Miranda Lambert's New Cookbook Is a "Sisterhood of the Traveling Casserole Dish"

When I hopped on the phone with Miranda Lambert on International Women's Day, it became clear that the timing of our chat was a bit kismet. That's because the story at the heart of her new cookbook, "Y'all Eat Yet?: Welcome to the Pretty B*tchin' Kitchen," is one of sisterhood: "The whole picture is the importance of finding amazing women around you and lifting each other up and going through the hard stuff and the great stuff together," Lambert tells POPSUGAR. It's a "'sisterhood of the traveling casserole dish' vibe," she says.

Y'all Eat Yet?: Welcome to the Pretty B*tchin' Kitchen

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The "Mama's Broken Heart" singer grew up in Texas, and that Southern flavor literally and figuratively permeates the book, which is filled with both recipes and stories from many of the important women in her life. "My mom and her best friends, they're like my aunts, my tribe," Lambert says. The group sparked Lambert's inspiration for the book; it all started with a sort of cooking challenge where they'd each have their husbands pick an ingredient, and using those five foods, they'd have to make a dish — without Googling any recipes. "We were having a great time with it, but more than that, we were using it as a way to connect weekly," she says. "We were reminiscing through all of our stories and everything that we had lived through together. And I was just thinking how many of the stories inspired me as a human and as an artist."

This idea eventually turned into a full-fledged book, filled with "recipes for meals that fill your belly, and your soul," per the book description. Those range from easy campground meals inspired by Lambert's quiet vacations to dishes to eat "on your fanciest antique China." A standout is her mom's meatloaf, which was the birthday dish Lambert and her brother would always request as kids, she says.

"We always call it, 'the meal that puts the ring on it,'" she says. The idea is, if you make the meatloaf for someone you're dating or "you bring somebody home to mom's and have the meatloaf, then it's really getting serious."

Of course, her mom learned from the best — Lambert's grandmother, the matriarch she credits as the "OG inspiration" behind her love of cooking and so much more. "She really taught me a lot about life and how to make a house a home and how to be comfortable in my womanhood," Lambert says, "and she passed that down to my mom, who passed it to me."

In addition to this close circle of women in the family, Lambert also calls out her manager of 20-plus years, Marion Kraft — who was named a Billboard 2022 executive of the year and runs ShopKeeper Management, a firm comprised entirely of women — as a major influence. "It's different to have a female manager as a female artist," Lambert explains. "There are just certain things that are different when you have somebody that's strong and has your back for all these years and you've built this amazing career together. I've definitely put her up there on a pedestal."

While the overall tone of the book is overwhelmingly "fun" and "bright," according to Lambert, it's not without its deeper moments — after all, those are the times during which her fierce support group really shines.

"Even the name is fun — b*tchin' kitchen — but that can't be all of it, because that's not realistic," she says. "We've [been through] some things where we had to lift each other up, through death in the family and divorce and cancer. And those are the moments where it's the most important."

This more-than-a-cookbook gives you banana pudding and whiskey cupcakes, but also "a laugh and a cry," Lambert says. "I want this book to be a reminder for people to gather with their girls or whoever, the people that surround them, the ones that lift them up and bring them joy and add to their lives." It's also a reminder to take a beat and a break — something Lambert has to remind herself after 20 years of touring and dealing with burnout. "I think 2020 helped a lot of musicians learn a little bit better how to balance. Cause we just don't slow down enough, you know?" she says. "I've been on the road 20 years, and you don't realize how exhausting it can be until you take a minute."

Indeed, for many of us — global-touring musicians and regular folk alike — it's easy to get so swept up in the hustle that you forget to eat.

"Y'all Eat Yet?" is a simple question, a call to gather, and a gentle nudge toward self-care: "This is a reminder to everybody to just slow down," Lambert says. "Take a weekend and go sit in a lawn chair and eat some deviled eggs and just have quality time. That's what this book is about."

Y'all Eat Yet?: Welcome to the Pretty B*tchin' Kitchen ($25) is available on April 25 wherever books are sold.