Cookbooks › American
The best American cookbooks
Joy of Cooking to Edna Lewis to the barbecue pit: how America cooks, North and South.
Joy of CookingIrma S. Rombauer
Simply InaIna Garten
How to Cook EverythingMark BittmanRead one before you go
The classics
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Joy of Cooking
Irma S. Rombauer · 1931
Self-published in the Depression and revised for ninety years; the book on more American shelves than any other.
Cook from it: Buttermilk pancakes, Meatloaf (our write-up, saves to your recipes)
Cook in its spirit: Classic Broiled Chicken with Pan Gravy, Old-Fashioned Beef Stew with Root Vegetables (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)
No. 2 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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How to Cook Everything
Mark Bittman · 1998
The plain-spoken reference for cooking anything with variations, from a man who made a generation of cooks.
Cook in its spirit: Basic Braised Chicken Thighs with Pan Sauce, Weekend Risotto with Mushrooms and Parmesan (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)
No. 7 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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The Art of Simple Food
Alice Waters · 2007
The Chez Panisse way at home: good ingredients, treated simply, in season.
Cook in its spirit: Garden Lettuces with Simple Vinaigrette, Slow-Roasted Chicken with Bread Salad (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)
No. 9 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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The Zuni Cafe Cookbook
Judy Rodgers · 2002
The roast chicken with bread salad, and the early salting that changed how cooks season meat.
Cook in its spirit: Early-Salted Roast Chicken with Warm Bread Salad, Weeknight Pan-Seared Pork Chop with Mustard Pan Sauce (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)
No. 10 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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The Taste of Country Cooking
Edna Lewis · 1976
Seasonal Southern cooking from a Virginia farming community founded by freed slaves; a classic of American food writing.
Cook from it: Southern fried chicken (our write-up, saves to your recipes)
Cook in its spirit: Skillet Braised Spring Greens with Smoked Ham Hock, Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)
No. 14 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
Ina Garten · 1999
Food from her Hamptons shop that guests love, written so it works every time.
Cook from it: Perfect roast chicken (our write-up, saves to your recipes)
Cook in its spirit: Perfect Roast Chicken with Lemon and Herbs, Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)
No. 19 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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The Gift of Southern Cooking
Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock · 2003
Edna Lewis's last book, with her young friend; the biscuit and fried chicken recipes are the ones to own.
Cook from it: Buttermilk biscuits (our write-up, saves to your recipes)
Cook in its spirit: Buttermilk Biscuits, Skillet-Fried Chicken (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)
No. 22 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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The Essential New York Times Cookbook
Amanda Hesser · 2010
A century and a half of the paper's best recipes, each re-tested.
Cook from it: Purple Plum Torte, Dutch Baby (David Eyre's Pancake) (our write-up, saves to your recipes)
Cook in its spirit: Weeknight Roast Chicken with Lemon and Pan Juices, Braised Short Ribs with Red Wine and Root Vegetables (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)
No. 29 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook
Alice Waters · 1982
Menus from the Berkeley restaurant that started farm-to-table.
Cook in its spirit: Garden Lettuces with Warm Goat Cheese Rounds, Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder with Flageolet Beans and Garlic (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)
No. 38 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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The Silver Palate Cookbook
Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins · 1982
The book that defined 1980s entertaining, and gave the world Chicken Marbella.
Cook from it: Chicken Marbella (our write-up, saves to your recipes)
Cook in its spirit: Prune and Olive Braised Chicken, Herbed Goat Cheese Torta with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)
No. 39 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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The Gourmet Cookbook
Ruth Reichl · 2004
Over a thousand recipes from sixty years of Gourmet magazine, chosen by its last editor.
Cook in its spirit: Roast Chicken with Lemon and Herbs, Braised Short Ribs with Red Wine and Root Vegetables (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)
No. 52 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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Dining In
Alison Roman · 2017
The book behind the most cooked recipes of the late 2010s, The Cookies included.
Cook from it: Salted Butter and Chocolate Chunk Shortbread (The Cookies) (our write-up, saves to your recipes)
No. 56 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
Deb Perelman · 2012
Recipes from the blog's tiny kitchen, re-made until they earned their place.
No. 57 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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The New Basics Cookbook
Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins · 1989
The Silver Palate duo's everyday encyclopedia.
No. 65 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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James Beard's American Cookery
James Beard · 1972
The dean of American cooking on the country's own food.
No. 66 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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The New York Times Cook Book
Craig Claiborne · 1961
The book that made the Times the place Americans looked for recipes.
No. 67 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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Jubilee
Toni Tipton-Martin · 2019
Two centuries of African American cooking, recovered from cookbooks history ignored.
No. 68 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen
Paul Prudhomme · 1984
Cajun and Creole cooking that swept the country; the gumbo is the lesson.
Cook from it: Chicken and andouille gumbo (our write-up, saves to your recipes)
No. 87 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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Franklin Barbecue
Aaron Franklin and Jordan Mackay · 2015
A meat-smoking manifesto from the brisket people line up for in Austin.
Cook from it: Texas brisket (our write-up, saves to your recipes)
No. 88 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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The Dooky Chase Cookbook
Leah Chase · 1990
Creole cooking from the queen of New Orleans and her famous restaurant.
Cook from it: Red beans and rice (our write-up, saves to your recipes)
No. 89 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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The Pioneer Woman Cooks
Ree Drummond · 2009
Ranch cooking that made generous American comfort food famous again.
Cook from it: Cinnamon rolls, Pot roast (our write-up, saves to your recipes)
No. 90 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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Half Baked Harvest Cookbook
Tieghan Gerard · 2017
The blog's big-flavor farmhouse cooking in a book.
No. 99 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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RecipeTin Eats: Dinner
Nagi Maehashi · 2022
The internet's most dependable recipe writer in print, as dependable on paper as online.
Cook from it: Butter chicken (our write-up, saves to your recipes)
No. 100 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks
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New this year
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Simply Ina
Ina Garten · 2026
Ina's newest: 85 easy, polished recipes with make-ahead notes and honest shortcuts.
No. 8 on The New Cookbooks
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The Lost Kitchen: Seize the Supper
Erin French · 2026
Meals for living in the moment, from the Maine restaurant you write a postcard to book.
No. 36 on The New Cookbooks
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