All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Amazon Prime Day has a reputation for being a place to pick up big-ticket items, but Prime Day cookbook deals are actually some of the biggest discounts. And they’re on items that you’ll use again and again. New kitchen gear is great, and if you’re in need of discounts on slow cookers, coffee makers, cookware sets, KitchenAid mixers, Vitamix blenders, and kitchen appliances or gadgets of all kinds, we’ve got those and more Prime Day sales on kitchen tools. But a cookbook collection is something every home cook should have if they don’t already (and if you do have a cookbook collection, it should absolutely be a bigger cookbook collection). We’re always perusing new cookbooks to see which ones readers should snag. We don’t particularly like books that are focused on a specific appliance (101 Air Fryer Recipes or The Essential Instant Pot Cookbook). They’re limiting and you can use those appliances to cook recipes from all sorts of books. After checking what’s on sale for Amazon Prime Big Deal days, these are the books we think are worth buying (some are almost 70% off!).
As a reminder: You do have to be a Prime Member to get these discounts off the list price. If you want to try a free 30-day trial of Prime, you can grab one here.
Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish
A good entry point for beginners who wants to get into bread baking, especially sourdough.
Essentials of Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan
Can Marcella Hazan teach you everything you need to know about Italian cooking? Maybe. Her bestseller Essentials of Italian Cooking doesn’t just have recipes, it also has plenty of technique in it too.
Seafood Simple by Eric Ripert
The most recent book from Ripert, chef and owner of the multiple Michelin star winner Le Bernadin in New York, has recipes that are more accessible than you might expect given his tremendous pedigree. But if you have ever seen the French chef on TV or heard an interview, you know that he treasures a simple dish prepared perfectly. Perhaps you too can make some Michelin-worthy dishes.
The World Central Kitchen Cookbook by José Andrés
Andrés became famous for his incredible restaurants all over the country as well as his outgoing and infectious personality, but more recently he is best known for his charity work cooking in disaster zones with World Central Kitchen. This book contains the hearty recipes—soups, stews, sandwiches, and way way more. They’re recipes he learned from people on the ground in the places WCK has traveled. This is both cookbook and an inspiring story of people helping people.
Dinner in One by Melissa Clark
When my kitchen was under construction and I was cooking on a folding table, I went back to this book from Melissa Clark again and again. It has family-friendly recipes that don’t need much besides a knife, a Dutch oven or a sheet pan.
The Wok: Recipes and Techniques by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt
If you want to get nerdy about any kind of cooking task (Should you use a stainless-steel frying pan or cast iron to sear meat? What is the ideal time to cook an egg? Et cetera.) Kenji is your man. His first book, The Food Lab, is a tome of scientific food exploration, and his new one will teach you exactly how to stir-fry, deep-fry, steam, season, and everything else that comes along with high-heat wok cooking.
Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz
Former BA test kitchen editor Claire Saffitz’s ode to sweets (though there are some savory bakes in here) will keep your holiday dessert table full. The recipes are fun and run from quite simple cookies to much more intense and impressive project baking. She also gets at some FAQs in the book, like how you deal with ripped or cracked pie dough.
