12 best foods cookbooks

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Clean Paleo Comfort Food Cookbook

All the recipes in this book are easy enough for a cook with any level of experience to make. Some are quicker and have shorter ingredient lists than others, but none are overly complicated. I love recipes with short ingredient lists and quick steps, but I won’t sacrifice flavor for ease. Sometimes it’s worth it to take the time to make the more involved dishes. I like to save those for the weekend, when time isn’t as pressed.

Be sure to read every recipe through entirely before starting. This will help ensure you are making it correctly and adding ingredients at the right time.

There is a chapter of basics that are easy to make, but most of these are now available as store-bought items. Don’t feel like every ingredient needs to be homemade to make it a successful dish. Take shortcuts where needed to make a recipe work for you. It’s more affordable to make condiments from scratch, but it’s less time-consuming to buy paleo versions in the store. Both are equally good options.

Each recipe has a key labeling it nut free, egg free, and/or low FODMAP, when appropriate, so you can tell right away whether it fits your needs.

I love getting my daughter involved in the kitchen; even at a young age, she can add ingredients to a bowl, stir, and scoop. She has a kid’s knife to help cut fruit and veggies, and we have a good time together. She is always more likely to try a food she helped prepare as well, which is an added benefit.

I would love for you to find a friend, child, or significant other with whom to share the cooking experience. It is more fun and rewarding when you’re cooking, eating, and even cleaning up with someone. You are creating positive memories and an enjoyable experience around food.

Enjoy!

Broccoli and Ham Crustless Quiche

A few simple ingredients come together in this recipe to create a pleasing breakfast. This is great served with a side of fruit to make a complete meal.

YIELD 4–6 SERVINGS

PREP TIME 25 MINUTES

COOK TIME 50 MINUTES

LOW FODMAP, NUT FREE IF COCONUT MILK IS SUBSTITUTED FOR ALMOND MILK

Sweet Potato Fries with Special Sauce

These sweet potato fries are crispy thanks to the arrowroot powder and salting after baking. The sauce has a little spice that tastes amazing with the potatoes’ sweetness.

YIELD 3–4 SERVINGS

PREP TIME 10 MINUTES

COOK TIME 30 MINUTES

EGG FREE IF THE SAUCE ISN’T USED, LOW FODMAP, NUT FREE (IF YOU DON’T NEED LOW FODMAP, YOU MAY ADD ¼ TEASPOON GARLIC POWDER TO THE SAUCE.)

Bourbon Chicken

This used to be my favorite dish to buy from the mall food court. This remake, named after the famed street in New Orleans, has much less sugar, but it still has all the flavor! It’s delicious served with zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice.

YIELD 4–6 SERVINGS

PREP TIME 5 MINUTES

COOK TIME 27 MINUTES

NUT FREE, EGG FREE

Philly Cheesesteak Skillet

Using ground beef is a shortcut that makes this dish come together quickly. The mayo topping is in place of the traditional cheese and adds great creaminess.

YIELD 6–8 SERVINGS

PREP TIME 15 MINUTES

COOK TIME 30 MINUTES

EGG FREE, NUT FREE

French Onion Soup with Meatballs

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YIELD 8 SERVINGS

PREP TIME 15 MINUTES

COOK TIME 1 HOUR 10 MINUTES

NUT FREE

Strawberry Mini Cheesecakes

Cheesecake with no dairy is possible. The lemon juice gives it the tang that usually comes from the cream cheese. This dessert is no-bake, not too sweet, and so heavenly. You’ll need to soak the cashews for 4 hours ahead of time, but if you are in a hurry, soak the cashews in hot water for 1 hour; change the water a couple times as it cools.

YIELD 10 SERVINGS

PREP TIME 20 MINUTES

CHILL TIME AT LEAST 2 HOURS

EGG FREE

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Fun Food Swaps

Easy-to-Follow Recipes

Storing, Stocking and Shopping Tips

COOKIES ’N’ CREAM COCONUT ICE CREAM RECIPE

If there’s one thing that gets me off my routine, it’s ice cream. I love it! That’s why I created this recipe, so I can enjoy ice cream all the time without sacrificing how I feel, my health, or the way I look. This coconut milk ice cream is actually quite healthful, but shhhh . . . no one will know!

Ingredients

• One 13.5-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
• 3 frozen bananas or 1⁄2 cup coconut sugar
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 10 store-bought organic chocolate cookies, broken into pieces

Directions

• Combine all the ingredients except the cookies in a blender and blend until smooth.
• Pour the mixture into an ice cream machine and turn it on.
• Mix for at least 20 minutes or until ice cream is formed.
• Stir in the chopped cookies. This dessert is best served immediately.

