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More and more of us are cutting down on meat and getting creative with vegetarian meals.
Chosen by the BBC Good Food team, our top vegetarian cookbooks list is a collection packed with colourful, innovative recipes that put vegetables centre-stage, fuse flavours from around the world and will help you create delicious veggie meals at home.
Whether you’re a veggie beginner, flexitarian, an athlete looking for plant-power to fuel your workouts or simply want healthy, everyday meals for your family, there’s something for everyone. This is food to get excited about.
For more inspiration, see the best cookbooks for students, the best cookbooks for kids or the best cookbooks of 2021.
Best vegetarian cookbooks to buy
The Curry Guy Veggie by Dan Toombs
The third book from food writer Dan Toombs is a truly expert guide to navigating meat-free Indian dishes, packed with recipes showcasing just how colourful, creative and delicious vegetarian Indian food can be. Plus, every recipe comes with instructions on how to make them vegan too.
Available from:
Little Green Kitchen by David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl

Luise and David, the husband-and-wife team behind acclaimed vegetarian blog Green Kitchen Stories, are here to help you perfect the art of quick and easy vegetarian and vegan meals for all the family. Tried and tested by their three small children, their simple recipes include creamy broccoli pasta, tofu cashew masala, plus party food options and lunchbox favourites.
Available from:
WH Smith (£16)
Amazon (£16)
Waterstones (£20)
Veg by Jamie Oliver
In Veg, Jamie makes vegetarian cooking easy, sharing over 100 fun-to-make recipes full of flavour and all family-friendly. You’ve got stews, pastas, curries, pies and traybakes, each designed to make vegetarian cooking accessible and most importantly, delicious.
Available from:
East by Meera Sodha
Meera’s experience as a successful food writer really shines through in her latest book. Full of innovative flavours, East brings a new lease of life to Indian, Asian and Southeast Asian cooking, melding classic recipes with innovative flavours to create authentic and vibrant plant-based recipes.
Available from:
Amazon (£14.45)
WH Smith (£16)
Plant Power by Annie Bell
Distinguished food writer Annie Bell’s book Plant Power features 100 protein-rich recipes for vegans and vegetarians, in which she shares how to source plant proteins from high-quality unrefined whole foods. With stunning images, this book is a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach.
Available from:
Amazon (£11.99)
Waterstones (£17.99)
The Vegetarian Cookbook: More than 50 recipes for young cooks
If you’re looking to eat less meat as a family, this vegetarian children’s cookbook is packed with more than 50 nutritious recipes full of colour to help your young cook learn about the importance of a balanced diet. Food fact files are an added bonus, offering insights into vitamins, minerals, proteins and carbs.
Available from WH Smith (£10.65)
Flavour by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage

For his latest book, Yotam Ottolenghi has teamed up with chef and core member of the Ottolenghi test kitchen Ixta Belfrage, to create something beautiful, informative and truly inspiring. It features over 100 impressively innovative, exciting dishes which bring a new lease of life to everyday veg. Think romano pepper schnitzels, cabbage tacos with celeriac and date barbecue sauce, hasselback beetroot and kimchi rice fritters. The duo also explain how to get maximum flavour from food, looking at how different methods, flavour pairings and produce can elevate your cooking.
Available from:
Wordery (£16.87)
Blackwell’s (£17.78)
Waterstones (£24.99)
The Vegetarian Kitchen by Prue & Peta Leith
Available from Amazon (£15.43)
Chetna’s Healthy Indian by Chetna Makan
Available from Amazon (£14.59)
Charred by Genevieve Taylor
Available from:
Amazon (£12.25)
Waterstones (£16.99)
India: The World Vegetarian by Roopa Gulati
Available from:
Amazon (£12.99)
WH Smith (£16)
The Green Roasting Tin by Rukmini Iyer
Available from:
Amazon (£9.99)
Waterstones (£17.99)
Plants Taste Better by Richard Buckley
Available from:
Amazon (£17.79)
Waterstones (£25)
Greenfeast: Autumn, Winter by Nigel Slater
Available from:
Amazon (£10)
Waterstones (£22)
River Cottage Veg Every Day by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Available from:
Amazon (£8.42)
More vegetarian recipe inspiration
For more vegan and vegetarian meal inspiration, check out our recipe collections online, plus check out our BBC Good Food: Vegan Meals Cookbook to find 101 easy and delicious recipes that prove plant-based cooking doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. All recipes in the book are triple-tested by the BBC Good Food team so you know they’ll work every time.
This review was last updated in November 2020. 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.