What better way to celebrate the holidays than cooking something delicious with the people you love, and no better food to cook than something Italian cuisine!
Whether you are looking for a cookbook to give to a hard-to-shop-for foodie or just want to splurge on something for yourself, we've compiled a list of the best recently published Italian-inspired cookbooks to whet your appetite. The list includes collections focused on everything from regional favorites to the historically significant, and of course, there's a whole lot of pasta recipes.
Click the titles to purchase each book on Amazon.
As my grandfather would say: Buon appetito!
Books For When You Want to Cook Like the Pros
Italian American: Red Sauce Classics and New Essentials: A Cookbook
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Angie Rito, Scott Tacinelli, Jamie Feldmar
$35.00
Reservations are nearly impossible to score at Don Angie, the modern red sauce joint headed by Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli, but this cookbook means you can soon be eating those delicious favorites at home. The duo previously worked at the celebrated restaurants Quality Italian and Torrisi Italian Specialities before launching Don Angie. In Italian American, they document their rebooted red sauce classics with the assistance of veteran culinary author Jamie Feldmar. Inside this volume are reinterpretations of classics like lasagna, eggplant parm, and spectacular baked pasta dishes, plus sprinkled throughout the book are the family and immigrant stories from Rito and Taccinelli's Italian grandparents. Italian American is the ideal gift for anyone looking for new versions of classic red sauce recipes.
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Jody Williams, Rita Sodi, Anna Kovel
$40.00
The West Village restaurant Via Carota takes its name from the street Chef Rita Sodi lived on while in Florence. It's her second restaurant, created in collaboration with her partner Jody Williams, who also founded Buvette, a French-inspired restaurant with multiple locations around the world. This new cookbook captures the magic of Via Carota's menu and is self-described as "vegetable-forward," with an emphasis on seasonality. The book also includes plenty of practical advice too like how to peel and cook fava beans, an intimidating challenge for the uninitiated. It's a great collection for anyone interested in finding new ways to cook fresh, seasonal vegetables.
Books for When You Rather Be In Italy
Italian Street Food: Recipes from Italy's Bars and Hidden Laneways
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Paola Bacchia
$49.99
If your friends' Instagram feeds showing off their summer vacations in Italy had you packing your bags, Italian Street Food is the collection for you. The book's stunning photographs from eateries around Italy capture the essence of eating at a streetside cafe table. Bacchia documents panzerotti, polpettine, arancini, piadine, cannoli, crostoli, and other bite-size bits from Italy's cafes and bars. These recipes are casual snacks rather than whole meals, the authentic foods eaten every day by Italians. This book will transport you to Italy.
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Andreas Viestad
$22.50
Food serves as a gateway into the rich history of Rome. Andreas Viestad works as a culinary archaeologist using food to unearth the historic narratives of the Eternal City from the rise and fall of ancient Rome built from the loaves of bread to how lemons influenced the 19th-century mafia. Dinner In Rome is perfect for the history buff more interested in a good story than cooking their own dinner.
Cinnamon and Salt: Ciccheti in Venice: Small Bites from the Lagoon City
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Emiko Davies
$29.99
Venetian snack foods may not be the first thing that comes to mind when people think of Italian cuisine, but this new volume by Emiko Davies will probably get many people to reconsider. Filled with beautiful photographs and plenty of small bites that look delicious enough to eat right from the page, Davies discusses the history of Venice and 60 classic and modern recipes making it an ideal collection for anyone looking to host a night of Italian finger foods.
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Laurel Evans
$45.00
The northern coastal region of Liguria is beautifully highlighted in this intriguing look at the region's cuisine. When the Texas-born Evans married an Italian photographer, she became immersed in food in the northern regions of Italy. Based in Milan, Evans has written four cookbooks. In this love letter to Liguria, she explores pesto, focaccia, and of course spectacular seafood dishes from the Italian Riviera. Liguria is ideal for seafood lovers and anyone wishing they were on a beach in Cinque Terre.
Books for When You Want To Eat Pasta
Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking: Traditional Family Recipes From Italy’s Best Home Cooks
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Vicky Bennison
$32.50
Vicky Bennison was researching Italian cuisine when she realized many of the techniques for making pasta were only passed down when older generations taught them to the next – and younger generations simply weren't learning the skills. That's when she began documenting the many different styles of domestic pasta making resulting in the first Pasta Grannies cookbook. In this new follow-up volume, Benninson furthers the project with new recipes and even more grannies. As an added bonus, each recipe includes a QR code linking it to an online video demonstrating how the grannies make the pasta meaning it is a great resource for cooks looking to perfect their technique.
The Pasta Queen: A Just Gorgeous Cookbook: 100+ recipes and stories
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Nadia Caterina Munno and Katie Parla
$29.99
Rome-born Nadia Caterina Munno became a TikTok star highlighting Italy's beautiful pasta dishes after one of her children showed her the app just two years ago. She comes from a long line of pasta makers and she wanted to highlight the best pasta rather than the many aberrations she saw streaming across the app. The 100+ recipes include Italian classics as well as some American favorites. Munno is teamed with legendary food historian and cookbook author Katie Parla. The Pasta Queen is the perfect book for the internet-obsessed pasta lover.
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Rosella Rago
$34.99
The recipes in this book are designed to tell the story of the evolution of Italian American food from recipes originating in Italy into the Italian American classics we know and love today. Rago's writing partner is her grandmother Nonna Romana, so each of the 130 recipes is infused with personal family history. Earlier this month, Rago spoke with Arianna DiCicco, where she explained "I wanted it to read like a novel and it was challenging to write about my own family story." Rago is the author of two previous cookbooks, hosts Cooking With Nonna, a web television series, and co-hosts The Italian American Podcast. Cooking with Nonna is the perfect gift for anyone looking to connect with their families over Sunday dinner.
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Odette Williams
$28.99
Odette Williams presents classic and seasonal pasta dishes interpreted in simple and straightforward recipes with fresh, homemade pasta. Born in Australia but now living in Brooklyn, Williams fell in love with fresh pasta only as an adult, but that fact has only made her more of a fanatic. The book includes dishes in more supporting roles, but pasta remains the center of attention. Simple Pasta is a collection ideal for finding inspiration for everyday pasta meals.
Books Every Home Cook Should Have
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking: 30th Anniversary Edition
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Marcella Hazan
$40.00
Marcella Hazan changed Italian food in America forever in 1973 with The Classic Italian Cook Book: The Art of Italian Cooking and the Italian Art of Eating. It introduced Americans to how Italian food could be more than the then-ubiquitous red sauce. A scientist by profession, Hazan started teaching cooking classes after moving to New York with her husband because she disliked American food. In 1992, her first book was combined with her follow-up, More Classic Italian Cooking, creating the now-classic Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. The merged volume of staple recipes has now been reissued to celebrate the 30th Anniversary and it's a classic every Italian cook should have on their shelf.
The Italian Pantry: 10 Ingredients, 100 Recipes – Showcasing the Best of Italian Home Cooking
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Theo Randall
$37.50
Based on the ten pantry staples every house should be stocked with, Theo Randall offers stimulating dishes focused on essential ingredients. He's also written three previous cookbooks including The Italian Deli Cookbook. The collection is intended to showcase home cooking rather than haute restaurant cuisine, although Randall has three decades of experience cooking in farm-to-table restaurants. This volume is ideal for the cook who enjoys cooking food without a trip to the grocery store.