HelloFresh Vs. Gousto: Which Recipe Box Is Best For You?
Whether you’ve recently discovered your new love for cooking or you’re simply bored of having the same meals week in week out, then you’ll want to hear about the new generation of recipe boxes.
Recipe boxes, and food delivery services boomed over the last year; this is great for consumers because it means these companies are constantly trying to up their game, competing to be the #1 recipe box choice.
To save you time and money we have tested the two longest-standing popular recipe boxes, HelloFresh and Gousto. Here’s everything you need to know about these two services:
Key Similarities:
- Both subscriptions send you pre-portioned ready to cook ingredients for your chosen recipes
- Both source all their ingredients from reputable partners that have very high quality and safety standards
- Both offer vegetarian options along with meat, fish, and poultry recipes
Key Differences:
- HelloFresh’s minimum order is three meals for two people, and the maximum order is five meals for four people
- Gousto’s minimum order is two meals for two people and the maximum order is four meals for a family
- HelloFresh meals are just £1.26 per person (with discount) | Gousto meals are £2.99 per person + delivery fee.
- HelloFresh offers four different box options; Mostly Meat, Veggie, Family, Pescatarian, Calorie Smart and Quick Cook | Gusto offer a Regular Box (2 adults or 1 adult and 1-2 children) and the Large Box (4 adults or 2 adults and 2-3 children)
- HelloFresh recipes are easier to cook with the least complicated steps and more detailed recipe cards compared to Gousto
HelloFresh Overview
As the number one recipe box in the UK., HelloFresh did not disappoint. Sign-up took a few minutes and the weekly menu was full of mouth-watering choices for all tastes. You have the choice between six boxes; Mostly Meat, Veggie, Family, Pescatarian, Calorie Smart and Quick Cook , all with the option for 2, 3, or 4 people for 3,4, or 5 meals per week. We opted for the Family box for 2 with 3 recipes.
Everything was delivered fresh and on time, and as two very unskilled cooks, we were curious to see how easy it would be to cook the HelloFresh Fragrant Chicken Coconut Curry with Baby Spinach and Zesty Garlic Rice. We laid out the ingredients for the curry and placed the ingredients for the other two in the fridge.
All the vegetables looked, felt, and smelt really fresh and the beef looked lean and really high quality. After reading the recipe card, our nerves settled as the steps were super detailed and the pictures a perfect visual guide to know if we were doing it right.
30 minutes later we were devouring probably the tastiest meal we have ever cooked ourselves. With all the ingredients delivered to your door ready to cook and simple to follow recipe cards, anyone can make a delicious meal, thanks to HelloFresh.
And by the third recipe, Teriyaki Prawn Poke Style Bowl with Zesty Jasmine Rice, Sugar Snaps and Kiwi Salsa, our culinary skills and confidence in the kitchen were continuing to grow. HelloFresh’s recipes introduce you to so many ingredients and combinations you would never try at home along with easy techniques to cook them to perfection.
There are plenty of 20-minute recipes, including a mind-blowing 20-minute Chipotle Beef Rigatoni with Cheddar and Spinach. And their menu offers so much variety with vegetarian, Smart Calorie, Premium show-stopping meals, and globally-inspired dishes every week. Their premium meals make for a special night with Serrano Ham Wrapped Chicken Breast with Cheesy Truffled Roast Potatoes, Tenderstem® and Creamy Sauce.
Gousto Overview
Gousto is certainly known for their range of cuisines: Classic English, Italian, Indian, Mediterranean, Vietnamese, and so many more. Once we signed up for their regular box for 3 meals we took our time flipping through exquisite photos of beautiful meals.
Gousto contracts out Yodel as a delivery system, which tends to have a lot of kinks according to a lot of customer reviews we read. Once we received the box we were impressed at the freshness of all the ingredients.
The first recipe we tried was the Salmon & Courgette Pesto Lasagne With Rocket Salad. Again, not something we have ever cooked before but was up for the challenge. Cooking this meal took just over an hour – a bit longer than the 45 minutes specified on the card. However, this could be because the recipe cards were a little less detailed than what we would have likes
In the end, all the meals tasted good but all three meals took slightly longer to cook than specified.
Overall Verdict
HelloFresh and Gousto deliver high-quality fresh ingredients for many recipes that will feed you and your household but the service we enjoyed using the most was HelloFresh. When it comes to choosing our recipes, receiving our delivery, ease of cooking, and the taste, HelloFresh wins. Plus, HelloFresh has a completely flexible plan so pause, skip a week or opt-out anytime.
If you want to switch things up in the kitchen in a cost-effective convenient way that results in a seriously delicious dinner, choose HelloFresh, the best weekly subscription recipe box.
