9 best Nigella Lawson cookbooks: Tried, tested and delicious

As the name suggests, this is a collection of recipes that Nigella says she turns to time and time again. And do you know what? If they’re good enough for Nigella, who are we to deny the significance of said recipes?

Everything about this book – her latest publication – feels refreshing.  Our favourite thing has to be the chapter entitled "A loving defence of brown food", which is packed with carby, meaty classics like stewed short ribs or mince topped with dumplings. We also love that Nigella tackles food waste in a subtle way, adding unusual ingredients to recipes, like in her now-infamous banana skin curry (which, spoiler alert, is actually pretty tasty). There’s also an impressive index which had a clever coloured dots system to mark recipes up as veggie, vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free, for quick-fire referencing.

Nigella’s first book is a product of its time, there’s no beautiful recipe photography or arty double page spreads of ingredients, instead there are pages upon pages packed with practical advice. The helpful tips and classic recipes bridge the ages for a cookbook that we highly doubt will ever lose its relevance.  

Inside you’ll find all of the basics such as roast chicken, sponge cakes, sauces and dressings (as well as "basics" which qualify only for that status in Nigella’s world – Christmas goose and how to use truffles when in season, for example). Further in, it covers everything from perfect plates for weekend lunches to how to cook for babies and children. We particularly loved a section in the fast-food chapter which covers hasty replacements, notes we turned to on more than one occasion. Rather than full recipes it’s more like a series of prompts which help with the midweek rut and remind you that actually with fifteen minutes on your hands you have what it takes to make an escalope, or a plate of pasta covered in nutmeg and butter. Delicious!

The chunkiest of all Nigella’s books, this homage to "cosy, cocooning food" is dedicated to the cook’s family and you can feel the care in every one of the multitude of recipes (not least because steps are marked with a little love heart instead of numbers). The two main sections are titled "Kitchen Quandies" and "Kitchen Comforts", with the former answering common dilemmas such as "what’s for tea?" and making a meal out of a fridge raid.

Pre-cursing the recipes themselves is a lovely meandering chapter on hacks and habits Nigella has inherited from loved ones across the years, an insight into the author’s home life which includes tips on everything from removing tea stains from mugs to how to cook sushi rice. Packed with family-friendly food, this is a reference manual that pays homage to everyday meals and creates a catalogue you’ll want to dip in and out of routinely. Our only complaint? The brown cover will never make it to our rainbow-arranged repertoire of recipe books.

This would make the ideal gift for hobby bakers wanting to improve their skills because within its pages you will find baking recipes that eliminate complicated techniques in favour of comforting results. Think cakes ready in under half an hour, and cookies that are simple enough to make with kids. A word of warning for novice bakers though, imagery doesn’t accompany each recipe, so if you like to know what your macaroons should look like on completion, or have yet to be acquainted with the correct shape and size for a crostata, a little Googling may be required. An unexpected joy is the savoury section, full of pies and puddings, like a good old fashioned steak and kidney chap.

In her wonderful signature style Nigella introduces each of her recipes in this cookbook with infectious excitement, resulting in an unrealistic ambition in us to want to make everything at once. Among the pages you’ll find the recipe for that hallowed chocolate Guinness cake in a dedicated "Chocolate Cake Hall of Fame" section, which in itself surely gives this cookbook an edge over competitors. While this Nigella cookbook covers the obvious feast days, like Christmas and Valentine’s Day, it’s the less auspicious sections we love more. There’s a menu dedicated to impressing prospective in-laws, while a Georgian feast for eight will expand your recipe repertoire, giving you the know-how to make a meal of cheesy hachapuri flatbreads with a sour cherry and rice stuffed chicken and beetroot puree. We simply loved the saffron roast lamb with sticky roast potatoes and would definitely recommend it for a more exotic twist on your everyday roast. 

True,  the recipes here are a little more complex than in some of Nigella’s other books, which can make them seem harder to follow and a lack of timing notes means you aren’t so sure what you’re getting yourself in for before you start. But trust us when we say it’s all worth it in the end. The final dishes will truly make you  seem like the "host(ess) with the mostest" when cooking for friends and family. 

Paying homage to her adopted nation, Nigella’s Nigellissima is a love-letter to Italian cookery, making for a delightfully evocative read packed full of delicious-sounding (and tasting) dishes. Aside from the obvious carb-heavy favourites, there are whole chapters on Italian ways to serve meat, fish and vegetables which we – as Brits – can so often overlook in favour of the safety and speediness of pasta.

Never one to shy away from a time-saving shortcut, we love Nigella’s recipes that celebrate elevating just a handful of store cupboard ingredients, like throwing together cannellini beans with rosemary and olive oil for an unctuous salad or side, or her dessert which essentially pours melted white chocolate over frozen berries for a sweet and sticky melted-medley. Method instructions are bolded at the start of each step, which might seem inconsequential but actually helps you navigate with ease, keeping you firmly on track with one glance.  

Rather than being divided into sections, the recipes in At My Table are individually listed out in the contents at the front, allowing for a quick "scan and select" approach from the off. Rest assured the recipes here are accessible for cooks at every level. Start with a toasted brie sandwich and work your way up to something like the lamb shanks with dates and pomegranate molasses.  

For any relevant recipe there’s a dedicated section at the back which explains how to make ahead and store, an element which makes it feel like it’s really earning its place on your bookshelf, outstripping Google’s smarts by giving you the solution to a problem you hadn’t yet thought of.

Nigella Christmas is hard to get hold of, hence the slightly higher price point. If you do manage to bag yourself a copy you’ll be the proud new owner of many new failsafe festive menus. The earlier cover was one of only a couple of her books which feature the leading lady herself on the front (and is even more expensive and only available as used on Amazon, £41), making it an edition for diehard fans, and one that will hold your hand and gently guide you through the most wonderful time of the year. But we also like this red festive cover too.

Recipes span jams and jellies through to mince pies and sausage rolls, plus turkey and all the trimmings of course (we particularly love her ham in this one). With get ahead tips, the recipes are both delicious and practical. That’s the really important thing isn’t it? Apart from the fun of being with those we love.

Here lies another great example of what the cook does best: easy food to share with friends. We like that, aside from the expected salads and barbecue favourites, there’s also an entire chapter dedicated to drinks – because what is more glorious than sipping cocktails in the warmth of a long evening?

This is also one of Nigella’s best cookbooks for turning to when you want to make the most of seasonal ingredients. With plenty of ways to use up things like courgettes, tomatoes and fresh peas, it allows you to make use of a glut of goodies from the greenhouse, or just take advantage of the most competitively priced fruit and veg in the supermarket at any one moment. 

Our only quandary would be Nigella’s use of ingredients you certainly can’t always get from your local corner shop. So when selecting recipes to try from her book we had to skirt round things like the barbecued quail and Arabian pancakes with orange flower syrup. Instead we selected some of the simpler recipes which still resulted in a triumphant weeknight dinner finishing up with caramelised pineapple and hot chocolate sauce – a five ingredient dessert that can be made in as many minutes, and is so much more than the sum of its parts.