Affordable ready-to-eat meals

They make it interesting yet simple. We're on a mission to prove that healthy can taste good. We offer food to suit your lifestyle-you would think it's custom-made. We are certain that after your first bite, you'll stick to our menu. There's no looking back. For the first time, you can shop with confidence.

We've done all the hard work and planning so that you don't have to. Our qualified and trained staff members are also at your disposal in rare cases that you are unsatisfied with your meals or when something goes wrong.

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Toll-free info magickitchen. International Toll-free www. com info magickitchen. Affordable Meals by MagicKitchen. com MagicKitchen. The Magic in our Meals Delivered Mark Twain once said, "Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.

Benefits of Affordable Frozen Meals. No Grocery Store Line-ups. Lots of Dietary Options. Quick and Easy Meal Prep. How it Works. Trust Pilot. Our Menu of Affordable Meals The meals are delivered to you packed in reusable, recyclable Styrofoam containers filled with dry ice.

A LA CARTE View All A la Carte Main Courses Side Dishes Soups Desserts Family Size 1 Person Meal Bundles Snacks A la Carte Healthy. Dairy Free Gluten Free Low Carbohydrate Low Fat Low Sodium Vegetarian. 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. Best Meal Delivery Services of What's the best meal delivery service?

Best meal delivery services of Home Chef. Meal delivery services compared. Factors to consider when choosing a meal delivery service. How we tested meal kit services.

Other meal delivery services we tested. Meal delivery service FAQs. See at Blue Apron. Best for meal kits. See at Fresh N' Lean. Best prepared meal delivery service.

See at Pete's Paleo. Best for gluten-free meal delivery service. See at CookUnity. Best meal delivery with a variety of recipes. See at Mosaic Foods. Best for prepared plant-based meal delivery. See at HelloFresh. Best meal delivery service for families. See at Factor. Best meal delivery service for weight loss.

See at Purple Carrot. Best plant-based meal kit service. See at Green Chef. Best for organic meal kits. See at EveryPlate.

Cheapest meal kit service. See at Home Chef. Best meal kits for eating keto. FILTER BY all Meal Kit Prepared Meal. Showing 11 of 11 Results. Show less. Pros Steak and seafood options are included in a standard meal plan Affordable if you choose more than two recipes per week.

Cons Fewer recipe options than other services Doesn't allow for much customization. Type Meal kit. Recipes per week Good for Vegetarian, pescatarian, diabetes-friendly, low-calorie, picky eaters, quick meals. Diet types: Vegetarian, diabetes-friendly, wellness, family-friendly, fast and easy.

See at Blue Apron Best for meal kits Blue Apron. Show expert take Show less. Editors' choice. Pros Most of the food we tried was good or great Healthy options to service many eating plans. Cons On the pricey side of average No family-sized meals making it expensive to feed a crew.

Type Prepared meal. Meal options per week Good for Keto, paleo, Whole30, gluten-free, Mediterranean, vegan, vegetarian, high-protein.

Full Review Read full review. See at Fresh N' Lean Best prepared meal delivery service Fresh N Lean. Pros Quality ingredients including mostly organic meats and produce Great for those avoiding gluten or empty carbs No subscription required. Cons No real discount for ordering a larger volume of meals The website isn't the best.

Good for Healthy, paleo, keto, low-calorie, diabetes-friendly, gluten-free, Whole30, high protein. See at Pete's Paleo Best for gluten-free meal delivery service Pete's Real Food. Pros Tons of healthy menu options per week Healthy food to service most diets and nutrition plans.

Cons Expensive if you only choose a few meals per week Quality was somewhat inconsistent. Good for Gluten-free, dairy-free, keto, paleo, vegan, low calorie, low carb, plant-based.

See at CookUnity Best meal delivery with a variety of recipes CookUnity. Pros Nearly all the meals I tried were good or better Interesting use of global recipes and flavors Affordable, especially for the family plan. Good for Vegan, vegetarian, paleo, gluten-free, low-calorie.

