Appalachian food has been sold short for a long time. People hear the word and picture hard times, and they miss what the cooks of those hollers did with a garden, a smokehouse and very little money. Any restaurant kitchen should respect that. Feeding people well on what you have is most of the job.
It is also a small shelf, which makes the choice easier. This guide gives seven books from named authors at established publishers, most of them university presses and trade houses, and says plainly which have independent praise behind them and which rest on the publisher’s details.
Julia’s earns a commission on purchases made through links on this page, at no cost to you. Recommendations are based on what a restaurant kitchen looks for in a cookbook, the Amazon listing, publisher and author information and published reviews, which we name where we use them.
Quick verdict: the best Appalachian cookbook to start with
For most readers, start with Ronni Lundy’s Victuals, the James Beard Foundation’s Book of the Year for 2017. If you care most about the old ways, choose The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery. If you want a large home-style recipe collection, choose Jim Casada and Tipper Pressley’s Celebrating Southern Appalachian Food.
The other four cover a modern introduction, plant-based mountain food, a thorough reference and a personal memoir with recipes.
Five Appalachian cookbooks side by side
Five of the seven, one for each kind of reader. All seven are described in full below.
| Cookbook | Best for | Recipes | Length | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Victuals, Ronni LundyBest overall
|
Most readers, first Appalachian book | Not stated | 320 pages, hardcover | View on Amazon |
The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery, edited by T. J. SmithBest for history
|
Readers who want the old ways | Hundreds, per the publisher | 248 pages, paperback | View on Amazon |
Celebrating Southern Appalachian Food, Jim Casada and Tipper PressleyBest for recipe volume
|
Cooks who want many recipes | More than 200 | 272 pages, paperback | View on Amazon |
Seasoned in Appalachia, Jimmy ProffittBest modern book
|
Newcomers to the region’s food | 75 | 192 pages, hardcover | View on Amazon |
The Modern Mountain Cookbook, Jan A. BrandenburgBest plant-based
|
Vegan and vegetarian cooks | More than 130 | 200 pages, hardcover | View on Amazon |
Our picks for the best Appalachian cookbook
1. Victuals, Ronni Lundy – The Award-Winning Place to Start
This is the book the rest of the subject gets measured against. The James Beard Foundation’s list of 2017 book award winners names Victuals in the American Cooking category and again as Book of the Year. Few regional cookbooks reach that level, and that alone would earn it a look.
The subtitle tells you how it reads: an Appalachian journey, with recipes. Publishers Weekly’s review calls Lundy “a warm and charming guide with a deep-seated love and respect for the region and its approach to cuisine.” It adds that “Fans of locally sourced foods and Southern cooking will find a lot to like here, as Lundy does a terrific job of showcasing Appalachia’s breadth and depth.” That is the best independent evidence we read for any book on this page.
It is a hardcover with photographs credited to Johnny Autry on the Amazon listing, and it is a book to read as well as cook from. If what you want is a fast list of weeknight suppers, the picks further down are plainer. If you want to understand why this food tastes the way it does, this is the one.
Why we like it
- James Beard Book of the Year for 2017
- Praised by Publishers Weekly for breadth and depth
- Named photographer credited on the listing
- Reads as a journey as well as a recipe book
Key specifications
| Author | Ronni Lundy; photographs by Johnny Autry |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Clarkson Potter |
| Year | 2016 |
| Pages | 320 |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Recipes | Not stated |
| Focus | Food, people and places of the region |
| Best for | Most readers, first Appalachian book |
Why we recommend it
Buy this first if you want one book that explains Appalachian food and gives you recipes to cook from it.
Skip it if you only want recipes and no stories. Much of its appeal is in the telling.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Strongest independent evidence here
- Major trade publisher
- Broad view of the region
Cons
- Recipe count not stated in our sources
- More reading than a quick-supper book
2. The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery, edited by T. J. Smith – Recipes as Oral History
This cookbook comes out of the Foxfire project in Georgia. The publisher’s description says it was first published in 1984 and draws on material gathered by Foxfire students in Rabun Gap, Georgia. The revised edition combines “hundreds of unpretentious, delectable recipes” with practical knowledge and stories, and it adds new documentation, photographs and recipes from Foxfire’s archives.
The foreword is by the chef Sean Brock, and the University of North Carolina Press’s blog prints an excerpt. His line captures what makes this book unusual: “The recipes are written as oral histories, and I wish all cookbooks were laid out this way.” He also says “Appalachian cooks take pride in not writing recipes down or measuring ingredients,” and a buyer should take that as fair warning. Expect people talking more than tidy formulas.
