8 Best Healthy Cookbooks of 2025

Best-selling author Suzy Karadsheh is back with more than 125 approachable recipes that prove that delicious and nutritious do go hand-in-hand. We’re in awe of the way she turns humble pantry ingredients into a “flavor party,” like zesty Simple Marinated Chickpeas and Crispy Roasted Artichoke Hearts, which transforms jarred artichokes into an irresistible snackable app, or Simple Marinated Chickpeas bobbing in a fragrant, chili and citrus spiked olive oil. The book-cover-ready Green Goddess Chicken Kebabs are a must-try, and proof that whipping up her 5-minute Green Goddess Tahini will pay flavor dividends beyond dressing. For a one-pot wonder that will actually make you crave lentils, make a batch of the velvety Armenian Apricot and Red Lentil Soup. The book is also peppered with meal planning ideas, fuss-free shortcuts and storage tips so that you can get more mileage out of your Mediterranean meals.

Although My Nguyen grew up as a restaurant kid, she didn’t learn to cook until she became a parent and needed to learn to fuel herself with nutrient-dense and energizing foods. But doing healthy her way means acknowledging that healthy eating is a moving target and that it must include all the foods she craves (hello Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse). Her signature cooking style combines her Vietnamese roots, like ensuring dishes incorporate texture as well as acidity, heat and freshness (start with the “Flavor Bombs” chapter), along with her California upbringing (see Steak Tacos with Poblano Crema and Mahi Mahi Tostadas with Fruity Slaw)). We love the “Snacky Things” chapter that’s chockful of crave-worthy recipes like Seven-Layer Mediterranean Dip (levelled up with air-fried chickpeas), the viral and imminently dippable Firecracker Salmon paired with a gorgeous homemade dumpling sauce and the internet sensation Gotcha-Gordon Bell Pepper “Sandwiches.”

It’s easy to skip over the introduction in favor of jumping into the recipes, but we appreciate that in author Monique Volz’s opening pages she shares more about her complicated relationship with food and her approach to balanced eating. The recipes live up to their good-for-you and never-boring promise, but most also include a “Make it Your Way” and “Make It Nutrient Dense” so you can customize dishes according to your palate and preferences, including gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan and dairy-free modifications. We’ve bookmarked Hot Chile Basil Lime Chicken Burgers with Bangin’ Sauce, which Volz introduces by saying “Omg these are a must-make,” fool-proof One-Pot Coconut Yellow Curry Chicken Couscous and Hot Honey-Glazed Salmon That Goes with Everything. The “Your Girl Never Forgets Dessert” chapter deserves a special shout-out, with an epic roster of Energy Bites That Taste Like Dessert (including Omega-3 Cosmic Brownie), The Famous Tahini Brownies and One-Bowl Lemon Poppy Seed Yogurt Snacking Cake, which begs the question, why don’t all healthy cookbooks have a snacking cake recipe in them?

In the follow-up to her best-selling The Weekday Vegetarians + Dinner: A Love Story, author Jenny Rosenstrach shares real-life strategies and delicious recipes to combat the most common roadblocks to getting more plant-based meals on the table. Chapters reflect this ethos with titles like “Soup and a Side…Or how not to fall back on pasta every night” and “Hearty Comfort Food…or how to convince athletes, ravenous teenagers & the proverbial meat & potatoes eater that vegetarian food is filling.” We love that she encourages home cooks to ensure there’s one slightly indulgent component that they’re truly excited about eating on every plate. To that end, we can’t wait to make Sliced Avocado Salad with Arugula & Crispy Capers, Miso-Mushroom Tacos with Pickled Cabbage and Butternut Squash Galette with Feta & Chiles. The book also includes a starter kit vegetarian shopping list, a list of “store-bought saviors” and helpful tips for how to veganize dishes.

