Post Punk Kitchen Forum

My cooking skills are very limited, most of which are for non-vegetarian meals. What cookbooks are good beginners guides for vegetarians inexperienced in making vegetarian meals?

I like Veganomicon because there's an entire "how to cook ____ " section in the front. Besides, the recipes are great whether you're a beginner or have been cooking forever.

I agree! Veganomicon is a great resource... like annakarenina said, there are sections at the beginning explaining how to cook basic grains, beans, and vegetables, which is fantastic if you are new to cooking like I was before becoming vegan. Even non-vegetarians love Veganomicon because the food is so good! : )

If you like Mexican food, you should also check out Vegan Latina. The recipes are simple (many variations of beans, rice, dough), cheap to make, large batches so you'll be fed for a few days, and you can experiment with the many different vegetables that Terry features.

Is there anything specific that you're really interested in cooking that you would like a vegan recipe for? Let me know if I can help. : )

I third the suggestion of Veganomicon, every single recipe is amazing. There are some recipes that are a bit more complex, but there's a good basis of simple recipes and basic cooking techniques too. My omni mom has this book, because the food is just that good!

My sentimental fave is Vegan with a Vengence- not too big, not to fancy, and lots of fun. Also MY first veg cookbook!

Me too! It might not be the best book for beginners, but it's what I learned to cook with.


I highly recommend How To Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. I love Vcon, but HTCEV is hands down the book I go to when I need to learn HOW to do something. Bittman provides simple, basic recipes for almost every ingredient under the sun. There are no photos, but there are many clear, useful illustrations of cooking techniques. Every section is organized from simplest to most complicated recipe. And, there are tons of helpful charts and lists. The size of the book is a little intimidating, but it's only that big because it is crammed so full of KNOWLEDGE!

Veganomecon will teach you how to cook beans, grains, vegetables, tofu, all the basics. Then you can keep making tasty simple recipes or progress to fancier more complicated recipes int he book.