Best food boxes for vegetarians and vegans
How we chose| Ingredient and recipe subscription boxes | Ready meal delivery service | Online supermarkets
Do any of these sound like you?
Are you:
- looking to add to your vegetarian or vegan mid-week meal repertoire
- trying to incorporate more vegetarian or vegan meals into your diet
- don't know where to start on the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle
- particularly tight on time for cooking
- need some cooking inspiration
- just need some cooking guidance
...then recipe or ingredient subscription boxes or ready meal deliveries might be helpful.
Things to think about:
- how many people you’re catering for
- how many meals you’d like to order
- shelf life of ingredients - some of the meals are best eaten on the day of arrival whereas others could wait a little longer
- whether you enjoy spending time in the kitchen or prefer to get in and out as quickly as possible
- if you don't have a lot of time to cook, look out for the quick cook options which will give you a meal on your plate in a short time
- whether the recipes need any store cupboard ingredients added
Here’s our choice of ingredient and recipe subscription boxes and ready meal delivery services.
Most cover a range of cuisines and some use only organic ingredients.
We’ve also looked at some online supermarkets to help with vegetarian and vegan shopping.
We considered:
- vegetarian options
- vegan options
- cuisine options
- organic
- store cupboard ingredients needed
- other info such as company eco credentials
We haven't included prices and all options available as these frequently change.
So let's take a look at our favourites...
Ingredient and recipe subscription boxes
overview - Abel & Cole offer organic food and drink in a weekly fruit and veg box, individual fruit and veg items and ready meals, as well as zero waste, returnable and refillable glass bottle items (Club Zero), household items and store cupboard ingredients - you could do your weekly shop here! The are also certified B Corp.
vegetarian options - fruit and veg boxes form the basis of Abel & Cole
vegan options - there's free from milks, yoghurts, soups, ready meals, tofu, seitan
cuisine options - yes
organic - yes!
store cupboard ingredients needed - they stock lots of store cupboard ingredients
other info - Abel & Cole seem to have expanded from the 'fruit and veg box' market and moved in to the 'do your weekly shop' market - which is great for the harder to obtain items. There's a massive choice of box options to suit budgets and family sizes. There's often offers such as money off your first box.
overview - GreenChef offer 6 dietary options - keto, lower carb, flexitarian, vegan, pescatarian, vegetarian - with sustainably sourced produce - some ingredients are organic. You can select how many people you want to feed and how many meals a week to supply. The protein and dairy ingredients should be used within 4 days and other ingredients should last the week.
Ingredients come pre-measured and prepped along with pre-made sauces, marinades, and spice blends.
vegetarian options - yes
vegan options - yes
cuisine options - yes
organic - some
store cupboard ingredients needed - you receive everything that you need to make the meals - the instructions even let you know what kitchen equipment you'll need to use
other info - There's often offers such as money off your first box. Most of the packaging is made from recycled, recyclable, reusable and/or compostable materials
overview -HelloFresh offer pre measured ingredients and step by step instructions, with a weekly delivery. You chose the number of people to feed and how many recipes a week you would like. There's quick cook, meat based, vegetarian, lower calorie and pescatarian options, with over 44 recipes a week. There's also a choice of desserts, sides, lunch and brunch options.
vegetarian options - yes - at least 7 options per week
vegan options - some of the vegetarian options are vegan
cuisine options - yes
organic - no
store cupboard ingredients needed - you receive everything that you need to make the meals - the instructions even let you know what kitchen equipment you'll need to use
other info - There's often offers such as money off your first box. Ingredients are sourced directly from the producer, so there is a shorter supply chain and reduced repackaging. Most of the packaging is made from recycled, recyclable, reusable and/or compostable materials. HelloFresh are Carbon Neutral.
