Best Large Print Cookbooks — Easy-to-Read Recipes for the Kitchen

Cooking with a regular cookbook when you can't see the measurements is more than frustrating — it's a safety issue. Misreading "1 tbsp" as "1 cup" or confusing 350°F with 450°F can ruin a dish or worse.

Large print cookbooks exist, but the selection is thinner than you'd expect. Here are the ones worth buying.

Why Large Print Cookbooks Matter

You're reading a cookbook at arm's length, usually from a countertop, often with steam, flour, or sauce on your hands. You can't hold it close to your face.

You can't adjust the font. The text either works from 2-3 feet away, or it doesn't.

Standard cookbook fonts are 9-10 point, often in light grey or italics for "aesthetic" reasons. For someone with low vision, that's unreadable at kitchen distance. A good large print cookbook uses 14-16 point type, bold ingredients, and clear step numbering.

Best Large Print Cookbooks Available in Canada

The Easy Large Print Cookbook by Tiffany Shelton

Written specifically for seniors and people with low vision. 16-point type, simple recipes with common ingredients, and clear step-by-step instructions.

Recipes include casseroles, soups, slow cooker meals, and baked goods. This is the one we recommend first.

~$18 CAD on Amazon.ca (paperback)

Betty Crocker Cookbook (12th Edition, Large Print)

The classic American cookbook in a large print edition. Covers everything from breakfast to dessert. The instructions are straightforward and well-tested — Betty Crocker recipes are reliably easy to follow.

~$35 CAD on Amazon.ca

Large Print Slow Cooker Cookbook by Emily Simmons

Slow cooker recipes are ideal for seniors — minimal prep, no standing over a hot stove. This book has 100+ recipes in large print with bold ingredient lists. Soups, stews, pulled pork, chili, pot roast.

~$15 CAD on Amazon.ca

The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook for Beginners (Large Print Edition)

Air fryers are popular with seniors because they're safer than deep frying and easier than oven cooking. This large print edition covers basic air fryer recipes with clear temperatures and times.

~$16 CAD on Amazon.ca

Company's Coming: 150 Delicious Squares (Jean Paré)

Jean Paré's Company's Coming series is a Canadian institution. While not specifically "large print," the formatting is cleaner and larger than most cookbooks.

The recipes are simple, tested thousands of times, and use ingredients you already have. Look for the spiral-bound versions that lie flat.

~$18 CAD on Amazon.ca or at Indigo

Canadian classic: Jean Paré's Company's Coming series is so popular in Canada that many people already own several volumes. If your parent or grandparent loved these books in standard print, the larger-format spiral editions are worth upgrading to.

Cookbooks That Aren't "Large Print" But Work Well

Some cookbooks have naturally clean, large formatting even without a "large print" label. Here are a few that work well for people with mild to moderate vision difficulty.

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat

The layout is generous — big text, lots of white space, hand-drawn illustrations. Not technically large print, but the design choices make it readable. More importantly, it teaches you how to cook, not just what to cook.

~$32 CAD on Amazon.ca

How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

The "latest edition" uses a clean, well-spaced layout. The hardcover lies relatively flat.

Bittman writes short, direct instructions. At 1,000+ pages, it covers virtually everything.

~$40 CAD on Amazon.ca

Alternatives to Printed Cookbooks

If you can't find what you need in a printed cookbook, consider these options:

Tablet in the kitchen. An iPad or Android tablet displaying a recipe website at maximum font size works well. Put it in a clear zip-lock bag to protect from splashes.
Voice assistants. "Alexa, how long do I bake chicken at 375?" is genuinely useful in the kitchen. You don't need to read anything.
Print your own. Find recipes online, increase the font size to 18-20pt, and print them on regular paper. A binder of your favourite recipes in custom large print is free and perfectly tailored.
A page magnifier laid over your existing cookbook can work in a pinch. The full-page sheet magnifiers (~$15 CAD) sit flat over the book.

Gift idea: A large print cookbook paired with a magnifying sheet for their existing recipe collection is a thoughtful, practical present. Add a cookbook stand to hold the book upright at eye level. See our gift guide for more ideas.

Where to Buy

Amazon.ca has the best selection. Search "large print cookbook" for dedicated editions. Most run $15-35 CAD.

Indigo / Chapters stocks some large print cookbooks in-store, plus the Company's Coming series is always available.

Your library may have large print cookbooks to borrow — check the catalogue online before making a trip.

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