Top 10 America’s Test Kitchen Cookbooks to professionalize your food

Hi, I am Chef Zara. In this post, I will guide you through America’s Test Kitchen Cookbooks.

I love discovering new food and cooking with friends and family. One of the most common questions that I often get is for cookbook recommendations. I have created this guide for friends, family, and new friends alike. I hope that you enjoy our site.

This is a show for the whole family 🌟

America’s Test Kitchen has one main goal: “to inspire confidence, community, and creativity in the kitchen.” They achieve this by being one of America’s premier digital broadcast companies and producing the longest-running culinary shows in the US. Their shows frequently land the first and second most-watched programs on PBS. Their content is widely available on YouTube and other channels. 

In the 30-minute show, a handful of test cooks are filmed in an open, working kitchen. Hosts Davison and Lancaster walk the audience through each recipe, explaining what works, what doesn’t, and why. The show highlights their rigorous (and at times, comical) recipe testing process, which is at the core of the test kitchen’s mission to provide America with foolproof, tried, tested and true recipes. America’s Test Kitchen brand also produces cookbooks, podcasts, and websites associated with each show and magazine, offering recipes, equipment and ingredient reviews, and tips. 

Here are our Top 10 America’s Test Kitchen Cookbooks just for you!

1. The Ultimate Meal Prep Cookbook 

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Are you someone, like most Americans, who opens your fridge that is full of food and thinks to yourself, “There is nothing to eat!”? This book will simplify your meal prep game! Learn how the pros make it look so easy with these colorful, adequate, easy-to-follow instructions found in this collection. Learn how to curate your meals days in advance, shop for everything all at once and be able to tag-team your prep jobs to save the most amount of time possible. Learn all about the proper way to batch-cook things like rice and pasta, all while having fun and preparing nutritious meals that your whole family will enjoy. With this book, you will also reap the benefits of reducing your food waste and saving money because, with meal prep like this, you will rarely find yourself ordering takeout ever again. This book contains 25 sample menus, ingredient lists, shopping lists, and fantastic recipes that have been tested repeatedly. 

2. Foolproof Fish

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This book is exactly what it says it is… the foolproof guide to making incredible fish dishes, Alaskan style, every single time! You will never again have to wonder which cooking technique or temperature works best… with good product ratings, you will only ever need to expect the best possible outcome no matter what. From flaky to meaty, or rich or mild.. every fish tells a story. This book translates those stories to you and tells you precisely the best way to prepare everything from shrimp to grouper to tuna steaks and classic baked salmon. With creative spins on the classic, this book will show you what pairs best with which type of fish and which types of ingredients to avoid and it even offers some wine-pairing selections! You will also learn all the ins and outs of how to properly store and freeze fish, thus saving on food waste and protecting your pocketbook. These recipes are approachable and uncomplicated, and most of all… they’re delicious!!

3. The Complete Salad Cookbook

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This book will make you want to run out and eat a bowl of salad because this book contains NO boring salads. No bowls of raw vegetables. No oil and vinegar dressings. Instead, this book will change your salad-making game with its modern and easy ways of preparing colorful, fresh, and vibrant salads that will be the star of your table. Every salad in this book combines texture, flavor, and color while considering nutrition, cost, and ease to the reader. You will learn to build better salads using innovative tricks and meal-prep tips. Learn how to assemble salads quickly for 2 people or a whole dinner party. Read about making the best salad dressings with ease and how to incorporate things like fruit, nuts, seeds, grains, and proteins, to turn your boring green leaf salad into the main meal! This book takes salad making to the next level and provides dozens of useful recipes that will have you craving salad all year round!

4. Meat Illustrated

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There is good reason this book took home the IACP Cookbook Award… It is a masterfully written book that combines not only top-notch meat-based recipes but also a plethora of chapters where you will learn about different cuts and types of meat so you can best select, prepare and cook your meat. This book will deepen your understanding of every type of meat in your repertoire, from chicken, pork, and beef, to game, veal, duck, and more! Each chapter is detailed with all the different cuts from the animal it is dedicated to, and you will find over 70 mouth-watering recipes for every meat lover in your life. This book can be used year-round to create fantastic memorable barbeques, stews, and simple Sunday suppers. It is a must-have for anyone who prepares meat often and wants to step it up, all while gaining knowledge to make their cooking experience more delicious.

5. Five-Ingredient Dinners

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You would never expect a dish with just five ingredients to be so delicious and healthy… but this book is the book to show you how it is possible. From Chili Steak with Vermicelli to Poached Fish with Baby Potatoes, this book is a dream for anyone strapped for time or cooking on a budget. Buy this book for anyone in your life who has limited kitchen space — the student who just moved out for the first time or the senior who needs a little extra help in the kitchen. Everyone in your life will love the five ingredients aspect of this book and how much time it saves when it comes to grocery shopping and cleaning up!! This book is also great for novice cooks because there are no fancy ingredients or techniques, just simple recipes packed with flavor using just a few things that you may already have on hand. 

