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The 19 best vegan cookbooks
Whether you're planning to reduce your animal produce intake or want to switch to a vegan diet for good, a great cookbook can serve as a helpful and fun guide to the process. Here's our roundup of the best vegan cookbooks, as recommended by Mumsnet users, to inspire and ease you into a plant-based diet this year.
By Kat Storr | Last updated Apr 17, 2024
As we all become more aware of our impact on the planet, the benefits of a vegan diet both for health reasons and for the environment are undeniable. In 2022, it's never been easier to find diverse vegan products and ingredients at your local supermarket, as well as to reach out to a community – such as the lively vegan forum on Mumsnet – to help support you through the transition to a plant-based lifestyle.
While there's much inspiration to be found online, sometimes it's helpful to have a comprehensive guide you can take into the kitchen. These cookbooks have been highly rated by Mumsnet users, who have shared their own vegan and plant-based journeys on our forums, for their clear information, useful tips and tasty culinary ideas that prove you can have your vegan cake and eat it too. They've also been rated by food experts and some of the biggest names in the culinary industry.
Here are the best vegan cookbooks to buy in 2022.
1. Best overall vegan cookbook: The Green Roasting Tin: Vegan and Vegetarian One Dish Dinners by Rukmini Iyer
Price: From £6.99 | Buy now from Amazon
“The Green Roasting Tin by Rukmini Iyer, and Green by Elly Pear, are our household's most loved books - neither are 100% vegan (we are) but the majority of recipes are or can be very easily tweaked.” (Tried and tested by Mumsnet user catscatsallthecats)
While this book doesn’t just feature vegan recipes, it consistently comes out on top as being one of the most accessible plant-based cookbooks on the market. It contains 75 one-tin recipes ideal for people who are time-poor or new to veganism. Rukmini Iyer uses everyday ingredients you will already be familiar with but in delicious flavour combinations that you can return to time and time again.
As Nigella Lawson also said, “This book will earn a place in kitchens up and down the country.”
2. Best for a whole vegan food diet: Forks Over Knives by Del Sroufe
Price: £10.25 | Buy now from Amazon
"I love Forks Over Knives. It focuses on a whole food diet. Really recommend it." (Rated by Mumsnet user Fuzzyclouds)
Forks Over Knives' philosophy is not about what you can't eat, but what you can – and there are so many delicious dishes here. Chef Del Sroufe and his collaborators transform wholesome fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes into over 300 recipes – classic and unexpected – to help you see just how easy and tasty a plant-based diet can be.
Starting with the basics that serve as the building blocks for any vegan creations you may try, the cookbook also contains globally- and seasonally-inspired dishes, so there's definitely something for everyone.
3. Best vegan cookbook for families: BOSH! by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby
Price: From £7.49 | Buy now from Amazon
“BOSH! is great. We live on the BOSH! bowl salads in the summer - they give you ideas and you customise as you get used to them and depending on what you have in the cupboard/fridge.” (Recommended by Mumsnet user Blyatiful)
Henry Firth and Ian Theasby, creators of the biggest plant-based platform BOSH!, inspire people to cook tasty and simple recipes at home with this cookbook. Always ensuring they stick to fresh, supermarket-friendly ingredients, BOSH! makes it easy to try out plant-based meals.
With over 140 of their favourite go-to breakfasts, party pieces, hearty dinners, delicious desserts and even some excellent cocktails, these recipes are easy to follow and are sure to wow any guests you have over (possibly even the MIL).
4. Best cookbook for fun and filling recipes: Thug Kitchen
Price: From £2.99 | Buy now from Amazon
“DS (16) does most of the cooking here. Thug Kitchen is probably the book he uses the most. Lots of stewy, soupy things, and stuff like burritos, big bowls of pasta, noodles etc. Vegan, but no odd ingredients (except nutritional yeast which is easy to find and lasts for ages).” (Vetted by Mumsnet user Unmute)
LA-based Thug Kitchen is out to prove that you can have your veggies and still be a total badass in the kitchen. This amusing (and very sweary) cookbook contains delicious, healthy and easy-to-prepare recipes that are ideal for anyone wanting to transition to a plant-based diet.
