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Each year, our staff and contributors round up their best gift ideas for cooks, eaters, and the kitchen curious. Read on for the novelty, funny cookbooks sure to delight the pop culture fan in your life.
A novelty cookbook is the gift that says “I know two things about you: You like Star Wars and you like to bake.” For all those hard-to-shop-for folks on your list, we've rounded up 17 niche, funny cookbooks to appeal to your TikTok-obsessed nephew, your oft hungover roommate, or your boyfriend who really sucks at cooking. If these recipe books don’t get you into the kitchen, at least they’re worth a laugh. Need more inspo? Check out our list of BA’s favorite cookbooks of 2022.
You Suck at Cooking: The Absurdly Practical Guide to Sucking Slightly Less at Making Food
Inspired by the YouTube show “You Suck at Cooking,” these 60+ recipes promise to help home cooks struggle less in the kitchen. Each recipe is spun with so much cheeky humor, it’s a compelling read in its own right. But should you feel ready to apron up, it’ll help you piece together everything from a gas station charcuterie plate to simple sandwiches like a ham and cheese melt and desserts like mini ice cream sammies (don’t worry—both the ice cream and ginger snaps are store-bought).
From Crook to Cook: Platinum Recipes From Tha Boss Dogg’s Kitchen
Perhaps you've seen Snoop Dogg show off his culinary prowess on Emmy-nominated Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party. He now has a cookbook of his very own with 50 delicious recipes straight from his personal collection (with opening words by Martha to boot). He delivers on his signature Gin and Juice, munchies like Frito BBQ Twists, and haute cuisine like Lobster Thermidor. Curious about what’s in Snoop’s fridge? Ranch dressing, dill pickles, and Moët. We're ready for more celebrity cookbooks like this, please.
Horror Caviar: A Cookbook
Horror movie buffs wait all year for spooky season, but there's no reason to stop at costumes and fake blood. Horror Caviar conjures up recipes inspired by iconic Hollywood horror, like The Shining and The Witch. Why fill up on store-bought candy when you can snack on homemade focaccia 'n' eyeballs? It’s definitely an avant-garde cookbook—a recipe for lamb chops in marigold jelly inspired by Midsommar lists “silicon river rock molds” as a required cooking tool—but it makes for a spooky cocktail table book perfect for all your Halloween hosting and beyond.
A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches
Are you a sandwich enthusiast? Same here. Get new ideas for what to put between two slices of bread, straight from New York chef Tyler Kord. His whatever-tastes-good vibe features everything from a meatloaf sandwich with pho mayonnaise and mint jelly to zucchini parm with barbecue-flavored potato chips. None of the included sandwiches are overcomplicated to make, but they’re as creative as the offerings at the trendy sandwich shop down the street.
The Drunken Cookbook
This is the book you need when you’re in your kitchen after hours, looking to sop up that third rum and Coke. The recipes include everything from a Philly cheesesteak to Pakistani lamb kofta, all guaranteed to provide comfort and sustenance no matter what you’re craving. Don’t worry—there are a series of checkpoints included to determine the reader’s intoxicated state (“If you’re struggling to read this, then you probably shouldn’t be trying to cook”), and risky techniques like deep-frying are excluded from the text entirely. I don’t know if I would have the capacity to make Spicy Thai-Style Pork Burgers in a not-so-sober state, but I surely would like to eat them.
As Cooked on TikTok
Why is everyone on your social media feeds making the same thing for dinner? The answer is likely TikTok. This book is filled with both the viral recipes and brand-new recipes from the most well-known TikTok food creators, plus tips and techniques from chefs who have taken to the platform like Alex Guaranaschelli. Too lazy to read and follow the recipe? Each recipe has a QR code to scan so you can go straight to that creator’s page and watch along while they make it.
I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence
Whether you’re throwing a gathering for the grieving or a dinner party for coworkers, comedian Amy Sedaris is here with a hilarious guide on how to be a good entertainer, no matter the occasion. There are recipes and advice for the hosts and tips for the guests too (i.e. don’t be fifteen minutes early.) In our favorite section, “Be Prepared,” Sedaris shares her know-how on what to keep in your medicine chest and what emergency numbers to have on hand.
