Here are the 5 best Whole30 meal delivery…. CookUnity is a chef-collective prepared meal delivery service offering restaurant-quality meals. However, it isn't cheap. We tried CookUnity for one…. We have tested the most popular meal delivery services on the market to help you decide which ones are worth your money.

Learn how we test each…. Part grocery delivery service and part meal kit, Hungryroot offers a convenient way to meal plan during the week. We tried Hungryroot for 1 week to…. Our reviewer didn't love it, but Fresh N Lean has fans. Here we explain how it works, how it compares, and who should try it.

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Nutrition Evidence Based 11 Best Prepared Meal Delivery Services for , According to Testers and Dietitians. Medically reviewed by Amy Richter, RD , Nutrition — By Kelli McGrane, MS, RD and Rachael Ajmera, MS, RD — Updated on February 6, On this page Our picks Comparison table Methodology How to choose FAQ Bottom line.

How we vet brands and products Healthline only shows you brands and products that we stand behind. Our team thoroughly researches and evaluates the recommendations we make on our site. To establish that the product manufacturers addressed safety and efficacy standards, we: Evaluate ingredients and composition: Do they have the potential to cause harm?

Fact-check all health claims: Do they align with the current body of scientific evidence? Assess the brand: Does it operate with integrity and adhere to industry best practices? We do the research so you can find trusted products for your health and wellness.

Read more about our vetting process. Was this helpful? Share on Pinterest. A quick look at the best prepared meal delivery services. Quick comparison of the best prepared meal delivery services. Service Healthline score Price per serving Shipping Menu options per week Good for Factor 4. How we test meal delivery services.

Share on Pinterest Sprinly delivery box Photo provided by Kelli McGrane, MS, RD. Each service in this article: complies with U. Department of Agriculture USDA and Food and Drug Administration FDA food safety and manufacturing regulations uses a trusted shipper to handle its food products lists all ingredients, allergens, and nutrition facts on its website or product packaging promotes a healthy approach to well-being does not make unsupported health claims on its website or marketing materials You can read more about our vetting process.

How to choose a prepared meal delivery service. Frequently asked questions. What is a prepared meal delivery service? Are prepared meal delivery services worth it? What is the healthiest premade meal delivery service?

What is the best meal delivery service for singles? What is the best company to order meals from? The bottom line. How we reviewed this article: History. Feb 6, Written By Kelli McGrane, MS, RD, Rachael Ajmera, MS, RD. Jan 26, Written By Kelli McGrane, MS, RD, Rachael Ajmera, MS, RD.

Share this article. Read this next. By Kelli McGrane, MS, RD and Ellen Landes, MS, RDN, CPT. By Jillian Kubala, MS, RD. BistroMD Review from a Work-from-Home Dad. By Rachael Ajmera, MS, RD. By Rachael Ajmera, MS, RD and Kelli McGrane, MS, RD. I Did the Math. If you're looking for inexpensive vegan meals by mail or an affordable meal kit service that includes steak and seafood in the standard plan, we have picks for those, too.

The takeaway? Being budget-friendly certainly doesn't mean the food has to suck. If you're looking to eliminate a few weekly tasks -- grocery shopping, meal planning, prep, cooking -- without squeezing your budget, we tested more than 10 top wallet-friendly services to find the best cheap meal delivery for The bottom line : EveryPlate's meal kits were all solid and easy to make.

EveryPlate meal kits are easy to prepare and I loved everything I made in multiple rounds of testing. You won't find a lot of foofy, upscale cuisine or complicated recipes, but you will get a lot of satisfying comfort food, such as hoisin meatloaf with mashed potatoes, cheeseburgers, umami pork chops and sweet potato quesadillas.

I tested EveryPlate and was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked the meals. Having tested all of the leading prepared meal delivery service options, Fresh N Lean ran away from the competition, ticking more boxes than any other.

The food is healthy, thoughtfully prepared, tastes fantastic, looks appetizing and is fairly affordable, depending on the plan you select. Fresh N Lean has five meal plans to help keep folks on track with their specific nutrition goals, including low-carb, vegan, paleo and protein-plus options.

The food I tried was all made exceptionally well, made from simple, whole ingredients. This is the perfect service for families with picky eaters trying to eat well on a budget. Much like EveryPlate, Dinnerly has a lot of comfort foods such as ravioli with spinach and parmesan sauce, carne asada tacos and chicken pad thai.

