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3 min read
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4.8
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Of Course It's Good! by Jessica Secrest Review: A No-Nonsense Weeknight Cookbook for Everyone
Of Course It's Good! Is a New York Times bestselling debut cookbook from Jessica Secrest — the home cook behind the viral TikTok account @applesauceandadhd — collecting unfussy, affordable weeknight recipes delivered with the snarky, "aggressively" encouraging voice her fans know well. This review assesses the book's content, organisation, and published reception from available sources; it does not reflect a kitchen test of the recipes themselves.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Busy home cooks — parents, beginners, and budget-conscious weeknight warriors — who want a no-fuss, encouraging companion that makes affordable comfort food genuinely reproducible without any gatekeeping.
Worth it if
You want a broad daily-use cookbook — covering weeknight dinners, breakfasts, and desserts — that is honest about real-life constraints, built around pantry staples and store-bought shortcuts, and delivered in the irreverent voice Secrest's @applesauceandadhd audience already loves.
Skip if
Skip it if you are looking for technical depth, globally diverse cuisines, or a quieter read — the recipe scope is deliberately narrow and comfort-food-focused, and the sustained all-caps, italics, and profanity may wear thin across 176 pages for readers who prefer a less aggressive page.
What readers & critics say
Publisher's Weekly notes that Secrest "attempts to maintain her signature sassy-to-belligerent tone in print via excessive italicization, all caps, and plenty of cursing," while praising the book's judgment-free store-bought substitutions and practical freezing tips throughout. Bookshop.org surfaces reader voices describing the book as feeling "like being bossed around in the best way by your slightly aggressive big sister who actually knows what she's doing," pointing to strong resonance with its target audience.
“Secrest went viral for her self-described 'aggressive tutorials' — 'We need meals that are quick, easy, affordable.'”
— publishersweekly.com“'Pantry Raid' is full of clever suggestions for using up pantry staples, while 'Potato Tot Take-Down' serves up six meals made with tater tots.”
— publishersweekly.com4.8from 2,043 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
In This Review
- What Works & What Doesn't
- What the Book Is and Who It's For
- The Recipes: Scope and Structure
- Voice and Tone: From Screen to Page
- Significance and Reception
- Genuine Limitations to Consider
What Works & What Doesn't
What Works
- A New York Times bestseller, reflecting strong demand that goes beyond its social-media origins
- Practical affordability features built throughout — store-bought substitutions, freezing tips, and pantry-staple sections address real budget and time constraints
- Covers weeknight dinners, breakfasts, and desserts, making it a broad daily-use reference rather than a single-occasion book
- Retains the irreverent, encouraging voice Secrest's existing audience knows from @applesauceandadhd, giving the book an authentic personality
What Doesn't
- Recipe selection is intentionally comfort-food-focused and narrow in scope — cooks seeking technical complexity or global diversity will find the range limited
- The sustained use of all-caps, italics, and profanity as stylistic tools may wear on readers who prefer a quieter page, even if they share Secrest's cooking philosophy
A New York Times bestselling debut that turns social-media sass into a practical kitchen companion, Of Course It's Good! makes a credible case that home cooking needn't be precious or complicated.
Of Course It’s Good!: Aggressively Delicious Meals ANYONE Can Make and EVERYONE Will Love by Jessica Secrest front cover
What the Book Is and Who It's For
Jessica Secrest built her following on TikTok under the handle @applesauceandadhd, where her self-described "aggressive tutorials" attracted a wide audience drawn to her no-nonsense, budget-conscious approach to home cooking. As Secrest herself frames the book's mission — "We need meals that are quick, easy, affordable" — the collection is squarely aimed at home cooks who want flavour without fuss: busy parents, beginners, and anyone exhausted by elaborate recipes with long ingredient lists. The book covers weeknight dinners, Sunday breakfasts, and desserts, positioning itself as a companion for every corner of the weekly meal routine, not just a single-occasion resource.
“attempts to maintain her signature sassy-to-belligerent tone in print via excessive italicization, all caps, and plenty of cursing.”
The Recipes: Scope and Structure
The cookbook spans a range of everyday crowd-pleasers, with named recipes including The BEST Baked Mac and Cheese, Egg Roll in a Bowl, Cowboy BBQ Burgers, Teriyaki Pork, Fried Pickle Quesadillas, Sloppy Joe Fries, and a Slow Cooker Spinach Artichoke Dip, among others. The organisation leans into Secrest's playful sensibility: one section, "Pantry Raid," is dedicated to making the most of pantry staples, while the boldly titled "Potato Tot Take-Down" groups six meals built around tater tots — including a Taco Potato Tot Casserole. Publisher's Weekly notes that throughout the book Secrest weaves in judgment-free suggestions for store-bought substitutions alongside practical tips for freezing and stretching dishes across multiple meals, signalling a design intent built around real-life constraints rather than idealised kitchen conditions.
