Can dinner in a box take the hassle out of Christmas cooking?

Can dinner in a BOX take the hassle out of Christmas cooking? FEMAIL tests all-in-one kits with everything you need for the main meal from £13.50 per head

Retailers are offering kits containing everything you need for Christmas dinner
Femail tested out 11 all-in-one boxes, costing from £54 to a staggering £290
Among the best rated were from Haar At Home, Mindful Chef and Gousto
Read more: GCHQ sets fiendish festive quiz for all budding Bonds… but can you crack the cryptic code?

If you’re the one in charge of cooking when the festive calendar lands on December 25th, then you’ll know it’s not always the most relaxing experience.

While your guests might spend the morning nursing a mulled wine in the local pub or enjoying a winter walk, the chef is most often found in the kitchen, flustered and knee-deep in carrot shavings, hours before the festive feast takes place.

And if you’re also tasked with shopping for the annual event too, there’s every chance that by the time you sit down to eat, the important lunch of the season comes with a side of frayed nerves.

However, it no longer has to be that way, as a growing number of UK retailers are offering to package everything you need to cook a mouthwatering meal and deliver it direct to your door.

Eleven all-in-one Christmas dinner kits have been put to the test by the FEMAIL team, with very surprising results

Here, 11 all-in-one Christmas dinner kits are put to the test by the FEMAIL team, with very surprising results.

Among the best rated were from Haar At Home, Mindful Chef and Gousto. Find out exactly what the testers made of their meals below:

Dean’s Luxury Festive Feast, from Haar At Home

Elmira Tanatarova tested a festive offering from Haar At Home, which promises high quality food delivered prepared and chilled (pictured) to your doorstep

This kit (pictured) included all the Haar at Home staples alongside a contemporary twist on some classic sides

It also featured Dean’s signature lobster with mirin butter, 32+ day-aged sirloins and even some truly decadent Exmoor Caviar. Pictured, the finished products

Rating:

Cost: £289.95

Serves: Four

Elmira Tanatarova tested a festive offering from Haar At Home, which promises high quality food delivered prepared and chilled to your doorstep.

This kit included all the Haar at Home staples alongside a contemporary twist on some classic sides. It also featured Dean’s signature lobster with mirin butter, 32+ day-aged sirloins and even some truly decadent Exmoor Caviar.

Elmira said: This amazingly ornate feast – which comfortably fed a party of four with plenty of leftovers – is definitely one for seafood lovers. Even though two cuts of steak were presented, it’s clear that the lobster, langoustines, crab and cured trout were the stars of this show.

The whole meal didn’t take too long to put together – with only one oven between us, and including prep time, it was roughly three hours before the whole thing came together.

My only qualm with the instructions is that they assumed I’m comfortably knowledgeable about seafood preparation. Whereas the lobster and trout were pretty straightforward, they suggested I just ‘serve’ the langoustines without mentioning how to cook them. Had I not scoured the website in detail, I’m not sure I would have known that I need to crack them in half, scoop their brain and digestion tract out, and grill with some melted butter.

However, there is no faulting the flavours. The steaks, which came with a seasoning mix, were juicy, tender and flavourful. The langoustines were clearly fresh and complemented the mayo sauce provided perfectly. The lobster swam deliciously in the pool of mirin butter provided, and the trout provided a refreshing, less heavy taste to finish the feast off. The crab – tasted like crab – but it was clearly, of a high quality.

Additions of side dishes – including black caviar – made the meal feel exclusive, and despite my reservations about ready-shipped and sealed vegetables; the squash, broccoli and roast potatoes tasted as if they were part of a cosy homemade meal.

The only thing that didn’t really wow me was the Asian salad – it felt like an un-necessary addition to the meal, and was barely touched, neither complementing any of the other flavours nor offering an interesting palate refresher.

Otherwise it was a perfectly good meal, and considering how much luxury food it provides, is a very fair price (if not a steal) for what’s offered.

