5 Best Cookbooks for Beginners (Reviews Updated 2022)

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Being quarantined in our home for over a year has got some thinking to happen. Many people have developed an urge to polish their skills while some got up and took the courage to learn a whole new skill. For most people who were fond of dining out and ordering food every other day, visiting the kitchen was a whole new experience.

Especially when you have to cook almost every day, it is basic to run out of ideas. This is where a cookbook comes in handy. More importantly, for a beginner who is not even familiar with boiling rice and the internet does not explain all recipes wholly, a cookbook is essential. Even if you haven’t gotten the right cookbook for yourself yet, here are some of the best cookbooks for beginners you must give a try.

Best Cookbooks for Beginners

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Here are our top Cookbook for Beginners Reviews:

1. How To Cook Everything: 2000 Simple Recipes

How To Cook Everything 2000 Simple Recipes

Two thousand recipes are a huge number; you won’t ever run out of new options to try even if you make two dishes each day for at least… we don’t know how many years; that’s math we cannot even do! This basic cookbook is a beginner’s first pick for starting from scratch and growing towards something wonderful and a professional maestro in the kitchen.

The purpose of choosing a great book like this one is to help beginners control the kitchen. While you can find each thing on google and YouTube, but a cookbook is your proper and detailed guide, so you do not mess in the kitchen. After all, many people who mess up recipes don’t know how and what they did wrong.

This cookbook with 2000 simple recipes has been written and compiled by Mark Bittman, and due to its detailed and easy-to-understand language, this book is recognized globally. The best thing is that it does not have any hard to get or costly ingredients but rather uses day-to-day easily available grocery items that do not burden your pocket and mind. You can easily follow the steps, and soon you will find yourself getting praises and applauses for quickly acing hundreds of dishes in just a few months.

All you need is to follow the instructions as it is entirely detailed and managed according to servings. You can also double, triple or quadruple the ingredients to increase the portion size. With many dishes from all parts of the world, this book has a close touch with famous cuisines and dishes.

There is not a single well-known recipe you will not find in this book, and the cherry on the top is also extremely affordable. Even professionals and commercial chefs can use this book to make their lives easier.

Why do we like it?

  • Has various recipes from various cuisines
  • Easy to follow steps
  • Has basic ingredients
  • Contains recipes for both veg and non-veg
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2. Betty Crocker Cooking Basics

Betty Crocker Cooking Basics

If we would have to pick one form of art over the others, food has a leading edge. It satisfies your taste buds, gives you a sense of fulfillment, and makes you a better-skilled person. Some people might differ, but that’s okay because having great cooking skills is an essential part of life, and only a few people get to master it.

Thanks to the five-star cooks and professional chefs who find it important to share their talent with the world in cookbooks. Betty Crocker is a famous brand, and we all have had our fair share of calories when we feast on the Betty Crocker cake mix. No judgments; it’s just too hard to resist. To promise the quality and saying enough but the level of recipes in this book, this book has been written under the brand name Betty Crocker.

Although a few fewer recipes but all the 112 recipes included in this book are detailed, descriptive, and one of the bests from the professional kitchen of taste and class. Moreover, it is also a kitchen guru for those people who do not know their way around the little complex kitchen instruments and tools. You don’t only get a wonderful recipe on your plate but also learn to plate inspired by the amazing images in this book.

The estimated cooking time mentioned with each dish helps readers choose the dish for the night depending on the time they have to prepare a meal. You also get tips and tricks regarding various methods you can utilize to store your leftover foods and even some ingredients, so they stay fresh. So prepare your meals and dress up your dinner beautifully with the step-by-step plating guides in this book.

Why do we like it?

  • A complete guide on kitchen
  • Easy recipes
  • Detailed recipes with images
  • Includes other tips and tricks
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3. How To Boil Water

How To Boil Water

Don’t pass this book just because of the title, like, duh? It does not exactly teach to boil water, but rather the title depicts how beginner level this cookbook gets. Starting with a basic to the detailed, and somewhat professional way of making easy and delicious recipes, boiling water is one of the most favorite cookbooks for beginners in the market.

How to boil water is a cookbook for beginners compiled and launched by the Food networks. For those who do not know, the food network is one of the most popular TV channels with a huge network of catering and food business. With a fan base of more than 90 million users all around the USA only, it was about time they released a cookbook to expand their skills and expertise further.

Part of the reason why this book has been the bestselling cookbook in the market. Not only it entails basic easy everyday recipes, but it also has some sort of magic in the recipes, which makes your entire neighborhood let kitchen elevated with flavor and taste. Since the book was published in 2006, fame over fame, and as the new generation goes into the kitchen, they take this masterpiece with them every time.

