The best recipe boxes tried and tested 2024

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Best recipe boxes at a glance

• Best overall recipe box: Gousto, from £24.99 for two meals
• Best healthy recipe box: Mindful Chef, from £22 for two meals
• Best recipe box for diverse recipe ranges: HelloFresh, from £31.98 for three meals
• Best for accessible healthy meals: Green Chef, from £22.50 for 3 meals
• Best letterbox-friendly recipe box service: SimplyCook, first box is free, just pay £1 postage
• Best for Vietnamese food: Phomo, from £25.95 for one box
• Best organic recipe box: Riverford Organic, from £12.45 for one meal
• Best recipe box for adventurous cooks: The Cookaway, from £28 to serve two
• Best recipe box for pasta: Pasta Evangelists, from £9 for one meal
• Best for indecisive cooks: Nonna Tonda, from £5.83 for one meal
• Best for video learning: Chefs for Foodies, from £14.95 per box

The best recipe boxes to order to your door in 2024

Gousto recipe box

• Sign up for the Gousto recipe box here

Best overall recipe box
Score: 5/5

Pros:

• Wide choice of recipes and dietary options
• Meals quick to prepare
• Flexible subscription

Cons:

• Lots of plastic packaging

Read our full Gousto review

Gousto is one of the original recipe box providers and its offering is accomplished. There are 60+ recipes on offer at any one time, with the menu rotating each week, including recipes to suit plenty of different dietary reequirements. This is the ideal choice for busy professionals who don't have time to shop, and want something quick, easy and tasty. It's also good for people who want to try cooking new dishes and need some inspiration.

When we tested Gousto, our meal choices were quick to prepare, all in under an hour with the quickest taking just 10 minutes. Our recipe box served four people, but you can also get options for two (with either two, three or four recipes per box).

Our favourite recipe was a vegan chickpea curry from a Joe Wicks recipe range, whilst a 10-minute prawn tandoori was more simplistic but good for nights extra short on time. Portion sizes were generous, allowed for second helpings and we were left feeling satiated. We did add some more vegetables to the beef and orzo stew but this was out of personal preference. A downside was the amount of plastic packaging, particularly around small amounts of herbs and spices.

Read about how to sign up for the Gousto recipe box

Mindful Chef recipe box

• Sign up for the from £22 for two meals

Best healthy recipe box
Score: 4.5/5

Pros:

• Inventive recipes with no refined carbs or sugars
• Ethically sourced protein
• Range of serving sizes available
• Wide recipe choice

Cons:

• Some inaccurate cooking times

Read our full Mindful Chef review

Mindful Chef is a health-focused food box delivery service, first launched in 2015. Each of the recipes are designed to be nutritious and low-carb, and all use ethically sourced ingredients from small UK farms and producers. All Mindful Chef boxes are gluten- and dairy-free, plus they mention Paleo-friendly options on the menu. Each week, there’s a rotating menu of 20 recipes to choose from, with lots of vegan and vegetarian options, too. You can choose between 2-5 recipes per box, and choose a box for one, two or four people. You can also order up to eight weeks in advance, longer than many other services, which is great if you like to plan ahead.

The recipes we tried were delicious and well-portioned. The recipes were easy to prepare with no special equipment required – we used a baking tray, frying pan, saucepan and chopping board for our recipes. Our highlight was salmon with a potato, olive and tomato sauce where the fish felt very high quality. The dishes are innovative and use different flavour pairings, so it's good for people who want some inspiration in discovering new dishes that are still healthy.

Read about how to sign up for the Mindful Chef recipe box

HelloFresh recipe box

• Sign up for the HelloFresh recipe box here

Best recipe box for diverse recipe ranges
Score: 4/5

Pros:

• Different recipe ranges for every need
• 'Rapid' recipes take less than 20 minutes
• Can deliver when you're out

Cons:

• Repetition of side dishes
• Complexities from different serving sizes listed on one recipe card

Read our full HelloFresh review

HelloFresh is another of the leading recipe box brands and was masterminded by Patrick Drake, formerly of the prestigious Fat Duck restaurant. The dishes on offer are adventurous and bold, drawing on interesting flavour combinations from around the world, with plenty of choice and varied ranges designed for different needs, from indulgent street food and gastropub-style meals to Weight Watchers approved healthy recipes or rapid 20-minute meals. As well as all the dinner recipes HelloFresh is most famous for, lunch, brunch and desserts are now available to order, too. Weekly menus are available up to a month in advance.

