Are you trying to break away from the cycle of meat with every main course? Seeking satisfying ways to create flavoursome meals that just happen to be meat-free? These vegan and vegetarian cookbooks for beginners will help you do just that. From midweek meal planning to weekend feasting, you’re sure to find a cookbook on this list that will help you on your path towards a more plant-based diet.
The go-to guide for vegetarian Indian cooking
130 stunning recipes with a fresh and light feel
Beautiful puddings with Indian-inspired flavours
Fresh India
Fresh India is a loving homage to both meat-free cooking and Indian cuisine. With 130 vibrant recipes, from midweek meals that can be on the table in under half an hour, to show-stopping centrepieces fit for a feast, this lively cookbook will see you through every season of the year.
Inspiring vegetarian and vegan recipes
Quick and easy ideas for weeknights
Laid-back feasts and batch cooking tips for weekends
Elly Pear’s Green
Elly Pear, the best-selling author of Fast Days, Feast Days, turns her hand to tasty veggie and vegan dishes in her new cookbook, Green. In the first half of the book, she shows you how to make fast weeknight dinners that pack in the flavour. Recipes including harissa chickpeas with za’atar baked feta, stir-fried kimchi grains with fried eggs and a vegan BLAT sandwich with umami mayo are sure to grab your attention. Flick to the second half of the book and find all the weekend feasting inspiration you could want, from simple brunch recipes to indulgent seasonal recipes for every occasion.
Fast one-dish family favourites
All-in-one creative vegan recipes
Easy one-tin vegetarian dinners
The Green Roasting Tin
Rukmini Iyer’s The Green Roasting Tin, which follows her immensely popular first cookbook The Roasting Tin, will transform how you cook midweek. Perfect for busy evenings when you don’t have the time or energy to spend hours in the kitchen, she’ll show you how to assemble ingredients in your trusty roasting tin and let the magic happen while you enjoy your evening.
Delicious meat-free recipes
Simple recipes for popular classics
A perfect introduction to vegetarian curries
Curry Easy Vegetarian
Following on from her bestselling cookbook Curry Easy, Indian cooking queen, Madhur Jaffrey is back with Curry Easy Vegetarian. She shows yet again how easy it is to recreate authentic Indian food at home, focussing on pulses, grains and punchy spices so you won’t miss meat at all.
Inspiring ideas for vegan and vegetarian cooks
Simple family favourite recipes
Classic dishes with a vegan twist
The Happy Pear: Recipes for Happiness
popular cookbooks to prove it. Their latest cookbook, The Happy Pear: Recipes for Happiness, is perfect for novice vegetarians with plenty of recipes including plant-based alternatives to family favourites, from burgers to nuggets to kebabs, as well as budget-friendly easy dinners and sumptuous treats. Both David and Stephen Flynn are dads and the book is packed with recipes that will make it a doddle to get kids wolfing down their veg
Make delicious and nourishing Buddha Bowls at home
Creative recipes for every meal of the day
A simple formula of grain + green + protein
Buddha Bowls
The Buddha Bowls cookbook is an easy-to-follow guide of over 50 creative variations using the simple formula of combining grains, greens and protein. Chapters cover breakfast, lunch and dinner so you’ll never be stuck for ideas, plus there is a Quicker-Than-A-Takeaway section to stop you reaching for the pizza menu when hunger strikes.
Everyday, healthy meat-free meals
Fully-tested, reliable recipes
Hearty food – you won’t miss the meat!
Proper Healthy Food
If you’re looking for hearty, boldly flavoured dinners that more than make up for the lack of meat, then Nick Knowles’ Proper Healthy Food is the book for you. Nick will show you you how to transform your meat-centric diet into one that champions veg and won’t leave you hungry. Recipes we love? A Caribbean-inspired curry, falafel with creamy garlic sauce, and a soul-soothing winter veg stew with dumplings.
Easy veg-packed recipes everyone can enjoy
Jamie’s clever tips, tricks and twists for meat-free meals
Substantial recipes from one-pan wonders to family feasts
Veg: Easy & Delicious Meals for Everyone
For anyone looking to expand their repertoire of inventive, fuss-free recipes, Jamie Oliver’s veg-focused cookbook, Veg: Easy & Delicious Meals for Everyone is the best place to start. This cookbook is designed for beginner vegetarians or flexitarians who want easy, accessible ways to cook flavourful meals that just happen to be meat-free.
