The Best Frozen Meals To Fill Your Freezer With

By Ruby

Ruby is the Leith’s-trained chef behind By Ruby, which delivers freshly cooked, wholesome homemade meals from Ruby’s west London kitchen to freezers across the UK. The company freezes food when it’s at its freshest, helping to lock in flavour and nutrients for a whole year. All its packaging is recyclable and ethical ingredients are sourced directly from sustainable farmers – think organic beef, RSPCA-certified fish and free-range, herb-fed poultry. And unlike many supermarket ready meals, you won’t find any additives or preservatives in the meals. We like the look of the meal bundles – such as the Indian ‘takeaway’ feast box, new parent bundle and Christmas feast box, which all make ideal presents.

Hero dishes: Ruby’s fish pie; free-range roast chicken, bacon & leek pie; free-range coconut chicken curry

Visit ByRuby.co.uk

Cook

This list wouldn't be complete without Cook. Since 1997, Cook has aimed to take some of the strain in the kitchen by providing pre-prepared meals, from solo dinners to family feasts. Decades on, it’s an award-winning operation – this year, the kitchen won an impressive 20 Great Taste Gold awards for its dishes. The team sources ingredients, cooks them, freezes them, packs and labels them then sells them in its own shops. One of its top sellers is its collection of Cook Meal Boxes. As well as being the perfect present for new parents or those going through a difficult time, the meal boxes are a good one-click solution if you’re looking to stock up the freezer. The combination of dishes makes the decision-making process that little bit easier and categories include the likes of ‘Entertaining for Six’ and ‘Kids & Family’.

Hero dishes: Venison lasagne; smoked haddock & bacon gratin; apple & blackberry crumble

Visit CookFood.net

Klose & Soan At Home

During the pandemic, Klose & Soan launched a delivery service. The menu includes a Mediterranean-focused range of frozen meals, prepared weekly using high-quality, seasonal ingredients. Dishes are designed to be nutritionally balanced, and also change regularly. The current menu features a Klose & Soan take on a spanakopita, combining cavolo nero with barrel-aged feta, filo pastry and a tomato sauce and slow-cooked Hereford beef shin lasagne, using handmade pasta. The menus are available buy by themselves, but are also designed to be bought in bulk, with current offers including three for £30 on main dishes, and a ‘meal deal’ option, where customers can purchase a main dish, dessert and bottle of wine from Winemakers for £35. Deliveries are made on a Wednesday and Friday around London, with free delivery for anyone in an SE postcode.

Hero dishes: Organic Sussex chicken with olives & orzo; Tamworth pork souvlaki; spiced baked aubergine

Visit KloseAndSoan.co.uk

Shuro Shirin

Persian frozen ready meal company Shuro Shirin was set up by two brothers, inspired by their mum’s cooking when they were growing up. Food is a huge part of Persian culture and while the cuisine is packed full of flavour and nutrients, it can be very time consuming to make, with some of the stews (such as khoresht) taking all day to cook. The new range contains a mix of stews, rices, dips and soups as well as a few desserts. All customers need to do is heat them up in the oven or microwave. The range is frozen as soon as it has finished cooking, which helps all the flavours to be locked in and means that there is no need for any preservatives and the food maintains its vitamins and nutrients.

Hero dishes: Aubergine & split pea stew; Persian noodle soup; grilled aubergine & walnut dip

Visit ShuroShirin.com

Gourmade

There are no preservatives or chemicals in Gourmade’s meals, as each of its homemade meals are frozen within an hour of cooking to keep them fresh and lock in valuable nutrients. The brand’s range of frozen ready meals offers plenty to choose from. Whether it’s individual portions for busy commuters, a mid-week fix when you can’t be bothered to cook or a zero-preparation dinner party, Gourmade aims to deliver simplicity – with hardly any washing up. As well as main courses, the company also makes desserts, side dishes and hampers.

Hero dishes: Butternut squash lasagne; chicken & bacon gratin; raspberry cheesecake

Visit Gourmade.com

Allplants

The team behind Allplants believes that rather than having some people being perfectly sustainable, it’s better to have millions of people doing it imperfectly. So instead, the kitchen champions flexitarianism, providing support and food to those committed to giving meat-free meals a go. Its packaging is either recyclable, compostable and/or reusable, and it works with a carbon-neutral delivery partner. When it comes to food, look out for its Sunday roast boxes, which come with a walnut and cranberry loaf served with cranberry sauce, seasonal sides including crispy roast potatoes and spiced red cabbage, plus a choice of two seasonal puddings.

Hero dishes: Mac & greens; super green risotto; aubergine parmigiana

Visit Allplants.com

Planty

Planty’s head and development chef Joe has worked at some of London top restaurants, including Michelin-starred Petrus, so expect good things. Customers can choose either six, eight or ten plant-based meals from the nutritionist-approved menu, and opt to get a box as a one-off purchase or as often as they'd like with its flexible subscription option. The meals contain the freshest ingredients available, which are then flash-frozen to lock in all the nutrients and flavours. A great option for vegans.

Hero dishes: Smokey pearl barley & sweetcorn casserole; butternut & mango madras; yaki-miso udon noodles

Visit Planty.UK

Tastily

Tastily founder Will lived in New York for two years. There, he discovered the benefits of a meal subscription service: he lost weight, found mental clarity and felt better about not producing any food waste. After arriving back in London a week into the first lockdown, Will decided to create a ready meal subscription service that caters for food lovers who are short on time. Tastily prepares, cooks and packages its meals fresh, with a seven-day shelf-life if you opt to keep them in the fridge. Meals are delivered in insulated packaging which can be reused, and the food packaging itself can be rinsed and recycled after use. Each meal contains between 400-500 calories (or 600-700 calories if you upgrade to large), have at least three servings of vegetables and never include additives, preservatives or refined sugar.

Hero dishes: Chicken katsu curry; Moroccan lamb tagine; peri-peri chicken

Visit Tastily.co.uk