You can choose whether to get three, four or five recipes per week, and whether to serve two, three or four people. HelloFresh will take your first selection as your custom plan, but you can change this week to week. Ingredients are, true to the name, fresh and high quality. Small quantities frequently came in paper sachets or loose in our delivery, so we didn't feel like we threw away lots of plastic packaging. The finished recipes were impressive and left us satisfied – we tried decadent duck brioche buns from the Gastropub range and a healthy marinated seabass from the WeightWatchers range. This felt like exactly what we'd use HelloFresh for: interesting, healthy eating inspiration, new techniques, clever use of ingredients across different elements of the meal, plus the ability to make a spiced dish packed with flavour without having to have a fully stocked spice cupboard of our own.

Read about how to sign up for the HelloFresh recipe box

Green Chef

• Sign up for the Green Chef recipe box here

Best for accessible healthy meals
Score: 4.5/5

Pros:

• Lots of dietary options to choose from
• Making healthy eating accessible
• Wide recipe choice
• Add-ons available, e.g. tofu, vegan burgers

Cons:

• Lots of washing-up midweek from some recipes

If you know you want to eat healthily but aren't sure where to start, or you want to make nutritious meals for your family, Green Chef is a great place to start. There are six diet options – vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, lower carb, keto and flexitarian – so there's plenty of flexibility, and you'll never feel like you're eating 'diet food'. Even with its healthy mindset, recipes still feel indulgent and easily accessible as Green Chef aims to break down the barriers of healthy eating. All recipes are approved by nutritionists with menus changing weekly, and you can see recipe choices three weeks at a time to help you plan ahead.

Boxes can be ordered for two or four people, with a maximum of five recipes per box. We tested out a selection of recipes including pinto bean tostadas – a meat-free dish with lots of colours and textures for a midweek meal that breaks you out of a 'meat, carb and veg' mindset when cooking. It involved lots of prep and chopping, but nothing complicated, and it came together quickly. We also tried double cheesy pork meatballs and peri peri chicken thighs – recipes that might not scream healthy at first glance, but had been cleverly developed.

Read about how to sign up for the Green Chef recipe box

Phomo

• Try out a Phomo recipe box here

Best for Vietnamese food
Score: 5/5

Pros:

• Great quality chicken and beef
• Delicious extras, including pickled veg, fresh herbs and chilli oil
• Big, bold flavours
• Easy to use, weighed out ingredients
• Vietnamese classic dishes, like pho and summer rolls

Cons:

• Expensive compared to some boxes
• Quite hands on in terms of cooking

Phomo was born out of love for the fresh, light and healthy dishes common to Vietnamese cuisine. What started as a way to bring phở (noodle soup) to home kitchens, now includes a range of delicious meals. We tried the Vietnamese BBQ for two and were thoroughly impressed. The spatchcocked chicken and steak arrived marinaded and vac-packed, to seal in maximum flavour. Along with mini packets of fresh herbs, garlic and chilli, salad dressing and pickled vegetables, as well as a jar of fiery sate sauce (of which we had lots leftover).

The chicken required cooking in the oven (or on the barbecue) and the steak called for a few minutes in the pan. All salad ingredients were washed and ready to be sliced. If serving two people, this made dinner for two nights, or you could make a big feast for four.

We found the vibrant flavours and high quality of ingredients were what you'd usually get in a restaurant. The lemongrass marinade was punchy, the nuoc cham dressing was the perfect balance of sour and sweet, and the barbecue butter sauce was mind-blowingly good. We would order this again for the sauce alone.

Phomo boxes do require quite a bit of chopping and cooking, and we had a few big items like baking trays to wash up. And we should mention they are a little more expensive than some other boxes, at £32.95 for the box we tried. However, we felt the meal was definitely worth the investment of time and money, and we'd consider this an alternative to eating out.

