I always have some vegan ready meals in my freezer. If you have a busy life, aren’t always able to cook healthy vegan meals, or just want to limit your food waste, I recommend that you do too.
But, choosing the best vegan ready meals can be tricky as some are a LOT better than others!
There are lots of companies that offer vegan ready meals in the UK and many of the websites look very similar to each other.
Some companies require you to set up a subscription for a regular delivery every few weeks, while others let you place a one-off order. Some only offer meals for one, whereas others offer meals for two, with or without side dishes.
I’ve tried over 30 vegan ready meals. I’ve thoroughly researched the prices, delivery info and packaging to come up with this guide to the best vegan ready meals.
If you’re short of time, then my favourite vegan ready meal service is allplants! Check out the great offer below.
Get 30% OFF your first THREE allplants boxes!
When you use discount code ‘CHOOSEVEGANISM30’
Here’s a comparison table of all of the vegan ready meal companies that are included in this guide….
Brand | No. of meals | Serves | Subscription | Cost per meal from | Link |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Allplants | 49 | 1 or 2 | Yes | £4.99 | See menu |
Soulful | 23 | 1 | Optional | £2.09 | See menu |
Planty | 14 | 1 | Optional | £4.95 | See menu |
Mindful Chef | 10 | 1 or 2 | No | £5.47 | See menu |
Root Kitchen | 10 | 1 | Optional | £4.05 | See menu |
PEP Kitchen | 14 | 1 or 2 | No | £4.70 | See menu |
Read on for an overview of each of the best ready meals companies and what they offer…
1. allplants
⭐ Best overall
In my opinion, the best vegan ready meal delivery service has to be allplants.
allplants’ 100% plant-based ready meals are designed by nutritionists and prepared by chefs before being flash-frozen for you to conveniently reheat at home. As well as frozen ready meals, you can choose from side dishes, smoothies, breakfasts and sweet treats.
I was incredibly impressed by allplants. The meals were very healthy, yet tasted amazing – I couldn’t believe that they had been cooked in a microwave as they tasted so good!
With almost 50 vegan meals to choose from, you’ll have four or five times the choice that you would have anywhere else. Choose from meals for one or meals for two and heat them in the oven or microwave.
For more info about allplants and photos of the meals I’ve tried, read my full allplants review.
Pros
- Vegan company
- Certified B-Corp with a focus on the environment
- Huge choice of meals
- Oven or microwave cook
- Gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free options
Cons
- Some meals are oven cook only
- Must subscribe to regular delivery (but easy to pause or cancel)
How much does allplants cost?
allplants vegan ready meals cost £6.75 for single-serving meals and £9.98 for meals that feed two people. The minimum order is six meals and delivery is free of charge.
Get 30% OFF your first THREE allplants boxes!
When you use discount code ‘CHOOSEVEGANISM30’
2. Soulful Food
⭐ Best value
You may be familiar with Soulful OnePots, but the company now also makes PlantBoxes – substantial plant-based microwave meals that are ideal for a hearty lunch or dinner.
I ordered a Soulful Selection Box that included twelve meals with a mix of One Pots and Plant Boxes. This was incredible value for money as it worked out to be little more than £2 per meal!
Soulful meals are all handmade and delivered fresh. I found that the use-by dates were pretty long, so I had a couple of weeks to eat them all. Plus, you can store One Pots in the freezer for up to three months.
My favourite was the Cajun Spiced Jackfruit Stew. It smelled just like my granny used to make and the jackfruit was wonderfully chewy – like you would expect from a meat stew.
Pros
- Amazing value!
- Vegan company
- Handmade meals
- Certified B-Corp with a focus on the environment
- Supports charities
- No need to subscribe
- Gluten-free options
Cons
- Microwave cook only
- Single portion meals only
For more information, read my full Soulful review.
How much does Soulful Foods cost?
Soulful Foods Selection Boxes cost £34.99 for 12 meals when you place a one-off order. You can save 10% if you subscribe to a regular delivery and you can save a further 20% with a discount code.
You can also buy the PlantBoxes, OnePots and Soups individually to mix and match exactly which meals you like best.