Dinnerly has an enormous menu of recipes -- typically more than 60 to choose from in a given week. The bottom line: This plant-based meal delivery service had some of the best, healthy prepared meals of any service we tried.

I sampled about nine of Mosaic Food's plant-based prepared meal offerings and the vegetarian prepared meal delivery service had an astoundingly high hit rate. Mosaic uses bold and interesting global flavors and employs creative use of meat substitutes such as tofu, jackfruit, cauliflower and vegan sausages to create tasty and satisfying vegetarian meals -- even for this omnivore.

There are some vegan meals, but many of them use dairy products, so vegans must choose their Mosaic meals more carefully.

The bottom line: Blue Apron is a classic example of a quality meal delivery service. One of the original providers of this service, it also stands out for eco-friendliness.

Blue Apron is one of the original meal kit services and it's also one of the best. In fact, Blue Apron topped our list of best meal delivery services for with a wide range of excellent recipes, all for an affordable price.

It's true, you can order bistro steaks and roasted trout dinners with Blue Apron's standard plan, where many services charge extra for those premium proteins.

In addition to solid meal kits, Blue Apron is the most eco-friendly service of the major players, according to a recent study. The heartier meals are great too, like the cauliflower rice and pesto harvest bowl with cashews and spinach.

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.

Magic Kitchen offers a great variety of affordable premade meals for different dietary needs. Try our delicious meal plans and get them delivered to your I would suggest you can try Blue Apron because this is one of the best meal delivery services at an affordable price in the market Blue Apron is an affordable meal kit delivery service with prices that start at just $ per serving. They top our list because of their

Low-priced ready-to-eat meal options - Comparison of the best cheap meal delivery services ; $+, $ · Veggie · Quick and Easy · Pescatarian · Family Friendly · Fit & Wholesome · Meat Magic Kitchen offers a great variety of affordable premade meals for different dietary needs. Try our delicious meal plans and get them delivered to your I would suggest you can try Blue Apron because this is one of the best meal delivery services at an affordable price in the market Blue Apron is an affordable meal kit delivery service with prices that start at just $ per serving. They top our list because of their

With more than 30 customizable chef-designed recipes available each week, Home Chef strives to keep things interesting. The company also offers extras including breakfasts, desserts, and appetizers that can work well for a light lunch or as a complement to your meal.

Customers lock in their meal selection on Friday and all orders are delivered on the following Tuesday. Home Chef is best for: Someone who is trying to feed a family with food they can be sure everyone will eat.

Berlin-based Marley Spoon hit America in after operating for two years in Europe and Australia. There are also plans that are family-friendly, and plans with meals all designed to be prepared in under 30 minutes.

All meals from the Gobble meal delivery service are designed to take 15 minutes to prepare. Gobble was voted the number one meal delivery kit by Parents magazine thanks in part, no doubt, to its quick prep time.

Dinner kits are available in a two- or four-person plan that each include three different recipes. Dinnerly, a branch of Marley Spoon, launched in early , offers greater simplicity than its parent service, with fewer ingredients and steps in its recipes.

The delivery service allows customers to choose up to six weekly meals. This is a super budget-friendly option, and one of the least expensive on a per meal basis meal kits on the market. However, it does require a minimum order: Customers must order at least two portions per recipe and at least three recipes per week.

Dinnerly is best for: Someone who wants a one stop shop for both meal kits and groceries. Whether you're looking for Paleo, keto, pescatarian, vegetarian, or vegan meals, Green Chef has you covered. The recipes are designed to be whipped up in 30 minutes or less.

Green Chef is a USDA-certified organic company that works to use high-quality, sustainable, clean ingredients. Availability: All over the United States, except for Alaska, Hawaii, and parts of Louisiana. The Sakara meal delivery service was co-founded by Whitney Tingle, a certified yoga instructor, and Danielle DuBoise, a holistic health coach.

The service aims to provide fresh, plant-based healthy meals made with organic ingredients. Sakara is best for: People who eat a lot of salads and organic meals, and want to save time. Purple Carrot offers vegetarian meal kits. There are a few different plans. The Quick and Easy plan has simple dishes designed that can serve as a good introduction to basic skills.

