Because of my recent move, I had to box up my Cookbook collection. Some might think I have a cookbook problem, but I look at it more as an “enthusiasm”. There were a lot. I stopped counting at 15 boxes… Tech Guy just shook his head But in packing them up, I did a bit of real sorting, and I noticed that slowly but surely, I’ve managed to collect a lot of German Cookbooks, especially German Cookbooks in English. (I also have quite a few in German… but that’s another story.)
This list of German cookbooks in English is made up of my favorites. The ones I reach to most often… the ones I know I can rely on and the ones I page through when I’m looking for cooking inspiration! And they are also the ones with the most kitchen splatter on them…
I know I’ve written about many of them in past posts, but here they are in one place, and in no particular order…
Don’t be afraid to buy used cookbooks, the way I see it, they get splattered on anyway.
Also!! Keep in mind that some of the older Cookbooks have fallen out of print. Do NOT be alarmed if you see outrageous prices for the book. Ignore those. Honestly, unless you are buying some gold plated cookbook, there is no reason to pay hundreds of dollars for a collection of recipes. Dig a bit… usually there will be some reasonably priced used ones or in different editions.
German Cookbooks in English
Easy German Cookbook
Looking for German Cooking made simple? Try my “Easy German Cookbook” which makes German home cooking accessible even for the non-cooks. These are recipes that you would find at home or on your Oma’s table. But you’ll also find quite a few restaurant and Festival favorites. Pork, beef, fish, vegetables, desserts and more! Satisfying and delicious, yet translated to the American Kitchen. This labor of love includes some recipes from my website and recipes I like to cook for my family. Priced at under $20, this book gives you a lot for the money…and makes a great stocking stuffer! You can even get a signed copy!!
Easy German Cookbook: 80 Classic Recipes Made SimpleEasy German Cookbook SIGNEDGermanGirl Shop
German Meals at Oma’s
“German Meals at Oma’s”, was written by Gerhild Fulson, the force behind the website/blog Quick German Recipes Just like Oma. This is the cookbook you need if you miss having Oma stand next to you while you recreate those meals you remember from childhood. There’s nothing overly fancy about these dishes… although there definitely are a few ‘Holiday meal’ recipes included. Mostly, these are recipes for the German food we remember, and grew up eating. There is a photo included for every dish, and best of all, Oma’s corner has some great tips for each recipe (just like your Oma is whispering in your ear). German Meals at Oma’s is great for new and experienced cooks. She also has a wonderful Baking Book! Baking Just Like Oma- by Gerhild Fulson, my Review
German Meals at Oma’s: Traditional Dishes for the Home Cook
This year, Gerhild Fulson released a new cookbook. This book is also loaded with great recipes and great tips…and there are more recipes than German Meals at Oma’s. Both are on my cookbook shelves.
Cooking Just Like Oma: Traditional German Recipes
Culinaria Germany
Culinaria Germany is as much an encyclopedia of German food as a cookbook. The soft cover, over-sized book is filled with Traditional German Recipes that are clearly laid out to make at home. Also, regional specialties are highlighted and explained in depth. Best of all, this book is LOADED with photographs! Not just of the completed recipes, but also of the foods that go into those recipes. This is one of those cookbooks that you can read for pleasure … or for increased knowledge. There are even sections on how people ate in Germany hundreds of years ago!
Because it’s out of print, you can generally find it at a very good price.
For a more in-depth review, click here–>Culinaria Germany
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Culinaria Germany: A Celebration of Food and Tradition
The German Cookbook by Alfons Schuhbeck
The newest (and heaviest) cookbook in my collection is The German Cookbook by Alfons Schuhbeck. Chef Schuhbeck is a Michelin starred chef with a few restaurants and food related businesses in Munich, and this cookbook is a culmination of many years in the kitchen preparing great German Food. Containing over 500 recipes, this book is fairly comprehensive… everything from clear starter soups to vegetables, Wild Game to Cake, and salads to sausages. The cookbook is in English, but has both metric and American standard measurements. This is a great cookbook for anyone who wants to dig a bit deeper into German cooking… or for someone who has memories of regional dishes that you don’t find on most restaurant tables. You can read my review here> The German Cookbook
Best Recipes German Cooking and Baking Dr Oetker
If you are looking for a solid German Recipe Book that has all your favorites from your favorite German Restaurant including a lot of regional specialties, Dr Oetker Best Recipes, is your go-to cookbook. Recipes for everything from Asparagus Soup to Kassler to Sauerbraten, and even Roast Goose. There are sauces, salads and veggies…. and best of all, the last third of the book is baking and desserts. There are enough recipes in this book to keep your stomach happy for a long time.
