Cookbooks featuring Italian cuisine were as popular as ever in 2024. There were a few trends that emerged, like snack-sized recipes. Not only were books like Italian Snacking or Stuzzichini dedicated to the art of the snack, but smaller plates and in-between-meal recipes were also emphasized in broader collections.

We’re also thrilled to see Italian American cuisine continues to be elevated, like in Italian American Forever from Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, who may have become a celebrity, but still knows how to cook.

Last year, cookbooks were celebrating the “cucina povera,” the poor kitchen, but with few exceptions, that hardly seems the theme in 2024 where indulgence is back. Sweet treats were also popular too, like Renato Poliafito’s Dolci!, celebrating Italian American sweets, or Victoria Granof’s Sicily, My Sweet featuring the island’s treasured cakes and cookies.

Here’s a closer look at the books that 2024 brought us:

Small bites, midday snacks, and happy hour nibbles are the focus of this book by food influencer Anna Francese Gass. Born in Italy, and trained at the French Culinary Institute, Gass told On Hand that she worked in food media before building her own brand.

The collection takes a deep dive into sputini, Italian snacks, and apertivo, the small plates of food served with drinks. In addition to snacks there’s a chapter on street foods, Gass told Claire Lower at Milkstreet that one difference between American snacking and Italian snacking is how Italians tend to give more thought to what they eat as a snack.

The small bites cookbook was all the rage this year with Stef Ferrari looking at snacks, skewers, dips, toasts, and pastries. Ferrari is a documentary film producer known for the series The Migrant Kitchen. The chapter on crostini is extensive, and of course there is a chapter on apertivo drinks just in case you needed help mixing cocktails.

In an interview with KCRW, Ferrari explains she was inspired to understand why apertivo as a tradition is relatively new, a product of young people leaving home and relocating to urban areas.

English food writer Amber Guiness first came to attention in 2022 with her memoir with recipes, A House Party In Tuscany. Building on the success, she put together a collection of her favorite recipes from around the Tyrrhenian Sea, a combination of narrative, recipe, and lifestyle.

Australian blogger Paola Bacchia is the daughter of Italian migrants. A trained dentist, she returns to Italy each year to learn about food, cooking, and culture, documenting much of her experiences at Italy On Your Mind. In this volume she explores 60 Italian home cooking recipes.

Over at Nigella Lawson’s site, a sample recipe from the book is available.

Italian-born Laura Vitale was homesick for the foods of Italy and began cooking the classic family recipes. She launched a recipe blog and YouTube channel, Laura in the Kitchen, from her New Jersey kitchen. The book collects recipes like Cacio e Pepe Aranini and roasted chicken.

Paola Bacchia has had a busy year. The second book on Italian cooking from the blogger was released in the United States in 2024. Originally released in 2018, Adriatico focuses on the foods of the Adriatic coast from Puglia up to Venice and even around to the very northern edge of Italy in Trieste. The American version has a new cover, . The 80-recipe collection features items like bread gnocchi in butter and stinging nettle tagliatelle.

In a 2018 interview with Mediterranean Wanderer, Bacchia recalls how growing up in Australia, she was made fun of for having Italian parents. She also said she believes one way for cookbooks to stand out is to include good stories alongside recipes.

Rome-boorn Nadia Caterina Munno comes from a long line of pasta makers. She earned the nickname as a social media influencer, and now has an Amazon Prime lifestyle series by the same name, in which she explores food and Italy and Italian culture.. The collection of recipes isn’t just pasta though, and includes 100 recipes.

Pastry chef and cafe owner Renato Poliafito released this collection of recipes inspired by Italian American foods, especially those popular in and around Brooklyn where his Ciao, Gloria, his cafe operates. His parents immigrated to Brooklyn from Italy and he grew up experiencing both Italian American traditions and Italian traditions through his parents and trips back to Europe.

The great thing about recipe collection is the fusion of old and new, of Italian with Italian American, and with traditions grounded in Brooklyn. Some of the recipes can be found at Ciao, Gloria, (or perhaps in his upcoming restaurant project, Spaghetti Night), but they are also recognizable in the sweets that can be found in Italian American bakeries across Brooklyn. We spoke with him earlier this year where he discusses the inspirations behind some of the recipes.

Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, known for her role as an Iron Chef and host of numerous Food Network shows, features 120 recipes from the red sauce traditions of Italian America.

Guarnaschelli’s culinary influences include her mother, who’s family comes from Sicily and Calabria, and her father’s family from Naples, she told Appetito Magazine, and the very different flavors of these regions combined with Italian American influences.

Director and food stylist Victoria Granof has been called the Cannoli Queen by Bon Appétit. In this collection of sweet Sicilian treats, she combines stunning visuals with classic recipes and modern tastes like Meyer lemon and bay leaf gelato.

Australian chef Shannon Martinez is a well-known advocate for plant-based cuisine. Now she turns her attention to Italian cuisine with vegan recipes. These are not your typical recipes, but that’s not the point. Martinez has a meat-free versions of meatballs, tortellini, antipasti, and of course pasta dishes.

Italian Chef Gennaro Contaldo relocated to the United Kingdom in 1969 where he worked in popular restaurants in London. He’s perhaps best known for his friendship with Jaime Oliver. In Slow, Contaldo shows off how cooking time can be an essential tool in the Italian kitchen. The book highlights economical meat cuts, bean and legumes–foods that benefit most from longer cooking times.

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