Who wants to queue up at Tesco Express after a hard day at the office? Not us. Get with the programme guys, because these days we’re all about getting our dinner delivered. And not from sodding Sophie at Hungry House either. Nab yourself one of these recipe kits and take all the stress out of slaving over the stove, then marvel at your amazing new skillz.
Simply Cook
These guys say they’ll have you sitting down to a restaurant quality meal within 20 minutes, which is a pretty amazing claim. Their boxes provide four recipes and flavour kits that will each feed 2-4 people, depending on how much of your own fresh stuff you use.
They’re one of the only companies to accomodate gluten-free diets, and they’re also the cheapest of the lot at £8.99 per box. We like the sound of their Hot Cajun Meatballs and the Balinese Chicken.
We made: Moroccan Chicken Tagine in no time at all and loved it. We’ve almost never made a simpler recipe.
Check them out here.
Gousto
A Gousto box contains almost everything you need to make ‘exciting, fuss-free food from around the world’ – literally all you need is your own olive oil. Everything comes pre-portioned and ready for you to get started on making your Cavolo Nero Linguine, or perhaps you’d prefer Cajun Fish with Salsa?
Happily, all meat is British and veggies are organic where possible. There’s also a handy calorie and nutritional breakdown. This one comes in at around £7.50 per portion, with weekly boxes starting from £29.99 for four meals.
We made: Potato Cakes & Beans, which we’d never think of doing ourselves. It was super easy and really yum, plus the quality of the bacon was unreal (in a good way).
Check them out here.
Riverford Organic
It’s impossible not to feel healthy and incredibly worthy when you take delivery of a Riverford box. The veg has been plucked freshly from their organic fields, everything is seasonal and the recipes are pretty virtuous. They say their ‘inspiring healthy meals’ and ‘simple for even novice cooks’ and they are.
Their Steak & Runner Bean Salad looks great, but their veggie delights like Japanese Rice with Umemboshi Shiitake & Edamame will thrill the less carnivorous among us who can rejoice in not another goat’s cheese tart. Riverford send you everything you need starting from £29.95 for four (very large) meals.
We made: Chicken Pilaf and it was an organic, fragrant, one-pot of joy.
Check it out here.
Hello Fresh!
You get the feeling with Hello Fresh! that they’re almost not in it for the money. Well, obviously they are, but their mission to get everyone cooking good healthy meals from scratch really comes across. And you don’t even need to sign up to see their YouTube tutorials or use the free mobile app with a massive recipe database.
Again, everything you need is provided in handy pre-portioned amounts, so you can get on with cooking an impressive Thai Massaman or Grilled Lamb Pittas hassle-free. The Courgette & Cheddar Gratin floats our meat-free boat, and for £4.90ish a go you can’t complain. Especially when they get their fish from the same place as the Queen. Boxes start from £39 for six meals.
We made: Sea Bass & Cherry Tomato Caponata. It was so easy a child could have done it and super healthy to boot.
Check them out here.
Marley Spoon
Newcomer Marley Spoon is another one to deliver everything you need to your doorstep. But – here’s the twist – you can set up your taste preferences online so you’ll never get something you don’t fancy. Ideal.
They’re paid-up members of the Slow Food movement, which is always a good thing too. Oh, and all their recipes can be done in just six easy steps. They’re at a similar price point to the other ready-to-use boxes, so £4.90 per portion or £39 for six meals. We’ve got our eye on the Baharat Lamb Cutlets and the Tempura Cod next.
We made: Saltimbocca, Garlic Beans & Chilli Polenta. This was Masterchef worthy and embarassingly simple. Why haven’t we cooked polenta before?
Check them out here.
The Spicery
The Spicery send you all the spices that you need to make a seriously impressive exotic banquet for four. You need to buy the fresh stuff, like with Simply Cook, but they offer you a choice of all sorts of amazing menus like Friday Night Curry, Date Night (a romantic meal from around the world), World Kitchen, or even Gourmet Student.
Host a Turkish night and serve up beautiful home made kofte, ottoman rice and Shepherd salad and watch your mates’ jaws drop because this is serious cooking made utterly simple. Really good for adventurous types, and especially those who love cooking anyway. £19.95 for a three month subscription (three meals).
We made: Beef Rendang, Cucumber Salad & Sambal. We like to think we’re pretty good at curries but wow this was another level.
Check them out here.
Like this? Then you might also be interested in:
A Few Super Easy Breakfast Recipes To Get You Through This Week
Another Super Easy, Super Cheap Take-To-Work Lunch From Gluten-Free Rosie
A Few Easy Spiralising Recipes To Master So You Don’t Get Food FOMO
Follow Jo on Twitter @JoEatsLondon
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.