18 Vegetarian and Vegan Italian Cookbooks to vegetize your life 🥦

Hi, I am Chef Zara. In this post, I will guide you through Vegetarian and Vegan Italian 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.

The Veggie Part of Italy

We are all familiar with the fact that meat, poultry, and seafood enjoy a prominent place in a wide range of Italian recipes and food preparations. The thought of dining in Italy immediately conjures up the images of pepperoni, prosciutto, and classic bolognese sauce in your head. That doesn’t sound so vegetarian-friendly, right?

Italy has a lot of choices for vegetarians, from appetizers to main courses to desserts which can also contribute to a vegan diet. In an Italian restaurant, you can easily order bruschetta (roasted bread) with vegetarian-friendly toppings for appetizers.

These cookbooks will guide you through not only knowing your plant-based options but also preparing flavorful Italian vegetarian recipes in your own kitchen. Buon appetite!

These top 10 highly-rated Vegetarian Italian Cookbooks have been carefully selected for you!

1.  Chloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen

Why We Love It ❤️

Chloe‘s Vegan Italian Kitchen is one of the best cookbooks that proves there’s no limit to vegetarian and vegan recipe options when it comes to Italian food. In this Italian vegan cookbook, you’ll learn to prepare varieties of sumptuous recipes for main meals, such as Butternut Ravioli with Brown Sugar and Crispy Sage, and tasty plant-based pizzas, which include pizza creations like Crumbled “Sausage” and “Mozzarella” Pizza, as well as Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion, and Apple Pizza.

Review 📖

This cookbook also contains a lot of variations for desserts. Yummy recipes for desserts include Chocolate-Dipped Almond Biscotti and Italian Wedding Cake, and she turns up the dial with new delights like Mint Chip Gelato Sandwiches, Banana Coffee Cupcakes, and Pomegranate Mint Italian Soda.

Every recipe is accompanied by a high-quality colored photo capturing every detail of the ingredient and process for readers’ better understanding. No wonder over 700 users of this wonderful cookbook returned to give it a 5-star rating on Amazon.

About the Author ✍️

Chloe Coscarelli recently took home first place in the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars, making her the first vegan ever to win a Food Network competition. Chloe is a graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute of Health and Culinary Arts in NYC and the University of California, Berkeley.

2.  The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook

Review 📖

The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook is a cookbook with 350 delectable recipes of Italian cuisine. Although this cookbook has limited pictures, each recipe is detailed and specific. Even without a visual guide, any user can adequately follow along. The cookbook is written in American English, all measurements and units are represented using Italian American standards and serving suggestions are included.

The author compiled different mouth-watering vegetarian recipes into this great cookbook. Vegetables, ingredients, and recipes are collected from the author’s thorough travels to Italy in an effort to show the world that pizza and pasta aren’t Italy’s only eye-catching exports. Some of the sumptuous recipes you’ll learn when it comes to Italian cooking are asparagus spears coated with a little olive oil and roasted to intensify their flavor, thick slices of country bread grilled over an open fire and topped with diced tomatoes and shredded basil from the garden, or a fragrant stew with fennel and peas.

About the Authors ✍️

Jack Bishop is the editorial director of America’s Test Kitchen. He established the tasting protocols used in America’s Test Kitchen and has authored dozens of articles for the magazine.

A. Y. Stratton has written articles and columns for several Milwaukee-area magazines and newspapers.

3.  The Italian Vegetable Cookbook

Review 📖

If you like combining vegetables in many ways or you’d love to learn more yummy vegetable recipes for Italian food, then The Italian Vegetable Cookbook is your best shot. But don’t be deceived by the title of the cookbook. It’s not just about vegetables; there are lots of chapters that focus on pasta, soups, risotto, etc. In short, this is the best cookbook that will teach you how to use ingredients to get the best flavor, authentic taste, and appearance of Italian cuisine.

Some of the great recipes you’ll learn to make include Green Fettuccine with Spring Vegetable Ragu and Easter Swiss Chard, Cheese Pie, Stuffed Cremini Mushrooms, and Romeo’s Stuffed Eggplant. Although some of the recipes contain non-vegetarian ingredients, they are optional and can easily be replaced by plant-based ingredients to satisfy vegans and vegetarians.

