Italian Food Books Guide

This page features the Italian food books that my wife and I have found to be the best. My wife is Italian and knows a thing or two about good cooking so if she thinks a book is good you can be sure it is.

The books are divided into three categories. The first are those about Italian cooking in general, this is followed by my favourite cook books on Piedmont, Sardinian and Marche/Umbria.

Italian Food Books Picks

First on the list this book is an absolute classic. You probably already have this Italian recipe book as it is so popular and really essential for all pasta lovers. Our edition of this book is so well used that it is now very dog-eared. The recipes are easy to follow and many are very simple yet really delicious. This is the ideal recipe book for those quick but special dinners.

Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home

Mario’s book is everything we love about Italian cooking, simple genuine recipes made with the finest ingredients. If you buy just one Italian cook book in your life this is the one. I have lived over ten years in Italy and Mario comes across as just so genuinely Italian. The recipes too are 100% authentic. They are exactly how you would eat in Italy.

Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

Marcella has really produced a winner with this book. It is very comprehensive and includes many of the more elaborate Italian dishes. This book really helps you to realize just how much more there is to Italian cooking than just pasta and pizza. Some really great recipes and very well presented. Ideal for those who want to try more advanced Italian cooking.

Piedmont/Sardinia and Le Marche Cook Books

There are very few decent cookbooks about the cuisine of Sardinia – this is the best of them. Efisio is one of the most famous Sardinian chefs and his sheer love of the magical island of Sardinia and the island’s cuisine infuses this book from beginning to end. Many of the recipes in this book are virtually unknown outside of Sardinia but boy are they tasty!! The photos are also exceptional - a beautiful journey through perhaps the most beautiful of the Mediterranean islands.

Cucina of Le Marche: A Chef's Treasury of Recipes from Italy's Last Culinary Frontier

Le Marche has very few good English language cookbooks focusing on the cuisine of the region. This is my pick; the author is a native of Le Marche and is an award winning chef. The recipes are 100% authentic but not always the easiest to make. This is a refreshingly unpretentious book by a chef who will no doubt become a lot more famous in years to come.

Autumn in Piemonte: Food and Travels in Italy's Northwest

I bought this magnificent book last Christmas as a gift for my wife. We both now love it. This really is our world, our little corner of Italy in hardcover. The author is both poet and cook, she succeeds brilliantly in evoking the atmosphere of Piedmont Italy and sharing the great recipes and food of what is perhaps Italy’s greatest culinary region. The photos are exceptional and together with the passionate writing of the author they will have you longing to follow in her footsteps. Definitely one of the best Italian food books

A Passion for Piedmont: Italy's Most Glorious Regional Table

This book was recommended to me by one of my Australian visitors who, after reading the book, fell so in love with Piedmont that he has visited twice and is hoping to live here one day. I have since read the book and definitely concur. The book features over 150 of the best Piedmont recipes, lots about wines and much else all in a very well presented book.

Have I forgotten to mention something? If you have read any great Italian food books or Italian recipe books that you think I should include please let me know below: