6 of the best meal delivery boxes

From health-conscious meals to exquisite homemade pasta, there’s a delivery box for practically every kind of food you could want. Here we pick six of our favourites to ease you into the new year

Best For Families: Gousto

Gousto is one of the original meal delivery companies and we were particularly impressed with the delicious and original recipes available, as well as the quality of produce. The concept is simple – pick your recipes and all the ingredients (perfectly portioned) will be delivered to your door. The dishes available are crowd-pleasing but also innovative; recipes that sound basic will always have something extra going on, whether that’s through unexpected flavours or unusual textures - think chive crumbled into breadcrumbs or a dollop of onion marmalade in your gravy. Due to popular demand, Gousto’s ‘Everyday Favourites’ (spag bol, cottage pie etc.) are now also available every week, so ideal for families.  

£31.75 for two family recipes (feeding 2 adults and 2-3 children) gousto.co.uk

Best for Busy Cooks: By Ruby

Ready meals never tasted so good! By Ruby cook up gorgeous homemade dishes using carefully sourced ingredients, then deliver them frozen for you to squirrel away – perfect when you need a speedy but hearty supper on hand. Sumptuous dishes include creamy macaroni cheese, a decadent fish pie and roasted cod with cannellini beans. We also love that the eco-friendly packaging is recyclable, compostable and biodegradable. £40.80 for a classic box including six meals. byruby.co.uk

Best for Healthy Eaters: Mindful Chef

Mindful chef operates in a similar way to Gousto, but the meals are specifically created with healthy eating in mind. There are 16 meat, fish and plant-based recipes to choose from each week, and they’re all free from gluten, dairy and refined carbs. All of the dishes we tried were satisfying and nicely balanced; it’s a great option if you’re looking to lighten your eating but struggle with portion control. Mindful Chef have also recently launched a range of frozen ready meals that really impressed our team. Prepared in small batches from scratch, these handy dishes are speedily frozen to lock in flavour and nutritional value. They’re also available for a limited time on Deliveroo in London. mindfulchef.com

Best for Pasta Lovers: Pasta Evangelists

We were blow away by the stupendous quality pasta in this box. With a focus on seasonal flavours and top quality ingredients, each box contains a portion of handmade pasta (this could be stuffed raviloi, pappardelle or even gnocchi) alongside a delicious sauce or flavoured butter and often breadcrumbs or cheese to finish things off. The portions are fairly small but so rich and flavourful you’ll be very satisfied – though if you’re very hungry you may want salad or bread on the side. £17.90 for two weekly servings, including delivery. pastaevangelists.com

Best For Meat Lovers: Deersbrook Farm

If you appreciate great quality meat, it doesn’t get better than buying it directly from the source. Deersbrook Farm in Essex are famed for their incredible grass-fed, 28-day matured beef, offering a fantastic selection of meat boxes in lots of sizes. Why not start off the with £31 Tester Box? Inside you get a 1.2kg roasting topside or silverside joint, two thick-cut rump steaks, a portion of premium mince and four chunky beef burgers. For more information visit deersbrookfarm.com

Best For Fish Lovers: The Cornish Fishmonger

Packed with protein and low in fat, fish is a great option if you’re aiming to kick start your new year with a health overhaul. The Cornish Seafood Selection Boxes contains a selection of the best seafood from the morning’s markets. All seafood will arrive fully prepared and ready to enjoy straight away, or pop in the freezer.

Available in 10 and 20 portion boxes, from £48.99, thecornishfishmonger.co.uk