Cuisine Cookbook

10 Authentic Italian Cookbooks & Recipe Books

Generally, the cuisine of a nation is well-known for foreigners to its signatures that enjoyed and recognized worldwide only. However, just by visiting the local and tasting the culinary there, you might find that there are endless dishes behind. Similarly, Italian cuisine has pizza and pasta and several plates beyond both traditional and contemporary. With the guide in 10 Italian cookbooks below, everyone from different kitchens can cook and enjoy diverse Italian cuisine. If you’re looking for the best Italian cookbooks and recipe books overall, read that article instead.

Pasta Grannies: The Official Cookbook: The Secrets of Italy’s Best Home Cooks

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“Great recipes from such a genuine source.” – tobytwirl

According to Lucia from the same name Youtube Channel, when you have right ingredients, you don’t have to worry about cooking. They do the work for you. Inspired hugely by that quote, Pasta Grannies is an admirable collection of time-perfected Italian recipes from Italian grandmothers who have spent a lifetime cooking for love, not a living.

Featuring over 80 uncomplicated and accessible recipes from all over Italy, you will feel like being warmly instructed in the kitchen of the Italian home about how to make delicious Italian food. Pasta styles range from pici – a type of hand-rolled spaghetti that is simple to make – to lumachelle della duchessa – tiny, ridged, cinnamon-scented tubes that take patience and skill.

More than just a brief of dishes, Pasta Grannies tells the unique stories of these normal women and shows you that with the right know-how, truly authentic Italian cooking is simple, beautiful, and entirely achievable. 

About the Author: Vicky Bennison had a time of many years working in international development in places like Siberia, South Africa, and Turkmenistan. During that time, she always respects the given meals, so she began writing about her culinary adventure. She is the author of The Taste of a Place and co-wrote Seasonal Spanish Food with José Pizarro.

La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy

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“Best Italian recipe compilation” – Gabriela

Fifty years ago, a team of Italian scholars gathered to discuss how to preserve traditional Italian cooking. As a result, they grouped and formed the Italian Academy of Cuisine to record classic recipes from every region.

The members interviewed grandmothers and farmers right at their stoves and transcribed their recipes with famous to even the most remote village. Some of them had never been documented before.

The result of this attempt is astounding 2,000 recipes that represent Italian country cooking. Each recipe is labeled with its region of origin, the ingredients, and the techniques that change with geography. 

With unlimited achievable recipes and such simple dishes as Polenta with Tomato Sauce and Chicken with Lemon and Capers, La Cucina is a vital reference for every cook’s library.

About the Author: The Italian Academy of Cuisine was founded in 1953 in Milan to preserve the gastronomical heritage of Italy. Every year it is the host of enormous education programs and awards prizes to leaders in gastronomy. Besides that, they also release a monthly magazine and restaurant guide.

Tasting Italy: A Culinary Journey

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“Good recipes but the strength is also the background information” – Bryanna Plog

Working in a modern, professional kitchen, the experts at America’s Test Kitchen and National Geographic have attempted to bring Italy’s magnificent cuisine, culture, and landscapes through 100 authentic regional recipes into your kitchen. In every region, foolproof recipes for standout dishes and hidden treasures, are also revealed.

In this book, all of the recipes are innovative and kitchen-tested, accompanied by 300 gorgeous color photographs and 30 maps. This illustrated guide takes you on a captivating journey through the rich history of Italian cuisine regionally.

Readers can find here rich origins of celebrated cheeses, the shade of different wine growing regions, the best farmer’s markets in Venice, and more. Additionally, key ingredients such as olive oil and its application to make various pasta shapes of Northern Italy are also highlighted.

About the Author: The authors of this cookbook are America’s Test Kitchen, Julia Della Croce, and Eugenia Bone.

America’s Test Kitchen is a 15,000-square-foot kitchen located in Boston’s Seaport District, where the recipes are tested, written, and edited by the test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Besides, it publishes Cook’s Illustrated magazine and Cook’s Country magazine, the TV shows America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country from America’s Test Kitchen, and online America’s Test Kitchen Cooking School.

Julia Della Croce is one of America’s top authorities on Italian food. Besides being the author of more than 13 cooking and travel books, she organized cultural and culinary tours to Italy. Readers can find her work in many publications and her appearance broadcasted on countless radio and national television shows, including on the Food Network. Now she lives in New York City.

