Recipe subscription services – the concept of ingredients, individually portioned up for cooking meals at home and delivered straight to your door complete with detailed recipe cards– have boomed in recent years.

They are certainly a convenient way to make evening meals without the hassle of planning recipes and visiting the supermarket. It's a step up from ready-meals as the food is prepared by hand, but it cuts out the legwork of cooking from scratch.

However, they can be an expensive way to cook, especially if you like to hunt for reduced ingredients or shop at inexpensive local markets, plus there is no shortage of inspiration for easy recipes online if you're stuck in a food rut. There are also environmental pitfalls to using these services – they sometimes come with excessive packaging that can't be recycled.

If you're thinking of signing up to a recipe delivery service, bear in mind the value for money, convenience factor and any limitations, especially the terms around cancelling a subscription. It's also worth considering any dietary requirements you have (some recipe boxes are more flexible than others) and how many people you want to serve.

For solo cooks, few brands offer recipe boxes for one, but many offer meals for two if you're happy to have leftovers the next day. We tested and scored popular brands to help you make your decision.

For more, visit our reviews section and find more than 400 practical buyer's guides offering unbiased advice on what foodie products and services are worth spending money on, including the best meal delivery services for when you don't want to cook at all, the best healthy meal box subscriptions and the best veg boxes to order to your door. We also have thousands of simple recipes for everyday mealtime inspiration.

Best recipe boxes at a glance

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The best recipe boxes to order to your door in 2026

Gousto recipe box

Gousto

Best overall recipe box
Score: 4.5/5

Pros:

  • Wide choice of recipes and dietary options
  • Flexible subscription
  • Option to have recipe boxes for one

Cons:

  • Ingredients in the box aren't divided by recipe – can be complicated to work out what you need each day
  • Some unusual ingredient quantities – either extremely generous or quite minimal

Gousto is one of the original recipe box providers and its offering is accomplished. There are over 175 recipes on offer at any one time, with the menu rotating each week, including recipes to suit plenty of different dietary requirements. 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. There are lots of different recipe styles to choose from (such as Double Protein, Quick & Easy, Everyday Favourites or Premium) and you can filter by dietaries too so you can create what suits you, such as vegetarian, dairy-free or gluten-free recipe boxes.

When our Gousto box arrived, the ingredients were all intact and felt good quality. Unlike some other recipe boxes, the ingredients inside weren't divided by recipe, meaning it was quite tricky to work out what ingredients were required each day. You need a careful eye to divide it all up, and some plastic packaging was still present on ingredients, such as mini sachets of vinegar. Our recipe box served four people, but you can also get options for one, two, three or five people (with either two, three, four or five recipes per box).

The first recipe we tested was Moroccan-style meatballs with bulgur wheat grain bowl, one of Gousto's high-protein recipes. The meatballs were easy to make, with a quick sauce. It's great to get a chance to use a more unusual spice such as baharat without needing to buy a whole jar that you might not use again.

There was a huge amount of bulgur wheat for two people compared to the amount of sauce, but it's good to see portion sizes are generous. We also made a roasted red pepper orzo with goat's cheese. This was a quick and easy crowd-pleasing midweek meal that we can see becoming a staple. Again, the ingredient quantities were slightly off – only nine cherry tomatoes between two (we added more), but a very generous whole log of goat's cheese to crumble on top.

The variety on offer from Gousto is its biggest appeal. You'll never run out of recipes to try, and it's a great way to try new things. If you're a regular customer, the Gousto app makes ordering and saving your favourite meals easy. The packaging could see some slight improvements, and you may need to be flexible with the quantities to expect.

Read about how to sign up for the Gousto recipe box

HelloFresh recipe box

HelloFresh

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

Pros:

  • Different recipe ranges for every need
  • Speedy recipe options from 20 minutes
  • Can deliver when you're out

Cons:

  • Some packaging tricky to open
  • Low vegetable levels
  • Optimistic suggested cooking times

HelloFresh is another of the leading recipe box brands and remains a strong all-rounder. 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 family-friendly meals to calorie-smart healthy options. Weekly menus are available up to six weeks in advance.

