The Best From Scratch Cookbooks for Beginners

Cooking from scratch is easy when you have the right tools at your fingertips. Learn how you can get from scratch meals on your table every night of the week with The Best from Scratch Cookbooks for Beginners.

I am sharing the top cookbooks and eBooks in my kitchen to help you get away from take-out meals and into home-cooked meals.

The Best From Scratch Cookbooks for Beginners

When I was newly married, the words ‘from scratch’ were pretty foreign to me. I didn’t have a clue how to cook for my husband and needless to say, we ate a lot of our meals from a box and I stocked the cupboard with those little packets of seasoning with most ingredients that you have no clue how to pronounce.

This type of cooking was not changed overnight, but through years of practice and trying new recipes and techniques.

I have tossed out all of the boxes, packets, and almost all store-bought canned goods and have learned how to mix my own spices, make my own creamed soups, and feed my family wholesome, nutritious food.

Reading a recipe even used to be a struggle for me, now I haven’t met a recipe that I cannot make. Back in my sugar filled days, I even made multiple cakes from scratch.

Now, people actually look up to me and my cooking. I get comments all the time about the delicious food that I made. Apparently, I have maybe moved to the next level of my skills in the kitchen and a LOT of those skills were learned through these books.

I do not say this to brag, but just to share a bit of my story, and for you to know, if you are where I was when I started, there’s hope. You can become a rockstar in the kitchen and it just takes practice and commitment. We have to eat every day, so make it the best that it can be.

Note: Here are some of my favorite places to purchase books.

Thriftbooks is my number one go-to for books. They offer both new and used books. The used books are in great shape and at a fraction of the cost. Seriously, give them a try!
AbeBooks has been suggested to me, but I have not ordered from them yet.
Bookshop.org is another option that was suggested to me.
Amazon is where I know that most people shop, so each of the books below is linked to them.

The Prairie Homestead Cookbook by Jill Winger

This is Jill Winger of The Prairie Homestead blog’s first book, released in 2019. I had preordered this book and haven’t set it down since it arrived.

This is my number ONE go-to book for cooking from-scratch meals in my home daily. Jill uses simple ingredients that I always have on hand and her recipes are easy and get food on the table fast.

This is not only a recipe book, but also contains tips about time management on the homestead, gardening, chickens, egg storage, home dairy, and stocking the larder.

Some of my favorite recipes in this book are:

Maple Sage Breakfast Sausage (how to season ground pork without all of the weird ingredients that prepackaged sausage contains)
Old-Fashioned Sausage Gravy with Sky-High Buttermilk Biscuits
Apple Cinnamon Puff Pancake
Baked Oatmeal with Peaches
Simple Roast Chicken
Chicken Stroganoff
The Wyoming Burger
Pan-Fried Steaks with Roasted Garlic Butter
Maple-Glazed Pork Chops
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Stovetop Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Zesty Oven Fries
Restaurant-Style Refried Beans
Chive & Cheddar Mounds
Soft Flour Tortillas (I make these almost every Tuesday for ‘Taco Tuesday’ in my home)
Ham & Cheese Pockets
Sourdough Crackers
Fudgy Sourdough Brownies
Prairie Cream Puffs
Haymaker’s Punch
Sourdough Starter
Cheese Sauce (for nachos)
Sweet & Tangy BBQ Sauce

The list could fill this page of my favorites from this book, but I will stop there. I reference this book at least once every week, but usually lots more. Lots and lots of good stuff in this book for the kitchen or the homestead.

From Scratch: Easy Recipes for Traditionally Prepared Whole-Food Dishes by Shaye Elliott

Shaye Elliott from the blog The Elliott Homestead released the book From Scratch in 2013.

To date, Shaye has written 3 other books-

Welcome to the Farm: How-to Wisdom from The Elliott Homestead (which was my first introduction to Shaye and her family. I knew that we would soon be best friends!).
Family Table: Farm Cooking from The Elliot Homestead (The Homemade Ham and Dry-Cured Bacon are my list to try this fall. They look amazing!!).
Seasons at the Farm: Year-Round Celebrations at The Elliot Homestead (FYI the Chicken and Dumpling recipe in this book is the BEST!).

I own all 4 of her books, but From Scratch is my go-to for recipes. This book uses simple ingredients that I have on hand in my kitchen. It is laid out beautifully with Shaye taking most of the photographs herself.

