My Favourite Cookbooks of 2025 and Observations on Trends

The Simple Bites Kitchen presents a list of cookbook recommendations for cooking and baking at home.

This year, I’m going to do things a little differently than in the past years and decades. First, just for fun, I’ll highlight a few trends I’m noticing in cookbooks. Then I’ll spotlight my favourite cookbooks and culinary memoirs of 2025 that made me think, laugh, cry, wonder, imagine and create.

Thanks for reading, as always.

Here’s What’s Trending this Year in Cookbooks

Gatherings Go Hard

As someone who’s consistently serving you ideas for gatherings through the seasons, I’m thrilled that cookbooks are encouraging folks to party. People are craving connection more than ever, and a reliable cookbook is an ideal tool to make it happen.

Personally, I don’t trust recipes from movie stars, nor did A Screaming Blast feel relatable (but you do you!). Instead I gravitate towards the more applicable books that offer real life solutions like Let’s Party from Dan Pelosi or What Can I Bring? by Casey Elsass. Or even the aspirational Wishbone Kitchen!

Novice hosts would very much enjoy Having People Over: A Modern Guide to Planning, Throwing, and Attending Every Type of Party.

Pasta, Please!

Last year it was sandwiches; this year, pasta cookbooks have taken over. My picks would be the exquisite Padella or comprehensive Six Seasons of Pasta from talented Joshua McFadden. These two can live in my kitchen forever, thank you.

Southern Cooking

My cookbook club is a-buzz over Recipes from The American South, a new title from esteemed writer Michael W. Twitty. This tome would be my top pick for Southern cooking, however TikTok star LilyLouTay is serving up Measure with Your Heart and blogger Jimmy Proffitt just released Seasoned in Appalachia; both are beautiful.

Protein Cookbooks

Protein cookbooks are the new Paleo. Get ready, there are a lot on the way in the new year. Can we balance it all out with some fibre, please?

Beautiful Books!

“They say not to judge a book by its cover, but when it comes to culinary titles, it’s hard not to. Cookbook covers are a billboard, a gateway, and a vibe check.” Says Jenna Helwig of the fabulous Cookbookery Collective Substack.

2025 has been the year of stunning cookbooks, not just covers. I was in tears during a reading through Guy Mirabella’s Pranzo, so moved was I by the beauty of the book. Find Pranzo where books are sold and sit down with it for an hour.

In my opinion, Australian cookbooks are some of the most stunning (and daring) of them all (special shoutout to Hardie Grant!).

Cookbook Re-releases

Martha’s ICONIC Entertaining is re-released this year, back by popular demand. So extra! So fabulous! More re-releases include Think Like a Chef, Saraban, Kitchen Confidential and the list goes on.

Strange Concepts

Around the World In 80 Meatballs is certainly a new take on comfort food. Is my teen cooking his way through our copy of the book? He is! Another out-of-the-box title is All That Crumbs Allow, from two of my favourite authors Camilla Wynne and Michelle Merek. Most unique concept? To Die For: A Cookbook of Graveyard Recipes. I’ll admit, I’m morbidly curious.

My Favourite Cookbooks of 2025

These are the books I’m reaching for when I’m making a menu plan or wishing to start a baking project. I’m gifting them to friends and taking them to bed at night to read. What a tremendous year for cookbooks (again).

General Cooking

Something from Nothing by Alison Roman ~ Delicious, approachable food with that unmistakable Alison Roman flair. The beans chapter alone is inspired. I’ll be cooking a lot from this book as we head into winter.

The Christmas Companion by Skye Mcalpine ~ Simple recipes and creative ideas for the festive season – this beautiful book is a new forever Christmas favourite, right up there with Jamie and Nigella.

Deliciously Nourishing Eats by Aleyda Batarse ~ My friend, and beloved Canadian food blogger, Aleyda has mastered cooking for a busy family. Accessibility, affordability, and achievability: this cookbook promises and delivers in every beautiful recipe.

By Heart: Recipes to Hold Near and Dear by Hailee Catalano ~ Hailee’s book is how we love to eat as a family: pizza night, seasonal pastas, a few meat dishes and sharable sweets. These are all chapters in her approachable and FUN cookbook.

