The biggest UK meal boxes still active in 2026

The UK meal box market is much bigger than just HelloFresh and Gousto. There are classic recipe kits, organic veg boxes, plant-based boxes, healthy ready meals and flavour kits that all solve a slightly different dinner problem.

That is also what makes choosing one surprisingly difficult. The name Too Many Foodboxes is a little tongue-in-cheek, but it is also the problem with this market. There are almost too many boxes to compare, and they are not all trying to do the same thing.

Some boxes help you cook from scratch without doing the shopping. Some send organic fruit and veg. Some are more about diet goals, such as low carb, high protein or keto. Others are not really meal kits at all, but prepared meals you can heat in a few minutes.

We have tested meal boxes for years through our Dutch sister site Foodboxen.nl, and we have tested boxes such as HelloFresh and Green Chef ourselves. That experience makes one thing clear: the best meal box is not always the most popular one. It is the box that solves the right problem for your household.

HelloFresh is often the easy, familiar and family-friendly option. Green Chef feels more useful when the starting point is a specific diet or health goal. Riverford and Abel & Cole are better if organic produce matters most. Frive and Chefly are not really recipe kits, but they can be the better option if you simply do not want to cook.

Below we compare some of the biggest, best-known and most useful UK food boxes still active in 2026. This is not a strict turnover ranking, because not every provider publishes comparable figures. Instead, it is a practical guide to the boxes you are most likely to come across when comparing UK meal boxes.

Our short answer: for most families, start by comparing HelloFresh and Gousto. For diet goals, look at Green Chef. For healthier premium meals, compare Mindful Chef. For organic produce, Riverford and Abel & Cole are more natural choices. If you do not want to cook at all, Frive and Chefly are better comparisons than classic recipe kits.

How we look at meal boxes

We do not think every food box should be judged in exactly the same way. A recipe kit, a veg box and a ready meal service are three different things. So when we compare meal boxes, we mainly look at five practical questions.

• Does it make dinner easier? A good box should reduce the mental load of planning, shopping or cooking.
• Is it realistic for normal weeknights? Some boxes look great online, but are less useful when everyone is hungry and you have half an hour.
• Does it fit the household? A family box, a one-person box and a high-protein gym-focused box should not be judged by the same standard.
• Is the value fair? We look beyond the headline price and think about waste, delivery, ingredients, portions, flexibility and discounts.
• Would we actually keep using it? The first box can be fun. The real test is whether it still feels useful after a few weeks.

A note on price: a supermarket shop is still usually cheaper if you compare only the raw ingredients. But during the cost-of-living crisis, grocery prices have risen sharply too. Once you factor in less waste, exact portions, delivery, fewer impulse buys and introductory discounts, the difference between a meal box and a normal weekly shop is not always as big as people expect. Meal boxes are not the cheapest way to eat, but they can be better value than they first look, especially for busy households that otherwise waste ingredients or end up ordering takeaways.

Quick comparison: which UK meal box should you choose?

Provider	Type	Best for	Family friendly?
HelloFresh	Recipe kit	Easy weeknight dinners	Very good
Gousto	Recipe kit	Choice and variety	Very good
Mindful Chef	Healthy recipe kit	Premium, healthier meals	Good
Green Chef	Diet-led recipe kit	Keto, low carb, high protein, vegan	Good, but more specific
Riverford	Organic recipe and veg box	Organic, seasonal cooking	Good for households that cook
Abel & Cole	Organic fruit, veg and groceries	Organic produce and staples	Good as a weekly produce box
Oddbox	Rescued fruit and veg box	Reducing food waste	Good as an add-on
SimplyCook	Flavour kit	Cheap recipe inspiration	Good if you still shop yourself
Grubby	Plant-based recipe kit	Vegan cooking	Good for plant-based households
Frive	Healthy ready meals	No cooking, better ready meals	Better for adults than picky kids
Chefly	Prepared meals	Heat-and-eat convenience	Mixed, depends on the family

1. HelloFresh

Tested by us · Recipe kit · Best for beginners · Family friendly

Best for: busy households, families and anyone trying a recipe box for the first time.

HelloFresh is probably the most familiar name in UK recipe boxes, and that is also its main strength. It is easy to understand, easy to start with and usually very approachable. You pick your recipes, receive pre-portioned ingredients and follow the recipe cards or app instructions.