You can choose whether to get from two to 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 mainly high quality, and ingredients for each different recipe are clearly marked in paper bags. Plastic use is relatively minimal but not completely eliminated, with some elements tricky to open compared to more familiar supermarket packaging.

The first recipe I made was a Tuscan-inspired pulled chicken stew, which was straightforward to pull together and worked very well as a one-pot meal with very little washing-up. I'd make this again, even without reordering the box. The method was easy to follow, the kitchen smelled fantastic while it cooked, and the end result was excellent: a creamy, flavourful sauce with crunchy ciabatta for dipping.

Although the recipe card suggested a 25–30 minute cook time, this felt slightly optimistic given steps such as frying for eight minutes and baking for 25, plus preparation in between. The portions of vegetables felt a little stingy, with just a few cherry tomatoes and 4og of spinach between two – I’d have happily added more if we’d had them to hand. Serving it with extra broccoli helped boost the veg count.

I also made a sausage and roast potato traybake. The sausages were a slight letdown, with a lower meat content (75% pork) and a less premium feel than you might get from some rival recipe boxes. However, HelloFresh does excel at thoughtful finishing touches: generous herbs on the roast potatoes, a honey glaze over the sausages and a punchy harissa mayo all helped elevate the recipe and were easy extra elements I wouldn't have thought to add myself.

This felt like exactly what I'd use HelloFresh for: interesting new cooking inspiration and techniques when you're in a rut, clever use of ingredients across different elements of the meal, plus the ability to make varied dishes packed with flavour throughout the week without having to have a fully stocked cupboard – and no waste at the end of the week.

Overall, HelloFresh delivers reliable, tasty meals with minimal effort and plenty of flavour, even if ingredient quality and packaging could be improved.

Read about how to sign up for the HelloFresh recipe box

Mindful Chef recipe box

Mindful Chef

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 plastic packaging

Mindful Chef is a health-focused B-corp certified food box delivery service, first launched in 2015. Each of the recipes are designed to be nutritious, gluten-free and low-carb, and all use ethically sourced ingredients from small UK farms and producers.

Each week, there’s a rotating menu of 28 recipes to choose from, with lots of vegan and vegetarian options, and menus showing up to a month ahead. You can choose 2-5 recipes per box, and choose a box for one, two or four people. Recipes are helpfully labelled with different health perks, such as being high in protein, low in saturated fat or containing lots of plant foods.

We tested Mindful Chef over a week. The delivery mentioned that 85% of packaging is recyclable from home or the supermarket; there is still some plastic packaging throughout, such as for mini pots of oil or wrapping meat. In the main box, ingredients for each recipe came in a clearly labelled brown paper bag (with meat and fish in a separate chilled compartment) – you could pop each bag in the fridge and just take out the right recipe each night. Interestingly, instead of the familiar recipe cards that often come with these boxes, Mindful Chef include a book of all the recipes currently on rotation.

We were very impressed with the quality of the produce – fresh herbs, giant, glossy red peppers. 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. The recipes we tried were delicious and well portioned. A Thai-style basa with coconut rice and stir-fried veg was a highlight, combining three different flavour-packed elements in ways we wouldn’t have thought to do at home. A warming Mexican-style beef shakshuka was given a fresh lift with a coriander and avocado salsa. Testing the box in winter, it was great to discover hearty, filling meals that didn’t rely on big portions of carbs and were still healthy.

