One quick look through Amazon will turn up hundreds of gluten-free cookbooks. However, with so many options and only so much budget, it’s hard to decide what type of cookbook will serve you best in your gluten-free lifestyle.
Lots of people question my love of cookbooks. However, despite all the digital options available, there is nothing like a cookbook. I love old and new cookbooks and will often purchase them without knowing much about the author as long as they meet our needs.
Why Cookbooks Are Still Relevant
In a digital world, recipes on blogs have become our go-to options for dinner. However, there is something special about flipping through a cookbook, looking at the colorful pictures, and sticking Post-it notes on the recipes to try. Cookbooks also offer information and backstory from the author that may not always be the same in a blog post.
You will likely get a long story about why the blog author loves this recipe. Yet, typically jumping from page to page, reading every backstory won’t happen. Cookbooks allow you to read the whole story, a little bit of the story, or none, depending on the cookbook.
When creating your gluten-free meal plan, cookbooks become a massive part of finding new (and old) recipes that allow you to cook dinners everyone will enjoy. Instead of having to hit Pinterest or Google, a cookbook brings all of your favorite foods in one category into the same place. There’s no need to go searching, scrolling and guessing.
No matter how hard you try to avoid bringing more books home, you might want to give some of these gluten-free cookbooks a shot.
Learn all my meal planning tips and tricks with our eBook, Going Gluten-Free: Meal Planning.
My Top 5 Gluten-Free Cookbooks
Instead of giving you a list of everything Amazon offers (you can find that), I pulled out my top five gluten-free cookbooks I recommend to all households. Not all cookbooks scream “gluten-free” from the title, but they are all gluten-free recipes or have an option to modify for a gluten-free recipe.
Rachael’s Good Eats
Author: Rachael DeVaux
Rachael first appeared on my Instagram feed with her famous cookie skillet. Don’t worry—the recipe is inside Rachael’s Good Eats. Her recipes are all gluten-free, dairy-free, and nutrient-packed. Rachael is a registered dietician, so you can count on her recipes to meet your “healthy eating” needs.
This cookbook is top of my recommended list because it has over 100 recipes, and you will find something that you like on the inside. She includes smoothies, breakfast, dinner, soups, and salads, as well as her wellness shots, which are in there.
Don’t worry—it’s not all healthy food. Rachael’s famous cookie skillet and many of her other vial dessert recipes are on the inside. I speak from experience when I say I have never made a recipe from Rachael’s Good Eats that wasn’t a hit.
Cook Once, Eat All Week
Author: Cassy Jo Garcia
Cook Once, Eat All Week is not an intentionally gluten-free cookbook. However, all recipes inside of it can be modified to be gluten-free.
This cookbook is in my top five because of Cassy’s approach to cooking for the week. It’s no secret that I love a good meal plan. Cassy gives it a little twist with this cookbook. By focusing on cooking once and having meals for the week, Cassy takes your meal plan (and schedule) to the next level.
Inside Cook Once, Eat All Week, you will batch cook a protein, a starch, and a vegetable but turn it into three completely different meals. This allows you to save time, money, and sanity, especially when your busy mom schedule hits.
Run Fast. Eat Slow.
Authors: Shalane Flanagan & Elyse Kopecky
Warning: you may want to become a runner after grabbing this cookbook! In all seriousness. Shalane and Elyse are two outstanding athletes and cookbook authors. This is another cookbook that is not geared towards gluten-free but does have gluten-free options throughout the book. This is a must-have book if you are an athlete of any kind.
Inside Run Fast. Eat Slow, Shalene, and Elyse tackle athletes’ concerns and the need to stay well-fed. There are over 100 recipes in the cookbook and they will take your performance to the next level.
If you are someone who is gluten-free and not an athlete, this cookbook may or may not be for you. There are a number of drinks, early morning snacks, breakfast options, along with lunch and dinner recipes. Shaelene and Elyse take you a little off of the traditional chicken, rice and vegetable path and onto something more satisfying for your health.
The Healthy, Happy Gut Cookbook
Author: Heather Finley
It’s time to heal your body with The Healthy, Happy Gut Cookbook. This cookbook keeps you going with gluten-free recipes that are also helpful in healing your gut. Not only will you still be able to eat your favorite foods with this cookbook, but you’ll also feel better, ditching the bloating and healing your digestive issues.
As a gut health nerd, I quickly grabbed this cookbook when it came out, and it’s been one of my favorites to try something new. The recipes Heather includes inside this cookbook will help you branch out into more vegetables and nutrients while satisfying your cravings for something delicious. They aren’t the standard recipes in most cookbooks; Heather makes things fun, like sweet potato pancakes or apple soup.
If you’re ready to dive into healing and gluten-free life, grab The Healthy, Happy Gut Cookbook and add it to your collection immediately.
Just the Good Stuff
Author: Rachel Mansfield
Just the Good Stuff was one of the first cookbooks I purchased when we started on our gluten-free journey. Thankfully, it came out just as we were home during the pandemic and had plenty of time to bake. The focus of this cookbook is NOT gluten-free. However, all the recipes in this book also have information on modifying them to be gluten-free.
I love this cookbook because it includes desserts, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It offers a range of food that is not your typical meat and potatoes recipe. With Just the Good Stuff, you can branch out from your everyday foods while still being delicious and gluten-free.
However, Rachel focuses on guilt-free cooking, so you know these recipes will satisfy your craving for any of your favorite foods you feel you are missing out on as part of your new gluten-free lifestyle.
At the end of the day, don’t rule out using cookbooks when making your meal plan. There is so much value in picking up a book or two to help you find new gluten-free recipes, branch out from your everyday bland meals, and try new things.
If you’re not sure where to start with your cookbooks, make sure to grab my eBook Going Gluten-Free: Meal Planning to help you start your gluten-free journey right.
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ABOUT ME
Hey There, I’m Kristin, a gluten-free nutrition coach helping gluten-free families adjust to their new lifestyle.
