Meal categories include family-friendly, vegetarian, vegan, fast, healthy and reduced-carb. The service will suggest recipes based on your taste profile, but you can swap them before your next delivery.

Lab results: If you're looking for tons of options to choose from, this service is for you. Even the vegetarian offerings on the menu are robust. Our testers raved about how much easier Dinnerly was to prepare than other meal delivery services they have used in the past.

They were also happy with the variety of recipes. Favorites included steak dishes, tacos, stir-fries, noodles and burgers. Testers remarked that the meals were suitable for beginner cooks, and the recipes earned top marks for flavor and fresh ingredients.

Our Lab experts like that Dinnerly keeps costs low by cutting down on excess packaging and not printing recipe cards the recipes are available online. RELATED: Best Vegetarian Meal Delivery Services.

If you're trying to avoid cooking at all costs or just need some help with a few meals during the week, Fresh N Lean is an organic and fully prepared meal delivery service. Meals are ready in three minutes in the microwave or can be heated in the oven or on the stovetop.

How it works: Begin by selecting from over menu options each week. There's the option to build your box à la carte too. The menu is updated weekly and nutritional information for each meal is provided on the company's website. You can also add sweet or savory snacks and proteins, including breakfast muffins and grilled salmon.

Lab results: Testers loved the convenience of these fresh-not-frozen prepared meals that simply require heating. Our experts like that the company caters to various dietary needs and preferences, like high-protein meals, keto offerings, Whole 30 meals and more.

And our dietitians point out that the service only uses humanely raised, grass-fed beef, cage-free poultry, free-range eggs and sustainably sourced seafood.

Among our testers, the service received top scores for portion sizes and satiety of meals. Since the meals are fully prepared, they can be pricey so keep this in mind. Sunbasket offers ready-to-heat meals as well as traditional meal kits. All offerings are made from high-quality ingredients and organic produce , with every recipe crafted by chefs and registered dietitians.

How it works : Sunbasket offers traditional meal kits with pre-portioned ingredients and recipes that can be made in 40 minutes or less. You can filter both options for specific dietary preferences including paleo, carb-conscious, gluten-free-friendly, keto-friendly, diabetes-friendly, Mediterranean, vegetarian and pescatarian.

Lab results: Our experts love that Sunbasket has a plan option for pretty much any preference you might have. We also liked that Sunbasket selects organic produce and responsibly sourced meats and seafood.

The brand's dietitians ensure that all meals are typically under calories and mg of sodium but high in protein and fiber. Favorite meals included the penne rigate with yellow squash, the sheet pan pork sausages with roasted apple and delicata squash and the different taco offerings.

The breakfast options were also a big hit. The actual meal selection isn't super robust, but the service does give you the option to add standalone proteins to your box which can save you a trip to the butcher or fishmonger. RELATED: Best Healthy Meal Delivery Services. Founded in , HelloFresh was one of the first meal kit delivery services, and it offers a wide variety of curated meal plans, making it a popular pick in our tests.

All ingredients are pre-portioned for each recipe. How it works: There are over 30 meals to choose from each week. Start by selecting one or more preferences which include:. The menu rotates with new recipes added weekly.

Lab results: We could tell HelloFresh has been at this for a while — our experts found the instruction cards easy to follow and the packaging proved superior to other services we tested, in terms of both performance and sustainability.

Testers gave this service top overall scores for quality, saying that the food tasted great. Popular dishes included Middle Eastern chickpea bowls, pan-seared sweet soy glazed chicken and vegan coconut curry tofu lettuce wraps.

I thought the food tasted better than what we would get from takeout at a restaurant! Larger households will appreciate the offerings from Home Chef that include different plans for up to six people per meal. You'll find a ton of options from five-minute meals to more elaborate entrée masterpieces.

How it works : Start by taking a quiz that assesses your dietary preferences, allergies, level of interest in cooking and delivery preferences to determine which meal plan is best for you and your family.

Choose from 30 different recipes each week. Meal kit options include:. You'll also find six weekly recipes in Kroger grocery stores from Home Chef if you'd rather pick up the items yourself.

Lab results: Our registered dietitians appreciate that Home Chef offers a wide variety of meal kits and that you can filter for calorie-conscious, carb-conscious and vegetarian options. You can also now customize the proteins in your meal which is a major plus. Our testers gave the service rave reviews, with top scores for portion sizes and satiety of meals, easy-to-follow recipes and freshness of ingredients.

Favorites included hot honey crispy chicken, beef and poblano tamale pie, BBQ mushroom flatbread and shrimp campanelle primavera. Testers agreed that the quality of ingredients was better than other services they had tried in the past.

They thought this service was especially great for families, since the recipes were especially simple to follow and yielded delicious results. The fact that they have a section curated specifically for families is a real plus. READ OUR FULL REVIEW: I Tried the Home Chef for Three Months.

Let award-winning chefs craft up restaurant-quality meals for you with CookUnity. The fresh, never frozen, meals come fully prepared and delivered straight to your door. You'll find a changing menu of dozens of options from some of the most talented chefs in the country.

How it works: Start by setting any dietary preferences and then selecting four, six, eight, 12 or 16 meals per week. Menus are posted two weeks in advance, and you can choose your weekly meals or let CookUnity select for you based on your preferences.

You can also filter by dietary preferences like gluten-free, dairy-free, keto, paleo, vegan, and beyond. The meals arrive fresh and come with expiration dates as well as instructions on how to heat them. Lab results: The service received top scores from our testers and Nutrition Lab experts for flavor, portion sizes and overall food quality.

Favorite meals included the beef bourguignon with buttered egg noodles by Chris Ratel, chicken tikka masala by Andres Mendez, lamb kebab with turmeric hummus by Akhtar Narwab and marinated chicken shawarma over Israeli couscous by Einat Admony. Our nutritionists also appreciated that the brand provides a full nutrition facts panel on each meal, too.

Although the brand does offer filters for dietary preferences, the selections can be quite limited. We found the service best for gourmet comfort food, but the brand also offers some health-conscious fare.

Even though many meal delivery services provide all of the ingredients and instructions, it can be hard to find the perfect cooking method every time.

That's where Tovala comes in — the brand sends you neat packages of ingredients that require quick assembly. You'll then use the brand's signature smart oven to cook your food perfectly when you scan the corresponding QR code. How it works: Start by purchasing one of the brand's smart ovens that can bake, broil, toast, reheat and even air fry.

Then, select from over 30 new, chef-crafted meals each week. The meals are portioned for one and arrive fresh. Mostly pre-prepared, they require one minute or less of prep for example, adding a prepared sauce to a salmon filet.

After scanning a QR code, the oven works its magic, cooking your meal in around 20 minutes or less. When choosing meal options, you can filter for carb-conscious meals, gluten-free options, vegetarian offerings and calorie-smart picks.

Lab results: While purchasing the Tovala oven means this meal delivery service has a steep start-up cost, we love that it not only prepares Tovala meals but can also scan and cook over 1, different foods.

Plus, you can use the Tovala recipe library to make your own meals from scratch in the Wi-Fi-connected oven too. While testing this service in the Lab, we were amazed by how consistently and perfectly cooked each meal came out. At-home testers were impressed with the high-quality ingredients and loved that cleanup was a breeze.

Favorite dishes included miso-glazed salmon with broccoli, chicken Parmesan with stuffed shells, crispy chicken potstickers with sweet soy noodles and Salisbury steak meatballs and mashed potatoes. Martha Stewart's meal delivery service serves up minute recipes with fresh ingredients.

The kit aims to introduce home cooks to new flavors and ingredients while also teaching new cooking techniques, and each meal only requires six steps per recipe.

Options also cater to various dietary preferences including vegan, vegetarian, fast, healthy, family-friendly, low carb and no added gluten. The service provides you with almost everything, but you'll need to have a few basics like oil, salt and pepper.

Lab results: Our testers liked that Marley Spoon's instructions were well-written and easy to follow, even for new cooking techniques they had not tried before.

