Become a world class chef in the comfort of your own home with the best recipe boxes

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We’re all guilty of resorting to cooking the same old thing night after night. Recipe boxes can bring some excitement back to the kitchen by delivering individually portioned ingredients for home-cooked meals straight to your door.

They’re certainly a huge time saver in a busy household. These clever kits remove the thinking and planning from dinner time and mean you won’t need to trudge around the supermarket or do an emergency corner shop dash to buy ingredients each week. They’re also ideal for anyone struggling with inspiration who is keen to cook something new without scouring through cookbooks first.

There’s a recipe box to suit almost everyone too. Whether you want to eat more vegetables, find something the whole family will love, or make a special occasion simpler, these meal kits will have you sitting down at the table in no time. There’s also very little food waste as the ingredients are pre-measured for each recipe, making the boxes ideal for someone not used to cooking and who may not have the usual store cupboard ingredients. All come with clear, step-by-step recipe cards that are easy to follow.

Of course, recipe boxes can be an expensive way to cook, especially if you already have a lot of basic ingredients lurking in your kitchen cupboard. To get the most out of your subscription, it’s worth checking what will be included in each delivery online before it arrives and changing recipes to suit your preferences or dietary requirements. It’s also essential to check if the subscription can be paused when you’re away or too busy to cook.

If you’d prefer an occasional treat or want to buy a box for someone else, it’s worth considering a one-off meal kit instead, particularly if you want to try cooking restaurant-quality food at home. These give you all the benefits of a recipe box without the ongoing commitment, so you can dine in style from your own kitchen table.

How we tested

(Siobhan Grogan)

We tested a range of recipe boxes by donning our apron and cooking them all in our own kitchen. We considered the quality of the ingredients, how eco-friendly the packaging was, how easy the instructions were to follow and the portion size of each meal. Most importantly, we judged the flavour of the final meal and if it was something we would want to cook – and eat – again.

The best recipe boxes for 2024 are: