Brown Sugar Kitchen: New-Style, Down-Home Recipes from Sweet West Oakland by Tanya Holland shares 86 recipes for those at-home chefs looking to recreate the West Oakland restaurant's beloved dishes. (2024)

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Posted on Feb 5, 2021

Go ahead, get a few.

by Chelsea StuartBuzzFeed Staff

While BuzzFeed celebrates Black History Month, we also believe in celebrating the value and contributions of Black people year-round. Please enjoy our BHM-themed shopping lists from BuzzFeed Shopping, the Black entrepreneurs who create these products and services, and know that you can #BuyBlack well beyond this wonderful, dedicated month.

PS: If you'd like to support Black-owned bookstores, be sure to check out this list.

1. Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin introduces readers and cooks to the Black pioneers behind much of our national cuisine.

Brown Sugar Kitchen: New-Style, Down-Home Recipes from Sweet West Oakland by Tanya Holland shares 86 recipes for those at-home chefs looking to recreate the West Oakland restaurant's beloved dishes. (3)

2. Black Girl Baking: Wholesome Recipes Inspired by a Soulful Upbringing by Jerrelle Guy mixes sweet recipes with nostalgic descriptions of food and family.

3. Son of a Southern Chef: Cook with Soul by Lazarus Lynch dives headfirst into classic Southern and Caribbean food with inherited family recipes and eye-popping images.

4. Hallelujah! the Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes by the late Maya Angelou recounts the recipes that brought her comfort as a child (maple cake) and promising job offers as an adult (a hearty Southern brunch).

5. The Red Rooster Cookbook: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem by Marcus Samuelsson conveys the globally-influenced flavors of uptown NYC with recipes that tap into Spanish, African, and Caribbean traditions.

6. Brown Sugar Kitchen: New-Style, Down-Home Recipes from Sweet West Oakland by Tanya Holland shares 86 recipes for those at-home chefs looking to recreate the West Oakland restaurant's beloved dishes.

7. Sweet Potato Soul: 100 Easy Vegan Recipes for the Southern Flavors of Smoke, Sugar, Spice, and Soul by Jenné Claiborne takes classic dishes and gives them a plant-based makeover.

8. The New Way to Cake: Simple Recipes with Exceptional Flavor by Benjamina Ebuehi lets everyone get a taste of being star baker with the recipes to her signature GBBO cakes.

9. Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes by Bryant Terry will teach you how to create a well-rounded vegan meal that doesn't rely on powders or meat substitutes (nothing wrong with that, but variation is the spice of life).

10. Cooking Solo: The Fun of Cooking for Yourself by Klancy Miller promises indulgent recipes and easy solutions for those cooking for one.

11. The Up South Cookbook: Chasing Dixie in a Brooklyn Kitchen by Nicole A. Miller melds Southern comfort foods with Northern ingredients and influence.

Countryman Press

Taylor, a Georgia native, updates the recipes from her childhood with fresh ingredients from her new Northern home. There's pimento cheese with a dollop of creme fraiche, deviled eggs topped with smoked trout from her go-to Jewish deli, and more.

Get it from Amazon for $12.99 (Kindle) or $15.99 (hardcover).

12. Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day by Alexander Smalls and JJ Johnson explores the flavors at the intersection of the Asian and African diasporas.

13. The Taste of Country Cooking by the late Edna Lewis celebrates the seasonal dishes the author grew up on in a small Virginia farming community that had been settled by freed slaves.

14. The Noma Guide to Fermentation: Including Koji, Kombuchas, Shoyus, Misos, Vinegars, Garums, Lacto-Ferments, and Black Fruits and Vegetables by René Redzepi and David Zilber reveals the secret techniques behind their award-winning fermented dishes.

15. Tiki: Modern Tropical cocktails* by Shannon Mustipher doles out dozens of easy-to-follow recipes for those interested in fine Caribbean rums.