Use discount code ‘CHOOSE20‘ to get 20% OFF your order
3. Planty
Planty create healthy vegan ready meals that are hand-crafted by chefs using the freshest ingredients, flash-frozen and delivered to you.
I tried Planty meals thought they were delicious. I particularly enjoyed the sweet chilli tempeh stir fry and the banana blossom burrito.
These meals are very similar to allplants, but with a smaller range to choose from and no option to order meals that serve two. If you order a box of ten meals, it does work out cheaper.
If you don’t want to be tied into a regular subscription, I’d say that Planty is the best vegan ready meal company for you.
Pros
- Handmade by chefs
- Approved by nutritionists
- Oven or microwave cook
- Carbon neutral delivery
Cons
- Single portion meals only
How much does Planty cost?
The price of Planty meals depends on how many meals you order and whether you subscribe to a regular delivery or not.
When you order six meals as a one-off order you’ll pay £7.60 per meal, but if you order ten meals you’ll pay only £5.45 per meal. You can save 50 to 90p per meal by subscribing (it’s easy to pause or cancel) and a further 25% with a discount code.
Use discount code CV25 to get 25% OFF your order
3. Mindful Chef
Mindful Chef offers a selection of healthy vegan ready meals as well as Mindful Chef recipe boxes, Mindful Chef smoothies and slow-cooked broths. Each plant-based meal is created using only the finest, sustainably-sourced ingredients.
When you buy a vegan ready meal from Mindful Chef, you’re not only helping animals and the planet, you’re also helping to feed children living in poverty. Since 2017, Mindful Chef has donated over a million meals to children living in Malawi who might otherwise go hungry.
As Mindful Chef isn’t a vegan company like the others on this list, the vegan selection isn’t huge, but it is good quality and there’s no need to sign up for a regular subscription.
Pros
- Oven or microwave cook
- No preservatives
- Donates to charity
Cons
- Mindful Chef also makes meals that contain meat
- Limited choice
How much does Mindful Chef cost?
Mindful Chef ready meals cost £5.95 to £6.95 for single portions and £10.95 for meals that feed two people. You can also order a plant-based bundle or a ‘superbundle’ of vegan meals and smoothies.
4. Root Kitchen
⭐ Lowest price
If you’re on a tight budget and just want the cheapest vegan ready meals, then you should consider ordering from Root Kitchen.
While the menu is smaller than allplants and you can only get meals for one, this family-run business has a great product with delivery to most parts of the UK.
Partnering with local suppliers, Root Kitchen’s ingredients are sustainably sourced and cooked by chefs in small batches. For every meal that you buy from Root Kitchen, a school meal is donated to a child living in poverty.
Pros
- Handmade with fresh, local ingredients
- No artificial colours or preservatives
- Oven or microwave cook
- Donates to charity
Cons
- Single portion meals only
- Limited choice
How much does Root Kitchen cost?
Root Kitchen has variable pricing depending on how many meals you order and whether you subscribe to a regular delivery or not.
When you order six meals as a one-off order you’ll pay £6 per meal, but if you order ten meals you’ll pay only £4.50 per meal. You’ll save 10% by subscribing (you can cancel at any time) and a further 25% with a discount code.
Use discount code ‘CHOOSEVEGANISM25‘ to get 25% OFF your order
5. PEP Kitchen
PEP Kitchen is a relative newcomer to the vegan ready meal market and when I tried the meals the company may have had some teething issues as the meals were a bit hit and miss.
My favourite dish was the mung bean moussaka which was really tasty, but I found the jackfruit curry to be quite watery with more potato than jackfruit.
The company offers plant-based ready meals for one or two people as well as DIY kits to make your own flatbreads or cookies at home.
Great to send as a gift, the company offers a lovely ‘new parent vegan meal bundle’ that would make the perfect busy gift for parents of newborns. There are also low-calorie, gluten-free and high-protein meal bundles as well as gift cards if you aren’t sure what to get.
