Filipino and Mexican cooking both carry Spanish influence, so a Mexican kitchen finds some familiar words here. The publisher of one book on this list describes a cuisine that blends indigenous dishes with Chinese, Spanish, Southeast Asian and American influences, and you can see all of that on the plate.
Good Filipino cookbooks are harder to find in stock than they should be, and some of the best-known titles were not available new when we looked. We stopped at seven real books from named authors and established publishers, and we say 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: the best Filipino cookbook to start with
For most home cooks, start with Angela Dimayuga’s Filipinx, which has 100 recipes and a warm Publishers Weekly review. For cooking by the season, choose Woldy Reyes’s In the Kusina. For a short book of everyday classics, choose Norma Olizon-Chikiamco’s Filipino Homestyle Dishes.
The other four cover a new British Filipino chef’s classics, essays and recipes from around the world, modern desserts and an older American primer.
Five Filipino cookbooks side by side
Five of the seven, one for each kind of cook. All seven are described in full below.
| Cookbook | Best for | Recipes | Length | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Filipinx, Angela Dimayuga with Ligaya MishanBest overall
|
A modern Filipino American kitchen | 100 | 288 pages, hardcover | View on Amazon |
In the Kusina, Woldy ReyesBest for vegetables
|
Seasonal, vegetable-forward cooking | More than 100 | 280 pages, hardcover | View on Amazon |
Filipino Homestyle Dishes, Norma Olizon-ChikiamcoBest short book
|
Short, plain and practical | Over 60 | 96 pages, spiral-bound | View on Amazon |
Kamayan, Rex De GuzmanNewest pick
|
Classic dishes, newest book | More than 70 | 224 pages, hardcover | View on Amazon |
The New Filipino Kitchen, edited by Jacqueline Chio-LauriBest for reading
|
Essays with recipes | 30 | 248 pages, hardcover | View on Amazon |
Cover images from Amazon. Page counts and formats are from the Amazon listings for the editions linked. Recipe counts are from the publisher’s copy.
Our picks for the best Filipino cookbook, book by book
All seven were in stock, in print and new, and sold by Amazon when we checked. We have not cooked from these books; where we describe a strength, we say whose view it is.
1. Filipinx, Angela Dimayuga with Ligaya Mishan – Classics, Rethought by a Chef
Angela Dimayuga grew up in a Filipino immigrant family in Northern California, trained in New York restaurant kitchens and was executive chef of Mission Chinese Food in New York, according to her publisher. Her co-writer, Ligaya Mishan, writes for the New York Times.
The publisher describes 100 personal recipes that update the classics. Her adobo uses coconut milk for a silkier sauce, her bistek uses ribeye with butter and citrus, and the list includes sinigang, Filipino spaghetti and homemade longganisa. Publishers Weekly, in a 2021 review we read, calls the instructions precise and inventive and covers everything from several adobos and banana ketchup to a suckling pig centerpiece.
PW presents it as a rich resource for cooks new to this food. We read the book’s other praise through the publisher.
Why we like it
- 100 recipes, per the publisher
- Precise instructions, per PW
- Several versions of adobo
- Good for newcomers, per PW
Key specifications
| Author | Angela Dimayuga with Ligaya Mishan |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Abrams |
| Year | 2021 |
| Pages | 288 |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Recipes | 100 |
| Focus | Filipino American cooking |
| Best for | Most home cooks |
Why we recommend it
If you want a book with a real point of view that still teaches the classics, this is where to start.
Skip it if you want strictly traditional versions. It rethinks many dishes on purpose.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Strong PW review
- Great range
- Personal stories, per PW
Cons
- Chef’s versions, not always the classic
- Some big projects, such as suckling pig
2. In the Kusina, Woldy Reyes – Filipino Cooking by the Season
Woldy Reyes runs a catering company in Brooklyn and grew up first-generation Filipino American in Southern California, according to his publisher. The book offers more than 100 vegetable-forward takes on classic dishes, organized by season, with a section of sauces and pantry staples.
That seasonal structure sets it apart from the rest of this list, and it makes the book easy to use if you shop at a farmers market. Publisher copy quotes Eater saying he is taking Filipino food in a different direction from what many people know, and Saveur on how he uses it to find his own voice. We read those through the publisher.
We found no Publishers Weekly review at this ISBN, so this pick rests on the publisher’s and author’s details. We describe it as a way of cooking and make no diet claims for it.
Why we like it
- More than 100 recipes, per the publisher
- Organized by season
- Sauces and pantry staples section
- Named in Eater and Saveur, via the publisher
Key specifications
| Author | Woldy Reyes |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Chronicle Books |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 280 |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Recipes | More than 100 |
| Focus | Seasonal, vegetable-forward Filipino |
| Best for | Cooks who shop the market |
Why we recommend it
If most of your cooking starts with what looks good at the market, this gives you a new set of ideas.
