The Best Spring Cookbooks for 2022

Spring 2022 cookbooks — Amazon (5); Target (2)

Now that spring is officially here, we're celebrating with one of our favorite seasonal traditions — creating our annual list of new spring cookbooks we can't wait to read, bookmark, and cook from. For our 2022 edition, our editors serendipitously (and very appropriately) came up with a list of 22 different titles, ranging from Daniel Holzman and Matt Rodbard's Food IQ, which is packed with expert tips and how-tos, to Mason Hereford's Turkey and the Wolf cookbook, from the New Orleans restaurant of the same name (and where you'll find fun recipes like "Meatloaf: The Sandwich, Not the Musician'' and "Mason's Danksgiving Day Puree"). We're also diving into Ammu from London chef Asma Khan, Snacks for Dinner from Lukas Volger, My America from our very own executive producer Kwame Onwuachi, and so many more. Read on for everything else we'll be reading and cooking this spring — your new favorite recipes might just be a few pages away.

Ammu

View at Amazon ($35)

"This cookbook is ultimately about the 'inextricable link between food and love,' writes chef Asma Khan, the force behind the wildly successful London restaurant Darjeeling Express. It's a book that honors not her restaurant, but her roots — and more specifically her mother and the food her mother raised her on. Ammu, which translates to mother, is filled with the Indian home cooking that swaddles you like a warm hug. Think fresh from the fryer aloo bonde, or deep-fried spiced potatoes and bowls of creamy and comforting spinach raita, spiked with pomegranate seeds. Ammu is a cookbook worth treating like a novel, starting from the first page and reading every single word as you go. Khan is an incredibly story teller, weaving in touching personal details that will make you feel as if you were standing there right next to her in her journeys throughout India and England." –Khushbu Shah, restaurant editor

Full Title: Ammu: Indian Home Cooking to Nourish Your Soul
Author: Asma Khan
Ebook Available: No
Pages: 288
Release Date: May 3

Arabiyya

View at Bookshop ($32; was $35)

"Chef Reem Assil's debut cookbook Arabiyya is an unapologetic celebration of being Arab and being Arab in diaspora. It's jam-packed with fresh flavors and is a book that ripples with energy, with particular nods to Assil's Syrian and Palestinian heritage. In many ways, Arabiyya is my new favorite source of dinner party inspiration. It's no surprise given that Arab hospitality and warmth are two huge themes at the center of the book. I've bookmarked what feels like nearly half of the recipes, including shish barak, or tender lamb dumplings in a yogurt sauce with mint oil, and hibaar mahshi, or stuffed squid in a tangy tomato sauce. I plan to serve these with a giant platter of ruz arabi, or spiced rice with sticks of vermicelli, and several dips like mutabal salak, or a chard and tahini spread. Dessert will most definitely be individual cups of mahalabiya, a milky custard topped with strawberry compote — with a few extra servings for myself." –K. Shah

Full Title: Arabiyya: Recipes from the Life of an Arab in Diaspora
Author: Reem Assil
Ebook Available: Yes
Pages: 304
Release Date: April 19

The Cook You Want To Be

View at Amazon ($31.50; was 35)

"I love the cook that Andy Baraghani is. He embraces the global pantry in a way that feels effortless, and isn't afraid to turn up the char or umami factor on a recipe. Nothing ever feels fussy, but everything feels gently impressive, thanks to an often surprising combo of ingredients like dressing sweet potatoes with browned butter harissa. There's a small stack of cookbooks that I keep not on my bookshelves, but in a corner of my kitchen for when I feel stuck in a cooking rut and I can't bring myself to eat breakfast tacos yet again for dinner. The Cook You Want To Be was immediately added to that precious stack. It's a book that encourages riffing and borrowing techniques and flavor combinations for other recipes. (I will definitely be using browned butter harissa in several other applications.) And if you are someone who finds that they are happiest at the intersection of global flavors without strict rules, Baraghani is right, this book really will teach you to be the cook you want to be." –K. Shah

Full Title: The Cook You Want To Be: Everyday Recipes to Impress
Author: Andy Baraghani
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 336
Release Date: April 26

Food IQ

View at Walmart ($29; was $35)

