The Best Simple Vegan Recipe Books

If you’re new to plant-based eating, here are some of the best simple recipe books to try. There are hundreds of good cookbooks, but many require gourmet and expensive ingredients. All these books have simple instructions, affordable ingredients and nice recipes to make a gentle transition.

Liv B’s Easy Everyday Recipes is a collection of tasty and easy recipes, 100 in all. Master the cost-effective art of plant-based cooking. Everything in this book either has 5 ingredients, or uses one pot or one baking tray. The book also includes pressure cooker recipes, meal prep and freezing instructions, plus tips and food substitutions, to help you streamline your time in the kitchen.

Many foods are toxic to animal friends, so keep these recipes away from nosey paws. If making your own pasta, keep fresh dough away from pets (it can expand in the stomach) and never use xylitol (a sweetener that can be lethal, if licked).

Recipes include:

1. Chorizo Tempeh Breakfast Wraps
2. Sheet Pan Pot Pie
3. Frying Pan Granola
4. One-Pot Mushroom Strogonoff
5. Liv’s Famous One Pot Mac n Cheese

About the Author

Olivia Biermann gets over one million views on your YouTube channel and wants to share her passion for teaching people how to cook simple and tasty plant-based recipes that use readily available and inexpensive ingredients. She lives in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Simply Delicious Vegan offers healthy laid-back recipes to prove that wholesome plant food does not have to be expensive, complicated or boring. With personal tips for a glowing life, the 100 recipes can also be made free from  gluten and oil and sugar. Recipes include:

1. Sweet Potato & Kale Skillet
2. Sweet & Smoky Chickpea Burgers
3. Chickpea Tikka Masala
4. Grits Bowl with Smoky Tempeh Bacon
5. Peanut Butter & Sweet Potato Soup
6. Morning Glory Muffins
7. Green Curry Soup with Zucchini Noodles
8. Cheesy Batterned Zucchini Fries
9. Sheet Pat Teriyaki Bowls
10. No-Bake Cosmic Brownies
11. Fluffy Banana Bread
12. Homemade Snickers

Caitlin Shoemaker is one of the world’s most popular vegan recipe bloggers. Raised as a vegetarian, she adopted a plant-based diet and makes wholesome, easy and budget-friendly recipes, which are mostly free from gluten, oil and refined sugar.

Vegan Roasting Pan is by Yorkshire chef and cooking teacher Katy Beskow. The recipes are organized into four chapters: lights, supper, extras and sweets. Recipes that let your oven do the hard work for you include:

1. Sticky Maple Aubergine with Crushed Peanuts
2. Watermelon Niçoise
3. Oven-fried Nuggets
4. Apple & Ginger Dahl
5. Low & Slow Rice Pudding
6. Blackberry & Peach Tart

Liv B’s Easy Everyday is by a popular Canadian chef. These 100 recipes are either with 5 ingredients or made in one pot or on a baking tray. Plus there are tips for meal prep, freezing, subs and pressure cookers. Recipes include:

1. Chorizo Tempeh Breakfast Wraps
2. Sheet Pan Pot Pie
3. Frying Pan Granola
4. One-Pot Mushroom Stroganoff
5. One Pot Mac n Cheese

One Pot, Three Ways is by London chef Rachel Ama. Each recipe offers options to level up your leftovers and create new feasts, by scaling portions up or down and freeze leftovers for friends. For instance:

Transform or serve peri peri mushrooms with:

1. Peri Peri Pittas
2. Potato Wedges & Slaw
3. Peri Peri Charred Sweetcorn Salad Bowls

Serve up or refresh Caribbean curried jack into:

1. Coconut Rice & Coleslaw
2. Coconut Flatbreads with Tomato Red Onion Salad
3. Caribbean Patties with Orange SaladNot everyone is a chocoholic, but most people are. So here are some nice plant-based recipes for chocolate cake to try, to avoid store-bought versions with factory-farmed milk and eggs, refined sugar, palm oil and plastic packaging. Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cake (Crowded Kitchen) is rich and includes an easy-to-make fluffy chocolate vegan buttercream. All you need is two bowls and a sheet pan.

15-Minute Vegan Meals offers speedy meals that check all the boxes, for the perfect weeknight meal. Even if you’re low on time and energy, Janet Gronnow’s creative approach shows how to pack plant-based protein and healthy fats into your dinners, to give you the flavours you want and the nutrition you need. The recipes include:

1. Buffalo Tempeh with Vegan Honey Mustard
2. Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo Penne with Broccoli
3. Buffalo Mushroom Flatbread
4. Angel Hair with Basil-Parsley Pesto
5. Sweet & Sour Tofu Broccoli Stir-fry

These 15-minute vegan recipe books are ideal, if you are not feeling well, busy, or don’t like cooking. There is a time and place for slow-cooking, but sometimes you just want to get in and out of the kitchen fast, and these books offer heaps of inspiration, using everyday ingredients that you can find in most grocery stores. They are also ideal for people who are not natural cooks, are on a small budget or don’t have access to complicated ingredients or swanky health stores. Find them in your local indie bookstore or order online (we link to Blackwell’s, rather than you-know-who!)

