Every year, I cook from dozens of new cookbooks. Some are beautiful to look at, some are fun to flip through, and a smaller handful are the ones I actually reach for when I am hungry and standing in my kitchen. These are my favorite cookbooks of 2025.
If you love collecting cookbooks, cooking from them often, or are looking for an excellent holiday gift for a food lover, this list is for you. I have also included a few non-cooking food books that are essential reading. These are the books that stayed open on my counter, not just on my shelf.
1. Lugma by Noor Murad
Lugma is a soulful, vibrant celebration of Bahraini and Middle Eastern cooking, shaped by memory, travel, and Noor’s sharp culinary intuition. Blending tradition with modern expression, the recipes move effortlessly between herbs, spice, sourness, and deep comfort. This is a book that cooks with both precision and heart, inviting you to taste a culture one beautiful bite at a time.
Great gift for: anyone who loves Middle Eastern flavors, comforting one-pot meals, and cooking for a table full of people.
2. Boustany by Sami Tamimi
Boustany is a radiant celebration of Palestinian food, rooted in generosity, seasonality, and bold vegetable-forward cooking. Sami Tamimi’s recipes feel at once vibrant and deeply grounded, built from a pantry shaped by preservation, herbs, and fresh produce. This is a book that honors both everyday cooking and the special joy of sharing many small dishes around a full table.
Great gift for: plant-forward cooks, Middle Eastern food lovers, and anyone who shops at the farmers’ market with ambition.
3. Baking and The Meaning of Life by Helen Goh
Linger reimagines the salad as a vibrant, generous centerpiece worthy of any table. With globally inspired flavors, joyful color, and menus built for gathering, Hetty Lui McKinnon turns everyday vegetables into celebration food. This is a cookbook that invites you to slow down, share often, and let salads be the heart of the meal.
Great gift for: serious home bakers, cake lovers, and anyone who likes elegant, dependable desserts.
4. Linger by Hetty McKinnon
This is a quiet, atmospheric book in the best way. It’s for slow evenings, comfort food with depth, and recipes that feel like they’re meant to be cooked when you have time to exhale.
Great gift for: cozy cooks, food lovers who read cookbooks like novels, and friends who love moody, comforting meals.
5. The Art of Gluten-Free Bread by Aran Goyoaga
The Art of Gluten-Free Bread is a revelation for anyone who thought great bread was out of reach without wheat. Aran Goyoaga brings technique, imagination, and extraordinary flavor to gluten-free baking, from crusty sourdough loaves to tender brioche and flaky croissants. This book restores tradition, confidence, and joy to the breadbasket for bakers of every kind.
Great gift for: gluten-free bakers, sourdough lovers, and anyone who truly misses real bread.
6. Galette by Reebecca Firkser
Galette! celebrates the beauty of unfussy baking with a pastry that is endlessly flexible, forgiving, and deeply inviting. With one simple crust and limitless sweet and savory fillings, this book empowers home cooks to bake with confidence and creativity year-round. It is a joyful reminder that some of the best baking is the simplest, most generous kind.
Great gift for: beginner bakers, pie lovers, and anyone who loves rustic desserts without a lot of fuss.
7. Homemade Ramen by Sho Spaeth
This one goes deep and is a ramen bible. Broths, noodles, tare, oils, all of it. If you’ve ever wanted to understand what actually makes great ramen great, this is the book you want. Step-by-step photographs accompany the techniques and recipes, making it a valuable guide for all cooks.
Great gift for: noodle obsessives, food science nerds, and anyone who talks about broth like it’s a personality trait.
8. Turtle Island by Sean Sherman
Turtle Island is a powerful and deeply moving celebration of Indigenous foodways, place, and resilience. Through regional recipes and vivid storytelling, Sean Sherman invites us to eat with the seasons, honor the land, and understand food as both nourishment and cultural inheritance. At once instructional and soulful, this book reshapes how we think about North American cuisine and the communities that have sustained it for generations.
Great gift for: thoughtful cooks, teachers, history lovers, and anyone interested in land-based, seasonal cooking.
9. Tony Tan’s Asian Cooking Class by Tony Tan
This makes a great gift for home cooks who want to truly understand the foundations of Asian cooking, from the wok to noodles to the essential pantry, taught by Australian icon, Tony Tan. It is perfect for anyone who loves learning techniques as much as collecting recipes, with clear guidance from a deeply experienced and generous teacher. Fans of beautifully photographed cookbooks and cooks eager to build absolute confidence in Asian flavors and methods will treasure this one.
Great gift for: thoughtful cooks, dedicated learners, technique-driven kitchen nerds, and anyone who wants to understand the foundations of Asian cooking deeply.
10. Pakistan by Maryam Jilani
This is deep, soulful, regional home cooking at its best. This makes an excellent gift for lovers of bold flavors, regional South Asian cooking, and beautiful cookbook photography. It is perfect for adventurous home cooks who want to explore a cuisine shaped by migration, borders, and deep tradition. Anyone who loves slow-cooked meats, comforting lentils, and richly spiced curries will reach for this book again and again.
Great gift for: South Asian food lovers, spice-forward cooks, and anyone who loves food tied to history, migration, and memory.
Amazon/Bookshop
11. Indian Kitchen by Roopa Gulati
These pages travel from quiet village kitchens to bustling city markets, all through the language of food. It is a celebration of everyday cooks and the extraordinary meals they create. I hope these flavors become part of your own table and traditions.
Great gift for: ideal for lovers of bold spices, regional Indian cooking, and food that carries the weight of history, movement, and memory.
Books on Food
1. Around the Table by Diana Henry
Diana Henry is one of the greatest food writers of our time and I adore her writing. This book feels like an invitation to slow down and gather the people you love. Every page celebrates the quiet joy of cooking for others. I hope it finds its way into many beautiful meals at your table.
Great gift for: food writers, food and culture lovers, people who enjoy traveling
2. What is Queer Food? by John Birdsall
A radiant, deeply moving exploration of how queer people have shaped the table through food, resilience, and joy. John Birdsall weaves history, culture, and appetite into a story that feels both revelatory and intimate.
Great gift for: history and culture lovers, LGBTQ+ friends and chosen family, food lovers
3. What to Eat Now by Marion Nestle
An indispensable guide written by one of the founding figures in American food studies. The book answers all our questions on food and diet and how they connect with ourselves, families, and communities. It helped make me smarter with my choices.
Great gift for: history, culture, and food lovers, nutrition, public policy, and politics students, people who want to learn about their food and ingredients
These are the best cookbooks and food books of 2025 that genuinely shaped how I cooked this year. From weeknight dinners to deep technique and food culture reading, every title here earned its place through real use. If you are shopping for a holiday gift for a food lover or looking to refresh your own kitchen library, this list is a great place to start.