If you’re new to cooking it can be stressful figuring out what exactly you should cook. A great way to ease that burden is by getting a cookbook. Of course, you want to make sure you’re getting a cookbook that matches your skill level. And in the case of cooking, everyone may be looking for different types of recipes both in terms of food and complexity. Here are a few of the best cookbooks for beginners.

How to Cook Everything – Mark Bittman

If you’re truly a beginner who is lost in the wide world of cooking, How to Cook Everything is a great starting point. Mark Bittman wrote this book of simple recipes that anyone can understand in order to help introduce people to the joys of cooking without making it out to be a monumental task. Most of the meals are meant to be made in 30 minutes or less, meaning you can have a delicious meal with little hassle in no time at all.

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat – Samin Nosrat

Author Samin Nosrat starts this cookbook off with a simple idea – that anyone can cook any dish and make it delicious. He constantly reminds us of this throughout the entire cookbook, featuring 100 recipes while also explaining the four elements that determine whether or not the food we create ends up being delicious. What are those elements? You’ll have to read the book to find out. If you’re interested in more than just how to make food, but why the food we eat tastes so good, this is a great pick for you.

Small Victories – Julia Turshen

Cooking can seem extremely overwhelming for some people who have never tried it before. There’s that fear of messing up and making something that doesn’t taste good or possibly undercooking your meat as well as various other potential mistakes. That’s why Julia Turshen’s book Small Victories is all about breaking down the large task of cooking a meal into smaller sessions that are easier to comprehend. The book’s main focus is to empower you and help you understand that you can cook a delicious meal, you just have to take it a step at a time.