12 best recipe boxes and meal delivery kits 2024, tried and tested

There’s a good reason Gousto is now one of the country’s biggest and best-known recipe subscription services. We were impressed by the vast range of recipes on offer before we’d even received our box. There are more than 250 to choose from each month, including several plant-based, gluten-free and dairy-free options and plenty that would suit the whole family. Boxes are delivered weekly but can be paused or cancelled at any time – the more you order, the cheaper each meal works out. The cheapest option is a box of four recipes serving four adults, but you can choose as little as two recipes for two people a week, which works out at around £6 per person. We found every recipe was generous and often left us with leftovers for lunch the next day.

The box got the thumbs-up before we’d even started cooking. Spices arrived in paper sachets rather than plastic bags, most veg was loose and the whole thing came in the entirely recyclable Eco-Chill box, which Gousto says has reduced its carbon footprint by 80 to 90 per cent compared with its old insulator. Recipes are straightforward and well explained and particularly useful for those midweek nights when inspiration is lacking – although, there are more involved recipes for leisurely weekend cooking, too. Our Mexican-style feast with pulled pork birria tacos was a real treat, while our lamb keema saag with nigella rice and naan was better than any takeaway. It’s nothing short of a dinnertime dream.

Want a little more flexibility? This is a slightly different type of meal kit, and we think it is genius. SimplyCook send letterbox-sized packages containing pots of herbs, pastes, spices and stocks, then you add the rest. That means you can use whatever you have left in the fridge or add extra ingredients to feed more people. Each pot comes with an easy recipe card plus a tear-off shopping list for what you’ll need to buy, though, we already had most of what we needed in the cupboard, including rice, honey and onions.

We loved the fact we didn’t need to be at home when the box was delivered (or worry about it sitting outside), we could switch up ingredients as we fancied and especially there was no rush to cook anything. All our pots had at least a six-month shelf life, so we didn’t need to worry if we couldn’t cook for any reason. We tried sticky Korean drumsticks, a creamy makhani, Cuban mojo pasta and beef massaman and all were speedy, straightforward and very tasty. With more than 140 recipes to choose from, we reckon it’s the simplest (and cheapest) way to shake up dinner time. Plus, you can get your first box for just £3.

If you’d love to replicate restaurant-style pasta at home but don’t want to spend hours covered in flour faffing with a pasta machine, this is the subscription for you. There are 20 fresh pasta dishes on offer each week, and the company deliver packs of fresh pasta plus pre-portioned sauces and extra garnishes such as parmesan.

It’s perfect if you want minimal cooking and food on the table in minutes, as all you need to do is cook the pasta and heat the sauce. It was by far the fastest recipe box we tested and we’d never reach for a weeknight takeaway again with this waiting in the fridge, though it’s not best suited to anyone keen to improve their cooking skills.

We love the flexibility of this subscription, too – you can choose how often you want it, cancel or skip any time and add as many portions as you need, whether you’re eating alone or catering for a dinner party. Everything can be frozen, too, which is a huge bonus, as you’re not tied to cooking if your plans change and won’t waste food. It’s also worth noting there are vegan and vegetarian options, kids-size portions and a range of extras that can be added, including focaccia, extra virgin olive oil and desserts. Though it does work out a little pricey for pasta alone, we’re still dreaming of the mushroom pappardelle we tried, so we’d happily fork out for it again in future.

HelloFresh is the name to know in recipe subscriptions, with nearly 8 million active customers worldwide digging into their delivery box each week. It’s aimed at those who want to take the hassle out of home-cooked meals but is fantastically flexible, too – customers can tailor their box each week, skip or cancel their subscription at any time and choose meals suited to various diets and tastes, including calorie-conscious, vegetarian, family-friendly, street food and rapid cook, which are ready to eat in around 20 minutes. You can even add desserts, lunches and brunches for a real one-stop shop. As with most subscriptions, the more you order, the cheaper it works out per portion, with the cheapest option including five recipes per week for four people.