Picky eaters enjoyed the family-friendly meals too. Overall, our experts and testers appreciated how thorough the kits were. One tester said, "I found this to be a high-quality kit, from the packaging of each individual ingredient to the recipe details to the final product.

Nutritious, fully prepared meals are delivered fresh to your door and never frozen with Factor. The options cater to a variety of diets, and the meals can be conveniently heated in the oven or microwave. All subscriptions include one complimentary consultation with a registered dietitian, which is a great perk.

Plan preferences include:. Lab results: Testers and experts both loved the variety of meals offered by Factor, as well as the portion sizes and the simplicity of heating. Meals were delivered in great condition and ingredients tasted fresh. For those on low-carb and keto diets, the amount of compliant options on the menu was a welcome change from other services that have limited offerings.

Plus, the meals were tasty, satisfying and creative, but take note that many of the keto meals are very high in fat. Favorites included the pork tenderloin with cheesy cabbage, vegan mushroom marsala and herb cream cheese salmon. RELATED: Best Low-Carb Meal Delivery Services.

Embrace a plant-based diet with this vegan meal delivery service that features globally inspired recipes. All of the meals are completely plant-forward and kits come with a weekly recipe booklet that you can keep to re-create your favorites. How it works: Purple Carrot offers standard meal kits as well as fully prepared meals.

For the meal kits, everything is already plant-based, but you can also filter recipes to choose high-protein options, meals under calories, nut-free, gluten-free and soy-free offerings. You'll also have the option to add on additional plant-based grocery items, like vegan cream cheese and crackers with the brand's Plantry offerings.

Lab results : Although many meal delivery services offer vegetarian plans, our nutritionists love that Purple Carrot showcases an array of tasty and nutritious vegan options for those following a plant-based lifestyle.

Plus, the service has been clinically proven to help people lose weight and lower LDL cholesterol. But for a kit that doesn't include meat, it is on the pricey side per serving.

New customers complete a detailed food preference quiz, and Hungryoot's algorithm creates a tailored meal plan with an accompanying list of groceries and pre-portioned ingredients to make meals in 10 minutes or less. With an archive of thousands of recipes and tons of search filters, you can mix and match to create nutritious and healthful meals, including salads, rice bowls, soups, pantry items, snacks, beverages, and even ready-to-eat foods.

In addition, Hungryroot focuses on sustainable packaging , with recyclable boxes, biodegradable ice packs, and recipes designed to curb food waste. If you have specific dietary needs or even just a family of picky eaters, Hungryroot allows you to customize your order more than almost any other meal delivery service we tested.

Once your profile is complete, Hungryroot will send you suggested meals based on your preferences every week. Hungryroot delivers everywhere in the contiguous U. Most recipes require only five or six steps, and we found that actual cooking time was very minimal and estimated hands-on time was very accurate.

In fact, both our recipes took under 20 minutes to complete. We tried two recipes from this service:. The suggested cook time for a medium-rare steak was 3 to 4 minutes per side, but we found this left the steak with a cool, red center.

The only other step was adding creme fraiche to the potatoes and mashing them. Pros: CookUnity offers chef-crafted meals that cover a range of dietary needs, and its focus on sustainable packaging appealed to our eco-conscious testers.

Cons: With only single-serving options, CookUnity isn't an ideal choice if you're looking to feed a family. CookUnity offers an extensive selection of fresh, small-batch chef-to-consumer meals ready to heat and eat in minutes.

With east coast, west coast, Texas, and Midwest hubs, you can select from a rotating menu of meals created by award-winning chefs, including Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Esther Choi. The menu caters to all sorts of dietary preferences , including dairy-free, vegan, low-calorie, low-sodium, and keto.

Culinary and global delights feature bibimbap, Thai curries, barbeque, udon soups, pizza, tacos, and mezze platters. Meals are all single-serving, and you can order up to 16 entrées a week. The company also includes profiles of all its chefs, which makes the site more engaging.

The service only delivers to select regions in 47 states, leaving many testers outside major metropolitan areas out of luck. The box is insulated with a recyclable paper insert, and the contents are kept cool with a large ice pack at the bottom of the shipping container. Each meal tray is encased in a colorful paper sleeve with the name and photo of the chef who created the recipe, a use-by date, and detailed nutritional information.

The meal tray is made of industrially compostable material and sealed with a plastic film. We were generally impressed with these prepared meals; while we found some portions on the small side, the flavors won over many of our prepared-meal skeptics.

Pros: Daily Harvest's menu is entirely plant-based, and the service makes every effort to use organic ingredients. Cons: More impatient home cooks may not like that all meals arrive frozen; you also must commit to a minimum order of nine items with each delivery.

Since , Daily Harvest has provided plant-based eaters nationwide with top-notch meals that are chock-full of nutrients. Everything on the menu is plant-based and gluten-free, with a strong focus on organic ingredients.

There are more than dishes on the menu , from sweet potato and wild rice bowls to artichoke and spinach flatbread to purple corn and tomatillo soup.

While all items arrive frozen, that just means you can keep your freezer stocked with meals whenever you need them. Ordering from Daily Harvest is a straightforward process. You do not need to create an account to view the menu, so browse as much as you like before signing up.

Instead, your order will simply repeat until you manually alter it. While there may be better choices than Daily Harvest for larger households, we found its smoothies, bowls, and flatbreads to be a solid choice for folks who want a quick, nutritious meal. Daily Harvest ships its products in a cardboard shipping box, insulated with a liner and kept cool with a package of dry ice.

Your items will arrive frozen and can be stored in your freezer for up to three months. Most packages have at least three elements: a paper-based vessel, a plastic film seal, and a plastic lid or thin cardboard sleeve.

Harvest bakes are the exception; they have the sleeve and plastic seal, but the vessel is an aluminum tray. In general, containers, lids, and sleeves are recyclable or compostable.

Preparing your Daily Harvest meals is about as foolproof as it gets. Aside from overnight oats and chia bowls, which need to soak for at least six hours, harvest bakes and flatbreads take the longest, requiring roughly 20 to 30 minutes to bake in the oven or toaster oven.

Everything else is ready to eat in about five minutes. We sampled nine different items to get an idea of what Daily Harvest has to offer, including:. During testing, we found that the more umami a dish had, the more filling it felt to testers. However, this service fits the bill if you want something fast and healthy.

Pros: With its ethical sourcing and USDA-certified organic ingredients, Sunbasket has a level of variety and customization options that set it apart from the rest.

Cons: Our testers found some of Sunbasket's recipe instructions hard to follow, and shipping is only free for your first order. Sunbasket takes pride in ethical sourcing and using certified USDA-organic ingredients whenever possible from a plethora of U.

purveyors and farmers. The service offers healthy and nutritious meals , with an option for a traditional meal kit with pre-portioned ingredients or fresh-and-ready prepared meals you can heat up in minutes. Meals are available for two or four servings, and many of the meals offer protein customization alternatives, plus options to add on breakfasts, lunches, and snacks.

From Persian salmon to chimichurri steaks to chop suey, Sunbasket creates enticing and internationally inspired meals. Sunbasket tries to ship its meals in environmentally-friendly packaging; our items arrived in a cardboard box lined with paper and denim insulation.

The food is kept cold with plastic ice packs, which are filled with compostable gel. Proteins are sealed in plastic, while all other ingredients are sealed in brown paper bags. Recipes are printed on a full-color folded sheet, and their information is extensive and helpful.

There are even instructions on making your meal ahead of time, which we thought was a nice touch. As part of our testing, we cooked and prepared:. Despite the care Sunbasket puts into its packaging, we were puzzled to find that the company made ingredient substitutions with no warning beforehand.

The differences were small we received Parmesan instead of Pecorino, and the recipe listed roasted garlic when we had raw cloves , but enough to give us pause. Pros: Home Chef has recipes designed to save you time, and with its easy-to-customize dishes, bigger serving sizes, and affordable price point, it's a great option for families.

Cons: Home Chef only offers limited dietary accommodations, so those with specific needs may want to look elsewhere. You can choose from tasty, comfort food-leaning options like Tuscan-style shrimp penne, crispy shallot beef burgers, and mushroom and black bean chili, each of which can feed up to six people.

