Ranking the best cookbooks of all time

June 5, 2025 by
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A few weeks ago, the staff at Food and Wine published a ranking of the 35 best cookbooks of all time. Such a list is bound to be divisive, because great cookbooks convey the personality of the author as much as they contain solid recipes that stand the test of time, and there is no way that everyone will love the voice of any particular author. That caveat aside, I was still surprised at how few of the choices I either had on my bookshelf or found compelling.

Before I dive into the merits (or lack thereof) of the books on the list, I wanted to make an observation. First, the article says it was “updated” on May 12, 2025, but it was originally written by a different author (Regan Stephens) at some unknown date in the past. So from the get-go, we can see that the list is not fixed in stone but varies depending on who is making the list and, judging by the descriptions, the current zeitgeist. If I had time to kill, I would hop on the Wayback Machine to locate the original post and see what changes had been made.

Now on to the criticism, for which I offer – nothing. For these writers, at this point in time, these are the best 35 cookbooks that exist. (I am dismissing the notion that entries on this list are there because a publisher paid Food & Wine for the privilege.) This is not to say that I agree with the choices. In fact, I would only include about a third of this list in my own rankings of best cookbooks, which would be biased toward the baking genre.

Despite disagreeing with some choices made in curating this list, I still enjoyed reading the article. There are a handful of books that I will consider buying after reading the reasoning behind the book’s inclusion. Also, it serves as a reminder to revisit the books that I would add to my own best cookbooks ranking. Lastly, it makes me think critically about my own collection, and how difficult it would be to rank the 400-odd volumes on my bookshelves. I am certain that even my own list would change from month to month and assuredly from year to year. Each is the best cookbook at some point in time, or it wouldn’t remain on the shelf.

Category: Cookbook Lovers

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16 Comments

  • lean1  on  June 5, 2025

    Zahav Home, Everyday Dorie, Portico, Niçoise are all excellent choices as well.

  • kitchengardenbooks  on  June 5, 2025

    French Provincial Cooking by Elizabeth David

  • stahl_amy  on  June 5, 2025

    I was surprised to find I have 12 of these on my shelf. A few piqued my interest, so I’ll check them out from the library. And I would definitely add King Arthur Flour’s Baking Companion.

  • LeilaD  on  June 5, 2025

    And there are many other reasons as well. My top three cookbooks are my top three because 1) was my grandmother’s cookbook that she fed my mother from as a child; 2) has no voice at all and is a standard no commentary, just the recipes, please- but has the most ‘favorited’ recipes out of every cookbook on my shelf because the food is just good; and 3) is kind of mediocre, but was given to me as a wedding gift, so these are the three that are going in my ‘bug-out’ bag if I need to evacuate.

  • FJT  on  June 5, 2025

    I only own 5 of these books and wouldn’t necessarily include any of the five in my personal list of the best cookbooks of all time!!

  • demomcook  on  June 5, 2025

    I actually have 13 of the books on the list, and had another 3 that I no longer own. I have several books by authors on the list that are not the chosen book as well. Are they my favorites of all time? Maybe 5 or 6 would make my list. But a fun article read.

  • Jane  on  June 5, 2025

    I know I have an unusual number of cookbooks but I still only managed to have 19 of the 35 in my collection. Maybe because I own a lot more British cookbooks that were not so well represented in the F&W list. I think only Six Seasons would also make my personal best list. And I would have books from Ottolenghi, Nigella Lawson, Nigel Slater, Diana Henry, Dorie Greenspan, and Melissa Clark in my list, none of which appeared in the F&W list.,

  • FuzzyChef  on  June 6, 2025

    I only have three of these cookbooks, but I have 12 of the cookbook authors. I feel like they didnt necessarily pick the best cookbooks by some authors.

  • Indio32  on  June 6, 2025

    Thanks for the nod towards acknowledging that these list are sometimes made up from publisher paid for content. I’ll glad to see that every one of the ’35 best cookbooks of all time’ are available to purchase just a short click away.

  • lgf  on  June 6, 2025

    Arronte’s Mexico being included is a glaring misstep.

    I’ll let the late David Sterling’s review speak to it here – https://www.amazon.com/review/R2WHE6OG1LT741 – the late Diana Kennedy also had similar concerns.

  • JimCampbell  on  June 6, 2025

    I have a fair amount of cookbooks, so I can be a bit biased when it comes to short lists of “all-time” cookbooks. This is like walking on shifting sand, and is particular to individual biases. I had a conversation on EYB about the 10 cookbooks we would keep if our collection had to go away. It was an interesting experiment with a wide and diverse set of tastes.

    Although I have 17 of the cookbooks listed I am suspect of this list. Even some of the cookbooks I have which are on the list I would not consider top 35.

    I do not have a restaurant picture book I would put on a top 50 list, and I like the Zuni Cafe cookbook. Mollie Katzen I could get behind. Still not top 35.

    It is a difficult task, but it makes for good fodder for discussion, which is, I guess, the primary reason these lists pop-up once in awhile.

  • ASHCOSHWEIN  on  June 6, 2025

    How could they have omitted The Fannie Farmer Cookbook? Yes, the recipes are not fancy or revolutionary but it is part of many collections and contains many staples. I have twelve of the books that are on this list and I question the criteria that was used.

  • averythingcooks  on  June 6, 2025

    I did enjoy reading this list (and I do own some titles) but at the end of that article was another link to the “15 Cookbooks We Rely On For Weeknight Dinners” and found myself in far more agreement re: the value of those titles on my shelves. Yes, I’m sure “The French Laundry” book opened eyes to what might be possible, but if I’m not going to cook from you OFTEN, there is just no room for you.

  • Indio32  on  June 7, 2025

    Igf The review you point to on Amazon is 11 years old. I can confirm that at least the first recipe the reviewer griped about ie Guacamole on pg. 40 has been updated. I’m not making any comment on who is right or wrong.

  • Rinshin  on  June 7, 2025

    3 individuals’ (totally unknown to me) opinion. Nothing more nothing less.

  • Hungry_Bek  on  June 9, 2025

    I love arguing over lists like this!

    FWIW I don’t have time but I am busy procrastinating at work. So I looked at the first save wayback made in 2016 and they are 2 completely different lists lol

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