Purple Carrot also offers a Performance Meals plan. Purple Carrot is best for: Someone who thinks their vegetarian and plant-based meals are stuck in a rut. Availability: Currently ships to most zip codes in the United States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii.

The easy-to-follow recipes are inspired by unique, seasonal, or hard-to-find ingredients and everything comes pre-measured and precut—a plus for super busy cooks. The weekly box can be tailored for two or four people, and customized based on your dietary needs.

All the recipes are beginner-friendly thanks to the picture-heavy, step-by-step instructions. Calorie counts for each recipe are included as well.

And Blue Apron has add-on programs for wine delivery and a market feature to shop for kitchen tools. In addition to their weekly box, they also have seasonal boxes for events like an entire Thanksgiving dinner or holiday roast for six to eight.

Blue Apron is best for: Someone who wants help learning foundational cooking skills and repeatable recipes. For each recipe you can substitute items for example, if a recipe uses beef, you can swap in turkey, chicken, or a meatless alternative.

You can also swap out types of noodles and other ingredients. Their fresh ingredients come chopped, sauces come pre-made, and all the easy meals are designed to come together in a matter of minutes.

Hungryroot also offers a grocery section and with organic produce, meat, seafood, plant-based proteins, breads, bakery items, sauces, dips, dressings, grains, pasta, sweets, dairy, eggs, beverages, and plenty of snacks.

Hungryroot is best for: People who hate tedious prep like mincing garlic and want really fast food. Availability: Most zip codes throughout the contiguous U. and the District of Columbia. These fresh, ready-made meals arrive in an insulated box with ice packs. Additionally, all the meals are certified organic.

If you want to outsource the effort it takes to create heathy, nutritious meals, Methodology is a worthy partner. They offer a rotating, plant-based menu they say is healthy and designed to optimize gut health by maximizing plant variety, nutrient density, and fiber, minimizing saturated fat, and avoiding processed food altogether.

The entire menu of premade meals is free of gluten, dairy, and refined sugar. Methodology also takes steps to be sustainable and a more environmentally-friendly meal kit. The food is packaged in glass jars or recyclable plastic, and you can even arrange to have your packaging picked up and reused.

Factor is another meal delivery service that does all of the cooking and prep work for you. Factor meals include grass-fed meat and pasture-raised eggs, as well as items that are gluten-free, antibiotic- and hormone-free, soy-free, non-GMO, and have no added sugars. Meals can also be catered to the Paleo or keto diet.

HelloFresh offers three plans: classic, vegetarian, and family-friendly. All plans include complete nutritional information. Choose between meal kits that feed between two and four people. Omnivores get to choose from 15 menu options; vegetarians options are preset.

HelloFresh is best for: Someone in any stage of life interested in learning to cook. CookUnity gives you access to meals from a variety of chefs around the world like Jose Garces or Esther Choi.

Availability: CookUnity delivers to most of the United States. Check to see if they ship to your city here. This doctor-designed program incorporates high-quality, nutrient-dense ingredients that are grown on an organic, sustainable farm in New Jersey.

As the name suggests, this meal kit aims to provide food that can help to keep you healthy for the long run. There are a variety of weekly menus to choose from, including vegan, pescatarian, kosher, and flexitarian weekly meal plans. Each meal is designed by Chef Luigi Fineo. 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. The testimonials on the CookUnity homepage sum it up well.

Award-winning chefs create a weekly-changing menu of fresh options that balance great taste with solid nutrition. Delivery area: Enter your zip code here to see if CookUnity delivers to your area. Good for: Keto, paleo, low calorie, low carbs, gluten-free, dairy-free, low sodium.

The food quality and portion sizes are big high points for the Good Housekeeping Institute testers. They say the food is fresh, plus, there's "great variety with some surprising choices. Every week, the menu refreshes with different meals to choose from.

Delivery area: 50 states Good for: Protein, keto, paleo, vegan, Whole30, Mediterranean, low-carb vegan, bulk. Speaking of the food itself, a tester says it doesn't "taste like 'airport food. Delivery area: plus states.

Fresh meals are added every week in vending machines across the U. In some markets, delivery is available through apps like Instacart and Getir.

How it works: You can score a salad in a vending machine fridge. Just use the touch screen to see what options are available. You can also check out all the offerings think: sandwiches, yogurts, and more in advance using an app. Good for: Vegetarians, high protein.

