Read our review of Daily Harvest here. The traditional meal kit service sends all the pre-portioned ingredients to your door, based on the meal you choose from their rotating weekly menu.

They provide options for an assortment of different diets including keto, Mediterranean, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, protein-packed and fast and fit meals that can be ready in under 25 minutes. Read our review of Green Chef here.

If every plate served up was affordable and nutritious, the world would be a better place. Start that off in your own home with EveryPlate. EveryPlate also has some new features when choosing your plan, allowing you to select Nutrish and Delish meals as an option, with calories or less in each serving.

You can also choose veggie or meat and veggie for more balanced meals. Read our review of EveryPlate here. How it works? First, you pick your delivery days and recipes of choice. Each week, you can choose from more than recipes, including family-friendly, vegetarian, vegan, fast, healthy and reduced-carb options.

Interestingly, your pre-determined taste profile suggests recipes, but you can always swap them in your account up to seven days before your next delivery. We love options just as much as we value healthy eating.

Hungryroot is a meal delivery and grocery service that allows you to order specific groceries for a meal as well as other pantry and fridge staples all at once, filling your home with nutritious ingredients and ready-made snacks for on-the-go.

Since this is an a lá carte service, no need to choose a plan. Instead, when taking the quiz upon sign up, let the service know if you prefer to shop for vegan, vegetarian or any allergen-free foods. Then, add to cart what you need, shopping Hungryroot vetted brands as well as their own label.

Read our review of Hungryroot here. If you can spoon it or slurp it, we want it. Splendid Spoon specializes in plant-based and nutritious foods, all of which you can enjoy on the go. We love them for their ease of use, as their smoothies, juices, noodles, soups and bowls all come in easy-to-transport and re-heat containers — this makes healthy eating even easier!

However, you can sort the menu by nutrition information, such as higher fiber, higher protein, lower sodium, lower sugar and lower fat to name a few. Read our review of Splendid Spoon here. There are at least four veggies packed into each meal and you can bake and serve with no prep or cleanup.

Carrots are healthy, right? For those who already partake in a vegan lifestyle, Purple Carrot is a great way to shake things up and get new recipe ideas. While being vegan is not inherently healthy, making sure you are getting enough protein, fresh vegetables and fruits and healthy fats is — which is why the recipes from Purple Carrot make this list.

Each meal is plant-based, so no need to choose a specific plan, aside from the typical frequency and amount of meals you need. Read our review of Purple Carrot here. BistroMD is a suitable healthy meal kit that, impressively, is doctor-designed hence, its MD name.

You can even add EATS Essential and Tasty Snacks to accelerate your weight loss. Boasting fresh meals and fresh flavors, the service allows you to have access to high-protein meals crafted by chefs and dietitians to support all diets.

Namely, you can choose meals with organic ingredients, balanced macronutrients, and high-quality and humanely raised proteins. Even better, you can download the Trifecta Nutrition app for a personalized plan and intuitive weight loss tools.

HelloFresh is a household name at this point, but did you know they offered an array of meals tailored to specific nutritional needs and diets? The meal kit company is widely known and used by individuals, couples and families alike, as well as us, as we have reviewed the service numerous times and love it.

When creating an account, see options for Fit and Wholesome meals, which have about calories or less per serving. You can also choose vegetarian, pescatarian or a meat and veggie option for balanced and nutritious meals. Read our review of HelloFresh here and here.

Home Chef is one of the best healthy meal kits for dinner, per our research, 1 because its menu looks absolutely delicious week after week and 2 the vast catalog of foods you can choose from is beyond compare.

For an easy twist to dinner, Home Chef provides fresh ingredients in pre-portioned amounts, allowing you to toss in and sprinkle over the pan and cutting board in a jiffy.

Simply select your meals using the site or app, and then let their team takeover. Their chefs will dice, chop and all the other culinary things none of us have time for. All the ingredients and directions come to your door and can be prepared in 15 — yes, 15 — minutes!

Ahead, we turned to three dietitians and holistic nutrition experts to dial down what you need to know before ordering from one of the healthy meal kits above. Of course, convenience and a repertoire of options are the two main attributes we can attest to, but the experts share even more tidbits of wisdom.

Between juggling demanding work schedules, managing a household, and for some, raising children, there is often very little time or energy left at the end of the day to make a meal from scratch, according to Kara Lydon, RD , registered dietitian, certified intuitive eating counselor and owner of Kara Lydon Nutrition.

Many meal kits meet most specifications. If you look carefully enough, there are meal kits for every dietary need, such as gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian or diabetes friendly as well.

Below, our team of health and wellness experts dish out the specific criteria to keep in mind before ordering your next dish:.

