Last Updated on August 24, 2025 by Krista Linares, MPH, RD
These 10 Mexican cookbooks are perfect for anyone who wants to eat healthy, nourishing meals full of their favorite Mexican flavors.
For some reason, people often think of Mexican food as less healthy than it actually is. As a Mexican-American dietitian, I wish more people knew how healthy Mexican food is.
Oftentimes, I think part of the issue is people are thinking about Mexican food they eat at a restaurant, rather than the more typical dishes you’ll see in Mexican and Mexican-American home kitchens.
That’s why one of my top tips to start enjoying healthy Mexican food is to cook more often. But I get that it can be hard to know where to start. That’s why I gathered this list of the 10 best authentic Mexican cookbooks for healthy Mexican cooking.
Keep reading for my top picks, from vegetarian Mexican cookbooks to tortilla deep dives. Let’s jump in!
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Top 10 Mexican Cookbooks for Healthy Cooking
Here are my top picks for best Mexican cookbooks.
Best for eating more veggies without even realizing it
You’ll find plenty of vegetables in Mexican food, but my favorite secret tip to eat more vegetables is to eat salsa! It’s so easy to forget that salsa is a great source of tomatoes, onion, and other veggies.
Rick Martinez’s Salsa Daddy is your one-stop shop for salsa recipes. If you’re like me and need salsa on almost everything, it helps to have a wide variety of recipes to choose from.
Having a variety of salsa recipes at your fingertips will help you add a quick hit of veggies to almost any meal.
Best for vegan and plant-based diets
One of the most common misconceptions about Mexican food is that it’s not vegetarian-friendly. But that ignores how important beans are in Mexican food, and just how often we see them in Mexican cuisine.
That plus the use of squash, seeds, and seeds makes Mexican food one of the easier cuisines to adapt to a vegetarian diet.
That’s one of the reasons there are so many vegetarian/vegan Mexican cookbooks! Here are some of my favorites.
Comida Casera: More Than 100 Vegan Recipes from Traditional to Modern Mexican Dishes by Dora Ramirez
Dora Ramirez is a Mexican chef trained at the Culinary Institute of America, who adopted a vegan diet for her own health goals.
The standout of her book Comida Casera are her vegan takes on classic Mexican cheeses like requesón and queso fresco.
Plantas: Modern Vegan Recipes for Traditional Mexican Cooking by Alexa Soto
What attracted me to Alexa Soto’s book was the beautiful cover art, it looked like an old still life painting. That sense of traditionalism runs through her book, with vegan takes on classic tacos and main dishes like enchiladas rojas, and sopa de albóndigas (meatball soup).
La Vida Verde: Plant-Based Mexican Cooking with Authentic Flavor by Jocelyn Ramirez
I’m a big fan of Jocelyn Ramirez’s seasoning mixes for an easy way to add flavor to my favorite dishes. I particularly love them for making quick mushroom tacos or picadillo.
So you know I had to check out her cookbook. Pay special attention to how she seasons her food because she is the ultimate pro at flavor, in my opinion!
Best for getting to the root of Mexican cuisine
The history of Mexican food is on the one hand, more complex and fascinating than you can imagine. On the other hand, ancient Mexican food still resembles modern Mexican food in many, many ways.
Native Mexican ingredients like tomato, avocado, squash, beans, and corn have been the stars of the show for hundreds (maybe thousands) of years, and they’re the main ingredients that make Mexican food as healthy as it is.
These books pay special attention to these native Mexican ingredients and highlight the Indigenous history of Mexican food.
The Native Mexican Kitchen by Glueck and Morales pays special attention to the Indigenous roots of Mexican food, dedicating time in the introduction to cover essential techniques, tools, and terms.
This is a good choice if you want to really learn about Mexican food versus just following a few recipes.
Decolonize Your Diet is a very well known book in the Mexican food and wellness space. In fact, whenever I offer one of my workshops on the nutrition benefits of Mexican food, someone asks me if I’ve read this book 🤣
While this book is plant-based, it’s also about understanding and respecting the roots of Mexican food, and rejecting the narrative that Mexican food is unhealthy.
Best for increasing your whole grain intake
It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with corn tortillas. The technique used to turn corn into a corn tortilla offers similar nutrition benefits to whole grains like whole wheat or oats.
That’s why I always tell my clients that corn tortillas are one of the healthiest carb choices they can pick.
On Masa: Techniques, Recipes, and Reflections on a Timeless Staple by Jorge Gaviria
Jorge Gaviria of Masienda has dedicated himself to promoting authentic, artisanal corn and masa harina.
I used their masa to test out different colors of corn tortillas and how that impacts nutrition.
This book is great for hobbyists who want to make a tortilla from scratch (as in from dried corn), or for people who want more ideas of what to make with masa harina.
Best for entertaining
Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling by Bricia Lopez
Nothing says “come be part of the family” for Latinos like inviting you to their carne asada.
As a dietitian, I love when my clients realize that our family asadas are actually great sources of healthy food. Grilled meats are low in fat, and sides like beans, salsas, and grilled veggies (cebollitas are my fave) make for a balanced meal.
Bricia Lopez’s book not only celebrates the main ingredient of the asada–grilled meats–but will give you recipe ideas for appetizers, sides, and desserts as well, making it your full companion for your asada from start to finish.
Best for traditional home-style cooking
The truth is, most home cooking is pretty nutritious as is. Mexican food is no exception, especially with its emphasis on hearty soups, beans, and corn tortillas.
Sometimes the best way to start cooking healthier meals is to embrace traditional home cooking and these Mexican cookbooks are full of homey soups and stews to help you along.
The Mexican Home Kitchen by Mely Martinez
Mely Martinez is my favorite Mexican food blogger, her recipes are authentic and accessible at the same time. She’s my absolute go-to when I need a Mexican weeknight dinner.
Her first cookbook, the Mexican Home Kitchen, is no exception. Her recipes are prime examples of the traditional home cooking you’ll see in so many Mexican kitchens, like menudo, pozole, albondigas, etc. Whatever you make from here is sure to become your new family favorite.
Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico by Rick Martinez
Where Rick Martinez’s Mi Cocina really shines is in his “Basics” section, where he shares a bunch of different tortilla, rice, and salsa recipes.
If you want to master the basic elements of Mexican meal prep, Rick’s basic recipes will make it easy for you to mix and match from your fridge while always landing on a combination that tastes great.
Final Thoughts
Any of these 10 Mexican cookbooks will help you make healthier meals at home, without being unnecessarily restrictive or “diet-y”. Sometimes, the best way to eat healthier is just to embrace simple, homemade food, especially when it comes to Mexican food.
If you want a little more structure, check out my free 5-day healthy Mexican meal plan for recipes curated by yours truly, a Latina dietitian 🙂 Sign up below to get your copy.