Hi, I am Chef Zara. In this post, I will guide you through Turkish 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.
- 1. The Turkish Cookbook
- 2. The Ultimate Turkish Cookbook
- 3. The Sultan’s Kitchen: A Turkish Cookbook
- 4. A Turkish Cookbook for Beginners
- 5. Turkish Recipes: A Turkish Cookbook with Easy Turkish Recipes
- 6. Classical Turkish Cooking: Traditional Turkish Food for the American Kitchen
- 7. The Authentic Turkish Cookbook
- 8. Turkish Recipes
- 9. Hello! 50 Turkish Recipes
- 10. Istanbul And Beyond: Exploring the Diverse Cuisines of Turkey
Turkish Cuisine
Turkey’s cuisine is as vast as the country’s comprehensive. If you travel the country, you’ll not only immerse yourself in diverse cultures, but you’ll also indulge in diverse meals.
Turkey is such a large and diverse country; it is truly hard to pinpoint just one to two food items the country is known for. Turkish foods are a fusion of European, East Asian, and seaside influences. You can look forward to flavorful dishes from tapas, veggie stew, Mediterranean-style fish to kabobs, flatbread pizzas, and savory soups with these 10 Best Turkish Cookbooks.
You need to see our list of the greatest 10 Turkish Cookbooks! 👇
1. The Turkish Cookbook
Why We Love It ❤️
You will get all the tastes of Turkey in one book with “The Turkish Cookbook”. Since the country is so large and diverse, it can be hard to have one book that encompasses all things Turkish cuisine, but this book surely does just that. With 550+ recipes, you’ll never run out of tasting your way through Turkey.
Review 📖
The goal of this cookbook is to bring you a comprehensive guide and recipes for all things that represent Turkish culture. Whether you are in the mood for salads, grilled meats, gloriously sweet pastries, soups, stews, fish, rice dishes, and more, this cookbook has it all. The author gives you Turkish staples like baklava, lamb kolfe, and tahini halva and then deepens into the nuances of subregions of the country with local treasures and lesser-known cuisine.
Along with vibrant photographs of dishes, you will also feast your eyes on places and settings where these meals tend to be enjoyed. So, get ready to transport your tastebuds and mindset to all things Turkish cooking with this one!
2. The Ultimate Turkish Cookbook
Why We Love It ❤️
You are rediscovering Turkish culinary heritage if you are looking for traditional recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation. The book has 111 authentic recipes that use traditional ingredients, not modern, highly processed food. The author has stayed true to how these dishes were made. You may need to order specific ingredients from specialty stores or online; however, you will be assured that you are enjoying authentic classic Turkish cuisine!
Review 📖
This cookbook contains 111 authentic, generational Turkish dishes. There are recipes for every meal, from snacks to breakfast to layered desserts to dinner. Before you even get to cooking, you’ll be introduced to what Turkish cooking is all about and why you’ll love cooking food in true Turkish style.
You may not be familiar with an old cooking style, yet the author flawlessly guides you through traditional Turkish cooking methods. Coming in at four stars from 254 ratings, it’s solid to say that many people have tried and enjoyed eating their way through classic recipes from the comfort of their own homes.
3. The Sultan’s Kitchen: A Turkish Cookbook
Why We Love It ❤️
It’s hard not to love this book. A quick flip through it and your eyes will be filled with bright, vibrant fresh food markets, flavorful dishes, and beautiful dinner displays. With over 150 recipes ranging from modern to traditional dishes, you’ll be entrenched with tastes of the past and present. Between the lively pictures, an array of recipes, and easy-to-cook dishes, it’s a win!
Review 📖
The author hails from the Aegean Sea side of Turkey, near the Greece border. So, you can expect Mediterranean-Turkey classics like dolmas, mussels, hummus, olives, and stuffed artichoke. Yet, the author ensures you get the Old-World Turkey culinary experience with other dishes such as shoulder of lamb, stuffed chicken breast, and white bean veggie soup. As you scroll through the index of recipes, you’ll see plenty of dishes that are packed with veggies. Head over to the desired recipe, and you’ll find it is prepared more healthily and uses common ingredients. So, if you are looking for veggie-filled, healthy Turkish cuisine, you’ve found your book!
But alas, to make you feel even more confident in this Turkish cookbook, it is rated at 4.5 stars from 276 reviews and can be purchased via Amazon kindle, hardcover, or paperback.
