Interest in home cooking and finding new ways to spend time with loved ones, which exploded at the height of the pandemic, continues to shape cookbook trends—and foster a return to the kitchen. Amid global chaos, exploring new techniques, new cuisines, and family heritage helped keep home cooks focused, reduced stress, and resulted in closer family bonds. A new spate of cookbooks will deepen these effects this fall. Cookbook authors are sharing a closer look at their pantries, their heritage, and their kitchens, detailing their methods and offering mesmerizing stories that foster laughter and empathy. Check out our complete listing of all the titles mentioned in this article and even more to add into the mix, available in a downloadable spreadsheet. 

The cookbook trends of the season showcase this focus, with books offering easy meal prep, titles from celebrities who found their own comfort in family and food, and even more books about bread. The rise of mocktails carries forward interest in drinks of all kinds, and the focus on vegan and vegetarian Asian cooking underscores the ongoing interest in global foodways and vegetable-forward cuisine.

EASY PEASY

People who are busy with career and family obligations still want to put delicious and fun dishes on the table, host memorable gatherings, and have treats at the ready. This desire fuels a key trend of the season: easy cookery books that acknowledge the need to save time and money.

Ready to put on a fabulous dinner party with ingredients that are already in the pantry or are on sale at the market? Check out Kelsey Barnard Clark’s Southern Get-Togethers: A Guide to Hosting Unforgettable Gatherings (Chronicle). For those looking to expend minimal time and effort, there’s You Gotta Eat: Real-Life Strategies for Feeding Yourself When Cooking Seems Impossible (Quirk) by Margaret Eby and Easy Weeknight Dinners: 100 Fast, Flavor-Packed Meals for Busy People Who Still Want To Eat Good (Ten Speed) by Emily Weinstein and New York Times Cooking. Also be on the lookout for Delicious Tonight: Foolproof Recipes for 150+ Easy Dinners (Countryman) by Nagi Maehashi and Half Baked Harvest Quick & Cozy (Clarkson Potter) by Tieghan Gerard.

Bake Club: 101 Must-Have Moves for Your Kitchen (Knopf) by Christina Tosi and Shannon Salzano and Salty, Cheesy, Herby, Crispy Snackable Bakes: 100 Easy-Peasy, Savory Recipes for 24/7 Deliciousness (Countryman) by Jessie Sheehan round out the trend of simple, low-cost baked goods to bring together family and friends.

FAMILIAR FACES

Celebrity cookbooks are on trend, building off the influence they gained during the isolation of the pandemic, when so many discovered the possibilities of sharing drinks and meals during online cocktail hours and on TikTok.

Expanding on their at-home and on-air banter and love of Lowcountry cuisine, Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert have created the accessible and often-hilarious Does This Taste Funny?: Recipes Our Family Loves (Celadon). Former Real Housewives of New Jersey cast member Caroline Manzo accelerates her well-known focus on feeding friends and family with food from her Italian American background in Food & Other Things I Love: More Than 100 Italian American Recipes from My Family to Yours (Chronicle). Also look for I Love You: Recipes from the Heart by Pamela Anderson (Voracious), A Confident Cook: Recipes for Joyous, No-Pressure Fun in the Kitchen (Hyperion Avenue) by Tamron Hall and Lish Steiling, My Mexican Kitchen: 100 Recipes Rich with Tradition, Flavor, and Spice (Clarkson Potter) by Eva Longoria, Al Roker’s Recipes To Live By: Easy, Memory-Making Family Dishes for Every Occasion (Legacy Lit) by Al Roker with Courtney Roker Laga, and Good Lookin’ Cookin’: A Year of Meals—A Lifetime of Family, Friends, and Food (Ten Speed) by Dolly Parton and Rachel Parton George.

THE GLOBAL KITCHEN

This fall, cookbook fans are being treated to recipes, stories, ingredients, and techniques straight from the kitchens of a cooks around the globe. Readers can savor the best of European cooking in Anna Haugh’s Irish Kitchen: Modern Home Cooking with Irish Heart (Interlink) by Anna Haugh, Classic German Cooking: The Very Best Recipes for Traditional Favorites, from Semmelknödel to Sauerbraten (Ten Speed) by Luisa Weiss, and The Artful Way to Plant-Based Cooking: Nourishing Recipes and Heartfelt Moments (Simon Element) by Chloé Crane-Leroux and Trudy Crane. Traveling the world through cocktails is the agenda of The Cocktail Atlas: Around the World in 200+ Drinks (Union Square & Co.) by Chris Vola, which gives armchair adventurers a look at the beverages, customs, food, and topography of countries across the world. Lastly, don’t miss the landmark publication of The Contemporary African Kitchen: Home Cooking Recipes from the Leading Chefs of Africa (Phaidon) by Alexander Smalls and Nina Oduro, through which home cooks can absorb the culinary scene and sample the flavors of the African continent.

IMMIGRANT INFLUENCE

Autumn also sees a marked increase in books showcasing the stories of authors influenced by their familial homelands, sharing how the cuisine of their heritage has influenced their work. These entries present powerful, deeply rooted experiences and connections. Be sure to consider The Memory of Taste: Vietnamese American Recipes from Phú Quốc Oakland, and the Spaces Between (4 Color Books) by Tu David Phu and Soliel Ho, Bodega Bakes: Recipes for Sweets and Treats Inspired by My Corner Store (Union Square & Co.) by Paola Velez, Our South: Black Food Through My Lens (Union Square & Co.) by Ashleigh Shanti, and The Pasta Queen: The Art of Italian Cooking (Gallery) by Nadia Caterina Munno.