Try out a Phomo recipe box

SimplyCook recipe box

• Sign up to the SimplyCook recipe subscription box here

Best letterbox-friendly recipe box service
Score: 4/5

Pros:

• Fits through letterbox
• Long shelf life
• Covers wide range of cuisines

Cons:

• Majority of ingredients must be purchased separately

Read our full SimplyCook review

SimplyCook is a unique service in that, unlike other recipe boxes, it's letterbox-sized. Each delivery contains four 'recipe kits' – dry ingredients in pots, to which you add your own fresh ingredients. The recipe list features a good mixture of cuisines, satisfying hot meals such as stews, curries and bowl food.

It's a great option if there are cuisines you've not cooked before and are keen to try out before you commit to filling your storecupboard with new ingredients. The recipes are customisable, because the box is just recipe cards, pastes and seasonings. All of the other ingredients you buy yourself from the shops and suppliers you like/have access to. There are optional garnishes and additional serving suggestions too, should you want to customise further.

The portions are generous (kits serve 2-4 people) and the finished dishes very flavoursome. We also noted that it feels like a lot of thought has gone into using as little packaging as possible, with minimal excess. We liked that you’re not tied to it if your plans change. The sachets have a long shelf-life, so there's no pressure to cook the recipes within a limited time frame.

Read about how to sign up to the SimplyCook recipe subscription box

Riverford Organic Farmers recipe box

• Sign up for the Riverford Organic Farmers recipe box here

Best organic recipe box
Score: 3.75/5

Pros:

• Good quality organic ingredients
• Easy recipes to follow
• Great end results

Cons:

• Expensive
• Limited choice in recipes and serving sizes

Read our full Riverford Organic review

The Riverford Organic recipe selection features an colourful mixture of recipe options, with plant-based, veggie and meaty meals to choose from. Each week, there are 12 very different recipes featuring seasonal veg to select from and the dishes on offer change weekly. You can order as many recipes as you’d like in each order. Each recipe serves two people, with some recipes tagged as 'batch' serving four.

The high-quality organic ingredients are impressive and the recipes are simple to make with delicious end results. Recipes were all packed with fresh vegetables, which made the meals feel filling and nourishing.

However, there isn't as much recipe choice as other brands on the market, so your options are somewhat limited. Be prepared to pay out for superior ingredients with a corresponding price tag. It's also worth noting that to save on food miles, Riverford only delivers once a week to each area so you can't choose your delivery day. We appreciated the ethics behind this, but it could be an inconvenience to some people with limited time on their hands.

Read about how to sign up for the Riverford Organic Farmers recipe box

The Cookaway

• Order a The Cookaway box here

Best for adventurous cooks
Score: 4/5

Pros:

• Interesting recipes to choose from
• 95% of packaging is recyclable
• Good quality ingredients
• Can choose halal meat

Cons:

• Expensive

Read our full The Cookaway review.

The Cookaway is the recipe box to choose when you're getting bored of your own cooking repertoire and want to try something new. Based around menus from eight different cuisines, there are over 180 recipes to choose from, designed by expert chefs that specialise in Malaysian, Pakistani, Spanish, Indian and more cuisines.

There is no subscription method here, you simply choose a recipe you want to cook – most come as a main and accompaniment in one box, and others may even have more dishes if you're choosing a meze or tapas-style feast. You can choose to serve 2 or 4 people. Our delivery was in a compact cardboard box and packaging didn't feel excessive.

Recipes will introduce you to new ingredients and learn more about different global cuisines than the cliche dishes we may know. They also host free cook-alongs to join as you make your dish. It is expensive, so works best as a one-off treat or cooking experience to do as a couple and enjoy, rather than a shortcut for midweek cooking.

Read more about how to order The Cookaway box.

Pasta Evangelists

• Sign up to Pasta Evangelists here

Best recipe box for pasta
Score: 4.5/5

Pros:

• Quick and easy to prepare
• Minimal plastic packaging
• Good for freezer filling

Cons:

• Dishes rotate regularly
• Can get expensive if ordered often

Read our full review of Pasta Evangelists

Billing itself as the first fresh pasta recipe box, Pasta Evangelists deliver fresh pasta to your door, complete with quality sauces and garnishes.

