Gousto Box - Is It Worth It?
/This article is not sponsored, we paid for Gousto using our own money.
Gousto offer one of the many recipe boxes that we have seen new to the food scene in the past few years. And with Covid-19 making us stop and think about our food purchasing habits, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to give it a go. So, how does it work? What are the pros and cons? And, from a money-perspective, is it worth it?
Gousto Referral Offer
Their standard 1st month discount is 30% off your first month but you can get 35% off your 1st month when you sing up with our Gousto referral link.
How Does Gousto Work?
The overall premise is very simple, it’s a subscription service for your meals. It’s not necessarily a long term subscription either. You can pause or cancel it anytime (a huge plus in our books). Here’s the step-by-step process:
View this weeks menu - It will vary by week but there are around 55 dishes to choose from in a variety of categories (eg. ‘Lean in 15’ or ‘Everyday Favourites’.
Choose a delivery slot (date and time) - Delivery comes at no extra cost
Choose 2, 3 or 4 meals for 2 or 4 people
Order
Does Gousto Offer Good Value For Money?
In comparison to other food subscription services, or even just your normal food shop, I’d say Gousto offers great value for money. But the value is dependent on the amount you order (and your own views on food value).
4 Meals for 4 People = £2.98 per serving
2 Meals for 4 People = £3.97 per serving
4 Meals for 2 People = £4.37 per serving
2 Meals for 2 People = £6.25 per serving
So it definitely pays to order more per box. £2.98 per serving, for a freshly made, more adventurous meal, is a great price overall.
*Pro Tip: Even if you’re not a family of 4, pick meals with freezable ingredients (herbs can be frozen too) if you want to get the best value for money.
Most of Gousto’s meals are a standard, fixed price but you can get some premium meals with more expensive ingredients at an extra cost (eg. +£2 per serving).
What's The Food Like?
Here’s where Gousto really shines. All of the recipes are relatively simple (around 10 steps maximum) but delicious and, in a lot of cases, they’ll help expand your food horizons. The meat and veg were fresh and the recipes themselves have been stellar in terms of quality (see the Bacon Cheeseburger with Truffle-cooked fries and salad below).
Prep and cooking times range from around 15 minutes to 1 hour. Most will take around 30 minutes from experience.
If you’re looking to increase your cooking skills especially, this is great choice. You won’t have to worry about measuring ingredients and the steps are illustrated and simple.
Is Gousto An Eco-Friendly Choice?
Here I’d say yes and no (but I’ll give them credit for working on tackling the issues that they have).
Food Waste
On food waste, Gousto is a great solution to this problem. How many times have you had to buy more of one ingredient than you needed? This is true with recipes calling for more adventurous ingredients especially.
“Oh, I need 1 teaspoon of sesame oil? Great” *Buys the 500ml bottle.
With Gousto, you literally get only what you need. If it’s a teaspoon of sesame oil, that’s what you get. The rest doesn't end up in the bin, saving food waste and financial waste too.
According to WRAP, UK households generate around 7.3 million tonnes of food waste per year.
Packaging
The packaging is clean, professional and hygienic but still has a way to go on the eco-side of things. A lot of the vegetables now come loose in the box but a good portion of the ingredients come individually wrapped in single-use plastic.
We ordered one meal with Ciabatta rolls and all 4 of the rolls were individually wrapped. The same tends to be true with the meat and herbs. I get it, there are food hygiene and efficiency problems that have to be dealt with, but it does need dealt with, and fast.
To Gousto’s credit, they have been working on their packaging. More of their materials are recyclable, their ‘Eco Chill’ cold box (below) is fully recyclable and made from recycled paper.
So far, they’ve saved the equivalent of 238 million plastic straws through switches to cardboard punnets, smaller sachets, double-ups and a ban on black plastic. Their goal is to make all of their packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by the end of 2022.
One quick change we thought of? The ice pack (below). The ice pack is just frozen water in plastic but it’s then surrounded again in paper packaging. This is clearly for branding reasons but removing that one layer would be one step they could take quickly to cut down on their packaging.
Some Quick FAQs
Q. What if you don’t choose your recipes?
It’s best to choose your recipes around a week before delivery but if you don’t choose, Gousto will use your previous purchases to send you recipes they think you’ll like.
Q. Can you have multiples of each recipe?
Yes, if you’re ordering 4 meals for 4 for example, you could technically order 16 portions of the same recipe. We probably wouldn’t recommend that, Gousto is a good opportunity for food diversification, but you can do that if you like.
Q. Can you cancel or pause Gousto?
Yes, you can cancel your Gousto subscription easily or, if you just want to pause it temporarily (ie. if you’re going on holiday) you can do that too.
Conclusion
If you’re a cooking newbie, Gousto offers a unique, cost-effective, food waste-reducing way to cook. If you’re an experienced cook, it takes the hassle out of meal planning and allows you to expand your food horizon. We’ve loved our experience so far and will definitely be regular customers from here on out.
Get 35% off your first month of Gousto with our Gousto referral link.
What are your thoughts on Gousto? Let us know in the comments down below.
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