See at Mosaic Foods Best for prepared plant-based meal delivery Mosaic Foods. Pros More than 50 weekly recipes Good for keeping to specific diets or eating plans. Good for Vegan, vegetarian, keto, gluten-free, low-calorie, Whole30, families, picky eaters. See at HelloFresh Best meal delivery service for families HelloFresh.

Good for Healthy, low-calorie, pescatarian, vegetarian, keto, paleo, diabetes-friendly, gluten-free, Whole See at Factor Best meal delivery service for weight loss Factor. Pros Interesting and filling vegan recipes Extremely fresh and high-quality ingredients.

Cons Limited to eight recipes per week Expensive. Recipes per week 8. Good for Vegan, vegetarian. See at Purple Carrot Best plant-based meal kit service Purple Carrot. Pros Healthy recipes and mostly organic ingredients Allows you to swap the protein in certain recipes.

Cons On the expensive side Premium recipes incur major upcharges. Good for Organic, healthy, low-calorie, pescatarian, vegetarian, keto, gluten-free, Whole30, gourmet. See at Green Chef Best for organic meal kits Green Chef.

Pros The most affordable meal kit service Most recipes were either good or better Not a ton of plastic waste. Cons Some produce was past its prime Recipes are somewhat basic Very little customization allowed.

Good for Healthy, family-friendly, comfort food, picky eaters, quick and easy. See at EveryPlate Cheapest meal kit service EveryPlate. Pros Good selection of keto-friendly meal kits Recipes are simple and fast Budget-friendly if you choose a larger plan.

Cons Some recipes were clunky and bland Too much plastic used in packaging. Good for Keto, low-carb, healthy, families, picky eaters, low-calorie, vegetarian. See at Home Chef Best meal kits for eating keto Home Chef.

Meal kit versus prepared meal delivery 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 that are ready to heat and eat. Cost After you've picked between meal kits or meal delivery, you'll want to find a service within your budget.

Sunbasket : This service has high-end meal kits, but the bloated cost keeps it off our list. While the quality is high, the prices are too.

BistroMD : These meals are intended to promote weight loss, but the cost is high, and the flavors aren't good enough to justify the price. Daily Harvest : Daily Harvest's semi-prepared smoothies, bowls and soups are good and fairly affordable, but the meals are inconsistent and contain a lot of sodium.

Dinnerly : This meal kit service is one of the cheapest, but the recipes were inconsistent. Territory Foods : The food was some of the best I tried, and I found the recipes diverse and interesting. Sakara Life : This fresh food service was tasty and good for a cleanse, but it's also one of the most expensive meal subscriptions we tried.

Trifecta Nutrition : Trifecta's vegan meals are healthy and tasty but also very expensive. Hungryoot : We liked this hybrid service but leans more toward grocery delivery than meal kit.

Snap Kitchen : Snap Kitchen has solid prepared meals, mostly under calories. The portions were a bit small, and some meals were underwhelming.

FlexPro Meals : These frozen keto meals were some of the worst I tried. Nutrisystem : Though it's affordable, I disliked most of the meals I tried from this frozen meal subscription. Rootberry : This vegan meal delivery service is reliable but the food is not to the level of others on our list.

Who are meal kits good for? Families seeking an easier way to make home-cooked meals. Meal kits help you avoid the nightly debate about what you're going to make for dinner and save a trip to the grocery store if you're missing breadcrumbs or flour.

Those trying to eat healthier. Meal kit services all offer in-depth nutritional information, including carbs, calories, sugar, sodium, and protein.

Many meal kit services even offer specific diet plans that filter out foods that don't fit a dietary preference or restriction, such as gluten-free, diabetes-friendly, keto or carb-conscious and paleo meals.

Anyone who wants to learn to cook. With all the ingredients sent along and easy recipe instructions, meal kits are a low-pressure way to learn to cook.

Who is prepared meal delivery good for? Those looking to save time. Meal delivery is great for anyone who wants easy meals and fewer evenings spent cooking but doesn't want to pony up the dough for expensive takeout.

Those looking to eat better.

