Best Vegetarian Cookbooks: Pretty Simple Cooking

Pretty Simple Cooking

Named one of the best vegetarian cookbooks by both Epicurious and Food & Wine, and best healthy cookbooks by Mind Body Green, Pretty Simple Cooking is the debut cookbook of A Couple Cooks founders Sonja and Alex Overhiser. After getting married, the pair unraveled a “pretty simple” approach to home cooking that kicks the diet in favor of long-term lifestyle changes.

Pretty Simple Cooking is a unique, beautiful healthy cookbook that provides the secrets to cooking up delicious weekly meals! It features a full-color photograph for each one of the 100 vegetarian recipes (including 75 vegan and 90 gluten-free options).

“I LOVE this cookbook. All the recipes I’ve made have received rave reviews from friends and coworkers!” -Amazon Reviewer

“Pretty Simple Cooking is my bible for weekly meals!” -Nora

“I’ve never used a cookbook so much before. Thank you for creating recipes manageable for busy parents!” -Kate

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“Sonja and Alex Overhiser are the husband-and-wife blogging and podcasting power couple behind A Couple Cooks. And now, they’ve put all of their vibrant personality and joy for cooking delicious vegetarian meals into this cookbook. The focus here is just what the title says it is: pretty simple cooking. Recipes are arranged from quickest to most time-consuming, so you know exactly what you’re getting into before you start.” –Book Riot, Best Vegetarian Cookbooks

Named one the best healthy cookbooks of 2018 and best vegetarian cookbooks, Pretty Simple Cooking features creative, real food flavors in user friendly, easy to follow recipes. A vegetarian cookbook intended for anyone who wants to eat more vegetables, it’s also one of the best vegetarian cookbooks for beginners because it starts from the ground up. 

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Press for Pretty Simple Cooking

TV and Press Mentions

Recipe Previews

Pretty Simple Cooking
You should hear the raves of my friends when I make one of your recipes for gatherings. Everyone freaks out and says HOW did you make this?! I just keep saying “it’s from Pretty Simple Cooking!” This scenario has happened MULTIPLE times. I hope you’re going to do a cookbook sequel... because I’m here for it!
Pretty Simple Cooking | A Couple Cooks
Erin
Reader
We’ve been vegetarian since 2010 and seriously love your recipes. Your cookbook is my go-to, my bible, my absolute fave, and I own about 20 other vegetarian cookbooks.
Pretty Simple Cooking | A Couple Cooks
Angela
Reader
More than anything, I feel that what I’ve gained most from this cookbook is a mentality that Sonja & Alex preach. That quality food does take time to prepare and the process is what you make of it. If you change your mindset, cooking can turn into less of a chore and more of an enjoyable process, adventure, or whatever you choose to make of it.
Pretty Simple Cooking | A Couple Cooks
Leah
Reader
Pretty Simple Cooking lives on the counter these days (not the bookshelf) - we have been trying for five meatless meals per week and it has been a GAME CHANGER! The pages are so wrinkled and splattered with sauces. The red lentil coconut curry is a family favorite!
Pretty Simple Cooking | A Couple Cooks
Melanie
Reader
I got my Pretty Simple Cooking cookbook yesterday and made the Smoky Lentil Stew. AMAZING. The book is fantastic and one of the best vegetarian cookbooks I have to date.
Pretty Simple Cooking | A Couple Cooks
Mollie
Reader
We've been cooking our way through Pretty Simple Cooking and it impresses us every single time. In fact, at the end I usually say, "Hey, that was pretty simple!" Low cost, nutrition packed, tasty meals, plus pretty simple to make? So perfect.
Pretty Simple Cooking | A Couple Cooks
Angela
Reader
Your cookbook is my all time favorite vegetarian cookbook. Thanks for making my life so much simpler with my meal planning. Your recipes are the BEST!
Pretty Simple Cooking | A Couple Cooks
Marty
Reader
We use your recipes weekly and if I’m honest almost daily! You both are amazing at putting flavors and textures together. Thank you!
Pretty Simple Cooking | A Couple Cooks
Renata
Reader
I’m so thankful for cookbooks like Pretty Simple Cooking that provide delicious meals that don’t make you feel like you’re stuck eating lettuce and celery. I was confused when I saw this book on a Best Vegetarian Cookbooks list because I had forgotten that there aren’t any meat recipes in it! That’s how you know you have a winner.
Pretty Simple Cooking | A Couple Cooks
Jordan
Reader
The Pretty Simple Cooking cookbook is the one I pull out most often. Great flavor combos, fresh, and healthy. Plus the kids love it. You've totally changed the food culture of our family! Thanks a million.
Pretty Simple Cooking | A Couple Cooks
Adrienne
Reader
I just wanted to say how much I love Pretty Simple Cooking! I felt like I was getting stuck in a recipe rut as my schedule got busier and I relied on the same recipes to get me through the week. Your book has been giving me new and exciting things to try!
Pretty Simple Cooking | A Couple Cooks
Carrie
Reader
These recipes are making such a difference in our home... quick, healthy and delicious. There was a time a couple years ago when I was in a real cooking slump. Your blog and Pretty Simple Cooking cookbook have got me happily back in kitchen and we seldom even want to go out to dinner!
Pretty Simple Cooking | A Couple Cooks
L.
Follower
Made your Best Vegan Chili tonight and it's DREAMY. My husband said it's by far his fave chili. My 4 and 6 year old loved it too. Thanks for much for creating recipes and a cookbook I use on a regular basis. Yours is definitely the cookbook I gift the most!"
Pretty Simple Cooking | A Couple Cooks
Erin
Follower
I’ve always hated food and cooking. Two weeks ago I overnighted your cookbook from Amazon. I’ve been using it every night for two weeks. I’m absolutely falling in love with cooking finally!! I love your stories at the top, the simplicity and the recipes. Thanks for this gem!
Pretty Simple Cooking | A Couple Cooks
Genieva
Follower
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Cookbook Trailer