BREAD, BREAD, BREAD

Bread making books are becoming a standard as home bakers look to grow their skills, expand their knowledge of bread varieties, and create beautiful loaves that will earn them plaudits and praise. Take a deep dive with The King Arthur Baking Company Big Book of Bread: 125+ Recipes for Every Baker (Simon Element) by the King Arthur Baking Company, which will be valuable for bakers at every skill level as a standing reference. Readers will cheer for Babette’s Bread: Stories, Recipes, and the Fundamental Techniques of Artisan Bread (Touchwood) by Babette Kourelos; the law student–turned–bread baker has filled her book with all the recipes and encouragement that bread enthusiasts could want. Remember the revolutionary no-knead method for baking bread? The 15th-anniversary edition of Jim Lahey’s My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method (Norton), written with Rick Flaste, tells how the movement began. This expanded edition showcases even more bread techniques and recipes. Lastly, Richard Hart Bread: Intuitive Sourdough Baking (Clarkson Potter) by Richard Hart and Laurie Woolever will be a high-circulating title on any library shelf.

ASIAN VEGETARIAN/VEGAN

One of the most in-demand categories in cookbook collections is Asian cuisine. Cooks creating stir-fries and soups that often (but not always) include meat or fish are embracing vegan and vegetarian dishes, joining with another developing cookbook trend focused upon plant-based preparations. Readers are also connecting with culinary titles that share the stories behind recipes, highlighting immigration, family history, heritage, and culture. Just a handful of titles to look for are The Vibrant Hong Kong Table: 88 Iconic Vegan Recipes from Dim Sum to Late-Night Snacks (Chronicle) by Christine Wong, Easy Indian Vegetarian: Delicious Recipes for Every Day (Hamlyn) by Chetna Makan, Vegan Japan: 70 Comforting Plant-Based Recipes (The Experiment) by Julia Boucachard, and Sanjana Feasts: Modern Vegetarian and Vegan Indian Recipes To Feed Your Soul (Unbound) by Sanjana Modha.

THE RISE OF MOCKTAILS

After many years of peeking out from the pages of cocktail books, mocktails are ready for their time at center stage. The new bounty of mocktail titles offer a great variety of options for those seeking alcohol-free libations; they’re perfect for Dry January too. Starting the week off with Monday Night Mocktails: 52 Drinks To Welcome the Week (The Collective Book Studio) by Jennifer Newens is sure to set a celebratory tone. For explorations beyond the everyday drink, dive into Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby’s The Vedge Bar Book: Plant-Based Cocktails and Light Bites for Inspired Entertaining (The Experiment), written with Brian Bolles and Ginevra Reiff, in which the renowned vegetarian restauranteurs experiment with mocktails and cocktails infused with all manner of vegetal ingredients. Round out the fun with The Happiest Hour: Delicious Mocktails for a Fabulous Moms’ Night In (Rock Point) by Debbie Podlogar.

RETURNING FAVORITES

Readers consistently return to works by familiar, big-name chefs whose cookbooks they trust to lead them through culinary exploration. Don’t miss What Goes with What: 100 Recipes, 20 Charts, Endless Possibilities (Flatiron) by Julia Turshen, The Chinese Way: Classic Techniques, Fresh Flavors (Voracious) by Betty Liu, and a new edition of Marcella’s Italian Kitchen (Knopf) by Marcella Hazan, which updates the highly regarded classic cookbook that was first published in 1986.

Bakers will want to check out Sarah Kieffer’s 100 Afternoon Sweets: With Snacking Cakes, Brownies, Blondies, and More (Chronicle), Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Bakes (Voracious), and Dominique Ansel’s Life’s Sweetest Moments: Simple, Stunning Recipes and Their Heartwarming Stories (Harvest).

Readers focused on cooking the Mediterranean way will stir up high demand for Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook’s Zahav Home: Cooking for Friends & Family (Harvest) and Yotam Ottolenghi’s Ottolenghi Comfort (Ten Speed). Other highly anticipated titles from culinary icons include the career-spanning Bobby Flay: Chapter One; Iconic Recipes and Inspiration from a Groundbreaking American Chef (Clarkson Potter) by Bobby Flay, Martha: The Cookbook; 100 Favorite Recipes, with Lessons and Stories from My Kitchen (Clarkson Potter) by Martha Stewart, and Why I Cook (Artisan) by Tom Colicchio with Joshua David Stein.

PATRON, COOK, CHEF

Cookbooks rank among the hottest checkouts in libraries today, and the ever-increasing interest in cooking and baking, particularly in recent years, has sparked cookbook clubs and influenced culinary literacy programming. What might go unremarked is that it is not just home cooks checking out titles from the library. The professional cooking world, including chefs and restaurant workers, are library patrons too and utilize their local collections for research, thus widening their own repertoires and offerings. This circle of culinary education and inspiration centers libraries at a delicious crossroads of comfort, creativity, joy, and exploration. 

Ron Block works as a manager at the Cuyahoga County Public Library in Cleveland, OH. His passion for libraries, reading, and cooking has fueled nontraditional library programs and community collaborations. Ron was named an LJ Mover and Shaker in 2020 and has served as a cookbook judge for the James Beard Awards.