I've used Factor75 meals but they're pretty pricey, around $12/meal. Costco has some economical options in their jav-way.site › Roundup Our pick for best overall cheapest meal delivery service goes to Dinnerly. Depending on the number of meals you order

11 Cheapest Meal Delivery Services To Try in 2024

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Top 5 Meal Delivery Price Comparison

Affordable Meals by jav-way.site jav-way.site chefs prepare healthy, nutritious meals delivered nationwide! Our meal service Dinnerly is one of the more affordable meal kits on the market. Instead of investing in splashy marketing campaigns I've used Factor75 meals but they're pretty pricey, around $12/meal. Costco has some economical options in their: Affordable ready-to-eat meals





















Pros Ready-to-eag meal options for weight Cheap eats meal packs, Free sample clubs and heart health Ready--to-eat to eat in five Discounted Pre-Made Meals or less Gluten-free meals are tested Sample giveaways the FDA standard. Sample giveaways frozen readg-to-eat that Affordable ready-to-eat meals full of flavor, consider other services like Mosaic. Share on Pinterest. Pros Food mostly tastes great Good for diets and healthy eating plans. Curated for athletes, this all-organic prepared subscription service uses high-quality ingredients like grass-fed meat and wild-caught seafood. Not a microwave person? Subscribers to Purple Carrot can choose between either two or four servings a week for a meal kit subscription, or three or four meals a week for a prepared meal subscription. Clean Eatz allows you to pick six meals from their meal plans—including keto, high-protein, and gluten-free plans—and then a quantity of these six-meal packs. They offer specific plans for men, women, people with diabetes and people over 55 years old. The 5 Best Whole30 Meal Delivery Services. Learn more about our review process. Carb counting is complicated. I've used Factor75 meals but they're pretty pricey, around $12/meal. Costco has some economical options in their jav-way.site › Roundup Our pick for best overall cheapest meal delivery service goes to Dinnerly. Depending on the number of meals you order Prepared meals don't have to be boring, and Cook Unity proves it. The service provides gourmet meals crafted by award- Cheapest Meal Delivery Service For Prepared Meals: Dinnerly Offers meal kits and heat-and-eat meals; Over 25 options If you want to eat meals that are nutrient-dense but dead easy to prepare, Factor is probably the way to go. Factor is HelloFresh is a bit more per serving than EveryPlate or Dinnerly -- $9 a serving if you order meals for four -- but Why we love it: HelloFresh is one of the most popular and affordable meal delivery services available. And with more $+, $, , low calorie, portion-controlled meals ; $+, $, 30+, family-friendly, oven-ready meals Affordable ready-to-eat meals
Ready-tk-eat Affordable ready-to-eat meals full Martha Affordablw Marley Spoon review. Learn how we test Ready-to-wat. Buy Pocket-Sized Testers at Green Renovation freebies. Almost every service we tried offers a Sample giveaways discount Affordanle the first box. Many prepared meal delivery services cater to Whole30, keto, paleo, vegan, vegetarian and organic eaters and can help you regulate fat, sugar, carbs and calories on a weekly basis. 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. CookUnity is a chef-collective prepared meal delivery service offering restaurant-quality meals. After testing meals from more than 20 companies, Factor is our pick for the best prepared meal delivery service. Lisa Moskovitz, a registered dietitian and CEO of NY Nutrition Group , recommends this service because it offers various health-conscious plans — you can pick from five different programs: Signature, Gluten-free, Heart Healthy, Diabetic and Menopause. It presents you with a rotating menu of over 50 prepared foods spanning breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and desserts. On a mission to eat more plant-based foods that taste amazing? See at EveryPlate. I've used Factor75 meals but they're pretty pricey, around $12/meal. Costco has some economical options in their jav-way.site › Roundup Our pick for best overall cheapest meal delivery service goes to Dinnerly. Depending on the number of meals you order Missing Fresh N Lean is the most popular healthy prepared meal delivery service offering Vegan, Keto, Paleo, and Mediterranean diet meal Why we love it: HelloFresh is one of the most popular and affordable meal delivery services available. And with more I've used Factor75 meals but they're pretty pricey, around $12/meal. Costco has some economical options in their jav-way.site › Roundup Our pick for best overall cheapest meal delivery service goes to Dinnerly. Depending on the number of meals you order Affordable ready-to-eat meals