Most of the recipes have photos (so at least, if you don’t know what it’s called, you can see what it looks like) Since it’s a Dr Oetker book, you know that the recipes have been tested and simplified for the home cook. Before you know it, you will be producing Cabbage Rolls and Eintopf just like your Oma.
Best Recipes: German Cooking And Baking
Biergarten Cookbook
In Germany Biergartens aren’t just about drinking, many people take along a picnic of dips, salads, and even warm foods that make an afternoon more gemütlich. Our family loves to visit local Breweries here in the US, but many don’t serve food. Since they allow us to bring food in, I always do (drinking without a base to soak up the alcohol doesn’t make sense to me). This little Biergarten cookbook is loaded with traditional Bavarian recipes with a leaning toward “take along” foods. You will find recipes for soups, sausages, noodle and potato dishes… even sweet baked desserts. And to make it easy to transport, the book gives tips on packing your foods so that they arrive safely.
Plus… when we show up with a packed hamper, we end up meeting a lot more people than we expected. Sharing food is fun! Read a longer review of the Biergarten Cookbook Here–>Biergarten Cookbook
Biergarten Cookbook: Traditional Bavarian Recipes
Spoonfuls of Germany
Spoonfuls of Germany is a great cookbook for both new and experienced German Cooks. The recipes are straightforward and easy to follow… and the ingredients can all be sourced here in the United States. I highly recommend this book! Click here for a longer review–> Spoonfuls of Germany
Spoonfuls of Germany: German Regional Cuisine
The Wurst
If you are looking for a German cookbook that has all the typical German dishes in it (and no fancy variations) then “The Wurst: The Very Best of German Food” is for you. These are the recipes everyone immediately thinks of when they think “German Cooking”. You will find Rouladen, Rotkohl, Sauerkraut, Spätzle AND Käsespätzle, Königsbergerklopße, Bienenstich, and your Oma’s Gurkensalat (cucumber salad) recipe. Every recipe has a photo, so even if you aren’t sure, you can see what its supposed to look like. What’s interesting, is that Otto Wolff also puts in recipes for Weißwurst (not just how to cook it, but also how to MAKE the sausage itself) and a few other common sausages. There are snacks, main dishes, sweets, salads and sides. If you just want to cook BASIC German Food without worrying too much about regional specialties, get The WURST!
The Wurst!: The Very Best of German Food
New German Cooking
You can teach a traditional chef new tricks. New German Cooking by Jeremy and Jessica Nolen takes the recipes our Oma’s cooked, but adds a terrific modern twist. The flavor profile is more “fresh” and fitting with our modern lifestyles. And while home cooks may cook with a lot of vegetables, this pair adds even more… including some that you wouldn’t have found on the table 25 or 30 years ago. For example, in Germany, Radish Salad is not unusual, but the addition of Daikon radish gives the salad a bite that I can certainly appreciate. And, to me, roasting those Rosenkohl (Brussels sprouts) is much tastier than boiled ones (sorry mom…).
You’ll find easy to follow recipes for Griebenschmaltz, Spiesbraten, Pretzels, Potato Sauerkraut Gratin and more. This is a wonderful cookbook for anyone who wants to have their German food the way it is today.
If you are in Philadelphia, you can visit the Nolen’s restaurant, Brauhaus Schmitz.
New German Cooking: Recipes for Classics Revisited
Das Cookbook
I’ve included Das Cookbook :German Cooking California Style because it emphasizes the lighter side of German cooking. Hans Röckenwagner’s Cafe and Bakery in Los Angeles take German food, and fuse it with California produce (and the Californian desire to eat minimal calories). What you get in the cookbook is classic German dishes and a lot more veggies. So yes, there is a great recipe for Spätzle, but he adds pea shoots and morel mushrooms (that’s dinner here tonight, btw). There are a lot more sandwich and salad recipes than your average cookbook… and I defy you to find another German Cookbook with Avocado fries. Still… the classics are in here like Wiener/Jäger Schnitzel, Roast Goose, Goulasch, and baked goods like Pretzels (that he also uses for Knoedel!), Vanilla Kipferl and Lebkuchen. And while he uses less Streusel than most Americans expect on their “coffee cake”, his recipe for Rhubarb Streusel Kuchen is spot on for me.
If you are looking to include German flavors into your everyday California Kitchen (or any kitchen that loves lots of fresh fruit and veggies) then Das Cook Book is perfect for you.