Then you specify your dietary preferences. You have until Friday each week to pause, skip, or cancel your order, which you can do via Home Chef's website or app.

At this time, Home Chef does not ship to Alaska or Hawaii. Our Home Chef ingredients arrive in an insulated cardboard box, with items kept cool with ice packs.

Proteins are individually wrapped and packed together in a plastic bag, and all premeasured ingredients are grouped in resealable plastic bags, making it easy to store the items in the refrigerator until ready for use.

Each recipe comes with its own double-sided card; these are already three-hole punched and intended to be saved in a binder. We sampled several recipes from Home Chef, which consisted of the following:.

Pros: Dinnerly offers comfort food favorites in varying sizes at budget-friendly price point. Cons: In order to cut down on cost, Dinnerly only offers digital recipe cards. Some of our testers also report chatbot issues when reaching out to customer service. You can order meals with either two or four servings, with an option of three to six meals a week.

Dinnerly's rotating weekly menu focuses on family-friendly comfort foods like steak and potatoes, quesadillas, and rice bowls. You can also incorporate grocery items into your shipments using the new online Market by Dinnerly.

With preportioned items and only a handful of ingredients, meals are quick to prepare and delicious. You don't need to create an account to view Dinnerly's menu.

Simply click on "View Menu. While some dishes were inventive, balanced, and super flavorful, others had us wishing we tweaked some of the ingredients ourselves.

That said, most of what we tried was very tasty and we would definitely make most of the dishes again. But because Gobble preps most of the veggies for you, there's unnecessary albeit recyclable packaging for things like chopped onions, which means more stuff for you to dispose of. Read the full Gobble review.

Favorite meal: Paneer and cauliflower tikka masala with garam masala basmati rice. Cost: Visit Gobble for updated pricing. Although we found some flaws with this fully vegan meal delivery service a few years back, our second time testing proved most if not all of our issues had been remedied.

We tried Purple Carrot for two weeks—trying meals from both the meal kit menu and the prepared meals section—and were impressed by the results. Previously, we found the brand to suffer from confusing recipes, bland flavors, and unsatisfying portions. This time around, we were excited by the menu's international variety, protein-packed ingredients, and overall tastiness.

Standout plant based meals included the tamarind cauliflower with gingered fried rice and cashews , which was addictively tasty, and the buffalo tempeh quinoa bowl , which had a satisfying balance of heat and freshness. We also tried the brand's single-serve prepared meals, which arrive ready to eat after a few minutes in the microwave.

These meals weren't to the same level of deliciousness as the freshly made stuff, but they were still hearty, balanced, and decently tasty. We were happy enough to take them to work on in-office days. Subscribers to Purple Carrot can choose between either two or four servings a week for a meal kit subscription, or three or four meals a week for a prepared meal subscription.

You can also add prepared meals to your meal kit subscription for an additional cost—that's what we did. There are about a dozen meals to choose from each week, and several are conveniently labeled for folks with dietary restrictions, like Gluten-Free or Nut-Free. There are even a few Less Prep options, which feature pre-mixed sauces, pre-cut veggies, and recipes that require fewer pots and pans.

The service also offers breakfast and lunch dishes, plus add-ons think snacks and pantry staples from the cleverly named Plantry. There were still a few minor hiccups during testing, like an unusual recipe card format and slightly inaccurate cook times.

But once you get used to this learning curve it's not a dealbreaker. Whether you're a longtime vegan or just someone looking to add more plant-based ingredients into their life, we recommend subscribing. Read the full Purple Carrot review. Favorite meal: Tamarind cauliflower with gingered fried rice and cashews.

Cost: Visit Purple Carrot for updated pricing. Unlike the other services in this roundup, CookUnity delivers fresh, fully prepared meals directly to your door—no cooking required. CookUnity wowed us from the moment we created an account and started browsing the hundreds—yes, hundreds —of meal options that are offered in any given week.

Each dish on the website is curated by one of CookUnity's featured chefs, who typically specialize in a certain style of cooking. Subscribers can choose to filter the overwhelming number of offerings by anything from diet type think vegan and keto , ethnicity think Mexican, African, or Mediterranean , or by featured chef once you become familiar with them.

When we tested these meals, it felt like we were dining at a restaurant. Each dish was flavorful, fresh, and enticing; they felt like they had been cooked fresh—but the prep took mere seconds.

The meal packaging prompts you to choose between a typical pre-made meal preparation read: microwave or a chef-suggested preparation. The latter requires popping the tray into the oven or transferring the food into a pan. We opted for the chef's suggestions—and it was worth it.

A few of the dishes we tried had smaller portions and left us craving more of a balance of protein, carbs, and veggies. But this issue can easily be avoided by reading the in-depth meal guides on the website to see what's featured in each dish and what its nutritional information is.

Read the full CookUnity review. Favorite meal: Sesame-ginger tofu poke bowl. Cost: Visit CookUnity for updated pricing. Despite the success of its competition, the original meal kit service still has some fight left in them. Time and experience has allowed Blue Apron to keep prices low, perfect time estimates on recipes, and offer fun wine-pairing and gift options.

When we originally tested this service, we had problems with flavors and ratios being off. Oregano overpowered orecchiette , jalapeño overwhelmed peach salsa, and my polenta was in desperate need of salt, spice, or anything to make it more than a bland mush.

But when we tested it again in , we found that the menu offered much more variety. Flavorful meals like Mexican-spiced shrimp bake and shawarma chicken and currant rice had us enjoying every last bite. A few details continue to fall short, though, like disorganized packaging and inaccurate time estimates.

There's also a lack of vegan offerings with this meal kit. But if you're someone looking for dietician-approved meals, tasty recipes, and options for wine and breakfast, you might be very satisfied with this kit. Read the full Blue Apron review. Favorite meal: Crispy skin salmon with salsa verde and farro salad.

Cost: Visit Blue Apron for updated pricing. Different plans are available. Each dish we tested, from hibachi-style steak and rice bowls to apricot dijon chicken legs, was quick and easy to prepare and used high-quality ingredients.

While we were disappointed by the recipe for creamy peppercorn chicken with roasted potatoes and carrots chicken breast can easily dry out when baked, and the sauce was overwhelmingly peppery , we found the other meals satisfying.

However, EveryPlate is focused on affordability and not specific diet plans, which means its recipes may not suit everyone. But if you're looking to subscribe to a meal kit on a budget, EveryPlate just might do. Read the full EveryPlate review. Favorite meal: Apricot dijon chicken legs with roasted carrots and lemon garlic couscous.

Cost: Visit EveryPlate for updated pricing. Meals like chipotle-spiced steak with potato salad were simple, sophisticated, and downright American, just like the homemaking queen. The service is also far from ideal for those with dietary restrictions—in typical American fashion, every recipe revolves around an animal protein or heavy carbs.

Since we originally posted our review, Martha and Marley Spoon has added more vegetarian and low-carb options, but we haven't tested them yet. The service did score points with us for its eco-friendly packaging, made almost entirely from biodegradable materials.

Most of its recipes were also easy to follow for new cooks. Want to learn more? Read our full Martha and Marley Spoon review. Favorite meal: Chipotle-spiced steak with potato salad and charred snap peas. Like Sunbasket, Green Chef promises organic ingredients and a variety of different diet-based meal plans think keto, paleo, and vegan at different price points, with about eight options to choose from per week.

What sets Green Chef apart from other services is its commitment to organic and ethically sourced ingredients. The company is USDA-certified organic, meaning that customers are buying certified ingredients from suppliers that follow strict standards. When we tore open our bags for dishes like red-miso steak stir-fry and chicken with harissa apricot sauce, we were surprised to see that many of the ingredients were pre-prepped.

The carrots and cabbage were already chopped, the miso sauce was already prepared, and there was a baggie of finely minced garlic and ginger that was almost a paste. All these pre-prepped ingredients made preparing our food very speedy and simple.

