Cookbooks › Italian

The best Italian cookbooks

The books that teach you to cook like an Italian grandmother, a Roman trattoria and a Bologna pasta maker. Read one before the trip, cook from it when you're home.

Read one before you go

1. Essentials of Classic Italian CookingMarcella Hazan

   Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

   Marcella Hazan · 1992

   The Italian cookbook in English. Her tomato sauce with butter and onion alone has fed millions.

   Cook from it: Tomato sauce with onion and butter, Lasagne alla bolognese (our write-up, saves to your recipes)

   Cook in its spirit: Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion, Bolognese-Style Meat Sauce (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)

   No. 3 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks

   Buy on Bookshop
2. The Silver SpoonEditoriale Domus

   The Silver Spoon

   Editoriale Domus · 1950

   Italy's own kitchen bible, more than two thousand recipes, given at weddings for seventy years.

   Cook from it: Pesto alla Genovese (our write-up, saves to your recipes)

   Cook in its spirit: Cacio e Pepe, Osso Buco alla Milanese with Saffron Risotto (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)

   No. 6 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks

   Buy on Bookshop
3. The River Cafe Cook BookRose Gray and Ruth Rogers

   The River Cafe Cook Book

   Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers · 1995

   Seasonal Italian cooking from the London restaurant that trained a generation of chefs.

   Cook in its spirit: Chargrilled Zucchini with Lemon, Mint, and Pecorino, Slow-Braised Lamb Shanks with Red Wine, Rosemary, and Cannellini Beans (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)

   No. 26 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks

   Buy on Bookshop
4. Rao's CookbookFrank Pellegrino

   Rao's Cookbook

   Frank Pellegrino · 1998

   Italian-American cooking from the East Harlem table you can't get; the meatballs are the reason.

   Cook from it: Rao's Meatballs (our write-up, saves to your recipes)

   No. 91 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks

   Buy on Bookshop
5. Lidia's Italian-American KitchenLidia Matticchio Bastianich

   Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen

   Lidia Matticchio Bastianich · 2001

   The Italian-American classics, cooked with an Italian's care.

   Cook from it: Eggplant Parmigiana (our write-up, saves to your recipes)

   No. 92 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks

   Buy on Bookshop
6. Tasting RomeKatie Parla and Kristina Gill

   Tasting Rome

   Katie Parla and Kristina Gill · 2016

   Rome's cooking, old and new, with the right carbonara.

   Cook from it: Spaghetti carbonara, Cacio e Pepe (our write-up, saves to your recipes)

   No. 93 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks

   Buy on Bookshop

1. Six Seasons of PastaJoshua McFadden

   Six Seasons of Pasta

   Joshua McFadden · 2025

   The Six Seasons approach applied to pasta, vegetables leading every plate.

   No. 9 on The New Cookbooks

   Buy on Bookshop
2. PadellaTim Siadatan

   Padella

   Tim Siadatan · 2025

   Fresh pasta from the London restaurant with the famous queue.

   No. 29 on The New Cookbooks

   Buy on Bookshop
3. RomeKatie Parla

   Rome

   Katie Parla · 2025

   Rome's cooking, the classic and the new, from the city's sharpest food writer.

   No. 30 on The New Cookbooks

   Buy on Bookshop
4. Pasta Grannies: Eat EverythingVicky Bennison

   Pasta Grannies: Eat Everything

   Vicky Bennison · 2026

   Italian grandmothers' home cooking beyond pasta.

   No. 33 on The New Cookbooks

   Buy on Bookshop
5. Vegetables the Italian WayGiulia Scarpaleggia

   Vegetables the Italian Way

   Giulia Scarpaleggia · 2026

   Seasonal Tuscan vegetable cooking built on olive oil and acidity.

   No. 40 on The New Cookbooks

   Buy on Bookshop

Buy links go to Bookshop.org, which shares its sales with independent bookshops. Chef Amazing earns a small commission when you buy.

More shelves