"Whether you are the person in the group text who asks all the recipe and food prep questions, or the one who answers them, you'll appreciate Matt Rodbard and Daniel Holzman's new book, Food IQ: 100 Questions, Answers, and Recipes to Raise Your Cooking Smarts. Here, the food writer and restaurant chef pair up to tackle food queries both small and large in an entertaining and well-researched book that you'll want on your reading chair and in the kitchen. While there are recipes scattered throughout the book, this is less of a cookbook and more of a crash course in cooking suitable for both kitchen newbies and seasoned chefs. Rodbard and Holzman source tips from a few experts like Sherry Yard, Eric Ripert, Leela Punyaratabandhu and José R. Ralat to answer questions like when and why to use the convection setting on your oven, how to get super-crispy roasted vegetables, why nixtamalization is important, why you need to know baker's math, and how to take your pasta, guacamole and hamburger to restaurant flavor levels. I'll buy this for my nieces and nephews moving into their first apartments, as well as a few food nerd friends who will enjoy having even more food info in their arsenal." –Chandra Ram, senior digital food editor

Full Title: Food IQ: 100 Questions, Answers and Recipes to Raise Your Cooking Smarts
Authors: Daniel Holzman and Matt Rodbard
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 352
Release Date: February 22

The Forest Feast Road Trip

View at Target ($34.50)

"Erin Gleeson's cookbook series The Forest Feast has taken on many lives: The Forest Feast, The Forest Feast for Kids, The Forest Feast Gatherings, and The Forest Feast Mediterranean. Gleeson's newest addition to the series, The Forest Feast Road Trip, explores all angles of California through 100 vegetarian recipes inspired by a family road trip." –Nina Friend, associate features editor

Full Title: The Forest Feast Road Trip: Simple Vegetarian Recipes Inspired by My Travels through California
Author: Erin Gleeson
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 256
Release Date: March 22

For the Table

View at Bookshop ($32; was $35)

"Anna Stockwell's For the Table is the how-to-host-a-dinner-party playbook we all need right now. It's full of pointers for dinner party planning (we're all a little rusty, no?), including essential serving pieces to have on hand, icebreakers to get conversation flowing, and other small, smart, strategic additions to your kitchen or tabletop to help a host feel on top of things. Overwhelmed by menu planning? Stockwell has multiple menus for every season of the year, each consisting of exactly two large-format, centerpiece recipes that are seasonally tuned-in and full of great flavor and textural interest: think double-roasted sweet potatoes and squash with hot buttered nuts; cozy braised chicken thighs with white beans, prunes and olives; and hot honey lamb ribs with a salad of asparagus and fennel. Not sure how much food you need? Each menu is prefaced by prep and planning advice, noting what party size the menu serves, what dietary restrictions the menu fits, what can be made ahead, and easy ideas for rounding out the menu with add-ins. For anyone eager to welcome people back to the table, For the Table is coming just at the right time." –Karen Shimizu, executive editor

Full Title: For the Table: Easy, Adaptable, Crowd-Pleasing Recipes
Author: Anna Stockwell
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 272
Release Date: April 26

Grilling with Golic and Hays

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"For people reeling in the wake of a community tragedy, there are few greater moments of grounded comfort than seeing the Operation BBQ Relief fleet roll into town. Since May 2011, when a tornado devastated Joplin, Missouri, and Stan Hays and a crew of competition pitmasters drove in from nine states to feed barbecue to first responders and displaced families, the nonprofit organization has provided over nine million meals to people dealing with natural disasters, COVID-19, and other dire circumstances. This cookbook isn't just a collection of exceptional comfort recipes from sports legends, pitmasters, and chefs; it's a manifesto of hope, compassion, and the healing power of a hot meal given freely by a stranger, who just might become family." –Kat Kinsman, senior editor

Full Title: Grilling with Golic and Hays: Operation BBQ Relief Cookbook
Authors: Mike Golic and Stan Hays
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 208
Release Date: May 17

Gullah Geechee Home Cooking

View at Amazon ($35; was $40)

"Emily Meggett is 89 years old, grandmother and great-grandmother of more than 50 people, and is the long-burning flame under the best dishes to come out of South Carolina's Edisto Island, where she's lived her entire life. The centuries-old Gullah Geechee culture was initially a community of enslaved people, isolated by geographic location, and to this day remains deeply tied to its West African roots, as well as the seasonality of the Lowcountry ingredients that abound on the island. Meggett's recipes for grits, collard greens, oysters, and other freshly-caught seafood, interwoven with her family's long and rich history, create an edible history of a singular and vital place and people, while ensuring the ongoing legacy of the matriarch who's nurtured it for so long." –K.K.