The editor, T. J. Smith, holds a doctorate in folklore, according to the publisher. Publishers Weekly’s page at this ISBN says it has not yet reviewed the revised edition, and we could not open the press’s main book page, so we read its description on NetGalley.
Why we like it
- Hundreds of recipes, per the publisher
- Gathered by Foxfire students in Rabun Gap, Georgia
- Revised with new archive material
- Foreword by Sean Brock
Key specifications
| Author | Edited by T. J. Smith; foreword by Sean Brock |
|---|---|
| Publisher | University of North Carolina Press |
| Year | 2019 |
| Pages | 248 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Recipes | Hundreds, per the publisher |
| Focus | Foodways recorded by Foxfire students |
| Best for | Readers who want the old ways |
Why we recommend it
This suits a cook who loves history and wants to hear how mountain people really cooked, from the springhouse to the smokehouse.
Skip it if you need exact measures and step-by-step directions. By its own foreword, this is a record of an oral tradition.
Pros and cons
Pros
- University press with a serious project behind it
- A distinctive oral-history format
- Practical knowledge beside the recipes
Cons
- Looser recipe style, per the foreword
- Few conveniences for modern weeknights
- No Publishers Weekly review of this edition
3. Celebrating Southern Appalachian Food, Jim Casada and Tipper Pressley – A Big Home-Kitchen Collection
If your first concern is what to cook on Sunday, this is the practical choice. Carolina Country’s feature says the book includes “over 200 historic recipes” and “a glossary of Southern Appalachian food terms,” with “stories of celebrations, Sunday dinners and ordinary suppers.” That is a good number of recipes in 272 pages, and the glossary helps a reader who didn’t grow up with the words.
Both authors are natives of the region, according to the publisher’s copy carried by a bookseller, which calls them “seasoned veterans in sharing the culinary delights of the southern highlands.” It says Jim Casada taught at a university, has written or edited dozens of books and writes a cooking column for Smoky Mountain Living. Tipper Pressley has written about Appalachian culture since 2008, first on her blog and now on a YouTube channel, and teaches Appalachian cooking classes.
Readers who follow Pressley’s channel will have a sense of the voice before they buy. It is part of The History Press’s American Palate series, so expect stories alongside the food. We found no trade review we could read, and could not open the publisher’s own page, so this pick rests on the feature and the bookseller’s copy.
Why we like it
- More than 200 recipes, per Carolina Country
- Glossary of regional food terms
- Authors from the region, per the publisher
- Covers both celebrations and ordinary suppers
Key specifications
| Author | Jim Casada, Tipper Pressley |
|---|---|
| Publisher | The History Press |
| Year | 2023 |
| Pages | 272 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Recipes | More than 200 |
| Focus | Home recipes and stories |
| Best for | Cooks who want many recipes |
Why we recommend it
Choose this if you want to cook steadily through a wide home-style collection and like a story attached.
Skip it if you want full-color food photography. We could not confirm the illustrations from a source we read, so check the sample pages first.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Large recipe count
- Authors rooted in the region
- Helpful glossary
Cons
- Illustrations unconfirmed
- No trade review we could read
4. Seasoned in Appalachia, Jimmy Proffitt – A Friendly Modern Introduction
This is the newest general book on the page and the most approachable for a cook who wants to flip through and pick a dinner. Quarto lists 75 dishes, with recipes such as Apple Cinnamon Biscuits, Green Tomato Pie, Country Ham, Sloppy Joes, Brown Butter Cornbread, Cranberry Orange Pound Cake, Belsnickel Cookies and Snow Cream, alongside personal stories and images of the region.
The publisher says Jimmy Proffitt is a self-taught chef and food writer born in the Shenandoah Valley, where he began cooking and writing at fifteen. It says he works as Marketing Brand Manager and Historian of The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, has compiled four single-subject cookbooks, has written for Okra, Southern Cast Iron and Taste of the South, and received a Taste50 award in 2022.
It runs 192 pages, so it is not a reference. Think of it as a friendly introduction to the region’s home cooking. A Library Journal review appeared in our search, but we could not open it, so we don’t quote it. Publishers Weekly’s page at this ISBN says it has not yet reviewed the book.
Why we like it
- 75 dishes, per Quarto
- Sample dishes run from cornbread to snow cream
- Author background is detailed by the publisher
- Images of the region, per Quarto
Key specifications
| Author | Jimmy Proffitt |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Rock Point (Quarto) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 192 |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Recipes | 75 |
| Focus | Family recipes and personal stories |
| Best for | Newcomers to the region’s food |
Why we recommend it
This is the one to give a new cook, or to buy yourself if you want clear ideas more than scholarship.
