Ina Garten Cookbooks, Ranked by Someone Who Made Every Recipe

Updated September 2026

After spending more than six years cooking every one of Ina Garten’s 1,300-plus recipes, I thought ranking her 13 cookbooks would be the easy part, but, of course, I was wrong.

Initially, I planned to rank the books by simply averaging my recipe ratings from each one. But I quickly realized the numbers only tell part of the story. Memories, nostalgia, a book’s structure and theme, and those little things you can’t quite put your finger on all influence why you reach for one cookbook more than another.

I’ve found that people’s favorite is often one of the first Ina cookbooks they bought, which makes perfect sense. Those usually contain the recipes that first hooked you, became part of your regular repertoire, or found their way onto holiday tables shared with family and friends.

Ranking the books proved challenging because, with so many excellent recipes in each one, we’re really splitting hairs. My average ratings range from 4.28 to 4.66 stars, and 55 percent of all the recipes earned a perfect 5-star rating. But who’s surprised? We’re talking about Ina Garten, after all.

I’m sure some (or many!) of you will disagree with these rankings, especially if your favorite lands near the bottom. But neither of us is “right.” This is entirely subjective, and you truly can’t go wrong with any of Ina’s cookbooks.

And don’t forget: For a small donation to one of my favorite food-related nonprofits, you can access my complete spreadsheet with ratings and reviews of every single Barefoot Contessa recipe. Details here.

Coming soon: Simply Ina, Ina’s 14th cookbook, will be released October 20, 2026. I’ll update this ranking once I’ve cooked enough of the book to judge it!

RANKING INA GARTEN’S COOKBOOKS

1. BAREFOOT CONTESSA AT HOME

Release Date: October 24, 2006
Total Recipes: 98
My Average Recipe Rating: 4.48/5
Best for: New cooks and anyone buying their first Ina cookbook

Whenever someone asks me which Ina cookbook they should buy first, Barefoot Contessa at Home is almost always my answer. After cooking every recipe in the book, I can confidently say it is one of her most consistent collections. Nearly everything falls somewhere between really good and phenomenal. Okay, maybe I liked, rather than loved, the Fruitcake Cookies, but considering I actively hate fruitcake, that still feels like a win.

The book delivers exactly what the cover promises: “everyday recipes you’ll make over and over again.”

There are a few recipes that may send you on an ingredient scavenger hunt. I’m still recovering from the Great Capon Search of 2020. But no other Ina cookbook offers this same combination of approachable recipes, variety, reliability, and dishes I genuinely want to make again. That’s what earns it the No. 1 spot.

Recipes To Start With: Beatty’s Chocolate Cake, Summer Garden Pasta, Coconut Cake, and Jon Snow’s Fish Salad

See my 10 favorite recipes from Barefoot Contessa at Home.

2. COOK LIKE A PRO

Release Date: October 23, 2018
Total Recipes: 100
My Average Recipe Rating: 4.61/5
Best for: Self-taught cooks ready to level up their kitchen skills

Of Ina’s later cookbooks, Cook Like a Pro may be my favorite. I nearly had to make my usual Top 10 list a Top 35 because there are so many stellar recipes in this book.

Despite the title, this isn’t about making complicated, chef-level dishes. Ina focuses on the tips and techniques professional chefs use to make everything look and taste better. The book is packed with helpful advice on seasoning, measuring, prepping, baking, plating, and more. As a self-taught cook, learning to make food that looks “homemade by professionals” is exactly what I aspire to.

A few recipes are genuine projects, but Ina gives you the guidance and confidence to tackle them. Barefoot Contessa at Home narrowly edges this one out for its everyday accessibility, but if you already know your way around the kitchen and want to become a more confident, thoughtful cook, this is the book I’d recommend.

Recipes To Start With: Fried Chicken Sandwiches, Chicken Thighs with Creamy Mustard Sauce, Cauliflower Toasts, and Charlie Bird’s Farro Salad

See my 10 favorite recipes from Cook Like a Pro.

