7 best vegan restaurant meal kits to make at home this Veganuary
Restaurant meal kits first arrived on the scene with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. Offering a way to recreate and enjoy restaurant-quality dishes from the comfort of your own home, meal kits are, unsurprisingly, still popular now – especially when they often work out to be similar in price to a takeaway.
Meal kits come in all shapes, sizes and offerings. Typically, ingredients come pre-prepared, but kits do vary in terms of how hands-on you’ll need to be.
With some, it’s a case of simply throwing ingredients into a pan or heating up dishes, while others may require more involvement, from preparing to plating up, which can be a fun way to play chef and learn how a given restaurant puts together its dishes.
How we tested
We tested a range of vegan meal kits, from burgers and hot dogs to curries, tapas and pizzas, as well as breakfast, lunch and dinner options.
We were looking for meat-free kits that produced great-tasting meals that were far better than something you could normally cook for yourself, or which offered an “experience” beyond the food itself, whether that was learning new techniques when preparing the food or listening to an accompanying playlist. We also looked for kits that offered nationwide delivery, plus those that we felt justified their price.
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The best vegan meal kits for 2022 are:
Best overall – Dishoom vegan naan roll kit for two: £17, Dishoom.com
Best for vegan pizza – Birtellis vegan garden pizza kit for two: £10.49, Birtellis.co.uk
Best for three-course meal kit – Hoppers Sri Lankan kari feast for two: £45, Dispatch.co.uk
Best for curry – Kolamba jackfruit curry box: £40, Kolambahome.co.uk
Best for treating yourself – The Cinnamon Collection vegan meal kit for two: £100, Thecinnamoncollection.com
Best for presentation – Iberica cook vegan at home: £50, Ibericarestaurants.com
Best for meat-free ramen – Matsudai ramen vegan ‘Tonkotsu’ ramen kit: £10.49, Matsudai.co.uk
Dishoom vegan naan roll kit for two
Best: Overall
Rating: 10/10
This cook-at-home kit features everything you’ll need for two people to enjoy a vegan version of Dishoom’s famous breakfast naan. You’ll find meaty, herby, flavour-packed vegan sausages – made from fermented beetroot, mushroom and onion and developed in collaboration with chef Neil Rankin – three ready-to-roll naan balls (which just need popping on the griddle and under the grill), a sweet yet piquant tomato-chilli jam, fresh coriander and vegan cheese. It also comes with ingredients to make Dishoom’s masala chai tea. In addition to being delicious, this kit also provides a feel-good factor, with Dishoom donating a meal to UK charity Magic Breakfast for every one sold. There’s also now the option to buy an upgraded version of the kit, which includes an additional treat in the form of a pre-mixed bloody mary (£32, Dishoom.com) or mimosa cocktail (£32, Dishoom.com).
Buy now £17.00, Dishoom .com
Birtellis vegan garden pizza kit for two
Best: For vegan pizza
Rating: 9/10
With executive chef Paul Foster (who gained a Michelin star at Stratford upon Avon’s Salt) at the helm, this Leamington Spa-based, family-run restaurant certainly knows its pizza – and now everyone can try a bite for themselves, as it’s available for nationwide delivery. Ingredients come pre-chopped and diced – think artichoke hearts, spring and red onions, mushrooms, olives and sunblush tomatoes – so it’s simply a case of adding these to the base and popping it in the oven. We were very impressed with how fresh the pizza tasted, and the crispness of the base, which, in spite of being cooked in the oven at home, still tasted stone-baked. There’s also the option of adding vegan mozzarella or craft beer to your order, and you can choose between pre-made, half-baked bases or fresh dough balls.
Buy now £10.49, Birtellis.co.uk
Hoppers Sri Lankan kari feast
Best: Three-course meal kit
Rating: 9/10
This meal kit from popular London hotspot Hoppers has it all: salted plantain chips and vegetable rolls to snack on while preparing your meal, a moreish breadfruit curry accompanied by an aubergine salad and string hoppers (one of the restaurant’s iconic dishes) for main, followed by a mango tapioca pudding for dessert. You’ll also find some pol sambol, a Sri Lankan relish made with grated coconut, shallots, chilli and lime: delicious.
Buy now £45.00, Dishpatch.co.uk
Kolamba jackfruit curry box
Best: For curry
Rating: 9/10
A fragrant and flavourful Sri Lankan meal kit cooked by Kolamba chefs at its restaurant in Soho, this comes with seven separate elements, which can be prepared in minutes by simply heating them up on the hob or in the microwave. From the jackfruit-based centrepiece to the green bean curry and the lentil dhal, all of the dishes were delicious. There’s also the option of buying additional extras, from sambol to chutney.
Buy now £40.00, Kolambahome.co.uk
The Cinnamon Collection vegan meal kit
Best: For treating yourself
Rating: 8/10
This three-course meal kit from celebrated chef Vivek Singh is a great option if you’re looking to mark a special occasion, or just to treat yourself. For the main course, the grilled aubergine with a sesame tamarind crumble and chargrilled cauliflower are the stars of the show, and the chilled coconut kheer dessert with chargrilled pineapple and stem ginger is certainly a knock-out. While it’s on the pricier end of the spectrum, the dishes are delicious and the three courses really make it feel like good value for money.
Buy now £100.00, Thecinnamoncollection.com
Iberica cook vegan at home
Best: For presentation
Rating: 8/10
Featuring eight flavourful and innovative sharing plates, this impressive kit from Spanish restaurant and bar, Iberica, is one for those who want to be a little more hands on with the food preparation, as opposed to just reheating dishes at home. Iberica chefs have done most of the hard work for you though – from creating glazes and emulsions to preparing ingredients such as aubergine and artichoke – leaving you to finish off the dishes and plate up in style. The resulting meal is a feast for the eyes and senses.
Buy now £50.00, Ibericarestaurants.com
Matsudai ramen vegan ‘Tonkotsu’ ramen kit
Best: For meat-free ramen
Rating: 7.5/10
As everyone knows, the key to making great ramen is a great broth, and with that being so dependent on time and top-quality ingredients, it can be tricky to recreate at home. Matsudai Ramen’s make-at-home vegan kits are a great option if you’re looking for all of the flavour of slow-cooked stock, but without the effort. This is a vegan take on a soup that’s traditionally made with pork bone broth. Here, the broth is made with a vegan umami stock, oat milk and house chilli oil. You’ll also find noodles, tofu, spring onions, kikurage mushrooms and pickled ginger in the kit. To make, it’s simply a case of simmering the ingredients in the pan and assembling into your chosen bowl. And don’t miss the monthly ramen kit subscription if you want a guaranteed fix delivered to your door each month.
Buy now £10.49, Matsudai.co.uk
The verdict: Best vegan meal kits
For its feel-good factor, fantastic flavours and seriously impressive meat-free bangers, Dishoom’s vegan naan roll kit is a must-try. For pizza fans, Birtellis is fresh, flavoursome and fun.
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