Most were plated and ready to eat in 30 minutes, and we only dirtied a handful of prep bowls, one pan, one pot, and a cutting board. However, convenience has its drawbacks. Many of the pre-chopped veggies were brown or wilting by the time we went to cook with them.

But otherwise, we quite enjoyed Green Chef. Read the full Green Chef Review. Favorite meal: Red-miso steak stir-fry with udon noodles, carrots, edamame, pickled ginger and carrots. Cost: Visit Green Chef for updated pricing.

This meal delivery service offers a wide variety of recipes that will satisfy omnivores and vegan customers alike with its certified organic produce. Fresh pappardelle verde with sweet pea pistou and sugar snap peas and crispy tempeh tenders with barbecue sauce and lemon-shallot green beans were among its standout offerings when we tested.

We were impressed by how easily our Sunbasket dinners came together, relying on just a few key ingredients and spice blends to do most of the heavy lifting. That meant spending less time cooking and more time enjoying the food. We particularly loved the flavorful veggies and non-meat protein options, making Sunbasket perfect for people who avoid eating meat.

You can easily skip weeks, adjust delivery frequency, pause your account, or cancel your subscription entirely by easily navigating the Sunbasket website. Favorite meal: Fresh pappardelle verde with sweet pea pistou and sugar snap peas.

Cost: Visit Sunbasket for updated pricing. There are several options to choose from when it comes to buying a meal delivery kit. To help make your selection a little easier, here are some of the most important factors to keep in mind before you subscribe to a delivery service:.

As with any subscription service, the price is one detail that should not be overlooked, especially since you'll be paying for the delivery on a weekly or monthly basis. As a rule of thumb, stick to the basics when you first start out with a meal delivery service. See what it has to offer at a price point that matches your budget, and then weigh your options if you decide you want to switch things up.

Not everyone is a connoisseur in the kitchen, and some folks may want their dinner to be prepared more quickly or easily than others. Certain recipes can take longer to prepare, while some may be less labor intensive. Before ordering your meal kit, check to see how long each recipe is intended to take, as well as how much additional chopping, cutting, or prepping you may have to perform.

If you find yourself having little to no time to cook, then a pre-made meal kit like CookUnity could be your best option. Meal delivery services tend to offer a variety of options to meet a wide range of dietary needs, whether it be low calorie, vegan, or gluten-free dishes.

There's also the benefit of customization, which allows consumers to change some of the ingredients within the meal kit to suit their needs. This is particularly useful when it comes to protein options or excluding a particular ingredient due to an allergy or taste preference.

Before you select your meal kit delivery service, check to see what delivery days or times it offers. Some may vary based on your location, but you'll typically be able to select a delivery date for Monday-Friday, with some services offering weekend availability.

This is important to keep in mind as you sign up for your first delivery to ensure you are receiving your meals at the most convenient time for you.

HelloFresh Luckily for you, Magic Kitchen has affordable premade meals for everyone. Our affordable food delivery options are limitless. Whether you are trying to improve Best Overall Meal Delivery on a Budget: Dinnerly; Best Organic Meal Delivery on a Budget: Fresh N' Lean; Best Meal Delivery on a Budget for

Budget-friendly ready-made meal bundles - Home Chef HelloFresh Luckily for you, Magic Kitchen has affordable premade meals for everyone. Our affordable food delivery options are limitless. Whether you are trying to improve Best Overall Meal Delivery on a Budget: Dinnerly; Best Organic Meal Delivery on a Budget: Fresh N' Lean; Best Meal Delivery on a Budget for

You can also add sweet or savory snacks and proteins, including breakfast muffins and grilled salmon. Lab results: Testers loved the convenience of these fresh-not-frozen prepared meals that simply require heating.

Our experts like that the company caters to various dietary needs and preferences, like high-protein meals, keto offerings, Whole 30 meals and more. And our dietitians point out that the service only uses humanely raised, grass-fed beef, cage-free poultry, free-range eggs and sustainably sourced seafood.

Among our testers, the service received top scores for portion sizes and satiety of meals. Since the meals are fully prepared, they can be pricey so keep this in mind.

Sunbasket offers ready-to-heat meals as well as traditional meal kits. All offerings are made from high-quality ingredients and organic produce , with every recipe crafted by chefs and registered dietitians. How it works : Sunbasket offers traditional meal kits with pre-portioned ingredients and recipes that can be made in 40 minutes or less.

You can filter both options for specific dietary preferences including paleo, carb-conscious, gluten-free-friendly, keto-friendly, diabetes-friendly, Mediterranean, vegetarian and pescatarian.

Lab results: Our experts love that Sunbasket has a plan option for pretty much any preference you might have. We also liked that Sunbasket selects organic produce and responsibly sourced meats and seafood. The brand's dietitians ensure that all meals are typically under calories and mg of sodium but high in protein and fiber.

Favorite meals included the penne rigate with yellow squash, the sheet pan pork sausages with roasted apple and delicata squash and the different taco offerings. The breakfast options were also a big hit. The actual meal selection isn't super robust, but the service does give you the option to add standalone proteins to your box which can save you a trip to the butcher or fishmonger.

RELATED: Best Healthy Meal Delivery Services. Founded in , HelloFresh was one of the first meal kit delivery services, and it offers a wide variety of curated meal plans, making it a popular pick in our tests.

All ingredients are pre-portioned for each recipe. How it works: There are over 30 meals to choose from each week. Start by selecting one or more preferences which include:. The menu rotates with new recipes added weekly. Lab results: We could tell HelloFresh has been at this for a while — our experts found the instruction cards easy to follow and the packaging proved superior to other services we tested, in terms of both performance and sustainability.

Testers gave this service top overall scores for quality, saying that the food tasted great. Popular dishes included Middle Eastern chickpea bowls, pan-seared sweet soy glazed chicken and vegan coconut curry tofu lettuce wraps. I thought the food tasted better than what we would get from takeout at a restaurant!

Larger households will appreciate the offerings from Home Chef that include different plans for up to six people per meal. You'll find a ton of options from five-minute meals to more elaborate entrée masterpieces.

How it works : Start by taking a quiz that assesses your dietary preferences, allergies, level of interest in cooking and delivery preferences to determine which meal plan is best for you and your family. Choose from 30 different recipes each week. Meal kit options include:. You'll also find six weekly recipes in Kroger grocery stores from Home Chef if you'd rather pick up the items yourself.

Lab results: Our registered dietitians appreciate that Home Chef offers a wide variety of meal kits and that you can filter for calorie-conscious, carb-conscious and vegetarian options. You can also now customize the proteins in your meal which is a major plus.

Our testers gave the service rave reviews, with top scores for portion sizes and satiety of meals, easy-to-follow recipes and freshness of ingredients. Favorites included hot honey crispy chicken, beef and poblano tamale pie, BBQ mushroom flatbread and shrimp campanelle primavera.

Testers agreed that the quality of ingredients was better than other services they had tried in the past. They thought this service was especially great for families, since the recipes were especially simple to follow and yielded delicious results. The fact that they have a section curated specifically for families is a real plus.

READ OUR FULL REVIEW: I Tried the Home Chef for Three Months. Let award-winning chefs craft up restaurant-quality meals for you with CookUnity.

The fresh, never frozen, meals come fully prepared and delivered straight to your door. You'll find a changing menu of dozens of options from some of the most talented chefs in the country. How it works: Start by setting any dietary preferences and then selecting four, six, eight, 12 or 16 meals per week.

Menus are posted two weeks in advance, and you can choose your weekly meals or let CookUnity select for you based on your preferences. You can also filter by dietary preferences like gluten-free, dairy-free, keto, paleo, vegan, and beyond.

The meals arrive fresh and come with expiration dates as well as instructions on how to heat them. Lab results: The service received top scores from our testers and Nutrition Lab experts for flavor, portion sizes and overall food quality.

Favorite meals included the beef bourguignon with buttered egg noodles by Chris Ratel, chicken tikka masala by Andres Mendez, lamb kebab with turmeric hummus by Akhtar Narwab and marinated chicken shawarma over Israeli couscous by Einat Admony. Our nutritionists also appreciated that the brand provides a full nutrition facts panel on each meal, too.

