Every Louisianian Should Own These Nine Local Cookbooks

New Orleans and its surrounding parishes are famous for some of the most unique, flavorful cuisine on the planet. But it isn’t only superstar chefs pumping out memorable dishes. In southeast Louisiana, home cooks do amazing work in the kitchen, as well.

Each of us can be part of that long tradition of culinary excellence. But what to make? 

Fortunately, many of the region’s gourmand legends have created cookbooks to answer that very question.

Whether you are an accomplished cook, looking for a new recipe, or you have previously been predispositioned to takeout but are now interested in a new hobby, this list of cookbooks can be an invaluable resource on your journey. 

There are many other excellent regional cookbooks, as well, but these are just nine of our favorites. So put on your sous chef’s hat and try to keep up!

Chef Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen

We’re listing these in alphabetical order, but it feels appropriate to start with Chef Paul Prudhomme’s masterpiece—among the favorite cookbooks of nearly every foodie in the region. Cajun and Creole cooking has been around for centuries. Today, however, the cuisine is in a renaissance, and some say it is the fastest-growing regional food in America.

That growth is widely credited to Chef Prudhomme, who popularized the recipes of south Louisiana via his cooking shows, restaurants, and cookbooks (of which this is his first). 

In 1984, Prudhomme aimed to record some of his favorite recipes, but he decided not to do the work at his famous K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen in the French Quarter. Instead, he tested and retested each of this cookbook’s entries using a small test kitchen equipped with a normal-sized stove and utensils found in the common home.

Prudhomme’s book offers accessible recipes for traditional dishes like gumbo, jambalaya and turtle soup, as well as creative new dishes and variations like Artichoke Prudhomme. It also includes his famous, original Blackened Redfish dish—singled out as an example of the best of American regional cooking. This book is a must.

Crescent City Cooking: Unforgettable Recipes from Susan Spicer’s New Orleans

This 2007 cookbook features more than 170 recipes—including many of the dishes that made Susan Spicer and her award-winning Bayona restaurant famous. This beautiful book also includes 90 photographs displaying a vibrant New Orleans, as well as Spicer’s unique culinary presentation.

Did you think Smoked Duck Hash in Puff Pastry with Apple Cider Sauce was beyond your skill set? (You wouldn’t be the only one!) Well, Spicer’s instructions make each of her recipes attainable, and her anecdotes make the process feel special. 

Do you want to cook like a James Beard Award-winning chef? This cookbook created by one is a great place to start.

The Dooky Chase Cookbook

In this cookbook, the legendary Leah Chase shared recipes from the restaurant she played a key role in running for more than seven decades. She also included many from her own personal files.

This cookbook, created in 1990, isn’t just a step-by-step guide. It also explains the origins of many of the Creole recipes she included, as well as stories that reflect her own heritage. It’s an opportunity to learn from—and learn about—a special New Orleanian from the recent past, remembered for her leadership in the city, her role in the Civil Rights Movement and, of course, her cooking. 

River Road Recipes: The Textbook of Louisiana Cuisine

For many Louisianians, this is the first cookbook they ever ordered. And, in that single order, the number of recipes they have in their library went from 0 to 650! Published by The Junior League of Baton Rouge, there’s a reason this is called “the textbook of Louisiana cuisine.”

Without anecdotes and pictures, this book is sparse on frills. It does, however, provide instruction on how to make the very best of what south Louisiana food and drink has to offer.

Louisiana Real & Rustic

BA’AM! You had to know he was going to be on this list.

The great Emeril Lagasse tours south Louisiana—from bayous and backroads, to country cabins and refined aristocratic town houses—in search of authentic versions of the Creole and Cajun recipes America has learned to love.

Lagasse presents 150 such recipes in this 1996 cooking gem, and he works hard to trace his favorite cuisine back to its French, Spanish, African and Caribbean roots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dxpMxULHnA

The New Orleans Cookbook

Judy Walker, former food writer and editor for The Times-Picayune calls this 1975 cookbook by Rima and Richard Collins essential. He was a celebrated local food author and she learned to cook while on a Fulbright Scholarship in France.

Together they created a text with 288 southern Louisiana recipes designed to be reproduced by us in our own personal kitchens.

Modern Creole: A Taste of New Orleans Culture and Cuisine

Redfish courtbouillon and chicken gizzard grillades. Spiced sweet potato beignets and bananas foster. These are just a handful of the 120 food and cocktail recipes you will find in Eric Cook’s new cookbook.

If you’re a fan of his New Orleans restaurants—Gris Gris and Saint John—then this book is for you. The Creole beef daube is a revelation, and now you can make it at home!

The Picayune’s Creole Cookbook

This introduction to New Orleans Creole cooking is a series of recipes from the late-18th century to the early-20th century, compiled by the Picayune. It’s an artifact that gives a picture into earlier years of local cooking, but it’s also a great place to start when learning to create our regional cuisine.

Real Cajun: Rustic Home Cooking from Donald Link’s Louisiana

Donald Link is the famed chef behind extraordinary New Orleans restaurants such as Cochon, Herbsaint, Peche, Le Boulangerie and Gianna. Ignoring his cookbook would be like ignoring an instructional guide on how to paint by Michaelango.

This James Beard Award-winner doesn’t just bring us to the swamps, bayous and backroads that wind through Cajun Country (where he was born). He also teaches us how to cook the food you’ll find in the region’s music festivals, kitchens and backyard cookouts. 

If you want to get a feel for Cajun Country—and learn how to make the cuisine that helps define it—then this cookbook by a master of craft is a great place to begin your journey.

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With so many great chefs in southeast Louisiana, there are countless excellent cookbooks to enjoy. These were just a few handful of our favorites, but we’re looking forward to continuing to try new ones in the months ahead!

Which area cookbook is your go-to favorite?