Full Title: Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Recipes from the Matriarch of Edisto Island
Author: Emily Meggett
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 288
Release Date: April 26

Horn Barbecue

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"In his first cookbook, Matt Horn, the chef/owner of Horn Barbecue in Oakland, CA and a 2021 Food & Wine Best New Chef, showcases the beauty of what he calls 'West Coast Barbecue.' Recipes for beef cheeks and pickled pig feet are Horn's way of inspiring people to get out of their comfort zones, but there's also a roadmap for the kinds of dishes you'd see in a more traditional barbecue book, like ribs and brisket — all made with a California spin." –N.F.

Full Title: Horn Barbecue: Recipes and Techniques from a Master of the Art of BBQ
Author: Matt Horn
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 224
Release Date: April 12

I Dream of Dinner (so You Don't Have To)

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"Ali Slagle pays homage to her mom and nonna, whose cooking she describes as 'soulful, scrappy, confident and completely delicious,' and so is every recipe inside I Dream of Dinner. A loose yet formulaic system of cooking guides the reader with just enough instruction to let each recipe run where it needs to despite a lack or abundance of ingredients or time." Nikki Miller-Ka, interim associate editor

Full Title: I Dream of Dinner (so You Don't Have To): Low-Effort, High-Reward Recipes
Author: Ali Slagle
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 400
Release Date: April 12

Korean American

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"I am endlessly fascinated by the way cuisines evolve in diaspora, and this new cookbook from New York Times food writer Eric Kim is an incredibly charming look at Korean food in America today. There are plenty of recipes for classic dishes that take advantage of modern conveniences, like a sheet pan version of japchae, the wonderfully slippery and chewy noodle dish, or a bowl of luxurious steamed eggs, but made in the microwave. But the real magic is where Kim starts to play with his Atlanta upbringing and his Korean heritage, finding overlaps between the two that are hidden in plain sight but feel so natural when Kim points you in that direction. This means dishes like a brilliant riff on the Korean barbecue staple of corn cheese, transformed into a silky stovetop mac-and-corn cheese, fudgy chocolate lava cakes spiked with a bit of gochujang, the beloved Korean fermented chili paste, and crispy smashed potatoes sitting atop of a pool of seaweed and sesame oil-spiked sour cream. The cookbook is packed with photos and anecdotes of Eric's family, making you feel as if you're there, making kimchi with his mom Jean, or hearing stories about childhood snacks from his cousin Semi. A few pages in, and you'll be day dreaming of an invite to the the Kim family Thanksgiving." –K. Shah

Full Title: Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home
Author: Eric Kim
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 288
Release Date: March 29

The Last Bite

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"I admit that I first fixated on this book because of its festive, fruit-bedecked cover, but I fell in fast and fervent love with its sweets philosophy which is in large part, 'cook like a savoury chef.' (Yes, she's Scottish.) I find that tremendously freeing as someone who is a very competent and experimental home cook, but sometimes unnerved by the vagaries of baking. Higham, who made her bones as a pastry chef at a slew of Michelin-starred restaurants, is hyper-focused on seasonal fruit, but her educational approach breaks down the seasoning, structure, and texture of each ingredient (including chocolate, sugar, nuts, herbs, grains, and fat) so readers can feel supremely equipped to dessert-ify whatever crosses their path. Jams, cakes, ice creams, puddings, fools, granitas, and other delights are explained in such a way that the making of any one of them serves as a mini-course in amplifying the flavors of each element. You may end up feeling foolish — but only in the sweetest way." –K.K.

Full Title: The Last Bite: A Whole New Approach to Making Desserts Through the Years
Author: Anna Higham
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 240
Release Date: June 7

Life of Fire

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"Full disclosure: I've known pitmaster Pat Martin for a long dang time, but my knees still buckle at the very thought of his barbecue. His Tennessee-style beast was some of the first whole-hog cooking I'd ever tried, and I made absolutely certain it wouldn't be the last. Traditions and logistics have been some of the factors confining this large-format 'cue to certain regions of the country, but with his deeply informative and empowering new book, I'm hoping to see (and smell) a smoking pit in every backyard and random patch of grass across the country. Martin notes right up front that he doesn't expect everyone to immediately jump to whole-animal cooking (though he does provide highly detailed instructions), but rather seeks to empower people to truly understand the power of flame, wood, and ash to coax out the best in vegetables, fish, fowl, cuts of meat, and even hoecakes. Come for the pit-cooked ham, sweet potatoes, and duck, and stay for his marvelous wife Martha's grilled tomato sandwiches and fudge pie." –K.K.