Although the brand does offer filters for dietary preferences, the selections can be quite limited. We found the service best for gourmet comfort food, but the brand also offers some health-conscious fare. Even though many meal delivery services provide all of the ingredients and instructions, it can be hard to find the perfect cooking method every time.

That's where Tovala comes in — the brand sends you neat packages of ingredients that require quick assembly. You'll then use the brand's signature smart oven to cook your food perfectly when you scan the corresponding QR code.

How it works: Start by purchasing one of the brand's smart ovens that can bake, broil, toast, reheat and even air fry. Then, select from over 30 new, chef-crafted meals each week.

The meals are portioned for one and arrive fresh. Mostly pre-prepared, they require one minute or less of prep for example, adding a prepared sauce to a salmon filet. After scanning a QR code, the oven works its magic, cooking your meal in around 20 minutes or less.

When choosing meal options, you can filter for carb-conscious meals, gluten-free options, vegetarian offerings and calorie-smart picks. Lab results: While purchasing the Tovala oven means this meal delivery service has a steep start-up cost, we love that it not only prepares Tovala meals but can also scan and cook over 1, different foods.

Plus, you can use the Tovala recipe library to make your own meals from scratch in the Wi-Fi-connected oven too. While testing this service in the Lab, we were amazed by how consistently and perfectly cooked each meal came out.

At-home testers were impressed with the high-quality ingredients and loved that cleanup was a breeze. Favorite dishes included miso-glazed salmon with broccoli, chicken Parmesan with stuffed shells, crispy chicken potstickers with sweet soy noodles and Salisbury steak meatballs and mashed potatoes.

Martha Stewart's meal delivery service serves up minute recipes with fresh ingredients. The kit aims to introduce home cooks to new flavors and ingredients while also teaching new cooking techniques, and each meal only requires six steps per recipe.

Options also cater to various dietary preferences including vegan, vegetarian, fast, healthy, family-friendly, low carb and no added gluten. The service provides you with almost everything, but you'll need to have a few basics like oil, salt and pepper.

Lab results: Our testers liked that Marley Spoon's instructions were well-written and easy to follow, even for new cooking techniques they had not tried before. Picky eaters enjoyed the family-friendly meals too. Overall, our experts and testers appreciated how thorough the kits were.

One tester said, "I found this to be a high-quality kit, from the packaging of each individual ingredient to the recipe details to the final product. Nutritious, fully prepared meals are delivered fresh to your door and never frozen with Factor. The options cater to a variety of diets, and the meals can be conveniently heated in the oven or microwave.

All subscriptions include one complimentary consultation with a registered dietitian, which is a great perk. Plan preferences include:.

Lab results: Testers and experts both loved the variety of meals offered by Factor, as well as the portion sizes and the simplicity of heating. Meals were delivered in great condition and ingredients tasted fresh.

For those on low-carb and keto diets, the amount of compliant options on the menu was a welcome change from other services that have limited offerings.

Plus, the meals were tasty, satisfying and creative, but take note that many of the keto meals are very high in fat. Favorites included the pork tenderloin with cheesy cabbage, vegan mushroom marsala and herb cream cheese salmon.

RELATED: Best Low-Carb Meal Delivery Services. Embrace a plant-based diet with this vegan meal delivery service that features globally inspired recipes.

All of the meals are completely plant-forward and kits come with a weekly recipe booklet that you can keep to re-create your favorites. How it works: Purple Carrot offers standard meal kits as well as fully prepared meals. For the meal kits, everything is already plant-based, but you can also filter recipes to choose high-protein options, meals under calories, nut-free, gluten-free and soy-free offerings.

You'll also have the option to add on additional plant-based grocery items, like vegan cream cheese and crackers with the brand's Plantry offerings. Lab results : Although many meal delivery services offer vegetarian plans, our nutritionists love that Purple Carrot showcases an array of tasty and nutritious vegan options for those following a plant-based lifestyle.

Plus, the service has been clinically proven to help people lose weight and lower LDL cholesterol. But for a kit that doesn't include meat, it is on the pricey side per serving. It encouraged me to try new flavors and food combinations I wouldn't have thought of myself.

RELATED: Best Vegan Meal Delivery Services. Think of Hungryroot as a master meal planner — the service will generate a list of groceries for you paired with recipes for the week and ship everything straight to your door. It takes the hassle out of having to meal plan or keep your fridge restocked, and it saves you a trip to the grocery store.

How it works: Begin by taking a quiz to tell the service about your dietary needs, who you're feeding and more. Multiple dietary preferences can be met, including dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, omnivore, soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free and more. The service then creates a grocery plan and fills your cart with suggested groceries and recipes to meet your needs, but you can always edit the delivery to get exactly what you'd like.

Add on individual grocery items like snacks, breakfast foods, fruit and more if desired. You can give feedback on your groceries and recipes so the service can improve deliveries each week. Lab results: Testers rated Hungryroot as one of the best services in our evaluation, saying that the meals were so easy to prepare and that the portion sizes were generous.

Busy families appreciated that the cart would auto-fill and generate not just groceries but also corresponding recipes, but of course, you can customize it if desired. Our registered dietitians note that all of the items are free from partially hydrogenated oils, artificial sweeteners, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colors and artificial preservatives.

One tester said, "It was so fresh, the variety was amazing and everything was so quick to put together. Loved that everything came precut and prepackaged. Specifically, I really enjoyed the delicious sauces! Its Michelin-star chefs team up with physicians and dietitians to create delicious meals that accommodate complex dietary restrictions.

All meals are fully prepared and require refrigeration upon arrival. How it works : The subscription option is designed to help you maintain a low-FODMAP regimen over the course of two to eight weeks.

You can also subscribe to choose your meals and have them sent on a recurring schedule or opt for a one-time order. Epicured offers over menu items ranging from fully prepared bowls, entrées and soups to smoothies and energy bites.

The brand uses organic ingredients whenever possible. Lab results: Testers were pleasantly surprised by the flavorful meals, even though they were gut-friendly.

Learning that it was gluten-free and low-FODMAP had me prepared not to like the texture or flavor. But surprisingly, it was all very good. RELATED: Best Gluten-Free Meal Delivery Services. At the Good Housekeeping Institute , our food and nutrition experts test and review all different types of food products and services.

From healthy snacks and supplements to food subscription boxes and meal delivery services, we are committed to bringing you the best of the best when it comes to quality, performance, flavor, nutrition and more. Our experts have evaluated over 50 different meal delivery services.

First, we assess how easy it is to navigate and utilize the service's website. We look for robust menu variety, ample dietary preferences to accommodate different needs, simple instruction cards, accurate cooking times and delicious and inventive recipes.

We also evaluate the quality of ingredients upon arrival and whether or not the kit includes everything you'll need to re-create the provided recipes. We also look for packaging that keeps the food safe and incorporates sustainable features.

Other major factors are cost and delivery ranges which we strongly consider in our tests. We've looked at everything from traditional kits that come with pre-measured ingredients to fully prepared heat-and-eat options.

What we've found is that there is really a service for every level of home cook and practically any dietary need or preference. Whether you love to cook or prefer to stay away from the kitchen, there is a meal delivery option for all different walks of life.

Real-life feedback from home cooks of all levels is an incredibly value component of our evaluation process. Testers comment on how easy the kits were to follow, their thoughts on the variety and quality of recipes, the condition of the food upon arrival, packaging and more. We made our selections based on expert evaluations and tester feedback in the categories of overall satisfaction, food quality, cost, recycling efforts and availability.

Our top picks cater to a wide variety of dietary preferences including gluten-free, low-carb, high-protein and more. Although taste is subjective, we ultimately chose companies that scored well overall with testers.

Stefani is dedicated to providing readers with evidence-based content to encourage informed food choices and healthy living. She is an avid CrossFitter and a passionate home cook who loves spending time with her big fit Greek family. How to Cook Rice in a Rice Cooker. Dinner Ideas Your Kids Will Love.

