The best recipe boxes to try now (2024)

Mindful Chef is all about creating nutritious (but no less delicious) recipe boxes, that are free from gluten, dairy and refined sugar. From the 21 dishes available for two people, highlights currently include creamy salmon risotto and pulled pork chilli con carne, but there are lots of equally tempting vegan and veggie dishes too.

Riverford's seasonal ingredients are impossible to beat, coming straight from its famous organic Devonshire farm. Most arrive packaging-free, and recipe options include the mouth-watering likes of chickpea dal with crispy parsnips, sweet potato shepherdess pie and garlic mushroom and spinach gnocchi.

From '10-Minute Meals' to 'Everyday Favourites', Gousto offers a over 250 dishes a month. We're particular fans of the 'Hungry Traveller' collection, which aims to expand your recipe repertoire with globally-inspired cuisine. Try the Gambian-style mushroom, sweet potato and peanut stew or the sweet chilli and sesame chicken udon.

Brindisa has curated the ultimate starter kit to make a pan of top-notch paella at home. Expect to receive quality ingredients – think fragrant saffron, rice, piquillo peppers and a two-litre bottle of the olive oil served at its award-winning restaurants. You then have free rein to choose your protein and veggies. The keepsake family paella pan adds real gift appeal for a foodie, too.

Promising perfect Italian pasta in just five minutes, Pasta Evangelists is our go-to for tasty weeknight dinners. The easy-to-follow kits are always full of flavour with perfectly al dente pasta –and, dare we say it, as good as any restaurant dish. Our favourite is the 'nduja and mascarpone fusilli, but we also love the classic carbonara.

If you like the idea of a recipe kit but don’t want to commit to a fridge full of perishable ingredients every week, then Simply Cook is your answer. They deliver bases in the form of pastes, rubs, marinades and spice blends, leaving you to choose your own protein and veggies and create four 20-minute meals. It's a fun, affordable way to explore different flavours and cuisines; be sure to try the Goan fish curry.

If you're not confident in the kitchen or simply don't find any joy in cooking, Hello Fresh's straightforward recipes should help. Ingredient bags are numbered and come with step-by-step instructions, complete with photos. If something can be simplified, it is — think pre-made sauces — saving you precious minutes after a long day in the office. Try the hoisin beef with pak choi, green beans and zesty rice; you'll end choosing it over a takeaway!