Up Your Culinary Game With the 9 Best Cookbooks by Black Authors

In this James Beard Award-winning book, food and nutrition journalist Toni Tipton-Martin illustrates the richness and diversity of Black cooking over the past two hundred years. Drawing on her extensive collection of Black cookbooks, Tipton-Martin highlights more than 100 recipes that recur throughout Black culinary history with new twists and modifications. As a chronicle of forgotten history and beautifully photographed cookbook rolled into one, Jubilee will appeal to anyone who opens it.

Ever wonder what iconic chef Marcus Samuelsson makes at home? The kitchen legend offers up approachable recipes that still pack a punch of flavor in this book of recipes he cooks for his wife and kids. Samuelsson brings together the flavors of Ethiopian, Swedish, Mexican, Caribbean, Italian, and Southern soul cuisines to create something all his own.

In Bibi’s Kitchen focuses on the role food and cooking play in identity and feelings of belonging. Somali chef Hawa Hassan, food writer Julia Turshen, and photographer Khadija M. Farah team up to give readers an inside look at the kitchens and traditional dishes of grandmothers, or bibis, from eight East African countries. Gorgeous photography and loving writing bring these women and their family recipes to life.

In his 2014 cookbook, food justice activist Bryant Terry incorporates flavors from the African Diaspora into dishes that highlight how delicious fresh vegetables can be. Afro-Vegan includes seasonal menu suggestions to encourage cooks to use the freshest ingredients and, as an added bonus, each recipe is accompanied by a song recommendation. While many of the recipes are complex, they produce delicious meals you can feel good about eating.

If you are ever able to pull your eyes away from the technicolor pictures of food, fashion and of course, two-time Chopped winner Lazarus Lynch, you’ll find a joyful celebration of family and flavor in Son of a Southern Chef. Lynch pays homage to his Guyanese mother and Southern father with each recipe, offering a glimpse into his childhood in Queens and its enduring impact on his cooking.

Robbie Montgomery’s cookbook is named for her soul food restaurants, Sweetie Pie’s, and is similarly focused on preserving the history and traditions of soul food for the next generation. The recipes are accompanied by personal stories from Montgomery’s life as a backup singer and restaurant owner, and the book reads more like a novel than a recipe compilation.

Edna Lewis’s classic cookbook includes almost 200 recipes adapted from her childhood in Freetown, Virginia, a farming community established by formerly enslaved people. Lewis emphasizes the importance of fresh, seasonal ingredients, and her thoughtful pairings and precise techniques speak to the care she has put into each recipe. Lewis’s clear tone and accessible explanations makes In Pursuit of Flavor a joy to read and cook from.

With Soul, Todd Richards pays homage to his culinary roots in soul food while experimenting with new dishes and technique. Richard’s organizes the book by ingredient so readers can cook what’s in season and readily available. Each chapter begins with a traditional recipe, which Richards then remixes and transforms into new dishes that honor the old. Each recipe comes with wine and beers pairings, as well as serving suggestions.

Jerrelle Guy organizes her baking book by the senses, inviting readers to immerse themselves in the recipes. Each recipe is accompanied by a short and simple anecdote that shows Guy’s love of food and family, and she offers vegan and healthy options throughout the book.