The Best Recipes from Ina Garten’s Cook Like a Pro

Updated October 2026 Of Ina’s later cookbooks, I think Cook Like a Pro may be my favorite. I nearly had to make this a top 35 list instead of my usual top 10 because there are so many stellar recipes. Obviously, I didn’t love every single one, but on the whole, this is such a consistently fabulous book. In the introduction, Ina makes it clear that this isn’t about cooking complicated, chef-level dishes. It’s about using the tips and techniques professional chefs rely on so everything you make looks and tastes like it was “homemade by professionals,” which is exactly what I aspire to as a self-taught cook. The book is absolutely packed with helpful tips for cooking, seasoning, plating, measuring, prepping, baking, and more, which is why I often recommend it, along with Barefoot Contessa at Home and Back to Basics, as one of the first Ina books people should buy. The recipes more than deliver, too. There are over-the-top Cauliflower Toasts that could convert any cauliflower hater, my…