Gousto Vegan Nut Roast Christmas Dinner

Jessica Green tried Gousto’s Vegan Nut Roast Christmas Dinner, which takes only one hour to cook and the fresh, well-packaged ingredients arrive measured out, ready to go

You’ll stuff this fruity loaf with flavoursome umami mushrooms, and stud it with crunchy pistachios and cranberries. Serve with crispy roasties, parsnips and gravy

Rating:

Cost: £24.99

Serves: Two

Jessica Green tried Gousto’s Vegan Nut Roast Christmas Dinner, which takes only one hour to cook and the fresh, well-packaged ingredients arrive measured out, ready to go.

You’ll stuff this fruity loaf with flavoursome umami mushrooms, and stud it with crunchy pistachios and cranberries. Serve with crispy roasties, parsnips and gravy.

Jessica said: I thoroughly enjoyed the Gousto vegan dinner. The nut roast was incredible, probably one of the best I’ve ever tried. It commanded attention with bold flavours and melt-in-your mouth texture like any main of a Christmas dinner should.

I also liked the fact that it came in recyclable packaging, was clearly labelled and was also measured so I didn’t have to worry about any food waste.

The recipe was simple and easy to follow and there were enough ingredients to make a delicious festive meal for each person.

I also loved that you really got to make your meal – rather than have everything pre-made and prepared for you. However, I probably only enjoyed this aspect because of how straightforward the recipe was, so it hardly felt like cooking!

The onion gravy, using the Henderson’s Relish, was another highlight of the well-thought out festive dish.

All in all, it had everything I could ask for when enjoying a vegan Christmas dinner and it really hit the spot with my guests.

Imp & Maker Luxury Christmas Turkey Hamper Experience

Jessica Green tried the Imp & Maker Luxury Christmas Turkey Hamper Experience, which included p igs in blankets, made using free range pork, crispy roast potatoes, fresh festive vegetables and a range of condiments

Instead of Turkey the tester tried out the Christmas Ham Gift Set (£79.95). Pictured, the cooked dinner

Rating:

Cost: £164.95

Serves: Eight to ten

Jessica Green tried the Imp & Maker Luxury Christmas Turkey Hamper Experience, which included pigs in blankets, made using free range pork, crispy roast potatoes, fresh festive vegetables and a range of condiments.

To finish with tradition in style, a Tiptree’s finest Christmas Pudding, packed with the highest quality ingredients, is also featured.

Instead of Turkey the tester tried out the Christmas Ham Gift Set (£79.95), which included a joint of Dingley Dell, prime reared, off the bone, unsmoked ham.

Jessica said: Upon this kit’s arrival, you could instantly tell you were about to use good quality ingredients, considering the care that had been taken to package the items.

Each of the vegetables and various trimmings came in separate bags, while the meat was securely packaged and surrounded by ice to keep it cool during delivery.

However, there didn’t appear to be instructions for all the elements (only the meat and roasts) so I was left slightly to my own devices, which is always a scary thought for an amateur chef!

And yet, even with my average cooking skills, the final meal was delicious – no doubt thanks to the high quality and freshness of the ingredients.

The ham became more and more mouthwatering with every bite, while the carrots were perfectly crunchy and the roast potatoes the perfect balance of crispiness and softness.

I couldn’t have asked for anything else from this kit – it was simple, traditional but oh-so tasty. Everything you could want from your Christmas dinner.

HelloFresh Traditional Christmas Feast

Jessica Green tried the HelloFresh Traditional Christmas Feast. It arrived with all the ingredients for a cracker of a Christmas feast

And to make cooking it simple, there’s all the step-by-step recipes you’ll need for every element of the feast

Rating:

Cost: £89.99

Serves: Four

Jessica Green tried the HelloFresh Traditional Christmas Feast. It arrived with all the ingredients for a cracker of a Christmas feast.

And to make cooking it simple, there’s all the step-by-step recipes you’ll need for every element of the feast.

Jessica said: Fresh ingredients, easy-to-follow instructions and a flavoursome meal by the end of it – this HelloFresh box really hit the sweet spot.

It arrived with all the items you’d need, measured out ready to go to avoid any food waste. The recipe was straightforward, and when plated up and presented, the diners in my household raved about it.

The meat was moist enough, the skin suitably bronzed, and there was more than enough to go around.

But competing to be star of the show were the roasts, which were some of the nicest I’ve ever tasted. Golden and crispy on the outside, encasing a soft centre.

