BOOKS
Published
Read Time
8 min read
Reader ratingreader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
4.6
· 1,108 Amazon ratingsShare This Review
Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book by Better Homes and Gardens Review: A Century-Strong American Kitchen Staple
The Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book — the eighteenth edition — is a comprehensive American cooking reference that has anchored home kitchens since its first edition in 1930. With more than 1,400 recipes tested and perfected in the Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen, alongside over 800 full-color photos and extensive reference material, it is designed to serve cooks of nearly every skill level and interest. Its longevity and consistent reinvention make it one of the most recognizable general-purpose cookbooks in the United States.
Tap to enlargeLuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Home cooks who want a single, wide-ranging reference covering everyday meals, baking, entertaining, and preservation — especially those who value quick navigation through at-a-glance icons and front-loaded chapter guides rather than deep exploration of any one cuisine.
Worth it if
Worth it if you want one thoroughly tested, continuously updated generalist cookbook that can serve both new and experienced cooks across nearly every category of American home cooking, including time-saving quick meals.
Skip if
Skip it if you're looking for authoritative depth in a specific cuisine or technique — no single topic here receives the focused treatment that a subject-specific title can provide, and owners of a recent previous edition should weigh whether the new chapters and expanded recipe count justify repurchasing.
What readers & critics say
Cookingbythebook.com, reviewing an earlier edition, describes the red-and-white checkerboard cover as "instantly recognizable" and calls it "a constant reference," noting the book's enduring value across successive editions. Retailer and publisher listings at barnesandnoble.com and ipgbook.com highlight the eighteenth edition's expanded content — including all-new historical chapters and a "Then & Now" section comparing original classics to trend-influenced updates — framing it as a landmark anniversary volume that has been a trusted kitchen staple since 1930.
Sources: cookingbythebook.com, barnesandnoble.com, ipgbook.com4.6from 1,108 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
In This Review
- What Works & What Doesn't
- What the Book Actually Is
- A Legacy That Spans Nearly a Century
- Strengths: Depth, Navigation, and Visual Support
- Limitations: Breadth Over Depth
- Who This Book Is For
What Works & What Doesn't
What Works
- More than 1,400 recipes tested in the Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen, covering an exceptionally wide range of categories from baking to grilling to preservation
- At-a-glance icons (Easy, Fast, Low-Fat, Vegetarian, and more) and front-loaded chapter reference material are designed to make the large collection efficiently navigable
- The all-new 20-Minute chapter (45+ fast meal solutions) and 400+ quick-and-easy recipe designations directly address time-constrained home cooking
- Over 800 full-color photos covering finished dishes, how-to technique demonstrations, and ingredient identification provide broad visual support
- An Updated Cooking Basics chapter consolidates food safety, make-ahead strategies, emergency substitution charts, and kitchen gadget guidance in one place
What Doesn't
- As a comprehensive generalist reference, no single cuisine or technique receives the depth that a subject-specific cookbook could offer — readers seeking specialization will need additional titles
- Cooks who own a recent previous edition should evaluate whether the new chapters and expanded recipe count represent sufficient updates to justify repurchasing
The eighteenth edition of this cookbook stands as a thorough, continuously updated general-purpose reference for American home cooking — not a niche specialty guide.
What the Book Actually Is
Interior spread featuring kitchen testing methodology, recipe development process, and cookbook contributors in professional settings.
The Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, published in its eighteenth edition by IPG Publishing & Licensing in October 2022, is a comprehensive general-purpose cookbook covering an exceptionally wide range of culinary territory. The book contains more than 1,400 recipes — tested and perfected in the Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen — spanning cooking basics, breads, cakes, cookies, desserts, grilling, slow-cooker meals, fish, meats, soups, canning, and freezing. An all-new 20-Minute chapter contributes more than 45 fast meal solutions to the collection, and more than 400 of the total recipes are designated quick and easy. Simple menu ideas appear in every main-dish chapter, framing individual recipes within a broader meal context. At-a-glance icons throughout the book identify recipes as Easy, Fast, Low-Fat, Fat-Free, Whole Grain, Vegetarian, or a reader Favorite, allowing cooks to filter the vast contents by practical criteria at a glance.
A Legacy That Spans Nearly a Century
The "red plaid" cookbook, as it is affectionately known, has been a trusted staple in American kitchens since 1930. The brand behind it, Better Homes & Gardens, is itself a cultural institution — and successive editions of this book have tracked and reflected the evolution of American home cooking across nearly a century. Where earlier editions established foundational techniques for a postwar generation of home cooks, the eighteenth edition acknowledges contemporary cooking practices: recipes include flavor variations, ingredient-swap options, and healthier alternatives alongside the classics. The book's endurance across eighteen editions is, in itself, a signal of its sustained relevance to a broad audience; few general cookbooks remain in continuous publication for this long.
Interior spread showing cupcake recipes with step-by-step instructions and finished examples for home cooks.
