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The Best Meal Kit Delivery Services
Reviews & Buyer’s Guide

Written By: Paul

Meal kit delivery services are making it in the States. And it's easy to understand why – many of us love the fun parts of cooking.

Few things beat the joy of partaking in the creative process of composing a delicious meal and see the ingredients merge together to form a tasty, home-made meal. And maybe most of all – to indulge it afterward.

Nothing tastes as good as something you've cooked on your own! (If you don't feel it, it might be time to test a meal kit!)

However, cooking also comes with the less sexy parts such as meal planning, choosing between the endless number of recipes, long lines at the grocery store, and meal prepping. 

Meal kit delivery services let you enjoy the fun parts while skipping the tedious. Talk about having the cake and eating it, too!

The market has been quick to respond with new meal kit delivery services popping up like mushrooms. The natural next question – which meal kit company is the best for you? And what are their different plans like?

We've done the work for you by taking the pulse on the meal kit delivery industry so that you can sit back, relax, and enjoy your home-cooked dinner. Let's get this party started!

Best Meal Kits

Most Bang for Your Buck: Sunbasket

Most Commitment-Free: EveryPlate

Best Plant Based Recipes: Purple Carrot

Quickest Cooking Time: Gobble

Certified Organic: Green Chef

Most Affordable: Dinnerly

The Best Meal Kit Delivery Services

1. Sunbasket (Editor's Choice)

  • Best Match For: Anyone looking to put meal planning on autopilot and receive organic gourmet ready-to-eat meals and fresh meal kits.
  • Commitment Level: Weekly subscription
  • Availability: Most zip codes in the us, excluding AK, HI, MT, ND, and parts of NM
  • Value: Prices start at $8.99/meal; Free shipping on your first order
  • Type: Fully prepared fresh meals (heat and eat) and fresh meal kits (needs to be cooked)

Sunbasket is one of few gems among meal delivery services that are USDA certified organic.

You can order meal kits with easy-to-follow recipes and organic ingredients, or opt for ready-made meals for days when you want a healthy, organic dinner on the table quickly and don't feel like cooking and cleanup.

Sunbasket offers clean, green meals of high quality. They want your whole body to feel as happy about the meal kits as your taste buds do – that's why Sunbasket works with certified dieticians when designing the recipes.

Their tagline is "real food, unreal flavor". Because why choose when you can have it all?!

If you're following a certain diet or are allergic, this is the food delivery service for you!

Dietary restrictions turn into pure pleasure with flavorful menus such as paleo, keto, carb-conscious, gluten-free, vegetarian, and diabetes-friendly.

They even have a few vegan Sunbasket meals. A basket full of good stuff adding a lil' sunshine to your dinnertime!

Sunbasket delivery service

PROS

  • Certified organic for chemical-free meals
  • Cater to many different diets – more than any other service
  • Fresh ingredients straight from the farm
  • Simple, straightforward recipes for home chefs on all levels

Cons

  • You need to call customer service to cancel your subscription

2. EveryPlate

  • Best Match For: People looking for a flexible meal kit subscription service on a budget.
  • Commitment Level: Subscription
  • Availability: Most of the Continental US
  • Value: $4.99/meal; $8.99 shipping fee
  • Type: Fresh meal kits (needs to be cooked)

EveryPlate serves you affordable meal kits with America's favorite meals. It is one of the two cheapest companies in this review, offering savory, flavorful meals to the fraction of what you pay elsewhere.

Choose between three and five meals per week, for two or four people. Meals are often on the familiar formula protein – starches – (sometimes) vegetables.

It's a great choice for those who want to pivot from fast-food chains and takeout towards getting into the habit of cooking their own meals.

If you want to spice things up and add a touch of luxury to a Tuesday night, opt for the premium recipes with quality ingredients.

Read our EveryPlate full review.

Everyplate food delivery that you need

PROS

  • Mobile app for easy editing of orders on the go
  • Quick, easy meals ready to eat within 30 minutes
  • No commitment – skip your weekly meals or cancel anytime
  • Little cleanup – only few pots and pans required

Cons

  • Menu options relatively limited – no meals for diets or allergies

3. Purple Carrot

  • Best Match For: Anyone searching for affordable plant-based meal kits with delicious and easy-to-follow recipes.
  • Commitment Level: Weekly subscription
  • Availability: The contiguous US (No Alaska or Hawaii)
  • Value: $9.99-$11.99/meal; Free shipping
  • Type: Fresh plant-based meal kits (needs to be cooked)

Purple Carrot is the first completely plant-based meal kit delivery service! Purple Carrot wants to start a plant-based revolution. Whether that means going fully vegan or just making room for more veggies on your plate is up to you.