4. A Turkish Cookbook for Beginners
Why We Love It ❤️
Turkish cooking can be a technical way to make food. However, we love this book because it makes whipping up tasty Turkish recipes approachable and fulfilling for cooks of all levels! If you’ve got a big date or are hosting a dinner, you can feel good about impressing your guests with your cooking skills with these flavorful classic Turkish recipes.
Review 📖
The title says it all: this Turkish cookbook’s purpose is to make the country’s complicated recipes manageable for even the most novice of cooks. The book starts off by giving you a brief overview of Turkish history, how the Ottoman empire came to be, and how Turkish cuisine originated and developed throughout the times. Before even diving into making a dish, you’ll have a full appreciation for where within Turkey it came from and the diverse groups of people who enjoyed it together.
After that, you’ll learn how to cook Turkish cuisine and the needed equipment and be given some guidance on ways to procure exotic ingredients. You’ll be ready to make all sorts of Turkish plates, from Baba Ghanoush to Muhlama to Etli Bakla. If you are looking to expand your cooking skills, palate, and world history knowledge, then you’ll love this book!
5. Turkish Recipes: A Turkish Cookbook with Easy Turkish Recipes
Why We Love It ❤️
The inviting book cover alone will make you want to grab this book and get to cooking. We just love how this book has created a visual and easy step-by-step approach to Turkish cuisine. The book provides all the typical dishes you’d think of when you think of Turkish cooking. So, if you’re craving Turkish food and want to cook your go-to meal, you’ll love this book too!
Review 📖
We recommend this Turkish cookbook for its overall easy, approachable directions per each recipe. The publisher’s goal with the book is to remove the technical skills typically associated with Turkish cooking but still provide authentic, flavorful meals. And it indeed does just that. You’ll find most of the Turkish classics like dolmas, Turkish yogurt and chicken kabobs, rice pilaf, and lamb pizza.
Plus, out of 46 reviews, the book is rated over 4.5 stars! You can read this book off your kindle, or if you prefer a tangible version, you can order it in paperback. Still not convinced the book is what you are looking for? No problem, head on over to Amazon and look inside the book for a sneak preview. Get excited to make effortless Turkish goodness!
6. Classical Turkish Cooking: Traditional Turkish Food for the American Kitchen
Why We Love It ❤️
This book is written by Turkish-born Ayla Algar. So, if you are looking for a cookbook by someone who has lived authentic everyday experiences with the cuisines, then you’ve found your book! We loved learning about the history of the country and the authentic food that has been enjoyed for centuries. If you want to learn about the roots of the country and its food origins as well as cook, you’ll love this one!
Review 📖
Did you know Turkish food is some of the healthiest dishes in the world? Healthy food doesn’t have to be bland and the 150+ recipes in this book certainly are full of flavors and spices.
Along with recipes, you will also learn about Turkish history, its cultural influences from the surrounding regions, and how food became a constant that exemplifies how the country is a melting pot.
The book is broken up into 12 food sections, so you can easily flip right to what you feel like cooking. For example, in the mood for a chicken dish, head on over to the poultry section. Want something broth based? Look at what is available in the soup section. Since the text is geared toward the American consumer, there’s a glossary of Turkish cooking terms, so you’ll never feel confused about what ingredients to buy or how to cook. Tie on your apron and enthrall yourself with historical recipes of Turkey, all from the familiarity of your own kitchen!
7. The Authentic Turkish Cookbook
Why We Love It ❤️
Do you host dinner parties or love cooking for family and friends? Yet are you short on time and don’t have all day to spend in the kitchen? If that’s you, you’ll love this book for the variety of Turkish recipes it provides, all while having shorter meal prep times and only requiring you to use a stove, grill, or oven. We love it for giving us the best of both more time with loved ones and enjoying great-tasting, home-cooked Turkish meals!
Review 📖
Between the 157 pages of this Turkish cookbook, you uncover 60 recipes, facts about Turkish cuisines, and an appendix. No one loves a messy kitchen or getting unique cookware to make recipes the instructed way. Well, with this cookbook, you can be relieved from both. The book uses easier-to-access grocery store ingredients and minimizes cookware by only requiring you to have a grill, oven, and stovetop!
