This recipe box subscription is perfect for anyone who hates meal planning
Struggling to find the time to cook? Same here. And let’s be honest – sometimes the real battle isn’t the cooking itself, but figuring out what to eat, braving the weekly food shop, and then prepping it all. That’s why meal delivery services like Gousto have exploded in popularity – they take the stress out of mealtime. (Cue this Gousto review!)
I’ve always loved cooking. Not only do I find cooking rewarding, but I like knowing exactly what’s going into my food (rather than just relying on ready meals and ultra-processed options). This is why I’ve always steered clear of meal kits in the past. Truth be told, I’ve always been a little sceptical of meal delivery services, assuming they’d be full of UPFs and compromise on freshness.
But everyone I know seems to be raving about Gousto, claiming that you can still get quality meals that feel homemade without any of the faff.
So, during a hectic stretch of life, I caved and decided to give Gousto a go to see if it’s really worth the hype.
Recipe box
What is Gousto?
So, what is Gousto? It’s a recipe box service that delivers everything you need to whip up at least three delicious meals a week, right to your door.
They’re not pre-packaged ready meals, so it does still involve cooking meals from scratch – a big plus for me, as someone who enjoys frying onions and garlic to the sounds of my favourite Spotify playlist every evening – but the main perk is that all of the perfectly portioned ingredients are delivered to you, so no more half-used jars cluttering your precious fridge space.
My biggest questions: Do the meals actually taste good? Are they as healthy as the dinners I usually whip up for myself? And does Gousto actually make cooking easier? Keep reading to find out.
How does Gousto work?
As a Gousto subscriber, you get to pick your own recipes from over 100 options each week. There are a number of different subscription options available – you can either have a box delivered weekly, fortnightly or monthly – and you can pick whatever day of the week you'd prefer for it to arrive. You can also choose to receive between 3 and 5 recipes per box. From there, your box will arrive with all the ingredients you need, as well as recipe cards with instructions on how to make them.
One of the benefits of Gousto – compared to other recipe boxes out there – is the variety on offer. There are plenty of ‘quick and easy’ options, all of which take less than 20 minutes to cook, as well as recipes from their ‘health hub’ section, which are designed to help you hit your five-a-day, up protein intake and control calories.
Don’t be fooled though: you will still have to do some legwork with Gousto. Although the recipe boxes come with the correct portion for the meal you’re making, you’ll still have to chop your veg and prepare meat and fish, so it certainly isn’t a ready meal service.
Is Gousto expensive?
A Gousto box of five meals for two people (that’s ten portions in total), comes in at £43.99, or £4.40 per portion. This might be more than you spend on your weekly food shop, given that it doesn’t include breakfast or lunch, but it’s still more affordable than other meal prep services.
Plus, Gousto offers 50% off your first box, 40% off your second and 20% off for the following six weeks, so there are plenty of opportunities to try it at a discount before you commit.
There's also the option to just feed one – something a lot of other meal prep services don't offer – which costs £33.99 for five meals, or £6.80 per portion. You can easily adjust the number of meals you order and the number of people you're feeding, which makes it super flexible.
Gousto review: What is the process like?
I opted for four meals for two people as part of my Gousto trial. I eat with my boyfriend a couple of nights a week, and on nights when I wasn't, I thought that the leftover portion would work well as leftovers for lunch.
The box arrived well-insulated, with the fridge and cupboard ingredients separated, as well as individual recipe cards for each meal. I chose meals from Gousto's ‘Health Hub’ range, as I was keen to see what healthy options they had on offer. Most dishes claimed to take between 25-35 minutes to make, apart from one that I could do in 15 minutes. There were plenty more options for quick meals, but I decided to go for the ones that took my fancy the most, whatever the prep and cooking time, for the best experience.
The ingredients for each of the recipes are all mixed up together, but the recipe card lists them out with their quantities fairly simply, so it was quick and easy to put together what I needed for each meal. For most of the recipes, there was a little bit of prep – chopping onions, pressing garlic and squeezing lemons – but nothing more than I'd do for the meals I generally cook.
The instructions were clear, and super easy to follow, with lots of tips for people who might not be as confident in the kitchen.
I specifically chose recipes that included ingredients I wasn’t super familiar with – I thought Gousto would be the perfect opportunity to learn how to make something new, without feeling puzzled in the supermarket about where to find certain ingredients or which ones to buy, and with detailed instructions on how to prepare and cook them.
For example, I've been a vegetarian for a long time and recently started eating meat, so I opted for pork meatballs.
But do the meals actually taste good?
Gousto review: The standout dishes
Red Thai Jumbo Prawn Curry With Brown Rice
This recipe was from Gousto’s quick and easy range – and I did manage to get it from the fridge to my plate in under fifteen minutes. Packed with protein and flavour, with a couple of your five a day thrown in there too, it was both healthy and delicious. The microwavable rice (something I usually avoid in the supermarket because of the extra cost), made it super easy to make. I also like that it came with crispy onions to sprinkle over the dish, an added touch that I usually wouldn't bother with when cooking from scratch. This was definitely one of my favourite meals in my Gousto box and it made two decent portions.
Crispy Chipotle Haddock With Zingy Sweet Potato Salad
This was another hit from my Gousto box, although it required quite a bit more prep. Between roasting the sweet potatoes in the oven, coating the fish in breadcrumbs and frying it and making the salad dressing, it took me about 30 minutes – but it was well worth the effort it because it tasted great.
My only gripe with this recipe is that the portion was too small for me and I actually ended up eating two portions for one meal. Granted, this was a very big meal in the end (it was that time of the month, FYI) and 1.5 portions probably would have been better. But it wouldn't have been ideal if I was cooking for two in this case.
Sticky Sesame Tofu With Asparagus Noodles
Tofu has always been my nemesis in the kitchen – I've tried and failed to cook tofu on many occasions, ending up with something flavourless and sponge-like. So, I was interested to see if this Gousto recipe could help me finally conquer one of the healthiest vegetarian sources of protein. And I'm happy to say that I was impressed. The tofu perhaps wasn't restaurant quality, but it was seriously tasty and the recipe offered up a few game-changing tips for cooking it that I hadn't come across before.
This recipe made two generous-sized portions and it only took 20 minutes to prepare – it's definitely one I'll be saving the recipe card for to make again from scratch.
Pork & Lentil Meatballs With Wholewheat Tortiglioni
Out of all the recipes in my Gousto box, this recipe took the longest time to make – clocking in around 40 minutes, but it was a really enjoyable one to make. The recipe was easy to follow, with lots of tips for anyone who isn’t experienced, and it was fun making a dish that I’d never tried before.
The portions were also huge –and could have easily fed three people in my opinion, which is a bit confusing given some of the other recipes were smaller (not that I’m complaining!)
Gousto review: WH verdict
As a meal delivery box sceptic, I have to admit that Gousto is one of the best recipe boxes and meal delivery services that’s actually worth forking out for.
With a huge variety of healthy and delicious recipes, it’s ideal for anyone who dreads food shopping and deciding what they want to eat, or wants to expand their cooking repertoire.
That said, it’s worth noting it might not save you tons of time when it comes to preparing and cooking meals. Even the quick recipes can take up to 30 minutes for less confident chefs, and the recipes do leave you with a sink full of dishes to clean, too.
But, overall, if you’re looking to eat healthier in 2025, enjoy a more varied diet and do so without scrolling TikTok for recipe ideas and visiting three different supermarkets to secure the specific ingredients, Gousto could be a fantastic addition to your life.
recipe box
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