2024 has been a brilliant year of new books for every kind of cook – whether you’re looking for easy midweek meals, comfort food favourites, plant-based dinner ideas, unprocessed ingredients, or something to satiate your sweet tooth.
Whatever the occasion and whoever you’re buying for, these cookbooks are sure to make the perfect gift (or, indeed, a worthy addition to your own kitchen bookshelf).
Ottolenghi COMFORT
Comfort food gets the Ottolenghi treatment in this beautifully photographed new cookbook. Featuring over 100 inventive new recipes, combined with personal reflections and anecdotes from the authors, COMFORT is a deeply personal love letter to the nostalgic power of food.
Mary’s Foolproof Dinners
You can always trust Mary Berry for effortless and failsafe recipes – whether you’re cooking up a storm, impressing guests with a show-stopping cake, or simply looking to solve the problem of what to have to for dinner. With her latest cookbook, you’ll find all the tips and recipes you need need for creating the perfect dinner – whether it’s a quick weeknight meal, a cosy weekend supper, or a gathering with plenty of hungry mouths to feed.
SIFT: The Elements of Great Baking
Pastry chef Nicola Lamb breaks down everything you need to know about baking, along with over 100 gorgeous sweet and savoury recipes to practice your newfound knowledge.
The Green Cookbook
Whether you’re vegan, flexitarian, or simply looking to eat more vegetables and less meat, this new cookbook from Rukmini Iyer, the hugely popular author of The Roasting Tin series, is for you. Find everything from 15-minute “quick carb” recipes, to 30-minute dinners the whole family will enjoy, to meal plans, batch-cooking inspiration, and menu ideas to help you pull off an effortless dinner party spread.
Simply Jamie
Rediscover the joy of cooking with Jamie’s upcoming cookbook, packed with over 130 recipes that are tailor-made for busy home cooks. With chapters covering midweek meals, hearty weekend dishes, traybakes, desserts, and inventive store-cupboard recipes, Simply Jamie will have you back in the kitchen and cooking up easy, fresh, and delicious meals in no time.
Cook Once, Eat Twice
Nadiya Hussain’s latest cookbook is packed with ingenious ideas saving time, effort, and food waste. From staples like Bolognese sauce and freezer-friendly bakes, to inventive new recipes that can be turned into whole new dishes with the leftovers, Cook Once, Eat Twice is all about maximising your time in the kitchen to create amazing meals for you and your loved ones.
Rick Stein’s Food Stories
With his latest cookbook, Rick Stein takes us on a culinary journey spanning the length and breadth of Britain, as he meets the food growers, chefs, and home cooks who make up the diverse, delicious, and ever-changing landscape of British cuisine. Find brilliant recipes inspired by the stories of these food heroes that you can recreate at home.
The Food for Life Cookbook
Gut-health expert, ZOE founder, and bestselling author Tim Spector has made it easier than ever to turn his cutting-edge health advice into practice. With each recipe featuring information on fibre content, plant count, gut-friendly credentials and ideas for substitutes or swaps, The Food for Life Cookbook proves you don’t need ultra-processed ingredients to create easy and delicious meals.
Sobremesa
In her debut cookbook, chef and recipe developer Susana Villasuso shares a brilliant array of authentic, easy Mexican recipes to be enjoyed in the Spanish tradition of sobremesa, or relaxing around the table with friends and family, from midweek dinners to weekend feasts.
EASY
Roxy Pope and Ben Pook, the duo behind the popular So Vegan platform, are back with another collection of fuss-free recipes that show the rich, delicious variety of plant-based cooking. Expect 100 recipes for mouth-watering dishes including Barbecued Mushroom Tacos, Creamy Pesto Rosso Gnocchi, Lemongrass + Coconut Curry, and Gooey Chocolate Brownies.
Bored of Lunch Healthy Slow Cooker: Even Easier
Fans of Nathan Anthony’s Bored of Lunch series already know what a life-saver his easy slow cooker and air fryer recipes are. Now, slow cooker users can look forward to a new batch of mouth-watering recipes that are even simpler to make, including Chicken Noodle Soup, Vegetarian Enchiladas, Tomato and Mascarpone Risotto with Sticky Halloumi, and Carrot Cake Overnight Oats.
Fitwaffle’s No-Bake Baking
Want to enjoy indulgent homemade treats without switching the oven on? Eloise Head, the food creator also known as Fitwaffle, has you covered. Find 100 no-bake recipes suck as Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake, White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake, Very Berry Cream Pie, Speculoos Millionaire’s Bars, and Peanut Caramel Fudge.
Bored of Lunch Healthy Air Fryer: 30 Minute Meals
Nathan Anthony is back with yet another collection of super simple, super fast recipes to help you get the most out of your air fryer – whether you’re in need of a speedy fakeaway, an easy midweek meal, a showstopper brunch dish, or moreish sides.
The Ramadan Family Cookbook
Food blogger Anisa Karolia wowed everyone with The Ramadan Cookbook in 2023, which featured brilliant recipes for those observing the holy month of Ramadan and celebrating Eid al-Fitr. Now, she’s back with 80 more family-friendly recipes, with chapters covering one-pot dishes, healthier options, 15-minute snacks, and more.
Tucking In
Recipe developer, presenter, podcast host and former Mob food lead Sophie Wyburd has created the ultimate comfort food bible packed with 100 simple, fuss-free recipes. Expect hearty dishes like Burst Chipotle Tomatoes with White Beans and Feta, Chicken Butter and Pancetta Tagliatelle, and Celeriac Schnitzel with Charred Pepper Salsa.
The Vegan Air Fryer
Proving that plant-based cooking needn’t be complicated or boring, chef and @RebelRecipes food blogger Niki Webster’s latest book has 70 vegan recipes that can all be cooked in an air fryer in 30 minutes or less. Whether you’re the proud owner of an air fryer or keen to incorporate more plant-based options into your meal plan, this is the cookbook for you.
The Batch Lady Grab and Cook
Suzanne Mulholland, better known as @thebatchlady, has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers thanks to her easy prep-ahead recipes and shopping tips. In this book, she shares over 100 recipes that take no more than 15 minutes to prepare and can be planned around the weekly food shop.