Vegan Cookbooks That Will Help Make 2021 Way Better Than Last Year
Last year gave us so much—most of which we sincerely wish it hadn’t. However, among the good things to come out of 2020, many, many people came to realize that abusing animals for food is practically rolling out the welcome mat for zoonotic diseases. Millions of people committed to compassionate eating and started their life-changing vegan journeys. And if there’s one thing that all vegans have in common, it’s this: We love to eat. So if all the home cooking of 2020 has your recipe repertoire running a little thin, check out PETA’s roundup of the best new vegan cookbooks, which will help make 2021 your yummiest (and kindest) year yet:
The Vegan Iraqi Cookbook
by Dr. Lamees Ibrahim
This gorgeous cookbook is filled with traditional Iraqi recipes alongside some new, unique dishes—all made with vegan ingredients for a modern palate. You won’t want to miss out on recipes like honey-free baqlawa, vegan kubba, dolmas, and so much more.
The Vegan Meat Cookbook: Meatless Favorites. Made With Plants.
by Miyoko Schinner
In this cookbook, Miyoko Schinner shows you how to turn plant-based meats like those from Beyond Meat and MorningStar Farms into hearty favorite meals like Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Shepherd’s Pie, along with fancier fare such as Coq au Vin and Linguine with Lemon-Garlic Scallops. Of course, there’s a section on making plant-based meat from scratch—this is, after all, from the woman who had vegans making everything down to their own mustard and ketchup with 2015’s The Homemade Vegan Pantry: The Art of Making Your Own Staples.
Omari McQueen’s Best Bites Cookbook
by Omari McQueen
Omari McQueen started his own vegan brand at age 8, became the world’s youngest restaurateur at age 11 with a London pop-up, and began hosting a cooking show on CBBC at age 12. (If you don’t get that channel, check him out on YouTube.) The obvious next step was publishing a cookbook by age 13, and he’s right on track. His recipes are designed for kids age 8 and up to make and eat, but adults love these flavorful, simple recipes as well.
Epic Vegan Quick and Easy: Simple One-Pot and One-Pan Plant-Based Recipes
Dustin Harder’s Epic Vegan spends a lot of time on my coffee table, partially because it’s gorgeous and partially because I’m always secretly hoping somebody will offer to make food from it for me (no luck yet). As a mom with a full-time job, a chronic pain disorder, and a tiny kitchen, I’m not always up for “epic” or “over-the-top” recipes. However, the forthcoming sequel to that book has the words “quick,” “easy,” and “simple” in the title, so it’s at the top of my shopping list. Made in Minutes Mini Pizza Cups, Beyond the Cinnamon Roll Sheet-Pan Pancakes, and Spiced Hot Chocolate S’Mores Brownies are just a few of the tempting one-pot and one-pan recipes this book contains.
Vegan Asian: A Cookbook—The Best Dishes From Thailand, Japan, China and More Made Simple
by Jeeca Uy
Author Jeeca Uy lives in the Philippines, where there’s not a lot of access to specialty ingredients, so her recipes are easy to make even if you don’t live close to Whole Foods or its equivalent. This book includes many of the most popular dishes from Asian cuisines, such as pad Thai, drunken noodles, Korean bibimbap, and Indonesian fried rice. If her Instagram account is anything to go by, the photography will be gorgeous.
Vegan Boards: 50 Gorgeous Plant-Based Snack, Meal, and Dessert Boards for All Occasions
by Kate Kasbee
Who doesn’t love artfully arranged food on a platter? This book contains step-by-step instructions for 50 completely vegan boards that are easy to prepare and, in most cases, require no cooking at all. The Sweet & Savory Toast Board, the Mediterranean Grazing Board, and the Mini Bundt Cakes Board are just a few examples.
The Traveling Vegan Cookbook: Exciting Plant-Based Meals From the Mediterranean, East Asia, the Middle East and More
by Kirsten Kaminski
Author Kirsten Kaminski traveled around the world to compile the photographs and recipes for this book. You’ll find recipes for challah bread, sushi, mushroom shawarma (a concept I’m now obsessed with), pasta carbonara, matcha ice cream, and many other dishes.
Hot for Food All Day: Easy Recipes to Level Up Your Vegan Meals
by Lauren Toyota
Lauren Toyota is the author of Vegan Comfort Classics: 101 Recipes to Feed Your Face and the host of the popular YouTube channel hot for food, which has nearly half a million subscribers. Her upcoming book compiles her easiest recipes, which you’ll have time to make even on weekdays, such as Buffalo Chicken Crunchwraps, Spiced Grilled Cheese, Stuffed Breakfast Danishes, and Tokyo Street Fries.
Liv B’s Easy Everyday: 100 Sheet Pan, One Pot and 5-Ingredient Vegan Recipes
by Olivia Biermann
Noticing a theme emerging? Quite a few cookbooks focus on quick, easy recipes—it’s almost as if publishers realized that the whole world is extremely stressed out right now, isn’t it? I have a calendar reminder set to become an expert on sheet-pan meals (maybe not the best tactic, as I keep hitting “postpone”), so I will definitely be looking for this one, which features recipes for One Pot Mac n’ Cheese, Chorizo Tempeh Breakfast Wraps, Frying Pan Granola, and a number of sheet-pan creations.
Super Vegan Scoops!: Plant-Based Ice Cream for Everyone
by Hannah Kaminsky
Hannah Kaminsky is something of a vegan dessert genius, and I’m very much looking forward to her second book on ice cream. As if recipes for Bulletproof Coffee Ice Cream, Baklava Sundaes, and Cookie Dough Pudding Pops weren’t intriguing enough, there’s this from the publisher’s blurb: “There’s no such thing as too much ice cream when excess can be melted down and baked up into everything from quick bread to scones.”
Dreena’s Kind Kitchen: 100 Whole-Foods Vegan Recipes to Enjoy Every Day
by Dreena Burton
Author Dreena Burton was an integral part of the sea change in vegan cooking that occurred around the turn of the century. I don’t know many longtime vegans who don’t have Eat, Drink & Be Vegan on their shelves. Her books focus on whole-foods recipes that the whole family will love, and this will be her first one in seven years. I’m excited to see how her cooking has evolved.
No-Waste Save-the-Planet Vegan Cookbook: 100 Plant-Based Recipes and 100 Kitchen-Tested Methods for Waste-Free Meatless Cooking
by Celine Steen
Going vegan is a huge step toward saving the planet—fewer animals raised for food saves water, cuts down on air pollution, and keeps our oceans cleaner—and that’s all in addition to no longer being complicit in the suffering of millions of gentle animals. If you’re like me, though, you may find yourself thinking, “I can do better,” while discarding the box, plastic wrap, and bowl from your frozen vegan potpie. Veteran author Celine Steen has got your back with 100 Earth-friendly recipes that use all the parts of produce, advice on buying and storing food with little to no packaging, and tips on shopping local even if you live in a cold climate.
Looking for even more options? Check out this list of some of our all-time favorite cookbooks!
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