3. MODERN COMFORT FOOD

Release Date: October 6, 2020
Total Recipes: 96
My Average Recipe Rating: 4.66/5
Best for: Nostalgic cooks who like their comfort food with the volume turned up

Modern Comfort Food arrived at exactly the right moment. Nearly seven months into the pandemic, when the world was spiraling and we were all reaching for anything that could provide a little comfort, Ina delivered an entire book devoted to the familiar, nostalgic foods we were craving.

This isn’t just a collection of standard comfort-food recipes. Ina takes classics like macaroni and cheese, tuna melts, hamburgers, tomato soup, and chocolate ice cream and gives them her signature upgrade. Fresh Crab Nachos and Ultimate Tuna Melts prove just how good she is at turning up the volume on familiar favorites. She even managed to make a tuna melt lover out of me.

And save room for dessert because three of Ina’s best are here: Banana Rum Trifle, Milk Chocolate Oreo Ice Cream, and Boston Cream Pie, the final recipe of my orginal project and one I was lucky enough to assemble with Ina herself.

With a 4.66-star average, Modern Comfort Food earned the highest recipe rating of all 13 books. If this ranking were based on numbers alone, it would take the top spot. But I return to the first two books a little more often and find their mix of recipes more versatile for everyday cooking, giving them the narrowest of edges.

Recipes to Start With: Banana Rum Trifle, Fresh Crab Nachos, Shrimp & Linguine Fra Diavolo, and Milk Chocolate Oreo Ice Cream

See my 10 favorite recipes from Modern Comfort Food.

4. BAREFOOT CONTESSA HOW EASY IS THAT?

Release Date: October 26, 2010
Total Recipes: 97
My Average Recipe Rating: 4.46/5
Best for: Beginner and busy cooks who want maximum payoff with minimal fuss

How Easy Is That? was the second Barefoot Contessa cookbook I bought and another one that helped shape how I work in the kitchen. As a beginner cook, it gave me exactly the kind of confidence I needed. Most of the recipes are, as the title promises, relatively easy, but they never feel dumbed down or short on flavor. It taught me a lesson I still return to often: complicated does not automatically mean better.

I’m always surprised by how many recipes from this book have become part of my regular rotation. And after cooking every one of Ina’s 1,300-plus recipes, I do not repeat recipes lightly!

The book also includes 68 quick kitchen tips, many of which I referenced constantly while stocking my first kitchen. When I was storing kitchen equipment under my bed, Ina’s assurance that you don’t need tons of specialized tools was what I needed to hear. It also taught me that store-bought is decidedly not fine when it comes to ricotta. Once I realized how easy it was to make at home, I never bought another tub.

The three books above it may contain slightly more of my all-time favorite recipes, but few have influenced how I cook as much as this one. It’s approachable, practical, and filled with dishes that deliver far more than their level of effort suggests.

Recipes To Start With: Soppressata & Cheese in Puff Pastry, Mocha Chocolate Icebox Cake, Jeffrey’s Roast Chicken, and Herbed Ricotta Bruschettas

See my 10 favorite recipes from How Easy Is That?

5. BAREFOOT CONTESSA BACK TO BASICS

Release Date: October 28, 2008
Total Recipes: 98
My Average Recipe Rating: 4.38/5
Best for: Beginner cooks looking to build confidence in the kitchen

Back to Basics was the first Ina cookbook I ever bought, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. More than that, it’s the book that taught me how to cook. So many things that feel like second nature to me now, or would seem obvious to a more experienced cook, I learned directly from this book.

I bought it after making Baked Shrimp Scampi, the first Ina recipe I ever cooked, and Roasted Potato Leek Soup. Both were phenomenal, and thankfully, the rest of the book did not disappoint. This is Ina doing exactly what she does best: taking familiar food and making it feel more special without unnecessarily complicating it.

Throughout the book, Ina shares practical lessons I still use constantly: garnish a dish with something that’s already in it, add a splash of lemon to brighten the flavor, roast tomatoes to concentrate their sweetness, and make batch cocktails for a party. It may not have the highest average recipe rating of the books in my Top 5, but few have had a greater influence on how I cook. Back to Basics proves that simple cooking is anything but boring.

