Food is at the center of Latinx culture and history. It’s part of our childhood, our adult lives, and what we pass down to the next generations. It’s tradition, family, and love, wrapped up in nourishment.
Our abuelitas, tias, and mamas are often there to show us how to cook, should we want to learn, but they often teach us without measured amounts. Sometimes, we need a more precise, easy-to-follow recipe, and we would also love healthier versions of these old-school classics.
This is why I wanted to write a roundup of 12 great Latinx cookbooks that you should certainly check out. Some are modern interpretations of Latinx meals, while others feature classic recipes that have been passed down for decades.
Decolonize Your Diet: Plant-Based Mexican-American Recipes for Health and Healing by Luz Calvo and Catriona Rueda Esquibel
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The first book on this roundup of Latin American cookbooks you should add to your shelf is Decolonize Your Diet: Plant-Based Mexican-American Recipes for Health and Healing. It teaches you today how to eat like our ancestors of yesterday while showing you how to create delicious Chicano food without using meat.
Available at amazon.com
Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way by Francis Mallmann, with Peter Kaminsky
For those who do love meat, why not learn some grilling recipes from one of the biggest meat-eaters in the world? Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way shows you the ropes to cooking carne the way they do it in Argentina, courtesy of Chef Francis Mallmann.
Available at amazon.com
The Cuban Table: A Celebration of Food, Flavors, and History by Ana Sofia Pelaez
Want to learn how to make yummy comida Cubana? Then you should take a look at the James Beard Award-nominated cookbook, The Cuban Table: A Celebration of Food, Flavors, and History. It features over 110 traditional recipes, including one for the iconic Cuban sandwich.
Available at amazon.com
Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America by Maricel Presilla
When it comes to Latinx food, it’s super cool to learn recipes from our own country or countries, but also really nice to learn those from other parts of Latin America. Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America, the 2013 James Beard Foundation Cookbook of the Year, features over 500 recipes from all over Latinoamerica.
Available at amazon.com
Puerto Rican Cookery by Carmen Aboy Valldejuli
Available at amazon.com
Peru: The Cookbook by Gaston Acurio
Peruvian food is considered among the best and most sophisticated in the world. So much goes into making its complicated yet delicious dishes, so you’ll want a cookbook that knows what it’s talking about. Peru: The Cookbook by Chef Gaston Acurio, is over 400 pages of the awesomeness Peru has to offer in terms of comida.
Available at amazon.com
Latin American Street Food: The Best Flavors of Markets, Beaches, and Roadside Stands from Mexico to Argentina by Sandra A. Gutierrez
Street food takes the best flavors and elements of a country’s comida and turns them into cool, portable, and delicious bites. Learning how to make some of your favorite Latin American street food would be so much fun! Latin American Street Food: The Best Flavors of Markets, Beaches, and Roadside Stands from Mexico to Argentina provides several recipes to try out for yourself.
Available at amazon.com
The Central American Cookbook: Authentic Central American Recipes from Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia by Book Sumo Press
Viva Vegan!: 200 Authentic and Fabulous Recipes for Latin Food Lovers by Terry Hope Romero
You can totally enjoy the flavors of your Latinx homeland but in a healthier way. If you are looking to become vegan or just want to eat more veggies and fruits and less meat in general, why not check out Terry Hope Romero’s Viva Vegan!: 200 Authentic and Fabulous Recipes for Latin Food Lovers?
Available at amazon.com
Latin d’Lite: Delicious Latin Recipes with a Healthy Twist by Ingrid Hoffman
Another book that takes traditional Latinx recipes and gives them a modern, healthier revamp is Ingrid Hoffman’s Latin d’Lite: Delicious Latin Recipes with a Healthy Twist. Recipes include plantains-and-peppers frittata, watermelon tropical fiesta salsa, and Yucatan-style pulled pork.
Available at amazon.com
Paletas: Authentic Recipes for Mexican Ice Pops, Shaved Ice & Aguas Frescas by Fany Gerson
You can’t have Latinx food without tasty sweets. And what makes us smile more than some Mexican paletas? You will be happy to know that there’s a cookbook focused on this delicious, hydrating, and summer-perfect treat, called Paletas: Authentic Recipes for Mexican Ice Pops, Shaved Ice & Aguas Frescas.
Available at amazon.com
Latin American Paleo Cooking: Over 80 Traditional Recipes Made Grain and Gluten-Free by Amanda Torres and Milagros Torres
If you ever wanted to blend the Paleo Diet (a.k.a. eating like a caveman) with Latinx food, the following book is for you. Latin American Paleo Cooking provides over 80 recipes that ditch the gluten and grains, but keep the Latinx flavors and dishes you grew up with.
Available at amazon.com
