Is HelloFresh worth it? 2024 UK review

How would you like to be able to create a variety of meals using fresh ingredients that aren’t complicated to prepare? Well, wouldn’t we all? The good news is there’s a meal delivery service that could make your dreams come true. Let’s see how I got on with HelloFresh and whether it’s worth the cost.

HelloFresh

Let’s get a couple of things straight before I start my HelloFresh review. First of all, I hate cooking. I’m absolutely useless at it and really don’t have the patience. Second, I live off the same rubbish food. Whether it’s a takeaway or something that takes 15 minutes from the freezer, I’m not too bothered about how good it is for me or the nutritional value, as long as it doesn’t take much effort.

As a father of three, this is obviously a terrible example to be setting for my kids. So, with the hope that I could drastically increase my meal repertoire to more than two dinners, I decided to give meal kits a try.

But how did HelloFresh compare to the other popular meal delivery services I had signed up for?

What is HelloFresh?

HelloFresh is a meal kit service that promises to bring you delicious meals and new recipes straight to your door each week. Your delivery will include fresh produce, quality ingredients and recipe cards with step-by-step instructions on creating your meal. You can choose how many meals you want to be included in your delivery, so it’s a good fit for anyone – from large families to couples.

And because the portions you receive are controlled, it should mean less food waste.

It runs a weekly menu service, meaning there are different meal options to choose from regularly.

Meal kits are a good option for novice cooks to help them get to grips with learning new skills or are equally suited for people who are just short on time.

How does it work?

The first step is to create an account and choose a plan suitable for you. This will depend on how many people the meals are for and how often you need them delivered – choose between once per week, once every two weeks and once a month.

Once you’ve chosen a convenient delivery date, you’ll need to select the recipes you fancy. Your meal kit with everything you need will be sent to your home or an alternative address (if needed).

Although HelloFresh is a subscription service, you don’t have to receive meals on a set basis. If you’re going away or fancy taking a break, with the touch of a button, you can skip any delivery and not be charged.

How many recipes are there?

HelloFresh provides different recipes each week, with around 40 to choose from. The letdown here is when it comes to dietary preferences. Vegetarian options are available, but they’re usually limited to around seven per week. Sadly, there is no guarantee of vegan recipes. If you have any dietary restrictions, such as you need gluten-free meals, then you’ll need to look towards one of HelloFresh’s rivals like Gousto.

Any healthy meals?

If you’re looking for something a little healthier, HelloFresh provides a selection of meals that come in under 600 calories, most of them approved by Weight Watchers. You should find around 7 or 8 healthy HelloFresh meals every week.

How much is HelloFresh?

How much you pay depends on how many people you cook for and how many meals you need. Three meals for two people work out at £28.49 or £4.75 per meal. Five meals for four people cost £62.99, which is much cheaper at £3.15 per meal.

But those aren’t the only costs. Every delivery will cost you £4.99, so you need to factor that into your meal cost.

And not all meals are included in the plan. There are ‘premium meals’, for which you have to pay anywhere between £1 and £5 extra.

	2 people	3 people	4 people
2 meals	N/A	£29.99	£32.99
3 meals	£28.49	£38.99	£42.99
4 meals	£34.49	£47.99	£52.99
5 meals	£45.48	£56.99	£62.99

HelloFresh offers three types of meal boxes. The Classic Box has a wide range of recipes, the Family Box caters for all ages and the Rapid Box is aimed at people that have under 20 minutes to cook. You can choose how many people you want to cook for (from 2-4) and how many nights you want to cook (3-5).

So, does HelloFresh save money?

Looking at the prices above, I highly doubt it. But that’s not the main point. HelloFresh is about convenience and trying new food with minimal effort. If you’re looking for cheaper food, you will need to look for recipes and shop for ingredients yourself.

HelloFresh refer a friend

If you like HelloFresh, don’t forget to tell your friends all about it. And don’t do it because you want to share delicious recipes. If they join using your unique referral code, they’ll get £20 off of their first and you’ll get £20 credit to your account.

My first box

On the delivery day, my HelloFresh box arrived without issue but was much bigger than I expected. This was mainly because the chilled goods were wrapped incredibly well to keep them at a cool temperature. Although I didn’t want my food going off, I also noticed a tremendous packaging waste.

Best-before dates weren’t ideal either. My box arrived on a Thursday and contained two lots of hard cheese, both of which expired on the Saturday. This obviously gave me very little wiggle room when I could cook.

And there was a small problem with the ingredients. I was supposed to receive a clove of garlic, but this was nowhere to be seen. Delving deeper into my box, I did find two boxes of tomato and garlic puree when there should have only been 1, so I guess this was where the mistake was made. This wasn’t a big issue as I’m not a fan of garlic, but it’s a little concerning that they got the ingredients wrong on my first box.

Meals included:

• Tasty Chicken Wraps
• Pork Biryani
• Herby Sausage Bolognese

The results

Were the meals easy to cook? Yes, is the simple answer. Prep time took about 15-20 minutes, and roughly another 25 minutes to cook. There were a lot of ingredients that I would never have even considered, but it wasn’t complicated to do. Instructions were very clear, but unlike me, try to read through them before you start!

Unfortunately, they don’t teach you how to be artistic with your food. I may not have made it look good, but it’s not like I was going to share it with the world…

 

The taste

They do say that the proof is in the pudding, although not in this case, as there isn’t any dessert. The meals tasted really good, even though I cooked them. Even food I would try to avoid, such as spinach leaves, added great flavour.

What if there’s an issue with a box?

I have had countless boxes from HelloFresh and nearly all have arrived without issue. However, mistakes happen and sometimes I’ve found items missing or I’ve been sent the wrong item (like diced chicken instead of chicken breast. If this happens, you can go on the HelloFresh website and report the issue without talking to anyone. It takes 30 seconds and I’ve found that HelloFresh instantly credits my account a small amount as a way of an apology.

And don’t forget the app

If, like me, you can be a little on the forgetful side, then I recommend downloading the HelloFresh app. It will send you useful notifications, such as when you need to choose the following week’s meals.

My HelloFresh review conclusion

I do feel like I have achieved something. Even though almost everything was handed to me on a plate (not literally), I still had to put some effort in. I’ve tried some new food and the recipes have given me some good ideas to try in the future, which was the main reason for me taking out the trial.

Would I say that it was the best meal delivery service?

I think the only real problem here is the variety of recipes for people with special dietary needs. I’m surprised that HelloFresh still only has a small selection of vegetarian recipes and almost nothing regarding vegan options. And that’s coming from a meat eater. Until they tackle that issue, I think they’ll have a limited appeal.

Is HelloFresh worth it?

Would I order another box? Hell yeah! But that’s because I forgot to update my account in time, and they automatically sent me another load of ingredients. Whoops.

But I have become a regular subscriber. Out of all the food subscription services we have tried, HelloFresh has the most appealing meals for our family. With that said, we take breaks every couple of months as the recipes do feel a little repetitive after a time.

As I said above, this isn’t the cheapest way to buy food. But there’s a lot to be said about the convenience and variety that HelloFresh provides. Plus, with the discount you get from your first order, it’s got to be worth trying.

HelloFresh UK promo code

Click on the button below for a fantastic offer of 60% off your first order and 25% off for the following two months.

HelloFresh

HelloFresh alternatives

If you’re not convinced by my HelloFresh review or you want to try out some other subscription services too, there are plenty of other options to choose from.

• Gousto
• Yes Chef Boxes
• Mindful Chef
• Simply Cook
• MuscleFood

Gousto is probably the most similar to HelloFresh, but they all provide a good range of meals.

FAQs