This high-vibe meal kit service offers kits targeted to specific groups. The gluten-free kit saves your gut lining, high-protein is for the plant-powered athletes or gym nuts, and Quick and Easy takes your box with delivered foods to plates full of goods in less than 30 minutes.

With Purple Carrots, ingredients come pre-measured for easier preparation, and portion sizes are generous. Subscriptions start at two weekly meals for two people.

While some services focus on American classics, Purple Carrot has a variety of meal options that let you embark on a trip around the globe through your kitchen utensils.

Recipes are flavorful and inspiring – be ready to get out of the cooking rut and find some new favorites!

Health geeks can find the nutritional information per serving on their website to see all the juicy stuff going straight into their system, ready to fuel their day!

Take a closer look at Purple Carrot when you read our full review. 

Purple Carrot plant-based meal kit delivery service

PROS

  • 100% plant-based
  • Gluten-free kits available
  • Pre-measured ingredients and recipe booklet for easier cooking
  • Inspiring, exotic meals from all over the world

Cons

  • Options fairly limited – you can only customize the 2-serving plan

4. Gobble

  • Best Match For: Busy people who want to cook delicious 15-minute dinners with thoughtfully sourced ingredients and chef-designed recipes.
  • Commitment Level: Subscription
  • Availability: The continental US except for Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and parts of Nebraska and New Mexico
  • Value: $11.99/meal; $6.99 shipping fee
  • Type: Fresh meal kits (cooked in 15 minutes)

Gobble just added hours to your day. The company focuses on getting food on your table fast – recipes take a maximum of 15 minutes to prepare!

When you take into consideration the time it takes to go to the grocery store, plan your meals, do your meal prep, cooking, and cleanup, getting a box with two or three meals to compose within a quarter of an hour sounds like magic – or at least the best thing since sliced bread.

While there are no specific meal kits targeted to diets and allergies, Gobble offers a fairly generous selection of special recipes each week – such as dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegetarian.

The recipes you can expect from this company are influenced by the Californian/Mediterranean kitchens, with vegetables, olive oils, and a lot of taste being the centerpiece of the courses.

Gobble also sends you recipe cards with photos to help your meals to manifest in no time (ok, 15 minutes). Bon appétit!

Gobble meal delivery service focuses on getting food on your table fast!

PROS

  • Meals ready to eat in less than 15 minutes!
  • Easy recipes requiring only one pan for less cleanup
  • Comes with tempting add-ons such as chocolate chip cookies
  • Weekly allergy-adapted recipes

Cons

  • No vegan recipes or organic ingredients

5. Green Chef

  • Best Match For: People looking for a clean meal plan with organic premium ingredients that come pre-measured and prepped with easy cooking instructions.
  • Commitment Level: Subscription
  • Availability: The contiguous US (No Alaska, Hawaii, and parts of Louisiana)
  • Value: $9.99-$12.99/meal; $8.99-$26.97 shipping fees
  • Type: Fresh meal kits (Cooked in 30 minutes or less)

Green Chef offers healthy meal kits for the ones wanting to take their well-being to the next level through food. This is the meal kit service with more nutrition per serving, without compromising on taste!

The options for your meal plans are paleo, keto, balanced living inspired by different cuisines, and plant-powered with a mix of vegetarian and vegan recipes.

The keto plan is suitable for those looking to get leaner in a healthy way, as it has the least amount of calories and carbs per meal.

Another advantage with Green Chef is that they are certified gluten-free, meaning they are suitable even for people with celiac disease. Green Chef is also one of few meal kit companies that are certified organic.

All in all, this is a conscious company choosing their suppliers carefully – they work with small, family-owned farmers and food providers to secure products that are sustainable and of high quality.

