Our Favorite Cookbooks of 2020
Snag these new classics for your kitchen bookshelf.
With many of us cooking at home more often, it’s been a great year to grow our cookbook collections. Some of these new additions delivered a much-needed refresh to our well-worn dinner repertoires, while others allowed us to channel newfound free time into incredibly rewarding baking projects. Here are a few of the best cookbooks team Food & Wine picked up and loved in 2020—each one would make a thoughtful gift that will yield good meals and memories for years to come.
Open Kitchen by Susan Spungen
“The pandemic scuttled Susan Spungen’s book tour for Open Kitchen last spring, but nothing can dim her visionary style. From her cheese board to her Berry Brita Cake, Susan has the most delicious imagination. Her playful palate will inspire you to sprint to the kitchen and get cooking.” —Josh Miller
Open Kitchen: Inspired Food for Casual Gatherings, $20 at amazon.com
Aran: Recipes and Stories from a Bakery in the Heart of Scotland by Flora Shedden
“I want to make every single thing in Great British Bake Off finalist Flora Shedden’s cookbook. The book is as whimsical as her bakery itself, filled with recipes that go from dawn to dinner to dessert.” —Nina Friend
Aran: Recipes and Stories From a Bakery In the Heart of Scotland, $21 at amazon.com
Everyday Fresh: Meals in Minutes by Donna Hay
“I worked for Aussie cookbook ninja Donna Hay in my former life. Regardless, I’d still buy her gorgeous books, which are equal parts practical instruction and visual hedonism. Forced as I was into cooking every night this year, this approachable book has inspired me like none other.” —Melanie Hansche
Everyday Fresh: Meals in Minutes, $26 at amazon.com
Chicano Eats by Esteban Castillo
“Just like his blog, Esteban Castillo’s book is filled with vivid storytelling surrounding his Mexican-American heritage. I can’t stop making the Chorizo-Spiced Delicata Squash Tortas, and his Cajeta Cream Cheese Brownie Tart recipe has ruined me for other brownies.” —Khushbu Shah
Chicano Eats: Recipes from My Mexican-American Kitchen, $22 at amazon.com
Fruit Cake: Recipes for the Curious Baker by Jason Schreiber
“The vibrant cakes, muffins, pastries, and sweets that fill the pages of Jason Schreiber’s new cookbook Fruit Cake will make you forget about the old doorstop studded with dried fruit and try your hand at baking something more fanciful.” —Kelsey Youngman
Fruit Cake: Recipes for the Curious Baker, $22 at amazon.com
Vegetable Kingdom by Bryant Terry
“Author and activist Bryant Terry weaves global influences into a vegan cookbook that delivers flavor, beauty, and pleasure in every recipe. With an emphasis on the ingredients and flavors of the African diaspora, this joyful book has helped me re-center my cooking on plant-based sources.” —Karen Shimizu
Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes, $17 at amazon.com
Falastin by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley
“Months into using this book, I’m still transfixed by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley’s beautiful homage to Palestinian cooking, which includes colorful vignettes about the region’s history, people, and agriculture—with a healthy side of pomegranate molasses and fattoush, just as I like it.” —Oset Babür
Falastin: A Cookbook, $22 at amazon.com