6. The Complete Plant-Based Cookbook

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This book also took home the IACP award, and it is easy to see why… this collection of over 550 recipes is a bible for anyone dabbling in the world of vegan cooking or for serious plant-based kitchen masters! Find recipes for non-dairy milk and cheese alternatives, eggless quiche, fancy toast, stuffed peppers, risotto, pasta, paella, and more. Follow your stomach growls to the sweet section of this book for even more inspiration on veganizing some of your favorite classic desserts like Tiramisu and Black Forest Cake. This book is the signature, premier collection for all things plant-based and is an excellent source of knowledge for anyone looking to eat less meat or dairy. It will show you and your loved ones how delicious and affordable plant-based cooking can be… and how easy these foods can be to prepare once you have a few of the basics covered. 

7. How Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook Collection

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Have you ever wondered how that bakery made that gluten-free scone that was SO good that you would never have known it was gluten-free?! This book has all the answers! It starts by educating us on ‘flour blending’ — how to choose the best flour for your making and how to access these flour and their substitutes. Find 75 dairy and gluten-free recipes as well as their trouble-shooting if something goes wrong. This book doesn’t skimp on flavor or variety — in it, you will find recipes for all your gluten-filled foods, such as pasta, pastries, and bread. You can use these recipes to cook for those with celiac disease or for anyone who is cutting back on their wheat consumption. Either way, you are sure to find several recipes here that you can add to your repertoire and have everyone asking, “Are you sure there is no gluten in this?!”!

8. The New Cooking School Cookbook: Fundamentals

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Perhaps you are (or know someone) who wants to embark on a career as a chef and is off to culinary school… or perhaps you are a seasoned chef who just wants to upgrade their knowledge behind the stove. Every great chef knows there’s always room for improvement, and this book is the book for you, no matter where you are on your cooking journey! You will learn new techniques and recipes but also take a deep dive into the history of some of your favorite dishes. This book is part cookbook, part manual, and in it, you will learn all about the science of good dough, how to make the best homemade pasta, and how to perfectly grill a steak and whip egg whites… There truly is something for everyone in this masterfully created book or new fundamentals. 

9. My First Cookbook

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Created by the same folks behind the national bestseller The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs, this book brings even more to the table! With great color photos and how-to guides, this book shows youngsters how they, too, can be great cooks! Best for kids ages 5-8, this book is a follow-along-with-the-grown-ups style of text that will give them their prep jobs and tasks and help them stay focused and excited. This book will empower your little ones to cook for themselves, all while keeping them engaged and having fun! Introduce your kids to new foods they may not be used to, and they will enjoy a lifetime of adventurous and healthy eating. 

10. The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001–2022

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No bookshelf is complete without this absolutely comprehensive, incredible collection! This archives every single recipe that has been on an episode of America’s Test Kitchen and shows new improvements to any dishes retested. Every single recipe from this book will be foolproof. You tried, tested (and tested, and tested,) and true! It includes top-rated equipment, new techniques, and information on sourcing ingredients you will not find anywhere else! You will find this book to be the most helpful companion on your kitchen journey; whether you are a newbie in the kitchen or an all-star chef, you cannot go wrong with this epic collection. 

Final Thoughts

When it comes to cookbooks, we are something gambling on our purchase. Unless it is a well-known chef, you really don’t see the quality of the recipes you invest in until you buy the book and try it out. You don’t need the latest equipment. That’s why these books from ATK are so well-reviewed and valuable… They are tried, tested and true! You can trust any book by ATK that is filled with extensively tested foolproof recipes that shine in the flavor and quality categories and that any recipe in these books will be something that you can make home cooks. 

America’s Test Kitchen has been simplifying our kitchens for years with their reliable wealth of knowledge and qualified chefs testing each and every recipe meticulously for each and every recipe in each and every book. These 10 books listed are just a sample of the excellent books coming out from America’s Test Kitchen — they are a growing company that publishes new books every month, and their television show continues to be one of the most popular shows on PBS because they combine humor, education, flavor, and wit to create a fantastic show for the whole family. Their massive collection of cookbooks is no different, and once you start looking through their library, you will be able to find something for everyone on your list. Every America’s Test Kitchen cookbook is just a start… so get out there and get cooking!

America’s Test Kitchen as a whole employs over 50 professional chefs in their massive 15,000-square-foot kitchen located in Boston and always with a new season coming soon. Through experimentation and research, these chefs pare down complicated recipes into their most straightforward and most successful versions, which they publish in their award-winning cookbooks. ATK also publishes “Cook’s Illustrated” and “Cook’s Country” magazines; you just need to create an account. Their cookbook collection is extensive… and growing! Expect to find the best recipe that works for everything from meat to vegan, from barbeque to slow cooking. Their repertoire includes books for kids, 5-Ingredient meals, meal prep, and even includes a bible on beef!