Some of my favorite recipes from this book are:

Soaked Granola
Dutch Baby Pancake with Apples
Buttery Biscuits
Cozy Banana Bread
Wheat Crackers with Sea Salt and Rosemary
Sourdough Starter
Sourdough Crackers
Sourdough Waffles
Beef and Chicken Stock
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Creamy Potato Soup with Sausage and Kale
Egg Drop Soup
Tomato Soup with Basil and Cream
Simple Pea Salad
Fresh Coleslaw
Korean Beef
Scalloped Potatoes with Grass-Fed Beef
Lazy Turkey Pot Pie
Hummus
Heavenly Fruit Cobbler
Lazy Fudge
Mayonnaise
Stovetop Hot Chocolate

24 Simple Freezer Meals Recipes eBook by Jessica Quinn

Jessica Quinn from the blog Mama on the Homestead is a busy homesteading mama of 5 kiddos.

24 Simple Freezer Meals Recipes eBook is a fantastic addition to my collection of books and binders. I love that she lays out the grocery list by different meat types (beef, pork, chicken) so you can choose if you would like to make everything or just make beef freezer meals one day and chicken the next.

This eBook contains recipes for:

Beef
Pork
Chicken
Bread, Soup, and Pasta
Breakfast

Some of my favorite recipes from this book are:

Southern Style Meatloaf
Taco Soup
Pork Roast with Veggies
Parmesan Honey Pork Loin
Chicken Fajitas
Honey Garlic Chicken
Corn Chowder
Breakfast Burritos

The Homemade Household: Complete Collection eBook by Jessica Quinn

Another great set of eBooks by Jessica Quinn from Mama on the Homestead. This is a collection of eBooks, but offers page after page of amazing recipes that I continue to refer to.

The Homemade Household is a collection of 4 amazing eBooks:

The Homemade Household in the Kitchen
The Homemade Homestead Barn + Garden
The Homemade Household Bath + Body
The Homemade Household Cleaning Supplies

I reference these eBooks often! So much good stuff in here. Some of my favorites from each book include:

The Homemade Household in the Kitchen

Shepherd’s Pie
Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggies (because sometimes simple is better!)
Hawaiian Pork Chops
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Creamed Corn
Honey Butter Dinner Rolls
Slow Cooker Apple Pie Filling
Cheesy Alfredo Sauce
Light Sweetened Condensed Milk
Grandma B’s BBQ Sauce (on my list to try out and can this summer/fall)
Zesty Salsa (on my list to try out and can this summer/fall)
Sweet Ketchup (on my list to try out and can this summer/fall)

The Homemade Homestead Barn + Garden

Bag Balm
Fly Spray
Udder Wash
Warming Sore Muscle Salve
Poultry Treats
Insecticidal Oil Spray
Slug Trap
Potting Soil (currently this is used in all of my outdoor pots)
Compost

The Homemade Household Bath + Body

Crockpot Shampoo Bars (hoping to try this recipe soon!)
Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse
Dry Shampoo
Bath Salt
Dry Skin Balm
Lip Balm

The Homemade Household Cleaning Supplies

Crystal Fabric Softener
Scouring Powder
Silver Polish
Carpet Freshener
Mop Solution
Furniture Polish

Cook Once, Eat All Week by Cassy Joy Garcia

My friend first introduced me to this cookbook that Cassy Joy Garcia released in 2019.

Cassy has two others which I have not read yet. They are called Fed & Fit and Cook Once Dinner Fix. Cassy also has a blog called Fed + Fit with a lot of great recipes and tips for eating healthy. I get her newsletter in my email weekly with lots of ideas for the weeks meals.

This book truly opened my eyes to ‘batch cooking’. Prep and cook certain ingredients and use them in meals for the week ahead. Brilliant!

One disappointment that I had with this book, is I was expecting that the ingredients that were prepped were for the entire week, when they are actually only for 3 meals. There are 2 bonus dinner options, but neither of them have anything to do with the ingredients that have been prepped.

All in all, this is a fantastic cookbook that is laid out very well. I am excited to order her newest book Cook Once Dinner Fix and see what new things she has in there.