Strengths: Depth, Navigation, and Visual Support
The cookbook's organizational design is oriented toward accessibility and practical use. Essential reference information is positioned at the front of each chapter rather than buried in appendices, so cooks can orient themselves before diving into recipes. The Updated Cooking Basics chapter brings together food safety guidance, make-ahead cooking strategies, must-have timesaving kitchen gadgets, and emergency substitution charts — a practical toolkit for cooks at multiple stages. More than 800 full-color photographs cover finished dishes, how-to technique demonstrations, and ingredient identification, providing visual support across the full scope of the collection. Hundreds of hints, tips, and easy-to-read cooking charts — including meat and poultry cooking-time charts — round out the reference apparatus. The recipes themselves are written with step-by-step instructions and designed to guide cooks through technique, not merely list ingredients.
Limitations: Breadth Over Depth
A cookbook with more than 1,400 recipes across dozens of categories is, by design, a generalist resource. Readers seeking deep exploration of a single cuisine — an authoritative treatment of French technique, a focused dive into regional barbecue traditions, or a comprehensive plant-based cooking guide — will find that the New Cook Book's strength (its breadth) is also its ceiling. No single topic receives the extended treatment that a subject-specific title could provide. The expanded coverage of grilling, slow-cooker meals, cookies, and desserts in this edition addresses some high-demand areas, but cooks who have already built a specialized library may find the New Cook Book most useful as a generalist companion rather than a primary deep-dive resource. Additionally, readers who purchased an earlier edition for its established recipe roster will want to evaluate whether the updates — new chapters, additional quick-and-easy recipes, the 20-Minute section — represent sufficient new content to warrant the upgrade.
Who This Book Is For
The Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book is designed for home cooks who want a single, reliable, wide-ranging reference that covers everyday meals, entertaining, baking, and preservation in one volume. Its at-a-glance icons and front-loaded chapter reference material make it particularly well suited to cooks who value quick navigation over exploratory browsing. New cooks gain a structured foundation through the Cooking Basics chapter; more experienced cooks gain an organized, updatable reference for the full range of weeknight and weekend cooking. The 20-Minute chapter and the 400-plus quick-and-easy recipe designations specifically address the time constraints of contemporary households. Readers who grew up with earlier editions will find a familiar structure — and the book's continuity with the century-long red plaid tradition — alongside a genuinely expanded and modernized recipe set.
Frequently Asked Questions
is Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book by Better Homes and Gardens worth buying in 2024
It depends on what you're looking for — the review describes it as a thorough, wide-ranging general-purpose reference covering everything from cooking basics and canning to grilling and slow-cooker meals, all in one volume. If you want a single reliable book for everyday meals, baking, and entertaining, it delivers strongly; but if you already have a specialized library and want deep coverage of one cuisine or technique, the review is honest that breadth is the book's ceiling as much as its strength.
What's actually in the this book 18th edition
The eighteenth edition packs in more than 1,400 recipes tested in the Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen, spanning breads, cakes, cookies, desserts, grilling, fish, meats, soups, canning, and freezing, plus an all-new 20-Minute chapter with over 45 fast meal solutions. More than 800 full-color photos cover finished dishes, how-to technique demonstrations, and ingredient identification, and at-a-glance icons flag recipes as Easy, Fast, Low-Fat, Fat-Free, Whole Grain, Vegetarian, or a reader Favorite.
Is this book good for beginner cooks
Yes — the review specifically calls out the Updated Cooking Basics chapter as a structured foundation for new cooks, bringing together food safety guidance, make-ahead strategies, must-have kitchen gadgets, and emergency substitution charts. Recipes are written with step-by-step instructions designed to guide cooks through technique, not just list ingredients, and essential reference information is front-loaded at the start of each chapter so beginners can orient themselves before diving in.
Should i upgrade to the new edition of this book if i already own an older one
The review raises this directly and honestly: readers who bought an earlier edition for its established recipe roster should evaluate whether the updates — new chapters, 400-plus quick-and-easy recipe designations, and the new 20-Minute section — represent enough new content to justify the purchase. If those additions match gaps in your current copy, the upgrade makes sense; if you're happy with what you already own, the review suggests the new material is the key thing to weigh.
Is the this book good for people who don't have much time to cook
It's well suited for busy households — the review highlights that more than 400 of the 1,400-plus recipes carry a quick-and-easy designation, and the all-new 20-Minute chapter was specifically added to address the time constraints of contemporary households. The at-a-glance icons also let time-pressed cooks filter the entire collection by Fast or Easy criteria without having to flip through the whole book.
Is this book a good all-in-one cookbook or do i still need other books
For most home cooks it functions as a genuinely comprehensive single-volume reference, covering the full range of weeknight and weekend cooking, baking, and preservation. The review's honest caveat is that cooks wanting authoritative deep-dives — say, a thorough treatment of French technique, regional barbecue traditions, or a comprehensive plant-based guide — will find a subject-specific title does more; the New Cook Book is best thought of as a strong generalist companion rather than a specialist resource.
Why is the this book called the red plaid cookbook
The nickname comes from the book's iconic cover design, and the review uses it affectionately to note that the "red plaid" cookbook has been a trusted staple in American kitchens since 1930. Now in its eighteenth edition, the book has tracked nearly a century of American home cooking, and the red plaid identity is a shorthand for that long cultural continuity.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
- 2
newbookrecommendation.com
- 3
- Further reading
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Related Reviews
Reviews of books we picked for readers who enjoyed Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.
Reader Comments
No comments yet
Be the first to share your thoughts!