Organic bacon made without nitrates. Hereâs what you need to know.
Everyone dreams of a stress-free Christmas. So, forget any last minute panics of struggling to find a turkey big enough for your party, or worst yet, shops running out of brussels sprouts. Instead, let someone else do the shopping for you: enter Christmas food box deliveries, which arrive directly from the farms to your door.
Producers who lovingly grow veg and rear animals for these excellent boxes are masters of their crafts, which have been months in the making (and years in the perfecting). So, what better way to show your appreciation than buying directly from the best of them?
All of our selections are from a mix of organic and high welfare farms. They feature grass-fed and free- range produce from animals which have had a very good quality of life and taste better because of it, too.
To help us choose, we asked some of our favourite farmers whatâs on offer this year. There’s impressive veggie centrepieces, simple turkey breast joints and vegan Indian-inspired feasts, which don’t require much faff. We’ve listed them all below, along with useful information like the last order date and how many people they’ll feed.
To make things even easier for you, the food boxes arrive chilled or frozen and thanks to clever packaging, they will stay that way all day. So, you donât even need to be home to receive your food box delivery.
Top tips for ordering your Christmas food box:
But before you get started with your order, remember that each farm has a whole range of options, not just the box weâve selected. So, if you like the sound of one then click on the link to find what else is available.
Secondly, and probably most importantly, order as early as possible. While order dates take you right up to Christmas, word on the farms is that slots are filling up fast.
Traditional Christmas food box deliveries
Christmas turkey
First up, of course, is the Christmas turkey. If youâre a stickler for this tradition, then there are a lot of great options for you. In fact, there’s so many we have an entire article dedicated to where and how to get the best tasting turkey. You’re welcome.
If you’re looking for more unconventional ideas to supplement, or even replace, your turkey centrepiece then read on…
Field & Flower Christmas Day Food Box
Feeds: 3-4
Last order date: Midnight on 11th December
For a one-stop-shop for an excellent traditional turkey lunch, this is it. The turkey breast joint means there’s no need to spend time faffing with giblets, making for a stress-free dinner. Equally, it would be an excellent gift for your festive host, if you’re not doing the cooking this year.
Set up in 2010, field&flowerâs original mission was to supply consumers with grass-fed, top-quality beef, directly to their homes, instead of their produce being lost in the food chain. The company now works with some of the best independent West Country farms and fishers who share their high animal welfare and sustainability values to offer a whole lot more.
Contents: 1x turkey breast joint with pork, sage and caramelised onion stuffing (1kg), 1x Scottish smoked salmon (200g), 1x pigs in blankets, pack of 12 (340g), 1x free range goose fat (200g), 1x pork, sage and caramelised onion stuffing balls, pack of 12 (340g), 1x three king chipolatas (340g), 1x turkey gravy (250g), 1x cranberry sauce (190g)
ÂŁ69.48 with code XMASDAY, usually ÂŁ77.20 | Field & Flower
Sage and Onion Simplest Turkey Christmas Food Box
Feeds: 4-12 (depending on size chosen)
Last order date: 16 December, but sells out before so order by first week of December. You can add to your order up to 7 days before your delivery date
For the turkey purists out there who want an easy ride in the kitchen, Pipers Farm’s aptly named “simplest turkey” offering will tick all the right boxes. The only decision to make is how many people to cater for, as boxes start from 4 portions, and increase up to 12, which helps to minimise waste. Then when it comes to cooking, all you’ll need to do from scratch is the veg. The whole contents of the box can be cooked in the oven in one hour.
The turkey is free range, and includes breast and leg, so all parties (whichever cut your guests prefer) will be happily catered for. The sausage meat and pigs in blankets are made from the farm’s famous native breed pigs.
Pipers Farm is based in Devon, where the 50-acre family farm works in tune with nature and 40 other family farms in the surrounding areas. It is widely recognised for its succulent meats and creative cuts â and has won a whole host of accolades to prove it.
Contents: Properly free range turkey breast stuffed with sage and onion sausagemeat stuffing, properly free range turkey leg stuffed with sage and onion sausagemeat stuffing, pigs in blankets (2 per person), pure free range turkey stock
From ÂŁ42.60 for 4-person box | Pipers Farm
Fosse Meadows Free-range Chicken Box
Feeds: Whole chicken feeds 4-5 people, plus other cuts
Last order date: 22 December
Turkey at Christmas isn’t for everyone, and those firmly in the chicken camp should look to Fosse Meadows. The organic farm in Leicestershire, which is now in its fourth generation, specialises in traditional free range poultry that’s very slow grown.
It proudly farms French breed chickens, which reach full maturity and freely roam with access to pasture and hedges, as it’s a Pasture for Life certified farm. This results in really high quality meat with excellent flavour and the yellow tinge to its skin which is associated with organic chicken.
To avoid any arguments of who gets what, there’s a pleasing mixture of cuts, including skin-on breasts, skinless breasts, drumsticks and legs. There’s also a whole chicken too, if you like the presentation of a whole bird on the table to carve.