Rapper’s Delight: The Hip Hop Cookbook
This cookbook inspired by your favorite hip hop artists manages to slip a pun into the title of every recipe, from Ludacrispy Duck to Queen Labeefah and Tiramisu Elliott. We came for the lulz, but stayed for the recipes that lean on pantry essentials and are quick to whip up.To stay completely on theme, cook times are given in BPM (beats per minute).
The Walking Dead: The Official Cookbook
If you were wondering where you can find all the skills and recipes needed to survive a zombie apocalypse in real life, you’ve come to the right place. There’s recipes for meals featured on the show (Carl’s biscuits, Maggie’s forkless apple pies), along with a guide to foraging, hunting, and outdoor cookery. You’ll also find tips on how to craft your own DIY fishing lines—information that could come in handy when you’re trying to avoid being eaten by a walker.
The Bob’s Burgers Burger Book: Real Recipes for Joke Burgers
Whether it’s “Bleu Is the Warmest Cheese Burger” or “Bruschetta-Bout-It Burger” that sparks your fancy, there’s a burger for everyone. Hungry fans can now recreate one of Bob Belcher’s specialty Burgers of the Day with 75 recipes straight from the show. The best part? The book is fully illustrated in the series’s style and showcases the entire Belcher family, so you can fully get into character. Don't be alarmed if you feel a shimmy tap coming on.
Eat Tweet
We're into Twitter. We're into recipes. So this collection of 140-character recipes makes perfect sense to us. The cookbook includes a glossary for common Twitter abbreviations. As for the recipes? With dishes like "migas & salsa verde" and "coffee-steeped dates," our interest is piqued.
Fifty Shades of Chicken
Chicken, but sexy? And also delicious. This parody of Fifty Shades of Grey features—you guessed it—50 recipes for everyone's favorite bird. The photography is beautiful, and the dishes, like Bacon-Bound Wings and Sticky Chicken Fingers, sound like something we'd like to get down and dirty with.
The Star Trek Cookbook
The Star Trek Cookbook begins by asking these important questions: "Is there one food that humans, Klingons, Bajorans, and Vulcans would like? If so, what would it taste like? How would you prepare it? Could you find all the ingredients locally?" This is a treasure of a cookbook for Trekkies, who will appreciate the nod to everyone's favorite characters in the recipe titles. But even those who aren't acquainted with the show can find a lot to love in the recipes: We're on board with "Vulcan apple pastry," even if we don't totally get it.
Mosh Potatoes
This roundup of our favorite rockers' favorite recipes may lean heavily on kitsch, but it's too clever not to enjoy. Dig in for thrash kabobs, metal mushroom tuna melt, and…hummus? This funny cookbook inspired us to bring back the kitchen playlist. Rock on.
What the F*@# Should I Make for Dinner?
Are you indecisive? Do you have a penchant for cursing? Have we got a cookbook for you. What the F*@# Should I Make for Dinner? seeks to answer an age-old question with the foulest of mouths. The step-by-step recipes, such as “Honor the mighty pig god with some f*@#ing Prosciutto and Melon with Balsamic Glaze,” are both easy and profane.
Wookiee Cookies: A Star Wars Cookbook
Are Wookiee cookies made from wookiees, or are they simply the preferred dessert of wookiees? Only reading this cookbook will provide the answers. Hands-down, our favorite recipe from the collection is "Boba Fett-uccine." The cookbook also includes tips for kids; if Star Wars references are what it takes to get kiddos cooking, we're all for it.
The Hungover Cookbook
The morning after you’ve cracked open The Drunken Cookbook, reach for a trough of coffee and take the "how hungover are you, exactly" assessment in The Hungover Cookbook. The recipes lean towards comfort food, and while we're not convinced that lemon and demerara sugar pancakes will cure all that ails us, darn it, we'll give it a try.
This piece was originally published in 2014 and updated in 2022.