Recipes To Start With: Niman Ranch Burgers, Baked Shrimp Scampi, Roasted Potato Leek Soup, and Roasted Turkey Roulade

See my 10 favorite recipes from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics.

6. BAREFOOT CONTESSA FAMILY STYLE

Release Date: October 29, 2002
Total Recipes: 92
My Average Recipe Rating: 4.40/5
Best for: Cooks craving classic comfort food

Barefoot Contessa Family Style was Ina’s third cookbook, released in 2002 right around the time her Food Network show premiered. Talk about a good year! This book really feels like Ina settling into the version of the Barefoot Contessa so many of us fell in love with: comforting, practical, a little luxurious, and always centered around feeding people well.

What I love most about Family Style is how perfectly it captures Ina’s entertaining philosophy: Serve familiar food that makes people feel taken care of without turning the host into a complete wreck. The most useful lesson I took from the book was to create a timetable for any large meal by starting with the serving time and working backward. It sounds simple, but it has been a godsend for Thanksgiving, dinner parties, and any occasion when I’ve convinced myself I can casually make seven things at once.

The books above it contain more recipes that became part of my everyday rotation, but few Ina cookbooks are better suited to feeding a table full of people. If you want dependable classics that feel comforting, celebratory, and unmistakably Ina, this is the book for you.

Recipes To Start With: Lasagna with Turkey Sausage, Flag Cake, Chicken Stew with Biscuits, and Mac & Cheese

See my 10 favorite recipes from Barefoot Contessa Family Style.

7. BAREFOOT IN PARIS

Release Date: October 26, 2004
Total Recipes: 93
My Average Recipe Rating: 4.45/5
Best for: Francophiles and confident cooks looking to impress

Barefoot in Paris, Ina’s love letter to her favorite city and cuisine, was one of the first Ina cookbooks I owned and will always hold a special place in my heart. French cooking is the through line in so much of Ina’s repertoire. After spending four months camping in France, she taught herself to cook by working through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and the rest is herstory.

Ina’s love of French food also inspired me to return to France for my own food journey, a trip that somehow ended with a chance run-in with Ina and Jeffrey at a restaurant. Paris really is a magical city.

In this book, Ina takes on French classics and makes them approachable for those of us who were not trained at Le Cordon Bleu.

For years, this was my favorite Ina cookbook. It has slipped down the ranking only because many of its recipes are more ambitious or suited to special occasions, so I don’t return to them as often as those in the books above it. But when I want to challenge myself, impress someone, or pretend I’m spending an evening in Paris, this is the book I reach for.

Recipes To Start With: Herbed-Baked Eggs, Chicken with Morels, Coeur à la Crème with Raspberries, and Beef Bourguignon

See my 10 favorite recipes from Barefoot in Paris.

8. BAREFOOT CONTESSA FOOLPROOF

Release Date: October 30, 2012
Total Recipes: 99
My Average Recipe Rating: 4.48/5
Best for: Thanksgiving hosts and cooks who want extra reassurance in the kitchen

Foolproof. It’s the one word that best explains why I decided to cook my way through Ina Garten’s recipes in the first place. No matter how little experience I had in the kitchen, her recipes never made me feel like I was on my own. With her eighth cookbook, she delivers exactly what the title promises: recipes that truly work.

A big reason Ina’s recipes are so foolproof (drink every time I say foolproof) is that she seems to anticipate every question, concern, or possible point of panic before you get there. That comes through in both the recipes and her advice on shopping, entertaining, planning ahead, and cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Her guidance has helped me immensely when pulling off my own Friendsgivings. Once you dry-brine a turkey like her Accidental Turkey or replace traditional stuffing with Mushroom & Leek Bread Pudding, it’s hard to look back.

If you’re hosting Thanksgiving or attempting an ambitious dinner and want Ina guiding you through every potential crisis, Foolproof is invaluable.

