The 14 Best Cookbooks Publishing In Fall 2023

Release date: September 5, 2023

If you like to unwind by watching food and cooking videos on social media, chances are you’re familiar with Dan Pelosi (better known online as Grossy Pelosi), who garnered well-deserved Instagram fame during lockdown for his cooking tutorials and comforting Italian-American recipes. Earlier this month, he released his first cookbook—and it doesn’t disappoint. Let’s Eat is a joyful collection of appetizers, pastas, desserts and more, accompanied by warm stories about how the recipes came to be. Highlights include a prosciutto and mozzarella-stuffed chicken Parm inspired by a friend’s mom’s chicken cutlets, a zabaglione dedicated to his boyfriend Gus and several recipes from Bimpy, Pelosi’s beloved 101-year-old grandfather. Whether this is the first you’re hearing of Pelosi or you religiously make his viral vodka “sawce” every week, Let’s Eat is guaranteed to have something for you.

Release date: September 12, 2023

Is this the year you finally start making pasta from scratch? If you’re ready to take the leap, look no further than Pasta Every Day, the debut cookbook from chef and food writer Meryl Feinstein (you might know her by her social media handle @pastasocialclub). Released earlier this month, the book is part-cooking class, part-recipe collection and seeks to debunk the idea that making your own pasta is hard. Alongside recipes for basics (think pappardelle and gnocchi) and colorful creations alike, Pasta Every Day is packed with step-by-step photography that shows Feinstein rolling and cutting various shapes and styles. There are also chapters filled with sauces and fillings, along with instructions on how to substitute store-bought dried pasta on days when there’s simply no time for handmade.

Release date: September 12, 2023

A staple grain around the world, rice is the star ingredient in chef J.J. Johnson’s sophomore cookbook, co-written with graphic novelist Danica Novgorodoff. To examine the essential grain’s origins and far-reaching influence, the duo pulls from their personal experiences with rice, from early memories to travels around the world. They also recreate iconic rice dishes from different cultures (think Peruvian arroz con pollo and Laotian naem khao), never forgetting to nod to the communities who inspired the recipes. What makes the book especially unique are Novgorodoff’s beautiful illustrations that are scattered throughout the book, as well as stories about Johnson’s visits to rice farms and conversations with fellow chefs. 

Release date: September 19, 2023

For the Culture furthers the mission of author Klancy Miller’s magazine by the same name: to spotlight Black womens’ vital contributions to food and drink. In the book, Miller first reflects on the lives and legacies of trailblazers like Edna Lewis and Leah Chase before jumping into interviews with 66 chefs, farmers and writers, some of whom also share recipes like hibiscus honey-mustard salmon and baked smoked okra dip. The conversations are deep and insightful, covering everything from their creative inspirations to the challenges they’ve encountered along the way. Vibrant illustrated portraits accompany each interview. 

Release date: September 19, 2023

Food journalist Clarissa Wei dives deep into Taiwanese cooking and its intricacies in this comprehensive book. To come up with more than 100 dishes that represent the island nation’s distinct cuisine, the California-born, Taipei-based writer worked with local cooking instructor Ivy Chen. And Wei goes beyond recipes, using her reporting and research skills to consider the cultural and political influences that have shaped classic dishes like braised minced pork belly and three-cup chicken.

Release date: September 19, 2023

Pierre Thiam, the chef and entrepreneur who brought the ancient grain fonio to center stage, shows home cooks how to integrate West African flavors and ingredients into their everyday meals in Simply West African. Released on September 19, the book is full of helpful cooking tips (including a full pantry explainer) and vibrant recipes, spanning the mother sauces of Africa to dinner party-ready roasted piri-piri chicken. Naturally, fonio pops up throughout the book; it appears in the recipe for a kale and mango salad that’s served at Thiam’s Harlem restaurant Tenga, for example, as well as a gingery porridge inspired by his wife and co-author Lisa Katayama’s Japanese roots.

