Last updated: 4 May 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

If you are searching for a Grubby review UK, you probably want two things up front: whether the food is actually good, and whether the recipe box thing will make midweek dinners easier or just add more admin. I have been getting Grubby boxes for over a year now, and I genuinely cannot imagine cooking without them at this point.

Short version: the food is chef-quality, the kitchen properly cares about plant-based cooking, and Grubby has changed how I think about food. It is not the cheapest way to eat, but the value stacks up better than it first looks. Read on for the full breakdown.

Cool Factor: 5/5 - Ice cold

Disclosure: CoolCuration has a referral partnership with Grubby, which means I earn a small commission if you sign up through my link. My opinions remain editorially independent. This review is based on a year of actual subscription use, plus a focused taste-test of five recent meals.

What is Grubby?

Grubby is a plant-based recipe box service in the UK. You pick meals from a rotating weekly menu, they deliver pre-portioned ingredients, and you cook at home. The promise is less meal-planning stress, more variety, and fewer trips to the supermarket.

Founded in 2019 by Martin Holden-White, Grubby bills itself as the UK's first 100% vegan recipe kit. The brand holds B-Corp certification and donates a meal to a child in poverty in Uganda for every box sold, through its 1moreChild partnership. In early 2025, Grubby acquired the recipe IP of allplants after that brand's collapse, and now sells a separate range of frozen vegan ready meals based on those recipes.

Holden-White himself is candid about the brand's positioning. He has said: "We are not preachy about eating solely plant-based. I'm a plant-based part-timer myself, and many of our team and customers do not define themselves as vegan." That tone runs through the whole experience. Grubby reads like a brand that wants you to enjoy plant-based food, not feel guilty about it.

First impressions

The box arrives well-packed with clearly separated ingredients for each meal. Everything is labelled, portioned and easy to identify. Recipe cards are straightforward, and each one includes a QR code linking to an online version with a curated Spotify playlist. It is a small touch, but it sets a tone that someone has thought about the whole experience rather than just posting you some vegetables.

Compared to other meal kits I have tried, the unboxing felt noticeably less wasteful. Packaging is recyclable and mostly compostable, with around 90% of materials hitting that mark. There is occasional plastic for fresh produce that genuinely needs it, and Grubby flags that openly rather than greenwashing it.

The fresh ingredients lasted comfortably through the week in the fridge, which matters because most meal-kit weeks involve cooking the third dish two or three days after delivery. That gives Grubby a small but real edge over kits where the herbs are wilting by day four.

The meals: five dishes tested

Flavour was the consistent standout across the five meals I tried in my latest taste-test week. These tasted like someone had cared about seasoning, rather than punishment disguised as health food. Here is what I cooked.

Creamy harissa chickpeas

This one stole the show. The chickpeas sat in a rich tomato and coconut base with smoky harissa heat. It was properly filling and comforting. Honestly, it is the kind of meal you would happily repeat every week without getting bored. The harissa came in its own sachet at sensible heat, so I could have leaned hotter or pulled back depending on mood.

Satay noodles with crunchy slaw

Big flavour, and lots of texture. The peanut sauce had genuine depth rather than watery peanut sadness, and the crunchy slaw on top added a great contrast. It tasted more like something from a restaurant than a kit cooked in 20 minutes. The lime cut through the richness nicely too.

Spinach and chickpea masala

Deeply spiced and creamy, this felt like a proper curry night. If you have ever tried cooking vegan curry at home and ended up with tomato water, this is the opposite of that. The spice blend was well balanced and the portions were generous. I had leftovers for lunch the next day, which is always a small win.

Teriyaki tofu stir fry

Fast, fresh, and a solid midweek option. Dinner appeared in under 20 minutes, which is exactly what you want on a busy Tuesday. The tofu was well seasoned, and the sauce clung to everything properly rather than pooling at the bottom of the pan. Reliably brilliant.

Smoky aubergine pasta

Cosy, rich, and smoky. The sauce clung to the pasta rather than sliding off, which is a small thing that makes a big difference. It reads like winter comfort food, but it would honestly work year-round. This was also the meal my non-vegan friend ate without realising it was plant-based, which is usually a good sign.

The longtime favourites

After a year on Grubby, a few meals have earned proper rotation status in my house. The first is the brunch burger with roasted tomatoes and homemade hash browns. The patty is THIS sausages broken up and mixed with dry breadcrumbs, then pan-fried, and it is the kind of weekend brunch I would happily pay £14 for in a Hackney café. Make this with a coffee on a Saturday and tell me it is not better than most brunches out.