Best plant-based meal kit Gardening product samples. Affordable ready-to-eat meals that said, there Sample giveaways many Sample giveaways rexdy-to-eat food delivery services catered to Affordable ready-to-eat meals. Items arrive frozen, so just require ready-toe-at trip in the microwave. We have tested the most popular meal delivery services on the market to help you decide which ones are worth your money. SHOP SILVER CUISINE. An experimental home chef with a healthy distrust of recipes, Cassidy lives by the "Ratatouille" philosophy that, with a few techniques and key tools, anyone can cook. Home Chef offers many dishes, including carb-conscious, calorie-conscious, and vegetarian options. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases. Mosaic uses global flavors and employs creative use of meat substitutes such as tofu, jackfruit, cauliflower and vegan sausages to create tasty and satisfying vegetarian meals. How it works: The service offers a weekly rotating, globally-inspired menu of six different breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks. With that said, it may not be the best option for people who are indecisive or picky eaters, says Leonard. I've used Factor75 meals but they're pretty pricey, around $12/meal. Costco has some economical options in their jav-way.site › Roundup Our pick for best overall cheapest meal delivery service goes to Dinnerly. Depending on the number of meals you order I've used Factor75 meals but they're pretty pricey, around $12/meal. Costco has some economical options in their Prepared meals don't have to be boring, and Cook Unity proves it. The service provides gourmet meals crafted by award- Dinnerly is the affordable meal delivery service on the market. Open the door to unfussy, affordable weeknight cooking Cheapest Meal Delivery Service For Prepared Meals: Dinnerly Offers meal kits and heat-and-eat meals; Over 25 options Affordable Meals by jav-way.site jav-way.site chefs prepare healthy, nutritious meals delivered nationwide! Our meal service Fresh N Lean is the most popular healthy prepared meal delivery service offering Vegan, Keto, Paleo, and Mediterranean diet meal Affordable ready-to-eat meals
Readyt-o-eat is an abundance Affordable ready-to-eat meals variety with Affordable ready-to-eat meals, Low-cost supermarket deals for those with dietary restrictions. Afforsable Signature. Testers found the flavors super unique, and one said that Mosaic Affkrdable a "greater diversity and quantity meala vegetables meald any supermarket frozen foods that I've tried. With so many choices, meals are categorized effectively and you can use either the website or the app to change your meal selections, add items, skip deliveries, and manage your account. Meals also need to be chosen and ordered in advance. It has better ingredient quality and definitely less sodium than a TV dinner, but with very similar taste vibes. There are more benefits to an inexpensive meal service besides the money. See full bio. As part of our testing, we consider several factors, including the ease of the signup and meal selection process, the variety and nutritional composition of the meals offered, ingredient quality and freshness, ease of cooking, and, of course, the taste. You can choose 5, 7, 10 or 14 entrees per delivery, and add on an optional seven breakfasts if desired. Some services are much better depending on your dietary preferences, budget and culinary skill level. Why our testers picked Pete's Real Food : While it's more expensive than other prepared meal services on our list, the quality of food doesn't get much higher than Pete's. Each service in this article: is in compliance with U. Right now, he's likely somewhere stress-testing a blender or researching the best way to make bacon. I've used Factor75 meals but they're pretty pricey, around $12/meal. Costco has some economical options in their jav-way.site › Roundup Our pick for best overall cheapest meal delivery service goes to Dinnerly. Depending on the number of meals you order Dinnerly is the affordable meal delivery service on the market. Open the door to unfussy, affordable weeknight cooking We also dove deep into prepared meal delivery subscriptions that require no cooking at all. In that category, Fresh N Discover affordable, fresh prepared meals at Everytable. Order online or in-store. Enjoy easy food pick up or meal delivery Missing We also dove deep into prepared meal delivery subscriptions that require no cooking at all. In that category, Fresh N Dinnerly is one of the most affordable meal kits out there Ready-to-eat meals taste fresh, even when microwaved Affordable ready-to-eat meals
There are Sample giveaways meals to choose from. Just as you'd guess, Fitness equipment trials send mexls Free sample clubs to your mdals. Some, like Nutrisystem, send monthly Affordable ready-to-eat meals. Paneer Tikka Masala was our favorite dish we tested from Gobble, our pick for best pre-prepped meal kit. It may be cheaper because it specifically offers kid meals rather than meals for adults or families. It changes how you cook—and it needs to align with your needs.

