Simple meals are sometimes the best. They can be efficient, cost effective, simple to make and comforting to eat. Easy as 1-2-3…ingredients!

Take Rozanne Gold’s Cooking 1-2-3. She boasts 500 meals all based on 3 ingredients or less. Initially I thought the food would be too bland. What can a chef possibly do with only three components? Try out Teriyaki Bluefish with Poached Scallions. Or Broiled Cornish Hens with Lemon Cream. Or Eggnog and Panettone Bread Pudding. Yum! This title also carries themed menus, like Breakfast-in-Bed, St. Patrick’s Day, and Newish-Jewish Holiday Dinner.

Jenny White and Joanna Farrow’s 400 Three & Four Ingredient Recipes is for someone still learning to cook but passionate nonetheless. The recipes are written in simple language, paired with enticing photos of the final product and photos of key steps top guide you through the process. The first chapter, The Minimalist Kitchen, is written as an introduction to everything one needs to cook: ingredients by type, equipment, techniques and shortcuts, and how to plan a menu. In combination with the extensive Nutritional Information chapter, this book is an excellent beginner’s textbook.

Company’s Coming’s Jean Pare wrote 4 Ingredient Recipes, while Betty Crocker wrote 4 Ingredient Dinners. The main difference between the two is the organization of the meals. The former relies on traditional meals and typical food types, while the latter is divided by cooking technique, such as Savory Sides and Perfect Pizzas.

What I like most about Gregg Gillespie’s 1001 4-Ingredient Recipes isn’t the astonishing number of recipes. It isn’t the sleek layout, which makes navigation easy and serendipity possible. I enjoy the spice mix recipes; stored dry mixes reduces the time, organization issues and the number of ingredients required. Chili mixes, curries, poultry rubs…even a homemade all-spice.

Three to four ingredients not enough? Will five do?

Try Reader’s Digest’s Just 5 Things: easy gourmet cooking with just a handful of ingredients, by Rachel Lane. Like other Reader’s Digest books, the text is large print, the layout is simple and the photos are full-page, colour images. But it carries only 300 meals. Better Homes and Gardens’ 5 Ingredient Favorites boasts 700! Plus, each recipe indicates when a special technique is required (grilling, slow cooker), the prep time versus cooking time, and the nutritional value of each meal. Chapters like Perfect for Kids and Easy Anytime Cakes makes this book a keeper!