Best Russian Cookbooks

Russian cuisine is a complex tapestry of flavors influenced by the country’s diverse geography and long history. From the hearty soups of the cold northern regions to the rich meat dishes of the south, Russian food has something to offer for every taste. With so many recipes to choose from, it can be difficult to know where to begin. Whether you’re a seasoned cook or just starting out, these Russian cookbooks offer a wealth of knowledge and inspiration.

• Key Takeaways
• The Top 10 Best Russian Cookbooks
  • Kachka: A Return to Russian Cooking by Bonnie Frumkin Morales and Deena Prichep
  • Beyond the North Wind: Russia in Recipes and Lore [A Cookbook] by Darra Goldstein
  • Classic Russian Cuisine: A Magnificent Selection of More Than 400 Traditional Recipes by Alla Sacharow
  • The Best of Russian Cooking by Alexandra Kropotkin (Hippocrene International Cookbook Series)
  • The Ultimate Russian Cookbook: A Journey Through Russian Cuisine With 111 Traditional Recipes (World Cuisines Book 6) Book 6 of 53: World Cuisines by Slavka Bodic
  • Leo Tolstoy: A Vegetarian’s Tale: Tolstoy’s Family Vegetarian Recipes Adapted For The Modern Kitchen by S. Pavlenko
  • Easy Russian Cookbook: Delicious Russian Recipes for Authentic Russian Cooking by BookSumo Press
  • My Gramma’s Forgotten Recipes: A Russian Jewish Holiday Cookbook by Irina Tseger
  • PASTILA – Organic Miracle, Year-Round Healthy Snack, Low-Calorie Dessert, and Maybe the First Step to Your Own Business. 105 Recipes: Home-based business by Elena Frolova
  • Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing by Anya von Bremzen
• Best Print-Only Russian Cookbooks
  • A Taste of Russia: A Cookbook of Russian Hospitality by Darra Goldstein
  • Recipes from My Russian Grandmother’s Kitchen: Discover the rich and varied character of Russian cuisine in 60 traditional dishes by Elena Makhonko
  • Classic Russian Cooking: Elena Molokhovets “A Gift to Young Housewives” by Elena Molokhovets
  • The Russian Heritage Cookbook: A Culinary Tradition in Over 400 Recipes by Lynn Visson
  • Salt & Time: Recipes from a Russian Kitchen by Alissa Timoshkina and Lizzie Mayson
• Best Mixed Location Russian Cookbooks
  • Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook by Anya von Bremzen and John Welchman
  • Beyond Borscht: Old-World Recipes from Eastern Europe: Ukraine, Russia, Poland & More by Tatyana Nesteruk
• Russian Cookbooks – Frequently Asked Questions

The Top 10 Best Russian Cookbooks

The following are the best Russian cookbooks in circulation. Whether you’re in a hurry and want to try something tasty like buckwheat porridge often or are looking for an advanced aid to improve your Russian cooking, we’ve got the perfect cookbooks to pick from. Are you in the mood for good Russian food but haven’t yet bought a cookbook yet? Give our recipe for the best homemade blinchikis you’ll ever taste a try. They’re essentially Russian crepes but thicker, and with a taste you’ll crave from the first bite.

Kachka: A Return to Russian Cooking by Bonnie Frumkin Morales and Deena Prichep

Anyone familiar with the Portland restaurant and hotspot Kachka will instantly crave owning this book and sampling its food. For everyone else, Kachka: A Return to Russian Cooking offers one of the best discourses on vibrant, modern Russian cuisine in print. Classic recipes are modernized and elevated, while the author’s sincere, loving commentary does a great job of explaining the traditions and the reasoning behind quintessential flavors, ingredients, and meal pairing. The book deals with classic ingredients like veal, rabbit, various homemade loaves of bread, and dumplings. 

Those of Russian heritage will love the way that all their childhood favorites are there, just creatively reimagined for today. This also makes shopping practical and every last creation accessible. There are lots of helpful finishing touches, like euphemisms from the former soviet union granting historical context and full-color images accompanying each recipe. Instructions are always crystal clear, but be prepared to pull off a couple of complex albeit straightforward procedures along the way. Most are dead easy but a few call for Russian know-how. It’s a great read and a brilliant asset to every cook.

