramen, and books for hosting. The right choice depends on what you want to cook, learn, or share.
How to choose from the 2025 cookbook picks
Start with the kind of cooking you want to do. Some books foreground culinary history and personal stories; others focus on a cuisine, ingredient, technique, or occasion. The descriptions below reflect the individual recommendations in the Serious Eats roundup, updated December 10, 2025. They are editorial picks, not results from a comparative cooking test.
- For cultural context: Look at books that pair recipes with memoir, history, or stories about a culinary tradition.
- For a specific project: Consider focused titles such as a guide to ramen, galettes, or plant-based baking.
- For gatherings: Compare books built around party menus with one about bringing a dish as a guest.
- For everyday inspiration: Consider books centered on salads, vegetables, simple cakes, or accessible comfort food.
Regional cooking, food history, and family traditions
Recipes from the American South — Michael W. Twitty
A blend of recipes, memoir, and food history that foregrounds the cultural diversity of the American South.
Boustany: A Celebration of Vegetables from My Palestine — Sami Tamimi
A vegetable-forward look at Palestinian cooking, with recipes including salads and a lentil dish.
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Heartland Masala: An Indian Cookbook from an American Kitchen — Auyon Mukharji with Jyoti Mukharji
Family stories meet Indian flavors through a Midwest sensibility.
Chesnok: Cooking from My Corner of the Diaspora — Polina Chesnakova
An introduction to Eastern European, Caucasian, and Central Asian cooking, including dumplings, soups, vegetables, and pastries.
Silk Roads: A Flavor Odyssey with Recipes from Baku to Beijing — Anna Ansari
Recipes and stories span the book’s route from Baku to Beijing, with Central Asian dishes among the subjects. Ansari’s press page also lists the book among its 2025 recognitions.
Pakistan: Recipes and Stories from Home Kitchens, Restaurants, and Roadside Stands — Maryam Jillani
Reporting photographs, storytelling, history, and recipes give this book a broad view of Pakistani food.
Recommended Free Tools
My Cambodia: A Khmer Cookbook — Nite Yun
Khmer dishes such as beef stew, pomelo salad, and amok are presented for readers who want to cook them at home.
Chop Chop: Cooking the Food of Nigeria — Ozoz Sokoh
A recommendation for readers seeking Nigerian and West African cooking knowledge and recipes.
Vegetables, salads, and ingredients in focus
Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love — Samin Nosrat
Recipe-led, but also attentive to ingredients, tools, and technique. The roundup calls out experimentation, rice, salads, and community as themes.
Yassou: The Simple, Seasonal Mediterranean Cooking of Greece — Anastasia Miari
Seasonal Greek cooking paired with explanatory context and photography.
Linger: Salads, Sweets and Stories to Savor — Hetty Lui McKinnon
Creative salads and vegetable cooking built around pantry ingredients, bold flavors, and varied textures.
Sabzi: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes — Yasmin Khan
The roundup describes more than 80 vegetarian recipes inspired by Iranian, Middle Eastern, and South Asian flavors, with attention to herbs, legumes, and produce.
Hot Date!: Sweet & Savory Recipes Celebrating the Date, from Party Food to Everyday Feasts — Bethany Kehdy
A deep dive into dates, combining varieties, cultural context, recipes, and illustrations.
Bitter — Alexina Anatole
Explores bitterness in sweet and savory recipes, with approaches for softening, balancing, or embracing the flavor.
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Books for hosting and sharing food
Let’s Party: Recipes and Menus for Celebrating Every Day — Dan Pelosi
A practical match for readers looking for party recipes, menus, and hosting tips.
What Can I Bring?: Recipes to Help You Live Your Guest Life — Casey Elsass
Focuses on being a guest, with attainable recipes and ideas suited to taking along to a gathering.
For the Love of Kewpie: A Cookbook and Celebration — Elyse Inamine and Jessie YuChen
Combines recipes and photography with a timeline of Kewpie mayonnaise.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Focused cooking and baking projects
Homemade Ramen — Sho Spaeth
A detailed guide to the components of ramen, including broth, noodles, tare, and aromatic fat.
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Best Value
Galette!: Sweet and Savory Recipes as Easy as Pie — Rebecca Firkser
A focused baking book covering both sweet and savory galettes.
Beyond Baking: Plant-Based Baking for a New Era — Philip Khoury
Plant-based baking, with examples ranging from vegan chocolate mousse to pastries.
Dorie’s Anytime Cakes — Dorie Greenspan
Simple cakes intended for everyday baking.
Sweet & Salty!: King Arthur Baking Company’s Cookbook for Young Bakers
Approachable baking aimed at children and novice bakers.
Comfort food and restaurant cooking for home
Family Thai: Bringing the Flavors of Thailand Home — Arnold Myint with Kat Thompson
The roundup highlights Thai and Southern influences and family cooking. Myint’s official site describes him as a Nashville Thai restaurant chef and gives the book’s release as October 2025. Serious Eats visuals editor Jessie YuChen writes: “Myint’s recipes move with confidence between Thai and Southern influences, reminding us that great cooking isn’t about mastering tradition—it’s about honoring where your flavors come from and where they’re going.” See the official Family Thai site for book details.
Parm to Table: Italian American and American Italian Recipes from Ponza to the Bronx — Christian Petroni
Italian American favorites and substantial, celebratory dishes are the focus.
The King Cookbook — Clare de Boer, Jess Shadbolt, and Annie Shi
French- and Spanish-inspired restaurant cooking adapted for home cooks, with a substantial scope.
Long Day? Cook This.: Easy East Asian Recipes with a Twist — Justin Tsang
Easy comfort food, including East Asian recipes with contemporary twists.
Quick Recap
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