Author Carissa Stanton offers a refreshing take on finding balance, writing that she believes in “a healthy ratio of eating foods that nourish our bodies and foods that feed our souls.” If you’re seeking a boost of energy for a busy week ahead, check out the “Feel Good Food” chapter, with dishes like Turmeric Ginger Grain Bowls with Lemon-Tahini Sauce and comforting One-Pot Chipotle Chicken and Rice.” Ready to hunker down and cozy up for the weekend? Turn to Date Night Chicken in Creamy Mushroom Sauce from “Dinner in 30” or Pepperoni Cast-Iron Pan Pizza from “Major Mains.” Our favorite chapter might be “Apps, Always,” a collection of small bites, starters and small plates that can be mixed and matched to turned into dinner too (which happens to be Stanton’s favorite way to eat). These are guaranteed to be in heavy rotation: Panfried Brie with Pistachios and Rosemary Hot Honey for our next game night, Elote Nachos for game-day-ready snacking; and an impressive 10-minute Citrus Salmon Crudo for dinner parties and casual al fresco suppers alike.

Social media sensation and recipe developer Darlene Schrijver’s main goal for her readers? To have fun while dancing and laughing around the kitchen and prepare delicious foods that make you feel good. Who knew making salads could bring home cooks so much delight? Peruse the chapters’ clever titles to find a salad that speaks to you, like “Celebrity-Inspired Favorites,” including the Famous Sisters-with-a-K’s Favorite, or the Bella Hadid-inspired Supermodel’s Arugula Salad tossed with a lemony balsamic vinaigrette. The “Let’s Travel: Destination-Inspired Recipes” chapter includes sure-fire hits like a French Fry Salad with steak and a creamy, herby dressing, and we can’t wait to make Breakfast Burrito Salad from the “Everything Is a Salad” section. The Salad Lab Elements section will help elevate everyday salads, like Everything Bagel Croutons and Cheesy Tortilla Croutons or homemade Ranch Dressing and Vegan Better-than-Caesar Caesar. If you’re ready to go full scientist, check out each recipe’s experiment suggestion or check out the Periodic Table of Salad to help you decide how to prep veggies and which dressings to whisk up and greens and grains to toss with ‘em.

As Alice Waters writes in this book’s foreword, author Camilla Marcus shows us what eco-conscious shopping and cooking looks like in the scope of caring for our communities and planet and about regenerative farming. Growing up in Los Angeles, Marcus developed an appreciation for its multi-cultural eats and abundance fresh produce and had an activist’s mindset and heart from a young age, all of which inform her approach to cooking and nourishment. In Marcus’ capable hands, we feel empowered rather than intimidated to make Homemade Date-Sweetened Almond Milk to blend into smoothies or pour over Sweet or Savory Toasty Seeded Granola. We vow to transform our crisper drawer into Vegetable Scrap Fritters, which Marcus writes is like a vegetarian ode to the crab cake, especially when it’s paired with Mushroom Conserva Tartar Sauce. And we’ll expand our grain horizon and seasonal pairings inspiration with dishes like Einkorn Salad with Charred Squash, Bouquet Lettuce Wraps sprinkled with Crispy Bulgur Wheat and Buckwheat Dutch Baby with fresh summer berries.

We’ve all been told to eat our vegetables, but for a fresh take on that adage, turn to the ancient technique of preserving. This slim volume is packed with ideas for rethinking vegetable preservation and reducing food waste, plus contemporary recipes for using the pickled, fermented, sugared and dehydrated veggies. We’ll start with Golden Cabbage, a milder take on kimchi where fermented cabbage, bell peppers, daikon and Asian pear get a flavor and color glow-up from saffron. Come spring, a batch of Zesty Asparagus Pickles will be our pickling project, which seemed poised to usurp the bread-and-butter variety as the zingy pickle of choice. Summer is peak season for making Tangy Corn on the Cob, which can be used to make Warm Corn Relish with summer squash and green beans. And we’ll never let our mushrooms languish in the crisper drawer again, armed with the Marinated Mushrooms Two Ways recipe which invites experimentation by changing up the herbs and spices.