About The Authors: Bonnie Frumkin Morales and Deena Prichep are the authors of Kachka, a James Beard award-winning cookbook that explores the vibrant world of Russian cuisine. Morales, who grew up in a Belarusian family in Chicago, developed her love for Russian cuisine after traveling to the country in 2003. Prichep, a journalist and food writer, provides the historical and cultural context for each recipe. Together, they bring the flavors and stories of Russia to life through their beautiful and delicious cookbook.

Beyond the North Wind: Russia in Recipes and Lore [A Cookbook] by Darra Goldstein

Beyond the Northwind is a traditional Russian cookbook that grants one of the most expensive looks at Russian food and culture across history, particularly that of Northern Russia. Advanced chefs will love the complexity and authenticity of the recipes, but this is a cookbook that not everyone will be able to cook from. Ingredients like spruce needles and hundreds of dandelion blossoms for certain classic recipes will be almost impossible to track down unless foraging in the right area. With this being said, there are tons of approachable meals readily available too, but most assume a degree of experience in the kitchen. 

Yet, certain unforgettable creations have still stood the test of time. Many of the cakes, bread, and confectionery, to name but a few, are super simple and call for nothing more than basic ingredients and techniques. It is better to see Beyond the North Wind as a historical snapshot of Russian history with eating and cooking traditions frozen in time and ready to be adapted to a modern palate (and pantry). It is the perfect cookbook for context into Russian cuisine, with great recipes to try and even more to inspire modern new Russian recipes. 

About The Author: Darra Goldstein is an award-winning author and professor of Russian at Williams College. She has written extensively on Russian culture, history, and food and is the founding editor of Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture.

Classic Russian Cuisine: A Magnificent Selection of More Than 400 Traditional Recipes by Alla Sacharow

Classic Russian Cuisine is a gem of a book at a giveaway price, especially in its digital edition. It’s easily the broadest selection of recipes in publication, with 150 photos backing up the processes and delicate presentation exactly where they’re needed most. Although there is a brief introduction to Slavic cuisine, Russian history, and the region’s general food culture, this is a cookbook that should be bought for its recipes. Basic cookery skills are called for throughout, and a complete selection of all of Russia’s best recipes is waiting. 

Recipes are classified into appetizers and snacks, soups and stews, meat, innards, poultry and game, fish, sausages, vegetables, groats, pasta, and quark dishes, Russian pancakes and filled crepes, pierogi and pates, desserts and paska, cakes, cookies and pastries, pickled vegetables and jams, and drinks. Readers will be happy to know that there’s nothing missing from this Russian recipe book. From seasonal favorites to lesser-known delicacies, they’re all there. 

About The Author: Authority on Russian cuisine, Alla Sacharow has a special ability to make her expertise and love for Russian food shine through her writing. The renowned expert on classic Russian cooking established herself within the industry with this collection of over 400 recipes. 

The Best of Russian Cooking by Alexandra Kropotkin (Hippocrene International Cookbook Series)

The Best of Russian Cooking is a cookbook that’s been with us since 1947, and it remains one of the most treasured Russian recipe collections in existence. It contains all the classics and several of the nation’s lesser-known beloved delicacies like blini, kvas, and okroshka, to name but a few. With fifteen chapters of recipes and a concise but comprehensive explanation of culinary tips and Russian traditions, it’s a great book to have on hand for anyone who is devoted to cooking more meals from the RU. 

Those who value food memoirs will fall in love with this cookbook. It doesn’t quite dive into the country like some travel-focused publications, but the author’s sincere commentary and the insightful narrative do give the reader a good feel for Russian cuisine before it has even hit the plate. Be warned, The Best of Russian Cooking assumes a certain degree of competency in the kitchen, but for those who have the experience and are looking for advanced recipes and quick creations alike, this cookbook is perfect. 

About The Author: Alexandra’ Kropotkin is a world-renowned writer and the Russian language translator who worked on War and Peace. The New York-based writer has been involved in some of the culinary world’s greatest discourses on Russian cookery. 