Skip to Content Product Reviews Life Health Food Beauty. sign in. Best Flower Delivery V-Day Gifts For Kids V-Day Gifts For Women V-Day Gifts For Men Amazon Valentine's Gifts. Our top picks: 1. Best Overall Meal Delivery Service Blue Apron ORDER AT BLUEAPRON.

ORDER AT BLUEAPRON. Best Organic Meal Delivery Service Green Chef ORDER AT GREENCHEF. ORDER AT GREENCHEF. Best Meal Delivery Service for Beginners Dinnerly ORDER AT DINNERLY. ORDER AT DINNERLY. Best Prepared Meal Delivery Service Fresh N Lean ORDER AT FRESH N LEAN. ORDER AT FRESH N LEAN.

Best Semi-Prepared Meal Delivery Service Sunbasket ORDER AT SUNBASKET. ORDER AT SUNBASKET. Best Meal Delivery Service for Families Home Chef ORDER AT HOMECHEF.

ORDER AT HOMECHEF. Best Chef Crafted Meal Delivery Service CookUnity ORDER AT COOKUNITY. ORDER AT COOKUNITY.

Best Meal Delivery Service for One Tovala ORDER AT TOVALA. ORDER AT TOVALA. Pros Great for all cooking levels Wide variety of plans, including pre-prepped options Fresh ingredients and inventive recipes Seasonal boxes available for special occasions. Cons Premium options come at an added cost.

Plans Two or four servings per meal. Two to five meals per week. If the cost of meal delivery kits gives you sticker shock, look at EveryPlate. This meal delivery service is a much cheaper alternative to most others, including its parent company HelloFresh.

EveryPlate is an affordable meal kit company focusing on simple comfort food recipes that are easy to make and tasty. These meal kits are cheaper than takeout and often groceries, and half the price or less of other meal kit delivery services. To keep costs low, EveryPlate uses simpler ingredients, recipes, and packaging.

You can order three, four, or five meals per week for two or four people. Each week, you choose from a menu of different dishes, which includes vegetarian meal options. You can customize many meals for free or a modest fee by swapping the protein or side. EveryPlate meals are fuss-free and familiar, not fancy.

If you want to kick your dinners up a notch, you can pay extra for premium meals. This costs extra per serving for ingredients like seafood and steak and slightly more sophisticated dishes.

I tried EveryPlate for myself and found the meal kits to be practical and delicious. The recipes were easy to follow and most of the ingredients looked and tasted good.

And while the meal options are more limited than other services, there are still plenty of tasty dishes on the menu, especially if you love comfort food and classic flavors. If you love cooking as much as you love eating and you have an adventurous palette, Blue Apron is the meal delivery service for you.

Blue Apron offers both meal kits you prepare yourself and heat-and-eat meals that are already fully cooked. Ingredients are sourced directly from family-run farms to ensure freshness and quality and recipes are curated by a team of professional chefs.

Blue Apron offers about 19 different meals per week including usually 14 meal kits, three prepared meals, and two ready-to-cook meals that you just put in the oven.

Compared to the price of other meal kit services, Blue Apron is on the higher end of average. When setting up your account, you choose two to five meals per week at two or four servings each. When I tried Blue Apron, I was impressed by the variety. There were so many different globally inspired, gourmet, and nutritious meals to choose from.

The quality of ingredients was excellent and the food was restaurant-quality fantastic. Overall, this meal kit service made me feel like a pro and saved me a lot of time.

Blue Apron would be one of my first choices for people watching their weight too since so many meals are WeightWatchers approved and under calories. This meal kit delivery service is also great for people who want quick prep or prepared meals.

Also, it helps if you have more experience in the kitchen because the recipes can be a little vague, which beginners might find frustrating. One of the first meal kit delivery services ever and the most popular still today, HelloFresh has meal kits figured out.

Fun recipes that are easy and educational make this the best meal delivery service for beginners. The recipes are easy to prepare with simple step-by-step instructions that anyone can follow, and the pre-portioned ingredients provided are always fresh.

HelloFresh offers six different meal plans to choose from, including a vegetarian option, a family-friendly option, and a pescatarian option. Each recipe includes a difficulty rating and nutrition facts. HelloFresh is better than many meal services at catering to different dietary needs.

You can order anywhere from two to six recipes per week — way more options than other meal delivery services — for two or four people each. I tried three meals from HelloFresh and I loved the whole experience. My favorite things about this company were the packaging and the recipe cards. HelloFresh boxes contain surprisingly little plastic and the meals are separated into individual paper bags, which was way more convenient than sorting through a box full of ingredients.

The recipes, another huge strength, included large pictures of each step and helpful tips. The recipes are easy to follow and there are several kid-friendly dishes on the menu. Plus, HelloFresh lets you customize to your liking.

HelloFresh has some balanced meals, but a lot of recipes can be high in fat and calories. outside their health-forward options. HelloFresh will save you time grocery shopping but might not save you money or might cost more than you spend on dinner now.

Sunbasket is a meal delivery service that caters to people valuing sustainable business practices and healthy, organic ingredients. Sunbasket is the meal kit to choose if you're looking for the freshest ingredients and the healthiest recipes.

Although more expensive than competitors, Sunbasket has menus for every diet and lifestyle, whether vegan, paleo, gluten-free, keto-friendly and more. This service prioritizes quality, first and foremost.

Sunbasket has a variety of meals for those who are paleo, vegetarian, gluten-free, and more. In addition to their many creative dishes — like the Moroccan-spiced salmon with jeweled couscous and lemon yogurt or the triple-mushroom quinoa with watercress, scallions, and peas — Sunbasket has an online market, similar to Blue Apron, where you can purchase everything from breakfasts to snacks, to quick lunches and even specialty meats.

The catch with Sunbasket is the price tag. The meal kit portion includes ingredients you follow recipes and cook yourself or options for ready-to-eat meals.

The actual price is personalized to how much food you order. Most meals with Hungryroot you prepare yourself are ready in about ten minutes. Hungryroot mixes in some Walmart and Instacart by also offering a grocery delivery service to its meals. Options include healthy snacks, sweets, fresh fruit, breakfast items and more.

Hungryroot uses a credit-based system that assigns grocery items and recipes a credit value when ordering your plan that corresponds to the number of servings selected. Exclusive to Northeastern U. Outside normal grocery and prepared meal delivery, those in Brooklyn, Manhattan or other delivery zones in New York can also have alcohol delivered with FreshDirect.

Deliveries with FreshDirect can be made up to a week in advance or if you want your groceries quick they can be scheduled for same-day or next-day delivery in selected two-hour windows subject to availability.

Alright, food lovers! Enter the modern marvel: Home Meal Delivery Kits! Most services offer flexible subscription models. You can usually choose how many meals you want to be delivered each week and for how many people.

One of the coolest things about these kits is the variety. Many companies rotate their menus regularly, offering a mix of classic favorites and global dishes that might be new to you. Some companies even offer breakfast, dessert, and snack options.

The cost per meal can be higher than if you sourced the ingredients yourself. Also, while companies are making efforts to reduce packaging, there can still be a fair amount in each box, which could be a concern for the eco-conscious among us.

Before we even thought of tasting anything the fun part! From popular blogs to user reviews on various platforms—think Trustpilot, Yelp, and even Reddit—we dug deep to understand what customers truly want. We prioritized services that offered a range of options.

Once we had our list, it was time for our favorite part: taste-testing! We sampled dishes from numerous services, rating them on flavor, freshness, portion sizes, and overall satisfaction. Yes, it was as delicious as it sounds! We analyzed the cost per meal, looking for services that provided value for money without compromising on taste.

An overlooked but super crucial aspect! And of course, we made some cheeky calls to their customer service to see how responsive and helpful they were. We favored services that used eco-friendly packaging, had recycling options, or showcased any efforts towards sustainability.

Armed with all this data, our team sat down for some serious discussions and maybe a food coma or two! We debated, discussed, and sometimes even passionately argued to whittle down our choices to the final list.

