Forks Over Knives: Flavor!
Inspired by Forks Over Knives—the 2011 film that started a movement—this might be the king of plant-based cookbooks. With a forward from the film's producer, Brian Wendel, it's a unique collection of recipes from around the world. The chapter on breakfast is especially delicious, with recipes like crunchy hash brown waffles and sweet Moroccan pancakes serving as excellent replacements for boring oatmeal any day.
Forks Over Knives, $18 at amazon.com
Get inspired by watching Forks Over Knives and these other food documentaries on Netflix.
The Whole Foods Cookbook
Obsessed with the Whole Foods hot bar? Learn how to make those addicting vegetable-focused sides at home with this new book from John Mackey, cofounder and CEO of Whole Foods. Great for plant-based diet newbies, it walks you through what, exactly, it means to eat this way (Mackey himself is vegan). Then it dives into ways to make ingredients taste better—like toasting seeds and nuts or using fresh herbs.
The Whole Foods Cookbook, $18 at amazon.com
Related: This Is the Difference Between a Plant-Based and Vegan Diet
Radiant: The Cookbook
Photos of recipes like rose quartz lattes and Zen chia pudding with matcha whip are pretty enough to frame—literally. Each of author Mafalda Pinto Leite's recipes is designed to be as beautiful in appearance as it is good for you (she calls it the "inside-out approach"), and it's safe to say she nailed it. The Fountain of Youth elixir that Leite swears by is enough to make you buy this plant-based cookbook, ASAP—her skin looks amaze.
Radiant: The Cookbook, $17 at amazon.com
Related: The Healthy Beet-Juice Shot for Youthful Glowing Skin
Back to the Cutting Board
Author Christina Pirello, the host of PBS' Christina Cooks, has been a vegan for 35 years—long before this lifestyle was trendy. "Choosing a plant-based lifestyle isn't about huge piles of vegan nachos with cashew cheese; it's about living life stepping lightly on our fragile planet," she says. That said, her book is all about a return to the art of cooking—and gorgeous recipes like sweet winter squash or candied parsnip and carrot tatin (which sounds more complicated than it is) are works of art, indeed.
Back to the Cutting Board, $13 at amazon.com
Naturally Sweet Vegan Treats
You won't miss the refined sugar or artificial sweeteners left out of these plant-based alternatives to your favorite treats. Breakfast recipes like chocolate cake batter waffles or baked doughnuts with maple pecan frosting will have you practically drooling, while vegan baked goods like gingerbread cookies and veggie patch brownies (made with sweet potato and zucchini!) are healthier additions to your family's holiday dessert spread.
Naturally Sweet Vegan Treats, $15 at amazon.com
Related: Vegan Dessert Recipes That'll Make You Forget About Dairy and Eggs
The Vegan 8: 100 Simple, Delicious Recipes Made with 8 Ingredients or Less
So you have big plans to cook the perfect protein-packed, plant-based dinner for your S.O.—then life happens, and ain't nobody got time for that. Enter: This new book from Brandi Doming, who started her blog, The Vegan 8, to overhaul her family's health following a scary diagnosis for her husband. Five years later, she's published this collection of 100 recipes—each using eight or fewer ingredients and almost all gluten-free—to prove anyone can create satisfying, healthy meals, even with limited time and/or budget.
The Vegan 8, $17 at amazon.com
Related: 10 High-Protein Plant-Based Foods That Are Easy to Digest
Plant-Based Meats
If you're new to following a vegetarian or vegan diet, you might be finding it hard to get in enough protein each day (FYI, here's how much protein you really need to eat in a day). Turning to plant-based meat alternatives can feel weird at first, but author Robin Asbell takes the guesswork out of it with this handy volume of "mock meats" that aren't super processed (or disgusting). Once you try recipes like cauliflower buffalo wings, jackfruit pulled pork, or "bacon" made with mushrooms (say what?), you will (almost) forget all about steak.
Plant-Based Meats, $16 at amazon.com
The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook
If you want to overhaul your diet and seriously commit to eating more plants, consider this your new bible. Seven amazing authors—including popular vegan food blogger Emily von Euw of This Rawsome Vegan Life—collaborated on this 600-recipe tome, which runs the gamut from the basics of plant-based cooking to recipes for been-there-done-that vegans. The "30 Minutes or Less" chapter is especially handy for weeknights, with quick-fix dinners like Mediterranean hummus burgers and mushroom fajitas.
The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook, $17 at amazon.com
Mindful Vegan Meals
In her first cookbook, Greek author Maria Koutsogiannis—founder of the ultra-pretty recipe website and Instagram account FoodByMaria—opens up about her struggle with bulimia and how she created a healthy relationship with food. Helpful for anyone who's struggled with an eating disorder, the book dives into recipes that helped her recover (including flavorful plant-based mains like the self-love Buddha bowl with baked falafel, and Greek-style jackfruit gyros with vegan tzatziki) along with comforting family desserts, like her nanny Matilde's apple crumble.
Mindful Vegan Meals, $15 at amazon.com
Hop on the Mediterranean diet trend with these 50 healthy Mediterranean recipes.
Simple Green Meals
Author Jen Hansard, the writer behind the website Simple Green Smoothies, is all about embracing nutrient-dense whole foods to help your body thrive, not just survive. In this book, she offers up savvy tips on plant-based meal prepping, grocery shopping advice, and 100 new vegetarian recipes, from snacks to mains. A sample day of eating looks like this: maple-apple walnut muffins for breakfast, poblano enchiladas for lunch, coconut Thai soup for dinner, and lemon poppy seed cake for dessert. Um, yes please.
Simple Green Meals, $17 at amazon.com