overview - Mindful Chef offer recipes boxes that change every week - there's 20 to chose from every week. You can chose how many people you want to feed. Ingredients are pre-portioned to cook the recipes and there's also fruit boxes, frozen ready meals, smoothies, soups, desserts, snacks - gluten free and dairy free options are available and some options can be ready in 15 minutes
vegetarian options - no specific vegetarian choices
vegan options - 7 to chose from
cuisine options - yes
organic - no
store cupboard ingredients needed - you receive everything that you need to make the meals
other info - There's often offers such as money off your first box. All their British fruit and veg are produced by LEAF Marque certified farmers and growers. Mindful Chef are Carbon Neutral and B Corp certified. In September 2017, they partnered with the charity One Feeds Two, so that for every Mindful Chef meal sold, they donate a school meal to a child living in poverty - they have donated over 9 million meals to children in Malawi.
overview - Simply Cook provide a spice blend, a shopping list for fresh ingredients, a store cupboard list and optional suggestions. You receive a letterbox sized box containing 4 recipe kits and step-by-step recipe cards. You follow the instructions, combining the kit contents with 4-6 items from your fridge or cupboard. Recipes take 15-20 minutes to cook.
vegetarian options - yes - currently 56 to choose from no specific vegetarian choices
vegan options - yes - currently 13 to choose from 7 to chose from
cuisine options - yes
organic - no
store cupboard ingredients needed - you will need to add store cupboard and fresh ingredients
other info - There's often offers such as money off your first box. Flavour blends may included pastes, infused oil, garnishes, rubs, stock and herb/spice blends. The boxes are designed to fit through a standard letterbox so you don't have to be in to take delivery.
Ready meal delivery service
Some of the companies already looked at offer ready meals, such as Abel & Cole and Mindful Chef.
overview - Planty provide plant based ready meals - you can chose the cooking method (microwave or oven), the spice level, different nutrition requirements (high protein, high fibre, low fat, low sugar). There's gluten- soy- nut-free options as well as desserts and sides. We think Planty are the only company offering 100% plant based ready meals.
vegetarian options - yes - 100% plant based
vegan options - yes - 100% plant based
cuisine options - yes
organic - no
store cupboard ingredients needed - the ready meal is complete but you might like to add more vegatables
other info - Planty are working towards B Corp certification. Packaging is 100% recyclable, compostable, reusable or returnable. Deliveries are carbon neutral and ingredients are locally sourced where possible.
overview - Wiltshire Farm Foods have been delivering frozen ready meals for over 30 years - they have over 340 dishes, with low sugar, low fat, gluten free, vegetarian options as well as desserts, soups, snacks and sides.
vegetarian options - 20 dishes currently
vegan options - some of the vegetarian dishes are vegan
cuisine options - yes
organic - no
store cupboard ingredients needed - no need to add anything else, everything is supplied
other info - delivery is free and there's no contract or subscription, you just order what you need, when you need it
Online supermarkets
Abel & Cole offer a wide range of food, store cupboard and everyday items.
overview - GreenBay are an online 100% vegan supermarket, with Next Day delivery to the UK. The physical store opened in 2016 and the online supermarket launched in 2017. They stock fresh food, drink, health and beauty products, household and pet products.
vegetarian options - 100% vegan
vegan options - 100% vegan
cuisine options - yes
organic - some
store cupboard ingredients needed - other than fruit and veg, you can do your weekly shop here - stunning choice of products, some of which can be tricky to get hold of - very large range of plant milks
other info - delivery is free on orders over £60 - you can pick up from Fulham branch - packaging is reused where possible
overview - The Goodness Project is something different - they offer the best vegan, plant-based, organic, natural and free-from products and fantastic sustainable gifts - a great idea if you're unsure what to gift to a vegan friend or colleague
vegetarian options - yes
vegan options - yes
cuisine options - yes
organic - some
other info - they plant a tree on their customer's behalf through Ecologi for every order placed - delivery is free on orders over £55
overview - Natures Healthbox is a small, family run business in Brighton, selling a very wide range of natural , organic, environmentally friendly, health, beauty and household items. They offer baby items, gift sets, gluten free items, herbal remedies, food items, natural healthcare and lots of plant milks.
vegetarian options - yes
vegan options - yes
cuisine options - yes
organic - some
other info - delivery is free on orders over £45
We hope these short reviews have helped you - we'll add more items as we try them - please let us know what else you'd like to see.
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