Maybe you have a plethora of cookbooks sitting on your shelf, but you don’t have time to let a soup simmer for an entire hour. You have a busy life, and most days you’re popping in an out of the house or just have too many things to do. Even if you travel frequently, you can still cook meals that suit you!
Perhaps you don’t have a lot of kitchen accessories, or you only have room in your kitchen for a few staple items like a microwave, Crock-Pot and induction burner; that’s okay! These cookbooks keep all of those obstacles in mind and give creative ideas for cooking wonderful meals.
Maybe, you have an entire family to cook for, but you don’t have the extra time needed to feed extra mouths. Don’t worry, you can still cook a fabulous meal that doesn’t require you to wake up at the crack of dawn.
Below are some cookbooks for those who are usually very busy and still want to make a four-star meal.
1. Real Simple Easy, Delicious Home Cooking
This cookbook is filled with recipes with short ingredient lists that don’t expect you to do any cooking outside of your comfort zone. The directions are simple and quick to read. The cookbook is divided by seasons, so all of the recipes include seasonal ingredients that won’t be difficult to find.
Recipes include goat cheese and red pepper quesadillas, roasted turkey with cheddar-stuffed potatoes and curried yogurt and lime dip.
2. The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast Easy Fresh
This cookbook has a lot of professional-sounding meals with easy instructions. The cookbook also offers advice on grocery shopping, how to make meals or prep work ahead of time and reheating options.
Recipes include Linguine with winter pesto and grilled steak with fresh garden herbs.
3. Busy-Day Slow Cooking Cookbook
A slow cooker is one of the easiest ways to cook a meal without having to monitor it all day. Enter: the Busy-Day Slow Cooing Cookbook. All of the recipes involve simply adding ingredients to your slow cooker and a few instructions.
Recipes like pineapple and brown sugar ham are sure to please crowds.
4. Great Freezer Recipes for the Busy Household
If you’re the type of person who has time to cook many meals in one day and freeze them all for the remainder of the week, then this is the perfect cookbook for you!
All of the recipes are for making ahead so you can focus the majority of your week on other activities. Recipes include breakfast burritos and vegetarian jambalaya.
5. Freezer Meals: Delicious Make-Ahead Meals
This cookbook is similar to the previous one, and it also includes tips for freezing certain foods and a six-week meal plan. The book also has tips for those on a diet, like how to lower fat and cholesterol.
Make-ahead recipes include arugula salmon salad, steak, and veggie kebabs and apple cinnamon porridge.
6. 5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Recipes
The title may be long, but these slow cooker recipes are super easy! Each recipe has five ingredients or less, and they can all be cooked in your Crock-Pot while you’re away at work all day. There are plenty of entrée recipes, and there are even some slow cooker dessert recipes.
7. 15 Minute Dash Diet Recipes: Quick Meals for Busy People
DASH stands for dietary approaches to stop hypertension, which means the recipes in this book are low in salt and have a lot of nutrient-rich ingredients. All of the recipes can be made in under fifteen minutes, and they’re great for anyone who is looking to eat a little healthier.
This is a great cookbook for those who don’t have a lot of time to cook but still need to choose healthy meal choices.
8. The 4 AM Chef: Paleo Recipes For a Busy Life
This recipe book guides you through meals specifically for the paleo diet. The paleo diet includes raw and unprocessed foods. The diet still includes cooked meat, but processed grains and man-made foods are not available.
You’ll definitely save time with minimal cooking!
9. Cooking for One
When you’re cooking for one, you’ll only have to spend a little time in the kitchen! This cookbook provides recipes with tips on how to freeze and store your meals. The cookbook has also been compiled with busy-lifestyles in mind, so you won’t have to cook all day.
10. Bodyfoods for Busy People
This is a fantastic cookbook for anyone who is on the go. Sometimes, being busy every day means you don’t have time to pick the healthiest meal options, but this cookbook proves that it’s easier than you think to pick ingredients that will keep you energized and nourished. Recipes even include how to cure your hangover or how to remedy jet lag!
Hopefully, this list of cookbooks will get you started on your journey to cook delicious meals without spending all of your time in the kitchen. With easy to follow instructions and short ingredient lists, all you have to be able to do is read the recipe!
There are many cookbooks out there that can pertain to your needs. If you don’t see your needs met in the list above, try looking for books specifically made for your diet or lifestyle. Are you on a vegan diet? Do you only have a couple of pots and pans? Are you in college with limited time to cook? There’s a cookbook out there for you! Even you can be a home-chef. Happy cooking, and happy eating!
