Yay, congrats on the switch to a vegan diet!!! That's awesome. If it helps, you're welcome to check out my blog at www.rhiw.blogspot.com - it has lots of recipes from my vegan cookbook that you could try for free.

Good luck! :)

"How it all Vegan" - was my first vegan cookbook and its good because it has basics of everything and the recipes don't really feel "intimidating",....Veganomicon has lots of recipes too, some a little more complicated, but still a lot of good ones.

I don't think there really is any one "best" vegan cookbook.  There are so many available these days, and many times it depends on what your tastes are.  Not all of them are worth the $$$, but most are!

That being said, I have to go with some favorites...a couple of which are new (maybe that's why they're now my favorites!)...the 500 Vegan recipes by Joni Newman and Celine Steen and also 1000 Vegan Recipes by Robin Robertson.  You would think there would be considerable duplication here,  but for the most part, that's not the case.  I've been traveling, and I have literally gone through these books page by page the last couple of weeks - and am thoroughly impressed by both of them.  You won't go wrong with either, but perhaps the 1000 Vegan Recipes may have a slight edge for a beginning vegan.

I'm not really going to make a specific recommendation, because it really depends on your tastes, if you want to try new things versus comfort foods, processed foods versus whole foods, etc.  The only thing I recommend is that when you buy your first vegan cookbooks that you physically see them before you buy them.  I had a very limited budget in my early vegan days and ordered a coulpe cookbooks from Amazon that were highly recommended.  I really wasn't able to use them because the branded products and exotic ingredients aren't available here in my area.  I was also unable to afford to completely restock my kitchen overnight.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that I recommend you get your hands on the book before buying, even if you do order it, and make sure you are able to use it and that the recipes aren't too exotic for you.  Even after a decade of veganism, I have several cookbooks that I never have used because I can't find the ingredients.  What a waste. 

I was also going to say Vegan Planet. It was the first vegan cookbook I ever had (got it as a Christmas present LONG before I was vegan--weird, right?), and it was decent. I still make quite a few recipes out of there. I really like the miso soup recipe.

Veganomicon!

I have to jump on the Veganomicon bandwagon. Not just because of the usually simple recipes that work well for forming the backbone of your everyday recipes, but also because it is full of background information on foods that probably aren't on your radar and foods that you should be using in your diet.

If someone said I had to do away with all of my cookbooks and keep just one, I'd keep Veganomicon.

But there are so many other good cookbooks out there, it's hard to pick just one. 

I 2nd this.  Of all my vegan cookbooks, & I have most of the ones mentioned here, Veganomicon is the one I use constantly.  I have several of the recipes on regular rotation.  I just made Cesar salad & spicy tempeh pasta from this book last night.... :P  I made the cilantro pesto from this book & took it to a family gathering.  Everyone loved it and my omni aunt loved the pesto so much she bought the book - I think that says a lot!