The second favourite is the crispy tofu burger with Chick'n Shop gravy, mayo and a side salad. The gravy-and-tofu combination is wonderful, properly fakeaway territory, and it lands as one of the best burgers I have eaten anywhere, vegan or not. If you want a Friday-night dinner that scratches the takeaway itch without the takeaway price tag, order this one in your first box.

Most recently, I tried the jerk tofu with coconut rice and pineapple salsa. Delicious beyond belief, properly punchy on the spice, and a bit healthier than the gravy burger if you are after balance. The pineapple salsa cut through the jerk heat brilliantly. Honestly, every Grubby tofu meal I cook turns out genuinely delicious, which still surprises me.

That brings me to tofu more broadly. Four years ago, if you had told me I would have a favourite tofu dish, let alone several, I would have laughed. Grubby has genuinely changed how I think about it. So if you are tofu-sceptical, get one tofu meal in your first box. It is the recipe most likely to convert you. Their THIS sausage and Symplicity collaborations are the same story: every recipe built around them tends to be excellent because the meals are properly designed around the ingredient rather than tofu-or-veg-with-extra-steps.

Portion sizes and stretching meals

Portion sizes feel like actual meals rather than a bowl of optimism. The chickpea dishes in particular are filling enough to skip any side dishes entirely. The noodle and pasta meals also land as proper dinner portions. So if you are cooking for two, this is where Grubby tends to shine. You get variety without buying random ingredients that live in the cupboard for months.

Importantly, many Grubby meals genuinely stretch to two portions per person if you are not eating like you have been on a hike. So I usually box up the leftovers in my Elephant Box stainless steel containers and eat them for lunch the next day, often after a Huel shake for breakfast. That single habit changes the whole value calculation. Two people, three Grubby meals, easily six dinners and four to five lunches once you stretch them properly.

Honest critical observations

This review would be useless if it just gushed. So here is what genuinely needs flagging.

First, the price. Grubby is not cheap. At around £5 to £6.50 per portion, it sits well above what you would pay if you cooked from scratch with supermarket ingredients. The flavour and the meal-stretching habit make it defendable, but families on a tight budget will still feel the hit.

Second, the delivery model requires a full-day commitment, which I cover properly below. So if you cannot be in all day, plan around it carefully.

Third, the menu does occasionally land flat. About once every six weeks, I open the upcoming menu and nothing properly excites me. That is rare though, and Grubby keeps expanding the recipe roster, so the back catalogue grows steadily. The brand collaborations with THIS and Mildred's add another layer of interest on top.

None of these are deal-breakers. They are simply the honest trade-offs of a service that prioritises flavour, sustainability and convenience over rock-bottom pricing.

Why Grubby matters now

The UK plant-based meal kit landscape has shifted hard in the past two years. Allplants entered administration in November 2024 and was dissolved in February 2026. Mindful Chef is now majority-owned by Nestlé. So Grubby is one of the last properly independent UK brands operating with a fully plant-based remit and B-Corp values. That matters.

For readers comparing options directly, I have written a dedicated Grubby vs Mindful Chef breakdown that gets into per-portion price, recipe quality, and the ownership question in more depth. The short version: if you want fully plant-based, Grubby still leads the category in 2026.

Value for money

Grubby meals start from around £5 per serving, depending on box size. That is not cheaper than basic supermarket shopping. However, it is cheaper than most takeaways, and the portions stretch further than you would think. Once you factor in the leftovers-for-lunch routine, you are easily getting more than the headline meal count from each box.

Honestly, it is chef-quality food cooked at home. Better than many restaurant meals I have paid £20-plus for. So the value calculation is not just per-portion price. It is what that price gets you, which is restaurant-grade flavour, near-zero food waste, and dinners that take 20 to 30 minutes start to finish. For my full breakdown of where Grubby sits against the rest, see my best vegan meal kits UK roundup. There is also a deeper analysis on the Is Grubby worth it? page.

See the latest Grubby offer

Delivery, skipping and cancelling

Grubby delivers free across mainland UK. You choose your delivery day, which can be any weekday from Monday to Friday. Crucially, you do not get a narrow time slot. So you need to be in for the full day on your chosen delivery date. That is fine if you work from home or have a flexible schedule. If you do not, plan around it carefully.