From our own experience, HelloFresh is at its best when you just want dinner to be less of a daily decision. It is not always the most exciting box, but it is often the easiest one to fit into a normal week. For families, that matters. You usually want something reliable, not a cooking project that starts at 6.30pm when everyone is already hungry.

We especially like HelloFresh as a family starter box. It tends to have enough safe recipes for children, enough variety for adults and enough structure to make the week feel easier. It will not be the most adventurous box for everyone, but that is partly why it works so well for many households.

HelloFresh pros

• Very easy to use, even if you have never tried a recipe box before.
• Good for families and busy weeknights.
• Clear recipe cards and simple cooking steps.
• Good range of familiar meals, quick options and vegetarian choices.
• Helpful if you want to avoid last-minute supermarket trips.

HelloFresh cons

• Can feel a bit mainstream if you want more adventurous recipes.
• Not always the best fit for very specific diet goals.
• There can be quite a lot of individual packaging.
• Premium ingredients or upgrades may cost extra.

Family verdict: one of the safest first choices for families. If you mainly want dinner made easier, HelloFresh is a logical place to start.

Read our HelloFresh guide · Go directly to HelloFresh

2. Gousto

Recipe kit · Best for choice · Very family friendly

Best for: households that want lots of weekly choice and less dinner repetition.

Gousto is one of the strongest all-round UK recipe boxes. If HelloFresh feels like the easy first step, Gousto often feels like the box for people who want a bit more choice. It is particularly strong for families, couples and anyone who gets bored quickly if the same kind of meals keep coming back.

Gousto is also useful for mixed households. One person wants quick dinners, another wants vegetarian meals, someone else wants something a bit more interesting than pasta again. Gousto’s big menu makes that easier to manage.

For many households, Gousto is the best ‘we want to keep using this’ option. The larger the menu, the easier it becomes to avoid recipe-box fatigue. That matters if you are not just trying a box once for the discount, but actually want a regular dinner solution.

Gousto pros

• One of the widest recipe choices in the UK.
• Very strong for families and regular weeknight cooking.
• Good filters for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, healthy and quick meals.
• Flexible enough for one person, couples and larger households.
• Good option if you want variety without doing all the planning yourself.

Gousto cons

• The large menu can make choosing meals take longer.
• Ingredients are not always grouped by recipe in the box.
• Not as diet-specific as Green Chef.
• Not as premium-health focused as Mindful Chef.

Family verdict: probably one of the best UK recipe kits for families who want choice. Especially useful when different people in the house want different things.

Read our Gousto guide · Go directly to Gousto

3. Green Chef

Tested by us · Recipe kit · Best for diets · High protein

Best for: people who start with a diet goal, such as keto, lower carb, high protein, vegan or calorie-conscious meals.

Green Chef is a different kind of recipe box from HelloFresh. It is less of a broad family default and more useful when you already know what you want from your meals. From our own test, that is where Green Chef makes the most sense. You do not choose it just because you want a recipe box. You choose it because you want a recipe box that fits a certain way of eating.

Our experience with Green Chef is that the food can be genuinely good and a bit more interesting than the most standard recipe-box meals. It is also clearly more premium. That means the value is strongest if the diet focus is important to you. If you simply want the cheapest family dinners, this probably is not the first box to try.

Green Chef pros

• Very clear diet-led positioning.
• Good for keto, lower carb, high protein, vegan, vegetarian and calorie-conscious meals.
• Useful if you want healthier meals without building every menu yourself.
• Recipes feel more specific than a standard family recipe box.
• Good option when nutrition is part of the reason you want a box.

Green Chef cons

• Less of a simple family default than HelloFresh or Gousto.
• Usually more expensive than the most mainstream options.
• Some recipes can require a bit more prep.
• If you do not follow a diet goal, the extra focus may feel unnecessary.

Family verdict: good for families with a shared eating goal. Less obvious for families who simply want easy, familiar dinners every week.

Read our Green Chef guide · Go directly to Green Chef

4. Mindful Chef

Healthy recipe kit · Premium feel · Gluten-free friendly

Best for: healthier, more premium recipe kits with a focus on wholefoods and better nutrition.

Mindful Chef sits in the more premium and health-focused part of the recipe box market. It is not the cheapest way to solve dinner, but it is one of the more interesting options if you want convenience without going too far into basic comfort food.

The meals tend to feel more grown-up than the most mainstream boxes. That can be a positive if you want cleaner, more balanced dinners. It can be less ideal if you have very picky children or mainly want familiar family classics.