Full Title: Life of Fire: Mastering the Arts of Pit-Cooked Barbecue, the Grill, and the Smokehouse
Authors: Pat Martin and Nick Fauchald
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 320
Release Date: March 15

Mi Cocina

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"Rick Martínez calls Mi Cocina 'the story of where I went, who I met, what I learned, what I ate, and how to make it,' continuing 'it's also the story of who I am, and who I am becoming—past, present, and future.' He begins the book by writing about his experiences growing up Mexican American in Austin, Texas, and how he yearned to feel more connected to México. He'd traveled there numerous times before, including weekend trips with his late mother (who he says is 'the reason that I cook') to a town called Nuevo Progresso, but still felt that he had a 'very scattered, incomplete picture.' So in October 2019, he embarked on a 20,000-plus mile-journey throughout the country, hitting all 32 states and 156 cities in 586 days and trying all kinds of dishes along the way. 104 of those dishes — his favorites — made it into this book, reinterpreted by him with his 'own unique sazón.' He first dives into staple Mexican recipes in the Básicos chapter, like Tortillas de Maíz and Salsa Macha, before hopping from region to region. You'll find a recipe for Sopa de Lima in the Yucatán Peninsula chapter, Birria estilo Aguascalientes in El Norte: The Northern States, and Tortas Ahogadas in the Pacífico Central chapter. Between the transportive headnotes and the striking, colorful food photography, it's hard to pick which recipe to make first. This is a beautiful book from start to finish, particularly knowing where Martínez ends up in his journey — happily living in Mazatlán with his lab, Choco, by the beach." –Bridget Hallinan, staff writer

Full Title: Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in México
Author: Rick Martínez
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 304
Release Date: May 3

My America

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"Kwame Onwuachi takes us on a journey through personal taste memories from the Bronx, down to Texas, and across to ancient lands of Nigeria and the Caribbean. Vibrant and unique recipes like Cucumber and Avocado Salad tempered with a gooseberry peri-peri call back ancestral knowledge that he marries with his own unique experiences and culinary genius. With photographs depicting his storied, tattooed hands, representation colors each page of this book." –N.M-K.

Full Title: My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef
Authors: Kwame Onwuachi with Joshua David Stein
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 304
Release Date: May 17

Nana's Creole Italian Table

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"Nana's Table is the modern storytelling of the transformation of immigrant food in America. Through her family stories about food, Elizabeth M. Williams focuses on exploring her Sicilian identity and culture in New Orleans. Part memoir, part history, part cookbook, Nana's Table takes readers down a winding path to learn how New Orleans' Sicilian immigrant population is explicitly linked to Creole food culture in Louisiana. Heavy on the use of Creole tomatoes and with background info on iconic dishes like Creole Red Gravy and Veal Parmesan, every recipe has a vignette that warms the heart and soul like the warm bayou sun." –N.M-K.

Full Title: Nana's Creole Italian Table: Recipes and Stories from Sicilian New Orleans
Author: Elizabeth M. Williams
Ebook Available: No
Page Count: 208
Release Date: March 30

Salad Freak

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"I confess that sometimes I love salads more in theory than in practice. I regularly crave a chilled bowl filled with the right mix of crunchy vegetables and greens, beautifully dressed to maximize their flavors and accented with bites of cheese and crunch to keep things interesting. But too often (meaning, as I write this), I find myself staring down a pile of lettuce with a couple of sliced radishes splashed with plain-old vinaigrette thrown together for a quick desk lunch. I know I can do better than this, which is why I'm excited that recipe developer and food stylist Jess Damuck created this book of beautiful salads. Recipes like Crunchy Citrus and Chicories with Turmeric Tahini Dressing, Shaved Radish Breakfast Salad with Jammy Eggs and Dukkah, and Asparagus, Peas and Cucumber "Cacio e Pepe" give me a little hope that I can step up my salad game in the future. I love that Damuck offers more than just recipes; the book includes her tips on washing and storing greens, a list of what to keep on hand for future salads, and even her Spotify playlist of music to make salads by. I'll be crunching along all spring and summer with this book." –C.R.

Full Title: Salad Freak: Recipes to Feed a Healthy Obsession
Author: Jess Damuck
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 272
Release Date: March 29

Snackable Bakes

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"Jessie Sheehan is a master baker, especially when it comes to quick, easy, hack-filled sweets that can be made in a pinch, as seen in her first two books, The Vintage Baker and Icebox Cakes. Sheehan's third book, Snackable Bakes: 100 Easy-Peasy Recipes for Exceptionally Scrumptious Sweets and Treats, takes the fuss out of baking — and puts the fun back into it — by focusing on delicious desserts that can be made in 20 minutes or less, from Summer Peach Fritters to Extra Crumb Snacking Cake. Easy-peasy!" –N.F.

