15 Food Photography Books To Gift Your Foodie Friend

In the age of social media, photos of food abound. It’s next to impossible to scroll through your feed without encountering, oh, a million images of your bestie’s breakfast, your sister-in-law’s afternoon snack, and your frenemy’s all-too-delicious-looking, splurge-worthy restaurant meal. But even in the era of the ‘gram, IRL food photography books stand out. Far from being impulsive iPhone snaps, the curated, impeccably lit images contained within the books’ glossy pages are faultlessly composed and eminently more drool-inducing than a pixelated screenshot.

While it seems like most of us can’t get enough photos of gooey grilled cheeses, artfully twirled carbonara strands, and intricately sauced desserts, the foodie friend in your life is doubtlessly even hungrier for them than the average Joe. So the next time her birthday rolls around or she’s celebrating a milestone at work, consider gifting a good old-fashioned food photography book whose pages she can savor. Highlighting the cuisines of regions from Tuscany to the Middle East, these books showcase beautiful images of everything from olive oil-flooded hummus to chocolate-studded ice cream. Best of all? You can grab ’em all on Amazon.

Without further ado, here are 15 food photography books for your foodie friend:

1. Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

Renowned cookbook author Yotam Ottolenghi’s Middle Eastern recipes are stunners, featuring vibrantly colorful explosions of fresh herbs and bright additions such as jewel-like pomegranate seeds. Captured in arresting full-color detail, images of creamy hummus and voluptuous poached pears are sure to stoke any foodie’s appetite.

Buy here for $18.96.

2. Pasta, Pretty Please: A Vibrant Approach to Handmade Noodles by Linda Miller Nicholson

Artist Linda Miller Nicholson became in Instagram sensation when she turned her talents to a different medium: pasta dough. Using natural tints such as butterfly pea flower, beets, and blueberries, Nicholson imbues her tortellini and fettuccine with incredible hues that have to be seen to be believed. Her book, Pasta, Pretty Please, will delight readers with candy-colored bowtie pasta and even ravioli featuring emojis ranging from the red wine glass to the pizza slice.

Buy here for $20.48.

3. Ice Cream & Friends by the editors of Food52

For the dessert lover in your life, there’s no better food photography book than this all-ice cream number authored by the editors of Food52. From glowy, citrus sugar-coated ice pops to delicate quarter-sized ice cream sandwiches, the crisp photos will have any ice cream addict reaching for their ice cream maker — or taking a stroll to the nearest scoop shop.

Buy here for $16.89.

4. Antoni in the Kitchen by Antoni Porowski

While it’s hard to imagine any eye candy prettier than the Queer Eye star himself, Antoni’s hotly anticipated cookbook does its best to distract from its hunky author with crave-worthy photos of comfort foods like Polish żurek soup and modern party food like watermelon bites with grilled halloumi and mint. The beautifully photographed recipes would be just the thing to whip up to accompany a binge session of the Fab Five.

Buy here for $21. 

5. Nothing Fancy: The Art of Having People Over by Alison Roman

New York Times wunderkind Alison Roman — she of the ultra-viral recipes for turmeric chickpea stew (#thestew) and salted butter chocolate chunk cookies (#thecookies) — has an unfussy approach to food that has a remarkable capacity to get her readership off the couch and into the kitchen.

With her new cookbook Nothing Fancy, Roman continues to defend the simple pleasures of the table, extolling the virtues of a crisp celery salad, a perfectly roasted chicken and, of course, a well-mixed cocktail.

Though pared-down, Roman’s recipes are always exceedingly photogenic, a theme continued in this newest release.

Buy here for $29.25.

6. Sababa: Fresh, Sunny Flavors from My Israeli Kitchen by Adeena Sussman

Over the past decade, Israeli food has experienced a remarkable cultural ascent, its fresh, produce-heavy flavors having been popularized by restaurateurs such as Michael Solomonov and food writers such as the aforementioned Yotam Ottolenghi.

The cuisine — characterized, as it is, by colorful accents such as fresh herbs and vibrantly colorful vegetables — comes across as particularly appealing in photos, a feat ably demonstrated by Adeena Sussman’s cookbook Sababa.

A food writer and recipe developer based in Tel Aviv, Sussman shares gorgeous recipes for grilled baby lamb chops, a grain salad with roasted grapes, and a booze-spiked watermelon granita that all surely taste as good as they look.

Buy here for $28.

7. Veg by Jamie Oliver

2019 hasn’t been the best year for celebrity chef and perennial British tabloid superstar Jamie Oliver: in May, he announced that his U.K. chain of Italian-inspired restaurants had gone bankrupt and that he had laid off 1,000 employees. But the dimple-faced TV host perseveres with his new cookbook Veg, a celebration of roots, leaves, and tubers that manages to glamorize the humble vegetable kingdom. Stunning photos capture a woodsy mushroom stroganoff, an Indian-inspired butternut squash and paneer cheese burger, and a veggie pad thai crowned with a golden-yolked fried egg.