Remember that if you are only eating a half portion, you need to divide the amounts on the nutrition facts panel by half, too, Lydon pinpoints. Those with high blood sugar will do better on a meal plan that is lower in carbohydrates and sugar, which could be a paleo or keto diet.

You won't need more than a saucepan, toaster or blender to prepare most of the meals, and most can be made in as little as 5 minutes. When I tried Daily Harvest , I loved the interesting smoothie combos such as a chocolate blueberry smoothie with greens, banana and almond butter.

The bottom line : It doesn't get much easier than HelloFresh. This service has tons of cheap meal kit options, more than 50 per week, and allows you to add proteins or extra servings to keep the whole crew fed and happy. HelloFresh has as many as 25 dinner meal kits per week, so it is nearly impossible not to find something you'll like.

HelloFresh also has five or six plant-based recipes a week, making it the best cheap meal kit service for vegetarians. Over the past few years, we've tested nearly every meal kit delivery and prepared meal delivery service we could get our oven mitts on, and that includes the best budget meal delivery services.

Many of the menu options for the meal delivery services we've listed include nutritious plant-based food or high-protein recipes with lots of veggies and lean meats. To test each cheap meal delivery service, I tried at least four and sometimes as many as 10 meals from any given service.

I always choose a range of meals from the various menu and meal plan offerings. For instance, if a meal subscription service offers vegan or vegetarian meals I was sure to try at least one. I also mixed up the cuisine types to include pasta, meat dishes, bowls and other various styles offered by the brand.

To test the best cheap meal kits, there was another set of standards and protocols to adhere to. Here's more on how we test meal kits at CNET. The first big decision you'll make is whether you want meal kits, which require some prep and cooking, or a prepared meal service that sends fully cooked meals ready to heat and eat.

Prepared meals require almost no time and energy, other than what it takes to actually eat the food, but typically run a few dollars more per serving.

If you're keen on eating low-calorie, low-carb, plant-based or pescatarian food, certain meal kits and meal delivery services are better than others.

Our list of the healthiest meal delivery services for is a good place to find the most nutritious options. With almost every service, the more meals or servings are in your order per delivery, the cheaper it becomes per meal.

Ideally, you'll want to determine exactly how much food makes sense for your household. That means it's less of an issue if you order too many meals on your first go-around. Services like Daily Harvest and Splendid Spoon have meals for similar prices but are focused more on grain bowls and smoothies and might be better for breakfast or lunch versus dinner.

When it comes to meal kits, your options are many, and most services provide weekly recipes that are low on calories but still filling. HelloFresh has the most recipes per week of any meal kit service, so that might be your best bet for finding consistent meals that keep your diet goals on track.

But all services list the calorie content for each recipe, along with carbs, protein, sugar and sodium. Depending on your weight loss goals, a healthy prepared meal delivery or meal kit service can help.

Fresh N Lean, Pete's Real Food and Daily Harvest all have low-calorie meals to choose from. Some of the services listed here are healthy prepared meal delivery services , sending fully cooked meals -- often frozen or partially frozen -- and ready to eat when you receive them.

Others include health-focused meal kits with premeasured ingredients all boxed up and ready for easy weeknight cooking. There's a stark difference between meal kits and meal delivery, but both make dinnertime easier and can translate into healthier eating choices for you in Plus, we sussed out the best healthy meal services for those on special diets like keto or paleo or for those who wish to eat organic prepared meals and meal kits.

Wellness Nutrition. Written by David Watsky. Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement.

David lives in Brooklyn where he's spent more than a decade covering all things edible, including meal kit services, food subscriptions, kitchen tools and cooking tips.

Since earning a BA in English from Northeastern in Boston, he's toiled in nearly every aspect of the food business, including as a line cook in Rhode Island where he once made a steak sandwich for Lamar Odom. Right now, he's likely somewhere stress-testing a blender or researching the best way to make bacon.

Anything with sesame is his all-time favorite food this week. Expertise Kitchen tools, appliances, food science, subscriptions and meal kits. See full bio. Why You Can Trust CNET. Table of Contents Top. Cheapest Meal Delivery Services of What's the best cheap meal delivery service?

Cheapest meal delivery services for Cheapest prepared meal services compared. How we test meal kits and meal delivery services. Factors to consider when choosing a meal delivery service. Why you should trust us. Cheap meal delivery FAQs. Back to selection. See at EveryPlate.

Best cheap meal kits overall. See at Fresh N' Lean. Best cheap prepared meal delivery overall. See at Dinnerly. Best cheap meal kits for picky eaters.

See at Mosaic Foods. Best cheap vegan meals. See at Blue Apron. Best cheap meal kits that include steak and seafood. See at Daily Harvest.