Praise for Pretty Simple Cooking

“Pretty Simple Cooking says that cooking should be about love for food, the process of cooking it, and the people around you. This book is for anyone who feels intimidated to step into the kitchen, because Sonja and Alex have such encouraging lessons about life, love, and food. It’s also for food lovers of any level looking for creative recipes to up their veggie game.”
Jeanine Donofrioloveandlemons.com, author of The Love and Lemons Cookbook
“This is absolutely one of the most incredible cookbooks I've had the honor to cook from EVER. In part because their recipes resonate with me personally: family-friendly, easy, accessible, packed with flavor and often comfort-food inspired. But I am also completely blown away by how well-written the book is and how detailed the recipes are. Sonja & Alex have a way of conveying the importance of eating real, wholesome food that isn't preachy or dogmatic. Instead, their approach is warm, inviting, relatable and incredibly thoughtful.”
Laura Lea GoldbergLaura Lea Balanced
“Alex and Sonja Overhiser nailed the modern conundrum about cooking real, nurturing food: you have to fall in love. Their Ten Lessons, sprinkled between accessible, mouth-watering recipes, are the perfect guide to inspiring just that—a deep love of home cooking.”
Sarah Copelandedibleliving.com, author of Feast
“To be clear, this is not a cookbook, it is a love story. Sonja and Alex have poured their hearts into crafting a simply beautiful and accessible menu of opportunities for us all to learn to love what we feed ourselves and our families. Their passion for simple and wholesome sings out from every page, with sparing, clear recipes and dazzling photos. I love this book and you will too!”
Gary HirshbergChairman and Co-Founder, Stonyfield Farm
“ Pretty Simple Cooking is the ultimate cookbook that everyone needs. Sonja and Alex have written a collection of delicious and approachable vegetarian recipes that are sure to delight. Their enthusiasm is infectious and we can’t wait to start cooking these mouthwatering recipes right now.”
Corky, Dana, Tracy, and Lori Pollanauthors of The Pollan Family Table
“The book is beautiful and the recipes are drool-worthy, but it’s the whispered mindset I love most: that dinnertime needn’t be a race to the finish line. In cooking and in life, sometimes you gotta stop and smell the rosemary.”
Erin LoechnerDesign for Mankind
“What I can’t convey to you here is the warmth that radiates from each of the 10 lessons—they are lighthouses for those lost and lonely souls who have struggled to find ease and meaning in the kitchen. From the start, Pretty Simple Cooking feels like a hand to hold in the midst of cooking chaos, and the broader chaos of life. The book’s lessons, its clarity, and the feeling of empowerment that rises from each page is remarkable.”
Lily DiamondKale + Caramel
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