When hunger strikes, we don’t often have the time to prep and cook a nutritious meal from scratch. Enter my pick of the best meal delivery services in the UK.
It’s all well and good stocking up on the best protein bars for a post-workout snack, but they’re no replacement for proper meals. Getting in shape depends more on what you do in the kitchen than in the gym, but finding the time and energy to rustle up nutritious, macro-managed meals day after day is easier said than done – which is exactly why meal delivery services like these exist.
But with so many around, which is best for a healthy, fitness-friendly lifestyle? The only way to find out was for the selfless Men’s Fitness team to chow down on as many delicious, energy-boosting meals as we could and rate them for you. We tested them for taste, variety and nutrition, as well as how simple they are to prepare, how easy it is to change delivery frequency, overall cost, and all the little things that make meal delivery a better experience than heading down the local supermarket.
First there’s a bit of info about each of the services we looked into, and then you’ll find our reviews and scores. Bon appétit!
Why you can trust Men’s Fitness
Men’s Fitness has had its finger on the pulse of the healthy lifestyle scene since 2001. That means we’ve got more than two decades of experience in the industry and have built up connections with top professionals. As such, we only offer insight and advice from those who know best – and who have the credentials to prove it. Here, ex-MF editor Isaac Williams taste-tests the best meal delivery services.
Best meal delivery services in the UK
- Fresh Fitness Food (£26 per day, freshfitnessfood.com)
- All Week (From £6.75 per meal, allweek.co.uk)
- Planty (From £5.65 per meal, planty.uk)
- Mindful Chef (From £5.50 per two-person meal, mindfulchef.com)
- Detox Kitchen (From £31.40 per day, detoxkitchen.co.uk)
- Fuel Hub (£7.50 per meal, fuelhub.co.uk)
- Huel Hot and Savoury Meal Packs (from £2.66 per meal, uk.huel.com)
- Swaledale Meat Boxes (From £75.95, swaledale.co.uk)
- STOCKED Food (From £2.65 per meal, stockedfood.com)
- Après Food (From £4.95 per serving, apresfood.com)
- No 1 Food Prep (From £5.20 per meal, no1foodprep.com)
- The Good Prep (£120 for a 5-day plan, thegoodprep.com)
- Muscle Food (From £2.57 per meal, musclefood.com)
- Prepped Pots (From £2.49 per meal, preppedpots.com)
If you’re following a vegan diet, check out our full guide to the best vegan meal delivery services
Fresh Fitness Food
Best meal delivery service
£26 per day
Taste: 4.5/5
Variety: 4.5/5
Nutrition: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
Delicious, sustainably sourced and protein-rich food combined with fully biodegradable packaging makes Fresh Fitness Food the number one on our list of meal delivery services for fitness enthusiasts with an environmental conscience.
Before you sign up, you get a comprehensive phone consultation with an adviser, who recommends your meals based on your training goals, then the rest is taken care of.
All Week
From £6.75 per meal
Taste: 4.5/5
Variety: 4.5/5
Nutrition: 5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
We’re big fans of the All Weeks approach to meal delivery: small batches, fresh ingredients cooked to order and a free weekly delivery service. There are 21 dishes to choose from, and you can select vegan, gluten-free, high-veg and low-carb options, as well as sub-500kcal.
Fresh or frozen, you’re getting decent doses or protein in every meal, not to mention big, punchy flavors and very little fat. If you’re looking for regular tasty fuel for your workout routine or just an occasional mid-week treat, we reckon you can’t go far wrong with All Week.
- Read our full All Week review
Planty
Best vegan meal delivery service
From £5.65 per meal
Taste: 5/5
Variety: 4/5
Overall: 5/5
Pick Planty if you’re a plant-based sceptic unconvinced about the quality of vegan cooking.
The meals are delicious, packed full of protein, and there’s enough variety to eat a different type of cuisine every day of the week.
You can build your box from either six, eight or ten meals from the nutritionist-approved menu, and receive as a one-off or subscribe for more regular deliveries.
Nothing but fresh ingredients go into the meals, which are flash-frozen as soon as they’re cooked to lock in flavour and nutrients.
Mindful Chef
Best meal delivery service for nutrition
From £5.50 per two-person meal
Taste: 4/5
Variety: 4.5/5
Nutrition: 5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
Mindful Chef’s recipe boxes make healthy eating easy and appealing. All the meals are gluten-, dairy- and refined-carb-free, and the company’s impressive range of vegan meals shows there needn’t be sacrifices with a plant-based approach.
Mindful Chef offers a flexible subscription service to suit individuals’ lifestyle with no tie-in, no minimum spend and no hidden fees. What’s more, Mindful Chef is the only recipe box delivery service to offer one-person (100% recyclable) boxes, meaning anyone who lives alone can also enjoy the experience of cooking healthy, nutritious meals without the worry of leftover ingredients going to waste.
Detox Kitchen
From £31.40 per day
Taste: 4.5/5
Variety: 4.5/5
Nutrition: 4/5
Overall: 4.5/5
Using ingredients free from wheat, dairy, chemicals and refined sugar, not to mention 100 per cent recyclable packaging, Detox Kitchen is as wholesome as the best fitness meal delivery services can be.
We tried the Active Protein package, with a daily 1,800-calorie offering of breakfast, lunch, dinner and pudding, plus a juice, a drink, a nut pot and a snack.
