The 21 Best New Cookbooks Of 2025 (So Far)

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How many cookbooks do you have on your shelf? Whether the answer is one or 100, it probably never feels like enough. After all, there is a whole world of, nay, an infinity of culinary tomes to explore. From the best texts on baking to valuable vintage cookbooks to the ever-enduring culinary classics, it can be hard to know where to start, or keep up with the latest selections worth the word. As it happens, 2025 has been quite the year for culinary guides — and it isn’t even over yet. So, we’ve assembled a list of the absolute best cookbooks to be published this year thus far.

Let this list serve as a guide to some of the richest texts to be found within this diverse and ever-growing genre. For, while all of these selections are alike in their instructional format, each offers a completely new, unique perspective on food, entertaining, and culture. From the books on this list, you’ll learn the science behind flavors, the many uses for sesame seeds, the secrets for preparing classic dishes of cuisines from all around the world, and so, so much more.

There are few people that can boast the culinary bonafides that chef Nina Compton has to her name. The James Beard Award winner has worked in restaurants across the United States, including a couple of her own in New Orleans. Throughout her career, Compton has carried a deep interest and devotion to her home country of St. Lucia. In her new book, “Kwéyòl / Creole,” Compton guides readers through several Creole cultural hubs across the Caribbean and the United States (and yes, you will find a lot of delicious recipes along the way).

Small but mighty might be the best way to describe the sesame seed. However, their flavor and culinary impact are anything but. Rachel Simons, author of “Sesame,” knows this to be true. In fact, she has committed her career to exploring the possibilities of this magnificent seed. This book explores the history and cultural importance of sesame seeds, and includes many recipes for you to try if you want to better understand this ever-so-versatile ingredient.

Cooking is the connective tissue that binds us to our own familial histories. Sarah Ahn, of Ahnest Kitchen, knows this to be true. And with this in mind, Ahn and her mother Nam Soon Ahn created “Umma.” This collaborative cookbook consists of 100 family recipes for Korean staples ranging from various types of kimchi and Korean fried chicken to creative treats like an iced corn latte. 

Okay, so this isn’t technically a cookbook. Still, Dr. Stuart Farrimond’s “The Science of Flavor” is a great resource for anyone looking for, well, a scientific perspective on flavor. Within this text, he explores flavors such as salt, sweet, and spicy, and how they interact with each other. This book will help you bring new dimension to your dishes, and might even help you to create some new recipes of your own.

You might know Samin Nosrat for New York Times bestselling 2017 book “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat,” which was adapted into a Netflix series. With over 1 million copies sold, her work has fundamentally changed how many people think about cooking and combining essential flavor elements. Now, Nosrat is back with a new book: “Good Things.” This work is a collection of 125 of her favorite recipes for nourishing herself and her loved ones, so they’ve all been put together with extreme care and precision.

“Ghana to the World” is so much more than a cookbook. Within its pages, chef Eric Adjepong has gathered 100 recipes inspired by West African cuisine and his culinary education over the years. This book also features essays by Adjepong that delve into his experiences as the child of immigrants from Ghana and his evolving relationship with Ghanaian culture and cuisine. 

House of Nanking is one of San Francisco’s most beloved restaurants, fusing traditional Chinese cuisine with local foods to create something truly unique. Co-written by the restaurant’s founder Peter Fang and his daughter Kathy Fang (with Emily Timberlake), “House of Nanking” has more than 100 recipes pulled straight from the restaurant’s menu as well as many Fang family favorites. It also covers ingredient shopping tips and traditional Chinese cooking techniques.

Yes, playing host to dinner parties, picnics, and gatherings can be difficult. But do you know what else is hard? Being a guest. From knowing what side dish to bring, to assembling a recipe that is room temp friendly, there are many factors to consider when preparing the perfect party dish. Luckily, Casey Elsass has your back. The recipes contained within “What Can I Bring?” are designed to impress without overdoing it, and there are some nifty tricks to avoid spoilage, too. 

Over the course of Lucinda Scala Quinn’s career, she has worked as a chef, prep cook, cooking instructor, caterer, and founder of Mad Hungry, a hub for all things culinary. On top of this, she has authored several cookbooks. “Mother Sauce” is her latest work, and perhaps her most personal as well. This cookbook comes with a side of history. Along with each of the 100 Italian-American recipes, Scala Quinn sketches the history of the dish, which intersects with her own lineage. 

“A picture is worth a thousand words,” or so the saying goes. However, the cover image of Beejhy Barhany’s “Gursha” says it all. The cover shows Barhany handing the reader a bite of food, inviting you to share in the collection of recipes she’s thoughtfully compiled in her cookbook. The title, “Gursha,” is an Ethiopian term for feeding another person using your hands. And it is with this spirit of generosity that Barthany created her globally inspired cookbook. It features over 100 recipes for Ethiopian Jewish dishes as well as dishes from the Jewish diaspora. 