Read our Green Chef full review

Green Chef healthy & nutritious meal kits services

PROS

  • Certified organic
  • Supporting suppliers in the form of small, sustainable family businesses
  • Special diet plans such as keto, paleo, and plant-powered
  • Tutorials to take your kitchen techniques to the next level

Cons

  • Limited flexibility – combining meals from different plans not possible

6. Dinnerly

  • Best Match For: Home cooking enthusiasts seeking affordable and exciting meal kits.
  • Commitment Level: Subscription with weekly delivery
  • Availability: Most of the contiguous US states
  • Value: $4.69-$5.20/portion; $8.99 shipping fee
  • Type: Fresh meal kits (needs to be cooked)

Dinnerly offers affordable meals at the lowest price per serving on the market. Their meal options are less than half the price of some similar premium services! You still get quite a few meal options to choose from.

Most meals follow the standard American menu, with a few special options such as vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free, and one pot meals.

The number of ingredients per recipe is limited to seven, to make it easy to whip up a meal even for novices behind the kitchen desk. Dinnerly sometimes offers special surprises on the menu and let you swap a meal for a dessert (You're allowed to do it – we promise not to tell the kids!).

Note that a Dinnerly subscription starts at three meals per week, in contrast to other companies that often begin at two. Choose between a two-person or a four-person plan.

Get a close look at Dinnerly with our full review.

Dinnerly delivers affordable meals on the market

PROS

  • Cheapest meal kits on the market – perfect for budget-savvy consumers
  • Max seven ingredients per meal for easy cooking and cleanup
  • Flexible conditions – easy to change number of meals per week
  • Generous order sizes of up to 24 meals per week

Cons

  • You need to supply more ingredients than with other companies

7. Home Chef

  • Best Match For: People looking for a flexible service to help them eat healthily and improve cooking skills without stressing about grocery shopping and meal prepping.
  • Commitment Level: Weekly subscription
  • Availability: 98% of zip codes in the US
  • Value: Starting at $8.99/serving; Minimum weekly order is $49.95
  • Type: Fresh meal kits (needs to be cooked)

Home Chef is on a mission to spread the joy of cooking to everyone and make everybody a home chef. Their recipes are simple and easy to follow, regardless of your cooking skills.

Home Chef caters to many different diets, such as low-carb, vegetarian, or calorie-conscious. Their special series oven-ready is pre-chopped ingredients in a tray, ready to throw into the oven to have dinner ready with no stress and less kitchen mess, while Fresh & Easy means meals that take under 15 minutes to prepare.

For those wanting to take their meals and cooking skills to the next level, they also have meals beyond the basics that let you learn new, exciting kitchen techniques.

Home Chef is known for their flexibility – you can choose as many meals as you want and easily edit from one week to the next, starting at two servings per meal. You can also swap or increase the amount of proteins per serving.

Read our full Home Chef Review.

Home Chef food delivery that you can order for your home!

PROS

  • Meals for many different diets and allergies
  • Oven-ready meals – simply heat and eat
  • Generous order sizes – up to eight servings per meal kit
  • Amp up your kitchen skills with premium meals

Cons

  • No allergy-friendly or vegan meal kits

8. Blue Apron

  • Best Match For: People wanting to up their cooking game with chef-designed recipes and meal kits with pre-measured responsibly sourced non-GMO ingredients.
  • Commitment Level: Subscription with weekly delivery
  • Availability: The contiguous US (No Alaska or Hawaii)
  • Value: $8.99-$9.99/serving; Free shipping for orders of 3 recipes per week (each serves 2 people) or 2 recipes for Signature for 4 meal plan (each serves 4 people); $7.99 shipping fee for orders that don't match the criteria.
  • Type: Meal kits with responsibly sourced fresh ingredients (needs to be cooked), delicious wines paired with selected recipes, exotic spice blends, and top-quality cookware

Blue Apron is a term for new chefs all over the world – they wear a blue apron while in training. This company wants to make everyone rediscover the fun of cooking by providing easy-to-follow recipes ready in under 30 minutes.

Plans are flexible, and it's easy to combine recipes from different categories to create your own drool-worthy menu. You have specific options approved by the Weight Watchers, diabetes-friendly dishes, health-conscious recipes, and vegetarian meals.

Something quite unique for Blue Apron is that they offer plant-based burgers from the mega-brand Beyond Meat.

Blue Apron is also on a mission to build a more sustainable food system. They come with many extra features showcasing their love for food and enthusiasm for getting people back into their kitchens in a way that suits the modern lifestyle. Their Premium Recipes leverage the fun of cooking and teach you more advanced cooking techniques.

Blue Apron also has a webshop called Market where you can buy kitchen utensils. Check out our full review for details of Blue Apron's meal program.

