1I've been vegetarian (primarily vegan) since 1995. That means I've tried a lot of cookbooks over the years. In fact, take a look at the picture above. That's my cookbook shelf and 90% of the books on that shelf are vegan. The others are vegetarian. I usually aim to buy vegan cookbooks, because I haven't bought cow's milk or eggs since 1995. I only do vegan cooking at home. I can take a vegetarian cookbook and make the substitutions to make the recipe vegan, but because I do that I tend to opt more for buying vegan cookbooks over vegetarian cookbooks.  

I have some favorite vegetarian cookbooks that I've used over the years to prepare my family some delicious meals. I love recipes that are easy, have a lot of ingredients that are familiar to me, and won't cost a lot to prepare. And I like recipes to taste great, too!

Here's my top picks for the 5 best vegetarian cookbooks (in no particular order):

I love the Jazzy Vegetarian cookbooks! Well, I love her cooking show that's on TV, too. Everything she cooks is vegan and all her recipes are vegan. She has out four vegan cookbooks and I have them all. And I love them all! I've found so many recipes in her cookbooks that I love, some of which have become family favorites (like the coconut encrusted tofu). Everyone should have at least one vegan cookbook by the Jazzy Vegetarian in their kitchen. If you only choose one to start with, go with the Jazzy Vegetarian Classics: Vegan Twists on American Family Favorites. You won't be disappointed!

Get out the slow cooker or crockpot! I'm a big fan of cooking with the crockpot. There's just something great about getting the dinner in the pot early in the morning and knowing that at dinner time you have very little to do before a tasty vegan meal is on the table. My favorite vegan slow cooker cookbook is Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker: In fact, I love most of Robin Robertson's cookbooks. She's one of my very favorite vegan cookbook author's! Everyone needs a great vegan slow cooker cookbook in their collection and this one is the best!

This is an older vegetarian cookbook, but one of my favorites! There are over 240 recipes in this cookbook. While they are not all vegan, you can easily veganize the ones that are vegetarian. I have made some dishes for my family for years out of this cookbook. The PDQ (Pretty Darn Quick) Vegetarian Cookbook is a book filled with easy vegetarian and vegan recipes that your family will enjoy!

If you love a variety and love easy vegan meals this is a safe bet to add to your collection. The Everything Vegan Cookbook is chock full of great vegan recipes that are easy to prepare and taste good. I love the simplicity of the recipes in this book, as well as the variety. It's also an affordable option to add to your collection.

This is an old vegan cookbook that you likely not be able to find brand new. But try to find a used copy. You should be able to find one on eBay or at a thrift store. Recently, I found a used one at a thrift store for 50 cents. I grabbed it, thinking I can give it to my daughter when she goes to college. This is not only one of my favorite cookbooks for the great recipes (garlic pasta, anyone?), but it was also my very first vegan cookbook when I went vegetarian, back in 1995. It's a a PETA cookbook and although I'm not a fan of everything PETA does, I am a fan of their cookbooks, with this being my favorite one. Keep your eye  peeled for a used copy and add this little gem to your vegan cookbook collection!