Morrisons Eat Fresh recipe box review

• Morrisons is not currently offering the Eat Fresh service – for tried-and-tested recommendations of alternative services, read our review of the best recipe boxes.

What is Morrisons Eat Fresh?

Morrisons is the only major UK supermarket to offer a recipe box delivery service (Waitrose did once offer a subscription service but is no longer available. It does however offer the creation of your own meal kits centred around different international cuisines). The Morrisons Eat Fresh service is priced competitively, especially when compared to some of the better-known leading recipe box brands. In keeping with the Morrisons brand, it is practical, affordable and family-friendly, although the recipes are basic. However, they deserve kudos for diversifying their offering for an increasingly digital grocery market.

Visit the section on the Morrisons website on the Morrisons Eat Fresh recipe box.

Morrisons Eat Fresh recipe choices

The recipe choices were quite limited compared to some of the more established recipe box providers. However, I managed to find three to suit my family's requirements. There's an even mix of fish, red meat, veggie and chicken dishes available. They are presented well on the site, using colourful imagery and attractive photography that clearly illustrate the dish. The calorie count was a useful addition and the functionality to add the dishes to your order was intuitive and clean.

Are there special diet options?

You can filter recipes by calorie count and diet type (veggie, vegan and pescatarian), however you have to click into individual recipes to check whether they contain allergens like gluten or dairy. There is no option to customise recipes.

How many recipes do you get in one delivery?

There are several options available ranging from 2-4 meals per delivery, to serve two or four people.

What are your first impressions of the box?

The box itself is quite big so you should bear this in mind if your storage area for recycling is small. However, the box was tightly packed so it wasn't excessive for the ingredients delivered.

What is in the Morrisons Eat Fresh box?

In my box there were three recipe cards, plus ingredients and lots of them – the amount of food is generous, which was a bonus given the affordable price point. Ingredients are bagged by recipe. All bags are made from recyclable brown paper except the plastic insulated bag for the chilled ingredients. The small spice sachets are made from plastic and are wasteful, but this seems to be standard practice for recipe boxes until a more eco-friendly solution is found. I have a small fridge so the amount of food was quite staggering when it came to packing it away. The box was meant to hold three meals for two people but felt more like six meals' worth.

What is the quality of the ingredients?

The fruit and veg was high quality and seemed fresh – there was nothing floppy, limp or past its best. Some ingredients appeared to come from the Morrisons fresh counters, which is a great selling point. Unfortunately, one of the recipes used microwavable rice pouches. I don't have a microwave so we had to figure out an alternative way to cook them. I understand this is a time-saving ingredient choice, but it's a presumptuous inclusion as not everyone has a microwave. It's also not the ‘freshest’ way to cook and gets a thumbs down on the environmental front.

Sadly, both the pork mince and fish were delivered on their use-by date, so we had to chance eating these one day beyond. Many wouldn't want to take this risk, especially when cooking for children, so this was a big negative. Thankfully we survived to tell the tale!

Are refrigerated ingredients kept sufficiently chilled in the packaging?

Yes, the food was still cold after a day outside and Morrisons claim the box is good for 24 hours outside of the fridge.

What are the delivery options?

Delivery is a free, seven-day service. You are able to skip a delivery if required. The delivery is nationwide, excluding the Highlands, Isle of Wight and Northern Ireland. We weren't in when our box was delivered so it was left behind our bin. This was fine hygiene-wise as the box was well sealed, and it was tucked away out of the view of passers-by.

How much packaging is there?

The packaging consisted of lots of brown cardboard and paper, around 80% of it recyclable. However, there was also cellophane and other light, non-recyclable plastic used for some of the individual ingredients. Sustainable packaging seems to be a challenge for most recipe box delivery services, but we hope a solution is found soon as it is very disheartening to throw packaging in with regular household waste, especially when its used to wrap ingredients that could be loose (lettuce hearts for example).

Does it offer good value for money?

This service is exceptionally good value, especially when you factor in the saved labour costs of planning meals, travelling to the supermarket and traipsing the aisles. The portion sizes are generous and Morrisons should be commended for creating such cheap boxes without compromising on the volume of food required to serve a hungry family.

How easy are the recipes to make?

The recipes are very straightforward and the recipe cards clear. It's a shame the ingredients come in weights rather than 'half a tub', 'half a pack', as this isn't quite as user-friendly. The recipe cards come with pictures and are very straightforward. Unfortunately, I had to spend extra time working out how to cook the microwaveable elements. While I doubted the cooking time of the fish, the end result was good. The recipes have been developed with practicality as a top priority and the nutritional information was a welcome bonus.

Is there any food waste?

All fresh ingredients were used up. There was an excess of breadcrumbs but they went in the storecupboard.

Is there any excess packaging around the food?

It seemed well-proportioned but it was a little disappointing that some fruit and veg was packaged at all, when it could have been loose.

What are the finished recipes like?

Our first dish was oven-cooked hake and chips. I had to fudge the chips as they needed microwave cooking but they turned out ok. I only needed to add oil and seasoning. The portion size was very large but the flavours were quite basic compared to what I'm used to – it was a little bland. I was disappointed by the pork burger, which was very dry, and the accompanying apple concasse had an overwhelming allium flavour from raw onion. I really liked the chicken stroganoff – it was rich and tasty, which was impressive given it required so few ingredients. Overall, this is simple cooking that's easy to prepare and nutritionally balanced. But, based on the recipes we tested, don't expect any culinary fireworks.

How many people does it serve?

My box served four, but a one-off three-recipe box for two people costs £25 – a fair price considering the generous amount of ingredients.

What utensils do you need to make the recipes?

The recipes mostly require basic kitchen equipment like sheets, bowls, knives and a chopping board. I'd ask Morrisons to seriously reconsider the use of microwaves in recipes, especially as you can't check the method before ordering – while the website features ingredients, nutritional information and cook time, the method isn't detailed.

Who would the product be most useful for?

This is utilitarian cooking that serves a clear purpose and leaves you well-fed. The use of fresh, nutritious ingredients feels wholesome. This would be a good option for students who have just left home (although probably not sustainable cost-wise in the long-run) and parents who want to serve easy meals to chidren as there are lots of family favourites with mild flavours available to order.

What's your favourite thing about Morrisons Eat Fresh?

The value for money and no-nonsense approach to cooking – these recipes are an education in how to prepare balanced meals when faced with limited time and cost parameters.

What are the subscription terms?

The subscription can be easily paused or cancelled.

Star ratings

Ease of cooking 4/5
Quality of the finished recipes 3/5
Delivery options 3/5
Packaging 3.5/5
Quality of ingredients 3/5 (overall it is good but we’ve marked down for the mince and fish being delivered on its use-by date)
Value for money 5/5

Read about how to sign up to Morrisons Eat Fresh recipe box

This review was last updated in March 2019. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.