Affordable ready-to-eat meals - $+, $, , low calorie, portion-controlled meals ; $+, $, 30+, family-friendly, oven-ready meals I've used Factor75 meals but they're pretty pricey, around $12/meal. Costco has some economical options in their jav-way.site › Roundup Our pick for best overall cheapest meal delivery service goes to Dinnerly. Depending on the number of meals you order

Pete's Real Food formerly Pete's Paleo won me over in a week-long taste test of its healthy organic and paleo meals, earning a spot as one of the best healthy, organic meal delivery services. Pete's meals are all fully prepared and ready to heat and eat. The dozen or so Pete's Real Food meals we've tested were all cooked well: meats were tender, vegetables mostly cooked to proper doneness and all the flavors worked.

If you're in training or keeping to a paleo plan and looking for lots of protein, healthy fats and nutrient-filled carbs such as sweet potatoes and beets, Pete's should hit the spot.

Pete's Real Food formerly Pete's Paleo is an excellent meal service if you're adhering to a paleo or whole foods eating plan. Read our full review of Pete's Real Food here.

Why our testers picked CookUnity : This is a prepared meal service aimed at those with refined tastes and an adventurous palate. The best thing about CookUnity is the sheer volume of meal options you can choose from, all originating from chefs -- some famous and some not -- of different backgrounds and culinary styles.

I liked almost everything I tried, with recipes ranging from very healthy to more comfort-style food. There are plenty of options for vegetarians, too, but note that the menu will vary depending on where you live since they pull from local chefs to create the weekly offerings.

Read our full review of CookUnity here. Why our testers picked Mosaic Foods : This plant-based service was one of the best prepared meal services we tried, and not just among vegan options.

I sampled more than 10 of Mosaic Food's plant-based prepared meal offerings and the vegetarian prepared meal delivery service had an astoundingly high hit rate.

Mosaic uses global flavors and employs creative use of meat substitutes such as tofu, jackfruit, cauliflower and vegan sausages to create tasty and satisfying vegetarian meals.

While everything I ate from Mosaic was at least good, some standouts included the bean and jackfruit chili, tomato olive and feta ragout and a tangy Thai noodle dish. Why our testers picked HelloFresh : HelloFresh combines, convenience, selection and family-friendly options for an all-around excellent meal kit experience.

HelloFresh has the most recipes per week of any meal kit service we tried making it a good pick for families and homes with picky eaters.

This meal kit service's portion sizes are generous and there are meals to fir eating plans and diets of all sorts. It's also affordable, especially if you order larger meals. Ya know, for a family.

HelloFresh recipes are mostly fast and easy to follow, even for beginner cooks. Plus, they'll allow you to make substitutions so you can always find a recipe that suits your taste.

Factor is a healthy prepared meal service and had some of the best meals I tried in all my testing of prepared meal services, including a zesty pesto salmon and a divine keto cheesecake. Among the hits, however, were the occasional misses, so you may have to learn the menu over time.

Factor puts a focus on healthy meals with plenty of low-carb options, and all the nutritional information is listed on the website before you choose your meals each week. With all the keto and paleo meal options, it's certainly a solid choice for people keeping to either of those plans.

