It’s that time of year again when we all start thinking about what gifts to give our loved ones. If you’re looking for some ideas for the cook or foodie in your life, why not consider a Cajun cooking book? There are lots of great options out there, and I’ve put together a list of my favorites.
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1. Complete Cajun Cookbook: 100 Home-Cooked Bayou Classics
Cook like a Cajun with 100 authentic recipes
Cajun food has deep roots in home-style country cooking and the rich heritage of Cajun culture, which combine to create unique flavors you can’t find anywhere else. The Complete Cajun Cookbook makes it simple to capture those flavors in your own kitchen, with detailed instructions for mastering regional cooking techniques and a comprehensive collection of beloved recipes.
What differentiates this book from other New Orleans cookbooks:
- An overview of Cajun cooking—Get a crash course on the history of Cajun cuisine, and learn how to master regional cooking techniques.
- Tips for stocking a Cajun kitchen—Discover the ingredients that set Cajun cuisine apart, and find an easy recipe for throwing together your own Cajun seasoning.
- Classic and creative recipes—Explore an enticing mix of traditional favorites and modern Cajun cooking, from Seafood Gumbo to Corn Maque Choux.
Bring home the vibrant flavors of New Orleans with this top choice in Louisiana cookbooks.
2. Mosquito Supper Club: Cajun Recipes from a Disappearing Bayou
For anyone who loves Cajun food or is interested in American cooking or wants to discover a distinct and engaging new female voice—or just wants to make the very best duck gumbo, shrimp jambalaya, she-crab soup, crawfish étouffée, smothered chicken, fried okra, oyster bisque, and sweet potato pie—comes Mosquito Supper Club.
Named after her restaurant in New Orleans, chef Melissa M. Martin’s debut cookbook shares her inspired and reverent interpretations of the traditional Cajun recipes she grew up eating on the Louisiana bayou, with a generous helping of stories about her community and its cooking. Every hour, Louisiana loses a football field’s worth of land to the Gulf of Mexico. Too soon, Martin’s hometown of Chauvin will be gone, along with the way of life it sustained. Before it disappears, Martin wants to document and share the recipes, ingredients, and customs of the Cajun people.
Illustrated throughout with dazzling color photographs of food and place, the book is divided into chapters by ingredient—from shrimp and oysters to poultry, rice, and sugarcane. Each begins with an essay explaining the ingredient and its context, including traditions like putting up blackberries each February, shrimping every August, and the many ways to make an authentic Cajun gumbo. Martin is a gifted cook who brings a female perspective to a world we’ve only heard about from men. The stories she tells come straight from her own life, and yet in this age of climate change and erasure of local cultures, they feel universal, moving, and urgent.
3. Growing Up Cajun: Recipes and Stories from the Slap Ya Mama Family
Take your meals to the next level with this flavor-packed cookbook from the Slap Ya Mama family.
Growing Up Cajun invites you to explore Cajun traditions, the history behind the Slap Ya Mama name, Cajun lore, and some of the most prized recipes in Louisiana—all flavored with Walker family stories.
4. The Easy Creole and Cajun Cookbook: Modern and Classic Dishes Made Simple
From Louisiana to your table with love―50 authentic Cajun and Creole recipes
Welcome to the perfect way to start cooking up sweet and savory Southern flavors in a flash. The Easy Creole and Cajun Cookbook makes it quick, easy, and affordable to spice up mealtime anytime with lots of crowd-pleasing one-pot and 30-minute options.
From authentic Shrimp, Sausage, and Grits to aromatic Crawfish Bisque, this complete Creole and Cajun cookbook delivers everything you need to get started simmering up these timeless and tasty family favorites at home. Get expert tips on how to stock your pantry, must-have kitchen appliances, and how to create and use local seasonings like the magical Cajun Trinity of fresh onions, celery, and bell pepper. Bon appetite!
5. RealCajunRecipes.com – The Cookbook: la cuisine de mawmaw
The original RealCajunRecipes.com cookbook is back! Enjoy the 15th Anniversary reprint of our original 2004 recipe book. Packed with 350 classic Cajun recipes such as gumbo, boudin, etouffee, cush cush, beignets, fried frog legs, fried turkey, bread pudding and many more of the recipes for which Cajuns are famous.We first made this cookbook in 2004 when we were in our early 20’s. We had real Cajuns type them and we’re presenting it to you, as it was presented to us, typos, Cajun-isms and all. This charming cookbook has been praised as the perfect Christmas, Wedding, Birthday or Graduation gift.Just how Cajun is this cookbook? Well, we hail from Vermilion Parish in Louisiana aka “The Most Cajun Place on Earth” and co-author Chrissy was even born on Mardi Gras. So you can rest assured knowing that true Cajuns put this collection together to represent nothing but the best recipes of our culture, from Cameron Parish to Lafourche Parish. Good eating from real Cajun people – dis cookbook gonna show you how!
Cajun cuisine is a delicious way to bring some spice into your Christmas cooking this year. These five cookbooks are great resources to help you create Cajun masterpieces in your own kitchen. So what are you waiting for? Click the titles of the books to buy your copies today! And don’t forget to invite us over for dinner once you’ve gotten a chance to try out some of the recipes. We can’t wait to see (and taste) what you come up with!
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