Katy Beskow’s 15-Minute Vegan Cookbooks

Katy Beskow is a Yorkshire chef and cookery teacher, who has plenty of 15-minute cookbooks for you to choose from.  15-Minute Vegan was the debut book that sold so well, it spawned many more:

15-Minute Vegan on a Budget offers recipes for anyone having to count the pennies. Enjoy Potato Peel Crisps, Panzanella, Pitta Chips, Spanish Chickpea Stew, Thai Slaw, Black Bean Mole, Aubergine (eggplant) Caponata, Mango Gazpacho, Korean Bibimbap, Lentil Ragu, Kedgeree with Paprika Yoghurt, Cinnamon Sugar Tortillas, Sesame Brittle Thins and Apple Fritters. There are also tips on eating seasonally and shopping wisely.

15-Minute Vegan Comfort Food shatters all ideas that vegan food can’t rival traditional favourites. Enjoy Moussaka Bowls, Sweetcorn Fritters, Chocolate Chilli, Speedy Samosas, Mushroom Bourguignon, Garden Biriyani, Spicy Falafel Burger, Cashew Chow Mein, Cherry Pot Pies and Jam Sponge Pudding.

Vegan in 15 Cookbook

No time or don’t like to spend much time in the kitchen? Vegan in 15 is a delightful little book. This is how recipe books used to be: not many pictures, but a simple affordable little gem. As the title suggests, all these recipes are ready in 15 minutes or less. Kate won a competition to make the UK’s Tastiest Meat-Free Dish (Mushroom & Ale Pie). Recipes in the book include:

1. Speedy Bean Burger with Gherkins & Mustard Mayo
2. Chickpea Curry
3. Mushroom Stroganoff
4. One Pot Linguine (below)
5. Salted Caramel Chocolate Mousse Cups

Author Kate Ford runs one of the UK’s most popular recipe blogs at The Veg Space (all recent recipes are vegan). She trained at The Vegetarian Society and graduated with their prestigious Cordon Vert Diploma.

These one-pot vegan recipe books are ideal, if you like to keep things simple while cooking, and are not a fan of washing up. Whether you cook meals in the pan or use kitchen applies, these books are where it’s at. They are also ideal for people who are not natural cooks, are on a small budget or don’t have access to complicated ingredients or swanky health stores. Find them in your local indie bookstore or order online (we link to Blackwell’s, rather than you-know-who!)

One-Pot Vegan 

One Pot Vegan is a bumper book from London chefs Roxy and Ben. Packed with inspiration and full of lovely photos, all the recipes use simple grocery ingredients for maximum flavour with minimum fuss. The one-pot and one-tray recipes include:

1. Cardamom & Pistachio Shortbread
2. Rainbow Noodles
3. Smoky Sausage Cassoulet
4. Roasted Squash with Cauliflower & Sage
5. Roasted Vegetable Mezze
6. Loaded Sweet Potato Wedges
7. No-Waste Harissa Cauliflower
8. Rich Lazy Lasagne
9. Mushroom & Ale Filo Pie
10. Warming Pearl Barley Chilli
11. Mushroom Tikka Masala
12. Tofu Satay
13. Chinese-Inspired Sweet & Sour Jackfruit
14. Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
15. Boozy Caribbean Pear Cake

One Pot: Three Ways 

One Pot, Three Ways is by London chef Rachel Ama, who uses her Caribbean and African roots to offer exotic yet easy meals. These 80 recipes can be spun out over a few days, to make use of leftovers (not rice, eat up within 24 hours).

For instance, transform one-tray Peri Peri Mushrooms into pittas, a dish of mushrooms with potato wedges and slaw, or charred sweetcorn salad bowls. Or turn a Winter Stew into a rich ragu with pappardelle, a pie with garlic green beans, or serve with mashed potatoes and long-stem broccoli. Or try these Cajun Beer-Battered Oyster Mushrooms.

One-Pot Vegan Cookbook

One-Pot Vegan Cookbook offers comfort foods to classic dishes, all made with just a skillet, stockpot, Dutch oven, sheet pan, electric pressure cooker, slow cooker or air fryer. Choose the ones that work for you, then indulge in pancakes to fudge. The 125 delicious recipes include vegan twists, on classic dishes. Recipes include Cinnamon-Strawberry French Toast:

Vegan One Pot Wonders

Vegan One-Pot Wonders offers up quick after-work suppers to feed the family, on something posh (but easy) to feast on with friends. Jessica Prescott’s favourite way to cook is to throw ingredients into a pot or roasting tin and let the cooking process do the work. With a focus on ease, affordability and flavour – there are recipes for brekkie and brunch, light hearty stovetop cuppers, simple bakes and sweet treats, plus ideas for no-cook meals, easy dressings and ways to upscale one-pot meals into feast-worthy celebrations.