Recipes To Start With: Osso Buco, Truffled Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Sausages & Grapes, and Sticky Toffee Date Cake with Bourbon Glaze

See my 10 favorite recipes from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof.

9. THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA COOKBOOK

Release Date: April 6, 1999
Total Recipes: 95
My Average Recipe Rating: 4.28/5
Best for: Entertainers and cooks regularly feeding a crowd

Before the Hamptons dinner parties became iconic on her show, there was The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook: Ina’s first book, filled with the generous, crowd-pleasing food that made people fall in love with her in the first place.

Although I cooked Ina’s recipes in no particular order throughout the project, I decided to complete each cookbook in the order it was published. I finished this one just in time for the 20th anniversary of its release, which made it the first Ina cookbook I officially completed.

The book features many of the dishes Ina was known for during her years running the Barefoot Contessa specialty food store in East Hampton, including her first roast chicken recipe. Browsing through it, you realize Ina has always been authentically herself: generous platters, unfussy entertaining, really good ingredients, and food that makes people feel taken care.

It is also very much Ina in her specialty-food-store and catering era. Some recipes are scaled for a small army and need to be cut in half or more, while a few feel more “late-’90s dinner party” than how I cook today. It also earned the lowest average recipe rating in the collection, which keeps it from landing higher. Still, it’s packed with classics that absolutely hold up, including Pan-Fried Onion Dip, Potato-Fennel Gratin, Coconut Cupcakes, and Pecan Squares.

More than two decades after it was published, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook remains a wonderful introduction to the generous, unfussy food that made Ina famous. It may not be her most practical book for a small household, but several of its recipes remain among my favorites from her entire repertoire.

Recipes To Start With: Gazpacho, Potato-Fennel Gratin, Coconut Cupcakes, and Pecan Squares

See my 10 favorite recipes from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.

10. COOKING FOR JEFFREY

Release Date: October 25, 2016
Total Recipes: 90
My Average Recipe Rating: 4.50/5
Best for: Jeffrey Garten, obviously, and anyone who shows love through food

Cooking for Jeffrey is Ina’s love letter to her husband and a delightful look at the couple many of us consider the ultimate relationship goals. Throughout the book, she shares stories and photos from their life together, from their first date and camping trip through France to Jeffrey encouraging her to pursue her passion for cooking. Their unwavering support for each other is one of the things I’ve always admired most about them.

This book also holds a special place in my own project. It was the first Ina cookbook released after I started cooking through her recipes, and it’s the book she signed for me after I won a photo contest on Instagram. The disbelief I felt when that first DM from Ina appeared!

Most importantly, it contains the recipe I most often name as my all-time favorite: Rigatoni with Sausage & Fennel. If you haven’t made it yet, run, don’t walk.

The 4.50 average proves how strong the recipes are, but I don’t find myself returning to the book as a whole as often as those ranked above it. Still, its best dishes are among Ina’s very best, and the personal stories make it one of her warmest and most meaningful cookbooks.

Recipes To Start With: Rigatoni with Sausage & Fennel, Anna’s Tomato Tart, Raspberry Rhubarb Crostata, and Butternut Squash & Ricotta Bruschettas

See my 10 favorite recipes from Cooking for Jeffrey.

11. MAKE IT AHEAD

Release Date: October 28, 2014
Total Recipes: 101
My Average Recipe Rating: 4.46/5
Best for: Planners, holiday hosts, and anyone who wants less last-minute kitchen panic

Make It Ahead was the final Ina cookbook published before I began this project and one of my earliest purchases. Ina was inspired to write it after her longtime assistant, Barbara Libath, told her that the most common question they received about any recipe was, “Can I make it ahead?” Naturally, Ina responded with an entire cookbook that includes make-ahead instructions for every single dish.

The concept is incredibly useful, and many recipes have entered my regular rotation. Jalapeño Margaritas ruined me for all other margaritas, Ham & Leek Empanadas are always a crowd-pleaser, and the Roast Chicken with Bread & Arugula Salad is worth making for the sourdough croutons soaked in chicken drippings alone. Stop reading and go grab the ingredients.

