9 Cookbooks You Absolutely Need If You're Vegan

We love the food blog Minimalist Baker (we’ve even tapped Schultz for her best tips for inexperienced cooks). Unsurprisingly, then, we’re equally obsessed with her first cookbook. Each of the 101 plant-based recipes lives up to the book’s name, meaning they’re minimalist enough that you don’t need a culinary degree to master them. If for nothing else, do it for the vegan tiramisu cake.

We’re all busy, that’s a given. But that doesn’t mean we should succumb to unnutritious meals because “they’re easier.” Montagu’s book (like her blog, The Flexi Foodie) dispels the notion that healthy food takes ages to prepare, with 100 recipes that take 20 minutes or less to make. No more excuses.

Ronnen is the head chef at the L.A. vegan restaurant Crossroads. He’s also cooked for the likes of Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres, so you know he’s food has got to be good (in fact, Ms. Winfrey referred to Ronnen as the best vegan chef in America). His book includes more than 100 recipes for sophisticated plant-based fare, including an Acorn Squash Ravioli with Kale & Black Garlic Butter Sauce that we’re drooling just thinking about.

Staying away from all animal products can be daunting. Turner, argues that the transition—however challenging—is totally worth it. In fact, she shares her own story about how eating vegan improved her quality of life. Oh, and she also shares 125 recipes like Tempeh Bacon Mac and Cheese with Pecan Parmesan. (Proof that it’s not all lettuce and tofu.)

On her super popular blog Oh She Glows, Angela Liddon writes candidly about the role veganism played in helping her overcome an eating disorder. In her first cookbook (she’s since published a second) she shares 125 recipes for nourishing, delicious meals—like Broccoli & Cashew Cheese-Quinoa Burrito—aimed at making you feel incredible.

Before opening her wildly popular NYC restaurants By Chloe and Sweets by Chloe, Coscarelli was the first vegan winner on the TV show Cupcake Wars. With recipes for everything from lemon olive-oil cake to New York-style crumb cake, this is the vegan dessert cookbook to keep on your shelf.

The blog Thug Kitchen has achieved a cult following (including Gwyneth Paltrow) for its frank approach to vegan cooking. Written by the blog’s authors, this cookbook has more than 100 recipes for things like roasted beer-and-lime cauliflower tacos and pumpkin chili. Basically, vegan food that doesn’t take itself too seriously

Forks Over Knives started as a 2011 documentary of the same name about reversing the effects of chronic diseases via a plant-based diet. Regardless of whether you drink the healing Kool-Aid, there’s no denying the cookbook is jam-packed with more than 300 deliciously healthy recipes (think carrot pasta with cauliflower sauce).

When we think about slow-cooker meals, we typically think of heavy, not particularly nutritious fare. Not so with Robertson’s gorgeous and mouthwatering compilation of 200 vegan recipes you can set and forget, from Greek-style beans with tomatoes and spinach to seitan stroganoff.