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

Green Chef

Green Chef recipe box with a gold 4.5-star accreditation badge from Good Food

Best for accessible healthy meals
Score: 4.5/5

Pros:

  • A variety of dietary options covered
  • Makes healthy eating easy and accessible
  • Wide recipe choice
  • Add-ons available, eg tofu, vegan burgers
  • Fully recyclable packaging

Cons:

  • Lots of washing-up midweek from some recipes

If you want to incorporate healthier meals into your routine but you're unsure where to start, Green Chef is a great option. There are eight ranges to explore – vegetarian, vegan, keto, high protein, calorie conscious, lower carb, pescatarian and flexitarian – all of which have been vetted by a qualified nutritionist.

Even though the meals are categorises as 'healthy', you never get the impression you're missing out or eating 'diet food'; recipes still feel indulgent and easily accessible. Menus are updated weekly and you can view all the recipes up to three weeks ahead, with boxes available for two or four people and a maximum of five recipes per box.

We tried a selection of veggie dishes, including colourful vegetable gyoza peanut noodles, topped with mushrooms and pea pods, and gochujang-glazed paneer with zesty rice, peas and peanuts. We also enjoyed the mozzarella-topped pesto gnocchi with plum tomatoes and rocket, which felt like comfort food without being too heavy.

The recipes we sampled involved a bit of prep, but nothing too complicated, and we appreciated the level of detail on the recipe cards. The packaging, which was made up from a fully recyclable cardboard cool box, also impressed us and was easy to dispose of.

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

Riverford recipe box

riverford-organic-lead-7386eab

Best organic recipe box
Score: 3.75/5

Pros:

  • Good quality organic ingredients
  • Easy recipes to follow
  • Generous portions
  • Creative recipes
  • Guest chefs

Cons:

  • Small recipe selection
  • Often had leftover ingredients
  • Expensive

Riverford Organic’s recipe box puts seasonal produce at the heart of its colourful menu, with 13 recipes available each week across plant-based, vegetarian and meat categories. You can order as many as you like, with each recipe serving two or four people and prices starting from £7.50 per person.

We tried one recipe from each category. For the meat option, we cooked a Mexican chicken, corn and tomatillo salad. We were excited to try tomatillos, a tricky ingredient to find in the UK, and the salad was full of flavour. It was the favourite of the three, though we felt it could have been taken further.

The recipe suggested serving the corn raw or blanching it, but charring would have added more depth. We were also left with part-used ingredients, like half a courgette, one tomatillo and some chipotle paste.

The vegetarian option was a courgette and spinach gnocchi carbonara. It was hearty and veg-packed, though not particularly memorable. Again, we ended up with leftovers including lemon, half a pot of cream and an egg white. The vegan choice, a Sri Lankan-style French bean curry, was vibrant and full of spice, but left us with three-quarters of a tin of coconut milk unused.

The quality of the organic produce is undeniable and the recipes are straightforward to follow. Each dish felt nourishing and satisfying thanks to the abundance of fresh vegetables. The main drawback is waste: leftover ingredients cropped up in several recipes.

There’s also less choice compared with some competitors, and Riverford’s once-a-week delivery policy may not suit those who need more flexibility. That said, the policy reflects the company’s commitment to reducing food miles.

Riverford stands out for its ethics and quality, but the higher price and occasional inconvenience may not work for everyone. If you value organic ingredients and enjoy cooking with seasonal veg, it’s a strong option.

Read about how to sign up for the Riverford recipe box

SimplyCook recipe box

Simply Cook copy

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. You can filter by dietary requirements of vegan or vegetarian, but not gluten-free or dairy free.

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

The Cookaway

Cookaway with badge

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 55 menus 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

Pasta Evangelists

Best recipe box for pasta
Score: 4/5

Pros:

  • Quick and easy to prepare
  • Generous portions
  • Good for cooking for one

Cons:

  • Dishes don't rotate very regularly
  • Smaller range of dishes than other recipe subscriptions
  • Can get expensive if ordered often

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 10 pasta recipes to choose from each week, plus sauces, a couple of side dishes and dessert options. You can can view the choices up to two weeks in advance if you’re planning ahead, although choices don’t change much. 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 you could add extra portions if you'd like to serve more people. Dishes are priced individually, at around £7-10 per single portion, with slight savings if you order a double portion to serve two. The standard portion is for one, which is great if you're only cooking for yourself.