The supporting cast of veggies offered a surprising twist, which traditionalists might raise an eyebrow at…with bacon being added. And whilst it wasn’t to our taste, I’m sure some would love the salty addition.

Generally though, pretty delicious, and with a price tag that was good value.

Beef Wellington with savoy cabbage and pancetta, from The Cookaway ‘Celebration’ collection

Jo Tweedy tested a yuletide feast from The Cookaway, an online non-subscription meal kit company which has a wide repartee of global dishes created by top chefs

Their create-at-home meals include ingredients such as grass-fed beef and organic vegetables, and 95 per cent of The Cookaway’s packaging is recyclable

Rating:

Cost: £54

Serves: Four

Jo Tweedy tested a yuletide feast from The Cookaway, an online non-subscription meal kit company which has a wide repartee of global dishes created by top chefs.

Their create-at-home meals include ingredients such as grass-fed beef and organic vegetables, and 95 per cent of The Cookaway’s packaging is recyclable.

Jo said: A brown paper bag stuffed with goodies arrived on the day our kit was due, with a ‘use within 48 hours’ guideline clearly labelled on it. The main event, a whole beef fillet, sourced from Walter Rose & Son, a family butcher in Devises in England’s South West, was carefully encased in foil.

Alongside it was an array of other ingredients, all of great quality and including a 20 gram disc of Netherend Farm butter, a just-heat-up red wine gravy and a quintet of pralines, courtesy of upmarket chocolate brand Willy’s Cacao.

Two glossy A4-sized cards showed exactly what our festive dish, beef wellington with savoy cabbage and pancetta, should look like, and how to make it.

So, how did I get on? Generally, the cooking was straightforward but some concentration was required when it came to timings – the beef needed searing first, and then chilling for 30 minutes after it had been wrapped in its pastry, pancetta and duxelles (fried, seasoned, chopped chestnut mushrooms).

The savoy cabbage and pancetta, pepped up with double cream, was simpler to put together, requiring just one pan and five easy to follow steps. The golden dome of pastry that emerged after 35 minutes of cooking – plus 15 minutes of resting – looked as good as The Cookaway’s photo.

However, where this home cook came slightly unstuck was with the carving…far from ending up with neat slices of encased meat, my pastry (made with the ready made puff pastry supplied) collapsed around the beef into a heap – meaning my guests got a deconstructed wellington on this occasion.

With a coating of red wine gravy, I’m not entirely sure they noticed though – the general consensus from the table was that the flavours of both the wellington, and its veggie accompaniment, were rich in flavour and restaurant quality. A great Christmas Day alternative to turkey.

Cote At Home Festive Turkey Feast

Jessica Green tried the French-inspired Cote At Home Festive Turkey Feast. It offered simple preparation instructions, before the dishes were placed in the oven

It included ingredients such as a 2-2.5kg marinated British turkey breast from Larchwood Farm, East Anglia, s piced braised red cabbage, c reamy dauphinoise potatoes, b russels sprouts marinated in garlic and parsley, p igs in blankets and o range glazed carrots

Rating:

Cost: £89.95

Serves: Four to six

Jessica Green tried the French-inspired Cote At Home Festive Turkey Feast. It offered simple preparation instructions, before the dishes were placed in the oven.

It included ingredients such as a 2-2.5kg marinated British turkey breast from Larchwood Farm, East Anglia, spiced braised red cabbage, creamy dauphinoise potatoes, brussels sprouts marinated in garlic and parsley, pigs in blankets and orange glazed carrots.

Jessica said: This Christmas dinner had absolutely everything arrive freshly prepared, in neat recyclable packaging, so you could avoid the fuss of getting everything ready ahead of cooking.

It included crunchy carrots, scrumptious pigs and blankets, crispy potatoes and a high quality turkey that tasted delightful.

The best part of this kit is that it was all ready with minimal effort needed. There were very clear instructions on each item of food, which took the stress away from having to orchestrate when to cook the ingredients.

While the turkey took centre stage, the pigs and blankets were a close second. However, the use of garlic in the dish for some of the trimmings didn’t seem overly Christmassy to some of my guests.

But overall, it was a very tasty dinner and those less eager for a completely traditional roast would no doubt find this to be the perfect kit for them, with the ease of cooking it and the fresh, delicious ingredients being worth the money.