The Ultimate Russian Cookbook: A Journey Through Russian Cuisine With 111 Traditional Recipes (World Cuisines Book 6) Book 6 of 53: World Cuisines by Slavka Bodic

Don’t let its seemingly short page length put you off. The Ultimate Russian Cookbook is a great read filled with classic Russian recipes that you’re sure to keep coming back to. It’s a great cookbook for anyone looking for a good selection of Americanized Russian food. The modern cuisine found between the pages of this book gives cooks of all skill levels a broad overview of Russian flavors and how to work with the nation’s favorite ingredient combinations.

This isn’t exactly the best book for advanced chefs but rather for beginners and intermediate cooks. There’s ample to make and draw inspiration from without any difficult-to-find ingredients. The author’s detailed explanations make every meal foolproof, and while simplistic in its basic composition, not one lacks flavor. Whether you’re looking for quick weeknight dinners or special occasion meals with Russian flavor, this cookbook, with its easy-to-follow recipes, is perfect. Just don’t expect antiquated, traditional meals following cookie-cutter composition from old-world Russia. 

About The Author: Slavka Bodic is a renowned chef and cookbook author who has curated recipes for The Ultimate Russian Cookbook. It is one of her many cookbooks making a part of the World Cuisines series that details regional cuisine from all around the world. 

Leo Tolstoy: A Vegetarian’s Tale: Tolstoy’s Family Vegetarian Recipes Adapted For The Modern Kitchen by S. Pavlenko

Leo Tolstoy: A Vegetarian’s Tale is one of the few Russian cookbooks with a plant-based approach. The author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina grew up in Yasnaya Polyana, Russia, but only famously became an outspoken vegetarian much later in life at the age of 50. His conviction for the crossover inspired an entire preface written for the 1892 Russian edition of The Ethics of Diet and today still stands as visionary philosophy. Tolstoy’s cooking is equally inspired and a subject held in high regard by foodies and historians alike. 

The author of Leo Tolstoy: A Vegetarian’s Tale has thoughtfully compiled the Tolstoy family’s recipes and anecdotes from the novelist’s own life. All of the writer and his two daughter’s treasured meals are divulged in detail with instructions that just about anyone will be able to follow without difficulty. Diary excerpts accompany each recipe, and while there aren’t as many as most cookbooks, every last one is comfort food that’s a notch above – clear examples of vegetarian Russian cuisine at its very best.   

About The Author: S. Pavlenko is the author of Leo Tolstoy: A Vegetarian’s Tale, a cookbook that adapts the famous author’s family vegetarian recipes for the modern kitchen. Pavlenko draws on her expertise as a food historian and Tolstoy scholar to offer a unique culinary and cultural experience for readers.

Easy Russian Cookbook: Delicious Russian Recipes for Authentic Russian Cooking by BookSumo Press

There are no frills, no lengthy narratives, and minimal introductions to sections and meals, but what you will find in BookSumo’s Easy Russian Cookbook is hassle-free meals with the simplest, most straightforward foolproof instructions around. Don’t expect to find lesser-known delicacies from around Russia, but all the classics are there and simplified to the point where even the busiest or most inexperienced chefs can pull off the recipes to perfection. 

All the recipes are classified according to difficulty, which is great for picking in a hurry. As a fairly new publication, there aren’t too many reviews to go by, but from the existing ratings, available copy, and clear-cut clarity, the Easy Russian Cookbook is a great buy. Affordable, straight to the point, and curated by a publisher renowned for good, reputable recipes that you’ll want to try again, this is one new cookbook that’s well worth a read. It is sure to surprise you. 

About The Author: BookSumo Press is an Indie Publisher of Cookbooks situated in New Jersey. With thousands of positive reviews among its many publications and a reputation for beautiful layouts throughout, BookSumo can be relied upon for excellent food writing. 

My Gramma’s Forgotten Recipes: A Russian Jewish Holiday Cookbook by Irina Tseger

My Gramma’s Forgotten Recipes is a very short cookbook but easily the best cookbook on Russian Jewish celebratory food out there. Recipes from Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Chanukah, and Passover are detailed with such clarity and simplicity that any cook can whip up amazing creations. What makes this cookbook great is how it supplies excellent recipes for dishes that are not commonly known unless you were raised within a patron household. 

