13 of the best healthy cookbooks to buy that will transform how you cook

We've got good news. Eating healthily (or making considerable changes to your diet) doesn't have to be hard. When you're armed with the right cookbook, you have a whole world of recipes to explore, meaning you'll never run out of inspiration and hopefully find it easier to stay on track. But with so many cookbooks available to buy, how do we know which ones are best?

We asked our team of food experts to recommend their favourite cookbooks with a healthy angle and compiled a list of our top finds. From books which help with losing weight, eating less dairy, going gluten-free or following the change of the seasons, we have everything you need below.

There are books filled with healthy family dishes, hearty salads, vegan brunch recipes, veggie weeknight dishes and even nourishing student meals.

For more cookbook inspiration, head to our cookbooks review hub and check out our guides to the best keto cookbooks, best air fryer cookbooks or best gluten-free cookbooks. For more unbiased expert buyer’s guides, visit our reviews section to find over 400 round-ups, including the best healthy cereal, gluten-free bread and high-protein snacks.

13 best healthy cookbooks at a glance

• Best for easy healthy recipes: Eat Yourself Healthy, Jamie Oliver, £15
• Best for avoiding UPFs: The Unprocessed Plate, Rhiannon Lambert, £14.61
• Best vegetarian cookbook: A Modern Way to Cook, Anna Jones, £22.33
• Best for uni students: The Green Roasting Tin, Rukmini Iyer, £13.60
• Best for families: Joe's Family Food, Joe Wicks, £8
• Best for healthy classics: Honestly Healthy for Life: Healthy Alternatives for Everyday Eating, Natasha Corrett and Vicki Edgson, £9.99
• Best for fresh flavours: A Change of Appetite, Diana Henry, £13.80
• Best for understanding nutrition: How Not to Die, Michael Greger, £15.93
• Best budget vegan cookbook: Broke Vegan, Saskia Sidey, £7.32
• Best healthy Indian cookbook: Chetna's Healthy Indian, Chetna Makan, £11.75
• Best for seasonal cooking: The Magnificent Book of Vegetables: How to Eat a Rainbow Every Day, Alice Hart, £21.13
• Best for gut health: The FODMAP Friendly Kitchen, Emma Hatcher, £21.13
• Best for overall health: The Doctor's Kitchen, Dr Rupy Aujla, £12.96

The best healthy cookbooks to buy 2025

Eat Yourself Healthy by Jamie Oliver

• Available from Amazon (£15), Waterstones (£15)

Best for easy healthy recipes

If you want to start cooking more healthy recipes at home but aren't sure how to start, this is the book for you. In his signature approachable style, Jamie Oliver makes healthy eating feel easy with plenty of quick recipes using familiar ingredients that are sure to slip easily into your everyday routine.

The 120 recipes will keep you on the healthy track, from sticky steak and aubergine salad to a supergreen stir-fry and hasselback salmon which is impressive enough for entertaining. The full-size photos will draw you in and have you bookmarking page after page. The book also has a two-week meal plan to get you started, and 50 easy healthy hacks to help you transform how you shop, cook and eat.

Available from:
Amazon (£15)
Waterstones (£15)

The Unprocessed Plate by Rhiannon Lambert

• Available from Amazon (£14.61), Waterstones (£15.99)

We hear a lot about processed foods and the dangers of UPFs but it can be hard to know how to tackle these in daily life. This Sunday Times-bestseller from Rhiannon Lambert aims to help you understand the truths about UPFs and how to avoid them, with lots of unprocessed recipes. In a time where there can be a lot of myths and confusing information around 'healthy' foods, this unpacks the big questions as well as practical advice like easy swaps you can make when food shopping and how to build a UPF-free storecupboard.

The recipe section puts this advice to good use with recipes for everything from overnight oats and homemade bread to vibrant salads, soups and traybakes filled with veg that make eating the rainbow feel easy.