Release date: September 26, 2023

Chili crisp has become the condiment du jour, largely thanks to Sichuan native Jing Gao. After taking her business from Kickstarter to Costco, the Fly By Jing founder is now on a mission to showcase the spicy, tingly sauce’s versatility. While mapo tofu and chili oil wontons appear in The Book Of Sichuan Chili Crisp, Gao’s first book is also chock-full of inventive recipe like as Kungpao meatballs, chili paneer and bloody Sichuan Caesar (a Chinese riff on the Canadian cousin to the Bloody Mary). And sprinkled throughout the book are personal stories of Gao’s, as well as beautiful photographs of her home province.

Release date: September 26, 2023

Culinary icon Jacques Pépin has spent decades guiding home cooks through the ins and outs of French cuisine—and in Jacques Pépin Cooking My Way, that remains his mission. The collection is filled with Pépin’s advice on how to shop on a budget, cook more efficiently and utilize the most of every ingredient. That way, you too can recreate his zucchini-tomato gratin, grits and cheese soufflé and other hit recipes. But the best part? The 150-plus recipes are accompanied by illustrated seasonal menus and paintings by Pépin himself.

Release date: October 3, 2023

After years as a Food Network host, Marcela Valladolid is reclaiming her voice in the kitchen. Her latest compilation, Familia, is an homage to her Mexican heritage and the way she cooks for her family. Some of the dishes are ones she has shared on cooking classes that she began hosting with sister Carina during the pandemic; others come from what she serves at home. And in true Valladolid style, each one—from birria quesatacos and plant-based enchiladas to pineapple tamales and mango upside down cake—is guaranteed to be big on flavor and personality.

Release date: October 19, 2023

Sheet-pan dinners and one-pot meals are some of the straightforward meals that Lidia Bastianich tackles in her latest book, Lidia's A Pot, A Pan, And A Bowl. A companion to her PBS show “Lidia’s Kitchen: Home Cooking,” the collection features 100-plus recipes that dial down the effort—but fret not, they still have Bastianich’s signature Italian flair. (A few standouts include balsamic chicken stir fry, skillet lasagna and beer braised short ribs.) And not only are the recipes in this book delicious, but they all utilize just one or two pots and pans to help make post-dinner cleanup a breeze. 

Release date: October 31, 2023

In their debut book, chef Jon Kung explores the notion of third-culture cuisine—the cooking that blends influences from multiple cultures. For Kung, those influences are Hong Kong (where their parents are from), Toronto (where they were raised) and Detroit (where they lives today). The product, which has captivated their followers on social media, are inventive recipes like jerk chow mein and chicken tikka masala rangoon that meld together unexpected flavors and ingredients and push the boundary of fusion cooking.

Release date: October 31, 2023

At 656 pages long, chef and video star Sohla El-Waylly’s debut cookbook is a culinary compendium, teeming with information that aims to, as its title suggests, make you a better cook. And because El-Waylly doesn’t just hit the basic, even experienced home cooks have something to learn from Start Here. Each chapter is structured like culinary school lesson that equips readers with the necessary knowledge and intuition to build, for example, a restaurant-quality salad or perfect a pie dough. From charred lemon risotto to masa and buttermilk tres leches cake, the recipes are crave-worthy and accessible. 

Release date: November 7, 2023

As a follow-up to her hit book Snacking Cakes, baker Yossy Arefi gives us Snacking Bakes, which reminds readers that baked goods like cookies, brownies and bars can be everyday indulgences. For the book, which prioritizes simplicity over intricacy, Arefi developed recipes for treats like fudgy sesame oat cookies and everything bagel biscuit bread, most of which come together in a single bowl with no fancy equipment required. Even those who don’t consider themselves confident bakers will have no problem following Arefi’s approachable and delightful recipes.

Release date: November 13, 2023

Send Chinatown Love grew out of the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to help one of New York City’s hardest-hit neighborhoods and communities. Since its inception in 2020, the entirely volunteer-run organization has gifted meals to seniors, helped mom and pop shops develop marketing plans and, in its newest project, self-publish a cookbook. To be released on November 13, Made Here highlights vibrant stories and recipes from Asian and Asian-American restaurants, bakeries and other vendors across the boroughs. Spanning 18 cuisines from 24 neighborhoods, the book is teeming with gorgeous photography of the food and those who bring it to life, plus hand-drawn illustrations that guide home cooks through more difficult techniques. (Full disclosure: The author of this list is also a contributor and volunteer.)