Every kitchen needs at least one keto cookbook, especially if you are just starting out on your keto diet journey. 

Having a structured cookbook with a list of keto foods, will help to keep you on track with planning and creating keto meals.

If you are very new to keto, following a keto diet plan may be more beneficial in the short term, than going it alone with a keto cookbook. At least for the first month, to keep you on track and help you stay in ketosis. 

Once you are ready for a keto cookbook, there are loads of choices. We’ve selected these keto cookbooks with beginners in mind, and had two essential criteria:

  • There needed to be a good variety of recipes within the keto books to help keep you on track and not get bored
  • They needed to be easy keto recipes. No long ingredient lists or hours spent in the kitchen.

<p “=”” style=”margin-bottom: 30px !important;” tve-droppable”=””>It is for these two reasons we are fans of the keto in 5 series by tasteaholics. They make low carb eating super easy with every recipe having 5 ingredients or less, up to 5 grams net carbs (which if you’re sticking to 20 net carbs per day allows for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks or dessert).  <p “=”” style=”margin-bottom: 30px !important;” tve-droppable”=””>Did we also mention there are only 5 steps for every recipe? This bundle of keto recipes ticks both the boxes for our easy keto criteria and is a great place to start for keto beginners.

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More Choices for Keto Cookbooks in 2020

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What Should You Look For Before You Buy?

Let’s face it, not all Ketogenic books are created the same. That’s why when deciding which Keto cookbook to buy, there are three things you should think about before hitting that buy button:

1: Look for Variety in the Recipes

There’s nothing worse than reading a cookbook to find there are 10 lunch recipes and 5 of them are the same type of meal. For example, soups or salads.

Variety is the spice of life, and you will soon get bored with eating the same thing day after day. Look for keto recipes that you can easily swap out chicken for pork or beef for lamb, to create variety in your meals.

Also look for recipes that can be made in larger quantities and frozen or meal prepped for later in the week.

For example, I recently looked at purchasing a keto cookbook and 7 of the lunch recipes were soups. I love a delicious soup in the colder weather, and having 2-3 favorites to choose from are helpful, but 7 in one cookbook? I simply didn’t buy.

2: Consider an eBook over a Physical Book

You tend to get more recipes with e-books as opposed to physical books.

Keto cookbooks with high quality photos usually cost quite a bit more if you buy the physical copy, but with e-books they are quite a bit cheaper.

Personally, as a visual person, I prefer hard copy recipes with lots of glossy images that I can leave open on the bench as I cook, but buying the physical books does cost more.

Digital downloads or free keto recipes on the web are great resources once you get established at following a keto diet and can plan ahead. In the beginning, a good quality keto cookbook, whether that be a hard copy book or ebook will definitely help keep you on track.

3: Are there any good extras to go with the cookbook?

I love Amazon, but there are many other online retailers out there that offer authors more flexibility – especially when it comes to e-books.

You will find an abundance of keto cookbooks on Amazon, some of which we recommend.  Sometimes if you look hard enough, you will find that authors give bonuses if you buy directly from them.

These bonuses range anywhere from meal plans, to additional books and coupons. So I always look to buy from authors first before resorting to Amazon.

4: Make sure you have the basics in your kitchen

All cookbooks require you have at least the basics in the kitchen. So if you need to invest in some new cookware, be sure to check out our cookware reviews:

Top Keto Cookbooks for 2020

The Ultimate Keto Cookbook – Vickie Cook

This is a new release keto cookbook for 2020 and so far proving a hit.

The recipes are quite simple and it is a great base for those beginning a keto diet.

The author also discusses intermittent fasting, as well as basic keto information, benefits of the keto diet and foods to eat and foods to avoid when following the keto diet.

The recipes are family friendly and include nutrition information for each recipe. The paperback version is very affordably priced and this recipe book boats 600 keto recipes.

What I Liked

  • Family Friendly Recipes
  • Affordably Priced
  • Good Reference Information for the keto diet

What I Didn’t Like

  • No Images

The Super Easy Keto Diet Book – Rachel Collins

 

The Super Easy Keto Diet Cookbook is exactly that.

575 recipes, designated chapters for meat, poultry, seafood, vegetables, desserts and more plus helpful information on gluten free keto, dairy free keto and vegan keto, this book covers everything.

It’s really inexpensive and also comes with a bonus 30 day meal plan and shopping list.

The author, Rachel Collins, discusses hidden carb sources and how to avoid them, as well as providing lots of valuable information on the keto lifestyle, aimed at beginners.

The recipes are family friendly, making this ketogenic recipe book a great choice.

top 10 keto recipestop 10 keto recipes

What I Liked

  • Excellent Value for Money
  • Great recipes
  • Informative about Keto Diet
  • 30 Day Meal Plan

What I Didn’t Like

  • No images of the recipes
  • The shopping list is for a month and would be more user friendly broken down into weekly shops.

