Are vegan ready meals worth buying?

Some days, cooking nutritious vegan recipes from scratch just isn't an option. It may be that you are tired after work, you dislike cooking, or you simply can't be bothered. There are many vegan ready meal companies out there creating nutritious and tasty dishes that you can simply reheat in your oven or microwave. These are definitely worth buying for the moments you can't cook, or simply don't want to. This means you can still eat healthy food, but in a way that is a lot more convenient for you. And there is absolutely no shame in that!

Are vegan ready meals actually healthy?

Not all vegan ready meals are created equal, meaning some are definitely a lot more healthy than others. The average ready meal you’ll see on the shelves of your local supermarket, probably aren’t that healthy. Especially if you are looking to eat a pre-made vegan pizza every night. That being said, there are now so many healthy vegan ready meals that you can buy in both your supermarket and online. They use a lot of plant-based protein sources, as well as vegetables. On top of this, some of the vegan-friendly ready meal companies, like Planty, work closely with nutritionists to ensure their meals are well balanced.

Do vegan ready meals taste good?

Ready meals aren't what they used to be! There are now many vegan ready meals that you can buy that actually taste good. Most ready meal companies freeze the food straight after cooking to retain a lot of the flavour and freshness without using any preservatives. Other companies may deliver their meals fresh every week to ensure you get the best flavour. These are not at all like the traditional tasteless ready meals you may remember from years back which were packed full of preservatives.

Vegan Guides

Vegan Cooking

By

Lucy Johnson

Last updated: August 30, 2024

My 5 favourite vegan ready meals

Tired of cooking? Or, do you actually just hate cooking? These vegan ready meals are nutritious and tasty. You’ll be surprised at what you can get! I’ve included my favourite options with the tastiest meals and greatest variety.

Life can get hectic, and there are days when the thought of cooking a homemade vegan meal from scratch is just too much to handle.

Whether it’s post-work exhaustion, a lack of cooking imagination, or a simple ‘I don’t feel like it’ moment, we’ve all been there. And yes, even an experienced vegan chef and avid home cook like myself has those days.

That’s when I turn to my freezer, where a variety of tasty and nutritious pre-made vegan meals await me. These aren’t like the traditional ready meals that you find in supermarkets laden with sugar and wrapped in layers of single-use plastic. No, these vegan ready meals are different – let me show you!

My top picks

Best flavour meals: Planty | Skip to review
Best variety: allplants | Skip to review
Best for your gut: Field Doctor | Skip to review
Best for freshness: Frive | Skip to review
Best for families: Mindful Chef | Skip to review

Planty

Vegan options: 100% vegan
Dishes: 20+ main courses, a few desserts, sides and breakfasts
Recommendation: BBQ Beef Enchilada
Price: From £5.65 per meal

Planty is in my opinion the best vegan ready meal company. All of the dishes I have tried are packed full of flavour and with their wide offering, you’ll certainly never get bored. Find out more in my Planty review.

When it comes to deciding the meals you want as part of your delivery, you can easily filter by preferred cooking method, course, spice level, nutritional needs, and intolerances.

You can pick from main courses, side dishes, breakfasts and desserts. Plus they update their meal offering quite regularly, which helps to add variety to your diet. They even do a vegan roast dinner!

Buy Planty here

allplants

Vegan options: 100% vegan
Dishes: 100+ meals
Recommendation: Miso and Tamari Buddha Bowl
Price: From £5.95 per meal

Allplants is another fully vegan food delivery company. They are one of the longest-running companies here, so it is no surprise that they have the biggest range of ready meals! Find out more in my full allplants review.

What makes allplants so special is their awesome lunchtime offering which includes lighter meals like buddha bowls and grain bowls. Plus, I find they have the best range of high-protein vegan meals.

With over 100 vegan dishes to choose from, you will always have variety with allplants. I particularly like their bundle deals which allow you to explore different dishes for a discounted price. Make sure to keep an eye out for their awesome ‘Chef in Residence’ meals where they partner up with some incredible vegan chefs to make even more delicious meals.

Buy Allplants here

Get 15% off your first 3 boxes with code AP15X3

Field Doctor

Vegan options: Vegan-friendly
Dishes: 13 vegan meals
Recommendation: Malaysian Tofu Curry
Price: From £6.95 per meal

As you can see, there are plenty of vegan ready meals on offer. But what about gluten-free vegan meals? And what about low-fodmap vegan meals? These can be a lot harder to come by.

Fortunately, Field Doctor saved the day. Their meals are crafted by a dietician and a Michelin-trained chef so that they are both healthy and tasty. They offer a range of vegan dishes, most of which are low-fodmap friendly and gluten-free. Meaning that you can enjoy their plant-based meals on even more restrictive diets. Read more about Field Doctor in my review.

All of the vegan meals that I have tried by Field Doctor are both really tasty and comforting. Plus the gluten-free dishes are just as good as gluten-based alternatives.

On top of their meal offering you can also book in to talk to one of their gut dietitians. This is great for anyone like myself, who struggles with their gut health.

Buy Field Doctor here

Frive

Vegan options: Vegan-friendly
Dishes: 12 vegan meals
Recommendation: Jerk tofu with roots, peas, & slaw
Price: From £4.00 per meal

Whilst Frive (formerly Lions Prep) isn’t a vegan company, they do offer an extensive and exciting vegan menu. I find many of the dishes to be very enticing and different! Read my full Frive review to find out more.

They offer main meals, breakfast and snacks. With a total of 12 vegan options. If you are trying to eat less carbohydrates then they offer a low-carb option for all their main meals. Their meal plans are also highly customisable, meaning you can ask them to leave out certain ingredients you dislike. For me, I like to leave out the coriander. Ew.

I particularly love the fact that they deliver all their food fresh, rather than frozen like some other companies. So you have the option to either keep it in the fridge and eat it within 4 days, or freeze it to store it longer. Plus the food container is compostable!

Buy Frive here

Mindful Chef

Vegan options: Vegan-friendly
Dishes: 8 vegan meals
Recommendation: Chick’n Jerk Stew & Pineapple Rice
Price: From £4.75 per person

Mindful Chef is a vegan-friendly recipe box company that also offers a great range of vegan-friendly ready meals that you can buy directly from their website – you need to be a customer to order them.

They aren’t a vegan company, but they do make it quite easy to locate their vegan options thanks to their ‘vegan’ label. I counted a range of 10 vegan ready meals on offer on their website at the time of writing. It is the only company to allow for order sizes of 4 people in one go.

On top of this, you can also buy smoothies, soups, desserts, breakfast, snacks and vitamins from their online shop. You can even buy a few of their vegan recipe boxes at the same time to mix up your meals.

Buy Mindful Chef here

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