Full Title: Snackable Bakes: 100 Easy-Peasy Recipes for Exceptionally Scrumptious Sweets and Treats
Author: Jessie Sheehan
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 240
Release Date: May 3

Snacks for Dinner

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"Even without that shout-out to Friday Night Lights in the title, this book owned my popcorn-loving heart from the beginning. Food writer and editor Lukas Volger dove deep into his fridge and pantry to create 100 recipes for snacks that double as a meal (but are just a little more refined than eating cheese and crackers over the sink). Volger encourages you to crunch on Crispy Parmesan-Pecan Strips and Lentil Snacking Granola, dunk bread and veggies into Chili-Ginger Jam and Creamy Sweet Potato Dip and eating them alongside Marinated Feta and Orange + Mustard Marinated Asparagus to turn a few snacks into a full meal. I love that Volger wants us to embrace the grazing life, but just make it a little tastier." –C.R.

Full Title: Snacks for Dinner: Small Bites, Full Plates, Can't Lose
Author: Lukas Volger
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 256
Release Date: May 3

Turkey and the Wolf

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"I've never been to New Orleans, but when I do finally get down there, pit stops at Turkey and the Wolf and Molly's Rise and Shine will definitely be on my itinerary. In the meantime, thanks to chef Mason Hereford's cookbook, I can enjoy a little piece of those restaurants in my own kitchen without having to hop on a plane. In the introduction, Hereford explains that the recipes — which range from dishes on his restaurant menus to the desserts he enjoys at home— 'max out flavor and fun and ditch unnecessary work.' And fun is definitely a key word for this cookbook. I've got my eye on a few sandwiches I want to try, including the Grand Slam McMuffin breakfast sandwich (I'm a sucker for hash browns) from Molly's, as well as The Bologna — starring bologna, American cheese, and salt-and-vinegar chips — and The Collard Melt from Turkey and the Wolf. But I'm also really looking forward to marrying two of my favorite foods, Cheez-Its and ice cream, together at Hereford's suggestion, and making myself a plate of Roasted Sunchoke and White Truffle Dunkaroos (Dunkaroos!!!). I love the voice-y headnotes; there are some pretty memorable recipe names in here, too, like Used to Call It Stuffing, Now I Call It Dressing, and Meatloaf: The Sandwich, Not the Musician. The book was originally supposed to come out in February, and was delayed until June due to a container ship incident. But when it finally does arrive, it'll be well worth the wait." –B.H.

Full Title: Turkey and the Wolf: Flavor Trippin' in New Orleans
Authors: Mason Hereford with JJ Goode
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 256
Release Date: June 21

The Wok

View at Barnes & Noble (Ebook $37.50; was $50)

"Look, it's Kenji, so you know what you're in for. The writer and restaurateur has built his entire reputation on a painstaking, scientific, step-by-step approach to cooking techniques that yield consistent and technically perfect food, and this is no exception. Billions of people have grown up with a wok as a de facto piece of kitchen equipment and had the benefit of firsthand instruction. They'll likely still get plenty out of this book, but for those who didn't have the benefit of that education, it's a codex, a bible, a master's program in how to stir-fry, pan-fry, deep-fry, cook rice and noodles, simmer and braise, and properly maintain what he rightfully calls 'the most versatile pan in your kitchen.' And yes, recipes abound, from complex dishes to condiments and pickles that will become an essential part of your pantry. This one's a keeper." –K.K.

Full Title: The Wok: Recipes and Techniques
Author: J. Kenji López-Alt
Ebook Available: Yes
Page Count: 672
Release Date: March 18

Yawd

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"Adrian Forte comes about his culinary career from a far-flung, yet deeply-rooted place. He followed his grandmother — a professional chef — from their home in Kingston, Jamaica, to New York City, gobbling up every scrap of wisdom she gave him, until her death from cancer when he was 14. Her legacy kept him grounded through his grief and a move to live with his dad in Toronto, Canada, and even through cooking school and a catering job where the Caribbean food of his youth didn't always resonate with the local clientele. He held firm, though, and made a name for himself in restaurants and reality cooking shows, and now in this vibrant homage to the flavors and dishes he grew up with — oxtail, jerk, ackee and saltfish — modernized and made his own." –K.K.