About the Author ✍️

Michele Scicolone is an award-winning food writer and the author of 20 cookbooks. Her latest book, The Italian Vegetable Cookbook, was published in March 2014 and is a collection of 200 favorite recipes for antipasti, soups, pasta, main dishes, and desserts.

4.  The Vegetarian Silver Spoon

Review 📖

More than 200 Italian vegetarian recipes are included in this one of the best Italian cookbooks, with a focus on flavorful meatless alternatives for appetizers, main courses, salads, sides, and desserts.

The recipes vary from traditional vegetarian classics to more modern creations that use ingredients imported from other culinary cultures like Roman. The book’s recipe icons make it simple to explore, and the mouthwatering recipes for vegetarian dishes are beautifully captured in specially created images.

About the Author ✍️

First published in 1950, Il Cucchiaio d’Argento, published in English by Phaidon as The Silver Spoon. This first vegetarian collection and global bestseller have taught home cooks around the world how to cook like an Italian and enrich their lives with fresh ingredients and delicious recipes.

5.  The Plantpower Way: Italia

Review 📖

The Plantpower Way is an Italian cookbook containing 125 delicious vegetarian recipes and Italian vegan dishes. The instructions are easy to follow and the ingredients for each recipe are not too difficult to obtain, making this awesome cookbook a beginner-friendly cookbook for vegan cooking.

Each recipe comes with beautiful and colorful pictures of what the food should look like after preparation. The recipes contained in this cookbook are strictly vegan and healthy to savor.

About the Author ✍️

Julie Piatt has spent decades traveling many paths and studying many traditions. She is a true Renaissance artist who expresses her creative voice as a plant-based chef, singer-songwriter, yogi, sculptor, painter, spiritual guide, and homeschooling parent to four children.

6.  Accidentally Vegan Italian Soups

Review 📖

This vegan Italian cookbook contains 30 traditional Italian vegan soup recipes. The instructions are easy to follow, and the recipes are super flavorful. The cookbook starts with how vegan recipes work, capturing the vegan culinary history of Italy.

The photos of Italian cuisine contained in this great book are clear and colorful, and the ingredients are also deliciously simple. Some of the vegan Italian soups you’ll learn to make include sbroscia (the “table scrap” soup from Northern Italy), Bordatino Pisano (the 10th-century maritime soup), maccu (the delightful Sicilian fava bean and fennel soup), zuppa del contadino (farmer’s soup), zuppa di zucca e castagne (pumpkin and chestnut soup), zuppa di lenticchie rosse (red lentil soup), ciambotta (vegetable stew), maccu di San Giuseppe (Saint Joseph’s soup), zuppa di patate, porri, e funghi (potato and bread soup), and 20 more.

About the Author ✍️

Judgmental Owl Press published Accidentally Vegan books by Giovanni Caruso in order to provide access to traditional Italian foods that are vegan by their very nature rather than through substitution or omission.

7.  Naturally Vegetarian

Review 📖

Naturally Vegetarian features 125 sumptuous all-vegetarian recipes inspired by dishes from northeastern Italy. This cookbook introduces spices like chestnut flour, farro, and tomato passata. You’ll also learn the fundamental recipes and techniques for preparing and cooking fresh pasta.

Recipes contained in this cookbook include Creamy Sunchoke Soup with Golden Onions; Macaroni and Cheese, Chickpea Crespelle with Spring Vegetable Ragu; Piadina Romagnola with Grilled Vegetables and Tomato Pesto; Pistachio and White Chocolate Tiramisu; and so many more.

About the Author ✍️

Valentina Solfrini, a graphic designer turned blogger, is the author of the award-winning blog Hortus Cuisine, which focuses on seasonal Italian cooking and lifestyle.

8.  Vegetariano: 400 Regional Italian Recipes

Review 📖

Vegetariano is a collection of variations of 400 vegetarian recipes prepared by experts from all over Italy. Although this book might not benefit beginners a lot, the recipes contained in this cookbook are worth trying. They are not only mouth-watering but also healthy and useful for integrating vegan food into your diet.

The majority of the ingredients used in this vegan Italian cookbook are common in Italy, but the substitutes can easily be gotten and implemented in vegetarian dishes.