Pros
- Oven or microwave cook
- 100% recyclable or compostable packaging
- Bundles are great as gifts
Cons
- Need to buy rice separately for two-person meals
- Packaging is hard to open
How much does PEP Kitchen cost?
PEP Kitchen’s single-serving ready meals cost £5.75. The two-person sharing dishes cost £6.90, although these don’t include rice so you would need to add that to your order at a cost of £2.50 or £3. You can save 10% on your order with a discount code.
Use discount code ‘CHOOSEVEGANISM10‘ to get 10% OFF your order
Why eat vegan ready meals?
There are many reasons why you may opt for ready meals. Most people don’t eat ready meals every day, but like to keep a few in the freezer so that they know that there’s always something on hand.
Here are some of the advantages of buying plant-based frozen meals:
1. Save time
Ready in under 10 minutes, frozen ready meals are a great option for when you don’t have time to cook. You can take them to work to eat on your lunch break, or eat them for dinner if you arrive home late.
Of course, it’s not just the cooking time that you’ll save. You’ll also save time on your supermarket shopping and there will be much less washing up to do.
2. Stay healthy
Plant-based ready meals can be very healthy, so long as you pick the right ones. While some supermarket ready meals can be loaded with fat and salt, with specialist meal delivery companies, the focus is on health.
With a carefully-chosen ready meal, you can enjoy several portions of vegetables in one serving. Look out for meals that are have been developed by nutritionists, so that you can be confident that you’re feeding your body with all of the nutrients it needs.
3. Lose weight
One of the best ways to lose weight is to count your calories. But this can be tricky and time-consuming to do. With pre-packaged meals, you know exactly how many calories are in each portion, making calorie counting a doddle.
Many websites let you filter your results to ‘light’ meals that have under 400 calories. And because portions are measured out for you, you’ll be much less likely to over-eat.
4. Stop food waste
Food waste is a huge problem in the UK, with about a third of all food being wasted. The 10 million tonnes of food that’s wasted in the UK every year takes lots of water and land to produce and has a huge carbon footprint.
With vegan ready meals, there is zero waste. The food is cooked in small batches and delivered in perfectly-sized portions so nothing should end up in the bin.
5. Help charities
Hunger is a problem, both within the UK where 8.4 million people in the UK are struggling to afford to eat, and also in the rest of the world, particularly in poverty-stricken countries like the Central African Republic, where 60% of the population is undernourished.
Some vegan ready meal delivery companies have partnered with charities to donate meals for those in need. When you buy from one of those, you could be making a real difference to someone else’s life.
Are vegan ready meals healthy?
Just because a meal is vegan, it’s not necessarily healthy. Some vegan ready meals may be high in saturated fat, sugar and salt which may increase the risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
All of the plant-based meal companies in this list offer healthy options and some offer only healthy meals. Think about what healthy means to you. Whether you want lots of fresh vegetable and whole grain ingredients, no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives or meals that are low in fat and high in fibre, there are options to suit your needs.
Are vegan ready meals expensive?
Vegan ready meals cost an average of 19% more than vegetarian ready meals. Oftentimes, the lower demand for vegan food means that it must be produced in smaller quantities, which makes it more expensive.
That said, vegan ready meals don’t have to be expensive. You can reduce the cost of each meal by setting up a subscription, placing a larger order or using a discount code.
When you compare vegan ready meals to home-cooked meals, they generally do cost more. However, when compared with vegan takeaways, ready meals are significantly cheaper.
Which is the best vegan ready meal delivery service in the UK?
Now that you’ve seen the details about the best fresh and frozen vegan meals, which will you choose?
My top pick is allplants because the meals taste the best, it has the biggest choice by far and you can choose meals for one or two people.
Get 30% OFF your first THREE allplants boxes!
When you use discount code ‘CHOOSEVEGANISM30’
However, if you’re on a budget, then I’d recommend that you go for Soulful Food. These meals are less than half of the price of any of the others and while the portions are a little smaller, they taste just as good.
Plus, you don’t need to subscribe so you can just order as and when you don’t feel like cooking!
If you want to try Soulful meals, be sure to use code CHOOSE20 to get 20% off.