Food waste is embarrassingly high in the UK, with 9.5m tonnes binned every year, according to Business Waste.
While most of us mean well cramming fresh fruit and vegetables into kitchen bowls and the fridge’s crisper compartment, the reality of busy work and social lives means healthy eating and good intentions don’t always go to plan. Food becomes mouldy and gets thrown out while we resolve to try harder in the next weekly shop. And so the wasteful cycle continues.
Freezing mindfully can help to change that. Chopping fresh fruit and veg before they go bad and parcelling them into freezer-safe bags, ready to use when a recipe calls, is an excellent way to preserve precious food - and pounds. Knowing there’s a stash of sliced and diced frozen produce makes them all the easier to sling into meals like stews, soups, curries and smoothies, upping their nutritional value.
Of course, sometimes after a long day, there’s simply not enough energy left to shop, prep and cook a balanced meal - especially mid-week. In times like these, frozen meals can save the day.
Once tarnished with a terrible rep and associated with lazy TV dinners, frozen meals have undergone quite the upgrade in recent years, led by health-conscious companies who put nutrition on an equal footing with taste.
Made with good-quality ingredients and available in global cuisines as well as homely classics, they’re the perfect thing to keep in your freezer ready to save you from the lure of a takeaway when time is tight and hanger is imminent.
If you’re looking for great-tasting, healthy meals to feed your freezer for rainy days ahead, we’ve rounded up a list of the ones worth spending on.
From Italian favourites to calorie-calibrated dishes and comforting classics, here are the best frozen meals to try now.
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Lions Prep
The ubiquity of home recipe boxes has made chefs out of the more cooking-averse among us, but if you simply don’t have time to whip up a delicacy, you’ll be pleased to have Lions Prep on hand. The meals are delivered ready to go, you only need to microwave them for a matter of minutes. They can also be stashed on the freezer where the brand suggests that you pop them in on the day that they arrive and eat within 28 days of delivery. When it comes time to devour the dishes, defrost for 24 hours and heat up as instructed.
We were impressed by both the quality and the rich flavours of the meals. These are not your supermarket microwave varieties and that’s immediately obvious right at the start of the selection process. Choose between the likes of Chilli & Garlic Chicken Donburi, King Prawn Korma and Beef Jalfrezi, which arrive with sauce on the side and taste just like a takeaway with one crucial twist. These are created with your health in mind. Choose from the meal plans and detail your goal – be it for more protein, low calorie or vegan. The menus change each week, are made up of locally sourced and quality ingredients and start from 400 calories.
From £35.50 per week.
Buy now, Lions Prep
FieldGoods
FieldGoods was created to fill your freezer with ready-to-go meals packed with flavour. The brand stocks creative combinations to stick in the oven on those nights you can’t face whipping up culinary delights. FieldGoods has done the hard work for you with no shortage of flair.
The range includes Aubergine Parmigiana, Pork and Fennel Ragu, Lamb and Apricot Tagine and Goan Fish Curry – meals that would traditionally take hours to cook but can be on your table in 30 to 40 minutes. These are not microwave meals, although there are some available that cook in less than 10 minutes. They do require placing in the oven but what you lack in speed, you make up for in handmade, nutritious dishes, each of which is adorned with the name of the chef on the packaging and a beautifully illustrated design.
We were particularly fans of the new parent gift bundle to treat tired members of the family to prep-free food.
Prices from £7.25 a portion.
Buy now, FieldGoods
COOK
Prices: from £5.50 for veggie dishes
If it seems like the word ‘cook’ is being yelled, that’s because these meals are worth shouting about. The meal delivery service has everything from meals for one, kid’s meals and vegan options. There’s even a New Parents Meal Box to fuel mums and dads through the early, restless nights of their new arrival coming home.
What we love most are the full dinner party menus, which include canapes as well as starter, main and dessert options. Simply sling into an oven and wait for the compliments.
