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Cookbooks

The Best Cookbooks of 2024, According to our F52 Community

Pizza nights, veggie love, and southern comforts.

December 26, 2024
Photo by Rocky Luten

As much as we love the ease of finding recipes online (with more than 50,000 on our site, there’s plenty to explore), there’s still nothing quite like cracking open the pages of a physical cookbook. While our digital archive continues to grow, so does our collection of physical cookbooks.

This year, it felt like a buzzy new cookbook dropped every week—from Martha Stewart’s 100th release (yes, you read that right) to debuts from our favorite celebrities. With so many to choose from, it was almost impossible to keep track, let alone decide which ones truly deserve a spot on the shelf. So, to help narrow it down, we turned to our F52 community (plus a few of us on staff) to share the books that wowed us. From Hetty Lui McKinnon’s ode to vegetables to Alexandra Stafford’s pizza-and-salad playbook, and Christina Tosi’s latest baking must-have, these are the cookbooks we can’t stop cooking from.

1. Bayou: Feasting Through the Seasons of a Cajun Life

If you’re looking for a collection of 100 Southern Louisiana recipes, Melissa Martin’s Bayou is the way to go. It’s packed with recipes that are made to share and incorporate simple, fresh ingredients. “I love the pictures, stories, explanations, and approachability.” said Tatum E. (@totes_tates).

2. Chinese Enough: Homestyle Recipes for Noodles, Dumplings, Stir-Fries, and More

Also at our Friendsgiving potluck, Stephanie Lau, another cookbook club coordinator, recommended Chinese Enough by Kristina Cho for the way it weaves in emotional storytelling with delicious recipes.

3. Pizza Night: Deliciously Doable Recipes for Pizza and Salad

One of our other cookbook club hosts, Nicole Davis, recommended Pizza Night by Alexandra Stafford. “I love it because she does pizzas for every season and salads to pair with them so you don’t even have to make the pizza, you can just make the salad,” she said. "It's excellent."

Photo by Rocky Luten

4. Bake Club: 101 Must-Have Moves for Your Kitchen

Our Test Kitchen intern, Ella Nielson, has been baking Christina Tosi’s recipes for years. She said her latest book, Bake Club: 101 Must-Have Moves for Your Kitchen, is one of her best. We can confirm as Christina stopped by our Test Kitchen to make her old-fashioned donuts.

5. Health Nut: A Feel-Good Cookbook

One of our other community members has been loving all of the plant-based recipes in Health Nut by Jess Damuck. “It’s plant forward, seasonal, yummy, easy, hippy goodness,” said Nicole Doro (@nicole.elyse.doro).


We want to know: What was your favorite cookbook of 2024?

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • HALEY
    HALEY
  • Bevi
    Bevi
  • Janet Mowery
    Janet Mowery
Julia Youman

Written by: Julia Youman

Editor @ Food52

4 Comments

HALEY February 18, 2025
Great collection of cookbooks! For anyone looking for delicious burgers and fries inspiration, check out our complete menu at 5 Guys Menu!
 
HALEY February 18, 2025
Great collection of cookbooks! For anyone looking for delicious burgers and fries inspiration, check out our complete menu at 5 Guys Menu!
 
Bevi January 12, 2025
The Pasta Queen Cookbook
 
Janet M. December 26, 2024
I love Luisa Weiss's new Classic German Cooking. The writing is informative and charming, and she includes all the best dishes (in my opinion) from Germany and Austria, from potatoes to Gulasch to Kaiserschmarrn.
 

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