There are keto , low-carb, low-calorie, and even plant-based options to choose from. How it works: Factor can either create your order based on your wants, of course , or you can choose from dozens of pre-set options. The plans include options like keto and vegan, as well as fan-favorite menu items such as turkey chili and chipotle rubbed pork chops.

You can choose from six to 18 meals every week. Plus, if you get a subscription, you can have a free consultation with a registered dietitian. Delivery area: 48 states not Alaska and Hawaii.

Consider its Harvest Bowls, which can be microwaved or prepared on a stovetop, Harvest Bakes that you pop into the oven and are big enough to share , flatbreads, soups, chia seed bowls—the list goes on. Bonus: all of its ingredients are sustainably-sourced and entirely vegan.

How it works: Choose between 9, 14, or 24 items for a weekly or monthly delivery. With a subscription, you can mix and match: choose all smoothies or pick favorites from a variety of categories, including harvest bowls, harvest bakes, flatbreads, grains, soups, forager bowls, bites, lattes, and mylk.

Delivery area: Ships to 95 percent of the continental U. Check if you live in a delivery zone by clicking "Get Started" on the Daily Harvest homepage and entering your zip code and email address. Good for: Plant-based, Whole30, high fiber.

Co-founded by a James Beard Award-winning chef, Sunbasket employs a team of chefs and registered dietitians to make tasty meals featuring organic produce. For meals that cook themselves wait, what?! It separates itself from other meal kit services in that it also makes a smart oven that scans your meal and uses heat and steam to prepare it.

The oven also works with items you find at the grocery store, like pizza rolls, and has a manual option to steam, bake, broil, toast, and reheat whatever you want.

How it works: Choose between four and 16 meals deliveries every week. Also filter your meals based on options like carb conscious, gluten-free, vegetarian, and calorie-smart picks. Delivery area: 48 states not Alaska and Hawaii Good for: Calorie smart, carb conscious, vegetarian, gluten-friendly.

Trifecta offers more than just ready-to-eat meals that cater to specialty diets like keto, paleo, and vegan. It also has a team of nutrition experts that offer support and guidance, plus an app that tracks macros.

The company's testimonials page is filled with customers who have lost weight, gotten into shape, and even improved gut health with Trifecta.

How it works: Select your desired meal plan, including clean, paleo, Whole30, keto, high protein vegan, or high protein vegetarian. You can choose up to 14 entrees per delivery. The meals last about up to 10 days in the fridge and three months in the freezer.

Delivery area: 50 states Good for: Clean, paleo, Whole30, keto, high protein vegan, high protein vegetarian. BistroMD is one of the best prepared meal delivery services for diabetics or those looking to shed some weight. The brand was founded by a medical doctor and includes a team of dietitians who formulate each of its offerings.

Nutritionists at the Good Housekeeping Institute are impressed by this service because of its quality ingredients, flavors, and variety of options.

The kits are all science-backed, with the heart healthy plan in particular including meals that are at or below the American Heart Association 's recommendations for calories, sodium, total fat and saturated fat.

Testers in the lab also described the taste as "restaurant quality" and found the meals to be satisfying even though they were portion controlled. And reviewers agree. One recommends these for anyone "seeking a healthy way to reach their nutrition goals.

Low-priced ready-to-eat meal options - Comparison of the best cheap meal delivery services ; $+, $ · Veggie · Quick and Easy · Pescatarian · Family Friendly · Fit & Wholesome · Meat Magic Kitchen offers a great variety of affordable premade meals for different dietary needs. Try our delicious meal plans and get them delivered to your I would suggest you can try Blue Apron because this is one of the best meal delivery services at an affordable price in the market Blue Apron is an affordable meal kit delivery service with prices that start at just $ per serving. They top our list because of their

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. For each service, we ordered at least one box of three or four meals worth two to four servings each. Using the service's website, we chose a diverse variety of meals when available.

We prepared the food on a weeknight for ourselves and our partners or families, and evaluated the quality of ingredients, recipe accuracy and variety, difficulty, speed, cleanup, taste, and more.

We scored and compared each meal and kept detailed notes like true food nerds. Meal prepping and grocery shopping can feel overwhelming.

Meal kits are a great way to expand your tastes and eat healthier, bringing you through the cooking process one step at a time and slicing the time it takes to prepare your food in half.