The box couldn’t be easier to understand. Each recipe comes in its own labelled paper bag, so you won’t waste time digging around for ingredients before cooking. We did feel there could have been a little less plastic packaging, though – our potatoes could have been loose rather than in an individually portioned bag, for instance. However, recipes were very easy to follow, with hearty portions – there’s no chance you’ll be hungry afterwards. Our Wonka-themed “unbelievably scrummy burger” was delicious, while our chicken and mushroom pie was a triumph, with flaky puff pastry, buttery mash and a delicious creamy sauce, though, we would have loved some extras to serve with the mash. However, if you need regular dinner time inspo, look no further.

Signing up to a recipe subscription doesn’t need to mean daily indulgence and derailing the diet. Green Chef offers menus to suit those following flexitarian, pescatarian, vegan, vegetarian, keto and lower carb eating plans, so you’ll never be stuck with meals you don’t want.

We loved opening our box to see so much veg and knowing that we could rustle up healthy, balanced meals in no time. Both the recipes we tried took less than 30 minutes to cook and were very straightforward. Portion size was good – both meals were surprisingly filling but there were definitely no leftovers. We found our smoked tofu laksa a little salty for our taste but the dan dan-inspired pork curry with courgette ribbons and pickled cucumbers was delicious. A great choice all round if you want to embrace healthier eating in 2024.

Ingredients don’t get any better than the ones included in recipe boxes from Riverford. All are seasonal, organic and straight from Riverford’s organic farm – we loved the fact that as many as possible came loose without packaging and that vegetables needed a good scrub to get rid of the soil. Delivery was also the best of all the boxes we tried. To minimise carbon emissions, delivery days are limited depending on your postcode and any Riverford packaging, including ice packs, can be left outside before the next delivery and they will be collected for reuse, composting or recycling. We were even called to check we had received our box as the delivery driver had come earlier than expected.

Though there are fewer recipes to choose from each week than with some of the bigger brands, they’re all inventive, veg-packed and healthy. We tried a vegetable massaman traybake with rice and a lemony chicken and spinach balti and both were outstanding. We did find the traybake took a little longer to cook than stated and both were fairly lengthy recipes, but portions were generous and we even had some leftover for lunch the next day.

Not everyone likes being tied into a recipe subscription, but we love the idea of ordering meal kits to make special occasions stress-free. Côte at Home is a one-stop shop for year-round meal kits that bring French flair to every event, from Valentine’s Day to Christmas. There are even three-course lobster date-night kits with optional wine pairings (if you’re really going all-out to impress), plus side dishes, including cheeses and charcuterie, that can be added.

We tried The Côte Christmas feast and found it made even the most high-pressure meal of the year a doddle. It came with a turkey breast and all the trimmings including pigs in blankets, spiced braised red cabbage, roasted parsnips with chestnuts and pork and apricot stuffing, plus some deliciously decadent truffle gratin dauphinoise potatoes. We loved the fact that the kit gave clear instructions about when to cook each element, so we didn’t need to worry about timings and could get everything ready to eat at the same time. Admittedly, there was very little actual cooking as everything was chopped and pre-prepared, so we only had to heat dishes, roll stuffing balls and baste the turkey while cooking. Still, if we were actually cooking this on Christmas Day, we reckon this would be the shortcut we’d be asking Santa for.

After starting life as a pop-up in 2019, Matsudai began selling at-home ramen kits in early 2021 and has never looked back. Matsudai has since opened Wales’s first ramen shop in Cardiff and picked up rave reviews from esteemed food critics, including Jay Rayner and Tom Parker-Bowles.

You don’t need to go all the way to Wales to eat some of the best ramen in the UK, though. These DIY kits can be bought as a one-off or you can sign up for a subscription of a minimum of two ramen per month, delivered on Friday or Saturday only. There’s a good selection available, including several vegan versions – we especially loved our sunset red tonkotsu ramen, which had a rich, warming broth pre-cooked for several hours, spring onions, mushrooms, thin handmade noodles, braised pork belly chashu and a dose of rayu chilli oil. It was simple to cook and we couldn’t quite believe we were sitting down to authentic flavourful ramen at our kitchen table a matter of minutes later. Better still, if you can’t cook it immediately, you can pop it in the freezer for restaurant-ready ramen whenever you fancy.