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Blueberry Cornbread Waffles

These waffles are a combination of my son’s two favorite foods (waffles and cornbread) and one of mine (blueberries). When I was growing up, we used to sometimes go out to breakfast at a local restaurant near my hometown of Seattle and get them.

Rosie is my go-to when it comes to recipes.”

--Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give and On the Come Up

Black-Eyed Pea Salad

Every New Year’s Day when I was a kid, we would eat black-eyed peas because beans mean prosperity, and we were always hoping that this would be the year. In fact, we hoped so hard we would put out two kinds of black-eyed peas: the traditional hot version, made with ham hocks, and also this nice cold salad—why not double your luck?

Crab Deviled Eggs with Bacon

If you read the breakfast section, you know I hate bland eggs. So when I wanted to make some deviled eggs for a holiday party, I knew I needed to add my special twist. Crab packs the filling with briny flavor, and the bacon adds a smoky, meaty crunch.

Oven-Baked BBQ Ribs

My mom never grilled when I was growing up, so BBQ always meant the oven to us at home. Now that I’m grown up—and still live in the rainy Northwest—I think I have a few guesses as to why she did that. Don’t forget to serve these ribs with some of my Southern Potato Salad, and it’s just like the cookout, minus worrying about the weather.

Okra and Tomatoes

Okra and tomatoes go together like ham hocks and greens—they grow right alongside each other in the South, coming ripe in the same season, and pair up on the plate perfectly.

Soul Food Macaroni and Cheese

Asking me to choose a favorite macaroni and cheese recipe is like asking me to choose between Morris Chestnut and Idris Elba. I want it all! But when I had to pick one that deserved a spot in the book, I knew this was it. It’s a special one, the one I make for holidays, in part because it uses six kinds of cheese.

Gumbo

Gumbo is something of a sacred tradition among Louisiana folk—it’s basically just a big ol’ pot of seafood. Just don’t try to call it a stew—you’ll make the Creole people in my family real mad.

Church Lady Lemon Coconut Pound Cake

My aunt Nisha is like my second mom, and some Sundays she would bring me to her church. After service, they would have a dinner, and the desserts they served were all I could think about. This recipe is my homage to the masterful women behind the dessert table at my aunt Nisha’s church.

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Salmon Rillettes with Injera

in honor of ALMIRA SESSION, chef, New York, NY

Haitian Black Rice and Mushrooms

in honor of GREGORY GOURDET, chef, Portland, OR

Oxtail Pepperpot with Dumplings

in honor of TAVEL BRISTOL-JOSEPH, chef, Austin, TX

Flaky Andouille and Callaloo Hand Pies with Red Pepper Sambal

in honor of ADRIAN MILLER, author, Denver, CO

Portland Parish Lamb Pie

in honor of TIFFANY JONES, chef, New York, NY

Tigernut Custard Tart with Cinnamon Poached Pears

in honor of TONI TIPTON-MARTIN, author, Baltimore, MD

Mar Cocktail/The Bowie

in honor of JOE STINCHCOMB, bartender, Oxford, MS

Broken Rice Peanut Seafood Stew

in honor of FRED OPIE, historian, Boston, MA

Baobab-Buttermilk and Broiled Peach Popsicles

in honor of CHERYL DAY, chef, Savannah, GA

Fish Cakes with Birmingham Greens Salad

in honor of MASHAMA BAILEY, chef, Savannah, GA

Rodney’s Ribs with Baked Cowpeas

in honor of RODNEY SCOTT, pitmaster, Charleston, SC

Pots de Crème with Benne Seed Praline and Roasted Pineapple

in honor of KWAME ONWUACHI, chef, Washington, DC

Ayib

Kelewele Spice Blend

Roasted Red Pepper Sambal

Yaji (Suya Spice) Aioli

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Easy Baking Projects

Created by Food Network's test kitchen, these recipes are perfect for new bakers and they're a blast to make after school or on the weekends.

Creative Recipes

Choose from Blueberry-Corn Quick Bread, Chunky Monkey Bars, S’mores Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cinnamon Dulce de Leche Cupcakes, PB&J Sheet Cake and many more!

Test Your Baking IQ

Find fun food trivia and smart test kitchen tips with each recipe.

Create Your Own Recipes

Design your own banana bread, whoopie pies, and rainbow layer cake. Just choose your favorite ingredients and make something special.

Fun Food Crafts

Discover how to build a cookie puzzle, color your frosting and sprinkles, and decorate doughnuts.

Fake-Out Cakes

Make a cake that looks just like spaghetti and meatballs or even a pineapple! Each recipe comes with step-by-step photos.