Whether you give Nigella a run for her money, or don’t know your preserved lemons from your black garlic, everyone has days when they can’t face cooking. And while frozen meals may have once been tasteless and unhealthy, a new wave of premium brands is here to change all that. “From fish pie to beef bourguignon and sticky toffee pudding, Field Goods’ sustainably-sourced meals offer comfort food favourites,” says Stylist Loves’ deputy editor Annie Simpson. “You’ll think you’re eating a proper home-cooked dinner, albeit one that comes in plant-based compostable packaging – and from £6.75 for a main meal, it’s much more affordable than Uber Eats.”
Chef-led Stocked takes a slightly less conventional approach, with its meals formed in eight Mars bar-sized frozen blocks (from £38 for 4 packs), so you can portion out exactly what you need to save on waste. “I found four blocks was about right for a main meal when paired with rice or flatbread,” says Stylist’s food editor Jenny Tregoning. “The curried chickpeas were an indulgent-tasting tomato and spinach blend, while my mouth is still watering at the thought of the slow-roasted harissa jackfruit.” And whether you follow a vegan diet or are just looking to eat less meat, Dovebrook’s inventive plant-based frozen ready meals will have you covered (from £6.50 per main meal). “I loved the beetroot-infused take on aubergine parmigiana with fragrant fennel pesto and creamy cashew cheese,” says Stylist Loves’ writer Kiran Meeda. “The blackberry cheesecake was equal parts sweet and chocolatey and handily required no heat, just two hours to defrost at room temperature.” Potato waffles, your time is up.