We would compare Mindful Chef more with Green Chef than with a basic budget box. The question is not just ‘how much is it per portion?’ but whether the healthier positioning, recipe quality and convenience are worth paying more for.

Mindful Chef pros

• Strong healthy eating positioning.
• Good for wholefoods, real protein and meals without refined carbs.
• Good options for gluten-free, plant-based and flexitarian eating.
• Often feels more premium than standard recipe boxes.
• Works well for one-person households, couples and health-conscious families.

Mindful Chef cons

• More expensive than HelloFresh or Gousto.
• Less of a default choice for picky children.
• Smaller menu than the biggest mainstream recipe boxes.
• Better for health-focused households than pure budget shoppers.

Family verdict: good for families that want healthier meals and are happy to pay a bit more. Not the easiest first choice for every family.

Read our Mindful Chef guide · Go directly to Mindful Chef

5. Riverford

Organic · Recipe boxes · Seasonal produce

Best for: organic cooking, seasonal vegetables and people who want a more produce-led food box.

Riverford is not just another recipe kit. It has much stronger roots in organic farming and seasonal produce, which gives it a different feel from HelloFresh, Gousto or Green Chef. If you like cooking and care about where your food comes from, Riverford is one of the most interesting UK options.

It is not always the fastest or cheapest dinner solution. But that is not really the point. Riverford is better for people who want good organic ingredients, a bit of inspiration and a food box that feels closer to proper home cooking.

This is also a good reminder that ‘meal box’ does not always mean ‘maximum convenience’. Riverford makes most sense for people who still like cooking, but want better produce and less supermarket thinking.

Riverford pros

• Strong organic and seasonal food credentials.
• Good for people who enjoy cooking with vegetables.
• Offers both recipe boxes and broader organic produce options.
• More character than many standard recipe kits.
• Good fit for households that care about farming, sourcing and sustainability.

Riverford cons

• Less mainstream than HelloFresh or Gousto.
• Not always the quickest option for busy weeknights.
• May be less appealing to very picky eaters.
• Delivery availability can depend on location.

Family verdict: good for families who cook properly and want better produce. Less ideal if you mainly want the easiest possible midweek dinner fix.

Read our Riverford guide · Go directly to Riverford

6. Abel & Cole

Organic · Fruit and veg · Groceries

Best for: organic fruit, veg and weekly staples rather than fixed recipe kits.

Abel & Cole is better described as an organic food delivery service than a classic meal kit. That still makes it relevant here, because many people looking for meal boxes are not only looking for recipe cards. They may simply want better produce arriving every week.

This is a good option if you already cook and want organic fruit, veg and groceries to build meals around. It is less useful if your main problem is deciding what to cook tonight.

In other words: Abel & Cole is not the box that solves dinner for you. It is the box that makes your normal cooking routine better, especially if organic produce is the thing you care about most.

Abel & Cole pros

• Strong organic fruit and veg positioning.
• Good for households that cook from scratch.
• Broader grocery offer than a normal recipe kit.
• Useful if you want a regular produce habit.
• Can work well for families that already plan meals.

Abel & Cole cons

• Not a full recipe kit in the usual sense.
• You still need to plan meals yourself.
• You may need extra supermarket ingredients.
• Less helpful if you want exact dinners planned for the week.

Family verdict: good for families who cook. Not the easiest answer for families who want recipe cards and exact dinner planning.

Read our Abel & Cole guide · Go directly to Abel & Cole

7. Oddbox

Fruit and veg · Food waste · Good add-on box

Best for: rescued fruit and veg, reducing food waste and adding more produce to your week.

Oddbox is not a recipe kit, and it should not be judged as one. It is a fruit and veg box built around rescued produce. That means it solves a different problem from HelloFresh or Gousto. Instead of planning exact dinners, it helps you get more fruit and veg into the kitchen while supporting a food-waste mission.

Oddbox works best if you like improvising. It can sit nicely next to a recipe box or normal supermarket shop. But if you want three complete dinners with recipe cards, this is not the right type of box.

It is also one of the clearest examples of why this market needs proper explanation. A rescued veg box can be excellent value for the right household, but frustrating for someone who wants everything planned and portioned.

Oddbox pros

• Clear food-waste mission.
• Good way to eat more fruit and vegetables.
• Can be a useful add-on next to a normal meal box.
• Good for confident home cooks.
• Often more flexible than old-style surprise veg boxes.

