SimplyCook review
Flavour kits by post - you buy the fresh ingredients
Our verdict
A clever, low-cost way to add variety to your own cooking, as long as you are happy to buy the fresh ingredients yourself.
Get the deal - Your first recipe box for £1| Cheapest box | £9.99 |
|---|---|
| Recipes per week | 4 kits |
| Min portions | 2 |
| One-off (no subscription) | No |
| Delivery | UK by Royal Mail letterbox; small postage charge |
| Current offer | Your first recipe box for £1 |
| Cook / prep time | You cook your own |
| Recipe difficulty | Easy |
What we liked
- Far cheaper than full meal kits (£9.99 for four recipe kits)
- You control the quality and amount of fresh ingredients
- Letterbox delivery - no fridge or missed deliveries
- Flexible frequency, pause or cancel any time
What could be better
- You still buy and prep your own fresh ingredients (about £3-£6 a head extra)
- Not a true everything-delivered meal kit
- Auto-renewing subscription to manage
- Small postage charge
Packaging & ethics
- Recyclable packaging
Packaging: Slim letterbox box; long-life flavour pots, minimal packaging.
Sourcing: Flavour kits only - you supply the fresh ingredients.
SimplyCook works differently from the other kits. Instead of fresh ingredients, it posts you a box of four flavour kits - spice blends, pastes, stocks and sauces - with recipe cards. You buy the fresh ingredients yourself and cook the meal.
That makes the headline price very low at £9.99 for four recipes, but it is not directly comparable to HelloFresh or Gousto on price per portion, because your grocery shop (roughly £3-£6 per person per meal) sits on top. The flavour pots are shelf-stable and arrive through the letterbox, so there is no cold chain or missed delivery to worry about.
It suits cooks who already shop for fresh food and just want more variety and ideas, rather than anyone looking to outsource the whole shop.
Our hands-on notes: [To add - first-hand experience: portion sizes, how it cooked/tasted, packaging, and whether we would reorder.]
Refer-a-friend
Refer a friend: they get a free first box and you earn a free reward box (up to four referral credits a month).
Frequently asked questions
Is SimplyCook a meal kit?
Not in the usual sense. It sends flavour kits and recipe cards, and you supply the fresh ingredients yourself - so the £9.99 box price does not include your grocery shop.
How much does SimplyCook really cost?
The box is £9.99 for four recipes, but budget roughly £3-£6 per person per meal on top for the fresh ingredients you buy yourself.