We tested three recipes from Pasta Evangelists. Our delivery was left on the front step as we weren’t in, which was easy. One of our pet peeves with recipe subscription boxes is the amount of packaging, but this came in a compact box with gel packs to keep ingredients cool.

Each order comes in its own paper bag, with instructions on the outside, and pasta, sauce and any toppings or additional ingredients in pouches inside. There is some plastic packaging at this stage and there aren’t instructions on whether it can be recycled. We were pleased to note that our three pastas could be kept in the fridge for 3-8 days, so you’ve got time to spread them over the week. Instructions on the bag also accommodate cooking from frozen.

Unlike some other recipe boxes, there is minimal cooking involved here as a lot is done for you. Meals are ready in minutes – simply cooking the pasta and reheating or melting sauces. We were eating carbonara less than 5 minutes after opening the fridge. It was super-rich and a very generous portion. We were impressed by the quality of the finished recipes; they live up to the ‘restaurant-quality’ claim.

Pasta Evangelists would be good for a hearty work-from-home lunch where you can have a hot meal with minimal thought, or for storing in the freezer for easy midweek shortcuts.

Read about how to sign up to Pasta Evangelists

Nonna Tonda

Nonna Tonda badge

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 choice is whether to go meat or vegetarian or a combo – there’s only two 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. Portions serve two, four or six – you could have leftovers the next day if you're cooking for one.

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

Chefs for Foodies with badge

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. There was more range when we tested the kit, but currently on offer are pizza, pasta or dessert recipes.

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

Are recipe boxes worth it?

The decision over whether a recipe subscription box suits you will depend on your lifestyle and what you’re hoping to get out of them. For busy weekdays or when you’re trying to reset your routine (recipe boxes often see a spike in demand after Christmas), recipe subscription boxes can take the stress out of meal planning and grocery shopping. You don't need to find time to go food shopping as everything arrives measured and ready to go, which saves time and reduces waste.

On the plus side, they introduce variety and can help you learn new cooking skills, with clear recipes and fresh ingredients delivered to your door. Some services such as Gousto or HelloFresh offer hundreds of recipes a week to choose from, so you can break out of your traditional recipe rotation. Others, such as Pasta Evangelists and Nonna Tonda, are essentially delivering fully cooked meals with minimal cooking at all – good for busy weeks when you'll be home late.

But they’re not perfect for everyone: the cost per meal is usually higher than shopping yourself, and the packaging can feel excessive. If you love choosing your own ingredients or eat very specific diets, the pre-selected meals might feel restrictive. Ultimately, they’re worth it for some, especially when life gets hectic, but less so if cost and control are your top priorities.

What to consider when choosing a recipe box

There are lots of recipe subscriptions to choose from, and finding the right one for you means thinking about a few things:

  • How much cooking do you want to do? Some boxes will deliver elaborate recipes that can be great weekend projects or ideal for keen cooks, whereas others deliver you fully prepared meals that you essentially just reheat.
  • Do you have specific dietary restrictions? Not all subscriptions can cater to all requirements, so check that there are enough dishes on offer that you want to eat.
  • How many people are you cooking for? Not all boxes offer deliveries for one (Gousto and Pasta Evangelists do), and most only go up to servings for four people.
  • Consider ingredients – for example, Riverford could be a suitable choice if eating organically is important to you.
  • Flexibility – if your schedule is regularly changing, make sure you check that the recipe box you sign up to is equally flexible. Lots of schemes let you opt in and out for different days and cancel when you need, whereas others have strict delivery days you have to adhere to.

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: we looked 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 whether the meals were balanced were other consider.
  • 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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Are you signed up to a recipe delivery service? We'd love to hear about your experiences. Leave a comment below...

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This review was last updated in January 2026. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews, or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.

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