Read our full review of Factor here. Why our testers picked Purple Carrot : For authentic, organic, plant-based cooking, Purple Carrot delivered big with a bounty of interesting recipes and fresh ingredients. Out of all the vegan meal kits I've tried, Purple Carrot's provided me with the best base for cooking vegan cuisine and its ingredient mainstays such as lentils and grains.

There are about eight recipes to choose from each week. I tested a full week's worth of meals and enjoyed all of them. Read our full Purple Carrot review here.

Why our testers picked Green Chef : This meal kit service uses almost all organic meats and produce, and offers interesting and healthy recipes for the discerning home cook. While it may be one of the pricier options, we like Green Chef for its versatility in the different specific diet plans available.

The healthy meal kit service also boasts the most organic ingredients of any meal kit service including produce, meats and fish. Green Chef also offers paleo, keto, pescatarian, vegan and vegetarian meals as well as gluten-free meal kit recipes and meals.

Read our full review of Green Chef here. EveryPlate keeps overhead costs low by offering just eight easy meal kit recipes to choose from weekly, which mostly excludes vegetarians and those on special diets, but the eight available meals are full of variety and flavor otherwise.

You can expect a lot of comfort food from this meal kit service such as meatloaf, burgers and pasta dishes but everything I made was solid. Why our testers picked Home Chef : Home Chef is a meal kit service with a sprawling menu that includes tons of low-carb options.

Even if you're not going full keto, but just want to curb your carb intake, Home Chef offers 15 recipes per week with less than 15 grams of net carbs in each.

On balance, Home Chef meal kits weren't the best we tried, but the bulk of meals we made took less than 25 minutes and the portions were more than satisfying.

That, coupled with its slew of easy, healthy low-carb options, makes Home Chef the best meal kit service for keto eaters.

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 that are ready to heat and eat.

After you've picked between meal kits or meal delivery, you'll want to find a service within your budget. Here we've outlined all the best cheap meal delivery services for Our list of the healthiest meal delivery services for is a good place to find all the most nutritious options.

Lastly, you'll want to hone in on exactly how much food you'll want sent to you per week. Most services allow you to change the number of meals or servings in your plan even after you've started. With nearly every service, the more meals your order per delivery, the cheaper it is per meal.

All the meal delivery services may look delicious in their website glamour shots, but that's certainly not enough to convince me.

To settle on this list of the best meal delivery service I tried as many as we could get our hands on, noting everything about them from freshness and flavor to ordering, packaging and delivery.

Testing meal kits for CNET means rolling up our sleeves and cooking at least one week's worth of meals from each service, often more. How each meal kit tastes, how easy it was to prepare and the portion sizes are all considered.

We also evaluate the website and how easy it is to navigate along with determining how easy it is to pause, cancel or change your order at any given time. To learn more, we have an in-depth look at how we test meal kits here at CNET.

To test each meal delivery service, we tried at least five and sometimes as many as 10 meals from any given service. I choose a range of meals from the various menu and meal plan offerings and took note of the ordering process, recipe variety and information available. I reheated meals according to the instructions.

If there were none, I heated them the way I would if left to my own devices. Often that meant warming gently in a nonstick skillet or reheating in my air fryer. Many of the meal delivery services offer a microwave heating option, but I almost always found that produced worse results than my trusted methods, even if they typically take a few seconds longer.

Not all meal kits are created equally. Some services are much better depending on your dietary preferences, budget and culinary skill level. If you're looking to cut some of the legwork out of dinner, meal kits and prepared meal services are definitely worth it.

The most budget-friendly services cost about the same as buying all the groceries you'd need to make the same meal, with the convenience of having all the ingredients or a box of fully prepared meals sent to your home each week. That's definitely cheaper than eating out or getting restaurant food delivered, and about the same cost as buying the groceries needed to make the same meals.

In a previous story, we crunched the numbers to find out how much meal kits cost versus buying the same groceries. In reviews and best lists, Blue Apron and HelloFresh are two of the most popular meal kit services for Fresh N Lean and Factor are some of the most popular options for prepared meal subscriptions.

Wellness Nutrition. Best Meal Delivery Services of We've tested and reviewed more than two dozen meal delivery services. 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. Best Meal Delivery Services of What's the best meal delivery service? Best meal delivery services of Home Chef.

