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Half Baked Harvest Super Simple by Tieghan Gerard Review: Comfort Food Made Faster and Foolproof
Half Baked Harvest Super Simple is a New York Times bestseller from Tieghan Gerard — the blogger and author behind the Half Baked Harvest brand — that delivers more than 125 comfort-food-forward recipes streamlined for busy home cooks, using techniques such as one-pot cooking, Instant Pot, slow cooker, and night-before meal prep. Named one of the best cookbooks of the year by BuzzFeed and Food Network, it builds on the popularity of Gerard's debut cookbook while deliberately lowering the barrier to entry, making her signature style of wholesome, indulgent cooking more accessible without abandoning the ambition that built her following.
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Best for
Home cooks who feel intimidated by complex recipes and want to make Gerard's signature comfort-food dishes — one-pot meals, slow cooker and Instant Pot preparations, and make-ahead dinners — without sacrificing visual appeal or flavour.
Worth it if
You want a well-organised, accessibility-first comfort cookbook with multiple practical entry points (one-pot, overnight, meal-prep) and you're new to Gerard's work or looking to cook her style more confidently on busy weeknights.
Skip if
You already own the debut Half Baked Harvest Cookbook and follow the blog closely — this is an intentional distillation rather than a reinvention — or if you're primarily seeking lighter, globally diverse, or diet-specific recipes beyond comfort-food territory.
What readers & critics say
The book debuted as a New York Times bestseller and was named one of the best cookbooks of the year by both BuzzFeed and Food Network, as noted across multiple retrieved sources including penguinrandomhouse.com and barnesandnoble.com. Reader and blog reviews retrieved from rdbooks.org and asnotedbyme.com reflect consistent enthusiasm for Gerard's flavour-forward recipes and the book's approachable, Instagrammable aesthetic.
Sources: Penguin Random House, Barnes & Noble, RD Books, As Noted By Me4.8from 13,323 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
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Half Baked Harvest Super Simple is Tieghan Gerard's second cookbook, delivering more than 125 comfort-food recipes organised around practical cooking modes — one-pot, Instant Pot, slow cooker, overnight, and meal-prep — with vegan and vegetarian options throughout. A New York Times bestseller named one of the best cookbooks of the year by BuzzFeed and Food Network, it is the ideal entry point for home cooks intimidated by complexity who want Gerard's signature "wholesome decadence" without sacrificing visual ambition. Readers already well-versed in the debut Half Baked Harvest Cookbook and the blog may find the stylistic territory familiar, and those seeking light, diet-specific, or globally diverse cooking will find the comfort-food focus narrower than the recipe count suggests.
- Is it worth reading?
- For its intended audience — home cooks who feel intimidated by complexity and want to recreate Gerard's signature comfort-food aesthetic without an overwhelming ingredient list — Half Baked Harvest Super Simple delivers meaningfully on its promise. Its New York Times bestseller ranking and recognition from both BuzzFeed and Food Network point to broad appeal that crosses popular and editorial lines. The layered organisation, which gives the same cook multiple entry points depending on time and equipment, adds genuine utility beyond a one-time read-through. The honest caveat is that readers already deep into the Half Baked Harvest Cookbook and blog may find this a distillation rather than a revelation, and cooks seeking lighter or more globally adventurous recipes will find the comfort-food focus limiting.
- Similar books
- Readers who enjoy Half Baked Harvest Super Simple's accessible comfort-food approach will find much to love in Gerard's own Half Baked Harvest Cookbook: Recipes from My Barn in the Mountains and Half Baked Harvest Every Day: Recipes for Balanced, Flexible, Feel-Good Meals, both of which share her wholesome, visually ambitious aesthetic. For blogger-turned-author cookbooks with a similar crowd-pleasing warmth, Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines and The Pioneer Woman Cooks―The Essential Recipes by Ree Drummond make natural companions. Readers drawn specifically to the low-effort, high-reward angle will also appreciate What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers and Barefoot Contessa Foolproof by Ina Garten.
- Who should read this?
- Half Baked Harvest Super Simple is best suited to home cooks who feel intimidated by complex recipes and want to produce satisfying, visually appealing comfort food without a demanding technique. Gerard's existing blog audience — already drawn to her 'wholesome decadence' aesthetic — will find this a useful kitchen companion that converts admiration for her photography into actual cooked meals. It also works well as an introduction to Gerard's style for readers new to the Half Baked Harvest brand. Those who own significant Instant Pot or slow cooker collections will get the most from the full book, though cooks without that equipment still have ample material in the one-pot and meal-prep sections.
- About Tieghan Gerard
- Tieghan Gerard is an American recipe developer, food photographer, food stylist, and New York Times bestselling author, born in Cleveland and based in Colorado. She is the founder of the Half Baked Harvest food blog, launched in 2012, and grew up in the Colorado mountains as one of seven children. She is also the author of the Half Baked Harvest Cookbook, among other titles.
- Where should I start with this author?
- For readers new to Tieghan Gerard, Half Baked Harvest Super Simple is the review-recommended entry point — it is explicitly designed as a welcoming introduction to her comfort-food style, with fewer ingredients and streamlined techniques. Those who want to experience her broader range before the streamlining may prefer to begin with the Half Baked Harvest Cookbook, her debut that showcased the full ambition of her cooking. Readers specifically drawn to a balanced, feel-good angle might also consider Half Baked Harvest Every Day.
- What cooking methods does the book cover?
