Who says you need to be a Cajun native to cook some of the tastiest Cajun dishes? With the right motivation and help, you can master the art of cooking Cajun foods in a matter of weeks, if not days. Many have turned to use some of the best Cajun cookbooks and have never regretted their decision. You, too, can be like them only if you have a detailed cookbook filled with so many recipes to pick from.
But here is the problem; there are hundreds of Cajun cookbooks sold over the internet, and unfortunately, some of these books are not even written by experienced chefs who know all there is to know about cooking Cajun food. To be on the safe side, we have written this review to guide your purchase.
Best Cajun Cookbooks
| Image | Best Cajun Cookbooks | Rating |
|---|---|---|
 | 1. Mosquito Supper Club Cajun Recipes by Melissa M. Martin | 99% |
 | 2. Chasing The Gator by Isaac Toups | 96% |
 | 3. The Best of New Orleans Cookbook by Ryan Boudreaux | 92% |
 | 4. Cajun Cookbook by Book Sumo | 89% |
 | 5. Acadiana Table by George Graham | 85% |
Want to learn more?
Here are our best Cajun cookbook reviews.
1. Mosquito Supper Club Cajun Recipes by Melissa M. Martin
First on our list of Best Cajun cookbooks is the Mosquito Supper Club by renowned author Melissa Martin. Recipes from a disappearing Bayou is filled with the history, traditions, and culinary customs of Cajun cooking. This book contains a slew of dishes many have termed classic and an integral part of Acadian culture. If you are interested in American cooking related to Acadian culture, you should read this book.
Melissa’s cookbook is filled with tasty recipes that you’ll fall in love with. Some of the amazing recipes in this book include duck gumbo, fried okra, crawfish etouffee, smothered chicken, and oyster bisque, to name a few. In a calm and engaging structure, the author brings all of these dishes to life using words and sentences that you will understand.
All the recipes in this book come from the author’s Mosquito Supper club. The book also contains amazing images of the menus and their places of origin to pique your interest long before putting on your apron. Mosquito Supper Club is a book worth reading.
Why do we like it?
- Easy to read text
- The recipes are well spelled out and explained in detail
- A deep dive into local Cajun culture
- Colorful pictures
2. Chasing The Gator by Isaac Toups
This cookbook was written by legendary Cajun chef Isaac Toups. All the recipes in this book were taken from the popular Toups Meatery in Southern New Orleans near the Atchafalaya Basin. The author presents the reader with some of his native recipes; he also establishes the connection between the recipes and his people’s traditions. Understanding the relationship between Acadian natives and their feeding habits has proven to be one of the most effective ways to master Cajun culinary art.
In this book, Toups will show you how to make his double-cut pork chops that have gained critical acclaim among Cajun menus lovers. If it is the Hopper Stew or the Louisiana Ditch chicken you hope to learn, this book bares it all. It contains all the information you will ever need to successfully prepare Cajun dishes on your own without the need to have an expert chef present.
The recipes for shrimp boils and whole hog boucheries are self-explanatory. Furthermore, the author goes into great detail to show you how to organize backyard cookouts in your home with the resources at your disposal. Chasing The Gator by Isaac Toups reveals all.
Why do we like it?
- This book contains more than 100 Cajun recipes
- The recipes are easy to cook, some in under 15 minutes
- Different cooking styles and options are exposed for your benefit
3. The Best of New Orleans Cookbook by Ryan Boudreaux
In the Best of New Orleans, Ryan Boudreaux brings the taste of New Orleans right to your kitchen. From the comfort of your home, you can learn 50 classic Creole and Cajun recipes nice and easy. You may have initially thought that New Orleans cuisines are as mysterious and complex as their food, but Chef Ryan removes the veil with his expertly written book.
Just like the other books in this review, The Best of New Orleans is one of the best Cajun cookbooks you will ever read. All the tasty meals sold in the bayou of the city can be prepared in your home using the clear and concise instructions provided by Ryan Boudreaux. Also contained in this masterpiece are five of the top menus enjoyed by locals and visitors who visit Louisiana to enjoy its food, as well as five of the best restaurants to enjoy delicious raw oysters.
The Best of New Orleans will provide you with tips and historical highlights for every recipe listed in the book. After reading this book, the next time you attempt to cook Cajun meals will be different, as you will do so with the confidence of a professional chef steeped in Acadian traditions.
Why do we like it?
- Every recipe is explained in detailed
- Perfectly structured for the reader’s understanding
- The texts are of the right fonds for clear visibility
4. Cajun Cookbook by Book Sumo
Book Sumo takes you on a literary tour of Southern cooking with this cookbook filled with tasty Cajun recipes that have won hearts and minds of many across cultures for decades, if not centuries. This publisher has a track record of publishing detailed self-help books, and this cookbook of theirs is worth your time and money; that is why we added it to this list. This piece gives you an introductory history 101 lesson about Louisiana culinary practices in ways that only a few cookbooks can.