The Planthood Christmas Box

Jessica Green tried the Planthood Christmas Box – a n indulgent feast designed to take the stress out of Christmas, with delicious plant-based alternatives to all your festive favourites

All you need to do is pop everything in the oven, so you can spend more time enjoying the big day and less time sweating over how to make ‘cheeze’ from a cashew

Rating:

Cost: £50

Serves: Two

Jessica Green tried the Planthood Christmas Box – an indulgent feast designed to take the stress out of Christmas, with delicious plant-based alternatives to all your festive favourites.

All you need to do is pop everything in the oven, so you can spend more time enjoying the big day and less time sweating over how to make ‘cheeze’ from a cashew.

Jessica said: This vegan Christmas dinner was really fantastic.

The box arrived with everything you could need for a delicious festive meal, with enough for leftovers afterwards too!

And if you’re a person that wants a stress free Christmas, this kit included everything pre-made, from the sauces to the pastry, so that cooking was a breeze.

The potatoes were the star of the show in this meal – while the cauliflower cheese dried up slightly in the oven.

Overall, it was a brilliant meal. However, the flavours together of all the trimmings and the main were just a bit too rich for me, personally.

Ultimate Turkey Christmas dinner recipe created by Steven Wallis, Masterchef winner and judge

Jessica Green tried the recipe box from specialists Chefs For Foodies, which partnered with Masterchef winner Steven Wallis

Supplying all the ingredients you need to make a chef-quality Christmas dinner, the recipe includes quality ingredients sourced from British suppliers and family-run butchers including a quality turkey breast fillet with prosciutto ham

Rating:

Cost: £130

Serves: Six

Jessica Green tried the recipe box from specialists Chefs For Foodies, which partnered with Masterchef winner Steven Wallis.

Jessica said: I was so excited to try out this meal after realising I’d be following the instructions from Steven Wallis, Masterchef winner and judge.

Once you have your ingredients, which are all clearly labelled and securely packaged, a simple-to-follow video leads you through the cooking – of which there are many stages.

However, to get to the video, you have to scan a QR code – and while I had no problem accessing this, my grandmother, one of the guests trying the festive meal, was bewildered as to why the kit didn’t just include detailed paper instructions.

But if you’re tech savvy, then you’ll no doubt love having a professional chef digitally in your home with you, leading the way.

To add, if you’re already quite efficient in the kitchen and love to cook long, complicated meals, then this box is becoming an even better fit for you.

However, personally, it was all too much to be stressed with on Christmas day, and would require me to be in and out the kitchen for numerous hours.

Meal itself was delicious, and many would argue the time spent cooking was worth it, especially the Brussel sprouts, that could convince anyone to become a fan of the controversial vegetable. Yet some of the trimmings I found were too sweet, due to the wine, maple syrup and sugar you use.

Mushroom Wellington and Thyme Potatoes, from The Cookaway ‘Celebration’ collection

Eve Tawfick tried The Cookaway’s Mushroom Wellington box. This includes all the ingredients and instructions needed to prepare a statement centrepiece along with a choice of luxurious side dishes

The sides can include Creamed Leek & Spinach, Savoy Cabbage & Pancetta or Crispy Smashed Potatoes and desserts, including Chocolate Fondant & Orange Chantilly Cream or Vanilla Cheesecake with Rhubarb & Ginger

Rating:

Cost: £54

Serves: Four

Eve Tawfick tried The Cookaway’s Mushroom Wellington box. This includes all the ingredients and instructions needed to prepare a statement centrepiece along with a choice of luxurious side dishes.

Eve said: On first impression, very pleased with the eco-friendly packaging. Every item arrived in recyclable storage – so lots of plus points for that. Aesthetically, it also gives the brand an earthy vibe – something that always goes down well with a mushroom lover.

There were two types of mushrooms, chestnut and Portobello – so I was concerned the result wouldn’t have a large range of flavour.

The instructions were clear and easy to follow, I’m not a fan of ‘cook it yourself’ subscription boxes in general, but this one was quite entertaining to try (although the lazier part of me wanted the shallots to be pre-cut, but where would be the fun in that?).

