WFPB and Vegan Cookbooks We Loved in 2025

This year delivered vegan cookbooks for every kind of cook: the weekday scrambler, the weekend project person, the health-focused WFPB eater, the flavor chaser, and the plant-curious beginner. Our shortlist spans all of the above. While a few of these titles aren’t strictly oil-free, they’re all fully vegan and full of ideas WFPB readers can adapt. Whether you’re gifting one or refreshing your own cooking routine for 2026, these books serve up plenty of inspiration and make a handsome addition to the shelf.

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The Vegan 8 creator Brandi Doming is back with an oil-free cookbook that doubles down on her strengths: simple recipes, big flavor, and clear nutritional guidance. Inspired by her own deepening commitment to movement, Vegan Wholesome gathers 100 recipes designed to support active lifestyles—from grab-and-go breakfasts to hearty bowls and mains built around whole-food protein sources. It’s classic Doming: approachable ingredients, no-oil techniques, and tasty results.

Dora Ramírez has been sharing delicious vegan Mexican recipes on her blog, Dora’s Table, for several years. Her debut cookbook, released in March, is a warm and lovingly detailed celebration of Mexican home cooking, and most of the recipes include oil-free variations. Instead of the typical appetizer–main–side structure, Comida Casera unfolds through Mexico’s core culinary traditions—from mole markets to antojitos, home-cooked classics, and festive dishes. Ramírez welcomes cooks of all skill levels into her kitchen with visual guides to essential techniques such as roasting chiles, de-spining nopales, and assembling tamales. “This is my Mexican table, and everybody’s welcome,” Ramírez says. Try the Creamy Poblano and Corn Tacos recipe from the book—you’ll see why this is one you’ll want to keep cooking from.

This collaborative guide from a physician and a chef explores plant-based eating from two complementary angles. Elizabeth George, M.D., distills research on chronic disease and the shortcomings of the standard American diet. Chef Nick Iula, who reversed his own health issues through WFPB eating, contributes everyday recipes and primers on oil-free techniques and pantry essentials. Interwoven success stories from community programs make the book feel holistic yet highly actionable. This one would make a great gift for anyone just setting a toe onto the plant-based path.

Le Cordon Bleu–trained Bailey Ruskus (“Chef Bai”) tackles dairy cravings head-on in this playful, technique-driven guide to making creamy, indulgent dishes. The recipes range from everyday basics—butter, sour cream, yogurt, coffee creamer—to company-worthy desserts such as pistachio crème brûlée. Many recipes are gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, and/or oil-free, and Chef Bai’s friendly, encouraging voice makes it feel like you’re cooking alongside her. If you’ve ever wondered how to recreate nostalgic dairy-laden favorites without relying on store-bought vegan substitutes, this book is for you. For a taste, try the Oat Chocolate Put-on-Everything Sauce and check out our Q&A with Chef Bai.

For more than two decades, Dan Buettner has studied the world’s longest-lived cultures, where beans, whole grains, and vegetables form the backbone of everyday meals. This cookbook brings those dietary principles into weeknight territory with approachable one-pot, one-pan, and one-sheet recipes, many of which come together in 30 minutes or less. While not oil-free, the book is whole-food forward and all vegan.

Jenné Claiborne’s latest cookbook radiates the bright, breezy energy that has defined her work for years. Drawing from her Atlanta upbringing and the city’s global influences, she blends Southern comfort food with touches from Korean, Caribbean, and Japanese flavors. Think miso-mellowed collard green soup, jerk-spiced air-fried sweet potatoes, and gochujang-brushed corn ribs. The recipes are accessible and full of color, with an emphasis on unfussy techniques and big flavor payoffs. While not an oil-free cookbook, many dishes adapt easily, and Claiborne’s creative oil-free granola is a standout. Don’t miss our Q&A with her for more.

A joint effort from the chef instructors at London’s Made in Hackney community cooking school, this lively, inclusive cookbook is built to meet home cooks where they are. We Cook Plants keeps approachability at the center—simple techniques, adaptable ingredients, and recipes that work within tight budgets or limited kitchen setups—while also offering a range of dishes, from comforting everyday meals to globally inspired plates and optional fermentation projects for those who want to stretch their skills. (Note that many of the recipes contain oil.) The book also reflects Made in Hackney’s commitment to food justice, exploring themes such as decolonizing foodways and the nuances between appreciation and appropriation.

Miyoko Schinner has spent decades mastering the art of vegan dairy, and her new cookbook makes clear she’s still pushing her craft forward—experimenting, discovering new methods, and elevating familiar ones. The Vegan Creamery dives deep into making plant-based cheeses, butters, yogurts, creams, and desserts with inventive whole-food bases. (Watermelon kernel seed milk, anyone?!) Many of the recipes are oil-free. It’s an elegant, technique-forward volume that reflects the precision and innovation Schinner has brought to vegan dairy for years. Be sure to check out our recent interview with the plant-based trailblazer.

Part memoir, part cookbook, Eat What Elephants Eat offers a distinctly personal take on plant-based eating from athlete and activist Dominick Thompson. His inspiring story anchors a collection of deliciously simple, whole-food-based recipes. While not fully oil-free, the book leans into nutrient-dense ingredients, and Thompson’s voice is refreshingly candid and motivating. Learn more about the book in our interview with Thompson, here.

Joanne Lee Molinaro’s second cookbook picks up where her James Beard Award–winning debut left off, but with a looser, more exploratory spirit. The Korean Vegan: Homemade showcases the dishes she regularly makes for herself—including Koreanized interpretations of the American, Italian, and Mexican comfort foods she loves. The result is a heartfelt, highly personal collection that captures her evolving style. While the recipes aren’t oil-free, Molinaro discussed practical ways to adapt many of them in our recent interview.