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Get your festive feast delivered direct to your door…
Sure, Christmas may be a time for eating, drinking and general merry-making – but it can also involve plenty of stress, planning and potential panic buying if you’re tasked with cooking lunch on The Big Day (capitalised for dramatic effect, of course).
One festive hack it’s worth knowing about? That you can avoid last-minute supermarket sweeps and nightmares of burning the turkey, forgetting the sprouts, (or worse, yet… the pudding), by opting for one of these carefully curated recipe kits that offer a hassle-free feast.
You name it, it’s available. Pre-measured ingredients? Check. Step-by-step instructions? Check. Easy-to-follow time plans and great quality produce? Check, check. Seriously, it couldn’t be simpler.
It may seem obvious, but begin by counting how many hungry guests you’ll be feeding. As a general rule of thumb, too much is always better than too little – especially when leftovers can be made into Boxing Day sandwiches.
All our tested recipe boxes contain the main course, but they don’t always include all the trimmings, meaning you may need to make a shopping list for any extras. With that said, many boxes will allow you to add on items like perfect roasties, puddings and even Christmas cheeseboards.
To help with your Christmas planning, we’ve included pre-order dates below where possible. All the tested kits deliver nationwide, and guarantee a long enough expiry date for you to enjoy on the big day itself.
Our testing panel munched their way through each and every element of 10 recipe boxes from the leading supermarkets, online retailers and independent farm shops. Each was scored on the delivery process, quality of contents, ease of cooking and, most importantly, the final product.
Read on to find out their six favourites for Christmas 2021…
Our winning Christmas recipe box swerved the traditional turkey in favour of a tender beef wellington wrapped in a rich mushroom duxelles, parma ham and flaky pastry. Veggies can opt for a mushroom, walnut and squash alternative.
Sides-wise, you can choose from crispy smashed potatoes, creamy leeks and spinach, or go all-out indulgent with savoy cabbage simmered in chicken stock and cream, then topped with crispy pancetta.
Honestly, our panel couldn’t fault it, and that’s before you get to the pud (available as an add-on option), which included a decadent chocolate fondant with orange chantilly cream, plus chocolate truffles to enjoy with coffee… or a glass of Baileys. ‘Tis the season to treat yourself, after all.
All in, it took around 95 minutes to prepare, which was a big bonus given the quality of the final product. If you’re wanting to produce a five-star festive feast without missing out on all the fun yourself, then The Cookaway is the way to go.
Key specifications
Serves: 2 or 4
Delivery information: Nationwide delivery, available to order now
If it’s your first time hosting Christmas and you’re looking for someone to take the pressure off calculating weights, timings and the dreaded food shop, then you need Hello Fresh. They’ve made it as straightforward as possible, with handy step-by-step instructions (including prep-ahead advice and a time plan to rely on), plus you’ll only need two oven temperatures for the whole meal. Bonus!
The suitably festive feast contains a butter-basted turkey joint, pigs in blankets, pork and cranberry stuffing, and homemade gravy. Veg-wise there’s fluffy roast potatoes, braised red cabbage, peas, honey roasted root veg and a sprout gratin topped with hazelnuts. Delish.
If you want a one-stop shop sort of Christmas, then you can even add a cheeseboard and dessert to your delivery. Overall, our testers found that – despite the number of dishes – it was relatively simple to cook, with plenty of leftover for those post-meal munchies.
Key specifications
Serves: 4, 6, 8 or 10
Delivery information: Free nationwide delivery, available to order now
You may be more familiar with Mindful Chef as a healthy, convenient mid-week meal, but its Christmas range takes things up a notch, with 20 suitably festive recipes to choose from to feed one, two or a family of four – including those for gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian and pescatarian diets.
Looking to avoid that post-lunch sofa slump? Mindful Chef’s lighter take on the roast lunch does just that, with lots of lovely veggies (including a delicious sprout and chestnut medley) to enjoy alongside Gressingham turkey steaks, gravy and cranberry sauce.
Our panel was particularly impressed by the lack of plastic packaging and ease of prep. And the best bit? The entire meal cooks on one tray and at one temperature, meaning you won’t be faced with a sink full of washing up. Hurrah!
Key specifications
Serves: 1, 2 or 4
Delivery information: Free nationwide delivery, available to order now
Made with Christmas Eve feasting in mind, the star of this kit is undoubtedly the free-range saddleback gammon joint, which – when served hot from the oven with a sticky honey mustard glaze – seriously impressed our tasting panel.
Aside from the all-important ham, there’s a stellar British cheese selection, crackers and a gorgeous plum chutney to create your own grazing platter (grown-up Lunchables, if you will…). A crisp, citrus-forward bottle of English sparkling wine from Swanaford Vineyard completes the luxurious line-up.
Key specifications
Serves: 10
Delivery information: Nationwide delivery £4.95, available to order from November 23rd
Who said a smaller Christmas dinner had to be any less special? Tesco has curated the perfect meal for two, with each element prepared vacuum-sealed and oven-ready.
Coming in at £17.50 per person for a turkey meal with all the trimmings (including a genius stuffing-filled Yorkshire pudding), plus dessert, a 35cl bottle of champagne and crackers for the table, this is a real steal.
Flavour-wise, our panel enjoyed the rich, smoky dimension brought by the bacon-wrapped turkey joint – delicious paired with the piquant cranberry sauce.
Thanks to the minimal prep time and streamlined instructions, you can have the entire meal on the table in under 70 minutes. How’s that for a convenient Christmas?
Key specifications
Serves: 2
Delivery information: Nationwide delivery from £4.50, available to order from December 13th
Fancy a change from the traditional turkey? Online organic butcher, Coombe Farm, has just the thing. Here, a tender and oh-so gamey duck forms the Christmas centrepiece, with add-ons in the form of apricot and sausagemeat stuffing, smoked pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce and thick homestyle gravy for drizzling.
Feeding six under £60 on certified organic produce is no mean feat, making this box excellent value in our panel’s opinion. The quality and care that has gone into rearing the duck and pork elements really shone through.
If you don’t fancy it for Christmas Day itself, then it would make an equally special New Year’s Eve feast, too.
Key specifications
Serves: 6
Delivery information: Nationwide delivery from £4.95, available to order from November 11th
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