Best Midwestern U.S. Cooking, Food & Wine Books of 2025

Half Baked Harvest Every Day: Recipes for Balanced, Flexible, Feel-Good Meals is a cookbook that offers over 120 new recipes for those who love to cook and eat delicious food. Written by Tieghan Gerard, the New York Times bestselling author of Half Baked Harvest Super Simple, this cookbook focuses on creating meals that feed both the body and soul. With a mix of plant-forward dishes and family favorites, readers will find recipes like Chipotle Cheddar Corn Chowder and Pizza Pasta with Pepperoni Bread Crumbs. The book also includes wholesome dessert options such as Chocolate Olive Oil Cake and Lemon Tart with Vanilla Sugar. Overall, this cookbook is a great addition to any kitchen, offering tasty and nutritious meals for any occasion.

Half Baked Harvest Super Simple by Tieghan Gerard is a New York Times bestseller cookbook that offers over 125 easy and delicious recipes for all types of cooks, including vegan and vegetarian options. The book is perfect for those who want to serve their loved ones beautiful food without working too hard. The recipes are quicker, more manageable, and include options for one-pot meals, night-before meal prep, and instant pot or slow cooker recipes. The book is chock-full of gorgeous photography and recipes that live up to them too, making it a great companion for home cooks who are pressed for time or just starting out.

Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking with Fruit is a new cookbook from Abra Berens, featuring over 215 recipes and variations for using fruit in both sweet and savory dishes. The book is organized by type of fruit and includes 15 different varieties that grow in the Midwestern United States. With helpful reference material and a Baker's Toolkit, Pulp is not only a cookbook but also a culinary reference book. The book's can-do attitude and accessibility make it a must-have addition to any kitchen shelf. Home cooks and bakers alike will appreciate the alternately sweet and savory recipes that highlight seasonality and flavor.

The Ultimate Air Fryer Cookbook for Beginners offers over 1500 days of easy, affordable, and tasty recipes for both beginner and advanced users. With instructions that are easy to follow and ingredients that are readily available, this cookbook is perfect for those looking to try out new and exciting dishes in the kitchen. The cookbook provides a wide range of recipes, including breakfast meals, appetizers, meat and poultry dishes, vegetarian and vegan options, seafood dishes, and sweet treats. The best part is that all of these everyday homemade meals can be completed in 30 minutes or less. Overall, this comprehensive air fryer cookbook is a must-have for anyone looking to enhance their cooking skills and enjoy healthy, delicious meals in no time.

The Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook is a collection of 1,400 slow-cooker recipes gathered from some of America's best home cooks. The recipes are easy to understand and use, making them perfect for those who lack confidence in the kitchen or are short on time. The cookbook also includes full-color photos of delectable dishes from the collection, adding sparkle throughout the book. What makes this cookbook unique is that all the recipes are sent in by home cooks, making it full of delicious and easy recipes. Overall, this cookbook is a winner and perfect for anyone looking to create a chorus of "make-it-again" requests!

Home Is Where the Eggs Are is a delightful cookbook by Molly Yeh, the host of Food Network's Girl Meets Farm. The book is filled with cozy recipes that are perfect for any occasion, whether it's a weeknight meal or a celebration. Molly's cooking is inspired by her Chinese and Jewish heritage, her time in New York, her husband's Scandinavian roots, and their sugar beet farm in Minnesota. The recipes are easy to follow and include prep-ahead, freezing, and substitution tips. Home Is Where the Eggs Are is a must-have cookbook for anyone who loves delicious and comforting food.

A Taste of Cowboy: Ranch Recipes and Tales from the Trail is a delightful cookbook by Kent Rollins that takes readers on a journey through the American West with mouth-watering recipes and engaging storytelling. From labor-saving breakfasts to hands-off dinners, Kent uses pantry ingredients to create comfort food that satisfies. The book is a must-have for anyone who loves good, honest food and wants a glimpse of a vanishing way of life. With stunning photos of the American West and Kent’s lively tales and poetry, A Taste of Cowboy is a perfect addition to any cookbook collection.

The "6-Minute Dinners (and More!): 100 Super Simple Dishes with 6 Minutes of Prep and 6 Ingredients or Less" by Karen Nochimowski is a perfect cookbook for busy families on a budget. With 100 recipes to choose from, including healthy, low-carb options and great vegetarian alternatives, this cookbook provides endless options for those busy days. The recipes are easy to make, requiring only six ingredients or less and six minutes of preparation time. The book also includes allergy-free options throughout. The desserts like Chocolate-Chip Cookie Pie and Strawberry Shortcake Trifle are a perfect after-dinner treat. Overall, this cookbook is a great addition to any kitchen, simplifying life without compromising flavor.

Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables is a comprehensive cookbook by Abra Berens that covers 29 types of vegetables and provides techniques for new flavors, textures, and ways to enjoy them. The book is organized alphabetically by vegetable, with each chapter featuring variations on how to prepare them. With 300 recipes and 140 photographs showcasing the finished dishes and the vegetables themselves, this cookbook is a must-have for vegetable lovers. The recipes range from shaved cabbage with chili oil to massaged kale with creamed mozzarella, tomatoes, and wild rice. Overall, Ruffage is a valuable reference for anyone looking to incorporate more vegetables into their diet in a delicious way.

Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands is a memoir by Linda Ronstadt that takes readers on a journey to the place her soul calls home, the Sonoran Desert. Through this book, Ronstadt shares her intimate memories of growing up as the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants and a descendant of Spanish settlers near northern Sonora. The book is a portrait of a place, a genealogy of sorts, and a celebration of marvelous flavors and indomitable people on both sides of what was once a porous border. The book features recipes for traditional Sonoran dishes and a bevy of revelations for Ronstadt’s admirers. Overall, this book is a heartfelt tribute to the beauty and magic of the Sonoran Desert.