Mindful Chef Review

UPDATED September 30. 2024.
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Mindful Chef is one of the most popular gluten-free meal kit delivery services in the United Kingdom. It offers high-quality, locally sourced ingredients, carefully crafted, easy-to-follow recipes suitable both for vegans and omnivores, and convenient home delivery. If you think you might like what this company’s selling, you can find more useful and delicious details in this Mindful Chef review.

Mindful Chef Homepage

What Is Mindful Chef

Mindful Chef is a meal kit service that allows you to cook with ingredients delivered fresh from small British farms. Its recipes are easy, its meal boxes are free from fillers like white rice, and each meal on its menu is ready in 15 to 30 minutes.

Not only is Mindful Chef’s menu rich and suitable for people with allergies and unique dietary preferences, but the service also allows you to tweak your deliveries to your needs. You can decide how you want to shape your diet, rule out ingredients you do not want to receive, and handpick every recipe in your box.

While the company’s patrons mostly love it for the high-quality food and convenience it offers, there are 2 other major reasons for its popularity. The first is the fact that it caters to singles, couples, and families alike. The second is the fact that in addition to reducing the time you spend in the kitchen, it also helps you save cash.

Since all its ingredients are pre-measured, you are not wasting your cash on food that does not get used up and ends up in the trash. You further save on gas money, as you do not have to do grocery shopping yourself. You do not even pay for shipping; it is on the house. Plus, you are getting the best ingredients straight from the source at the right price. The service does not charge the same regardless of what is in the recipe box but instead adjusts the price for each item in accordance with the actual cost of the ingredients.

Keeping in mind its fair pricing, menu variety, and suitability for different home cook profiles, we can honestly say that Mindful Chef is currently among the best meal kit services in the UK.

How Does Mindful Chef Work

Mindful Chef is a subscription service, so you need to create an account before you order its meal kits. Then, you pick a meal plan in accordance with the number of people you want to cook for: 1, 2 or 4. You can order up to 5 recipes of your choice.

Each week, there are 16 simple and delicious recipes at your disposal. The number of recipes you can order depends on the number of people you are cooking for. If you are cooking for 1, you can order 3 to 5 recipes. When cooking for 2, you can select 2 to 5 meal ideas that appeal to you the most. Finally, with the 4-person option, you can order 2 or 3 recipes. In your deliveries, you receive both the recipe cards and the pre-portioned ingredients necessary to prepare the meals.

As a new patron, you get to decide whether you want to enjoy a balanced, protein-packed, pescatarian or plant-based diet. You can also let the service know which proteins you want to get in your deliveries, with the options including beef, lamb, pork, chicken, fish, shellfish, and vegan.

If you are worried about committing to a meal kit service, either due to your busy and ever-changing schedule or because you are afraid you might not like it, we are happy to say that ordering from Mindful Chef does not require any commitment and the subscriptions are incredibly flexible. You can skip a delivery up to 6 weeks in advance or you can end your subscription for whatever reason, at any time, no questions asked. On the other hand, if you need more food, you can have your recipe boxes delivered twice instead of once a week.

Mindful Chef how work

What Makes Mindful Chef Different

The meal kit market may be rich, but it is not that easy to find a company that offers only the freshest, natural ingredients and a variety of recipes that are both quick to make and suitable for people with special dietary needs. Mindful Chef offers all of the above.

The service brings you hand-picked, healthy ingredients originating from small West Country farms. Its recipes allow you to create wonderful meals in just about half an hour. As we have mentioned before in this Mindful Chef review, the menu is designed to suit the needs of veggie-lovers and people on gluten-free and dairy-free diets.

We also love that the folks behind this service do a lot to help those in need. For every meal bought, Mindful Chef donates one meal to the less fortunate. The meals are donated to schools in the poorest areas of the world and most of them go to children in Malawi and Zambia. The goal is to support education and provide those children with a healthier and happier childhood.

It is also important to note that Mindful Chef is the only meal kit service in the UK that caters for 1 person.

Mindful Chef Meals And Recipes

Mindful Chef meal options
For Families
For Singles
Gluten-Free
Vegan

Mindful Chef makes it easy for you to pick out the recipes that best suit your needs. First of all, every item on the menu is gluten-free and dairy-free, so people on gluten-free and dairy-free diets do not have to waste time checking all the ingredients and allergen info in order to make sure they have made a safe choice. Six recipes on the weekly menu are vegan and they are all clearly labeled. If you are looking for recipes that are really quick and simple to make, you can speed up your search by checking out the ones labeled as 15-minute recipes.

Mindful Chef meals

The menu changes every week and the recipes are only repeated once every 12 weeks. That gives you plenty of room to experiment and guarantees that you can enjoy a healthy and incredibly varied diet.

The main selection offers three choices: Healthy, Vegan and Family recipes. All the meals come with allergen information, as well as macros. You get the exact details about the calorie count and the amount of carbs, fat, and protein in every meal. You also get to find out which cuisine the recipes come from and which season they are best suited for.

Mindful-Chef meals

How Much Does Mindful Chef Cost

With Mindful Chef, the price of your delivery depends on the plan you choose and the recipes you opt for. The company’s meal kits normally cost £4 to £10 per portion. The general rule is that the more people you cook for, the less you pay per serving.

With the 1-person plan, the pricing starts at £8 per portion. The 2-people plan is more affordable and starts at £5.50 per portion. The 4-people plan is the most budget-friendly plan, starting at just £4 per serving.

There are no additional costs as the company offers free nationwide shipping. All meal kits come with a 100% happiness guarantee.