Good Things by Samin Nosrat ~ With the subtitle ‘Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love’, this book exudes warmth and comfort. Samin’s writing is like sitting down with an old friend, encouraging you in the kitchen. Good Things is guaranteed to become another timeless classic.

Padella: Iconic Pasta at Home by Tim Siadatan ~ A sexy, gorgeous book. Flavour-forward pasta dishes serve up a buffet of comfort food between the two luxurious black velvet book covers. Perhaps the ultimate pasta cookbook? Would make a stunning gift.

The Food for Life Cookbook by Tim Spector ~ Our family still lives with a few underlying heath conditions that flair up from time to time. This book has been majorly helpful and I’ve learned that eating healthy isn’t about restriction but about eating more of the right foods.

The Essential Cottage Cookbook by Andrea Buckett ~ Andrea’s given us a gorgeous book with over 100 easy recipes and practical tips for a delicious getaway – whether it’s at a cottage, campsite, cabin or vacation rental. I know I’ll be using this book for years to come as we are always jetting off on camping trips or road trips around Nova Scotia. We loved the Maple Butter Tarts, Easy Salmon Rillettes and much more.

Entertaining by Martha Stewart ~ A timeless treasure that I find endlessly inspirational, yes, even amid the absolute BONKERS, over-the-top-ness of it all. Midnight Omelette Supper for Thirty? Why the heck not. I’ll try anything once.

A Grain, a Green, a Bean by Gena Hamshaw ~ Thank goodness for authors like Gena to ground us after I have blown the grocery budget on aforementioned midnight brunch. Seriously tho, you know I love a formula for getting food on the table. Gena’s book serves up one simple formula (hint: it’s in the title) and offers countless meatless meals. The ultimate January cookbook after you’ve cooked through Skye’s Christmas Companion.

Cooking Around the World

Pack your bags! Thanks to armchair travel through these titles, I can return to a beloved Paris brasserie, study the origins of Southern cooking in the USA, connect with my Eastern European roots and much more.

My Cypriot Table: Mediterranean Recipes for Gathering, Sharing, and Savoring by Irene Matys ~ Irene is a freaking Canadian treasure and we should all be grateful that she shared her best Mediterranean recipes for gathering, sharing and savouring. Irene’s passion for Cypriot (and Canadian) cooking comes through on every beautiful page. A treasure.

Boustany: A Celebration of Vegetables from my Palestine by Sami Tamimi ~ You know him from the award-winning Jerusalem and Falstin, now Sami Tamimi has authored the remarkable Boustany, a tribute to Palestine: the people, the produce, the place. A deeply beautiful and moving book. I read it cover to cover, then made a shopping list. Mouth-watering food deeply rooted in ancient culture and a journey to the author’s homeland and stunning photography is a recipe for a very special cookbook.

Recipes from the American South by Michael W Twitty ~ This is a very serious book. I sat down with it and got up three hours later. In the meantime, I had kept busy with a highlighter, notepad and pen, not to mention 17 different Google searches to try and keep up. I’m deeply grateful this book is in my collection and know that all 250 recipes will inspire and inform my culinary journey.

Chesnok: Cooking from My Corner of the Diaspora: Recipes from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia by Polina Chesnakova ~ I’m thankful to the Instagram algorithm for bringing Polina into my orbit. Chesnok was the cookbook I didn’t know I needed, filled with tempting Slavic-style recipes. Polina sets a table that is warm, inviting, bountiful and comforting. Also? This is the first cookbook I have ever encountered that features Ukrainian verenyiki on the cover. A triumph!

Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America by Sean Sherman ~ Another incredibly valuable tome! This book is blowing my mind. I really appreciate that it includes all of North America and I can recognize many wild ingredients such as fireweed, chaga, ramps, wild mushrooms, berries, seaweed and hundreds more. My kids have had to put up with me reading recipes and tidbits aloud to them (as Canadians, naturally we’re curious about the Beaver Tacos with Pickled Onions and Watercress). I will be reading, cooking, and learning from Turtle Island for years to come.