Where the author reduces kitchen cleanup and dish cleaning, he maximizes the authentic taste, flavor, and ingredients of Turkey. Get ready to enjoy veggie-based dishes such as goat cheese watermelon salad, Turkish rice with chickpeas, Turkish rice with lentils, and carrot yogurt salad with pecans. Desire something more meat-based? Try Turkish lamb casserole, liver, and onions or Turkish smothered meat rolls. Cheers to quicker preparing flavorful Turkish recipes!
8. Turkish Recipes
Why We Love It ❤️
We love Mediterranean food for so many reasons. It’s healthy, refreshing, and full of flavor. This cookbook is geared toward the Mediterranean side of Turkey, and with over 40 vibrant recipes, you can be sure you’ll find an array of veggie, rice, and fish-filled dishes!
Review 📖
This book strives to make Turkish food fun and approachable to cook. Each recipe comes with easy-to-follow instructions, bright, inviting pictures, and nutrition facts information. Most of the recipes are full of nutrients and flavor. You’ll not only feel satiated, but you can feel good knowing you’re fueling yourself with a variety of vitamins and minerals.
From eggplant casserole to meatless steak tartare to tripe soup, you’ll be taken out of the norm of your usual dishes into the norm of Turkish dishes. Transport your tastebuds to new nourishing meals from across the globe!
9. Hello! 50 Turkish Recipes
Why We Love It ❤️
If you are a beginner cook, you’ll love this Turkish cookbook. It provides 50 recipes with easy-to-follow directions and ingredients that are accessible in local American food stores. So, with little cooking experience and minimal time gathering ingredients, you can bring these flavorful authentic dishes right to your home!
Review 📖
If you’ve been reading along on these reviews, you may be aware that Turkish cooking can be technical. This book makes Turkish cooking approachable for even the newest cook. Along with entry-leveling cooking of authentic dishes, the book also provides local grocery store alternatives to unique Turkish ingredients.
You can look forward to the effortless cooking of flavorful food such as Ayran and Baklava. Every recipe comes with serving sizes and nutrition information. Turkish food tends to be on the healthier side, and with these additional diet facts, you can feel good about portioning out your plate. No matter how you prefer to read, you’ve got options here, from the kindle version to the paperback.
10. Istanbul And Beyond: Exploring the Diverse Cuisines of Turkey
Why We Love It ❤️
If you love experiencing a cultural journey that can come with making a country’s food, then you will love this cookbook just as much as we do! The authors guide you through Turkey’s cuisine, starting with the European side of Istanbul and going across the country to the Asian side. Get ready to immerse yourself in dishes from major cities to local villages.
Review 📖
For the epicurean foodie, this book takes you on a culinary adventure around the country. You’re not only buying a cookbook when you get this one, but you’re also purchasing an educating read on Turkey’s culture, people, and the meaning behind the meals.
Along with cooking up Turkish goodness like stovetop lamb meatballs or pot-roasted chicken with caramelized onions, you’ll also be enlightened about the everyday lives of people who cook them, from villagers to urban apartment dwellers. So, preheat the oven, relax, and enjoy indulging in flavorful dishes while learning about the delicious culture.
Final Thoughts
Turkey is a vast country both from a geographical and historical perspective. No one type of dish defines Turkey’s unique food traditions. The area encompasses so many cultures and terrain. So, I hope this cookbook review list helps you with the book guide that best fits what you seek to eat from Turkey!
Wanting heavy fish dishes? The Northcentral part that borders the black sea is sure to have something you’ll enjoy. And, if you love dishes like baklava and kebobs that make you smile, the Southeastern side that borders Syria and Iraq is where to go.
Why is Turkey’s Cuisine So Diverse?
Turkey is a large country situated between the two continents of Europe and Asia and is surrounded by three different bodies of water. Because of the country’s size and diverse cultures all around it, Turkish cuisine is a fusion of tastes. Depending on where you are in the country, the food can be a mix of many influences from the Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, Armenian, and Central Asian culinary heritage.
If you are someone who gets bored with one style of cuisine, then Turkey will never dull your food preferences—looking for Mediterranean vegetables and herbs? Head on over the Southwestern side of Turkey to towns that are located near or on the Aegean or the Mediterranean Sea. Cities and towns like Marmaris, Bodrum, and Antalya.
In the mood for rice dishes full of spices, vegetables, dolmas, and fish? Well, then, the Northwest side near Greece will satisfy your cravings. Major cities in this region are Istanbul, Bursa, and Izmir.