Available from:
Amazon (£15.71)
Waterstones (£15.99)

A Modern Way to Cook by Anna Jones

• Available from Amazon (£22.33), Waterstones (£28)

Best vegetarian cookbook

This is the second book from Anna Jones, who we consider a queen of vegetarian cooking. Her first, A Modern Way to Eat, specialised in simple yet delicious meals, all made without meat. A Modern Way to Cook continues in this vein, but introduces slightly more adventurous dishes and unusual flavour pairings.

It includes clean, nourishing, vegetable-focused recipes which can be enjoyed any night of the week. Chapters are broken down into cooking times (under 15, 20, 30 and 40 minutes). In classic Anna Jones style, every recipe is balanced – taste, texture, acidity, spice, sweetness and crunch are always considered. And she uses clever tricks to both save time and enhance flavour. The kale, tomato and lemon one-pot spaghetti, which makes a silky sauce using the starchy water, will change the way you cook pasta forever.

Available from:
Amazon (£22.33)
Waterstones (£28)

The Green Roasting Tin by Rukmini Iyer

• Available from Amazon (£13.60), Waterstones (£20)

Best for uni students

Rukmini Iyer's roasting tin books have been hugely successful, and for good reason. She takes one tin and a few simple ingredients then pops them in the oven, what comes out is a balanced, healthy meal that you can enjoy any night of the week. There are six books to try, and we love this veggie and vegan one. It contains 75 meat-free recipes, including hearty three-bean chilli with guacamole, miso aubergine, and beetroot, chickpea and coconut curry. We appreciate that there are no complicated ingredients and absolutely no faff.

Available from:
Amazon (£13.60)
Waterstones (£20)

Joe's Family Food by Joe Wicks

• Available from Amazon (£8) , Waterstones (£20)

Best for family meals

You'll probably recognise Joe Wicks from the cover of his Lean in 15 books, which promote healthy eating habits and helped millions to lose weight. Now he focuses his attention on helping families put nourishing meals on the table, while spending less time in the kitchen and more time together.

His book offers family recipes with a healthy twist. It's approachable, as most of the recipes are classics the kids already know and love, from pasta to pizza, burgers and even popcorn. The chapters are divided into sections like speedy suppers, big batch and hob recipes, so you can choose meals depending on how much time and effort you feel like putting in.

Available from:
Amazon (£8)
Waterstones (£20)

Honestly Healthy for Life: Healthy Alternatives for Everyday Eating by Natasha Corrett and Vicki Edgson

• Available from Amazon (£9.99)

Best for healthy classics

Honestly Healthy is a book for anyone following the alkaline diet – a way of eating which aims to reduce acid in the body and restrict the amount of sugar, meat and processed foods consumed. The recipes are mostly vegetarian and packed with pulses, nuts, fruit and sprouted grains. There's lots of helpful information about the alkaline diet, should you wish to learn more. There's even a short five-day cleanse with meal plans to help get you started.

Although there's no scientific evidence for some of the claims made about the diet, you'll still benefit from reducing your intake of processed ingredients and eating more healthy, balanced meals.

Available from:
Amazon (£9.99)

A Change of Appetite by Diana Henry

• Available from Amazon (£13.80), Waterstones (£30)

Best for fresh flavours

This is senior food editor Anna Glover's go-to cookbook when she's looking for something lighter. "It made me think about eating healthy as something to enjoy rather than fear," she told us, "and I knew the recipes would be full of flavour and interesting. I was bookmarking every page as a ‘to make’ which is when I know it’s a good cookbook! The griddled Vietnamese chicken with table salad, Burmese chilli fish with hot and sour salad, and Israeli chicken with harissa griddled peaches and mint were the first things that caught my eye."

Available from:
Amazon (£13.80)
Waterstones (£30)
Foyles (£30)

How Not to Die by Michael Greger

• Available from Amazon (£15.93), Waterstones (£12.99), Foyles (£12.99)

Best for nutrition

Dr. Michael Greger's best-selling book focuses on enriching your diet so that you can you reduce your risk of illness and disease. In a time when most doctors prescribe medicine or surgery, he suggests that adopting a healthy, plant-based diet could be enough to avoid some types of sickness and even reverse the effects of disease.