About the Author ✍️

Slow Food is a renowned grassroots organization founded in Italy in 1989 to preserve local foodways and traditional recipes and encourage more people to be conscious of where their food comes from and affects the world around us, as active in 160 countries.

9.  The Gluten-Free Italian Vegetarian Kitchen

Review 📖

There are more than 225 delectable, authentic Italian dishes with vegetarian and gluten-free variations in The Gluten-Free Italian Vegetarian Kitchen. This cookbook offers many recipes for brunch, desserts, bread, pizzas, paninis, gnocchi, risotto, polenta, and other major meals, among other categories.

This vegetarian Italian cookbook offers advice and information on eating gluten-free and provides nutritional analysis of calories, protein, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, and dietary fiber for each recipe. Dishes are designated as dairy-free, egg-free, Lacto-ovo, dairy-and-egg-free, vegan, and/or low-carb. It contains a dictionary of specific gluten-free ingredients as well.

About the Author ✍️

Donna Klein is the author of Supermarket Vegan and many others. She is a food writer who has contributed to the Washington Post, Vegetarian Gourmet, Veggie Life, The Herb Companion, and Yoga Journal.

10. Plant-Based Italiano

Review 📖

Plant-Based Italiano contains easy-to-follow, appetizing plant-based recipes that are healthy to consume for your vegan diet. This vegan Italian cookbook will help you to learn how to prepare different Italian vegan recipes and will teach you different shopping, cooking, and storing tips for integrating vegan food into your life.

About the Author ✍️

Terri Marro Rinchik and her brother, Dominic Marro, co-authored this book.

11. Fresh Italian Cooking for the New Generation

Why We Love It ❤️

Fresh Italian Cooking for the New Generation is actually a perfect Italian vegetarian cookbook for every generation. Its author, Alexandera Caspero Lenz, is extremely passionate about healthy cooking. This book is thoughtfully created for those vegetarians who can’t go easy on the carbs and want to enjoy classic Italian dishes to the fullest. We highly recommend it to all home cooks who are aiming to adopt a healthier lifestyle while exploring Italian or Mediterranean cuisine.

About the Author ✍️

This cookbook features a unique collection of a hundred filling and nutritious Italian vegetarian recipes that are perfect for weeknight family dinners. The best part about this book is the author’s inspiration and narrative behind every meal idea. Each recipe also tells you to veganism a dish by listing the substitute ingredients. The photography is appealing and plentiful, which makes this a perfect addition to your Italian cookbook library. It can also help you make fundamental changes in your diet for a better and healthier lifestyle.

12. Italian Vegetarian Cooking, New, Revised

Why We Love It ❤️

Italian Vegetarian Cooking unarguably deserves a spot on this list because it’s not merely a cookbook but an enlightening read on all nineteen culinary regions of Italy. This book also sheds light on the health benefits of a traditional Mediterranean diet as it is based on natural ingredients and fresh, local produce. Also, you might come just for the recipes and instructions but end up admiring the rich diversity of Italian vegetarian cookery. We highly recommend this book to all the veg-heads out there.

Review 📖

In this Italian vegetarian cookbook, acclaimed food writer and the author of four vegetarian cookbooks, Paola Gavin takes the reader on a culinary expedition across Italy. The book begins with a brief introduction to the specialties of every region in Italy, followed by tidbits on the types of wine found in those regions. The recipes are neither too complicated nor very time-consuming. The book also gives away some lovely line drawings of typical villages and landscapes. For soups, salads, tarts, croquettes, stuffed vegetables to scrumptious desserts, this book will help you recreate all your favorite Italian recipes in your own kitchen using a bunch of simple ingredients.

13. Vegano Italiano

Why We Love It ❤️

Vegano Italiano is a celebration of classic Italian flavors from North to South. It is a truly authentic Italian cookbook done vegan. Authored by an Italian native, an expert food stylist, and a great lover of food, this cookbook is a reflection of Rosalba’s attachment to her motherland. From Spaghetti to Bruschetta, this cookbook will give you an overview of what a traditional Italian dinner table looks like.  

Review 📖

This Italian vegetarian cookbook is best-suited for vegans and vegetarians, as it features 100% plant-based recipes that even meat-eaters are sure to love. With more than 40 stunning photographs and 150 authentic, mouth-watering recipes, Vegano Italiano can help you create a great Italian feast for your loved ones. The recipes are designed to get the most out of seasonal ingredients found in Italy. Furthermore, this cookbook also tells you how to rely on healthy vegan fats to replace the traditionally heavy fats used in authentic Italian cooking if you are in search of healthier options. Overall, a comprehensive read with some flavorful recipes for everyone.