Ina also includes a complete make-ahead Thanksgiving menu. Her dry-brined Make-Ahead Roast Turkey changed how I cook the holiday bird, while Turkey Gravy with Onions & Sage is now part of my Thanksgiving every year. Anything that reduces last-minute gravy panic deserves a permanent place in my kitchen.

Not everything went perfectly while cooking through the book. The Salty Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies may or may not have contained the tip of my index finger, and the Roasted Vegetable Lasagna pushed me over the edge with too many pans, too many dishes, and my very tiny first kitchen. This is also the book where Ina admits she’s a messy baker, which comforts me whenever I survey the wreckage after making a cake.

I love the premise. I love many of the recipes. Yet, for reasons I still can’t fully explain, this book doesn’t inspire me quite as much as those ranked above it. Sometimes a ranking comes down to feeling, and this is one of those times.

Recipes To Start With: Jalapeño Margaritas, Ham & Leek Empanadas, Grilled New York Strip Steaks, and Vanilla Semifreddo with Raspberry Sauce

See my 10 favorite recipes from Make It Ahead.

12. BAREFOOT CONTESSA PARTIES!

Release Date: March 27, 2001
Total Recipes: 87
My Average Recipe Rating: 4.41/5
Best for: Dinner-party lovers and cooks who appreciate a complete menu

Parties! is the book that taught me how to entertain, reinforced that organization is the real secret to success, and gave me permission to embrace the “store-bought is fine” ethos when having people over.

So why does it rank this low? The book is organized around complete entertaining menus, which is incredibly helpful if you’re planning a gathering from start to finish. But it doesn’t match how my brain meal-plans. I usually open a cookbook looking for a particular type of dish, so I found the menu-based structure harder to browse for inspiration.

That’s not a reflection of the recipes, which are stellar. It includes my go-to summer Panzanella, the classic Lemon Bars, an incredibly decadent Filet of Beef with Gorgonzola Sauce, and one of my all-time favorite Ina ice creams.

Recipes to Start With: Panzanella; Lemon Bars; Spinach Gratin; Caramel Chocolate Nut Ice Cream

See my 10 favorite recipes from Barefoot Contessa Parties!

13. GO-TO DINNERS

Release Date: October 25, 2022
Total Recipes: 84
My Average Recipe Rating: 4.30/5
Best for: New Ina readers, beginner cooks, and anyone seeking easy weeknight meals

With Ina’s Breakfast-for-Dinner Board, I officially completed every recipe from her 13th cookbook, Go-To Dinners. Making Boston Cream Pie with Ina will always feel like the official conclusion of my original project, but there was never any question that I would cook my way through this book when it arrived later that year.

Having already made every recipe in Ina’s repertoire definitely shaped my experience. When I first opened the book, I realized I had already cooked about a third of the recipes because Ina had released several during the pandemic or included them in an updated Costco edition of her first cookbook. Other dishes felt like new takes on familiar favorites, including Beatty’s Chocolate Cupcakes, Creamy Hummus, and Chicken Ramen-Noodle Soup.

Still, the book introduced plenty of new recipes that quickly earned a place in my regular rotation. The Warm Vegetable & Grain Bowl is one of the rare grain bowls I genuinely crave, the Fresh Berry & Mascarpone Tart has returned to our table several times, and the Oven-Roasted Southern “Shrimp Boil” delivers all the fun of a shrimp boil without hauling out an enormous pot.

Of all Ina’s cookbooks, this may contain some of her simplest and most approachable recipes. That makes it an excellent choice for novice cooks or anyone who wants a satisfying meal without spending the entire day in the kitchen. Its placement at No. 13 says more about my history with Ina’s recipes than the book’s quality. Longtime fans may find too much familiar territory, but someone discovering Ina for the first time could easily rank it much higher.

Recipes To Start With: Oven-Roasted Southern “Shrimp Boil,” Fresh Berry & Mascarpone Tart, Smoked Salmon Quesadillas, and Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake

See my 10 favorite recipes from Go-To Dinners.

More BEST OF INA here.