Best Mediterranean Cookbooks Fresh, Vibrant Dining (2025)

Mediterranean cooking is rich with romantic associations. Fresh vegetables just picked from the garden, dappled sunlight filtering through an open kitchen window, a bowl of lemons, linens absolutely everywhere—it’s a vision of health and good living that’s undeniably aspirational.

But to say that there is one, particular way of eating endemic to the Mediterranean is reductive. This area of the world constitutes a wide swath of cultures and regions with varied and nuanced cuisines. So in our attempt to round up our favorite Mediterranean cookbooks, we kept our definition pretty loose. Basically, if the food is from a region that touches the Mediterranean sea, it’s Mediterranean.

Below you’ll find a list of truly exceptional cookbooks, compiled from recs made by members of the BA staff and cookbook authors, including Yasmin Khan, Georgina Hayden, and Sheela Prakash—all of whom have written spectacular “Mediterranean” cookbooks themselves.

The best Mediterranean cookbooks