Beyond the sensationalist title is a selection of excellent plant-based dishes waiting to be enjoyed. As well as cutting edge nutritional science and a helpful checklist of 12 foods we should consume every day. It offers a clear, actionable path for anyone looking to eat more mindfully to boost longevity.

Available from:
Amazon (£15.94)
Waterstones (£12.99)
Foyles (£12.99)

Broke Vegan by Saskia Sidey

• Available from Amazon (£7.32), Waterstones (£12.99)

Best budget vegan cookbook

Whether it's for the health of the planet or ourselves, we all want to increase the amount of plant-based recipes in our repertoire. But going vegan can be expensive – there's meat and dairy-alternatives to buy, not to mention all the extra nuts, herbs and spices for flavour. Luckily there's this handy cookbook from food stylist Saskia Sidey, who breathes new life into vegan cooking while keeping costs down.

From uni students to inexperienced vegans, plenty of people will enjoy this book. It's full of recipes that use whatever you have on hand, such as back-of-the-fridge fritters, vegetable tart and frozen smoothie bowls. Plus, there are tips for making food go further, batch-cooking ideas, and sweet recipes for times of indulgence.

Available from:
Amazon (£7.32)
Waterstones (£12.99)

Chetna's Healthy Indian Vegetarian by Chetna Makan

• Available from Amazon (£11.27), Waterstones (£20)

Best healthy Indian cookbook

You may remember Chetna from her time on The Great British Bake Off or her first best-selling cookbook, Chai, Chaat and Chutney. Either way, you'll be seriously impressed by this healthy offering. Its pages are lined with healthy and vibrant Indian recipes, all made without meat. Recipes include courgette kofta curry and spicy roasted cauliflower.

Chetna proves that veg really can be the star of the show. Perfect for those times when you want big flavours without the calories, salt or fat. It's inspiring, especially to anyone who thinks Indian cooking only covers the cream-laden dishes we often order in restaurants.

Available from:
Amazon (£11.27)
Waterstones (£20)
Foyles (£20)

The Magnificent Book of Vegetables: How to Eat a Rainbow Every Day by Alice Hart

• Available from Amazon (£21.15), Waterstones (£26), Foyles (£26)

Best for seasonal cooking

We all know the benefits of eating a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, with this beautiful collection of vegetarian and vegan recipes, you'll be eating a rainbow in no time. The book is split into seasons, so you can choose new wholesome dishes throughout the year. The focus is on simple-yet-satisfying flavours and ingredients which nourish our bodies and minds.

Highlights include crispy courgette and sweetcorn fritters, beetroot puttanesca and purple sprouting broccoli pasta.

Available from:
Amazon (£21.13)
Waterstones (£26)

The FODMAP Friendly Kitchen by Emma Hatcher

• Available from Amazon (£21.13), Waterstones (£25)

Best for gut health

FODMAPs are foods which cause problems for anyone with digestive issues, such as coeliac disease and IBS. After suffering from a sensitive gut for years, Emma Hatcher was recommended the FODMAP diet by a doctor and never looked back. Now, she brings the joy of cooking and eating back to anyone living with bloating, tummy pains and feelings of discomfort by making recipes without these problem foods.

Her recipes prove it's possible to look after your gut while enjoying quick, easy and nourishing meals every day. Try the baked eggs with tomatoes and feta, quinoa, kale and feta patties with rainbow slaw and rhubarb polenta cake.

Available from:
Amazon (£21.13)
Waterstones (£25)

The Doctor's Kitchen by Dr Rupy Aujla

Best for general health

For those who want to forget the fad diets and follow a doctor's advice, there's this fantastic first book from Dr Rupy Aujla. He's a strong believer in the power of food as medicine, something he calls 'plates over pills'. Within the pages, he explains the principles of living healthily, the impact of what we choose to put on our plate and how dangerous it can be to self-diagnose our intolerance to things like gluten.

He includes plenty of wholesome recipes to get you started – each one is a balance of nutrients, as well as textures and flavours.

Available from:
Amazon (£14.19)
WHSmith (£15.63)
Waterstones (£16.99)

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This review was last updated in December 2025. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.

Do you have a favourite cookbook that hasn't been mentioned? Please let us know in the comments below.