To further enhance the practical value of each recipe, every meal is adapted for Western shoppers. You’ll never struggle to find any of the ingredients, and the pairings naturally make sense off the bat, even if you’re not familiar with Russian cuisine. My Gramma’s Forgotten Recipes is filled with creations that are surprisingly child friendly. This also means that they’re great for picky eaters and anyone looking for a gentle introduction to Russian food. Fortunately, each adaptation stays true to traditions, so all the recipes a Russian native grew up with will be fondly remembered. It is a highly entertaining short read with recipes that you’ll love cooking. 

About The Author: Irina Tseger’s passion for preserving her family’s recipes has resulted in a book that is both a celebration of heritage and a practical guide for anyone looking to recreate traditional dishes in their own kitchen.

PASTILA – Organic Miracle, Year-Round Healthy Snack, Low-Calorie Dessert, and Maybe the First Step to Your Own Business. 105 Recipes: Home-based business by Elena Frolova

Pastila is a traditional Russian sweet that has been enjoyed for centuries. In years past, pastila was a luxury item that was served at banquets and given as gifts to important people. It is a type of fruit leather that is made by slowly cooking apples, adding sugar and egg whites, and then baking it in the oven until it is dry and chewy. The resulting treat has a soft, delicate texture and a sweet, fruity flavor. PASTILA divulges the age-old secret techniques behind making perfect pastila, with both dense and loose pastila types explained. It also explains the viability of making pastila en-masse as an entrepreneurship project or new business.  

While many readers will be wowed at a handful of different recipes for a delicious Russian delicacy like this, there are no less than 105 varieties explained by this brilliant single-focus cookbook. It’s not just recipes but the methodology and tips that are really hard to learn anywhere else as well that make it so good. From troubleshooting cracked, marbled, or crunchy pastila to endless variations and simplifications of conventionally-complex recipes, this book has it all. Get out your food dehydrator (if you have one, it’s not mandatory) and get PASTILA on hand – it’s a food adventure that’s well worth embarking upon. 

About The Author: Elena Frolova is an entrepreneur, author, and passionate advocate of the traditional Russian confection, pastila. In her book “PASTILA – Organic Miracle,” she shares her expertise in creating this healthy, low-calorie snack and explores its potential as a business venture. 

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing by Anya von Bremzen

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing is not a cookbook, but a heartfelt memoir of a life lived in the former Soviet Union with a handful of recipes. The Author masterfully blends together her family’s history with the history of soviet cuisine, painting a vivid picture of a society where food was not just sustenance but a way of life. The entire book offers a fascinating look at the former USSR from 1917 to its collapse. If you’re looking for a recipe collection alone, then rather opt for Please to the Table by the same author, but for the deepest dive into Russian history and culture around, led by a masterful writer who lived on two sides of the world, this book will take you to places you never once imagined possible. 

The only recipes detailed are the following. Kulebiaka is a dish made from fish, rice, and mushrooms in pastry. Gefilte Fish is essentially stuffed whole fish, prepared Odessa-style, which is quickly over a very hot heat source like a gas wok. Kotleti is the Russian equivalent of hamburgers. Kartochki involves potatoes. Chanakhi, which is a herbaceous Georgian lamb stew. Moldovan cornbread with feta is divulged next, followed by Salat Olivier, which is a Russian potato salad prepared with pickles. Dad’s Uber-Borscht is a beef and mushroom borscht that includes beans and apples. Palov explains a central Asian rice dish which is essentially a lamb and carrot pilaf. Finally, Century Blini gives one of the best recipes for Russian pancakes with all the trimmings around. 

About The Author: Anya von Bremzen is a James Beard award-winning food writer and author known for her unique perspective on Russian cuisine. Born in the Soviet Union, she emigrated to the United States with her family in the 1970s and has since written extensively on food and culture. 