So if you don't mind the cursing, here you'll find an excellent collection of fun and filling vegan recipes.
5. Best cookbook for adapting to a vegan lifestyle: The New Vegan by Áine Carlin
Price: £6.99 | Buy now from Amazon
"Aine Carlin books are my favourites-straightforward and no unusual ingredients." (Recommended by Mumsnet user Tildaturnip)
For those new to the plant-based lifestyle, it can seem daunting to make the transition when you don't know where to start. Luckily, The New Vegan serves as a comprehensive everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-going-vegan handbook – with 90 delicious recipes, helpful advice and even a section on making your own vegan-friendly beauty products.
The book also provides valuable information on vegan sources of nutrients and tips on how to integrate veganism into your busy lifestyle.
6. Best vegan cookbook for full-of-flavour meals: Rachel Ama’s Vegan Eats
Price: From 99p | Buy now from Amazon
"Her Nigerian Peanut Stew is to die for." (Tried and tested by Mumsnet user LunaNorth)
Rachel Ama's cookbook takes inspiration from naturally vegan dishes and cuisines, as well as her Caribbean and West African roots to create delicious full-flavour recipes you'll want to make over and over again.
The featured recipes are quick and often one-pot (which makes meal prep so much easier) and have short ingredient lists with items that can be found at any supermarket. What's more, Rachel has included a song with each recipe so you'll have a great playlist to go alongside every plate of delicious food you make. This cookbook proves just how fun vegan cuisine can be.
7. Best all-round guide to vegan cooking: Peace and Parsnips by Lee Watson
Price: From £9.99 | Buy now from Amazon
"I recommend Lee Watson, Peace & Parsnips. It's 'real' food, not fake, vegan, 'pretending to be meat and cheese' food." (Rated by Mumsnet user Pikachuwithyourmouthclosed)
Peace and Parsnips is a an excellent all-round guide to vegan cookery with 200 recipes that use fresh everyday ingredients and require minimal fuss. Lee Watson also provides an informative introduction to a balanced plant-based diet, breaking down all its components in terms of nutrition, seasonality and flavour.
So whether you're new or already committed to a plant-based diet, this comprehensive cookbook celebrates the varied, healthy and delicious ways of cooking and eating vegan.
8. Best for allergy friendly and gluten-free vegan recipes: The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon
Price: From £9.99 | Buy now from Amazon
“I like 'Oh She Glows' by Angela Liddon. Not all the recipes are good but I've made more from her book than any other.” (Tried and tested by Mumsnet user Merchymor)
The Oh She Glows Cookbook contains over 100 delicious and wholesome plant-based recipes, many of which are also allergy-friendly – with more than 90 gluten-free – and many nut-free and soy-free options. They use minimal processed ingredients, instead focusing on whole, nutrient-packed vegetables, fruits, nuts, and grains that will boost your energy, improve your health and please your taste buds.
In the introduction, Angela Liddon shares her personal journey to health with a plant-based diet and explains how to build your own vegan foods pantry, so you have most of the basic ingredients on hand for when you get busy in the kitchen.
9. Best vegan cookbook for vegetable lovers: River Cottage Much More Veg by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall
Price: From £11.83 | Buy now from Amazon
“This book is my favourite too, all of the recipes we've made have turned out very yummy!” (Recommended by Mumsnet user mmmuffins)
In this cookbook Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall uses veg, fruit, whole grains, nuts, seeds, spices and cold-pressed oils to explore the length and breadth of what can be achieved with natural, unprocessed plant foods.
The recipes are easy, versatile and delicious – and all but a handful are also gluten-free. Better still, at least half the dishes require 20 minutes or less hands-on prep time, demonstrating how easy and convenient it can be to use vegan foods as the bedrock to your diet.
10. Best vegan cookbook for beginners: Easy Vegan by Sue Quinn
Price: £11.16 | Buy now from Amazon
"Easy Vegan by Sue Quinn is excellent. Ignore the one and two star reviews. They are clearly by people who are rubbish cooks or don't enjoy cooking." (Vetted by Mumsent user LoniceraJaponica)
Easy Vegan is a great beginner's guide to going vegan, with 140 tasty recipes ranging from everyday to gourmet plus a breakdown of some of the key facts about a balanced plant-based diet.
