There is a time for delicate and a time for a bubbling casserole and comfort food cookbooks are for the second. As the weather turns and you crave hearty, generous, crowd-pleasing food, these six books deliver: from a blogger turned comfort-food icon's ranch cooking to a lifestyle favorite's giftable classics. This is the cooking that fills a house with good smells and a table with happy people, the kind you pin in late August and cook all fall and winter.
We describe and compare these books, we never reprint their recipes. Pick your cozy shelf and settle in.
Quick picks:
- Best overall: The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond. View on Amazon
- Most fun: Cravings by Chrissy Teigen. View on Amazon
- Best gift: Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines. View on Amazon
Hearty classics
The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond
Ree Drummond is a blogger turned comfort-food icon. Hearty, generous, crowd-pleasing ranch cooking that helped define the modern food blog, pure comfort.
Best for: Hearty comfort food.
→ View on AmazonMagnolia Table by Joanna Gaines
Joanna Gaines is a beloved home-and-lifestyle figure. Approachable comfort-food classics wrapped in a giftable package, a reliable crowd-pleaser and easy gift.
Best for: A comfort-food gift.
→ View on AmazonCravings by Chrissy Teigen
Chrissy Teigen is a comfort-food personality with mass appeal. Fun, unfussy, deeply crave-able home cooking with a big personality, a genuinely enjoyable read and cook.
Best for: Fun crowd-pleasers.
→ View on AmazonCozy and crave-able
Half Baked Harvest Super Simple by Tieghan Gerard
Tieghan Gerard is a blogger with a massive Pinterest following and cozy-cabin aesthetic. Streamlined versions of her wildly popular recipes, big flavor with fewer steps, the fall-comfort pin magnet.
Best for: Cozy weeknight comfort.
→ View on AmazonThe Skinnytaste Cookbook by Gina Homolka
Gina Homolka is a blogger with a huge Pinterest following. Lightened-up versions of the food you crave, with the calorie-aware, flavor-first approach that made her a phenomenon.
Best for: Lighter comfort food.
→ View on AmazonThe Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman
Deb Perelman is one of the original and most beloved food bloggers. Clever, reliable, tiny-kitchen-tested recipes with a devoted following, a modern home-cooking essential.
Best for: Smart home cooking.
→ View on AmazonHow we chose these
We looked past the marketing to the people behind the books: working chefs, award winners, food scientists, culture-bearers and the recipe developers whose food people actually cook again and again. Where an author is a food writer or blogger rather than a trained chef, that is a feature, not a knock: many of the most reliable, most-loved cookbooks come from obsessive home cooks. We describe and compare these books; we never republish their recipes.