The writers point out the ease at which you can make Cajun meals with the right approach. The recipes are unique but easy to prepare, and the ingredients to put them together are easy to get at food markets near you. Some of the amazing recipes in this cookbook are Baton Rouge cabbage stew, Quick Cajun gumbo, Creole Spring rolls, Jambalaya, Mayo salads, creole corn, and lots more.
We also like the fact that Book Sumo inspires readers by encouraging them to come up with new recipes of their own. Becoming an expert is possible. With the right application, you can improve your Cajun cooking skills immeasurably.
Why do we like it?
- The cookbook is multi-faceted and covers different culinary Cajun-related subjects
- Recipes are easy to master
- Different cooking styles are espoused
5. Acadiana Table by George Graham
George Graham’s Acadiana Table of Creole and Cajun recipes is specially written for home cooking. All the recipes highlighted in this book are recipes whose ingredients are easy to find. Their cooking steps are not complicated; hence, they are relatively easy to master. All the recipes in this cookbook come from the historical bayous of Louisiana, and as you read it through, you will not only learn the recipes but also be exposed to the local Cajun culture of the area.
Arcadiana Table has 125 recipes, with each recipe having a beautiful image that exposes the menus in ways that texts cannot. The author explains the tips and tricks with words, but the images show you a clear picture of how your food should look like. We like the standard dishes explained in the book, and we also appreciate the extent the author went to introduce brand new recipes to spice up the old. So, even if you have been cooking Cajun food for years and an expert in the art, you can still learn a thing or two from George Graham’s new recipes. The 9 chapters in the book are explicit, and each chapter dwells on a particular subject in detail. From meat-based meals to traditional Cajun beverages, this tell-all book reveals more than enough information to last you a lifetime.
Why do we like it?
- Family-friendly menus
- The cooking formats are self-explanatory
- Pictures explain concepts that words cannot
Cajun Cookbook Buyer’s Guide
A Cajun cookbook is not a general cookbook but a reading piece that focuses on Cajun cooking traditions and recipes. Therefore, when you are looking for a cajun cookbook to buy, it makes no sense to waste your time on books that focus on general cooking styles but throw in a few Cajun recipes into the mix. Another thing you should know is that not all Cajun cookbooks were written by experienced Cajun personalities. Buying books written by random writers will offer you nothing new, and whatever information you get from them will be inauthentic.
To avoid buying cookbooks that claim to offer Cajun traditional cooking knowledge but offer very little in a real sense, our buyer guide reveals some of the details to be aware of as you search for a Cajun cookbook to buy.
Your needs
What do you want to learn? If Cajun delicacies are your prime focus, then you need a cookbook that dwells on Cajun recipes alone, not English, not French or German. A generalized cookbook may serve its purpose, but there will be so much you will not learn reading general themed books. The best Cajun cookbook to buy should have detailed information about basic and complex Cajun dishes and nothing else. The recipes should also be easy to make.
Orderly Arrangement
Check to see if the recipe arrangements are orderly. If you are buying the book physically, skip to the content table to check. If you are buying it online, read reviews to ascertain this information. A good cookbook should highlight the
- Ingredients
- Cooking method
- Recipe
If the book is well arranged, you will find it easy to locate the section that contains the information you are looking for. A 400 recipe Cajun cookbook might seem like a great idea at first, but that excitement will turn into frustration if you cannot locate the information you need effortlessly.
Cooking directions
Only buy books with easy to follow cooking directions. Avoid Cajun cookbooks with directions written in narrative styles as they are difficult to follow through. The best Cajun cookbooks follow a numbered chronological pattern. As you make progress, you absorb the right information, and you can quickly revert back to a previous section if the need arises.
Extra information
To be a well-rounded Cajun cook, you need as much information you can get. In fact, no information is useless when it comes to polishing your art. Do buy a book that has the following information for each recipe:
- The number of servings per recipe
- Preparation time
- Cooking tips
- Recipe information and history
- Alternative ingredients
- Helpful suggestions
Knowledge of the author
This factor should not be overlooked when doing your search. The knowledge of the author is as important as the recipe the book contains. A writer who is an authority in the art will provide you with more information than an amateur who doesn’t even know what they are talking about. Anyone can sit down and write a cookbook, but only experienced authors can test and write about their recipes’ feasibility. So before you buy a Cajun cookbook, take your time to read about the author’s background to know where he or she is coming from.
Recipe Inspiration
The best Cajun cookbooks will teach you how to prepare Cajun meals and inspire you to experiment with your own recipe. Great authors do this by suggesting alternative ingredients you can try in place of the main ones introduced. They also point out creative ways you can use these ingredients in your food. There is no Almighty formula for cooking, so the freedom to experiment is an integral part of cooking. After learning some of the recipes shown in the cookbook, you should be able to come up with your own.
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