Contents: 1 x medium whole chicken (2kg typically), 1 x pack of skin-on chicken breast (2 breasts per pack), 1 x pack of skinless chicken breast (2 breasts per pack), 1 x pack of chicken drumsticks (4 drums per pack), 1 x pack of chicken legs (2 legs per pack)
ÂŁ44.50 | Fosse Meadows
Helen Browning’s Organic Christmas Essentials Box
Feeds: Depends on what you order
Last order date: Available to pre-order now, which will be delivered shortly before Christmas. Available to collect from the Farm Shop too
This is not a traditional food delivery box, as Helen Browning invites you to build your own, which makes a perfect personalised gift for a host (or yourself).
Best known for their high-welfare organic pork, in 2020 Helen Browning’s introduced a range of ethically produced high-welfare, lower carbon âgood beefâ. This means you can order ready-to-cook Christmas gammon and beef from one place. Plus you can add in the sausages and bacon for DIY pigs in blankets, too â which we couldnât get enough of and children will no doubt love getting involved with.
As one of the UKâs few female farmers, Helen has always pushed hard in pursuit of a better way of farming, and in doing so has helped to shape organic farming across the UK.
Contents: Pick and mix from: Organic gammon, organic perfectly pink beef, organic classic pork sausagemeat, organic pork and cranberry sausagemeat, organic speedy sausages, organic unsmoked streaky bacon, organic smoked back bacon
From ÂŁ40 for gammon, ÂŁ30 for beef, | Helen Browningâs
Vegan and Vegetarian Christmas food box deliveries
Riverford Veggie Wellington Kit
Feeds: 6
Last order date: 21 December
An indulgent wellington dish is usually associated with beef, but break with tradition and go veggie this year.
Riverford’s organic veggie wellington is bursting with chunky portobello mushrooms and lentils in a decadent red sauce, and it will no doubt make an impressive centrepiece. The recipe box comes with all the ingredients, which have been lovingly grown on the farm, as well as an easy step by step guide. The only thing you need to add yourself is a healthy knob of butter.
Guy Singh and the Riverford team in Devon have been paving the way in organic farming since 1986. It also reduced its plastic packaging by 21 tonnes a year, doesn’t use air freight, is one of the top 100 companies to work at in the UK.
Contents: Plain flour, wheat, tinned dark lentils, portobello mushrooms, baby spinach, carrot, celery, red wine, onion, egg, tamari, rosemary, garlic
ÂŁ11.95 | Riverford
Abel & Cole Vegan Christmas Feast Box
Feeds: 6-8 people
Last order date: Available to pre-order now and delivered on 24th December
Christmas food boxes are not all meat based, as Abel & Cole‘s excellent vegan offering proves. For those that need a little spice in their festive spread, and want something more fun than traditional meat-and-two-veg, this Indian-inspired plant based feast recipe box is just the ticket. The main dish is a golden chickpea and cauliflower biryani, while there’s also classic dishes like tikka masala, korma and gunpowder roast potatoes.
A magnum of Prosecco will serve as a festive welcome drink for your guests, and Abel & Cole has even gone to the trouble of adding sprigs of mistletoe to the box, so you can decorate your festive table too.
Contents: Golden chickpea and cauliflower biryani, gunpowder roast potatoes, red onion salad, beetroot raita, tofu tikka masala, creamy vegetable korma, magnum of Giol Prosecco, sprigs of organic mistletoe for your table
ÂŁ115 | Abel & Cole
Christmas nibbles food box deliveries
Pipers Farm The Cheese Board Christmas Food Box
Feeds: 4
Last order date: 16 December, but sells out before so order by first week of December. You can add to your order up to 7 days before your delivery date
No festive spread is complete without a cheeseboard, whether you have it on Boxing Day, Christmas Eve, or wheel it out during Twixmas, or even Christmas Day evening, if you dare. But there’s quite an art to a balanced cheeseboard.
Pipers Farm celebrates the best of British cheeses with this selection that’s designed to be nibbled at over an evening with a glass (or two) of red. It offers everything you need, making it a great gift-choice if someone else is hosting.
Featuring some of our favourite cheeses too, such as Cropwell Bishop Stilton (a rich and creamy blue) and Tunworth (a Camembert style cheese) the whole offering is decadent and moorish. It’s completed with two chutneys â sweet onion marmalade and hot apple chutney â and deliciously sweet fog crackers. The box is sure to make any turophile salivate at the sight of it.
Contents: Cropwell Bishop Stilton (200g), Quicke’s vintage clothbound cheddar (200g), Tunworth (250g), Bix (100g), sweet onion marmalade, hot apple chutney, fig crackers
ÂŁ39.95 | Pipers Farm
Riverford Large British Cheese Christmas Food Box
Feeds: 6+
Last order date: 21 December
Having a cheeseboard curated for you can be a great help for spreading the responsibilities of the festive feast. Riverford offers a larger selection, with this box of seven organic cheeses all handmade and from small dairies Riverford knows and trusts â what could be better?
In this box there’s something for everyone, from a velvety Cotswold brie, to a Brighton blue, a classically crumbly Lancashire cheese, and not forgetting Gorwyddâs multi award-winning caerphilly, to name just a few. All you need to do is bring out the biscuits and chutneys.
Contents: 1x High Weald Brighton blue cheese (150g), 1x High Weald Saint Giles (150g), 1x Crumbly Lancashire (150g), 1x Gorwydd caerphilly (200g), 1x Seven Sisters sheep’s cheese (125g), 1x Caws Cenarth mature cheddar (200g), 1x Cotswold brie (240g)
ÂŁ30.50 | Riverford
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