Are recipe boxes worth the money?

October 18, 2023 • Chris Bardsley

Recipe boxes such as Gousto and Hello Fresh may seem like the perfect solutions when budgeting for meal times - but can meal planning home-cooked food prove cheaper?

The convenience of choosing meals and having the ingredients arrive on your doorstep is not lost on many people, as well as the time and mental load saved from not having to plan out meals for the whole family, check which ingredients are needed and then visit the local supermarket.

Gram-for-gram cost compared

However, a study from money-saving blog Be Clever with Your Cash found that despite the convenience, if you’re a small household you may well be paying over the odds when each recipe is measured out gram for gram:

Meal Gousto cost per portion Tesco cost per portion (gram for gram) Tesco cost per portion (actual spend)
Chicken and Hummus Bowl with Sweet Potato Wedges £6.25 (2 people having 2 meals) £3.41 £6.27
Chinese style Beef and Green Pepper Stir Fry £6.25 (2 people having two meals) £3.58 £7.69

So which is better value?

The study found that the supermarket was significantly cheaper per portion (gram for gram) than people getting just two meals in each Gousto box.

By comparing two of the same recipes across the supermarket and Gousto box, the supermarket cost on average 44% less, saving £5.51 a box.

Do that weekly, and you could save £286.52 a year by meal planning rather than opting for a subscription.

Are meal boxes the right option for you?

Take a look at the Be Clever with Your Cash study and decide for yourself.

Please note we’ve used links to external websites. Although we make every effort to ensure these links are accurate, up to date and relevant, Fair for You Enterprise CIC cannot take responsibility for pages maintained by external providers. Views expressed on external sites we link to are not necessarily those of Fair for You Enterprise CIC.

If you come across any external links that don’t work, we would be grateful if you could report them to the web content team.

The content of this blog does not constitute personal financial advice, and the views expressed in it are those of the contributor or author, which may not necessarily represent or reflect the views expressed by Fair for You Enterprise CIC.


This entry was posted in Finance, Buying Guides and Blog
Teaching kids the basics of financial education Previous Halloween Activities for Kids Next