The 10 Best Cookbooks For Beginners

In How to Cook Everything (about $27), veteran food journalist Mark Bittman does away with complicated techniques and expensive equipment and, instead, focuses on teaching newbies to channel the fundamentals into delectable dishes that are worthy of serving to your friends and family.

A perennial tome that's likely resting on one of your grandmother's shelves already, Better Homes and Gardens (around $6) has long been a trusted resource for millions of home cooks. Now in its 16th edition, it covers everything from canning and grilling to flavoring basic staples.

Based on its popular interactive online course, The America's Test Kitchen (around $39) uses a textbook approach to educate students on a litany of indispensable core techniques and employs thousands of full-color photos to show readers exactly how to complete the recipes step by step.

Much beloved by generations of rookie foodies, Joy of Cooking (appx. $16) not only describes how to steam, deep-fry, sauté, braise, and roast without issue, but it also includes an exhaustive "know your ingredients" section, and even explains how to set a table properly.

In The Art of Simple Food (appx. $13), chef and restaurant owner Alice Waters shines a spotlight on straightforward dishes that harness the power of locally-sourced produce and seasonal ingredients. Her philosophy is that the perfect meal is balanced in texture, color, and flavor.

A cult favorite rife with personality and plenty of humor, Cravings by Chrissy Teigen (around $14) makes learning to knock up an imaginative variety of sinful repasts a lighthearted experience. It features meals for a host of occasions, like date night, solo dinners, and parties.

Penned by the iconic Julia Child, The Way to Cook (around $35) first teaches the basics, then builds on them to show chefs-in-training how to vary a recipe to suit their needs. It's abundant with fish and poultry courses, creative desserts, and plenty of instructive, vibrant pictures.

If you're the type who needs to understand the why before the how, then The Science of Good Cooking (about $19) will be beneficial for you. By breaking down and explaining core principles, it demonstrates why ingredients behave in certain ways when you manipulate them.

Written by a father who realized his son was about to leave for college woefully underprepared in the cooking department, 12 Recipes (around $11) is both illuminating and deeply personal. After reading it, home chefs will have a strong repertoire of skills and plenty of confidence.

Those who eschew meat from their diets will appreciate The New Vegetarian (around $24) for its plant-based repasts and relevant techniques. Not only does it work to demystify the practice and guide newcomers through the lifestyle, but it also provides ways to present dishes with flair.