Best Print-Only Russian Cookbooks

Unfortunately, there is no digital edition of any of the following Russian cookbooks. However, many of Russian cuisine’s best treasures are print-only. Be sure to browse through these iconic books carefully. You’re sure to be surprised by what you find. 

A Taste of Russia: A Cookbook of Russian Hospitality by Darra Goldstein

A Taste of Russia is one of those rare cookbooks that manages to cover a full span of all the cuisine from the region it covers. It’s one of the truest representations of Russian cuisine out there, which instills a firm understanding of not only Russian food and flavors but also daily life in Russia and the traditions which inspire the meals. There are no pictures, but the words are as well-written as the meals are superlatively composed. 

Although scattered smaller recipes are present, most of A Taste of Russia is geared towards large meals and entertaining. It’s Russian fine dining at its best, with enough cultural context to adapt existing recipes to personal tastes at a later stage. It is interesting from cover to cover and as close to a must-own as you get for anyone who values Russian cuisine. 

About The Author: Darra Goldstein is a professor of Russian at Williams College in Massachusetts and has written extensively on Russian food and culture. She is also the founding editor of Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture.

Recipes from My Russian Grandmother’s Kitchen: Discover the rich and varied character of Russian cuisine in 60 traditional dishes by Elena Makhonko

The sixty recipes detailed in Recipes from My Russian Grandmother’s Kitchen are each accurate, irresistible representations of Russian culture that are approachable for just about any household. From the layout to the ridiculously good results given the simplistic ingredients and steps, this is a cookbook that every household will draw value from. There are pictures placed throughout, which gives a great idea of what to aim for. 

Another nice touch is the tips and substitutions granting tasty variations on basic recipes. Whether or not you’re familiar with Russian cuisine, My Russian Grandmother’s Kitchen is a cookbook you can’t go wrong with. It doesn’t have the most recipes, but the insight instilled, and unbeatable quality of each meal makes it one of the best Russian cookbooks money can buy.

About The Author: Elena Makhonko is a Russian-born chef, cooking teacher, and author who inherited her love of cooking from her Russian grandmother. Over the years, she has shared her culinary heritage through television, food writing, and cooking classes. 

Classic Russian Cooking: Elena Molokhovets “A Gift to Young Housewives” by Elena Molokhovets

There is no other discourse on Russian cuisine and culture as in-depth as Classic Russian Cooking: Elena Molokhovets’ “A Gift to Young Housewives.” It paints a vivid picture of the foods common to pre-Communist Russia, thus laying out the foundation of all to come. It has been meticulously translated from over one-thousand manuscripts belonging to the original author, Molokhovets, which dates back to 1861. 

Readers will be taken through the whole of Russian cooking’s scope, as well as meal construction, keeping servants, managing a kitchen table setting, and basic etiquette. Classic Russian Cooking is the foremost compendium on Russian homemaking, and the methodology and inspired recipes have stood the test of time. They are sure to amaze and inspire to this day, making this cookbook a treasure to anyone who wants to know the roots of Russian cuisine. 

About The Author: Elena Molokhovets was a household name in the 19th-century Russian culinary scene. Her masterpiece cookbook, “A Gift to Young Housewives,” has stood the test of time and remains a beloved and important piece of culinary literature. Molokhovets’ recipes provide insight into traditional Russian cooking and offer a glimpse into the cultural practices and traditions of the era.

The Russian Heritage Cookbook: A Culinary Tradition in Over 400 Recipes by Lynn Visson

The Russian Heritage Cookbook is a true Russian cookbook in every sense of the word. If you can’t find a treasured family recipe or a creation you heard of mentioned somewhere, this is where you’ll find it. It is filled with traditional Russian recipes spanning the whole of the continent. There are absolutely no pictures, but there’s no more complete Russian cookbook. The instructions are easy to follow, and despite being classics, most ingredients are easy to procure. 

Even though one would imagine the variety or history to be the selling point, it’s the recipe quality that’ll blow you away. Say goodbye to boring recipes that repeat basic formulas and structures, and be prepared to dive into a brilliantly diverse collection of cuisine from 19th-century Russia. It costs a bit more than other books, but if you don’t mind the lack of pictures and want to know the formula to every last Russian classic meal, The Russian Heritage Cookbook is your book.