A bunch of flowers is all very well, but we’re not sure anything beats receiving a whole Sunday roast on your doorstep. This voucher from Red Letter Days can be swapped for one of four roasts – black garlic and miso roasted beef, truffle roasted chicken, black truffle and honey glazed British ham or slow roasted lamb shoulder with pea fricassee. All come from My Supper Hero, a company founded by TV presenter Myleene Klass and restaurateur Jamie Barber, which offers top-notch meal kits with no commitment. Send just the voucher instead and your giftee can choose to receive the delivery whenever suits them at any point over the next 12 months.

Every kit serves four and includes all you’ll need for a slap-up Sunday feast. There’s no chopping and dicing, either, as everything is ready to heat on the hob or put in the oven, so, even a novice can dish up a restaurant-quality dinner. Ours included beef rump, gravy, creamed savoy cabbage, carrots and parsnips, confit Koffmann potatoes, sage and onion stuffing, Yorkshire puddings and horseradish cream. Yes, it’s more expensive than buying it all separately, but we can promise this will make someone’s day.

If you’ve always fancied cooking perfect Pakistani meals or want to make Greek dishes your go-to, Cookaway has the box for you. There’s no subscription to sign up for so you can order any kit that takes your fancy whenever you’re in the mood to cook.

There are more than eight cuisines and 55 menus to choose from, including dishes from Japan, Malaysia, Spain and Scotland, plus halal, gluten-free and vegan options. All are designed and tested by chefs who are experts in their area, including 2019 MasterChef champion Irini Tzortzoglou, who created the Greek dishes. We especially liked the fact there are more than main courses on offer to really give you a flavour of each cuisine – boxes include a Malaysian night market experience, including four street food dishes and a Greek meze experience, which comes with six hot and cold mezes.

It’s ideal for weekend feasts, too. We tried the ultimate aged chateaubriand experience, which came with 30-day aged fillet steak, bearnaise sauce, sweet potato fries, roasted vine tomatoes and a mixed leaf salad. Created by 2014 MasterChef finalist Jack Lucas, it came with audio notes from the chef to listen to as we cooked and we were seriously wowed by the end result. Though, just remember it’s designed for weekend indulgence rather than speedy weeknight meals, so, it’s best ordered when you have plenty of time to enjoy the process.

Obviously, if you loathe pizza, this is not one for you. If you’re already regularly splashing out on a takeaway version, however, we can promise this Pizza Pilgrims option will wow you.

Each kit arrives in a pizza box serving two and contains 48-hour proved dough, fresh Fior di Latte mozzarella, basil, parmesan, Caputo flour for dusting and crushed Italian tomato sauce. Boxes, ice packs and plastic pots can be recycled, though Pizza Pilgrims recommend reusing the pots, as they’re dishwasher-, freezer- and microwave-safe. You can choose to be sent margherita every time or to choose either margherita, double pepperoni and spicy honey or the monthly chef’s special, if you fancy some variety. It’s possible to buy a one-off box without signing up, too. The pizzas are a little challenging to make, as, unlike others, they’re cooked in a frying pan on the hob before grilling, so, we’d recommend scanning the QR code on the card to watch the helpful video first. However, we were floored by just how well ours turned out, with a base that was one of the lightest and crispest we’ve ever eaten (even if we do say so ourselves).

You’ll never crave a high street burger again, once you’ve cooked your own with a little help from Libertine Burger. This small British company started life as a burger van and went on to establish three shops in Leamington Spa, Rugby and Stratford-upon-Avon. They started delivering DIY burger kits in 2020 (no prizes for guessing why) and now offer four boxes, one of which is vegan. All come with various trimmings, including cute diner-style squeezy bottles of ketchup and mustard. Ours – No 25 – came with crispy smoky bacon, red onion jam, lettuce, pickles and Stilton. The meat is fantastic quality, too, made using their own blend of 50 per cent chuck, 30 per cent brisket and 20 per cent flank from Aberdeenshire cattle and dry-aged for a minimum of 28 days.

Instructions are easy to follow, even down to the order you should add the lettuce and ketchup. We had thought the bacon may not be up to scratch as it was pre-cooked but the whole combination was so tasty, we could barely believe we’d cooked it ourselves. It’s pure burger brilliance.