Written by Arnold Myint and Kat Thompson, “Family Thai” is a great introduction to Thai cooking that builds on clear and precise instruction, helping even those with very little understanding of Thai cuisine to get the hang of these complex and tasty dishes. This isn’t simply a primer on the art of Thai cuisine, however, but a product of Myint’s experiences working at his family’s business, International Market & Restaurant, which is a Nashville institution.

Chef Sami Tamimi has dedicated nearly his entire life to the art of cooking, working his way from his position as a junior chef at a hotel to co-founding Ottolenghi, an all-encompassing food shop, deli, restaurant, and bakery in the Notting Hill neighborhood of London in 2002. His career has spanned the world, but he always returns to his Palestinian roots. His most recent cookbook “Boustany” explores Palestine’s rich culinary landscape, but this time with a focus on vegetables and vegetarian dishes.

“The Modern Huntsman Cookbook” stands out from other selections on our list in that it is not the work of a single author, or even small group of collaborative authors. Instead, this book is a compilation of 50 essays, written by chefs, wildlife conservationists, and hunters across the globe. Each essay and recipe gives a fresh, new, perspective on the beauty and profundity of the natural world. This book is full of stunning, rustic imagery that will keep you returning to its pages. 

If you’ve ever googled a recipe for sheet cake or snickerdoodles, chances are you’ve come across one of Sally McKenney’s recipes. For well over 10 years, McKenney has kept up her prolific baking blog, Sally’s Baking Addiction, which dispenses intensive and comprehensive baking recipes and advice to home bakers across the world. And now you can find McKenney’s wisdom on bookshelves as well. In her debut cookbook, “Sally’s Baking 101,” she has compiled 101 sweet and savory recipes for cooks at every level. 

Who doesn’t love birria? The flavor-rich stew is hearty and comforting. Birria, and its consomé broth perfect for dipping, are beloved staples in the canon of Mexican cuisine, which is probably why we’re so excited for Jesse Valenciana’s “Birrias.” Featuring 65 recipes, this book is a stunning collection of birria basics and fun twists on the dish, including Appalachian birria, a dish Valenciana created with the help of Sean Brock, a chef in Nashville.

In “My Cambodia,” chef Nite Yun pays tribute to her family’s Cambodian roots. Her cookbook compiles 100 recipes, inspired by Yun’s family meals, her personal exploration of Cambodia, and her own restaurants (Lunette, a noodle restaurant, and award-winning Nyum Bai — both located in California’s Bay Area). “My Cambodia” is a great primer for anyone hoping to become more familiar with Cambodian cuisine, or for anyone who wants to get to know more about Nite Yun and her culinary genius.

Written by chef Dora Ramírez, “Comida Casera” is a collection of traditional and modern Mexican dishes with a vegan twist. But don’t worry, this cookbook doesn’t forsake flavor for plant-based bonafides. This collection of 100 recipes is a tribute to Mexico’s diverse and delicious food scene, making it the perfect cook book for anyone hoping to make great Mexican staples, or expand their vegan dish repertoire. Recipes include vanilla flan, almond milk queso fresco, and pumpkin seed enchiladas.

A whole cookbook for salsa? Well, yes! James Beard Award-winning chef Rick Martínez has already made a splash on the cookbook scene with his 2022 work “Mi Cocina.” But his latest cookbook “Salsa Daddy” is laser-focused on one dish only: salsa. This book explores the many culinary possibilities of salsa, the dip that can do it all. “Salsa Daddy” is a primer on the many aspects of salsa, including a breakdown of various chiles and over 70 recipes for all varieties of the condiment.

Great news “Top Chef” fans, series alum (and champion) Melissa King has just released her first cookbook. Cheekily titled “Cook Like a King” and inspired by her upbringing and the Michelin-starred restaurants she worked in, this book is unique and deeply personal for King, who built her career in the Golden State. This cookbook brings together various influences, from Cantonese dishes to French cuisine to California flavors. Recipes include Hong Kong milk tea tiramisu (yum) and a refreshing yet spicy chili crisp labneh.

Let’s end, as most good meals do, on something sweet. “Ready for Dessert, Revised” is not just any dessert cookbook, it’s an update to confectionary canon. This book follows up on David Lebovitz’s 2011 “Ready for Dessert,” but it isn’t just a return to an earlier text. Instead, it’s a complete redux of his previous work. The revised cookbook features 175 sumptuous dessert recipes, including pistachio cardamom cake, bittersweet chocolate mousse, and salted butter caramel sauce to pour over it all.