We found many recipes that only took 15 or 20 minutes, and oftentimes less! One study found that popular restaurant meals can have a whopping 1, calories on average per serving. Using a meal kit service can help you better manage your portions and ingredients to eat more nutritious meals and lead a healthier lifestyle.

They can also help you control grocery costs because you won't have excess food going bad in your fridge before you can decide what to do with it. Almost every service we tried offers a large discount on the first box. Your box is good to sit on your doorstep until the end of the day. Because delivery windows for these services are as broad as a full day, they package ingredients to last outside your actual refrigerator until the end of the day.

Most often, produce and dry ingredients will be grouped in bags above ice packs, and any meat will be fully insulated below ice packs.

The packaging is going to be bulky and cumbersome. Recipes are usually seasonal, but favorites are often repeated. Every meal kit service has a different approach to repetition, but most try to make recipes as seasonal as possible to keep you from getting bored and to guarantee fresh, sustainable produce.

That being said, most companies make note of the most popular dishes and offer them many weeks a year, regardless of the season. If you really love one of your meals, hold onto the recipe card for future reference so you can request it again—or make it yourself using store-bought ingredients.

Cook your meals soon after receiving them. Because of transit times, they might actually be older than what you buy from the store.

Use common sense when approaching certain dishes—seafood, fresh greens, and chicken should be prepared first, while red meat, pork, and harder produce can last a few more days. Cancel at least one full week before you want your last box.

If you want to skip a week or take a break from deliveries, most services allow you to make those selections, too. Many meal kits are now offered in grocery stores. To combat the high operational costs of delivery-only services, many companies have partnered with or been acquired by major food stores and are now offering its kits in the grocery aisles.

While we only tested delivery services, many of the recipes we tried are also available in stores for equal or lower prices. Some meal kit companies now offer prepared and heat-and-eat meals. We've noticed a recent trend toward speed and convenience in the meal kit world, both with traditional companies and with frozen and ready-to-eat brands.

Home Chef now offers at least two oven-ready dishes per menu every week, and Sunbasket has introduced both oven-ready and pre-made options. We recommend having a good cast iron pan or a Dutch oven handy. Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.

The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , TikTok , or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews, and more. Cassidy covered all things cooking as the kitchen editor for Reviewed from to How about fruit-filled breakfast smoothies?

Something for every single meal of the day? The wide assortment of options means that there's a subscription for virtually every kind of budget, family size, and dietary restriction or preference — really.

Vegetarian, keto, even meals for the plus set are available, so just wait until you see what's out there! And in case you need more incentive, several of these options have some major Black Friday deals going on right now. But hurry, just like the holiday weekend, they'll be over before you know it!

Scroll for more info. Factor's menu is refreshed with more than 30 dietician-approved meals each week. The chef-cooked offerings are also refined sugar-, GMO-, hormone-, and antibiotic-free. Choose between 6 to 18 meals per week, and they arrive fresh, not frozen. They last up to seven days if you don't eat them right away.

They have keto, vegan and veggie, calorie smart, and protein plus options. SHOP FACTOR. If you have a bigger budget and prioritize an organic, plant-rich, and whole food-based diet, you might find Sakara to be worth the price tag.

You can supplement the health-forward three- and five-day meal plans with the company's snacks, vitamins, probiotics, and teas, too! SHOP SAKARA LIFE. If you're focused on athletic performance and nutrition, give Trifecta a try.

Each plan works within a particular macro count to help you achieve your goals, and you can choose between their clean, paleo, keto, and plant-based options. There are several meal count options per week, too, ranging from 5 to 14, and everything arrives vacuum sealed for freshness.

SHOP TRIFECTA. This meal plan is medically approved, so it's great for those looking to maintain their weight, slim down, or are concerned about diabetes. There are over meals to choose from, and you can choose from several plans including gluten-free, diabetic, heart healthy, and even menopause.

Items arrive frozen, so just require quick trip in the microwave. SHOP BISTROMD. On a mission to eat more plant-based foods that taste amazing?

Good, because that's Mosaic's mission, too! Their meal plan options are great for food sensitivities, so they offer wheat-free, nut-free, and soy-free meals as well as vegan and vegetarian. Opt for 6, 12, or 18 meals per box, and your meals will be delivered frozen either each week or up to every 4 weeks.

SHOP MOSAIC FOODS. If you want truly award-winning options, try a service that brings restaurant chefs right to your table. Select your region and then pick between dozens of options each week.

