Smashed, Steamed or Vegetarian? The Best Burger Cookbook

There are not many ingredients in a burger, so opinions about it run hot. Thick or smashed, griddle or grate, cheese or no cheese. A Mexican kitchen knows this argument well, because tacos start the same fights over the same small choices.

A good burger book is useful because it picks a side and explains why. This guide gives seven books from named authors at established publishers, from regional American history to a vegetarian restaurant, and it says which rest on a named review and which 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: which burger book to buy first

The other four cover a vegetarian restaurant, a television tie-in with real recipes, a burger encyclopedia and vegan burgers.

Five burger books side by side

Five of the seven, one for each kind of cook. All seven are described in full below.

Cover images from Amazon. Page counts and formats are from the Amazon listings for the editions linked. Recipe counts are from the title or the publisher’s copy; where neither gives one, we say so.

Our picks for the best burger cookbook, book by book

All seven were in stock, in print and new when we checked. Six were sold by Amazon; one had a third-party bookseller as the lead offer, and we say which. We have not cooked from these books; where we describe a strength, we say whose view it is.

How to choose a burger cookbook for your kitchen

Four questions will narrow this list quickly.

• What surface do you have? A griddle or skillet suits Smashed. A grate suits most backyard cooks, and our best grill cookbook guide covers grilling more widely. Motz is the one to read if you want to try several methods.
• Beef or not? Headley and Newman write meat-free books, and they go in quite different directions. Newman’s is all vegan; Headley’s is vegetarian. If your diet requires it, read the ingredients in each recipe yourself.
• Do you want recipes or reading? Hennessy and Shake Shack lean toward story. Motz does both. Smashed and Newman are mostly about getting dinner made.
• How much do you care about the bun and the sauce? The copy for Hennessy’s book mentions making your own patties and buns. We cannot compare the bun recipes across books, since the publishers’ copy does not.

How we chose these burger cookbooks

We searched Amazon’s book listings first and kept print editions from named authors at established publishers, plain in stock with a new lead offer, about burgers specifically. We repeated nothing from our grill cookbook page. Author, year, format and page count come from the Amazon listing. Recipe counts and descriptions come from the title or the publisher’s copy, as carried by booksellers, unless we credit someone else.

Here is what stands behind each pick. Shake Shack and Superiority Burger Cookbook have Publishers Weekly reviews we read ourselves. The Great American Burger Book and The Bob’s Burgers Burger Book carry praise we read only through the publisher’s copy. Smashed, The Burger Bible and Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet rest on the publisher’s and authors’ details.

Stock ruled out some obvious titles. Bobby Flay’s Burgers, Fries, and Shakes and America’s Test Kitchen’s The Ultimate Burger were not available to ship now, and Beefy Boys was low in stock. Motz’s Hamburger America is in stock but is a restaurant guide, so it is not here.

Burger cookbook questions, answered

What is the best hamburger recipes book for a beginner?

Smashed is the simplest place to start, with one clear method. If you would rather start by understanding the whole subject, The Great American Burger Book is the better first buy.

Do I need a griddle to make smash burgers?

Not according to Smashed, whose title names an outdoor griddle, grill or skillet. For the press, see our smash burger press guide.

Is there a burger book for vegetarians?

Yes, two. Superiority Burger Cookbook is the one PW admired. Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet is vegan and has the larger recipe count. Our vegan cookbook guide covers more.

Will Shake Shack’s book let me copy the burger exactly?

PW says partly. Much of it can be done at home, but the beef blend is the restaurant’s secret.

Does any of these books have a burger with a Mexican angle?

Motz’s book names New Mexico’s tortilla burger in the copy. For Mexican cooking in general, see our best Mexican cookbooks guide.

Which burger book should you buy first?

Buy The Great American Burger Book if you want the widest education. Choose Shake Shack for the story, Smashed for the griddle and Superiority Burger Cookbook if you want a book PW praised warmly and do not need beef. For more on cooking over fire, go to our best grill cookbook guide.

And if you would rather let someone else cook tonight, see the menu or call to order.