Oddbox cons

• Not a complete dinner solution.
• You still need to decide what to cook.
• Less useful for picky eaters.
• Availability and box contents can vary.

Family verdict: good as an add-on for families that cook regularly. Not a replacement for a proper recipe kit.

Read our Oddbox guide · Go directly to Oddbox

8. SimplyCook

Flavour kit · Budget friendly · Letterbox friendly

Best for: cheaper recipe inspiration without ordering a full box of fresh ingredients.

SimplyCook is a useful halfway house. It does not send all the fresh ingredients for dinner. Instead, it sends flavour pots, spice blends, sauces and recipe ideas. You still buy the meat, fish, vegetables or other fresh ingredients yourself.

That makes it much lighter than a full recipe box. It is a good option if you do not mind shopping, but you are bored of cooking the same meals. It can also work well for families because you can still choose your own main ingredients and portion sizes.

We like SimplyCook as the ‘I do not need the full box’ option. It does not remove the supermarket from your week, but it can remove some of the boring recipe thinking.

SimplyCook pros

• Cheaper than a full recipe kit.
• Easy to store and usually letterbox friendly.
• Good for adding flavour to normal supermarket ingredients.
• Useful if you want recipe inspiration without a big subscription box.
• Works well for families who already do a weekly shop.

SimplyCook cons

• Not a full meal box.
• You still need to buy the fresh ingredients.
• Does not remove supermarket shopping.
• Less useful if you want exact pre-portioned ingredients.

Family verdict: good for families that want more flavour and ideas, but still prefer to buy their own fresh ingredients.

Read our SimplyCook guide · Go directly to SimplyCook

9. Grubby

Plant-based · Recipe kit · Vegan friendly

Best for: plant-based recipe kits and people who want vegan dinners without starting from scratch.

Grubby is one of the more specific boxes in this list. It is not trying to be the default meal box for everyone. It is much more useful if you are vegan, vegetarian or simply want to cook more plant-based meals at home.

That makes it a good box to include in a proper UK comparison. Many people do not just want a meal box. They want a meal box that matches how they eat. For plant-based households, Grubby is a more natural fit than trying to filter a mainstream menu every week.

We would not recommend Grubby to everyone, and that is fine. The more specific a box is, the better it can be for the right person and the less useful it is for everyone else.

Grubby pros

• Clear plant-based focus.
• Good for vegan and vegetarian households.
• Useful if you want more interesting plant-based dinners.
• More targeted than a mainstream recipe kit.
• Good fit for people trying to reduce meat and dairy.

Grubby cons

• Too specific if you want meat or fish options.
• Less suitable as a mainstream family default.
• Choice can feel narrower than Gousto or HelloFresh.
• May not suit very picky eaters.

Family verdict: good for plant-based families. Less obvious for households where only one person wants vegan meals.

Read our Grubby guide · Go directly to Grubby

10. Frive

Ready meals · High protein · No cooking

Best for: people who want healthy meals ready in minutes, without cooking from scratch.

Frive is not a recipe kit. It belongs in the ready-meal side of the food box market. That is not a bad thing. For some people, it is exactly the point. No chopping, no cooking, no recipe card, just prepared meals that are meant to be healthier than ordinary supermarket ready meals.

This makes Frive a better fit for busy professionals, gym-focused households or anyone who wants food ready quickly but does not want to live on takeaways. It is less of a family cooking experience and more of a fridge solution.

From testing similar ready-meal services, we think this type of box is easiest to understand during busy periods: moving house, long workdays, fitness goals or weeks where cooking just is not going to happen. It is not romantic home cooking, but it can be very practical.

Frive pros

• No cooking required.
• Good for busy weekdays and work-from-home lunches.
• Strong healthy, high-protein and whole-food positioning.
• Useful for people who want to avoid takeaways.
• Good option if you want convenience without standard ready meals.

Frive cons

• Not a recipe kit, so you do not get the home-cooking experience.
• Less family-focused than HelloFresh or Gousto.
• Can be expensive if used for many meals per week.
• Less flexible for picky eaters than cooking yourself.

Family verdict: better for adults and busy households than classic family dinners. Very useful if convenience is the main goal.

Read our Frive guide · Go directly to Frive

11. Chefly

Prepared meals · Heat and eat · Convenience

Best for: people who want chef-cooked meals with almost no prep.