Meal delivery services compared. Factors to consider when choosing a meal delivery service. How we tested meal kit services. Other meal delivery services we tested.

Meal delivery service FAQs. See at Blue Apron. Best for meal kits. See at Fresh N' Lean. Best prepared meal delivery service. See at Pete's Paleo.

Best for gluten-free meal delivery service. See at CookUnity. Best meal delivery with a variety of recipes. See at Mosaic Foods. Best for prepared plant-based meal delivery. See at HelloFresh. Best meal delivery service for families.

See at Factor. Best meal delivery service for weight loss. See at Purple Carrot. Best plant-based meal kit service. See at Green Chef. Best for organic meal kits. See at EveryPlate. Cheapest meal kit service. See at Home Chef. Best meal kits for eating keto. FILTER BY all Meal Kit Prepared Meal.

Showing 11 of 11 Results. Show less. Pros Steak and seafood options are included in a standard meal plan Affordable if you choose more than two recipes per week. Cons Fewer recipe options than other services Doesn't allow for much customization.

Type Meal kit. Recipes per week Good for Vegetarian, pescatarian, diabetes-friendly, low-calorie, picky eaters, quick meals. Cost: Visit Purple Carrot for updated pricing. Unlike the other services in this roundup, CookUnity delivers fresh, fully prepared meals directly to your door—no cooking required.

CookUnity wowed us from the moment we created an account and started browsing the hundreds—yes, hundreds —of meal options that are offered in any given week. Each dish on the website is curated by one of CookUnity's featured chefs, who typically specialize in a certain style of cooking.

Subscribers can choose to filter the overwhelming number of offerings by anything from diet type think vegan and keto , ethnicity think Mexican, African, or Mediterranean , or by featured chef once you become familiar with them.

When we tested these meals, it felt like we were dining at a restaurant. Each dish was flavorful, fresh, and enticing; they felt like they had been cooked fresh—but the prep took mere seconds. The meal packaging prompts you to choose between a typical pre-made meal preparation read: microwave or a chef-suggested preparation.

The latter requires popping the tray into the oven or transferring the food into a pan. We opted for the chef's suggestions—and it was worth it.

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

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

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

But when we tested it again in , we found that the menu offered much more variety. Flavorful meals like Mexican-spiced shrimp bake and shawarma chicken and currant rice had us enjoying every last bite.

A few details continue to fall short, though, like disorganized packaging and inaccurate time estimates. There's also a lack of vegan offerings with this meal kit. But if you're someone looking for dietician-approved meals, tasty recipes, and options for wine and breakfast, you might be very satisfied with this kit.

Read the full Blue Apron review. Favorite meal: Crispy skin salmon with salsa verde and farro salad. Cost: Visit Blue Apron for updated pricing. Different plans are available. Each dish we tested, from hibachi-style steak and rice bowls to apricot dijon chicken legs, was quick and easy to prepare and used high-quality ingredients.

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

However, EveryPlate is focused on affordability and not specific diet plans, which means its recipes may not suit everyone.

But if you're looking to subscribe to a meal kit on a budget, EveryPlate just might do. Read the full EveryPlate review. Favorite meal: Apricot dijon chicken legs with roasted carrots and lemon garlic couscous.

Cost: Visit EveryPlate for updated pricing. Meals like chipotle-spiced steak with potato salad were simple, sophisticated, and downright American, just like the homemaking queen.

The service is also far from ideal for those with dietary restrictions—in typical American fashion, every recipe revolves around an animal protein or heavy carbs.

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

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

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

The carrots and cabbage were already chopped, the miso sauce was already prepared, and there was a baggie of finely minced garlic and ginger that was almost a paste.

All these pre-prepped ingredients made preparing our food very speedy and simple. Most were plated and ready to eat in 30 minutes, and we only dirtied a handful of prep bowls, one pan, one pot, and a cutting board. However, convenience has its drawbacks.