There are over 15 pasta recipes to choose from each week, plus a couple of side dishes and dessert options. You can filter by ‘meat & fish’, ‘free-from’ and ‘vegetarian’ options and can view four weeks at a time if you’re planning ahead. You can add as many recipes as you'd like to your basket – handy for filling up the freezer. Recipes serve one or two, but again you can add as many portions as you need if you'd like to serve more people. The dishes are priced individually, from approximately £7-11 per portion. We feel this makes sense, depending on the cost of ingredients, much like in a restaurant (e.g. a £7.50 tomato rigatoni vs a £10.50 lobster and crab tortellini).

Slightly different to other recipe subscription boxes, there is minimal cooking involved as everything is done for you. Meals are ready in minutes – simply boiling the pasta and reheating or melting sauces. We were very impressed by the quality of the finished recipes; they live up to the ‘restaurant-quality’ claim. We liked the extra touches, such as tubs of parmesan with each pasta.

Read about how to sign up to Pasta Evangelists

Nonna Tonda

• Sign up to a Nonna Tonda pasta subscription here

Best for indecisive cooks
Score: 4.5/5

Pros:

• Quick and easy to prepare, no cooking skills required
• Fresh and high-quality ingredients
• Great results

Cons:

• Gets expensive if ordered often
• Limited dietary filters
• No recipe choice

Read our full review of Nonna Tonda

If you get overwhelmed by choice, Nonna Tonda is the pasta delivery service for you. A hybrid of a meal delivery service and a recipe subscription box, Nonna Tonda delivers two pasta dishes a week. The only choice is whether to go meat or vegetarian or a combo – there’s only one of each on the menu. Just boil the pasta, reheat the sauce, and dinner is served. You can also add an antipasti selection to your order, which changes weekly.

We were impressed by how compact our delivery was, deceptively containing two pastas to serve two, and two antipasti selections in a cardboard box. Each pasta, cheese and sauce comes in a sleek cardboard box, so it's clear which elements go together. A lot of the packaging is recyclable and reusable – we kept the resealable bags that our ciabatta and pasta came in to use again. Finished recipes were impressive, and we'd definitely be tempted to order more as a treat for busy weeks.

Sign up to a Nonna Tonda pasta subscription

Chefs For Foodies

• Try out a Chefs for Foodies recipe box here

Best for video learning
Score: 4/5

Pros:

• Chef-led video to watch
• Complex recipes made simple
• Learn a new skill

Cons:

• Lots of plastic packaging
• No physical recipe card

Read our full Chefs for Foodies review

Chefs for Foodies describes itself as 'recipe kits by award-winning chefs'. It's not a recipe subscription box – it's more like a restaurant meal kit, so you just pick one recipe you want to try at a time. Chefs and restaurateurs share their skills and expertise in signature recipes, whether that's a chicken tikka masala from the head chef of an Indian restaurant, pizza kits from Italian masters of pizza dough, or classic recipes such as beef wellington from MasterChef winners.

We tested the chicken tikka masala, and appreciated the breakdown of step-by-step results and delivery of complex spices that would be tricky to source on our own. The amount of plastic packaging was disappointing, but Chefs for Foodies has told us that they're working on it.

Try out a Chefs for Foodies recipe box

How we tested recipe box subscriptions

Members of the Good Food digital and cookery teams each tested a week of each recipe box subscription. There were several key criteria that teams based their verdict on:

• Range of recipes: was there plenty to choose from, and did recipes rotate regularly if you were going to repeatedly buy? Were all dietary options covered? Was it possible to scale recipes up or down to serve different family sizes?
• Ease of cooking: after testing several recipes from each service, we were looking for clear instructions (photos and obvious step-by-step methods were a bonus), accurate suggested cooking times and clear ways to distribute ingredients between elements and steps.
• Quality of the ingredients: some of the recipe boxes provided organic ingredients, but regardless we were looking for ethically sourced, fresh, high-quality ingredients.
• Packaging: with small quantities of ingredients individually sent, packaging can quickly add up. We looked for packaging to be sustainable, with minimal plastic where possible.
• Quality of the finished recipes: the all-important cooking results! After accurately following the recipes, we wanted delicious meals that we would want to cook again. Portion size and balanced meals was also considered.
• Value for money: how does the subscription compare to cooking from scratch? Would it be practical to regularly get a recipe delivery, or would it be more of a one-off purchase?

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