Made with high-quality ingredients and inspired by homemade flavours, COOK is the owner of myriad Great Taste Awards and is signed up to B Corp UK. Food is prepped in kitchens by real chefs with minimising food waste a top priority. Excess food gets shared or redistributed with every effort to make use of the food. Disposal is the last possible option.
Right now the company is offering 20 per cent off the cost of bestselling dishes, allowing you to try their wares for less than the usual RRP.
Buy now £5.50, COOK
Crosta & Mollica frozen pizza
Frozen pizza is big business. It accounts for a whopping 34.7 per cent of the frozen food ecommerce marker in the UK, a sizeable slice of the pie that's only getting bigger. There may be plenty of choice, but quality differs greatly; often, one of the crucial components - base, sauce or cheese - is a let-down, wrecking the entire meal.
Which makes Crosta & Mollica's frozen range such a revelation. This is the best frozen pizza we've ever tried.
Slow-proved sourdough pies are made and frozen in Italy with delicious ingredients and toppings - think pepperoni crumble, Prosciutto cotto ham, creamy mozzarella and Sicilian oregano. The result is a oozing cheese on a crisp base that genuinely tastes like it's been baked in a traditional pizza oven. The superior quality makes calorie-guilt easier to swallow (but we promise that'll be the last thing on your mind).
While we can't speak for the rest of the frozen range (yet) - there's a selection of pasta, lasagne, bread and desserts too - if they're anything like the pizzas we're in for a real treat.
From £4.20.
Buy now £5.25, Ocado
Mindful Chef
Prices: from £6.25 a dish
Anyone who’s tried Mindful Chef knows that it's aimed at the health-conscious - which makes the fact that it offers frozen-ready meals all the more interesting. The menu includes familiar comforts like Chilli Con Carne and Chicken and Leek Pie, plus exciting ideas like Coconut Ginger Chicken to jazz up your menu.
Meals are free from gluten and dairy, we found meals to be slightly on the bland side; everything needed a little extra seasoning for our palette. We would have the Chilli again, drizzling pickled jalapenos over the top for a fiery glow.
Buy now £6.25, Mindful Chef
M&S Frozen Food
Prices: varies
Can you truly call yourself British if you’ve never stepped foot inside an M&S Foodhall? The food and drink offering has exploded since the days it used to be called St Michaels and the high street favourite has moved with the times, especially the frozen food offering.
Shoppers can find everything from Continental breakfast pastries to tempura vegetables and Italian-style gelato here, allowing you to taste the world without leaving your kitchen.
Plant-based eater? Don’t miss M&S’s excellent vegan range named Plant Kitchen which offers great tasting alternative meals.
Buy now, M&S
Waitrose
Prices: varies
The higher-end grocer stocks all sorts of delicious treats in its aisles, with its in-house range giving any of the established brands a run for its money.
From pies and curry to lasagne, there’s a small curation of frozen meals on offer, each made with tasty ingredients to make them among the best in-house ranges we’ve tried. Stock up for plate-clearing meals when you want them, cooked within the hour.
Buy now, Waitrose
Field Doctor chickpea masala curry
Prices: from £4.95
Knowing what to put on your plate is a big challenge when it comes to healthy eating, one that Field Doctor knows only too well. Its USP is offering dietitian-designed meals cooked by chefs and frozen to keep the goodness in. Meal plans include everything from low FODMAP options to gluten-free, lean and light and Mediterranean ideas. If you’re happy to commit, meal bundles offer better value than pick-and-mixing plates.
Buy now £4.95, Field Doctor
POW Food
Prices: from £4.95
Coming from a high-end catering background, the stage is already set for POW Food’s quality. The at-home ranges include new parent bundles, gut health bundles, group dining and ready meals made by chefs to help you eat well at home.
Hungry diners can choose to subscribe to meals or try a one-time, commitment-free purchase. The menu includes simple but elevated classics, from vegan options, free-range chicken and grass-fed beef and even soups for when you’re hankering for a simple fuss-free meal. Convenient but high-quality, POW Food’s frozen deliveries will save you when the fridge is bare and you’ve no energy left to go to the shops.
Buy now, POW Food