For every meal bought, Mindful Chef donates one meal to the less fortunate. The meals are donated to schools in the poorest areas of the world and most of them go to children in Malawi and Zambia.

Where Does Mindful Chef Deliver

Mindful Chef delivers all across the UK, including Scotland and Wales. However, some areas in the Scottish Highlands, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Wight do not fall within the company’s delivery map since the food cannot reach them in 24 hours.

Deliveries are made on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. You do not have to be at home to receive your box. Still, the service provides an estimated time of arrival on the day of delivery in case you want to pop the food in the fridge as soon as it lands on your doorstep.

Mindful Chef Pros And Cons

To make sure Mindful Chef meets all your standards and expectations, it is important to know its biggest advantages and disadvantages. With a short overview of its pros and cons, you can easily decide if Mindful Chef is the right meal kit service for you.

Pros
  • Locally sourced, all-natural ingredients
  • Gluten-free and dairy-free meals
  • Easy, 30-minute recipes
  • Suitable for vegans
  • Great variety
  • 1-person plan available
  • Flexible subscriptions
  • No minimum subscription duration
  • Free shipping across the UK
  • Happiness guarantee

Cons

  • Not the most affordable meal kit service

Sample Dishes

If you subscribe to Mindful Chef, you can easily prepare culinary masterpieces using only the ingredients and recipes found in your meal kit box. You may not be a pro chef just yet, but with Mindful Chef, you can easily make restaurant-grade meals. You don’t have to take our word for it – check out the images below to get a better idea of the types of dishes you can enjoy with Mindful Chef.

Bottom Line

Mindful Chef is highly popular and for a good reason. It offers premium-quality, pre-portioned ingredients and recipes that do not require advanced cooking skills. It is the only meal kit service in the United Kingdom that is completely gluten-free and dairy-free and offers 100% vegan recipes. It is also the only UK service of this kind to offer 1-person boxes and exclusively focus on meals that take 30 minutes or less to make. Another great plus is that it offers free nationwide shipping. The prices of the meals are far from low, but considering the quality offered, they are not unreasonable either. If you want to enjoy a healthy, varied diet and spend less time cooking, recipe searching, and grocery shopping, Mindful Chef is definitely one of the best choices out there.


User Reviews (14)

Mindful Chef is rated 4/5, based on 14 user reviews.

The Mindful Chef reviews listed below reflect the opinions and experiences of real users and are in no way influenced by the service reviewed here. Before publishing each review, our team checks whether it was submitted by an actual user in an effort to prevent false or spammy reviews.

  1. | March 7, 2020

    I was pleasantly surprised that the menu changes every week and so far I haven’t had a single dish twice unless I really wanted to. Everything I’ve ordered so far was delicious and I honestly feel bad when I order something more than once because I feel like I’m missing out on other great meals.

  2. | January 15, 2020

    The estimated time of arrival was often wrong, I planned my day around being at home and receiving the delivery and preparing food for myself and my family. I did not once receive any form of apology from them or was informed of the late delivery.

  3. | October 8, 2019

    I’m allergic to gluten and each time I order from somewhere I have to spend a lot of time reading the menu, trying to find something I can eat that is gluten free. Mindful chef makes each meal without gluten so I’m safe to order from than and eat whatever they serve.

  4. | May 17, 2019

    There is a problem when you order for one person. With mindful chef I always get a normal sized portion I can fill up on and don’t waste any food or money by ordering an expensive meal I won’t be able to finish on my own and it is not like I want to have leftovers and eat the same dish for three days in a row.

  5. | February 11, 2019

    I started ordering from mindful chef when I read that for every ordered meal they donate one to people in need. I think it’s really noble and I’ll do my best to support the cause as often as I can.

  6. | July 24, 2018

    The recipes are so easy to follow, even I can do it and I don’t have any cooking experience whatsoever. I would recommend it to beginners and those who don’t do well in the kitchen but still want to eat healthily without spending a lot of money.

  7. | July 1, 2018

    I’ve tried to end my subscription but I’ve notice it was still active after a couple of weeks. I wrote an email to the customer service but haven’t heard from anyone yet.

  8. | March 28, 2018

    I don’t like that I needed to create a subscription so that I can order once in a while. I tried it, didn’t quite like it and I honestly doubt I will be ordering again!

  9. | January 13, 2018

    It’s much more affordable to order from mindful chef instead driving to the supermarket, buying tons of food, cooking and wasting food we don’t eat and spending time in the kitchen instead of doing something you actually like!

  10. | November 9, 2017

    I always assumed that I have gluten intolerance ever since everyone started talking about it, and I was right. Ever since I’ve started eating gluten free food and ordered from mindful chef, my body feels relieved of whatever it is that made me feel puffy and bloated.

  11. | August 21, 2017

    I have actual celiac disease, it not that I say it because it’s trendy to be gluten intolerant these days, and I’m grateful that there is a company that can take care of those with real dietary requirements!

  12. | July 22, 2017

    I live alone, so I used to cook only a couple of times a month. Now I cook all the time and I’ve even started having friends over for dinner. Great service!

  13. | May 29, 2017

    No complaints about the food but it is too pricey.

  14. | March 5, 2017

    My husband and I enjoyed the meals and they really are easy to make, but the kids hated them. Besides, it is not something I can afford on a weekly basis.

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* All the prices on this website are subject to change without notice. While we put a great deal of effort into making sure that all the prices are accurate, one or more products may have outdated prices. Please visit the specific product’s official website for exact prices.
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