14. Accidentally Vegan Italian Salads

Why We Love It ❤️

Are you tired of bagged lettuce and bottled dressing? Accidentally Vegan Italian Salads is here to bring your bad salad days to an end. This Italian Vegetarian cookbook is a good mix of light and hearty salads, which also happen to taste delicious. We also love this cookbook because it gives away authentic Italian recipes without any ingredients that have been modified to imitate meat.  So, if you are a salad aficionado, then this is definitely the book for you.

Review 📖

The book begins with a brief introduction, an overview of different salad dressings, and suggestions on how to use the book. Then the salad recipes are divided on the basis of three difficulty levels – easy, medium, and hard. Each recipe is accompanied by helpful tips and beautiful illustrations. The slightly humorous tone of the author is also worth mentioning, as it keeps you engaged throughout the book. Accidentally Vegan Italian Salads is a little book packed with quite a punch!

15. Vegan Italiano: Meat-free, Egg-free, Dairy-free Dishes

Why We Love It ❤️

Vegan Italiano opens the doors to the magical culinary world of Italy for all veg-heads. This cookbook tends to celebrate a healthy way of living with bountiful variations of Italian specialties. It calls for using fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and healthy, fats with a collection of distinctively Italian recipes that are both simples to create and delicious to experience.

Review 📖

From Braised Sweet and Sour Cabbage to Cauliflower Soup with Parsley, This Italian vegetarian cookbook has everything you are looking for. It gives away a collection of quick and easy recipes that do not require weird ingredients or complex cooking techniques. The book does not contain any visual elements. However, it inspires you to create something using your imagination. Each recipe also comes with full nutritional information, which is the highlight of this book. Needless to say, Vegan Italiano has plenty of ideas and decadent options to enjoy all year.

16. Purezza Vegan Pizza

Why We Love It ❤️

We all agree that pizza is the greatest invention in the history of the culinary world. 

Thus, next up on our list is a unique recipe book dedicated to Purezza – the UK’s first vegan pizzeria serving plant-based versions of classic Italian dishes. This Italian vegetarian cookbook is perfect for all home cooks who want to level up their pizza game and incorporate vegetables into their diet without compromising on taste.

Review 📖

Purezza Vegan Pizza is an enticing cookbook, not necessarily for its pizza recipes. It is a beautifully illustrated and perfectly laid out book with 75 recipes that are actually vegetarian masterpieces. The recipes are divided into several chapters, such as dough, dressings and dips, toppings, and sauces for your pizzas, along with additional recipes for pasta and classic Italian desserts at the end of the book. The photographs in this book are plentiful, gorgeous, and aesthetically pleasing. This cookbook can be a great addition to your kitchen library.

17. Pizza, Pasta, and, Polenta

Why We Love It ❤️

Authored by a half-Italian chef and talented food writer, Pizza, Pasta, and Polenta is a classic take on Italian cuisine with a vegetarian touch. The fact that it was published in 1998 not only makes it the most unique cookbook on this list but gives you an insight into the evolution of this amazing cuisine over the years.

Review 📖

As its name suggests, Pizza, Pasta, and Polenta give away the classic and original recipes of Italian delicacies along with many irresistible original new ideas. The book consists of 112 pages filled with an exquisite collection of Italian vegetarian recipes. In this compendium, the author has shared vintage Italian recipes from the 90s, such as our good old pizza.

Also, there is nothing better than a fresh creamy polenta on a winter evening. Get your hands on this amazing Italian vegetarian cookbook which is true to the classics.

18. The Simple Italian Vegetarian Cookbook 2022

Why We Love It ❤️

Last but not the least, The Simple Italian Vegetarian Cookbook 2022 is the newest book on this list, but it pays homage to the ancient cooking techniques and the generation-old preparation methods of Italian cooks. You can recreate countless befitting Italian vegetarian recipes from this cookbook which are ideal for family meals and occasional get-togethers.