Blue Apron food delivery services

PROS

  • High-quality ingredients and sustainably sourced meats
  • Premium Recipes to take your cooking skills up a notch
  • Also have a wine program
  • Webshop where you can buy the best cooking utensils

Cons

  • Max four meals per week

9. Martha & Marley Spoon

  • Best Match For: Anyone looking to cook delicious meals with carefully selected ingredients from small farms and Martha Stewart’s 6-step recipes.
  • Commitment Level: Weekly subscription
  • Availability: Most of the contiguous US (No Alaska or Hawaii)
  • Value: $6.99-$10.99/meal; $8.99 shipping fee
  • Type: Fresh meal kits (ready in 30 minutes or less)

Martha & Marley Spoon is the meal kit company co-owned by star chef and celebrity Martha Stewart. They deliver you fresh, crisp ingredients that are in season and let you choose between no less than 22 recipes per week. You also get recipe cards visualizing how to whip up your meals.

You have many options to choose between, and the freedom to mix and match meals as you wish. Family-friendly meals are meant to please even the little ones – Martha & Marley Spoon focuses on families with their 4-person box.

Some meal categories are dairy-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, and less than 30 minutes. Note that while these options are available every week, there's no set number of special recipes per week.

The meals are both delicious and nutritious – all recipes are approved by their in-house nutritionist to guarantee you to get your macros balanced in the right way.

Another huge plus with this service is that you can order as many meals as you want per week, while most other companies have a fixed number of meals per week.

Read our full review of Martha & Marley Spoon.

Martha & Marly Spoon meal kit company that delivers fresh and crisp ingredients

PROS

  • Unlimited flexibility – mix and match meals as you please
  • Nutritionist-approved meals guarantees more goodness per serving
  • Carefully selected ingredients from small, local producers
  • Weekly vegetarian menu with some vegan options

Cons

  • Meals take quite a long time to prepare

10. HelloFresh

  • Best Match For: People in Canada looking to save time with a meal kit delivery service that features seasonal fresh ingredients and easy-to-make recipes.
  • Commitment Level: Subscription
  • Availability: Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Québec, Newfoundland, and the Maritimes.
  • Value: $9.69-$11.49/meal; $9.99 shipping fee ($19.98 in Newfoundland)
  • Type: Fresh meal kits (Cooked in 30 minutes or less)

HelloFresh is the weekly meal kit subscription service focusing on fresh, seasonal products. Some ingredients are even organic – but since the main focus is freshness (as the name suggests), they choose fresh first and certified organic second.

Each week, there are three vegetarian recipes that can easily be made vegan by replacing ingredients of animal origin.

Meat and seafood are sustainably sourced, and HelloFresh handpicks the vendors they work with to guarantee the highest quality.

They also have special options such as Calorie Smart landing on a maximum of 650 calories per serving. The purpose of HelloFresh is to bring back the joy of cooking to kitchens all over the country.

HelloFresh service that delivers fresh and seasonal products

PROS

  • Simple recipes perfect even for beginners
  • Recipe cards with instructions in six easy-to-follow steps
  • Possibility to order several servings of one meal
  • High food safety standards

Cons

  • Less focus on health and organic ingredients

FAQS

Which meal delivery service is cheapest?

The cheapest one of all the meal delivery services is Dinnerly. This is the best meal kit service if price is your primary concern. Dinnerly still offers a fair selection of meals for you to choose from each week.

What is the easiest meal delivery service?

All of the meal delivery services have an easy signup process. When it comes to cooking, most of them cater to beginners and people who have never set foot in a kitchen before.

That said, we'd recommend Blue Apron for their mission of making the food system more sustainable and accessible, Home Chef for their easy recipes that still have quite a few dietary options, and Gobble where meals take a maximum of 15 minutes to prepare.

Which food delivery service is the best for vegans?

For those enjoying a purely plant-based lifestyle, or just wanting to dial up the intensity of the green on their plates, Purple Carrot is the best meal delivery food service.

Purple Carrot offers exciting meals with influences from all over the world that are 100% vegan. Meals are so delicious they could convert the most convinced omnivore!

They also offer special plans, such as meal kits with more protein per serving, and one gluten-free meal delivery plan.

Which are the best meal kit delivery services that are free from gluten?

Green Chef is the only one of the meal delivery services that is certified free from gluten, meaning there is no risk for cross-contamination.

