HelloFresh UK Review - UPDATED 2020

Hello Fresh is a UK food subscription service where you select 3-4 recipes, and then receive everything to create those recipes. It’s perfect for those that want to learn to cook different dishes or if you’re short on time and don’t want to figure out what to cook each week.

Hello Fresh UK Reviews

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HelloFresh Unboxing 2019

I am very guilty of always cooking the same meals, it’s so much easier to cook something you know than to try different dishes (even more so if you are in a hurry). When trying something new you really need to focus on the recipe and this can take a quick 30 minute dinner and before you know it 2 hours have passed. 

This is one of the reasons why I really like HelloFresh, they send everything needed to cook and try different meals.

What I love most is the recipes are super easy to follow and the ingredients seem really good quality. 

There are many different food subscription options, this HelloFresh review will hopefully show you what I thought. Hopefully this will help you decide if its the right solution for you and your needs.

What is HelloFresh?

If you have not heard of Hello Fresh, it is basically a meal delivery service. You sign up, pick what recipes you want and then they send out all of the ingredients and recipe cards for you to cook them. 

There are a few key reasons why you might want to try a service like this;

  1. It can be very time consuming planning meals, going to the supermarket, prepping the food, cooking and then finally cleaning. Unfortunately not all of us have the luxury of time and either have to work or study. 

    With HelloFresh, you can cut out planning and shopping as they send you everything you need. The meals are designed to be cooked in 30-40 minutes and as you are following step by step instructions, it’s much easier to clean whilst you cook. 

  2. When time is short or I don’t know what I want to eat, I often get myself a pizza or a takeaway of some kind. This ends up being a lot more expensive over the month and is also not the healthiest option. Now I am not really into healthy eating but if I can reduce some calories then i'm happy. 

    HelloFresh meals tend to be fairly low on the calorie/fat content, but also give you an option to just receive healthy meals. 

  3. Something I am very keen on is food wastage. I am guilty in the past to buying a bag of vegetables such as carrots and not eating them all and throwing most away. The great thing about HelloFresh is you only receive what is needed in the recipe, so therefore no wastage. 

You get everything needed for your meals, from the cold items such as meat (these are in a cool bag) to all the vegetables and spices. These are separated into different bags, so you are able to keep ingredients separated for each recipe. What’s also great is you don’t need any special tools or equipment.

Pros and Cons

It's important to see both the pros and cons to anything you are considering buying or signing up to. This helps you to decide whether or not its right for you. Below are both the pluses and negatives I think stand out for Hello Fresh

What I Liked..

  • Recipes are easy to follow - HelloFresh helps anyone to be able to make tasty food, even if they are not confident in the kitchen. The recipes provide step by step instructions, making it very hard to go wrong.
  • Nice Variety of recipes - Each week you are able to find a wide range of recipes to select from, giving you great variation. I love that you can try and cook food that you might not have tried before.
  • Very well packaged - The updated of HelloFresh is much better packaged than the previous version. Before all the ingredients came in the box, whereas now each recipe is divided into its own bag. Perfect for organising ingredients in your kitchen.

What I Didn't Like...

  • No single servings - I can imagine a single serving option would be a great idea, if you live with yourself or a student. Unfortunately, you do need to order a 2 serving per meal as a requirement.
  • Food preparation is needed - Even though the recipes do say they only take 20-40 minutes to make, you still need to prepare much of the ingredients. This will naturally add additional time, so it’s important to bear this in mind.

Who is HelloFresh aimed at?

You might be thinking about signing up to Hello Fresh and wondering if its actually for you or not. I get that, when I first saw it I thought I don't need it as I am more than capable of cooking. Its perfect for those that are either looking to learn how to cook or those that don’t have much free time in the evenings to plan, shop and cook food. Its therefore perfect for people such as; 

  • Students
  • Couples
  • Cooking Novices
  • Busy People

What Types Of Recipes Are There?

There is a wide variety of recipes to choose from, ranging from different cuisines and dietary requirements. At the start of each week you can pick which recipes you want to receive, some might require additional payment if they are from their “select” range. 

Recipes do change each week, so you won’t have the same dishes. I have included some samples below, based on the date as writing this.

How Much Does HelloFresh Cost?

The cost does vary depending on how many recipes per week you get, as well as how many people you are getting them for. 

  • 2 People, 3 Recipes Per Week: 6 Meals – £30 (£5 Per Serving)
  • 2 People, 4 Recipes Per Week: 8 Meals – £34.96 (£4.37 Per Serving)
  • 2 People, 5 Recipes Per Week: 10 Meals – £42 (£4.20 Per Serving)
  • 3 People, 3 Recipes Per Week: 9 Meals – £42.03 (£4.67 Per Serving)
  • 3 People, 4 Recipes Per Week: 12 Meals – £48.96 (£4.08 Per Serving)
  • 4 People, 3 Recipes Per Week: 12 Meals – £45.96 (£3.83 Per Serving)
  • 4 People, 4 Recipes Per Week: 16 Meals – £55.04 (£3.44 Per Serving)
  • A common question I get is: Wouldn’t it be cheaper to buy from a supermarket?

    The simple answer is yes it would (generally), however one of the reasons people get HelloFresh is because they don’t have the time to find what to cook and then go to the store and buy it. As already mentioned its also good for those that worry about food waste and not buying large amounts of food that might go off or spices that might never be used again.

    HelloFresh UK Discounts

    If you are new to HelloFresh then they do offer discounts, usually on your first and second box. This gives you the chance to trial them and see what you think before committing to the full price, it’s worth noting however that you cancel at any time.

    Common Questions

    This is an updated article and since it was originally posted, I have received a number of questions from visitors. Below I have tried to answer the most common ones;

    Q) Do you get decent portions?

    One of the things I heard about from people was that the portion sizes were fairly small, however I found them to be just right. I felt full but not overly uncomfortable and to be honest my portion sizes are probably a little too big anyway.
    I feel these might be old reviews/comments, as they have always been decent portion sizes for me.

    Q) Are the meals actually good quality?

    There have not been many if any dishes that I didn’t enjoy. All of the ingredients seem to be high quality and the dishes tasted great. It's nice, as it often gets you to learn different ways of cooking which can be applied to other dishes.

    Q) Is it a pain to cancel?

    Some of these can be hard to cancel but HelloFresh make it very easy, I have never had any issues and never had any phone calls from them trying to get me to sign back up.

    They also offer breaks, incase you are going on holiday but don’t want to cancel the entire thing.

    My Final Thoughts On HelloFresh

    Overall I am very happy with HelloFresh and I do think it’s perfect for those that are not confident with cooking and want to learn, or those that have limited time. We found it really good as the food takes very little time to make, having a 2 year old we used to end up eating at 9pm. With these recipes however we tend to eat much earlier. 

    As I mentioned, I have used them a number of times, usually for a couple of months and then I take a break. I was a fan when I first got them but the most recent box has impressed me even more. The recipe selection is great, with some very tasty looking dishes and they are incredibly well packaged. (I really liked that ingredients with separated into their own bag based on the recipe)

    Would I recommend HelloFresh?

    I would, just for the benefit of reducing food waste but also trying foods that you would not typically cook. I couldn’t have every meal provided by them as I really do like to cook and experiment, however it has been really good for those busy week days when I get home from work late. 

    I really do hope you like this HelloFresh review, if you do have any comments or questions please do post them below.

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