Voice and Tone: From Screen to Page
Translating an online personality into print is a known challenge, and Publisher's Weekly observes that Secrest "attempts to maintain her signature sassy-to-belligerent tone in print via excessive italicization, all caps, and plenty of cursing." For the existing fan base, this stylistic continuity is likely a selling point — the book reads as an extension of the account rather than a sanitised corporate spin-off. Readers new to Secrest, however, may find the typographic emphasis and heightened register an acquired taste. The book's premise — that every dish the reader attempts will turn out good, because Secrest is "aggressively reminding you that no matter what you create, there's no doubt it'll be good" — functions as both a structural conceit and a motivational throughline aimed at cooking-anxious audiences.
Significance and Reception
The book debuted as a New York Times bestseller, a marker of the reach Secrest had already built through social media before publication by Page Street Publishing. That crossover from viral content creator to traditionally published author reflects a broader trend in food media, but the bestseller status here signals genuine commercial momentum beyond platform loyalty alone. The publisher's positioning — "none of the nonsense, all of the flavour" — aligns closely with what Secrest's audience had already demonstrated appetite for: affordable, reproducible meals without the gatekeeping tone common in more aspirational cookbooks.
Genuine Limitations to Consider
The book's strengths are also the source of its natural constraints. Its deliberately unfussy, comfort-food-forward recipe selection — tater tot casseroles, quesadillas, sloppy joe fries — is an intentional choice, not an oversight, but cooks seeking complex techniques, globally diverse cuisines, or ingredient-forward fine-dining inspiration will find the scope deliberately narrow. Similarly, readers who are put off by aggressive typographic personality on the page — sustained use of all-caps and profanity as motivational tools — may find the voice tiring across 176 pages, even if they appreciate the warmth behind it. The book is designed for a specific kind of cook, and it leans fully into that design; those outside the target audience should calibrate expectations accordingly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is this cookbook actually written for?
The review identifies the target audience as busy parents, beginners, and anyone exhausted by elaborate recipes with long ingredient lists. As Secrest herself frames it, the book is for home cooks who want flavour without fuss, prioritising meals that are quick, easy, and affordable.
Is Of Course It's Good worth buying for someone new to cooking?
LuvemBooks positions the book as a credible kitchen companion for beginners and time-pressed home cooks, noting its judgment-free approach and practical tips for using store-bought substitutions and stretching dishes across multiple meals. It debuted as a New York Times bestseller, signalling genuine commercial momentum beyond just platform loyalty, which suggests broad appeal for its intended audience.
What kind of recipes are included in the book?
The cookbook covers weeknight dinners, Sunday breakfasts, and desserts, spanning everyday crowd-pleasers such as The BEST Baked Mac and Cheese, Egg Roll in a Bowl, Cowboy BBQ Burgers, Teriyaki Pork, Fried Pickle Quesadillas, Sloppy Joe Fries, and a Slow Cooker Spinach Artichoke Dip. The review describes the selection as deliberately comfort-food-forward rather than globally diverse or technique-driven.
How is the book structured or organised?
The review notes that the book leans into Secrest's playful sensibility in its organisation, with sections like Pantry Raid, dedicated to making the most of pantry staples, and the boldly titled Potato Tot Take-Down, which groups six meals built around tater tots including a Taco Potato Tot Casserole. This structure reflects a design intent built around real-life constraints rather than idealised kitchen conditions.
What is the Pantry Raid section about?
According to the review, Pantry Raid is a dedicated section focused on making the most of pantry staples, which aligns with the book's broader mission of delivering affordable, reproducible meals without requiring a well-stocked or specialised kitchen.
What is the Potato Tot Take-Down section?
The review describes Potato Tot Take-Down as a boldly titled section that groups six meals built around tater tots, including a Taco Potato Tot Casserole. It is presented as an example of Secrest's playful organisational sensibility and her comfort-food-forward approach.
What is Jessica Secrest's background and how did she come to write this book?
Secrest built her following on TikTok under the handle @applesauceandadhd, where her self-described aggressive tutorials attracted a wide audience drawn to her no-nonsense, budget-conscious approach to home cooking. The review notes that her crossover from viral content creator to traditionally published author reflects a broader trend in food media, and the book was published by Page Street Publishing.
What is the writing style and tone like in Of Course It's Good?
Publisher's Weekly, as cited in the review, observes that Secrest attempts to maintain her signature sassy-to-belligerent tone in print via excessive italicization, all caps, and plenty of cursing. The review notes this stylistic continuity is likely a selling point for existing fans, as the book reads as an extension of her TikTok account rather than a sanitised corporate spin-off.
Is the aggressive or profanity-heavy tone going to be off-putting?
The review acknowledges this as a genuine limitation, noting that readers who are put off by aggressive typographic personality on the page — sustained use of all-caps and profanity as motivational tools — may find the voice tiring across 176 pages. LuvemBooks frames it as an acquired taste for readers new to Secrest, even while acknowledging the warmth behind it.
Does the book's online personality translate well to print?
The review treats this as a known challenge, observing that Secrest attempts to bridge the gap through typographic choices like excessive italicization and all caps. For her existing fan base the transition works well, but readers unfamiliar with her TikTok presence may find the heightened register takes some adjustment.
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
- 3
- Further reading
- 4
- 5
- 6
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