Skip it if you want heavy, meaty, festive food. Its emphasis is elsewhere.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Vegetable-forward
- Seasonal plan
- Pantry section
Cons
- Less traditional
- No PW review at this ISBN
3. Filipino Homestyle Dishes, Norma Olizon-Chikiamco – Everyday Classics, Spiral-Bound
This short spiral-bound book does a simple job. The publisher describes more than 60 classic dishes as Filipino households make them, from snacks and seafood to rice and noodles, and says most ingredients are available at a regular supermarket.
Step-by-step photos and an ingredient glossary are included, according to the publisher, and all recipes were kitchen-tested. The author co-founded Food Magazine and edited it for 12 years, per the publisher, so it has a professional behind it even at this size.
There is no quoted praise in what we read and we found no Publishers Weekly review for this title, so the pick rests on the publisher’s and author’s details. It is from 2003, but plain household dishes do not go out of date, and a spiral binding stays open on the counter.
Why we like it
- More than 60 recipes, per the publisher
- Most ingredients at a regular supermarket
- Step-by-step photos
- Lies flat on the counter
Key specifications
| Author | Norma Olizon-Chikiamco |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Periplus Editions |
| Year | 2003 |
| Pages | 96 |
| Format | Spiral-bound |
| Recipes | Over 60 |
| Focus | Everyday household dishes |
| Best for | Cooks who want the basics |
Why we recommend it
If you want a simple book of everyday dishes, and no chef’s reinvention, this is the most useful one here.
Skip it if you want stories and a personal voice. It is a practical manual.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Short and clear
- Easy shopping, per the publisher
- Spiral binding
Cons
- Short book
- No named review in our sources
4. Kamayan, Rex De Guzman – A New Book of Classics
This one is very new, dated October 2026 on the listing. Rex De Guzman is a British-born Filipino chef who worked with the Gordon Ramsay Group and was a finalist on Jamie Oliver’s The Great Cookbook Challenge, according to his publisher. He runs Turo Turo, a Filipino street food business. The foreword is by Apl.de.Ap of Black Eyed Peas.
The publisher’s copy gives two counts, over 70 and nearly 80 recipes, so we use the lower one. It highlights grilled pork belly, a one-pot chicken stew, tocino-glazed pork chops and a condensed milk crème caramel, and it presents the book as a thorough guide to the country’s food.
We found no Publishers Weekly review at this ISBN, so this rests on the publisher’s and author’s details. The listing shows his name as Rex Guzman and the publisher as Rex De Guzman; we use the publisher’s. We could not confirm whether it uses US measures.
Why we like it
- More than 70 recipes, per the publisher
- Classic dishes throughout
- Written by a working chef
- Foreword by Apl.de.Ap
Key specifications
| Author | Rex De Guzman |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Interlink Books |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 224 |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Recipes | More than 70 |
| Focus | Classic Filipino recipes |
| Best for | Cooks who want the standards |
Why we recommend it
If you want classics from someone cooking this food for a living today, this is a fresh choice.
Skip it if you want a book with reviews behind it. It is too new for us to point to any.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Classic recipes
- Working chef
- Recent
Cons
- US measures not confirmed
- No named review in our sources
5. The New Filipino Kitchen, edited by Jacqueline Chio-Lauri – Stories From Around the World
This is an anthology, not a single cook’s book. Chio-Lauri gathered 30 recipes and stories from Filipino cooks living abroad, and Publishers Weekly, in a 2018 review we read, calls it “heartfelt stories and solid recipes.” Contributors include chefs, writers, food workers and home cooks.
PW singles out White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford’s tribute to her mother, a prose poem by Janice Lobo Sapigao and Chio-Lauri’s own humorous account of running a restaurant. Recipes range from elaborate crispy pata to a simpler sous vide fried chicken.
With only 30 recipes, it should not be your main source for dinner. PW also describes it as a “sentimental exploration of a wildly diverse cuisine,” which is a fair warning about its tone as well as its appeal.
Why we like it
- 30 contributors, per PW and the publisher
- Reviewed by Publishers Weekly
- Includes a White House executive chef
- Ranges from crispy pata to fried chicken
Key specifications
| Author | Jacqueline Chio-Lauri (editor) |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Agate Surrey |
| Year | 2018 |
| Pages | 248 |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Recipes | 30 |
| Focus | Essays and recipes from 30 contributors |
| Best for | Readers who love food writing |
Why we recommend it
If you read cookbooks in bed and want to know the people behind this food, this is the one to pick.
Skip it if you want lots of recipes. There are only 30.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Great stories
- Many voices
- Named review
Cons
- Few recipes
- Sentimental in tone, says PW
6. Mayumu, Abi Balingit – Filipino American Desserts
Abi Balingit started by selling pandemic-era boxes of mixed Filipino and Western baked goods and giving the proceeds to her community, according to her publisher. That project became this baking book, with 75 recipes from original flavor combinations to classic favorites, along with essays that trace her heritage from Pampanga to California and Brooklyn.
The publisher says it received a James Beard Award for Emerging Voice in 2024 and a Beard nomination in Baking and Desserts. Publisher copy quotes the Eater writer Bettina Makalintal calling it “simultaneously nostalgic and eye-opening in its novelty.” We read these through the publisher.