Some of my favorite recipes from this book are:

White Chicken Chili
Chicken and Broccoli Fried Rice
Ground Beef Stroganoff
Loaded Cauliflower Casserole
Bacon Burgers with Broccoli and Twice-Baked Fries
Chicken Parmesan Bake
Chicken Burrito Bowls
Roasted Tomato Soup and Grilled Turkey and Cheese Sandwiches
Korean Beef Bowls
Green Goddess Salad
Pepper Steak Stir-Fry
Chicken Tetrazzini
Chipotle Chicken Casserole
Italian Wedding Soup
Egg Roll in a Bowl
Swedish Meatballs Over Mashed Potatoes

Fantastic book to make meal prepping quick, easy, and get meals on the table during the week fast.

Instant Loss: Eat Real, Lose Weight by Brittany Williams

Released in 2019, Brittany Williams has lost 125 pounds by cooking and eating whole foods. I purchased this book and Brittany’s first book Instant Loss Cookbook in the winter of 2019, when I bought my Instant Pot.

Brittany also has a blog called Instant Loss where she shares lots of recipes, and her story about her weight-loss journey. She is an amazing woman who not only decided enough was enough, but also turned her weight-loss into a new career.

Brittany also released a new cookbook in 2020 called Instant Loss on a Budget: Super Affordable Recipes for the Health-Conscious Cook.

Note: Not all of the recipes in this book use the Instant Pot. A lot of recipes do, but a lot don’t too. I noticed in the reviews, that some people were under the impression that this was an ‘Instant Pot only” book and that is not the case.

Some of my favorite recipes from this book are:

Pumpkin-Pie Steel-Cut Oats
Homemade Maple Breakfast Sausage
Chia-Berry Banana Pudding
Banana-Nut Bread Oatmeal
21 days of smoothies (7 different smoothie recipes with optional add-ins)
Lazy Day Minestrone
Potato Leek Soup
French Onion Soup
Loaded Vegetable Beef Stew
Taco Salad with Mexican Crema
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Teriyaki Chicken
Korean Beef
Cowboy Chili
Sirloin Steak Strips with Mushrooms and Balsamic Glaze
Steak and Veggie Kabobs
Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Fried Apples and Honey Sriracha Glaze
Pork Carnitas Tacos
Veggie Brown Rice
Braised Cabbage with Bacon
Darn Good Green Beans

Note: Brittany does include gluten-free and dairy-free recipes.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl by Ree Drummond

Released in 2009, Ree Drummond really is the original gal that showed the world how to make delicious from-scratch meals at home. She has been on The Food Network for years and might just be the original ‘food blogger’ that started it all as well. Her show is called The Pioneer Woman and she blogs at The Pioneer Woman. Quite convenient to have your name the same straight across the board!

Ree has a gift with photography and took almost all of her own photos for this cookbook. She sprinkles a lot of ‘farm life’ pictures into her cookbooks as well as stories from her frontier.

Some of her other books are:

The Pioneer Woman Cooks – Super Easy!
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The New Frontier
The Pioneer Woman Cooks – Come and Get It! : Simple, Scrumptious Recipes for Crazy Busy Lives
The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels
Charlie the Ranch Dog (When my kids were little, we had the whole Charlie collection of books. I used to read the books to them all the time! So good!)

I cannot remember when and where I got The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl exactly, but I do know it has been a favorite on my bookshelf for years.

Some of my favorite recipes from this book are:

Pico de Gallo
Hot Artichoke Dip
Egg-In-The-Hole
Marlboro Man’s Favorite Sandwich
Onion Strings
Spicy Pulled Pork
Macaroni and Cheese
Beans and Cornbread
Perfect Pot Roast
Chicken Spaghetti
Chicken-Fried Steak
PW’s Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Patsy’s Blackberry Cobbler

Ree uses ingredients that I don’t choose to use anymore, such as vegetable oils, shortening, cans of cream soups, etc. I still pull this cookbook out, but have learned that it is pretty easy to swap out ingredients I choose not to use, for ingredients that I do.

Magnolia Table – A collection of recipes for gathering by Joanna Gaines

Magnolia Table was released in 2018, the same year a good friend gifted it to me! It is a gorgeous book and definitely features Joanna’s creative side as well. Joanna and her husband, Chip, were on the hit TV show Fixer Upper for quite a few years.

Joanna has continued to write more books, including: