The Best Cooking Magazines

There are a ton of cooking magazines out there, but only a few that are worth your time and attention. I’ve spent years reading through and making recipes from these magazines to help you figure out which ones are the best of the best. Read on to find out which cooking magazines made my top five!

Photo by Laurie Geis

I can’t believe how many cooking magazines are out there! Just go to any bookstore (yes, they still exist!!) or grocery store and you will find racks of cooking magazines, either seasonal in nature or ones that are published on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. Some of the classics, like Fine Cooking and Gourmet, are long gone and victims of on-line cooking subscriptions. But others have stood the test of time, even if they have gotten thinner and more expensive in recent years.

While I do have a nice cookbook collection and use them frequently, a surprising number of Laurie’s and my favorite recipes have come from cooking magazines. In fact, we have an entire recipe folder that’s about 2 inches thick that includes fantastic recipes on well-worn pages from a variety of different cooking magazines. Each of these magazines have their own unique style and character, and I still prefer leafing through actual magazines instead of searching on-line for new recipes.

So, I thought I’d provide you all with a quick recap of our favorite cooking magazines (we have subscriptions to all of them) that we go back to time and again for new, creative, and inventive recipes.

Cook’s Country

This magazine is affiliated with America’s Test Kitchen so the recipes in it are well-constructed with associated narratives on how they developed them along with what worked and what didn’t work as they created them. This magazine, published six times a year, is filled with modern versions of comfort food. Of all of the cooking magazines I subscribe to, Cook’s Country is the one that usually has the most recipes I’m interested in trying in each issue. In fact, it’s not unusual for me to dog ear almost all of the recipes to try in any given issue. They also have recipe cards in each issue that focus on meals you can make in 30 minutes or less. The photography is beautiful on the oversized pages, and the presentation of the recipes come in a tutorial style that’s perfect for newer cooks or folks who want to get an education as they make the recipes.

Cook’s Illustrated

Also affiliated with America’s Test Kitchen, Cook’s Illustrated is the somewhat stogy older sibling to Cook’s Country with more sophisticated and involved recipes tailored for more experienced cooks. Published six times a year, this magazine is a mix of articles that focus on cooking tips, product reviews of things like induction burners and stoves and food processors, and of course, recipes. Speaking of, the recipes are easy to follow but generally more complex (think Beef Wellington and the like) than ones from other cooking magazines. Also, many of the visual aids are hand drawn instead of photographs, giving this magazine a bit of a retro feel. Perfect for someone who wants to learn the story behind different foods and cuisines.

Bon Appetit

This magazine is published monthly and is the “hippest” of all the ones on my list. If you are interested in reading about the latest food trends, or enjoy cooking more international fare, this is the cooking magazine for you! Many issues focus on a singular issue or theme (i.e., the future of food for the next 50 years), while others showcase food from different cultures, regions, or countries. The recipes can be somewhat involved, but the ones I decide to make have almost always been delicious. This magazine does tend to highlight recipes that require unusual or hard to find ingredients that often aren’t available in your local stores which I sometimes find annoying. Yes, I know I can probably order most if not all of them on-line, but who has the time or patience to do that, especially since you will likely only use that strange ingredient one time and then put it the back of your pantry, never to be seen again until your next once-a-decade cleanout?

Food and Wine

This is one of the few cooking magazines that hasn’t become dangerously thin over the years as publishers find ways to cut costs and save money. Published monthly, this magazine is definitely geared toward all you wine lovers out there, with featured articles on different wine regions, great wine reviews, and advice on what recipes to pair with what wines (in fact, each recipe has a wine pairing tip associated with it). The recipes are creative and well-researched and span the range from simple 30-minute recipes to more complicated recipes where all the components are made from scratch. This magazine is great for foodies who are interested in learning more about how to marry food and wine together.

Fine Cooking

This one is an honorable mention, since this magazine no longer exists – it ceased publication in 2020. Still, I consider it one of the more refined and elegant cooking magazines ever, so I decided to keep it on the list. The food photography was amazing, the recipes relatively simple but also sophisticated and refined at the same time, and the variety of recipes expansive and exciting as well. Published six times a year, this was probably the best cooking magazine for newer cooks who wanted to learn how to create really creative and innovative dishes without spending a huge amount of time in the kitchen doing so. Probably my favorite of all the cooking magazines, I rarely ran across a recipe in any issue that didn’t catch my attention and like Cook’s Country, had the most recipes I “marked” for the recipe file folder – and many of them still exist there!

Give all of these magazines a try (well, the ones that still exist that is!) and let me know which ones you like the most!