In London, Grubby partners with Hived, an all-electric delivery network using a mix of bikes, cars and vans. Hived has reportedly hit 99.94% on-time delivery for Grubby boxes since the partnership began in 2022, and it is one of the strongest sustainability stories in UK last-mile logistics right now. Outside London, Grubby uses carbon-neutral courier networks where available.

Skipping weeks

You can skip up to six weeks in advance through your account. Each delivery day has a specific cut-off time for changes. So make changes before the cut-off the week before your delivery, otherwise that box will still be processed and charged.

Cancelling

You can cancel via your online account at any time. However, if the cut-off deadline has already passed for your next delivery, that box may still be processed. So cancel before the deadline rather than after it.

Coverage gaps

Grubby does not currently deliver to Northern Ireland, the Isle of Wight, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands. Check your postcode on the Grubby site before signing up.

Who Grubby is actually for

Grubby works best for plant-curious flexitarians, committed vegans who want recipe inspiration, and busy people who want creative midweek dinners without the planning. It is genuinely good for households trying to eat more plants without going fully vegan, because the menu is varied enough to feel like normal food rather than a niche diet.

It is less ideal for very tight budgets, single-person households (no 1-person box option), and anyone who needs guaranteed time-slot deliveries. So if those are deal-breakers for you, the value calculation shifts.

The verdict

Grubby's biggest win is flavour and convenience. The meals I have cooked over the year have been genuinely impressive, often better than meals I have paid restaurant prices for. So if you want more plant-based dinners without the mental load of planning and shopping, Grubby is a strong option. It does not pretend to be the cheapest way to eat, but the meal-stretching habit and chef-grade quality make the spend defensible.

Overall, an Ice cold 5/5. After a year of weekly boxes, Grubby has genuinely changed how I cook and how I think about plant-based food. The price is real and the all-day delivery wait will not suit everyone. However, the depth, range and chef-quality flavour earn this score. Most weeks the meals stretch to a second portion for lunch, which puts the value in proper perspective. So for a plant-based recipe kit in the UK in 2026, this is the one to beat.

Frequently asked questions

Is Grubby worth the money?

For most people who want to eat more plant-based meals without extra planning, yes. The value comes from convenience, variety, restaurant-quality flavour and reduced food waste rather than being the cheapest option per meal. There is a fuller breakdown on the Is Grubby worth it? page.

How much does Grubby cost per meal?

Grubby meals start from around £5 per serving on a larger box, rising to about £6.50 on a smaller two-meal box for two people. Larger boxes bring the per-portion price down. New customers can get up to 60% off their first box plus a free dessert through the referral link.

Is Grubby actually 100% vegan?

Yes. Every recipe, ingredient and supplier is plant-based. There are no animal products anywhere in the range, so you do not need to filter or check labels each week.

How does Grubby compare to Gousto?

Gousto is cheaper per meal (from around £3.20) and offers more variety overall, but it is not vegan by default. You have to filter for plant-based options each week. Grubby is fully vegan, designed plant-first, and has more cohesive recipes for committed plant-based cooks.

How does Grubby compare to Mindful Chef?

Grubby is fully plant-based; Mindful Chef is a mixed recipe box with around six vegan options per week. So if you want vegan, Grubby is the better fit. For the full side-by-side, see my Grubby vs Mindful Chef comparison.

Can I get a Grubby discount?

Yes. New customers can use my Grubby discount code page to get up to 60% off their first box plus a free dessert worth £6.50.

What happened to Allplants?

Allplants entered administration in November 2024 and was formally dissolved in February 2026. Grubby acquired their recipe IP in early 2025 and now sells frozen vegan ready meals based on those recipes under the Grubby brand.

Does Grubby deliver on weekends?

No. Grubby delivers Monday to Friday only. You choose your preferred weekday at sign-up, and you can change it later in your account settings. There is no narrow time slot, so you need to be available all day on your chosen day.

More from CoolCuration

• Best vegan meal kits UK — my full comparison of every UK vegan recipe box, with Grubby ranked against the rest.
• Elephant Box stainless steel lunchbox — the lunch box I use for stretching Grubby meals into next-day lunches.
• Huel Powder review UK — my honest take after a year of Huel shakes for breakfast.
• Oddbox discount code — save on your first box of rescued fruit and veg, perfect for fleshing out Grubby midweek meals.
• Cashback on groceries UK — my round-up of the best ways to cut your weekly food spend.