Free WWII Cookbooks

There are many great resources out there for those wanting to cook wartime recipes! Below is a selection of cookbooks from WWII available for free online. If you know of any others, from any country, please let me know so I can add it to this list!

Last updated: September 2024

Here’s a fun article from the National Museum of American History: “A Taste of Wartime Rationing in 1940s Product Cookbooks”

American Cookbooks

120 Wartime Meat Recipes by American Meat Institute, 1942

Army Recipes, 1944

Betty Crocker’s Your Share, 1943

Health for Victory Club, November 1942

Home Canning, Preserving, and Pickling, 1944 (only use for historical reference, not for actual canning)

The Army Cook Book, 1942

The Cook Book of the United States Navy, 1944

The Family Cook Book, 1943

Victory Cook Book by Lysol, 1943

Victory Meat Extenders by the National Livestock & Meat Board, 1942

Australian Cookbooks

Planning Meat Ration Meals, 1943

British Cookbooks

Self Help Wartime Cooking Suggestions by Self Help Co-op

Canadian Cookbooks

Economy Recipes for Canada’s “Housoldiers”

Navy League Chapter I.O.D.E. Victory Cook Book, 1941