Eugenia Bone is nationally known as a food journalist and author. She has contributed writings to several publications and is the author of five books. Moreover, her work has also been compiled in Best Food Writing, Saveur, Cooks, and The Food & Wine Cookbook. Bone works as a lecturer and frequently appears on national television and radio. Now she lives in New York City.

Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes

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“An excellent – must-have book for all foodies!” – Anke

Everyday Italian is true to its title: the fresh, simple recipes are incredibly quick, accessible, and perfect for everyday cooking. The book focuses on real-life situations of what you have in your fridge and pantry without the mail-order ingredients and what you’re in the mood. Whether it goes on, the book is confident to cover all of the considerations. 

For example, you will find dishes that are likely to transform leftovers into exquisite entrées (including brilliant ideas for leftover pasta). One hundred other recipes turn everyday ingredients into quick but special dinners.

What’s more, Everyday Italian is organized according to what type of food you want tonight that will help you figure out what to cook in an instant, with such choices. That’s the beauty of Italian home cooking.

About the Author: Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network’s Everyday Italian, Giada’s Weekend Getaways, and Giada in Paradise. She is the author of numerous cookbook series about cooking that receives so much positive feedback from readers such as Giada’s Kitchen: New Italian Favorites: A Cookbook, Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes: A Cookbook, Giada’s Italy: My Recipes for La Dolce Vita: A Cookbook any many other more. She attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and worked at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago restaurant in Los Angeles.

The Godfather: The Corleone Family Cookbook

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“Great recipes! I’ll Make You A Dinner You Can’t Refuse!” – Timothy Pena

The Godfather trilogy is recognized as one of the most excellent movie series of all the time. It tells about the classic story of the Italian immigrant family determined to preserve their long-life traditions from fading in the new world. 

Combining 75 recipes with stunning images and quotes from the films, this cookbook is absolutely a must-have for all fans of The Godfather, especially those with a taste for the more delicate foods in life.

About the Author: Liliana Battle is a talented travel and food writer. She is influenced a lot when living in Calabria, Italy, where her family comes. Her three cookbooks are Easy Home Cooking Italian Style, Food for Sharing Italian Style, and The Sweet Life: Home Baking and Sweet Treats Italian Style.

Food of the Italian South: Recipes for Classic, Disappearing, and Lost Dishes: A Cookbook

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“Must buy if you love the Italian South!” – Jason

Great cookbooks show us how to make beautiful dishes, but the very best share something more. The food of the Italian South is precisely that. Through 85 authentic recipes and 100 impressive photographs, the book describes the cultural and cooking traditions of the Italian South, from the mountains to the coast.

In most cultures, exploring food means exploring history, and the Italian South has plenty of both to offer. Stories of how dishes came to be are told, and the taste of stories enriches both the act of reading and eating.

Parla shares both original and reimagined recipes along with historical and cultural that sum up in those are the miles of beaches, sheep-dotted mountains, quiet towns, and each unique precious specialty.  

About the Author: Katie Parla is a New Jersey native, but she works as a Rome-based food and beverage journalist, culinary guide, and educator. She is the author of KatieParla.com, which receive the Saveur Award-winning food and travel site.

More than that, she composes the ebook Eating & Drinking in Rome and more than twenty travel guides. Her co-author Tasting Rome (2016), won the IACP Award for the best international cookbook. Many Katie’s travel writing, recipes, and food criticism are chosen to post in the New York Times, Food & Wine, Saveur, Australian Gourmet Traveller, the Guardian, Condé Nast Traveler, Punch, Eater, and so on. Explore more about her on Instagram and Twitter @katieparla.

The Silver Spoon New Edition

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“This would be a great buy at twice the price!” – CJS

The Silver Spoon is dubbed as the most influential and bestselling Italian cookbook of the last 50 years. Now there are many new updated and revised edition available that readers can consider the suitable choice.

In this comprehensive and lively edition filtered from Phaidon’s Silver Spoon cookbooks, over 2,000 revised recipes are illustrated with 400 brand new, full‐color photographs and presented under user‐friendly format. 