Best cheap meal delivery for breakfast and lunch. See at HelloFresh. Best cheap meal kits for diet and weight loss. FILTER BY all Meal Kit Prepared Meal. Showing 7 of 7 Results.

Editors' choice. Show less. CNET rating out of 10 8. Cons Not as many healthy options No customization allowed. Type Meal Kit. Good for Healthy, family-friendly, comfort food, picky eaters, quick and easy.

Full Review Read full review. See at EveryPlate Best cheap meal kits overall EveryPlate. Show expert take Show less. CNET rating out of 10 9. Pros Food mostly tastes great Good for diets and healthy eating plans.

Cons Expensive if you only order fewer than 10 meals per week. Type Prepared Meal. Meal options per week Good for Keto, paleo, Whole30, gluten-free Mediterranean, vegan, vegetarian, high-protein.

See at Fresh N' Lean Best cheap prepared meal delivery overall Fresh N Lean.

EveryPlate and Dinnerly are the cheapest meal kits with most plans clocking in at under $6 per serving. HelloFresh and Home Chef are in the next I love a good stuffed sweet potato. Stuff with chicken, broccoli, and cheese. Or taco meat with enchilada sauce. Sausage and egg. Good stuff amigar.info › Healthy

Discounted healthy meal options - 32 Cheap, Healthy Meals That Cost Less Than $3 Per Serving · Moroccan Chicken and Cauliflower Stew · Vegetarian Hoppin' John · Turmeric-Ginger EveryPlate and Dinnerly are the cheapest meal kits with most plans clocking in at under $6 per serving. HelloFresh and Home Chef are in the next I love a good stuffed sweet potato. Stuff with chicken, broccoli, and cheese. Or taco meat with enchilada sauce. Sausage and egg. Good stuff amigar.info › Healthy

Apple-flavored chicken sausage adds flavor and protein in this quick dinner hash that uses a bag of shaved Brussels sprouts as its hearty, high-fiber base.

Steaming the cubed sweet potatoes in the microwave cuts way down on total cook time. Hearty and piquant, this quick cauliflower gnocchi dinner incorporates several healthy convenience ingredients, including turkey sausage and tender artichoke hearts, so dinner is on your table fast.

This minute veggie pasta dish is super savory, thanks to meaty mushrooms, while the natural sweetness from the balsamic vinegar, basil and pistachios brighten up this quick, healthy vegetarian dinner. These satisfying quesadillas get a smoky flavor from the cheese and pork, sweetness from the sauce, and a crisp crunch from the red onion.

The pickled jalapeños offer a twist on a typical barbecue sandwich pickle and add a touch of heat. Using leftover cooked brown rice is a great and easy way to get breakfast on the table fast. To keep things quick, we use canned beans and baby spinach, which don't require any advance prep.

A drizzle of hot sauce brings everything together. Transform canned chicken noodle soup by adding fresh ginger, crunchy vegetables, herbs and a jammy soft-boiled egg. Look for a low-sodium soup that has mg sodium or less per serving. This vegan chickpea salad sandwich is lemony, bright and surprisingly delicious.

It's got all the flavors of a classic tuna salad sandwich—dill, lemon and a bit of garlic—but with chickpeas instead to add a vegan source of protein and a healthy boost of fiber. Celery brings a nice crunch.

These BBQ chicken bowls are perfect for weeknight dinners. They come together in just 15 minutes and are chock-full of the classic barbecue flavors you love, including saucy beans, coleslaw and potatoes.

A package of fresh zucchini noodles gets tossed with shelled edamame and store-bought peanut sauce in these 5-minute, no-cook vegetable noodle bowls. Because prepared sauces and dressings are commonly high in sodium, scan the label and opt for those that contain mg sodium or less per tablespoon.

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List of Partners vendors. Healthy Eating Budget Cooking Guide. By Carolyn Hodges, M. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines. Reviewed by Dietitian Victoria Seaver, M. Victoria Seaver is a registered dietitian and Associate Editorial Director for EatingWell.

She completed her undergraduate degree in nutrition, dietetics and food science and her masters degree and dietetic internship at the University of Vermont. Victoria has been a part of the EatingWell. com team since In This Article View All. In This Article.

Low-Cost Healthy Meal Planning Tips. What I'm Making This Week. Grocery List for the Week. From the Pantry. From the Store. The Bottom Line. Trending Videos. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Related Articles. Newsletter Sign Up.

You may accept or manage your choices by clicking below, including your right to object where legitimate interest is used, or at any time in the privacy policy page.

These choices will be signaled to our partners and will not affect browsing data. This basic recipe is like a magic cure-all elixir and will be one of your go-tos for years to come. via I Heart Naptime.