It separates itself from other meal kit services in that it also makes a smart oven that scans your meal and uses heat and steam to prepare it. The oven also works with items you find at the grocery store, like pizza rolls, and has a manual option to steam, bake, broil, toast, and reheat whatever you want.

How it works: Choose between four and 16 meals deliveries every week. Also filter your meals based on options like carb conscious, gluten-free, vegetarian, and calorie-smart picks.

Delivery area: 48 states not Alaska and Hawaii Good for: Calorie smart, carb conscious, vegetarian, gluten-friendly.

Trifecta offers more than just ready-to-eat meals that cater to specialty diets like keto, paleo, and vegan. It also has a team of nutrition experts that offer support and guidance, plus an app that tracks macros.

The company's testimonials page is filled with customers who have lost weight, gotten into shape, and even improved gut health with Trifecta.

How it works: Select your desired meal plan, including clean, paleo, Whole30, keto, high protein vegan, or high protein vegetarian.

You can choose up to 14 entrees per delivery. The meals last about up to 10 days in the fridge and three months in the freezer. Delivery area: 50 states Good for: Clean, paleo, Whole30, keto, high protein vegan, high protein vegetarian.

BistroMD is one of the best prepared meal delivery services for diabetics or those looking to shed some weight. The brand was founded by a medical doctor and includes a team of dietitians who formulate each of its offerings.

Nutritionists at the Good Housekeeping Institute are impressed by this service because of its quality ingredients, flavors, and variety of options. The kits are all science-backed, with the heart healthy plan in particular including meals that are at or below the American Heart Association 's recommendations for calories, sodium, total fat and saturated fat.

Testers in the lab also described the taste as "restaurant quality" and found the meals to be satisfying even though they were portion controlled. And reviewers agree.

One recommends these for anyone "seeking a healthy way to reach their nutrition goals. How it works: Choose a preferred plan to meet your needs, such as signature weight loss , gluten-free, heart-healthy, and vegan.

You can also customize your plan by using your "my bistroMD" account to choose your favorite entrees. The service's registered dietitians will use this information to build a personalized diet plan to your liking.

Delivery area: 48 states not Alaska and Hawaii Good for: Weight loss, gluten-free, heart health, keto, diabetic, menopause, vegan. If you want to eat like Gwyneth Paltrow, look no further than this health-focused meal plan from Sakara Life.

The service says it harnesses the power of food as medicine to provide ready-to-eat meals that are organic, plant-based, gluten-free, dairy-free, non-GMO, and have no refined sugars.

To sign up, you need to choose at least two meals and how many days a week you want them two, three, or five. Also select how many days you want meals each delivery two, three, or five days , as well as between three or five meals. Other program offerings including The Metabolism Reset, The Fresh Start Cleanse, The Performance System, and The Gut Health Reboot.

Delivery area: 49 states not including Hawaii Good for: Plant-based, gluten-free, dairy-free, non-GMO. Also, for every box sold, Mosaic donates two pounds of nutritious food to New Yorkers in need in partnership with City Harvest.

Mosaic also offers bake-and-serve Family Meals that feed four. Note: There are filters like wheat free or nut free you can choose from.

From there, select your delivery preference: every one to four weeks. Delivery area: Most major metro areas in the Eastern and Western U. You can see if Mosaic ships to your area by going to the brand's homepage, pressing "Get Started," and entering your zip code and email address.

Good for: Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based. Prefer lighter fare? Female-founded, plant-based brand Splendid Spoon specializes in smoothies and soups, as well as grain and noodle bowls, wellness shots, and cold-pressed juices.

How it works: You can either sign up for 7, 14, or 21 meals each week. There are over 50 different plant-based smoothies, bowls, and meals available—all of which are free of gluten, dairy, and artificial sweeteners.

Delivery area: 48 states not Alaska and Hawaii Good for: Plant-based. Abigail Abesamis Demarest is a freelance food writer, editor, and former New Yorker based in sunny Panama City Beach, Florida. She loves a good glazed doughnut and trying new recipes to sharpen her cooking and baking skills.

Nashia Baker is a commerce editor at Hearst Magazines; she covers all things home and lifestyle across brands such as Oprah Daily, Cosmopolitan, Delish, and Esquire. Before joining Hearst, she highlighted small business owners, creatives, and the best shoppable content.

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