Chefly is another ready-meal style option rather than a classic recipe kit. The appeal is simple: the cooking is already done. You choose meals, they arrive prepared, and you heat them when you need them.

That can be very useful if you are short on time or do not want to cook every night. But it is a different experience from HelloFresh, Gousto or Green Chef. You are not learning recipes or cooking from fresh ingredients. You are buying convenience.

That does not make it worse. It just means you should compare Chefly with other prepared meal services, not only with recipe boxes. If the real problem is time, a prepared meal box may solve it better than a recipe kit.

Chefly pros

• Very convenient and quick.
• Good if you do not want to cook.
• Useful for busy weeks, work lunches or quick dinners.
• Less chance of failed cooking because the meals are prepared already.
• Can be easier than a recipe kit if time is the main problem.

Chefly cons

• Not a recipe kit.
• Less flexible if you want to change ingredients.
• Not always ideal for picky children.
• You lose the fresh-cooking part of a meal kit.

Family verdict: useful for busy households, but less of a shared family cooking solution than Gousto or HelloFresh.

Read our Chefly guide · Go directly to Chefly

So, which UK meal box would we choose?

If we had to keep it simple, we would split the market like this.

• Choose HelloFresh if you want the easiest all-round recipe box for normal weeknight dinners.
• Choose Gousto if you want more choice and a strong family-friendly recipe kit.
• Choose Green Chef if you want your meals built around a diet goal.
• Choose Mindful Chef if you want a healthier, more premium recipe kit.
• Choose Riverford if organic, seasonal cooking matters more than maximum convenience.
• Choose Abel & Cole if you want organic fruit, veg and groceries rather than fixed recipes.
• Choose Oddbox if reducing food waste is the main reason you want a box.
• Choose SimplyCook if you want a cheaper flavour kit rather than a full meal box.
• Choose Grubby if you want a plant-based recipe kit.
• Choose Frive or Chefly if you want prepared meals and do not really want to cook.

Our honest starting point: for most families, start by comparing HelloFresh and Gousto. For a specific health or diet goal, compare Green Chef and Mindful Chef. For organic produce, look at Riverford and Abel & Cole. For no-cook convenience, look at Frive and Chefly.

Recipe kit, food box or ready meal box?

One thing that often gets confusing is that these boxes are not all the same type of product.

• Recipe kits send ingredients and recipes. HelloFresh, Gousto, Green Chef, Mindful Chef, Riverford and Grubby fit here.
• Fruit and veg boxes send produce, but you still decide what to cook. Abel & Cole and Oddbox fit here.
• Flavour kits help with sauces, spices and inspiration, but you buy the fresh ingredients yourself. SimplyCook fits here.
• Ready meal boxes send prepared meals that you heat and eat. Frive and Chefly fit here.

That is why there is no single best UK meal box for everyone. A family that wants easy dinners will probably make a different choice from someone who wants high-protein lunches, organic vegetables or plant-based meals.

Are meal boxes worth it during the cost-of-living crisis?

Meal boxes are rarely the cheapest possible way to eat. If you buy basic ingredients from a supermarket and cook everything yourself, you can usually spend less. That is the honest answer.

But the comparison is not always as simple as ‘supermarket cheap, meal box expensive’. Grocery prices have risen a lot in recent years, and many households also waste food, buy ingredients they only use once, make extra supermarket trips or order a takeaway when there is no dinner plan. A meal box can reduce some of that friction.

The value is best when a box replaces bad habits rather than cheap home cooking. If you already plan every meal, shop carefully and waste very little, a recipe kit may feel expensive. If you regularly throw away half-used ingredients, panic-buy dinner or order delivery because nobody planned the week, a box can be more reasonable than it first looks.

For families, the per-portion price often improves when you order for more people. That is why HelloFresh and Gousto can make more sense for four-person households than for one person ordering only a couple of meals. For one-person households, ready meals, smaller boxes or flavour kits such as SimplyCook may sometimes be a better fit.

Final verdict

The UK meal box market has changed a lot over the years, but there is still plenty to choose from. The main thing is to pick the right type of box before choosing the brand.

If you want to cook, compare recipe kits. If you want better ingredients, compare organic and veg boxes. If you want dinner with no prep at all, look at ready meals. And if you are still not sure, start with our full recipe kit and meal box comparison and filter by diet, number of people, price and brand.