Skip it if you want the most recipes or the deepest history. Celebrating Southern Appalachian Food and Foxfire go further.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Very recent
- Named dishes you can picture
- Hardcover
Cons
- Fewest recipes among the counts we confirmed
- No review we could read
5. The Modern Mountain Cookbook, Jan A. Brandenburg – Mountain Flavors, Fully Plant-Based
The University Press of Kentucky opens its description with a plain admission: “Appalachian cuisine is known for featuring plenty of meat.” This book takes that on. It runs “From eggless scramble for breakfast to fried chick’n for supper,” with dishes that include creamy potato soup, country-fried steak, roasted jalapeno pimento cheese and pineapple upside-down cake.
The University of Kentucky’s Appalachian Center profile says Jan Brandenburg is an Irvine, Kentucky native and pharmacist who became vegetarian in the mid-1990s and fully vegan by 2006, and that the book has more than 130 recipes along with family stories and tips on vegan kitchen tools and ingredients.
The press quotes a starred Foreword Reviews notice calling it “a heartwarming cookbook that translates traditional Appalachian cuisine into vegan delights,” along with praise from VegNews and Midwest Book Review, and it lists a 2026 IPPY Bronze Medal in specialty cookbooks. We read those through the press and not at their sources. Publishers Weekly’s page at this ISBN says it has not yet reviewed the book. Our vegan cookbook guide looks wider if the region is not the draw.
Why we like it
- More than 130 recipes, per the University of Kentucky profile
- Vegan versions of familiar mountain dishes
- Starred Foreword Reviews notice, quoted by the press
- Family stories and vegan kitchen tips included
Key specifications
| Author | Jan A. Brandenburg |
|---|---|
| Publisher | University Press of Kentucky |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 200 |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Recipes | More than 130 |
| Focus | Vegan versions of mountain food |
| Best for | Vegan and vegetarian cooks |
Why we recommend it
If you don’t eat meat and still want the food of the mountains, this is the only book on the page written for you.
Skip it if you want the region’s traditional meat cookery. This book replaces it on purpose.
Pros and cons
Pros
- A clear and unusual angle
- University press
- Praise quoted from several outlets
Cons
- Not traditional recipes, by design
- Praise read only as quoted by the press
6. Appalachian Home Cooking, Mark F. Sohn – A Reference With a Glossary
This one reads more like a guide to the subject than a cookbook, and that is the reason to buy it. The University Press of Kentucky says it offers “over eighty classic recipes” along with history and culture, photographs and poetry, a glossary of Appalachian and cooking terms, menus for holidays and seasons, lists of top Appalachian foods and information on food festivals. Amazon gives 380 pages and the press gives 384.
The press says the book expands on Sohn’s earlier Mountain Country Cooking, a James Beard Award nominee in 1997. It also quotes several notices, read here through the press. Jan Davidson says “The recipes are clearly written and they work!” and Southern Historian calls it “a valuable introduction” for those unacquainted with the basics of Appalachian cooking.
It dates from 2005, so read the mail-order sources and festival details with that in mind. They may be out of date. The recipes and history should age much better, but a reader buying this for its directory will be disappointed. Publishers Weekly’s page at this ISBN says it has not yet reviewed the book.
Why we like it
- Over eighty classic recipes, per the press
- Glossary of Appalachian and cooking terms
- Menus for holidays and seasons
- Built on a James Beard-nominated earlier book
Key specifications
| Author | Mark F. Sohn |
|---|---|
| Publisher | University Press of Kentucky |
| Year | 2005 |
| Pages | 384, per the press |
| Format | Paperback |
| Recipes | More than 80 |
| Focus | History, culture and recipes |
| Best for | Readers who want context |
Why we recommend it
Choose this if you want a thorough explanation of what Appalachian food is, with enough recipes to cook from it.
Skip it if you want a recipe-heavy book. Eighty-odd recipes across more than 380 pages tells you the balance.
Pros and cons
Pros
- University press
- Strong context for the food
- Clearly written recipes, per a quoted reader
Cons
- Published in 2005
- Praise read through the press
- Fewer recipes for its length
7. More than Moonshine, Sidney Saylor Farr – Stoney Fork Recipes and Memories
This is the oldest book here and the most personal. The University of Pittsburgh Press describes recipes and recollections from Stoney Fork in southeastern Kentucky, where cash was short and cooking leaned on food gathered from the land and the garden. It calls the book “more than a cookbook,” and that matches its subtitle.
The dishes the press names tell you this is the real record of a time: baked groundhog with sweet potatoes, turnip kraut, cracklin’ bread, egg pie and apple stackcake. Some of that you will want to cook. Some of it you will want to read about. The press also names moonshine whiskey among the recipes, which we treat as history here and not as a project.