Vegan Roasting Pan

Vegan Roasting Pan is the latest offering from popular Yorkshire chef and cooking teacher Katy Beskow. Let the pan do the hard work, to create 70 recipes over 4 chapters (light, supper, extras and desserts). Recipes include:

1. Soy-roasted Peas & Broccoli
2. Sticky Maple Aubergine with Crushed Peanuts
3. Watermelon Niçoise
4. Oven-Fried Nuggets
5. Apple & Ginger Dahl
6. Low & Slow Rice Pudding
7. Blackberry & Peach Tart
8. Cauliflower Cheese Pie (below)
9. Cauliflower BBQ Wings (below)
10. Greek Baked Beans (below)

The Everyday Vegan Cheat Sheet

The Everyday Vegan Cheat Sheet is a guide to one-pan vegan wonders by popular young chef Hannah Kaimnsky. This book focuses on sheet pans that offer ease, speed and minimal clean-up, to unlock a diverse array of bold flavours and satisfying textures. Banish boredom from the dinner table with:

1. Plant-Based Meatloaf
2. Buttery Mashed Cauliflower
3. Bulgogi with Broccoli
4. Pancakes for a Crowd
5. Creamy Mac & Cheese

Broke Vegan: One Pot is the latest in the series of a popular set of cookbooks. More info coming soon!

These 5-ingredient vegan recipe books are so simple, that you don’t even need to write a list. You can remember the ingredients in your head, on the way to the store! Leaving out water, oil, salt and pepper, these books prove that good food does not have to be complicated. They are also ideal for people who are not natural cooks, are on a small budget or don’t have access to complicated ingredients or swanky health stores. Find them in your local indie bookstore or order online (we link to Blackwell’s, rather than you-know-who!)

So Vegan in 5

So Vegan in 5 is a super book of 100 recipes that have just 5 ingredients. Roxy and Ben share easy and delicious plant-based recipes in this fun and colourful book that includes wholesome meals, hearty dinners, epic desserts and nutritious nibbles. Recipes include Pea Mint Soup, Banana Flapjacks, Sweet Potato Brownies and:

Creamy Spinach Ravioli

Rich Vegan Ragu

Grilled Cinnamon Plums

Five Ingredient Vegan 

Five Ingredient Vegan is a best-selling book by popular Yorkshire chef and cookery teacher Katy Beskow. Beautifully designed with a tip on each page, the 100 recipes include:

1. Pantry Minestrone
2. 3-Ingredient Beer Bread
3. Baba Ganoush
4. Citrus Tabbouleh
5. Pantry Minestrone
6. Green Apple Salsa
7. Lemony Super Greens
8. Country Lentil Pottage
9. Spicy Lentil Soup
10. Santorini Tomato Fritters
11. Welsh Rarebit Stuffed Potatoes
12. Spinach Pancakes
13. Baked Aubergine (eggplant) with Dukkah
14. Roasted Cherry Tomato Risotto
15. Pumpkin & Sage Macaroni
16. Pear & Butterbean Traybake
17. Carrot Cake Porridge
18. Zesty Bread & Butter Pudding
19. Blood Orange Granita
20. Coconut Panna Cotta
21. No-Crab Cakes

5-Ingredient Whole Food Plant-Based Cookbooks

5 Ingredient Wholefood Plant-Based Recipes is a book of meals that can be made, with just a handful of ingredients. This simple book gives expert advice to create health-conscious, budget-friendly and environmentally sound meals, using clean from-the-earth ingredients. These recipes are all free from animal products, salt, oil and refined sugar. Many take 30 minutes or less to prepare, and there are ingredient swaps and serving suggestions, along with nutritional information. Jennifer Marie Sinyerd is a plant-based cook from Alberta (Canada) who loves growing food, and founder of Alberta Whole Food Plant Based Society. The recipes include:

1. Cashew Cream
2. Cheezy Sauce
3. Pineapple Barbecue Marinade
4. Tofu Scramble
5. Chipotle Spice
6. Balsamic-Arugula Flatbread
7. Smokey Carrot Dogs
8. Fajita Rice Casserole
9. Winter Grapefruit Salad
10. Cool Pumpkin Parfaits

Crazy Healthy with 4 Ingredients 

Crazy Healthy 4 Ingredients is packed with plant-based breakfasts, snacks and desserts that are easy on your schedule and wallet, and good for you too. Food writer Dee Dine serves up bright beautiful images and recipes made with whole food ingredients, all free from refined sugar and sorted by nutritional support (immunity, sleep, skin, weight control and mood). recipes include:

1. Potato Cauliflower Tots
2. Quinoa Breakfast Pizza
3. White Bean Meatballs
4. Lentil Fudge Cups
5. Miso Ginger Ice Cream
6. Cherry Dole Whip
7. 2-Ingredient Sugar Cookies
8. Chocolate Hummus Shake
9. Chocolate Mousse Lollipops

Learn to Cook (without a book)

To learn to cook without a book is a very useful skill to have. You then can use up whatever is leftover in your fridge, or cook up something from seasonal ingredients at the farm shop or from a veg box. Sometimes (like for vegan baking), sticking to a recipe is important. But for most savoury meals, you can often just eyeball the ingredients and use skills and experience, to create a tasty and nutritious meal.

Although vegan recipe books are wonderful, it’s also good to know how to make a meal, if you don’t have a recipe to hand. This is often what people of former generations (or who live in very poor areas) do. For instance, many Neapolitans will make you the tastiest pasta sauce, even though this area of Italy is one of the poorest, with little access to the expensive ‘Italian foods’ that a London deli would have. Here are (ironically!) books to help you cook without a book!

Vegan Yum shows how to create taste, texture and deliciousness, with 75 recipes to satisfy each part of teh palate. Each of the 6 chapters is devoted to a different aspect of cooking, with recipes. But also you will learn how each recipe is crafted, so you can adapt and make your own meals. Megan Sadd has spent nearly her entire life studying plant-based cuisine and now shares all her secrets. Recipes to learn and then adapt yourself include:

1. Crispy Southern Chickpea Sandwiches
2. Meat Lover’s BBQ Pulled Jackfruit
3. Spring Linguine with King Oyster Scallops
4. Smoky Gouda Melt
5. Pesto Mac n Cheese
6. Roasted Vegetable Romanesco Lasagna

Learning how to cook vegan without a recipe is not just good for you, but also good to prevent food waste. You can just look in the fridge or cupboards, and come up with whatever you have to hand, to make something nice to eat. Here are some books to teach you how to cook, without always following a recipe:

The Happy Pear: Cooking for Everyone shows how to make different meals, using the same key ingredients and methods. Using easy charts for any budget and to use anything in your cupboard, Irish twins David and Stephen walk you through the fundamentals of taste and texture, teaching you the role of each ingredient used. You can then swap ingredients in and out, and even come up with recipes of your own. Make: 200 recipes including:

1. Fluffy Coconut Granola
2. Homemade Vegan Pizza
3. Creamy Broccoli Pie
4. Carrot Cake with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

Vegan Yum offers 75 recipes to start, then uses each of the six chapters to explore a different aspect of flavours. So you can learn how each recipe is crafted and balanced, to make your own variations. Recipes include:

1. Crispy Southern Chickpea Sandwiches
2. Meat Lover’s BBQ Pulled Jackfruit with Avocado Slaw
3. Spring Linguine with King Oyster Scallops
4. Smoky Gouda Melt
5. Pesto Mac n Cheese
6. Roasted Vegetable Romanesco Lasagna

Easy Speedy Vegan is a book by popular cookbook author Katy Beskow. This is the ultimate guide for plant-based mealtimes, with recipes for 10, 20 and 30 minute meals, suitable for any time of day, no matter how busy you are. This is feel-good and effortless food, all using everyday affordable ingredients, that you can find in any store.

Use palm-oil-free vegan butter. Keep these recipes away from pets due to toxic ingredients (garlic, onion, leeks, chives, mushrooms, grapes, nuts, avocado, dried fruits, nutmeg, fresh dough, green potatoes/onions, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, jackfruit and xylitol).  

Squash, Sage & Onion Toastie

The book includes a list of easy store-cupboard essentials and useful kitchen equipment, plus details on common vegan substitutions and demystifying explanations of popular ingredients like silken tofu and jackfruit. Recipes include:

1. Herb Spring Soup with Fregola
2. Breakfast Banana Split
3. Chickpea, Carrot & Olive Salad
4. Hot & Sour Broth with Tofu
5. Squash, Sage & Onion Toasties
6. Roast Tomatoes on Toast with Salsa Verde
7. Braised Chickpeas with Chilli, Orange & Tomato
8. Spicy Potato & Pea Wraps
9. Aubergine & Lentil Curry
10. Allotment Tart
11. Tuscan Beans with Sage

Author Katy Beskow is a Yorkshire lass, who learned to cook vegan meals on a budget, whilst studying physiotherapy in London. Her recipe blog led to a cookbook deal, which led to being the author of several best-selling cookbooks, all focusing on using affordable and accessible ingredients.