About The Author: Lynn Visson is a world-renowned linguist and cultural expert whose expertise shines through her food writing. Visson’s recipes have been collected through the vast expanse of Russia and are known to capture the heart and soul of the country’s diverse culinary traditions. 

Salt & Time: Recipes from a Russian Kitchen by Alissa Timoshkina and Lizzie Mayson

With a beautifully idyllic photo accurately representing each meal and some of the freshest Russian cuisine we’ve seen in a long while, Salt & Time: Recipes from a Russian Kitchen offers a refreshing change. Its cuisine is bright and vibrant, always taking a modern approach to Russian flavors. Sometimes it reinvents pre-revolutionary classics. Other recipes stay true to traditions, but every last one is easy to shop for and straightforward to prepare. Readers and eaters will fall in love with the author’s current combinations and innovative interpretations of time-tried creations. 

For example, when have you seen tradition served up in the form of a hangover cure, like Solyanka fish soup detailed in Salt & Time? How about pine nut vodka and other tasty Russian infusions? This cookbook has it all without resorting to reinventing the wheel in the form of traditional recipes we’ve seen over and over and over again. Between starters, sides & salads, soups, main dishes, pickles & ferments, desserts, and drinks, there are undoubtedly recipes you’ll be compelled to make over and over again. 

About The Author: Alissa Timoshkina and Lizzie Mayson are the dynamic duo behind the cookbook Salt & Time, which explores the diverse flavors and cultures of Russia through their traditional recipes. Timoshkina, a Russian-born chef, infuses her childhood memories and experiences into each dish, while Mayson brings her passion for cultural exploration and culinary writing. Their collaboration results in a beautiful and authentic Russian cookbook.

Best Mixed Location Russian Cookbooks

The following Russian cookbooks supply recipes from across Eastern Europe, not just regions falling within Russia itself. 

Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook by Anya von Bremzen and John Welchman

The print-only edition, Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook, contains cuisine from the Baltic Republics, Russia, Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Ukraine. It’s a massive selection of mouthwatering recipes backed by all the know-how necessary for new chefs to never go wrong. Unlike many comprehensive Russian recipe books of its type, this refreshing edition has been specifically adapted for Western shoppers. 

All the information a reader could ever hope for is there, thanks to the numerous notes scattered throughout the pages of Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook. Even though recipes from the whole of Eastern Europe are featured, you’ll notice that all the Soviet favorites are there. Every recipe is user-friendly, and the anecdotes and narrative entice one to read more without thinning out the “content” itself. You’ll be learning cooking and Russian culture from this great read. 

About The Author: Anya von Bremzen is an award-winning food writer and author of several cookbooks, including Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking. John Welchman is an art historian and writer. Together, they bring their unique perspectives to the classic dishes of Russia. Their expertise in both food and art makes for a beautifully crafted cookbook that reflects the rich cultural heritage of Russia well.

Beyond Borscht: Old-World Recipes from Eastern Europe: Ukraine, Russia, Poland & More by Tatyana Nesteruk

From one of Eastern Europe’s foremost food bloggers comes a creative collection of some of the best recipes representing Russia in circulation. Beyond Borscht presents a complete selection of recipes from across the whole of Eastern Europe. Instead of fading into tradition and mediocrity, this cookbook puts forth enduring new ideas that both people familiar with and new to Russian cuisine will enjoy and come back to cook again. 

There are vivid pictures depicting every last meal in Beyond Borscht. Even though the recipes are authentic and not Westernized in any way, in most, there are no strange ingredients to shop for. The clarity of instructions couldn’t be better, and the introductions are all kept brief. It’s also one of the best-looking Russian cookbooks and an edition that many may like to order in print.

About The Author: Tatyana Nesteruk, a food blogger and cooking teacher, shares her passion for Eastern European cuisine in her cookbook that details traditional recipes from Ukraine, Russia, Poland, and many other parts of Eastern Europe. 

Russian Cookbooks – Frequently Asked Questions

Sifting through Russian cookbook options with questions in your mind? We may have the answers you need here. 

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