Other services offer plans or kits containing zero gluten, but where the ingredients are handled in the same environment as glutenous food. These meal kit services could still be an excellent option for people without celiac disease who just wanna reduce their intake of gluten.

Some of these companies are Purple Carrot and Sun Basket.

Are there any meal kit services that are non-GMO and organic?

Yes! If you search for something organic, the best meal services are Sun Basket and Green Chef, which are both certified organic. Note, however, that not all ingredients exist in an organic version.

In that case, the companies select ingredients of high quality that are sustainably sourced so that you can still whip up as clean meals as possible.

Other food service delivery companies like HelloFresh and Purple Carrot use mostly organic ingredients. Both of those use exclusively non-GMO products in their kits.

I have dietary restrictions. What are the best meal kit companies?

The best meal kit services for specific diets are those giving restrictions a delicious aftertaste. Green Chef and Sun Basket have special keto and paleo plans, while most services offer recipes with less calories per meal, meat-free meals, and health-conscious options.

Purple Carrot is the only meal delivery kit service offering meals that are 100% vegan. Blue Apron has a range of meals that are approved by Weight Watchers, as well as diabetes-friendly meals.

I'm in a rush. What meal delivery service satisfies my taste buds and busy lifestyle?

When you don't have time to cook, the best meal delivery services are Gobble, with meals ready in 15 minutes, and Home Chef with their particular category of oven-ready meals.

Dinnerly has only seven ingredients per meal kit, while EveryPlate comes with the convenience of pre-chopped ingredients.

I'm looking for meal delivery services that teach more advanced cooking techniques. Which is the best meal delivery service for me?

Blue Apron has a range called Premium Recipes, which teaches you kitchen techniques beyond the basics. Good for home chefs wanting to take their kitchen skills to the next level! Also, Martha & Marley Spoon offers meals of a higher quality that requires a little more of the chef.

Even Green Chef has joined the gang of meal delivery services offering a concept with cooking tutorials for those slightly more advanced dishes. Home cooking just got a lot more exciting!

I'm living by myself. Are there any meal delivery services offering meals for one person?

All companies offering subscription kits start at two meals or three meals per week, with enough ingredients for two people in each meal. However, many people order the two-person box and use the leftovers as lunchbox the following day.

It's also a great occasion to invite one other person for dinner – maybe a neighbor, your crush, or a family member or friend who deserves a home-cooked dinner? One thing is for sure – shared meals give more joy per serving!

I'm completely new to cooking and can barely tell the difference between an onion and broccoli. Are there any subscription services for me?

First of all, welcome to the kitchen! There are absolutely meal kit services suitable even for complete beginners in the kitchen. Most subscription services that we've mentioned have either all or a majority of their recipes catering to the upcoming superstar home chefs (=you!).

Some that are specifically beginner-friendly are:

  • Home Chef, whose mission is just to spread cooking to everyone
  • EveryPlate, focusing on simple and quick recipes
  • Gobble, where everything comes pre-chopped, peeled and sliced – with only the fun stuff left for you!
  • Blue Apron, offering easy-to-follow recipes ready in under 30 minutes
  • Dinnerly, with a maximum of seven ingredients and one pot or pan for minimal cleanup
  • HelloFresh, wanting to bring back the joy of cooking to everyone with simple yet interesting recipes

Conclusion

When you feel like ditching the grocery store and are tired of yet another day of delivered food from takeout, meal delivery services offering meals for you to cook at home will make your dreams come true!

Most companies start at two-person kits with at least two meals per week – except for Dinnerly where subscriptions start at three meals weekly, for two people.

There are meal kits for all kinds of diets, preferences, and hunger levels.

So whether you're a carnivore, quinoa eater, or crave a keto meal kit, there's a plethora of meal kit subscriptions and recipe options out there waiting for you!

Not feeling the cooking/meal kit vibes? No worries, already cooked, ready to heat and eat meals may be a better match for you. Check out our review for best prepared meal delivery services

Sunbasket delivery service

Sunbasket

Our #1 Recommendation

  • Certified organic for chemical-free meals
  • Cater to many different diets – more than any other service
  • Fresh ingredients straight from the farm
  • Simple, straightforward recipes for home chefs on all levels

Hi, I'm Paul. Welcome to my website! I, along with my cronies, are leveraging our years of working in the food industry to review meal and drink delivery services. We review. You eat happily ever after.

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