Keto Diet for Dummies – Rami & Vicky Abrams

The Keto Diet for dummies is an excellent choice for those beginning the keto diet.

It’s not a huge cookbook, with around 40 keto recipes, however, if you’re just starting out on the keto diet you will find this book is a valuable resource for getting to know the science behind the keto diet and how your body is affected whilst following a keto lifestyle, and more importantly, what happens when you are not in ketosis.

With sections on prepping your pantry with keto essentials, how to make better choices when dining out and overcoming obstacles, The Keto Diet for Dummies is a good starting resource for beginners.

The authors, Vicky and Rami Abrams are also the same creators of the Keto in 5 bundle suggested at the top of this page. If you didn’t want to jump straight in to the Keto in 5 recipe books, The Keto Diet for Dummies is for you.

What I Liked

  • Backed by Scientific Research
  • Realistic Recipes
  • Simple and Easy to Understand

What I Didn’t Like

  • Some of the recipes are a little higher in net carbs than I prefer, it would be easy to go over your net carbs if you ate too much

Keto Comfort Foods by Maria Emmerich

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Maria Emmerich is another familiar face on this list, she a best-selling author and a nutritionist. She has written popular keto books such as The Ketogenic Cookbook and Keto-Adapted.

In Maria’s new book Keto Comfort Food – it is all about bringing delicious recipes we loved in our childhood back to life in a healthy, ketogenic way. Maria transforms hearty flavors from delicious classic meals into keto-friendly dishes that the family will love.

The Keto Comfort Food book comes with over 170 recipes ranging from tiramisu to cinnamon rolls, and from chicken cordon bleu to steak fries.

Maria Emmerich’s cookbooks are known for their innovative recipes and top quality photographs. She really sets the standard that other Ketosis authors try to live up to, and Keto Comfort Foods is no exception.

What I Liked

  • Homestyle favourites reimagined
  • Great tasting recipes
  • High quality layout and design

What I Didn’t Like

  • Some ingredients can be hard to find
  • No bonuses available

Simply Keto by Suzanne Ryan

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Suzanne Ryan is another new author that burst onto the scene recently. She has been featured on such shows such as Live: with Kelly and Ryan and Health Theory with Tom Bilyeu.

If your not familiar with Suzanne Ryan’s story, she started her own YouTube channel and documented her weight loss journey on the Keto diet. Suzanne lost over 100 pounds and more than 40% of her body weight while she was on the diet.

In her book, Suzanne details this journey on the diet and gives inspirations tips on how you can succeed with your own journey. Simply Keto also contains more than 100 practical ketosis recipes designed for people with busy lives.

It also contains a 30 day meal plan as well as a useful grocery shopping guide because most of her meals does not require exotic ingredients. This makes Simply Keto great for busy families and people who need motivation to go with their diet.

What I Liked

  • Practical, easy to make recipes
  • Perfect for families
  • Great pictures and layout

What I Didn’t Like

  • No bonuses available

Honourable Mentions

I just gave you our favourite 6 cookbooks but really I could’ve easily extended this list to 20, but that seems a bit overwhelming. So I want to share some of the books that I like, but didn’t quite make the top 6 for one reason or another

Keto In 28 – Michelle Hogan

Michelle Hogan does a fantastic job in guiding you through your first 28 days in Ketosis. More than just a cookbook, this is more of a guide to you first month on the diet.

Michelle gives you not only recipes but meal plans, shopping list and a calendar to help you in your 28 day challenge. Motivation and guidance is what makes this book different from many other books, but like any other good cookbook it has 125 different recipes such as  tilapia, beef and chicken dishes to breakfast pudding and cheesecake.

The great thing about these recipes is that they include meal prepping which is great for people on the go. So if that is something that you could use in your diet, I suggest checking out this book.

Fat for Fuel Ketogenic Cookbook – Dr. Joseph Mercola & Pete Evans

Word famous author and blogger in natural, holstic health Dr. Joseph Mercola has his on ketosis book and it is a doozy.  Dr. Mercola teamed up with paleo expert, cookbook writer and recipe developer Pete Evans for a jam-packed ketosis cookbook that emphasizes eating the most the most important part of the diet: fat for fuel.

The book isn’t just a normal cookbook, it goes deep on the informational part of the ketosis diet and the importance of maintaining a low carb diet including interesting information on digestion, metabolism,, gut health, disease, and more.

The book also gets into consideration on more niche subjects such as how you cook your food, and goes on to give information on the best techniques to enrich and preserve nutrient-density.  This is overall a fascinating read for those that want more in-depth information on the diet.