Sidney Saylor Farr (1932 to 2011) was a special collections librarian at Berea College and edited Appalachian Heritage from 1985 to 1999, according to the press. It quotes the North Carolina Arts Journal: “Both her recipes and recollections make for fine fare.” We read that through the press. A book published in 1983 also won’t reflect current thinking on things such as handling game or preserving food, so use judgment and current guidance.
Why we like it
- Named dishes include apple stackcake and cracklin’ bread
- Written by a Berea College librarian and editor
- A portrait of mid-century mountain home life
- Long-lived university press title
Key specifications
| Author | Sidney Saylor Farr |
|---|---|
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh Press |
| Year | 1983 |
| Pages | 232 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Recipes | Not stated |
| Focus | A family kitchen remembered |
| Best for | Readers of food memoir |
Why we recommend it
This suits a reader who wants to know what mountain kitchens were like, and who would enjoy this book even if they cooked only a handful of its recipes.
Skip it if you want modern, tested-feeling recipes for weeknights. It is a record of another time.
Pros and cons
Pros
- A personal voice
- Authentic-sounding dish list
- University press
Cons
- Published in 1983
- Some recipes are of historical interest only
- Recipe count not stated
How to choose a mountain cooking book
Four questions will narrow this list quickly.
- Do you want to read or to cook? Victuals, Foxfire, Appalachian Home Cooking and More than Moonshine are books to read as much as cook from. Celebrating Southern Appalachian Food and Seasoned in Appalachia sit closer to the stove.
- How exact do your recipes need to be? Oral-history recipes reward a cook who already knows what a dough should feel like. If you are newer to cooking, look at Seasoned in Appalachia first, and check the sample pages of anything older.
- Do you eat meat? The publisher of The Modern Mountain Cookbook says the regional food is known for plenty of it, so that book is the plain choice for plant-based cooks. For the other side of mountain cooking, our cast iron cookbook guide suits skillet cooks.
- How old is too old? Our list runs from 1983 to 2025. The older books are valuable as records, but treat anything they say about preserving or handling game as a starting point and check current guidance.
How we chose these Appalachian cookbooks
We searched Amazon’s book listings and kept print editions from named authors at established publishers, plain in stock, with a new lead offer sold by Amazon. We left out self-published state and regional titles and any book already on another page of ours, including the books on our Southern cookbook guide. Author, year, format and page count come from the Amazon listing unless we say otherwise. Descriptions come from publisher copy, or from the named source.
Here is what stands behind each pick. Victuals has a Publishers Weekly review we read and the James Beard Foundation’s own award list. Foxfire rests on the publisher’s description as carried by NetGalley and the excerpt on the press’s blog. Celebrating Southern Appalachian Food rests on a Carolina Country feature and the publisher’s copy as carried by a bookseller. Seasoned in Appalachia rests on Quarto’s page. The Modern Mountain Cookbook rests on the press’s page and a University of Kentucky profile. Appalachian Home Cooking and More than Moonshine rest on their presses’ pages, including the praise those pages quote. Nobody at Julia’s has cooked from these books for this guide, so we make no claim about how the recipes turn out.
Stock ruled out some familiar titles. Joseph Dabney’s Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread and Scuppernong Wine and Mark Sohn’s older Mountain Country Cooking were in short supply when we checked, so we left them out. They may be worth looking for if they come back in stock.
Appalachian cookbook questions, answered
What is the best mountain cooking book for a beginner?
Seasoned in Appalachia looks the most approachable, with 75 dishes and personal stories, per its publisher. If you want to learn the basics of cooking in general, our beginner cookbook guide will serve you better.
Which Appalachian cookbook won a James Beard Award?
Victuals won Book of the Year and the American Cooking category in the 2017 James Beard Foundation Book Awards, according to the foundation’s list. Mark Sohn’s earlier book was a James Beard nominee in 1997, according to his publisher.
Is Foxfire a cookbook or a history book?
Both. The publisher describes recipes alongside practical knowledge and stories, and Sean Brock’s foreword says the recipes are written as oral histories.
Is there a vegan Appalachian cookbook?
Yes. The Modern Mountain Cookbook by Jan A. Brandenburg is written that way. It comes from the University Press of Kentucky.
How is Appalachian cooking different from Southern cooking?
The books overlap, as Publishers Weekly’s nod to fans of Southern cooking suggests. These books focus on the mountains themselves: the Foxfire material from Rabun Gap and the recollections from Stoney Fork are good examples. For the wider South, see our Southern cookbook guide.
Our final pick for a mountain kitchen shelf
Buy Victuals first, and add Celebrating Southern Appalachian Food if you find yourself wanting more to cook. For beans and the pot food that often goes with this table, our bean cookbook guide has more, and our best Southern cookbook guide covers the wider region. When you would rather somebody else did the cooking, call to order from Julia’s in Houston.