It has wonderful recipes, but it teaches the smart know-how in the kitchen and helps beginners learn simple tips and tricks to ace cooking. You can learn many shortcuts with this cookbook in a matter of weeks. The 250 pages are the best guide to a great cooking experience anyone could have.

Why do we like it?

  • It has tips and tricks to improve cooking.
  • Easy recipes
  • Ideal for beginners
  • One of the bestselling cookbooks
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4. Tasty Ultimate: How to Cook Anything

Tasty Ultimate How To Cook Anything

What’s for dinner? Anything you like milord. You can have this conversation in your home when you have this cookbook in your library.

One of the best cookbooks to get anything you want on your table, this cookbook is a great pick for a beginner learning to experiment with various ingredients and food items. And to further promise the quality, this book is published by one of the world’s largest TV food networks, Tasty. With over 500 million users worldwide, this cookbook is easy, versatile, and has a grip over various cuisines from all around the globe.

The collection of 150 wonderful recipes make it a great choice for anyone who wants an amazing yet minimalist approach in the kitchen. The ingredients used in this book are simple, everyday items available in any pantry of the world. You will also be blessed with various tips, tricks, and hacks to assist yourself in the kitchen.

If you purchase this cookbook and start working with it, we bet nothing is standing between you and a professional kitchen master. The recipes are explained in a detailed manner, easy to understand, and soon you will find loving yourself the art of cooking even if you despised it in the first place. Learn about the expert’s secrets behind chopping the perfect vegetables, poaching the perfect eggs, and giving a fine julienne cut to your vegetables.

Why do we like it?

  • Published by a reputed food network
  • Has over 150 delicious recipes
  • Good choice for beginners
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5. The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook

The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook

To our followers on a “Save planet, eat green” campaign, you thought we don’t remember you? How come a cookbook for beginner’s list is complete without vegetarian recipes making to it? It’s not like there are no vegetarian recipes in other members on our list, but why would a vegetarian want to get tempted with delicious meat images and not only invest in something they need.

For vegetarians who have been holding their breath till now, it’s the right time you treat yourself with delicious food and amazing treats for your palate. Especially if you are someone who has recently taken an oath to live a meat-free life or have been in this for decades, the complete vegetarian cookbook is a must-have in your kitchen. It has a wonderful, delicious, and playful take on veggies, making you proud and happy about your decision to be vegetarian.

This book contains over 700 easy-to-make and tasty to have recipes, out of which 500 are gluten-free (ready to cut those carbs), 250 are vegan, and around 300 are those that take only 30-40 minutes to grace your table. The clear High definition images are also places for you to analyze your final target and learn the right way to plate that delicious tasty vegetable Manchurian. It won’t be a brag, but this book is a completely vegetarian lifestyle.

The book’s start tells how to cut the vegetables and dice them according to each dish type and the right equipment and tools you need to achieve the perfect grasp on vegetarian dishes. The recipes are divided into subsequent chapters for the reader to locate the type of meal they are looking for easily. Making your life easier, this cookbook for beginners is a great pick.

Why do we like it?

  • Easy vegetarian recipes
  • It also has gluten-free recipes.
  • It also tells about the right way to plate your dishes.
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Cookbooks for Beginners Buyer’s Guide

Have you made your mind to purchase a cookbook for beginners? Since we have picked only the five best cookbooks for beginners on our list, the market is full of cookbooks and easy-to-follow everyday recipes for beginners. If you have finally decided to purchase a cookbook for your library, then here are few factors to be considered so you end up making the right choice.

Renowned Author or Platforms

Before you take any advice from someone or follow them anywhere, you must check on the reliability. This is especially true for cookbooks. After all, it is not wise to compromise on your loved ones’ health and experiment with your groceries when you are not even sure about the results.

Always choose a cookbook for you written by a highly recognized professional chef or even a food network known for its authenticity and genuine recipes.

Number of Recipes

There is no point in purchasing a cookbook with 500 recipes when you will only try those few 20 to 30. Even if you want to keep your options open, a cookbook with more recipes is only going to cost you more, and you will be spending hours getting tempted by multiple dishes, not finding the right mind to decide what to make.

If you are someone with a tough and busy schedule, try purchasing a cookbook with quick and instantaneous recipes. Some cookbooks have time mentioned to cook on them to get an idea of what to make when you have a limited time available.

Additional Qualities

Some people love to experiment with food, and those are the best kind of people. Food is an art, and that being said, many people love to broaden their creative side with this form of art. Cookbooks that have a touch of different cuisines worldwide are best because they do not limit your palate to some basic simple recipes.

Another additional quality of a good cookbook for beginners is that it is limited to recipes and gives you basic kitchen tips and tricks so that you can be a good professional cook in your own home. Also, a good cookbook is the one that motivates you to do better even if you are a beginner, so choose wisely.