The Brasserie Cookbook by La Nouvelle Garde team. I had a trip to Paris this fall that was way too quick. Am I recreating Parisian bistro classics at home now in an attempt to recapture the feeling of the City of Love? Of course I am. Was the first recipe I flipped to Oeuf Mayo? Yes, it was. There’s a lot of French/bistro cookbooks out there; this one spoke to me and that’s all I need from a cookbook, really.

Kapusta: Vegetable-Forward Recipes from Eastern Europe by Alissa Timoshkina ~ Kapusta arrived in my kitchen in early February of this year and sparked a dill-and-cabbage revival of sorts. The fervor inspired our cookbook club to turn the spotlight on Ukrainian Cuisine (Piroshki pictured above) and many converts were made to Eastern Europe flavours. I adore Alissa’s book; it highlights humble ingredients like beets, dumplings, carrots and cabbage with the reverence they deserve. Don’t ask me to choose between Kapusta and Chesnok; they feature the foods of my Ukrainian heritage and I’m religiously devoted to them both.

Pranzo: Sicilian(ish) Recipes & Stories by Guy Mirabel ~ The Most Beautiful Cookbook of 2025 (and the last decade) but so much more than just pretty pictures and food styling. The author, a Sicilian-born Australian, writes the book to his grandchildren, beginning each chapter with an open letter to the four, in simple, heartfelt words that brought a lump to my throat. Passion is at the heart of this stunning book; passion for life, family, ingredients, place and prose. You have to flip through this book and see it for yourself. Don’t miss the image of trifle on page 93. I need it blown up into a poster and framed on my wall.

Setting a Place for Us by Hawa Hassan ~ All the respect for Hawa and her team of writers who brought us 75 recipes and intimate stories of displacement, resilience, and community from eight countries impacted by war. It’s a moving and inspiring read.

My (half) Latinx Kitchen by Kiera Wright-Ruiz ~ I read a lot of serious books this year, and while Kiera’s fabulous book IS serious, it’s also hilarious, raw and poignant. A breath of fresh air, this book is full of vibrant photos and punchy writing. The recipes feature big, bold flavours, and completely cravable combinations as the author walks us through Mexican, Cuban and Ecuadorian cuisines. 3 Salsas you Must Know How to Make Before You Die? Si, señorita.

Desserts and Baking

Baking and the Meaning of Life: How to Find Joy in 100 Recipes by Helen Goh

My favourite baking book of the year, this brilliant debut solo cookbook from Helen deeply resonated with me. Not only are the recipes inspiring, but the author’s reflections on life are incredibly moving.

Helen writes on how baking can bring us together and add meaning and joy to both significant and everyday moments. Divided into chapters such as ‘Community & Belonging’ and ‘ Giving, Receiving & Sharing’, this cookbook contains the precise energy I want to carry with me into 2026.

108 Asian Cookies: Not-Too-Sweet Treats from a Third-Culture Kitchen by Kat Lieu ~ I’ve come to see that my holiday cookie baking is fairly traditional and dare I say, boring, especially after reading Kat’s vibrant book cover to cover. I’m obsessed! The creativity is seemingly limitless as Kat blends traditional and modern flavours with masterful technique. And yes, the cookies are freaking delicious. The kids and I have a lengthy list to bake, which is perfect as we head into Christmas cookie swap season.

Culinary Memoir & Non Fiction

Strong Roots: A Memoir of Food, Family, and Ukraine by Olia Hercules ~ The story of a century in Ukraine told though four generations of one extraordinary family. A culinary memoir by one of the bravest young writers of our generation, this book is already receiving acclaim around the world. Olia is an international treasure who writes unreservedly with urgency. A must read.

More culinary memoir and non-fiction:

• The Heart-Shaped Tin: Love, Loss, and Kitchen Objects by Bee Wilson
• How to Share an Egg: A True Story of Hunger, Love, and Plenty by Bonny Reichert
• Around the Table: 52 Essays on Food and Life by Diana Henry
• Tequila Wars: José Cuervo and the Bloody Struggle for the Spirit of Mexico by Ted Genoways
• All Consuming: Why We Eat the Way We Eat Now by Ruby Tandoh (An upcoming cookbook club pick! Untraditional, but should spark some great conversation. I can’t put it down.)

What was the best cookbook you used this year? Share recommendations in the comments below.

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links that help support this blogging platform.