It includes a a vegan nutrition chart with recommended daily intakes of vitamins, minerals and proteins and a list of plant-based sources for each. What's more, this cookbook also provides useful visual explanations on how to 'veganise' a recipe, providing replacements for animal-sourced elements so you can easily amend any non-vegan recipes.
11. Best for vegans with a sweet tooth: Feed Me Vegan by Lucy Watson
Price: From 99p | Buy now from Amazon
"Feed Me Vegan by Lucy Watson is highly rated by a vegan friend of mine!" (Recommended by Mumsnet user ClandestineAdulation)
Feed Me Vegan is a great gateway book to a plant-based diet, covering all the essentials to put in your store cupboard and full of delicious, easy-to-make recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It also contains many ideas for sweet treats and comforting snacks as well as the best places to source vegan products, which makes finding a selection of your new plant-based favourites easy.
Lucy Watson's cookbook shows that eating vegan doesn't mean you have to compromise on flavour – or those filling comfort foods.
12. Best vegan cookbook for meal planning: The 28-Day Vegan Plan: Kickstart a Plant-based Lifestyle in Just One Month by Kim-Julie Hansen
Price: £11.99 | Buy now from Amazon
If you’re just starting out on your vegan journey then this book by food writer and blogger Kim-Julie Hansen could soon become your go-to cooking and recipe bible. Not only does it contain 100 recipes but it gives you advice on meal preparation, shopping lists and how to live a plant-based lifestyle. The month-long meal plan will inspire you with recipes you may never have considered before, while also helping you to shop smarter at the supermarket.
This is a guide that will leave you feeling healthy and happy long after the 28 days are up!
13. Best for budget vegan cooking: Vegan One Pound Meals by Miguel Barclay
Price: From £2.99 | Buy now from Amazon
“Miguel Barclay’s Vegan One Pound Meals is brilliant.” (Rated by Mumsnet user Quaggars)
If money is tight but you still want to embrace a vegan diet, Miguel Barclay’s vegan addition to the popular One Pound Meals series could be the one for you.
While the book is better suited to beginner cooks than the more experienced - the recipes require minimal ingredients and can be quite basic - adapting or adding to them is easy. And Barclay clearly demonstrates that there’s no reason cheap meals can’t be nutritious and delicious too.
14. Best simple vegan cookbook: One Pot Vegan by Roxy Pope and Ben Pook
Price: From 99p | Buy now from Amazon
Simple supermarket ingredients are transformed into gloriously scrummy dishes in this cookbook which covers everything from quick weeknight meals to desserts and child-friendly meals. It’s the kind of recipe book you can dip in and out of whether you are fully vegan or more of a flexitarian.
While each dish may only involve one pot, pan or dish, they contain an array of accessible and healthy ingredients that can be quickly transformed into delicious meals. Each recipe is accompanied by its full nutritional value which is a great added bonus for those keen to track their vegan diet closely.
15. Best vegan cookbook for minimal ingredients: Five Ingredient Vegan by Katy Beskow
Price: From £6.99 | Buy now from Amazon
“Five Ingredient Vegan by Katy Beskow is very good. I've made the enchiladas and the beer bread so far.” (Tried and tested by Mumsnet user Milcal)
After starting her vegan blog in 2013, Katy Beskow has fast become a bestselling vegan cookbook writer.
This vegan-focused offering concentrates on fuss-free, healthy cooking, demonstrating that there’s no need to compromise on flavour if you’re using fewer ingredients.
Accompanied by mouth-watering photos, the recipes are straightforward and use easy-to-find ingredients available in most supermarkets. More confident cooks may find the meals too simplistic, but this is a great book for newly vegan readers looking for inspiration and top tips.
16. Best for people who love cooking: Flavour by Yotam Ottolenghi
Price: From £12.99 | Buy now from Amazon
“I’ve just bought Ottolenghi’s new book Flavour. It’s not marketed as a health book, but the recipes look delicious and healthy - mainly veggie dishes. I can’t wait to get started on some of them.” (Recommended by Mumsnet user TomorrowIsAnotherDae)
If you’re an adventurous cook and love experimenting with different ingredients then you can be sure that Flavour will be right up your street. While we appreciate that, for some people, the requirement of a small dash of something you’ve never heard of and a pinch of another rare spice is a bit too much.