Das Cookbook: German Cooking . . . California Style
Classic German Cookbook by Lesley Chamberlain
70 Traditional Recipes from Germany, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic
The Classic German Cookbook is not big… but then, it’s not overloaded with a load of recipes that you might never even consider trying. I do love that there are photos of each dish… and even step-by-step photos for many of the dishes, so you know what it’s supposed to look like as you are cooking (and when it gets to the table). Since the book is published in England, there are 3 measurements for each ingredient (for example…1.2 liters/ 2 pints/ 5 cups water) so you can use whatever you are used to. There are a variety of foods in this book. From the classic Red Cabbage, Sauerbraten and Potato Pancakes to the less common fish dishes made from Pike.
Many of the recipes seem to come from Germans from the Eastern countries like Hungary and the Czech Republic. There are several versions of Goulasch, and a number of regional recipes that you probably won’t find on the table in Bavaria or Hamburg. While this is a very good cookbook with some interesting dishes, I don’t know if it’s a great “first German Cookbook” for someone who is learning about German cuisine. But, if you want to go beyond the standards… or your Oma came from the East, and you want to recreate those flavors. This is a cookbook for you.
The Flour is Different by Trudy Gilgenast
I’m including this cookbook, because I love books of gathered recipes. The Flour is Different is a spiral bound collection of recipes put together by Trudy Gilgenast, from German cooks in the Delaware Valley. Most were handed down generation to generation. Some are clearly “Americanized” versions of German foods. Think of it as cooking in Denglish.
Still, I love that you get the stories from the cooks… where the recipes came from. And between the recipes you will find German traditions.
This little book is out of print (and can be expensive), but if you find it at a decent price, it’s a fun read.
More German Cookbooks in English- German Baking Recipe Books
Classic German Baking by Luisa Weiss
Since Classic German Baking is my newest German cookbook, I haven’t had much chance to use it yet, but the recipes I have tried are spot on. Luisa Weiss works in Berlin, and really knows her flavors. Although it’s a large book, there are only 100 recipes. Each one is described and explained, the ingredients are listed by weight and American measurements , and (best of all) each step of the baking process is explained in GREAT DETAIL. You can’t mess these up, even if you are a total amateur. It’s almost like she’s in the kitchen with you! And all of your favorite baked goods are in here… Torten, cookies, breads and Broetchen, Kasekuchen (Cheesecake) and Strudel. There are even 20 specialty Christmas recipes!
Best of all, there are recipes for the building blocks of German Baking. You won’t have to buy Quark, Vanille Zucker, Marzipan or Lebkuchengewürz again… the recipes are all here.
German Cookbooks in English for Christmas
Christmas Baking Christian Teubner
Christmas Baking is actually a translation of the baking recipe book, “Weihnachts Bäckerei“. It’s LOADED with all of your favorite German Christmas cookies and cakes. Everything from Lebkuchen and Vanille Kipferl to Stollen and Lebkuchen. The recipes are straightforward, and come with both volume and weight measurements, so you can use what feels most comfortable. The ingredients are fairly easy to source here in the US… either in a supermarket or online. Best of all, there are lots of wonderful photos of treats to tempt you into the kitchen.
If you love to bake at Christmas, and want to fill that Bunte Teller with German Treats, Christmas Baking is the perfect cookbook for you. Since this is an older book, it appears to be out of print. Luckily, there are loads of used copies online for purchase.
Read my longer review here–> Christmas Baking
Christmas Baking: Traditional Recipes Made Easy (English and German Edition)
Looking for German cookbooks in GERMAN?
Click here-> German Cookbooks in German
My wife has Miller’s German Cookbook (Nitty Gritty Productions, 1972) and The Art of German Cooking (Betty Watson, Doubleday, 1967), both probably out of print but full of great recipes.
Hi! I am originally from Ohio, but I’ve been living in Germany the past 18 years. I’m looking for a book on German Mixed Drinks in English, but I am coming up empty handed. Can you help me??
Are you looking for a book of specifically German cocktails? but written in English? That’s a tough one.
Or are you looking for a list of mixed drinks like this–>https://germangirlinamerica.com/german-drink-recipes/
I watch Lecker Schnell on youtube and would love her recipes in English. Is there
any area that I could find them?
I honestly don’t know. It might be worth reaching out to her. My cookbook will be out in November.
Iam looking to buy a german cookbook with english translation.
All of these German cookbooks are in English. You can click the buttons to order them.