1. The Ultimate Student Cookbook, From Chicken to Chili
Courtesy Firefly Books
Tiffany Goodall's book is an irresistible addition to the college student cookbook genre. It's written by a London-based chef still close enough to her own student days to remember exactly what it was like. Goodall balances the basics with fun, globally-inspired, 20something-pleasing fare. But the real strength of the book lies in the photos - 6 to 16 per recipe - that show every aspect of meal prep. Read the full review here.
2. Sam the Cooking Guy: Awesome Recipes and Kitchen Shortcuts.
Courtesy/Wiley
Strictly speaking, this isn't a cooking-in-college cookbook. But it's a terrific book for any college kid or 20something looking for easy, delicious recipes. From the photos and fonts to the instructions and sly asides, it's a clear winner, especially for guys. These recipes can be done by any beginner, but they can be served to even the most sophisticated crowd - or eaten, standing, over the sink. Read the full review here.
3. The Student Cookbook: Great Grub for the Hungry and the Broke
Courtesy/Ryland Peters
This book from the UK brims with great ideas, loads of ethnic foods and photographs. It's enough to inspire anyone. But many of the recipes require a fully-loaded kitchen - i.e., more than a dorm room's microwave and fridge. And several of the recipes needed tweaking to make them more flavorful. That said, there's still a lot of fun to be had here. Read the full review here.
4. The Cooking Club Cookbook
Courtesy/Villard
This cookbook for 20somethings was inspired by a supper club six young New Yorkers launched a decade ago. These young women, all working entry level jobs and fed up with takeout, would meet one night a month to cook, try new recipes and reconnect with each other. After reading about the club and those tasty theme night dinners - a Far East Feast, Spanish Tapas, Comfort Food Night and nine others - your 20something will want to start his or her own cooking club too. Read the full review here.
5. The Healthy College Cookbook: Quick. Cheap. Easy.
Photo from Storey Books
6. Cooking Outside the Pizza Box
Photos from Barron's Publishers
7. College Cooking: Feed Yourself and Your Friends
Photo from Ten Speed Press
8. The Everything College Cookbook
Photo from Adams Media
Rhonda Parkinson's classic cookbook purports to offer 300 hassle-free recipes, but it also walks newbie cooks through the terminology (blanch? dredge? simmer?) of cooking and offers plenty of alternatives. Buttermilk isn't exactly a normal fridge ingredient for most college-aged cooks, so Parkinson's recipe for blueberry muffins offers alternatives. Practical? Yes. Tasty? Yep. Requires a full fledged kitchen with working stove and oven? That too. And it's a vastly better book than the repackaged version her publisher released in 2010 as "The $5-a-Meal College Cookbook.".
9. How to Cook Everything
From Wiley Publishers
