10 Natural Cooking Books That Experts Trust and Use

The methods Jane and Ann Esselstyn developed through decades of family experience and clinical insights revolve around empowering women with plant-based nutrition tailored to their unique health needs. Through over 125 recipes, you learn how to integrate vibrant, oil-free meals that support heart health, vitality, and longevity, from Apple Flax Flapjacks to Sweet Potato and Cashew Ricotta Lasagna. The book also explores how a plant-based lifestyle can be a multigenerational legacy, making it ideal for women who want practical ways to nourish themselves and their families. If you’re looking for recipes that combine flavor with wellness, this book offers both without sacrificing joy or energy.

Mary Smith's experience creating Mary’s Whole Life and her features in Prevention.com and Parade.com shape this approachable guide to Paleo cooking. Quick Prep Paleo teaches you to prepare simple, whole-food meals using just 5 to 15 minutes of hands-on time, emphasizing family-friendly, flavorful dishes like Chicken Parm and Cauliflower Gnocchi Skillet or Sheet-Pan Baja Fish Taco Bowls. With a focus on eliminating gluten, dairy, grains, legumes, and refined sugar, you gain practical skills to maintain a healthy Paleo lifestyle without long kitchen sessions. This book suits anyone balancing busy schedules but wanting nourishing, quick meals that fit Paleo principles.

This tailored book explores the diverse techniques and principles of natural cooking, focusing on whole, unprocessed ingredients and authentic flavor development. It examines your culinary background and goals to deliver a tailored pathway through expert knowledge, from ingredient selection to preparation methods that honor nature's bounty. The text reveals how to harmonize nutrition and taste using natural cooking approaches, making complex topics accessible and engaging. This personalized guide matches your interests and skill level, ensuring the content inspires confidence and creativity in your kitchen adventures. Whether you're aiming to refine foundational skills or expand your repertoire with natural cooking nuances, this book offers a focused learning experience crafted just for you.

When Chef AJ discovered the transformative effects of whole plant foods on her own health, she set out to share this knowledge in a way that’s both accessible and delicious. This edition dives into the clear differences between processed and whole foods, emphasizing fiber-rich nutrition over calorie counting, and creatively shows how to replace salt, oil, and sugar without sacrificing flavor. You’ll find over 135 gluten-free, SOS-free recipes that fuse nutrient-dense ingredients into satisfying meals, perfect if you're seeking to revitalize your diet naturally. This book suits those eager to embrace a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle with practical culinary guidance rather than just theory.

After decades of exploring plant-based nutrition firsthand, Jill and Jeffrey Dalton crafted this cookbook to make whole food plant-based eating approachable and enjoyable. You’ll find more than 100 recipes that not only avoid gluten, refined sugars, and oils but also creatively reimagine comfort foods and international dishes like massaman curry and mushroom bourguignon. The Daltons share their personal 23-year journey, including kitchen setup tips and recipes accompanied by video guides, making it easier for you to adopt and sustain a plant-based lifestyle. This book suits anyone looking to improve health through diet, though those seeking quick meals might find some recipes more involved.

What started as Cathy Fisher's personal commitment to a plant-based diet evolved into a practical guide for anyone seeking flavorful meals without salt, oil, or sugar. Drawing from years of teaching at TrueNorth Health Center and the McDougall Program, she offers recipes that transform familiar dishes like potato salad and minestrone soup using only whole, plant-based ingredients. You’ll learn how to maintain richness and sweetness naturally, ensuring meals are both nourishing and satisfying. This book is especially useful if you want straightforward cooking methods that support health without sacrificing taste, though it may challenge those attached to traditional cooking fats and seasoning.

This tailored book explores rapid improvement in natural cooking by guiding you through a 30-day reset plan focused on wholesome, unprocessed ingredients. It examines essential cooking techniques and provides a personalized recipe selection that matches your culinary background and taste preferences. The approach reveals how to transform your kitchen habits quickly while deepening your understanding of natural flavors and nutrition. By concentrating on your individual goals, the content offers a targeted, engaging learning experience designed to make natural cooking both accessible and enjoyable. This personalized resource empowers you to build confidence in preparing vibrant, nourishing meals that fit your lifestyle and accelerate your culinary growth.

What happens when a seasoned natural cheesemaker challenges the industrial cheese industry? David Asher, drawing on his experience as a farmer and educator at the Black Sheep School of Cheesemaking, presents a deeply ecological and traditional approach to crafting cheese. You’ll learn practical skills like sourcing raw milk, cultivating your own bacterial and fungal cultures, making rennet naturally, and avoiding plastic and additives. The book offers detailed recipes across cheese types—from kefir and paneer to alpine styles—each richly illustrated to guide your hands-on practice. If you value ethical food production and want to reclaim the art of cheesemaking outside the factory, this book speaks directly to you.

Amy Chaplin challenges traditional cooking norms by focusing entirely on whole, plant-based ingredients free from gluten, dairy, and refined sugar. Drawing from her rich background as the former executive chef at New York’s Angelica Kitchen and her rural Australian upbringing, she offers 250 adaptable vegetarian recipes that teach you how to master foundational dishes like millet porridge and baked marinated tempeh. You’ll learn how to vary these base recipes with seasonal fruits, nuts, and dressings to keep your meals fresh and nutrient-dense. This book suits anyone eager to embrace wholesome, everyday cooking without sacrificing flavor or variety, especially those navigating dietary restrictions.

What started as Kris Carr's personal journey battling cancer evolved into a vibrant manifesto for plant-based living with Crazy Sexy Kitchen. Alongside chef Chad Sarno, Carr offers more than 150 recipes that teach you how to embrace a nutrient-dense, plant-powered diet that energizes at the cellular level. You'll gain practical kitchen skills, from stocking your pantry to assembling balanced meals, with clear symbols guiding dietary preferences like gluten-free or soy-free. This book suits anyone curious about whole-food, plant-centric eating, whether you're a novice or looking to deepen your culinary repertoire with joyful, health-focused dishes.

Unlike most natural cooking books that focus on fusion or Westernized vegan dishes, Hannah Che draws from a rich heritage of Chinese plant-based cuisine rooted in centuries-old Buddhist temple traditions. You learn how to create authentic umami-packed dishes like Blistered Dry-Fried String Beans and Sweet and Sour Tofu, alongside naturally plant-based recipes such as scallion pancakes and pea shoots braised in mushroom broth. The book also weaves in personal stories and vibrant photography that bring these recipes to life, making it a hands-on exploration of flavor and culture. If you want to deepen your understanding of vegan cooking through traditional Asian techniques, this book offers both inspiration and concrete culinary skills.

The methods Anette Dieng developed while running Sweden's leading vegetable delivery company shape this collection of over 800 vegetable-focused recipes that make sustainable cooking approachable. You learn not only creative ways to prepare single vegetables like carrots and broccoli but also gain practical knowledge about seasonality, storage, and complementary flavors. The book’s structure, with chapters dedicated to individual vegetables, is ideal for anyone seeking to deepen their culinary skills with natural, plant-based ingredients. Whether you're hesitant about eating greens or simply want to expand your repertoire, this book offers straightforward guidance that turns simple vegetables into exciting meals.