Fuel Hub
£7.50 per meal
Taste: 4/5
Variety: 4.5/5
Nutrition: 4.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
Nutrition, flavour and sustainability are at the heart of this rapidly growing small business created by a husband and wife team in Warrington. There’s an ever-changing menu of 30 ready-made meals to choose from, delivered chilled to your door.
All dishes are made from fresh, seasonal produce and packed with protein – our favourites the lamb kofte and beef rogan josh deliver more than 50g protein each and are less than 650kcal.
Huel Hot and Savoury Meal Packs
Best budget vegan meal delivery service
From £2.80 per meal
Taste: 4.5/5
Variety: 4.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
To compare Huel’s Hot and Savoury Packs range to Pot Noodles would be doing Huel a huge disservice. Though you add hot water to dry ingredients in a pot (which is free with your first order), those ingredients are a healthy balance of carbs, protein, fats and fibre, as well as 26 essential vitamins and minerals.
Each 665g meal bag (enough for nine meals) is made from a tasty and filling mix of pasta, pulses, brown rice, flaxseed, pea protein, quinoa and vegetables. There are plenty of dishes to choose from, including vegan carbonara, Mexican chilli, korma, madras and Thai green curry.
Swaledale Meat Boxes
Best meal delivery service for carnivores
From £75.95
Taste: 4.5/5
Variety: 4.5/5
Nutrition: 4/5
Overall: 4.5/5
Meat lovers who struggle to reconcile their penchant for stakes with their long-term fitness goals should check out Swaledale’s meat box deliveries. Our pick of the 13 meat box selections (plus two pure steak options) from this Yorkshire butcher is the Nutritionists Meat Box, hand-picked cuts of meat selected for their essential vitamins and minerals – plus they’re all packed with protein, and are fresh and delicious.
You get 12 different prime cuts, including feather blade, onglet, flat iron and minute steaks, as well as liver, shin, bone marrow, ox heart and beef bones for stock. If any of those sound daunting, there’s plenty of advice on the website for cooking techniques and recipe ideas. They may require a little time to prepare and cook, but it’s worth every minute and one box will fill you freezer with quality cuts from grass-fed lamb and beef for months.
STOCKED Food
Best budget meal delivery service
From £2.65 per meal
Taste: 4/5
Variety: 3/5
Nutrition: 5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
STOCKED’s unique block approach allows you to pack your freezer full of these tasty frozen meals, earning it a spot on our list of the best meal delivery services. They’re high in protein and fibre, low in fat and not an ‘E’ number in sight. Each pack includes eight blocks, which is enough for 2-4 meals, depending on your appetite.
You just need to add your own rice, noodles, pasta or other carbs and dinner is ready in less that 10 minutes. The range isn’t huge but highlights include sausage arabiatta, jerk chicken, harissa jackfruit and chick’n satay.
- Read our full STOCKED Food review
Après Food
From £4.95 per serving
Taste: 4.5/5
Variety: 3.5/5
Nutrition: 4/5
OVERALL: 4/5
High-quality, organic ingredients are the name of the game with Après Food – founded by professional chef Catherine Sharman. The meals are full of flavour and most of the Mains hover around the 20-30g protein per serving mark.
Variety isn’t as great as some of the bigger-name meal companies, and the costs can add up if you need meals for two (most only serve one), but if you’re just looking for two or three dinner options per week to save for busy days, this is a tasty and nutritious option.
- Read our full Après Food review
No 1 Food Prep
From £5.20 per meal
Taste: 3.5/5
Variety: 4/5
Nutrition: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
Born out of No1 Boot Camp’s much-loved meals, No 1 Food Prep has taken the dishes served at their fitness retreats and turned them into delivery meals you can try at home.
Whatever you’re after in a meal delivery service, choose the best package for you – from ‘Plant Lite’ to ‘Meat & Fish Max’ – or opt for a more tailored approach using the bespoke Meal Builder tool.
The Good Prep
Best bespoke meal delivery service
£120 for a 5-day plan
Taste: 4/5
Variety: 4/5
Nutrition: 5/5
Overall: 4/5
Fresh ingredients and pleasantly surprising portion sizes make The Good Prep one of the best fitness meal delivery services we had the pleasure of taste-testing.
We tried the all-vegan ‘Power & Plants’ plan, which was filled with high-protein vegan foods, but there are several more to choose from – and there’s even the option to create an entirely bespoke set of meals based on your personal preference.
Muscle Food
Best meal delivery service for protein
From £2.57 per meal
Taste: 3.5/5
Variety: 4/5
Nutrition: 4.5/5
Overall: 4/5
As the name suggests, protein is the primary ingredient in most of Muscle Food’s offerings, with meat bundles such as 5kg of chicken for £27 the popular choice.
Pre-made – including plant-based meal delivery kits – meals tailored to your goals are also an option, as are ‘Easy Cook Kits’ for kids and just about any other nutrition product you could wish for. One of the best meal delivery services for fitness fans.
Prepped Pots
From £2.49 per meal
Taste: 4/5
Variety: 4.5/5
Nutrition: 4.5/5
Overall: 4/5
Another offering from Muscle Food, its Prepped Pots range is a selection of 25 fresh, wholesome and filling meals. You can choose to have between 7 and 20 meals delivered every 1-4 weeks, and can skip, pause or cancel your subscription at any time. (The bigger your subscriptions, the bigger your discount off all future deliveries.)
Each meal is created as an ideal complete meal portion for an adult. There are lots of mouth-watering (and mostly chicken) dishes to choose from, each with around 30g protein per serving. Highlights include falafel and giant cous cous and Levi Roots’ three spicy chicken and vegetable dishes.
