6 Gifts for Food Lovers: New Cookbooks They’ll Actually Love and Use
Looking for the perfect gift for the foodie in your life? Nothing says thoughtfulness quite like a cookbook — a carefully curated collection of recipes can inspire, delight, and spark hours of culinary creativity. But with so many cookbooks on the market, it’s easy to pick one that ends up gathering dust on the shelf. That’s why we’ve rounded up 6 cookbooks that make the ultimate gifts for food lovers — practical, delicious, and sure to be used and loved in every kitchen. Whether they’re beginners or seasoned home chefs, these selections will bring joy, flavor, and a little culinary adventure to every meal.
101 Things to Do with Chocolate, by Stephanie Ashcraft
A compact, flexible spiral-bound cookbook filled with quick and easy chocolate recipes — chocolate chunk cookies, Butterfinger sheet cake, brownies, milkshakes, bars, and more. The descriptions are so vivid the book doesn’t even need photography to make you crave every dish.
Part of the bestselling “101 Things” series from Gibbs Smith, which has sold over 3 million copies. Designed for simplicity and quick prep.
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
Empanadas, by Donna Kelly
If you don’t love empanadas then you don’t know what you’re missing. Donna Kelly does a great job of pulling together a variety of recipes for these tasty and savory pastries: Puerto Rican black beans and plantains empanadas, mushroom empanadas, cheeseburger empanadas, even Italian pizza-empanadas. You could easily cook from this for weeks without repeating a recipe.
Includes multiple dough recipes (fried, baked, and a shortcut tortilla version) and over 60 sweet and savory fillings.
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
The Martha’s Vineyard Cookbook, by Julia Blanter
A beautifully curated collection of over 100 recipes sourced from chefs, cooks, and culinary personalities across Martha’s Vineyard’s towns and villages. It features coastal and seasonal dishes — oysters with watermelon and jalapeño, salads, poke bowls, soups, and comfort-food favorites like shrimp and cheesy grits or hot lobster rolls. The book doesn’t limit itself to just traditional New England fare, it also includes unique creations such as birria grilled cheese.
Rizzoli cookbooks emphasize premium photography, regional culture, and place-based storytelling. Expect strong visual design and deep ties to Vineyard producers and landscapes.
Publisher: Rizzoli
Simple Pleasures, by Jodi Moreno
Any cookbook that starts with recipes such as grandpa’s pancakes with maple butter, or giant hash brown with crème fraîche and smoked salmon, has our attention. A warm, inviting tome, beautifully photographed and focused on unfussy, comforting dishes that rely on kitchen pantry staples or ingredients you can quickly pick up at the supermarket.
Also beautifully photographed, Moreno’s books generally emphasize seasonal produce, approachable techniques, and cozy, everyday cooking.
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
My Creole-Cali Kitchen: Louisiana Roots with California Flavors, by Ryan Rondeno
The subtitle of this edition is “Louisiana roots with California flavors”, which sounds delicious already, and it definitely is. A culinary fusion of Creole heritage and California freshness, the recipes incorporate multicultural California influences — Asian, Latino, coastal — while staying rooted in Creole flavor profiles. Includes appetizers, mains, desserts, and cocktails.
Features 100+ recipes with full-color photography. Chef Rondeno is known for approachable, elevated cooking that blends technique with West Coast produce.
Publisher: Agate Publishing
The iPhone Eats First Cookbook, by Allyson Reedy
In an era where everyone photographs their food, this cookbook comes from someone who actually knows how to do it professionally. Allyson Reedy presents visually striking, social-media-ready dishes — buffalo chicken egg rolls, red velvet cupcakes, smash burgers, vodka pasta with Italian sausage, accordion potatoes, chopped turkey sandwiches, and more. It encourages readers not just to cook but to style, shoot, and share.
Rizzoli’s photography-driven cookbooks emphasize high-quality imagery and modern food culture — a seamless fit for Reedy’s concept. Expect bold, bright styling and strong visual impact.
Publisher: Rizzoli
