The 8 Best Japanese Bento Cookbooks (2023 reviews)

The the manga university culinary institute japanese bento cookbook's high-end materials makes sure that it ages well with use. This is the best cookbook for simple meals and fast to make. It is perfect for a little terriyaki sauce, egg roll dip, etc. It's also a great way to get a kid interested in cooking a menu with great variety and full of healthy choices. It has plenty of drawn and photographed pictures so that you can figure out what your favorite characters are eating.

This book is really meant for BEGINNERS and can work as a reminder/quick reference to a pro. It is good for beginners as the recipes are very simple.

Why We Like This:

Nice and easy intro to japanese cooking
One of the new comers and featured product

Best For bentos: Shufunotomo Japanese Bento Cookbook

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Next on the list, we've got yet another cookbook that manages to win our hearts. It's the shufunotomo japanese bento cookbook and it's widely considered as cookbook that has the most suitable features. This is a healthy and very functional way to do lunch or just a picnic. It is perfect for beginners and those who want to cook fast and simple dishes. The recipes are delicious for lunch or dinner, which makes this book great whether you are looking specifically for a bento book, or just for some great asian-style recipes, information on effective portion management without wasting food.

This book has larger recipes that you make and freeze, or keep in the fridge for a week, in individual servings. The recipes are mostly easy, healthy, delicious, and beautiful. It also gives information on how to make your own toppings for rice and tons of different sides. The recipes are clear, easy to follow and every recipe has a picture.

Why We Like This:

Easy to follow recipes and taste good and also healthy
Provides a lot of great ideas for beginners
Colorful, well made book with simple and delicious recipes

Best For someone: Makiko Every Recipe

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The makiko every recipe should be able to handle its purpose and duties with ease. Developing a bento "stash" and learning some shortcuts can help you put together bento quickly & easily for you and your family. This cookbook includes a variety of recipes that are inspired both by traditional Japanese bento and by other cuisines. It is easy to read, nice pictures, and a good variety of recipes. The recipes are easy to follow, contain many variations so youll never get bored, and have handy tips and tricks to help you get started if youre new.

This is a great compilation of Japanese Bento recipes with beautiful color plate pictures pre-showing the boxed meals. The best part is that it is super easy to expand upon the recipes. The variations allow for so much creativity and mixing and matching so you will never get bored or used to a dish. It is a great recipe book that focuses on the food and offers useful tips on fresh items as well as leftovers as bento fare.

Why We Like This:

Has great, simple japanese style bento recipes
Great ideas for fast packable lunches and frozen dinners
Good for college students and young adults

Best For work lunches: Chika Ravitch Japanese Bento Cookbook

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We would, of course, be remiss if we didn't mention chika ravitch japanese bento cookbook for daily purpose. Bento can be healthy and appealing with eye appeal, organization, variety, and portion control in one package. It showcases the simplicity of many Japanese dishes that are delicious, and popular. It includes calories, fat, sodium, cholesterol, carbs, fiber, sugar, and protein.

The recipes in this book are an interesting mix of traditional recipes and more modern ones. It is easy to follow step by step recipes for delicious, and healthy boxed meals. The recipes are reasonably simple and ravitch provides instruction on freezing, storage, and batch cooking that allow you to produce a bento lunch without spending a lot of time on preparation in the morning.

These recipes are adult friendly and many would be great for kid school lunches.

Why We Like This:

Has a good mix of the “idea” of bento lunches and actual recipes
Teaches you basic japanese bento (lunch box) recipes using ingredients you can easily find
A nice feature for picky eating kids

Best For adult: Maki Ogawa Japanese Bento Cookbook

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We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a convenient and appropriate cookbook. The maki ogawa japanese bento cookbook is exactly that - it's a simple cookbook that hits all the right notes. Not only recipes but all kinds of information about bento boxes in general, it's the perfect book for the eager beginner. It tells you all about the different types of bento boxes and what goes in them. It also includes a few extra recipes at the back with a (wonderful) shopping guide for those who are new to bento and want to know some places to look to find the items you see here and in other cookbooks and blogs.

This book is well written, with very simple yet delicious recipes. It is used for eyes and other accents on a lot of the creatures. The bentos and recipes are simple and easy to recreate. The book does a great job of simplifying everything and making bento accessible to the masses.

Why We Like This:

Super cute but difficult to make without proper materials
Just inspiration for packing an adorable lunch
Very clear and easy instructions for everything, and great extra tips in the back
Love the selections with easy directions for cooking

Best For beginner: Kanae Inoue Japanese Bento Cookbook

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We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a convenient and appropriate cookbook. The kanae inoue japanese bento cookbook is exactly that - it's a simple cookbook that hits all the right notes. This beginner bento book is a perfect tool for getting lunch / dinner packed and a family out the door on a busy morning. It covers similar recipes as some other books but centers more on speed and planning. It has "fish grills/roasters" instead to add to that it is cool to have a book with several new recipes in it. It is packed with tips and tricks to cut down on the time needed to make bentos so you can make bentos easily in just ten minutes in the morning.

This book is perfect for home cooks as it gives you lots of recipes, some good ideas for how to structure your lunchbox, and every recipe is for one portion so it makes it easy to scale up as needed. All the cooking instructions are easy and use the stove top and microwave so you can cook multiple things at once and use minimal utensils/plates to cook. It includes many handy tips on organization and ingredients. The layout makes so much sense and makes creating your own bento box very easy.

Why We Like This:

Beautiful book with a clever layout
Easy to follow and nice pictures
Marinate dishes so they “cook” while you sleep

Best Book: Makiko Japanese Bento Cookbook

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We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a convenient and appropriate cookbook. The makiko japanese bento cookbook is exactly that - it's a simple cookbook that hits all the right notes. This book makes it easy to get ideas of what to make and how to pack it. It has been helpful in using as a way to lose weight through better eating and portion control. It is still a good supplement to the first book as it does have very useful "time crunch" recipes like microwave chicken, which are always useful. The photos are beautiful, the recipes are very easy to follow, and there are ample descriptions and definitions of any ingredients or methods you may be unfamiliar with or intimidated by, making bento not only totally accessible for just about anyone, but thoroughly enjoyable as well.

All these recipes can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator, and most can be frozen. It is definitely a good book to have if you want to start getting into meal prep for the week.

Why We Like This:

Easy delicious lunch recipes for bento box style lunches
Fun cookbook for japanese food fans
Great book with versatile recipes and portion control
Plenty of great recipes, but takes practice and dedication to master

Best Cookbook: Otagawa Japanese Bento Cookbook

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Otagawa is known for creating pragmatic and minimalist cookbook for people on the go, and its line of otagawa japanese bento cookbook definitely falls in line with that reputation. For anyone who likes to eat bento, this is the book for you. It provides 109 delicious recipes to try. It has over one hundred and fifty recipes that have the perfect balance of carbs, and protein. The recipes in the book are simple, compared to the overcomplicated meal. It’ll teach you how to make your own bento boxes and you can save money.

This is a really fun and interesting cookbook.

Why We Like This:

A good selection of lunch suggestions, with easy-to-make recipes
Recipes were great, philosophy was compelling
Lot of satisfied buyers