This lentil and chickpea sloppy joes are packed with protein and are a great meatless Monday recipe. Make your own barbecue sauce or grab a bottle of your favorite one from the store.

via She Likes Food. Here's another one-pot recipe you can whip up in 15 minutes or less! via Takes Two Eggs. We know pizza is a simple dish to indulge in but did you know you could make pizza stuffed bell peppers?

Try making this cheap dinner recipe tonight! via Kathryn's Kitchen Blog. This is yet another cheap dinner idea you can cook using your crockpot! Check out our online cooking classes and check out our email newsletter for all the newest healthy and cheap dinner ideas!

This post has been updated with additional reporting by Jasmine Williams. OMG Chrissy Teigen's pork Bánh is incredible, I saw her make it on the show but I can't believe how good it was, must try. I'm really picky about pumpkin recipes so I love that that pumpkin pasta is a bit more low-key.

Design Food Pop Culture Style DIY Classes More. Sign In Sign Up. Looking for sweet cookie recipes , the latest fashion trends and inspo , or a way to up your calligraphy game?

Inspiration delivered to your inbox Subscribe to our newsletter. Sign Up. Ashley Tyler. A South Florida native, Ashley is a new mom who is just trying to figure it all out while still finding time to blog at TWO TYLERS AND A BABY.

There, she shares bits of her everyday life, DIY projects, recipes and everything in between. Full Bio. What can feed a lot of people for cheap? Our Favorite Healthy And Cheap Dinner Ideas For Image via Isabella Martinez-Funcke Mini Slow-Cooker Lamb Tacos This dinner may look like a million dollars, but really, this dish is very budget-friendly.

Image via Feel Good Foodie Colorful Greek Salad Recipe When it's hot outside, you really can't beat a summer salad. These Inexpensive Dinner Ideas Will Change Your Meal Plan.

Image via Half Baked Harvest Butternut Squash and Bacon Pizza A warm slice of pizza is the ultimate in comfort food. Image via Culinary Hill Easy Goulash Recipe With pasta, ground beef, cheese, garlic , and tomatoes just to name a few , this is one cheap dinner idea that everyone is sure to love.

Image via The Endless Meal Chicken Carnitas With Jalapeño Pineapple Salsa A rotisserie chicken is an economical shortcut in this recipe. Image via The Whimsical Wife Whole Roast Chicken Roasting a whole chicken is not as scary as it seems.

Image via Love and Olive Oil Pumpkin and Ricotta Stuffed Shells Seasonal without tasting like a pumpkin spice candle, this twist on traditional stuffed shells will have you hoarding cans of pumpkin puree. Image via Spicy Southern Kitchen Chicken Pot Pie This recipe makes enough to feed a group of your hungriest friends, or you can make it for yourself and have enough left to last you the rest of the week.

Image via Damn Delicious Baked Ranch Chicken Tenders and Veggies This kid-friendly recipe will please the pickiest eaters and skinniest of wallets! Image via Love Grows Wild Cheesy Pumpkin Pasta This savory pumpkin pasta is just the kind of comforting meal you need after a long day.

Image via I Heart Naptime Turkey Noodle Soup Take leftover turkey and turn it to a steaming pot of comfort food at its finest. Image via She Likes Food Vegetarian Sloppy Joes This lentil and chickpea sloppy joes are packed with protein and are a great meatless Monday recipe.

Image via Munching With Mariyah Hearty Tuscan White Bean Soup This hearty Tuscan white bean soup is one comfort food recipe you'll want to make every week. The shallots and fresh garlic add to the warm base of this dish, creating an unforgettable flavor profile.

via Munching With Mariyah. Image via Takes Two Eggs Easy 15 Minute Yaki Udon Stir Fried Udon Noodles Here's another one-pot recipe you can whip up in 15 minutes or less! Image via Pink Owl Kitchen Creamy Cajun Mushroom Pasta A creamy mushroom pasta with cajun flavor?

Consider this dish worth adding to our pasta recipes list. via Pink Owl Kitchen. Using sweet potatoes instead of the russet version, you can easily create a sweet and savory meal that wins the hearts of all who are lucky enough to get a bite.

Image via The First Mess Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Smoky Almond Bits This cheap dinner idea is so simple you'll wonder why you haven't thought about making it before.

And get this - the smoky almond bits are vegan and topped with maple! via The First Mess. Image via Kathryn's Kitchen Blog Pizza Stuffed Bell Peppers We know pizza is a simple dish to indulge in but did you know you could make pizza stuffed bell peppers? Image via Cozy Cravings Puff Pastry Breakfast Egg Tarts Breakfast for dinner is always a great idea!

via Cozy Cravings. Food Recipes Roundups. Recommended for you.

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