Gone are the days when ordering food was a rare treat. With the advent of meal delivery services, a plethora of culinary delights are just a click away. Imagine getting gourmet dishes or even simple home-cooked style meals delivered right at your door, without the hassle of grocery shopping or meal prepping.

But with the vast sea of options available, how does one pick the right service? Enter meal delivery services! They cater to a range of preferences, from health-focused meals to indulgent treats. Before you get overwhelmed with options, take a moment.

Think about what you really need. Are you aiming to lose weight? Maybe you need high-protein meals. Or are you a gourmet at heart, seeking new and exotic flavors? Pinning down your priorities can narrow the field significantly. From those avoiding gluten to vegans, and from keto enthusiasts to pescatarians, the spectrum is vast.

Check if your prospective vegan meal delivery service can cater to your specific dietary needs. We all dream of eating like royalty, but the wallet does have its limits. While exploring, keep an eye on the price tag. Some services might seem affordable at first but can rack up costs with add-ons.

Find one that offers the best bang for your buck. Look into how your chosen service packages its food. Do they use excessive plastic?

Or have they adopted eco-friendly alternatives? Your choices can make a difference. Food can be an adventure. While local delicacies are comforting, sometimes the soul craves exotic flavors.

Scour through reviews. Consistent complaints about a particular issue should raise eyebrows.

Video

Budget-friendly ready-made meal bundles - Home Chef HelloFresh Luckily for you, Magic Kitchen has affordable premade meals for everyone. Our affordable food delivery options are limitless. Whether you are trying to improve Best Overall Meal Delivery on a Budget: Dinnerly; Best Organic Meal Delivery on a Budget: Fresh N' Lean; Best Meal Delivery on a Budget for

Each meal is curated with the utmost care, using fresh, locally sourced vegetables that are flash-frozen to seal in their natural goodness and flavor. The brand prides itself on its transparent ingredient list, featuring whole food ingredients with no artificial additives or preservatives.

It also offers a diverse array of gluten-free and dairy-free options, catering to different dietary needs. Its eco-conscious approach is another positive aspect of the service.

Mosaic Foods is dedicated to sustainability, from sourcing ingredients to packaging. It uses recyclable packaging materials and is conscious about its carbon footprint, striving to offset it with green initiatives. The minimum order is 6 meals, but you can get up to 18 items in your box.

Top Plans Top Plans See Menu See Menu See Menu See Menu See Menu See Menu See Menu See Menu See Menu See Menu Our Rating Our Rating 9. Here are some other factors to consider when choosing the right meal delivery service:. For your money, Dinnerly offers a wide selection of simple-to-cook and tasty recipes that cater to a good variety of dietary needs.

Yes, HelloFresh offers a diverse and adventurous menu at a good price. Yes, EveryPlate is one of the most affordable meal delivery services on my list.

It still offers lots of weekly choices, top-tier ingredients, and plenty of international, family-friendly meals. Yes, but it depends on what you order, as each meal is priced individually and add-ons cost extra.

However its varied menu and Customize It feature means you have a lot of flexibility, which is why it made my list. If you choose one of my top affordable services , then yes, they can be. You might be able to purchase ingredients for slightly less at your local grocery store, but meal delivery services help you save more overall by sticking to a budget, cutting down on food waste, and resisting the urge to impulse-buy at the grocery store or on takeout.

We rank vendors based on rigorous testing and research, but also take into account your feedback and our commercial agreements with providers. This page contains affiliate links. Advertising Disclosure This is a user-oriented comparison website, and we need to cover hosting and content costs, as well as make a profit.

The costs are covered from referral fees from the vendors we feature. Affiliate link compensation does not affect reviews but might affect listicle pages. Information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article. we couldn't find any matches for {value} double check your search for any typos.

Meal Delivery. Best Meal Delivery per Category. Weight Loss. Best Meal Delivery per Location. Best Meal Delivery Services in New York. Best Meal Delivery Services in Boston.

Best Meal Delivery Services in Atlanta. Best Meal Delivery Services for Seattle. Best Meal Delivery Services in Chicago. Best Meal Delivery Services in Maryland. Best Meal Delivery Services in Portland.

Best Meal Delivery Services in Tampa. Meal Delivery Comparisons. Home Chef vs. Nutrisystem vs. Blue Apron vs. Sunbasket vs HelloFresh. BistroMD vs. Freshly vs. Dinnerly vs. Green Chef vs.

Blue Apron. Pet Food Delivery. Best Dog Food Delivery Per Category. Sensitive Stomach. For Puppies. Pet Food Delivery Comparisons. JustFoodForDogs vs. PetPlate vs.

Chewy vs. Freshpet vs. Ollie vs. Nom Nom. PetFlow vs. Breed-Specific Pet Food Delivery Services. Italian Greyhounds. Pitbulls with Skin Allergies. Golden Retrievers. Great Dane. Tibetan Mastiffs. Chow Chows. Bernese Mountain Dogs.

Great Pyrenees. Shih Tzu. Belgian Malinois. Border Collies. Australian Shepherds. Cane Corso. Wine Delivery. Best Wine Delivery Services. BMI calculator. Latest Articles. Top Delivery Services. Claim Discount. Joey Kendrick.

Fact checked by Deborah Leigh. Short on Time? Key Features Menu changes weekly Good range of add-ons Sustainable, non-GMO ingredients and recyclable packaging.

Key Features Grocery delivery that transforms into easy recipes Dietary options include gluten-free, vegan, nut-free, and more Cook dishes in as little as 10 minutes. Key Features Meatless prepared meals ready in minutes Single-serving dishes and family-sized portions Dietary options include sugar-free, nut-free, and more.

See Menu. Read Full Review. New For You! Code: Routine Here are some other factors to consider when choosing the right meal delivery service: Menu variety: More costly meal delivery services usually offer a wider weekly selection, but even budget-friendly options like Dinnerly have expansive menus, ensuring you'll find meals you'll enjoy week after week.

Fresh, quality ingredients: Too often, inexpensive meal choices are loaded with sodium, sugar, and unhealthy additives and preservatives.

Good customer service: Companies will sometimes save money by cutting back on customer service, but when you want to skip a week or have a problem with your order, you want the issue resolved quickly.

Look for services like Blue Apron that has a user-friendly app and helpful, easy-to-reach representatives. Identify your priorities: Some services implement measures to save costs and maintain competitive pricing, so understand fully what you'll receive each week.

For example, if you prefer clearly labeled and organized ingredient bags like Home Chef , you might need to pay a bit more for such preferences. My favorite meal was the dal makhani. It's made from a short list of simple ingredients, has all the creamy richness you'd expect from the dish, and it takes seven minutes to prepare as opposed to overnight in the slow cooker.

I ate this with a dollop of yogurt, chopped cilantro, and premade rotis. I also appreciate that Cumin Club offers dishes from distinct places of origin, like Kolkata and Chennai—both regions that represent my cultural identity but that often get overlooked when it comes to Indian food in the US.

The Cumin Club. All of the dishes I tried were flavorful and well-seasoned, and I enjoyed the unmatched diversity of ingredients. Not to mention, all of the meals are quick and easy. I appreciated that the sauces and dressings were premade and actually tasted good and that the protein choices for the meals were customizable.

For example, when ordering the BBQ meatloaf with garlicky greens and potatoes , you can select either ground beef, ground chicken, or ground turkey. For other meals, you can even choose your preferred cut of steak or chicken.

They also offer weekly fully prepared, microwave-ready meals I can vouch for the turkey chili mac with cheddar. Go directly to our top picks to order your weekly meals: Sign up for Purple Carrot , or skip ahead to read our review.

Sign up for Marley Spoon , or skip ahead to read our review. Sign up for Home Chef , or skip ahead to read our review. Sign up for Gobble , or skip ahead to read our review.

Sign up for Dinnerly , or skip ahead to read our review. Sign up for Green Chef , or skip ahead to read our review. Shop at Purple Carrot. Shop at Home Chef. Shop at Marley Spoon. Shop at Gobble. Shop at Dinnerly. Shop at Green Chef. Shop at CookUnity.

