If you’re Christmas shopping for the home cook in your life, slowly building your own cookbook collection (I know I am!), or still figuring out what to make for Christmas dinner, then a good cookbook is exactly what you need.
Here are 12 great cookbooks to check out this Christmas. 👩🏻🍳
By Heart by Hailee Catalano
I recently went to a cookbook club event where everyone made a different recipe from this book. And after tasting nearly the whole cookbook in one night, I can confidently say that everyone needs this one!
Cook This Book by Molly Baz
The pastrami-spiced roast chicken alone makes this cookbook worth owning! It’s an especially great gift for newer cooks, with built-in QR codes that link straight to technique videos (like how to properly carve that roast chicken!) and more.
Ði Ǎn by Tuệ Nguyễn
You might recognize Tuệ from TikTok, where she shares all about Vietnamese food and culture. Now her debut cookbook makes these bold Vietnamese flavours super easy to cook at home, anytime. My favourites are her bò kho “birria” tacos and honey-glazed shrimp!
From Crook to Cook by Snoop Dogg
This one’s a great gift for any rap fan or food lover! Snoop Dogg’s cookbook is packed with easy-to-follow soul food staples like baked mac and cheese and gumbo, plus lots of fun stories from his life as one of the world’s most iconic artists.
Home of the Nosh by Raegan Steinberg, Alexander Cohen and Evelyne Eng
For all the brunch connoisseurs, this one comes from local Montreal favourite Arthur’s Nosh Bar and is packed with easy recipes anyone can enjoy. And if you’ve ever tried their famous cottage cheese pancakes, you know just how dee-licious their food is!
My Best Friend Is Gluten-Free by Jannell Lo
If you or a friend follow a gluten-free diet, you know how tricky it can be… especially with Asian dishes, where staples like soy sauce, gochujang, noodles, and dumplings usually contain gluten. But don’t worry: this cookbook takes the stress out of it!
Recipes for Lettuce and Life by Mandy Wolfe, Rebecca Wolfe and Meredith Erickson
Looking for a nice Christmas gift for the healthy eater in your life? This one’s THE one! It’s packed with simple, nourishing recipes that’ll take your salad game from a “meh-maybe” to “woah, baby!”
Shaq’s Family Style by Shaquille O’Neal
That’s right: he isn’t just a champion on the court! With crowd-pleasers like loaded potato waffles, sheet pan BBQ chicken, shrimp enchiladas, banana pudding, and more, feeding friends and family for game night has never been this fun!
Soups, Salads, Sandwiches by Matty Matheson
If you love The Bear, you’ll recognize one of the Fak brothers here who also happens to be a real-life chef (and Canadian!). This fan-favourite cookbook is perfect for the holidays, because there really is nothing better than a great bowl of soup for sweater weather!
Sweet Tooth by Sarah Fennel
Doesn’t that fudgey, chocolatey cookie on the cover make you want to take a bite… right through the book? As a sweet tooth myself, I’ll definitely be baking lots of these cookies soon, because yes, I’m the person with a giant stash of cookie tins in my kitchen every Christmas!
Tiffy Cooks by Tiffy Chen
Isn’t Chinese food just the ultimate comfort food? If you answered yes, you’re going to love TikTok sensation Tiffy Cooks’ and her 88 (a very lucky number in Chinese culture) flavour-packed family recipes!
Umma by Sarah Ahn and Nam Soon Ahn
You’ve probably seen Sarah’s umma cooking up a storm on TikTok, feeding her resident-doctor son and daughter-in-law after their 80-hour work weeks. Honestly, it makes my mouth water every time. And naturally, this is the cookbook I asked Santa for Christmas this year.
If you have any other favourite cookbooks, let me know in the comments!
And of course, have a very merry Christmas! 🎄
The Lilac Blog 