Review 📖

This book is created by the author of numerous cookery books, Isabell Rice. It is a well-researched Italian vegetarian cookbook that also aims to cater to individuals who have any time of food intolerance. It features a glorious collection of easy-to-follow recipes from different regions of Italy. Besides recipes, this book also gives an insight into the charming food culture, local traditions, and the history of this much-loved cuisine.

Final Thoughts

Nowadays, veganism, vegetarianism, and other sustainable food movements are gaining tremendous popularity and transforming our lives. People are making healthy changes in their eating habits, whether having a vegan diet or a ketogenic diet, without giving up on their favorite cuisines. Contrary to popular belief, the average Italian diet is very vegetarian-friendly. Thus, our helpful picks will let you enjoy your favorite Italian vegetarian dishes without any hassle.

There are many ways to sumptuously prepare and enjoy various Italian food thanks to the never-ending supply of recipes you now have access to. Even if you are a vegan, several of the recommended vegan Italian cookbooks provide tasty, healthy plant-based meals that you and your family can make in your very own kitchen with ease.

This article should assist you in deciding which cookbook to use as the basis for your investigation and culinary experimentation. Regardless of your taste, these vegetarian Italian cookbooks have been carefully selected to meet your needs, help you create a spin on traditional Italian dishes, and include everything from appetizers to main courses.

About Vegetarian and Vegan food in Italy

Italy is the land of the warm Mediterranean sun, breathtaking architecture, and incredible artwork. And the cherry on the cake –is it’s iconic and one of the most celebrated cuisines on this planet.

One of the most noteworthy features of Italian cuisine is its simplicity, which is why many Italian dishes can easily be prepared at home with a handful of quality ingredients.

It’s also a well-known fact that Italians have an eternal love for meat, sausages, poultry, and seafood. However, the Italian or Mediterranean diet, in general, is also super rich in fresh fruits, vegetables, olive oil, legumes, and bread, making it vegetarian-friendly. Thus, going meatless doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t eat like the Italians.

The hero ingredients in many classic Italian dishes are beans, dried peppers, eggplants, basil, and – of course – tomatoes. You can easily spot several local restaurants in Italy that serve vegetarian and vegan pizza with toppings like tomato, olives, mushrooms, artichokes, and zucchini. In short, Italian cuisine allows you to stay meatless while going crazy on the carbs.

Lastly, we can’t forget to mention the classic Italian wine, which is an iconic part of this cuisine. Drinking a glass of red wine is treated as an everyday custom in Italy. It is also a vegetarian-friendly option and can leave your taste buds tingling after a scrumptious Italian meal.

Your options are many, as there are several varieties of vegetables and mushrooms on the menu to select from. And when it comes to pizza, you have a whole lot of vegetarian-friendly options, from Pizza Rughetta e Pachino (arugula and cherry tomatoes) to Pizza Margherita to Quattro formaggi.

Although most main course options are meat-based, you can have a whole lot of vegetarian and vegan options, such as porcini mushrooms and melanzane alla parmigiana. Most Italian desserts are vegetarian-friendly and include gnocchi di susine, Minestra d’orzo, pasta alla Buzara, pistum, and putizza.

Numerous healthy, delectable Italian vegetarian meals may be found in the chosen cookbooks. You don’t need to keep daydreaming about your favorite vegetarian foods when you can create them yourself. All you need is to get the perfect cookbook to make your dreams come true.

Italian Vegetarian Recipes and Ingredients

A typical Italian kitchen is super environment-friendly, with the majority of the ingredients being plant-based. This much-loved cuisine privileges all the regional and seasonal ingredients, featuring fresh fruits, vegetables, delicious Italian herbs, and aromatic spices in many traditional dishes.

From classic Tuscan Bean Soup to creamy Mushroom Risotto, and from Aubergine Parmigiana to delicious Pesto Pasta, some of the greatest Italian recipes are not just vegetarian but also offer different flavors and textures. Vegetarian Casserole, a Mediterranean one-pot stew with peppers, courgettes, lentils, sweet smoked paprika, and thyme, proves just how delectable meat-free Italian recipes can be.

Classic Italian desserts like Tiramisù and Panna Cotta can easily be prepared at home using vegetarian or vegan substitutes and taste just as delicious as their original versions. And to top it all off, you can savor a cup of espresso after an exciting meal to promote digestion – just like the Italians do.