16. New World Sourdough: Artisan Techniques for Creative Homemade Fermented Breads; With Recipes for Birote, Bagels, Pan de Coco, Beignets, and More by Bryan Ford takes a nontraditional approach to baking with easy tips and tricks.

17. A Real Southern Cook: In Her Savannah Kitchen by Dora Charles is chockfull of locally famous dishes — many which have never been shared outside of the author's friends and family.

18. Soul: A Chef's Culinary Evolution in 150 Recipes by Todd Richards takes soul food beyond society's stereotypical scope and reinterprets classics with new flavors.

19. Soul Food Love: Healthy Recipes Inspired by One Hundred Years of Cooking in a Black Family by Alice Randall and Caroline Randall Williams calls on the knowledge of four generations of Black women to create soulful, nutritious dishes.

20. The Full Plate: Flavor-Filled, Easy Recipes for Families with No Time and a Lot to Do by Ayesha Curry is full of quick but flavorful meals you can make in a hurry.

21. Recipes for the Good Life by Patti LaBelle is all about food meant for sharing with friends, family, and any guests you host.

22. Carla Hall's Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration by Carla Hall follows the path of soul food from from Africa and the Caribbean to the American South. Along the way, the chef also throws in her take on Nashville's most mouthwatering dishes.

23. Sweet Home Cafe Cookbook: A Celebration of African American Cooking by NMAAHC, Lonnie G. Bunch III, Jessica B. Harris, Albert Lukas, and Jerome Grant introduces the dishes served at the National Museum of African American History and Culture's very own restaurant.

24. My Modern Caribbean Kitchen: 70 Fresh Takes on Island Favorites by Julius Jackson gives cooks the keys to cooking with vibrant island flavor.

25. In Bibi's Kitchen: The Recipes and Stories of Grandmothers from the Eight African Countries That Touch the Indian Ocean by Hawa Hassan and Julia Turshen takes cooks into the kitchens of eight bibis (grandmothers) whose recipes tell the story of family, loss, migration, and refuge.

26. Food for Life: Delicious & Healthy Comfort Food from My Table to Yours! by Laila Ali features more than 100 🥊knockout🥊 recipes for busy families and those ready to incorporate healthier ingredients in their cooking.

27. Plum: Gratifying Vegan Dishes from Seattle's Plum Bistro by Makini Howell reveals the recipes behind 60 of the restaurant's most innovative dishes.

28. From Crook to Cook: Platinum Recipes from Tha Boss Dogg's Kitchen by Snoop Dogg is loaded with meals most people could easily make at home and I'm willing to bet it's got way more personality than all of the other cookbooks in your collection.

Chronicle Books LLC

If you've never watched VH1's Emmy-nominated Martha and Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party 1. Do that and 2. Pick up this cookbook so you can nail down simple, nostalgic dishes like baked mac 'n' cheese and fried bologna sandwiches and ~fancier~ plates like lobster thermidor and filet mignon.

Get it from Amazon for $9.99 (Kindle) or $22.46 (hardcover).

29. The Africa Cookbook: Tastes of a Continent by Jessica B. Harris is essentially a glossary of African ingredients and dishes with stews, curries, and chutneys hailing from Morocco to Senegal and Algeria to Cape Verde.

30. Grandbaby Cakes: Modern Recipes, Vintage Charm, Soulful Memories by Jocelyn Delk Adams delivers fresh takes on Southern and Midwestern cakes, cakelettes, and cupcakes as inspired by the author's grandmother.

31. Meals, Music, and Muses: Recipes from My African American Kitchen by Alexander Smalls and Veronica Chambers mixes — as the title suggests — music and food in a way that allows readers to get into the spirit of every dish they prepare.

Go ahead, put your kitchen to use!

Bounce TV / Via giphy.com

Want more products from Black-owned businesses? Check out Cool Products from Black-Owned Businesses, Black Womxn-Owned Etsy Shops, and our ongoing Minority-Owned Business Gift Guide 2021, which features loads of products by Black entrepreneurs that we think you'll love.