Shop at Hello Fresh. Shop at Hungryroot. Shop at Factor. Shop at EveryPlate. Shop at Territory. Shop at The Cumin Club.

Shop at Sunbasket. BA Reviews Freshly's Meal Delivery Service. The popular meal delivery service promises quick, healthy, and delicious meals. Is it worth the money? How it works, the meals to order and the ones to skip , and what to know before you sign up. Explore Bon Appétit Shopping.

Some of the dishes did take a few more minutes than the suggested cooking times. Pros: Green Chef's meals are diverse, interesting, and made with organic ingredients.

The company also has meal options with up to six servings, making it a great choice for larger households. Cons: If you're looking for breakfast options, Green Chef's choices are limited, and shipping is not free. Using certified-USDA organic produce, Green Chef curates a rotating weekly selection of 24 gourmet, chef-inspired meals.

You can choose from various dietary preferences, such as vegan, gluten-free, and keto, with an option to mix and match. Meals are available in servings of two, four, and six, and you can order two, three, or four meals per week.

Additionally, Green Chef's menu is available online up to three weeks out so that you can browse future options with ease. Next, you'll enter your email, create a password, and enter your address and payment info.

Once that's done, you'll be taken to the menu to select your meals. Green Chef allows you to skip or reschedule deliveries whenever you need to , and you can even change your meal plan size if you need more or less food in any given week.

If you have any questions about your order, Green Chef offers a live chat customer service option that can be accessed from the FAQ page. The company's virtual assistant, Olive, will be your first point of contact; if Olive can't answer your question, you will be directed to an associate who can.

From there, preparation is up to you. If any additional items typically salt, pepper, and olive oil are required, they will be items that most people will already have on hand.

We ordered and tasted three meals as part of our evaluation of Green Chef; however, we were limited by a shipping issue that caused the vacuum-sealed bags containing the raw pork and chicken to leak in transit, leaving us unable to sample these items.

Some packaging leaking in transit was a disappointing turn of events, though we found that the flavors we could sample were reasonably cohesive, and Green Chef earned points for its inventive use of spices and flavor combinations. Pros: Most of Hungryroot's meals are ready in 10 minutes or less, and customers have access to more than 2, recipes.

Cons: The simplicity of Hungryroot's recipes may not appeal to more advanced home cooks. Hungryroot is a meal planning service and grocery ordering site all in one.

New customers complete a detailed food preference quiz, and Hungryoot's algorithm creates a tailored meal plan with an accompanying list of groceries and pre-portioned ingredients to make meals in 10 minutes or less. With an archive of thousands of recipes and tons of search filters, you can mix and match to create nutritious and healthful meals, including salads, rice bowls, soups, pantry items, snacks, beverages, and even ready-to-eat foods.

In addition, Hungryroot focuses on sustainable packaging , with recyclable boxes, biodegradable ice packs, and recipes designed to curb food waste. If you have specific dietary needs or even just a family of picky eaters, Hungryroot allows you to customize your order more than almost any other meal delivery service we tested.

Once your profile is complete, Hungryroot will send you suggested meals based on your preferences every week. Hungryroot delivers everywhere in the contiguous U.

Most recipes require only five or six steps, and we found that actual cooking time was very minimal and estimated hands-on time was very accurate. In fact, both our recipes took under 20 minutes to complete.

We tried two recipes from this service:. The suggested cook time for a medium-rare steak was 3 to 4 minutes per side, but we found this left the steak with a cool, red center.

The only other step was adding creme fraiche to the potatoes and mashing them. Pros: CookUnity offers chef-crafted meals that cover a range of dietary needs, and its focus on sustainable packaging appealed to our eco-conscious testers.

Cons: With only single-serving options, CookUnity isn't an ideal choice if you're looking to feed a family. CookUnity offers an extensive selection of fresh, small-batch chef-to-consumer meals ready to heat and eat in minutes.

With east coast, west coast, Texas, and Midwest hubs, you can select from a rotating menu of meals created by award-winning chefs, including Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Esther Choi. The menu caters to all sorts of dietary preferences , including dairy-free, vegan, low-calorie, low-sodium, and keto.

Culinary and global delights feature bibimbap, Thai curries, barbeque, udon soups, pizza, tacos, and mezze platters. Meals are all single-serving, and you can order up to 16 entrées a week.

The company also includes profiles of all its chefs, which makes the site more engaging. The service only delivers to select regions in 47 states, leaving many testers outside major metropolitan areas out of luck.

The box is insulated with a recyclable paper insert, and the contents are kept cool with a large ice pack at the bottom of the shipping container. Each meal tray is encased in a colorful paper sleeve with the name and photo of the chef who created the recipe, a use-by date, and detailed nutritional information.

The meal tray is made of industrially compostable material and sealed with a plastic film. We were generally impressed with these prepared meals; while we found some portions on the small side, the flavors won over many of our prepared-meal skeptics.

Pros: Daily Harvest's menu is entirely plant-based, and the service makes every effort to use organic ingredients.

Cons: More impatient home cooks may not like that all meals arrive frozen; you also must commit to a minimum order of nine items with each delivery. Since , Daily Harvest has provided plant-based eaters nationwide with top-notch meals that are chock-full of nutrients.

Everything on the menu is plant-based and gluten-free, with a strong focus on organic ingredients. There are more than dishes on the menu , from sweet potato and wild rice bowls to artichoke and spinach flatbread to purple corn and tomatillo soup.

While all items arrive frozen, that just means you can keep your freezer stocked with meals whenever you need them. Ordering from Daily Harvest is a straightforward process.

You do not need to create an account to view the menu, so browse as much as you like before signing up. Instead, your order will simply repeat until you manually alter it.

While there may be better choices than Daily Harvest for larger households, we found its smoothies, bowls, and flatbreads to be a solid choice for folks who want a quick, nutritious meal.

Daily Harvest ships its products in a cardboard shipping box, insulated with a liner and kept cool with a package of dry ice.

Your items will arrive frozen and can be stored in your freezer for up to three months. Most packages have at least three elements: a paper-based vessel, a plastic film seal, and a plastic lid or thin cardboard sleeve. Harvest bakes are the exception; they have the sleeve and plastic seal, but the vessel is an aluminum tray.

In general, containers, lids, and sleeves are recyclable or compostable. Preparing your Daily Harvest meals is about as foolproof as it gets. Aside from overnight oats and chia bowls, which need to soak for at least six hours, harvest bakes and flatbreads take the longest, requiring roughly 20 to 30 minutes to bake in the oven or toaster oven.

Everything else is ready to eat in about five minutes. We sampled nine different items to get an idea of what Daily Harvest has to offer, including:.

During testing, we found that the more umami a dish had, the more filling it felt to testers. However, this service fits the bill if you want something fast and healthy. Pros: With its ethical sourcing and USDA-certified organic ingredients, Sunbasket has a level of variety and customization options that set it apart from the rest.

Cons: Our testers found some of Sunbasket's recipe instructions hard to follow, and shipping is only free for your first order. Sunbasket takes pride in ethical sourcing and using certified USDA-organic ingredients whenever possible from a plethora of U.

purveyors and farmers. The service offers healthy and nutritious meals , with an option for a traditional meal kit with pre-portioned ingredients or fresh-and-ready prepared meals you can heat up in minutes.

Meals are available for two or four servings, and many of the meals offer protein customization alternatives, plus options to add on breakfasts, lunches, and snacks. From Persian salmon to chimichurri steaks to chop suey, Sunbasket creates enticing and internationally inspired meals.

Sunbasket tries to ship its meals in environmentally-friendly packaging; our items arrived in a cardboard box lined with paper and denim insulation.

The food is kept cold with plastic ice packs, which are filled with compostable gel. Proteins are sealed in plastic, while all other ingredients are sealed in brown paper bags. Recipes are printed on a full-color folded sheet, and their information is extensive and helpful.

There are even instructions on making your meal ahead of time, which we thought was a nice touch. As part of our testing, we cooked and prepared:.

Despite the care Sunbasket puts into its packaging, we were puzzled to find that the company made ingredient substitutions with no warning beforehand.