It wasn’t a 15-minute quick meal, so the prep used quite a lot of cookware and there were transitions from hob to oven, which I’m not a huge fan of when it comes to saving electricity.

Mashing the paste to go around the mushrooms was satisfying though and after quick taste test I decided it would also double up as a good garlicky dip for crackers.

The cooking process was easy until the pastry wrapping part, it didn’t feel like there was quite enough to cover the large Portobello mushrooms and the result was a rather miserable looking Wellington with some onions poking through the sides.

I attempted to salvage it by pressing down the opening with a fork, but it just made it worse. Definitely one to take your time with.

I hoped after an egg-wash and a blast in the oven it might look slightly more palatable, but alas it looked rather less like the picture and more like a ‘nailed it’ snap from Pinterest.

Despite the sad result of my sloppy pastry skills, the meal itself was a party in the mouth.

The blend of walnuts and raisins combined with squash was a delicious, sweet accompaniment to the rich fungi tones, and the addition of chestnut mushrooms gave the meal diversity, so it didn’t feel as one-note as I initially presumed.

I’m not on a plant-based diet, and usually like my Wellington to look like something picked up from the Viking battlefield – so I would say this vegan version scored top marks in the taste stakes and is a good substitute for the meat original.

I paired it with the 0 per cent alcohol Kylie Minogue sparkling rose wine – which washed it down nicely.

I did the thyme potatoes in the air fryer for energy saving and ease and they were high quality. It would have been nice to have a side salad with the box, as it all looked rather beige plated up, but that can easily be done yourself.

I would cook it again with a mushroom loving crowd, and I think it would be a hit at a dinner party or even a good Christmas dinner substitute for a vegan/vegetarian.

Gousto Turkey Christmas Dinner

Jessica Green tried the Gousto Turkey Christmas Dinner. The turkey-and-all-the-trimmings feast included pigs in blankets, gravy, roasties, buttered parsnips, sausage stuffing and roasted Brussels sprouts

It takes only one hour to cook and the fresh, well-packaged ingredients arrive measured out, ready to go

Rating:

Cost: £31.48

Serves: Two

It takes only one hour to cook and the fresh, well-packaged ingredients arrive measured out, ready to go.

Jessica said: I had high hopes for this Gousto Turkey dinner after immensely enjoying their vegan offering.

It arrived neatly packaged, and the methods to cook the ingredients were clear and easy to do. There was no wasted food, since everything arrived pre-measured.

Yet while cooking it was straightforward, since it only takes an hour altogether, we all know the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and this dinner just failed to hit the mark.

The taste of the turkey massively let this product down – it was rather chewy.

It’s a shame that the meat wasn’t up to scratch, because the trimmings were quite delicious, from the moreish roast potatoes to the pleasant vegetables.

The Dovebrook Christmas Bundle

Harriet Johnston tried the Dovebrook Christmas Bundle, which lets you pick from a selection of starters, main course centrepieces, and puddings

At Dovebrook, the company’s mission is to ‘elevate vegetables, and make consuming more of them a refined, hassle-free experience.’

Rating:

Cost: £38

Serves: Two

Harriet Johnston tried the Dovebrook Christmas Bundle, which lets you pick from a selection of starters, main course centrepieces, and puddings.

At Dovebrook, the company’s mission is to ‘elevate vegetables, and make consuming more of them a refined, hassle-free experience.’

‘We blast freeze our meals immediately to remove the need for excessive additives and preservatives. This ensures the freshness, flavour, and nutritional value of the meal remains intact,’ said the firm’s website.

Harriet said: The Dovebrook Christmas Bundle offered a number of extremely generous portions for the price of the box, £38.

It arrived fully frozen, with pieces including two different types of veggie pie, as well as a nut roast. Meanwhile there were all the trimmings, from brussel sprouts to red cabbage and roast potato, to share.

Instructions on how to cook were also clear, although the way it described timings (setting a separate timer for each part of the roast) was slightly unconventional and at times made it hard to follow.

The main problem with this roast dinner was the flavour – it was akin to a fancy ready meal. It had very little flavour, and felt a little like the kind of Christmas dinner you might be served on a plane.

I certainly wouldn’t be serving this up for friends and family, even if it did make the entire process straightforward.

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