- Half Baked Harvest Super Simple organises its more than 125 recipes around distinct practical cooking modes: one-pot meals, Instant Pot preparations, slow cooker dishes, overnight and meal-prepped recipes, and straightforward weeknight-easy options. This layered structure is designed to serve the same cook on different days depending on available time and equipment, rather than targeting only one type of user. The publisher's positioning — 'fewer ingredients, foolproof meal-prepping, effortless entertaining' — reflects this multi-entry-point philosophy. Cooks without an Instant Pot or slow cooker will simply skip those dedicated chapters, but the remaining sections still offer substantial material.
Summarize this book
Is it worth reading?
Who should read this?
About Tieghan Gerard
Where should I start with this author?
What cooking methods does the book cover?
Summarize this book
Half Baked Harvest Super Simple, published by Clarkson Potter on October 29, 2019, is Tieghan Gerard's second cookbook and a deliberate follow-up to her debut Half Baked Harvest Cookbook. Where the debut showcased Gerard's full range, this collection sharpens its editorial mission: strip away the complexity from her comfort-food-forward recipes so that busy home cooks can actually make them. More than 125 recipes are organised around practical cooking modes — one-pot meals, Instant Pot and slow cooker preparations, overnight and meal-prepped dishes, and straightforward weeknight options — with vegan and vegetarian alternatives included throughout. The publisher's own framing — "fewer ingredients, foolproof meal-prepping, effortless entertaining" — captures the book's promise, and its New York Times bestseller status suggests it delivered convincingly.
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Age & Reading Level
Recommended age
Adult
Reading level
Adult
Skip if you're looking for light, diet-specific, or globally adventurous cooking beyond comfort-food classics.
Our Review
This review assesses Half Baked Harvest Super Simple based on its content, organisation, and published reception — not a kitchen test.
What the Book Is and Does
Half Baked Harvest Super Simple, published by Clarkson Potter on October 29, 2019, is Tieghan Gerard's second cookbook, following her debut Half Baked Harvest Cookbook. Where the debut showcased Gerard's range, this follow-up has a sharper editorial mission: take the comfort-food-forward recipes her blog audience already loves and strip away the complexity that might keep home cooks from attempting them. The result is a collection of more than 125 recipes organised around practical cooking modes — one-pot meals, Instant Pot and slow cooker preparations, overnight and meal-prepped dishes, and what the book frames as genuinely easy weeknight options. Vegan and vegetarian options are included throughout, broadening the book's utility across different households. As one passage from the book's own framing reads: "The complexities of cooking often scare aspiring cooks out of the kitchen, but this book is here to gently guide you back in."
A recipe spread featuring golden-brown French toast topped with blueberries, jam, and whipped cream on a speckled plate.
Reception and Recognition
The cookbook landed on the New York Times bestseller list and was named one of the best cookbooks of the year by both BuzzFeed and Food Network — a combination of popular and editorial recognition that reflects its broad appeal. Gerard had already built a substantial following through her Half Baked Harvest blog before this book's release, and Super Simple was designed to convert that audience into committed home cooks rather than just admirers of her photography. The publisher's own positioning — "fewer ingredients, foolproof meal-prepping, effortless entertaining" — aligns with the kind of promise that has made technique-driven comfort cookbooks a reliable category, and the reception suggests the book delivered on it convincingly enough to earn that bestseller distinction.
A recipe spread showing a stack of golden pancakes with maple syrup being drizzled on top and whipped cream.
The Book's Core Strengths
The defining promise of Super Simple is that Gerard's signature aesthetic — described consistently across sources as "wholesome decadence" with a "non-fussy approach" — does not require sacrificing visual ambition for speed. The book is structured to give cooks multiple entry points depending on time and equipment: a reader with an Instant Pot finds dedicated recipes; a reader who prefers to work ahead finds overnight and meal-prep options; a reader who wants a single pan to wash finds one-pot dishes. That layered organisation means the book is designed to serve the same cook on different days, not just a single type of user. The recipes are also written with the inclusion of vegan and vegetarian alternatives, which the publisher specifically highlights as part of the book's "something for everyone" design intent.
A recipe spread featuring a flatbread pizza topped with melted cheese, bacon, and caramelized onions, demonstrating simple comfort food cooking.
Accessibility and Audience Fit
Gerard's stated goal with this collection is to address a specific reader: the home cook who has been intimidated out of the kitchen by complexity. The book is explicitly positioned as a re-entry point, and the structure — fewer ingredients per recipe, techniques that front-load or automate effort — supports that. Readers already familiar with Gerard's blog will recognise the ethos; newcomers to her work will find this a well-signposted introduction. That said, the book's comfort-food orientation means readers seeking light, diet-specific, or globally adventurous cooking will find the range narrower than the large recipe count might suggest. The focus is deliberately on satisfying, crowd-pleasing dishes rather than culinary experimentation.
Artisan bread loaf on linen cloth with a quote about reader feedback inspiring the cookbook.
Limitations Worth Noting
The book's greatest strength — its comfort-food focus and streamlined approach — is also the source of its most honest limitation. Cooks who already own Gerard's debut cookbook and follow her blog closely may find some stylistic overlap, since Super Simple is openly positioned as a distillation of what worked in the first book rather than a radical departure. Some readers who gravitate toward highly technical or globally varied cookbooks may find the book's accessible-by-design register less engaging. Additionally, while the Instant Pot and slow cooker sections extend the book's utility, cooks without those appliances will simply skip those chapters — the equipment assumptions are real, even if they affect only a portion of the collection.
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
- Further reading
- 3
halfbakedharvest.com
- 4
- 5
asnotedbyme.com
- 6
- 7
- 8
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