Vegan cookbooks have been doing a lot of hard work for decades, changing the way we think about food and showing the world that plants can be delicious.
Here are five vegan cookbooks that I believe stand out as some of the most influential of all time.
Read more below:
Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero
Often called the bible of vegan cooking, this book exploded onto the scene in 2007 and quickly became the go-to guide for anyone wanting to explore plant-based food. Its mix of everyday recipes and ambitious dishes inspired a whole generation of vegan cooks. These people were our vegan rockstars!
BOSH! by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby
When this book landed in 2018 it flew straight to the top of the bestseller lists. Not just vegan bestseller lists, but all the bestseller lists! It was a mainstream breakthrough, showing that plant-based recipes could be bold, accessible and fun, and it helped to push vegan food firmly into the spotlight at the same time it was breaking through in a big way.
Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
Before Isa was a household name, she released this 2005 classic that made vegan food feel rebellious, creative, and cool. It turned countless people on to the idea that vegan food was feasible, fun, and totally within their capabilities. This is the second mention of Isa on this list, so you can tell she has been a real inspiration for me.
Afro-Vegan by Bryant Terry
This groundbreaking 2014 release mixed African, Caribbean and Southern food traditions with a plant-based focus. It was celebrated for not only its recipes but also for weaving together culture, history, and community in a way few vegan cookbooks had before.
How It All Vegan! by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer
First published in 1999, this was one of the early modern vegan cookbooks to reach a wide audience. Its DIY, no-nonsense approach made it approachable and fun, and for many it was their very first vegan cookbook.
These books shaped the way we cook, eat, and talk about vegan food. They created excitement around a food scene that was on the verge of exploding into the mainstream and paved the way for many, many more vegan recipe titles to follow.
I’d love to know about your favourite vegan recipe collections in the comments. Have I missed out on any other influential titles?
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I am cookbook obsessed and love all of these books – Vegan with a Vengeance and How Ot All Vegan in particular take me back to the total excitement when I first went vegan and had to learn to make stuff as you couldn’t buy it in shops or eat it in restaurants.
Not sure if you know but the amazing Sarah Kramer passed away recently. What an amazing contribution she made to the vegan cause.
Ex chef, so this is a bit different. I look for different things in cookbooks of course. From my collection, some names : Myoko Schinner, Gaz Oakley, Chad and Derek Sarno, Richard Buckley and also Skye Michael Conroy, Lee Watson (less known, used to run a restaurant )