We found no Publishers Weekly review for this title, so we rely on the publisher’s account. It is the only dessert book on the page, and its focus means it is an addition to a savory book, not a replacement for one. Our baking cookbook guide covers general baking.
Why we like it
- 75 recipes, per the publisher
- James Beard Emerging Voice award, per the publisher
- Essays alongside the recipes
- Mix of classic and original flavors
Key specifications
| Author | Abi Balingit |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Harvest |
| Year | 2023 |
| Pages | 288 |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Recipes | 75 |
| Focus | Filipino American desserts |
| Best for | Bakers |
Why we recommend it
If you bake and want flavors you will not find in a standard baking book, this is an easy recommendation.
Skip it if you want savory food. It is entirely desserts.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Original flavors
- Award, per the publisher
- Personal essays
Cons
- Desserts only
- No PW review
7. The Philippine Cookbook, Reynaldo Alejandro – An Older American Primer
This 1985 paperback was written to introduce American cooks to Philippine food, adapted for US kitchens, according to the publisher’s description. It features adobo, pancit guisado, estofado and ginataan, and it covers appetizers, rice, meat, fish, noodles, vegetarian dishes, salads, condiments and desserts.
Reynaldo Alejandro is described as a Filipino American cook, caterer, dancer, choreographer and author, who coordinated food arrangements for a Philippines display at Bloomingdale’s in New York. That is all the copy gives, and it dates the book as clearly as the cover does.
We found no Publishers Weekly review and no recipe count, and we are not relying on any reader comments. This pick rests on the listing and the publisher’s description. It is here because it is still in print, in stock and written to work in an American kitchen. Expect an older style of cookbook.
Why we like it
- Written for American kitchens, per the publisher
- Covers appetizers through desserts
- Features adobo and pancit guisado
- Paperback format
Key specifications
| Author | Reynaldo Alejandro |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Perigee Books |
| Year | 1985 |
| Pages | 256 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Recipes | Not stated |
| Focus | Philippine food for US kitchens |
| Best for | Collectors of older books |
Why we recommend it
If you want a plain older introduction and do not need photos or stories, this does that job.
Skip it if you want a modern cookbook. This is forty years old and shows its age.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Written for US kitchens
- Broad coverage
- Paperback
Cons
- Old book, from 1985
- No named review in our sources
How to choose a Filipino cookbook for your kitchen
The right book depends on whether you grew up with this food or are meeting it for the first time.
- Traditional or reimagined? Olizon-Chikiamco, De Guzman and Alejandro stay close to classics. Dimayuga and Reyes rethink them.
- Can you shop for it? Olizon-Chikiamco’s publisher says most ingredients are at a regular supermarket. Other books may ask for more, so read the ingredient lists before you shop.
- What tools do you have? A good heavy pot handles adobo and sinigang, and a wide pan or wok helps with pancit. See our best Dutch oven and best wok guides, plus a rice cooker for the rice this food goes with.
- Do you want to read as well as cook? The New Filipino Kitchen and Mayumu have essays worth reading on their own.
How we chose these Filipino 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. We stopped at seven. Self-published titles with no named press were out, and so was a Callisto paperback that we held back because the seven here were on firmer ground. Author, year, format and page count come from the Amazon listing. Recipe counts and descriptions come from the publisher’s copy, as carried by booksellers, unless we credit someone else.
Here is what stands behind each pick. Filipinx and The New Filipino Kitchen have Publishers Weekly reviews we read ourselves. In the Kusina and Mayumu have praise we read only as quoted by the publisher. Filipino Homestyle Dishes and Kamayan rest on publisher and author details. The Philippine Cookbook rests on the listing and a short description.
Stock ruled out the names many people will expect. Nicole Ponseca’s I Am a Filipino, The Adobo Road Cookbook and Amboy were all low in stock when we checked. The print edition of Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan’s Memories of Philippine Kitchens had only a used lead offer. So we did not list them, though you may find them elsewhere.
Filipino cookbook questions, answered
What is the best Filipino recipes book for beginners?
Filipino Homestyle Dishes for plain step-by-step recipes, or Filipinx if you would like a chef’s explanation. PW calls Filipinx a good resource for cooks new to this food.
Which book has the best adobo?
We cannot say, since we have not cooked from them. Filipinx has several versions, including one with coconut milk, per PW and the publisher.
Is there a good Filipino dessert cookbook?
Yes. Mayumu is entirely desserts, with 75 recipes.
Why isn’t I Am a Filipino on this list?
It was low in stock when we checked, and we only list books that were plainly in stock. It may be available again by the time you read this.
Do I need a wok for Filipino food?
No, though it helps with noodle dishes. See our wok cookbook and Thai cookbook guides for more cooking from the wider region.
Which Filipino cookbook should you buy first?
Buy Filipinx if you want one book that teaches and surprises. Choose In the Kusina for seasonal cooking, Filipino Homestyle Dishes for basics and Mayumu for dessert. For more books built around high-heat cooking, see our best wok cookbook guide.
And if tonight calls for tacos and not adobo, see the menu or call to order.