Here, readers are provided with new introductory material covering numerous topics such as composing a traditional Italian meal, typical food traditions of the different regions, and setting an Italian table.

The book’s content is divided into eleven color‐coded chapters by course, ranging from coveted authentic sauces and marinades to irresistible dishes. More than that, a new section of menus by celebrity chefs cooking traditional Italian food is also included.

About the Author: The Silver Spoon Kitchen is a collection of long-established recipes collected throughout the country and includes every regional specialty. Cooking and food are two of the most elegant expressions of Italian culture, so the Italian cooking skills are handed down from one generation to the next.

Carmine’s Family-Style Cookbook: More Than 100 Classic Italian Dishes to Make at Home

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“Classic Fantastic Italian Recipes.” – Pamela J Gerber

Carmine’s flagship Times Square restaurant is famous for the best of classic Italian cuisine. Each dish is prepared simply to bring out the most dynamic flavor and make anyone who tastes it reach for seconds. Bringing it into text, Carmine’s Family-Style Cookbook reveals the simple hidden of Carmine’s longtime success in hearty, rich Italian food that people can whip up anytime.

With this cookbook instructions, Americans could easily create the Italian taste and enjoy at home from appetizers, pasta, meat, and main poultry courses to desserts. Try any recipes in Carmine’s Family-Style Cookbook and bring home that classic Italian flavor to your family.

About the Author: Michael Ronis and Mary Goodbody are two co-authors of this cookbook. While Michael Ronis is a chef at Carmine’s Legendary Family Style Italian Restaurant and the executive chef of its parent company, the Alicart Restaurant Group, Mary Goodbody is a multiple James Beard Award winner for this edition.

Cooking with Nonna: Celebrate Food & Family With Over 100 Classic Recipes from Italian Grandmothers

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“Fantastic Italian recipes in a stunning cookbook!!” – DeniseB

Growing up cooking with her Nonna Romana (Grandma) every Sunday and on holidays, Rossella Rago has learned the traditional recipes of the Italian region. After that, she has invited her grandma to cook with her in the Cooking with Nonna TV.

This show is not just about cooking but also about family, community, and tradition. Now, if you want to learn to cook classic Italian recipes like a native, you could follow the guide in her debut cookbook, Cooking with Nonna.

In this book, readers are invited to take a culinary journey through Italy with over 100 classic Italian recipes along with advice and stories from 25 beloved Italian grandmothers. With easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions and mouthwatering photos, Cooking with Nonna covers appetizers, soups, salads, pasta, meats, bread, cookies, and desserts, and features favorite recipes. 

About the Author: The author of this cookbook is Rossella Rago. She is the host of the popular web TV series Cooking with Nonna (www.cookingwithnonna.com). Graduate from St. John’s University, Rossella has traveled the country and performed cooking demonstrations in numerous cities across the United States with local Nonne as her partners. Now she lives in Brooklyn, New York.

The Tuscan Sun Cookbook: Recipes from Our Italian Kitchen

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“Great addition to the recipe library for Italian and Alfresco ideas.” – Gwen L. Schur-Palinf

In Frances Mayes’s bestselling collection about Tuscany, food plays an important role, and cooking and eating in Tuscany are natural pleasures. In her first-ever cookbook, Frances and her husband share Tucsans recipes that they have enjoyed over the years. All the dishes are simply prepared in a traditional kitchen using robust, honest ingredients.

In this cookbook, the content is organized like a traditional Italian dinner from Antipasti (starters) to Dolci (desserts). Besides, Frances and Ed also reveal their tips on stocking your pantry, pairing wines with dishes, and choosing the best olive oil. 

About the Author: The author of this cookbook is Frances Mayes. She is the author of several cookbooks on Tuscan like the bestsellers Under the Tuscan Sun, Bella Tuscany, Every Day in Tuscany and In Tuscany and Bringing Tuscany Home. Moreover, she also frequently works as a lecturer on Italian life.

We hope you like this post and finally find out your favorite Italian cookbooks. Meanwhile, we welcome you to explore our site and discover more cookbook recommendations from the same cuisine below.

Doris Frasier

Hi. I'm Doris! I am a foodie that has traveled to 78 countries and loves trying cuisines from different countries. I try anything related to food and share my opinions on this blog. Send me a message with any requests!
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