Does anyone else love eating a large variety of vegetables during spring and summer? I think this is because I don’t like to indulge in heavy meals when the weather is hot. Vegetable dishes are so refreshing and light – perfect for spring and summer. I don’t have a lot of vegetable oriented cookbooks, so I am excited to see what new cookbooks there are for 2021!
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Of course, there are so many new vegetarian, vegan, and plant-based cookbooks out there. These are my top five that have come out this spring!
1. Vegetable Simple: A Cookbook
This is the most visually stunning cookbook of the lot! There is a full page photo for every single recipe in Vegetable Simple: A Cookbook. This truly showcases the simplicity and beauty of each dish, which is focused on a specific vegetable.
Author Eric Ripert is a big deal! He is not only the chef of Le Bernardin, which holds three Michelin stars, but also, he has a television series called Avec Eric that’s won many awards. He has also been a judge on Top Chef numerous times. (That’s where I recognize him from!)
When I originally looked through this cookbook, I thought the recipes would be overwhelming. That couldn’t be farther from the truth! Ripert has generously given us very easy recipes that emphasizes each vegetable’s unique and authentic flavor, rather than covering or masking it.
There are 110 amazing recipes in this cookbook for any level chef. Each dish typically only has a few ingredients and require very little time. They’re very easy (I’ve cooked a few myself!)
The cookbook isn’t “organized” in any way, but still have dishes for any time of day. This includes an amazing vegetarian Bolognese, grilled baby bok choy and Caesar romaine salad, or even delicious desserts. You’ll find a little bit of everything and it is all vegetables!
This truly is a stunning cookbook. It’s perfect for those who want to start incorporating more vegetables in your daily meals. Come take a look at our reel on our Instagram to see a glimpse!
2. Everyone’s Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health
Speaking of Top Chef, Gregory Gourdet has also created a stunning vegetable-forward cookbook called “Everyone’s Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health.” This is mostly a plant-based cookbook, so this is a plus for any carnivores out there.
There are 200 fantastic recipes in here! Here are a few that are really exciting: spice-crusted pork chops with cherries and oregano, collards and cabbage with spicy cashew dressing, pan roasted plantains with onions and thyme. I love plantains!
The recipes are very unique in this cookbook. Gregory Gourdet mixes his Haitian origins with his French culinary education to create elegant and feisty dishes.
The dishes are fairly straightforward, ranging from easy to time consuming. We have serving sizes listed, but no prep or cook time. I do enjoy how each recipe is laid out, the ingredients right after the introduction leading into the instructions.
There are 180 photos, so most of these recipes are paired with a photo! They are all quite beautiful.
This is a fantastic cookbook for those who want to start eating more plants without eating completely vegan or vegetarian. Gourdet has tried eliminating many dairy and animal products when there are alternatives that would work better for each dish.
He encourages us to be more plant-forward while cooking and eating! The Everyone’s Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health cookbook is a great place to start.
3. To Asia, With Love: Everyday Asian Recipes and Stories From the Heart
I am so excited for the To Asia, With Love: Everyday Asian Recipes and Stories From the Heart cookbook! Hetty McKinnon delights us with many of her mother’s traditional pan-Asian recipes with a bit of a twist. Everything in this cookbook is vegetarian friendly!
Some chapters that are included in this cookbook are: Lucky noodles, dumplings and other small things, salads for life, not too sweet, a big breakfast, and more!
I was surprised with how much I enjoyed the introduction of this cookbook. McKinnon shares personal bits about her life, such as the fact she felt a bit of an identity crisis. She didn’t feel entirely Chinese or entirely Australian… so what was she? She began to cook and everything began to click into place. It’s a wonderful story.
There are a few easy and accessible ingredients you should have in your pantry and flavor profiles you should try.
Another thing she addresses is your pantry and mindset. There are ingredients every household should have on hand to approach pan-Asian cuisine. Also, exploring new flavors like umami is going to help you enjoy this cookbook even more!
The recipes are fabulous and very thorough. At the very top of the ingredients list there is an indication if the recipe is gluten-free or vegan. Not only that, but if applicable many of the recipes have substitutes offered at the bottom of the recipe.
The To Asia, With Love: Everyday Asian Recipes and Stories From the Heart cookbook is absolutely stunning and perfect for those who love Asian cuisine and want to dip their toes in vegetarian fare.
4. How to Grill Vegetables: The New Bible for Barbecuing Vegetables over Live Fire (Steven Raichlen Barbecue Bible Cookbooks)
I remember the first time I had grilled carrots – It was a life altering experience. There’s something about grilled vegetables that really elevate the flavor! Luckily How to Grill Vegetables: The New Bible for Barbecuing Vegetables over Live Fire comes out before summertime!
I have plenty of vegetarian and vegan friends who struggle with barbecues because everyone is so meat-focused. Now we can make some awesome grilled vegetables that everyone will enjoy.
This is a vegetable-forward cookbook, so some recipes do include meat or dairy. There are purely vegetarian and vegan alternatives listed for dishes when it applies.
The cookbook is divided into soups, sauces and condiments, grilled vegetables, grilled eggs, grilled cheese, vegetables not so small plates, and so much more.
How to Grill Vegetables: The New Bible for Barbecuing Vegetables over Live Fire will put vegetables in the spotlight whenever you put on a barbecue or gathering with loved ones.
There are 115 recipes like cedar-plank eggplant, hay-smoke lettuce, spit-roast brussels sprouts on the stalk, grill corn five ways… those all sound so delicious.
I enjoy the introduction where they breakdown what kind of grill or smoker you might have and the best way to approach vegetable cooking for each. This is super handy, since each method is slightly different!
The photos are so mouthwatering in this cookbook! You’ll definitely want to pick it up!
5. The Chef’s Garden: A Modern Guide to Common and Unusual Vegetables–with Recipes
The The Chef’s Garden: A Modern Guide to Common and Unusual Vegetables–with Recipes cookbook is beautiful and incredibly colorful. I appreciate how educational it is and creative.
Farmer Lee Jones lends us his expertise on vegetables, fruits, herbs, and more throughout this cookbook. He describes the produce in detail, including photos to identify different breeds. There are written descriptions for each. In addition to all of this, he has listed some of the big varieties… An example of this are in his onion section: he shows different varieties for yellow, white, and red. Some I didn’t even recognize! There are 500 different entries in this cookbook!
This is a hefty book. There are over 600 pages in total, featuring 100 amazing recipes that are all created by the head chef at The Chef’s Garden Culinary Vegetable Institute.
This is a true farm-to-table kind of cookbook. Farmer Lee Jones reveals his family secrets to a successful farm that we can all take home with us to our backyards.
Since this book is so enormous, you might be wondering how difficult it would be to find recipes. It’s quite easy, because the book is divided up by type of plant. This includes: alliums, stems and stalks, leaves, roots, flower buds, fruits, seeds, edible flowers, etc. Within each chapter are recipes that showcase each kind of produce.
Once I begin gardening and get my backyard all situated, you bet I am going to invest in this cookbook. This is going to be a classic for people who enjoy growing their own food and learning about where their food comes from!
I have a random question for my audience, what are some of your favorite vegetables to cook with? My latest craze have been Brussels sprouts! I have them with everything. Make sure to comment below!
~Kaiti