Nevertheless, as is the case with most of the famous chef’s recipes, you get out of it what you put in and the end results can be spectacular. It’s important to note that not all of the recipes are vegan but a good chunk - 45 out of 100 - are and many of the others are easy to adapt.
17. Best for environmentally-conscious cooks: One: Pot, Pan, Planet by Anna Jones
Price: From £12.99 | Buy now from Amazon
“Anna Jones! Anna Jones! Not exclusively vegan but a large proportion [of her recipes] are vegan or can be veganised. She's a stone-cold genius.” (Rated by Mumsnet user thetowpath)
One Pot Pan contains the most recipes of any of the cookbooks on this list, with a whopping 200 to choose from. It’s a stylish but accessible book and a clear celebration of vegetables and our planet.
A trailblazer in vegan cooking and sustainability, Anna Jones has now turned her hand to making all of our lives easier with her one-pot wonders that are guaranteed to satisfy. Dishes such as tamarind-glazed sweet potato and Persian soup have been lauded by reviewers and readers alike.
As well as her original and delicious recipes, Jones also offers tips in reducing food waste, meal planning and grocery shopping.
18. Best celebrity vegan cookbook: Happy Vegan by Fearne Cotton
Price: From 99p | Buy now from Amazon
“I rate Fearne Cotton's Happy Vegan recipe book for quick and easy dishes. I made the broccoli katsu curry tonight and DH said it tasted like takeaway. It's healthy too, which is a bonus." SendmetoBarbados
A great book for people with a few mouths to feed and not a lot of time to do it in, Fearne Cotton’s Happy Vegan is an accessible vegan cookbook that caters to most busy families.
While the mother of two and stepmother to two is not fully vegan herself, she’s ensured her recipes suit both vegan and non-vegan readers alike. She covers familiar vegan recipes while also bringing in her own fresh ideas for comforting plant-based meals and desserts - the broccoli katsu curry being a particular hit.
19. Best for vegan Indian dishes: Zaika: Vegan Recipes from India by Romy Gill
Price: £14.31 | Buy now from Amazon
“Get yourself a copy of Zaika (vegan Indian). It has a huge variety of recipes and they are all amazing.” Procrastatron
Zaika is a stunning book that celebrates the colours and vibrancy of Indian cooking. Romy Gill serves up a variety of recipes that could work as both delicious weeknight meals or as special dishes to share with friends at the weekend.
Zaika contains over 100 recipes for curries, side dishes and drinks that you don’t have to be vegan to enjoy and appreciate. While some of the recipes may seem daunting with the amount of ingredients needed, the methods themselves are simple and easy to follow. This is the kind of book you will want to tell all your friends about!
What is the best vegan cookbook?
Rukmini Iyer’s The Green Roasting Tin is the best vegan cookbook to buy right now. It’s accessible, features a myriad of delicious recipes and is suitable for both beginners and more experienced cooks.
While not exclusively filled with vegan recipes, The Green Roasting Tin is the whole package - it features mouthwatering images alongside recipes with ingredients you’ll almost certainly already have in your fridge or cupboard. We know our Mumsnet users can be time-poor as they juggle work and family commitments which is why this book appeals to so many families. And anything which involves less washing up is a bonus in our book!
How we chose our recommendations
We studied reviews of vegan cookbooks on the Mumsnet forums to find out which books vegans both new and experienced had bought and rated highly – and which they weren't impressed by.
We collated all that information and then looked at other consumer reviews to see which were the bestsellers and which received rave reviews after purchase. We then cross-referenced all that information to find the vegan cookbooks that had won the most accolades and recommendations across the board to come up with our top picks to suit all skills and budgets.
Why you should trust us
We work hard to provide unbiased, independent advice you can trust. We do sometimes earn revenue through affiliate (click-to-buy) links in our articles. This helps us fund more helpful articles like this one. We spend hours researching and scrutinising review websites to see which products come out on top after being tested and used by real people.