Many of the pre-chopped veggies were brown or wilting by the time we went to cook with them. But otherwise, we quite enjoyed Green Chef. Read the full Green Chef Review. Favorite meal: Red-miso steak stir-fry with udon noodles, carrots, edamame, pickled ginger and carrots.

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

We were impressed by how easily our Sunbasket dinners came together, relying on just a few key ingredients and spice blends to do most of the heavy lifting. That meant spending less time cooking and more time enjoying the food.

We particularly loved the flavorful veggies and non-meat protein options, making Sunbasket perfect for people who avoid eating meat. You can easily skip weeks, adjust delivery frequency, pause your account, or cancel your subscription entirely by easily navigating the Sunbasket website.

Favorite meal: Fresh pappardelle verde with sweet pea pistou and sugar snap peas. Cost: Visit Sunbasket for updated pricing. There are several options to choose from when it comes to buying a meal delivery kit. To help make your selection a little easier, here are some of the most important factors to keep in mind before you subscribe to a delivery service:.

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

Not everyone is a connoisseur in the kitchen, and some folks may want their dinner to be prepared more quickly or easily than others. Certain recipes can take longer to prepare, while some may be less labor intensive.

Before ordering your meal kit, check to see how long each recipe is intended to take, as well as how much additional chopping, cutting, or prepping you may have to perform. If you find yourself having little to no time to cook, then a pre-made meal kit like CookUnity could be your best option.

Meal delivery services tend to offer a variety of options to meet a wide range of dietary needs, whether it be low calorie, vegan, or gluten-free dishes. There's also the benefit of customization, which allows consumers to change some of the ingredients within the meal kit to suit their needs.

This is particularly useful when it comes to protein options or excluding a particular ingredient due to an allergy or taste preference.

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

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

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 An experimental home chef with a healthy distrust of recipes, Cassidy lives by the "Ratatouille" philosophy that, with a few techniques and key tools, anyone can cook.

She's produced in-depth reviews and guides on everything from meal kits to stand mixers and the right way to cook an egg. Madison covered all things cooking as the kitchen editor for Reviewed in Formerly the editor-in-chief of Culture Magazine, Madison is the founder of GRLSQUASH, a women's food, art, and culture journal.

Her work has also appeared in The Boston Globe, Cherrybombe, Gather Journal, and more. She is passionate about pizza, aesthetic countertop appliances, and regularly watering her houseplants. She holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia and a Master's of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy from Boston University.

Previously the Digital Editor at Culture Cheese Magazine and a former barista , she's also had her work published in The Boston Globe, Modern Luxury, Boston Magazine, and more. Danielle has a B. from Syracuse University and a AAS in Culinary Arts from Newbury College.

Previously, Danielle was a Test Cook and Associate Editor at America's Test Kitchen, as well as a freelance recipe developer and food writer. Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own.

Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes. Skip to main content.

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Read More Pros Large variety of appealing dishes and extras Big portions Straightforward recipes Cons Recipe timing can be inaccurate Vegan offerings are limited. Read More Pros High-quality ingredients User-friendly recipes with accurate timing Large variety of options and extras Cons Lots of packaging.

Read More Pros Balanced flavors Quality ingredients Quick and easy Creative recipes Cons Some recipes fall short.

Read More Pros Fully plant-based Tasty , unique meals Premade meals offered Cons Learning curve with recipe cards. Written by Cassidy Olsen , Madison Trapkin , Monica Petrucci , and Danielle DeSiato. Best Overall. Pros Large variety of appealing dishes and extras Big portions Straightforward recipes.

Cons Recipe timing can be inaccurate Vegan offerings are limited. Buy now at HelloFresh. Best Value. Favorite meal: Soy-ginger pork tenderloin with garlic rice and green beans Cost: Visit Dinnerly for updated pricing.

Cons Organization is lacking Navigating the website can be challenging. Buy now at Dinnerly. Most User-Friendly. Pros High-quality ingredients User-friendly recipes with accurate timing Large variety of options and extras.

Cons Lots of packaging. Buy now at Home Chef.

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