Buy here for $28.27.

8. Franklin BBQ: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto by Aaron Franklin and Jordan Mackay

If your foodie pal’s tastes tend to run more carnivore than vegetarian, then give her the gift of meat. This exhaustively researched BBQ bible from the wildly successful Austin pitmaster Aaron Franklin features mouthwatering photos of Texas barbecue favorites such as tender brisket, sky-high pulled pork sandwiches, and sausages wrapped up in snappy casings. Just looking at them, you can almost smell the oak burning in the pit.

Buy here for $12.32.

9. Sister Pie by Lisa Ludwinski

Is there any better way to end a BBQ free-for-all than with a slice of pie? We don’t think so, and we’re sure author Lisa Ludwinski would agree. Owner and head baker at Detroit’s Sister Pie, Ludwinski has mastered the kind of double-crusted, sky-high, home-style pies that populate the dreams of the sweet-toothed among us. Burnished beauties shine forth from the pages of her stunning cookbook: rhubarb-rosemary gets a layer of buttery streusel, while toasted marshmallow butterscotch is capped with cloudlike meringue. One slice might not be enough.

Buy here for $14.55.

10. Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food by Nik Sharma

This cookbook from the acclaimed blogger behind A Brown Table lives up to its name, featuring bold dishes inspired by Sharma’s North Indian heritage photographed in stunning detail. A pristine caprese salad takes a surprising turn with a sweet tamarind dressing, while chocolate chip-hazelnut cookies find warmth with the addition of ground black pepper and chopped candied ginger. The book makes the perfect gift for any food lover ready to shake up his usual kitchen routine.

Buy here for $24.49.

11. Korean Home Cooking: Classic and Modern Recipes by Sohui Kim

Brooklyn restaurateur Sohui Kim shares her Korean background in this lushly photographed cookbook packed with inviting images of recipes for squid stir fry, chile-glazed baby back ribs, Korean-style fried chicken and more. Fiery red foods slicked with Korea’s distinctive gochujang chile paste are plated against boldly colored ceramic dishes, making even messy dishes such as kimchi appear artful and composed. Bibimbop, the traditional dish of rice cooked in a hot stone pot and topped with an array of vegetables, appears here as a rainbow of bright red pepper, cool green zucchini, earthy brown mushrooms and a sunny egg yolk.

Buy here for $23.46.

12. Cravings: Hungry for More by Chrissy Teigen and Adeena Sussman

Is there something about beautiful people making beautiful food? (See: Antoni’s new cookbook, above.) It seems to hold true when paging through supermodel Chrissy Teigen‘s followup to her wildly successful 2016 cookbook. Penned by Teigen with food writer Adeena Sussman, also noted above, the book’s approachable recipes shine in high-quality photos. Everything looks scrumptious, from a roasted carrot and avocado salad to the banana bread, which broke the internet when Teigen, in full recipe-development mode, promised any L.A. inhabitant a (clean) pair of husband John Legend’s underwear in exchange for six overripe bananas. And she actually followed through. Oh, Chrissy.

Buy here for $16.49.

13. Sweet Laurel: Recipes for Whole Food, Grain-Free Desserts by Laurel Gallucci and Claire Thomas

A gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free bakery that still manages to turn out epically beautiful and crave-able desserts? That’s so L.A., where Sweet Laurel founder Laurel Gallucci markets her bestselling, whole-foods muffins, cookies, bars and layer cakes. Inside this stunning cookbook, discover the secrets to whipping up the treats at home, and gawk at the lovely images of items such as a sky-high vanilla coconut jam cake and streusel-strewn apple pie bars.

Buy here for $16.99.

14. Everything I Want to Eat: Sqirl and the New California Cooking by Jessica Koslow

Speaking of L.A., how about a $10 avocado toast to complement your maple-sweetened chocolate cake? That can be found—festooned with colorful curls of pickled carrots, natch—at Sqirl, an all-day cafe in the city’s hip Silver Lake neighborhood. To create it at home (for a fraction of the price), pick up founder Koslow’s cookbook, where she shares the secrets to her viral comfort food recipes alongside clean, bright, California-styled photos.

Buy here for $28.80.

15. Flour Lab: An At-Home Guide to Baking with Freshly Milled Grains by Adam Leonti and Katie Parla

Gluten-free eaters, avert your eyes: the name of your nemesis is right there in the title of this handsome book, which takes a deep dive into the craft of home-baked bread and fresh pasta. Inside its pages, find recipes for sourdough boules, Parisian-style baguettes and springy fettucine, all shown in stunning photographs that will have you running for your rolling pin—or your nearest Italian restaurant.

Buy here for $31.50. 

Our So Yummy writer handpicked the items in this article. Affiliate links may give us a small share of the revenue to support our creative team.