Affordable meal subscriptions
Pros: Daily Harvest's menu is entirely plant-based, and the service makes every effort to use organic ingredients. Cons: More impatient home cooks may not like that all meals arrive frozen; you also must commit to a minimum order of nine items with each delivery. Since , Daily Harvest has provided plant-based eaters nationwide with top-notch meals that are chock-full of nutrients.
Everything on the menu is plant-based and gluten-free, with a strong focus on organic ingredients. There are more than dishes on the menu , from sweet potato and wild rice bowls to artichoke and spinach flatbread to purple corn and tomatillo soup. While all items arrive frozen, that just means you can keep your freezer stocked with meals whenever you need them.
Ordering from Daily Harvest is a straightforward process. You do not need to create an account to view the menu, so browse as much as you like before signing up. Instead, your order will simply repeat until you manually alter it. While there may be better choices than Daily Harvest for larger households, we found its smoothies, bowls, and flatbreads to be a solid choice for folks who want a quick, nutritious meal.
Daily Harvest ships its products in a cardboard shipping box, insulated with a liner and kept cool with a package of dry ice. Your items will arrive frozen and can be stored in your freezer for up to three months.
Most packages have at least three elements: a paper-based vessel, a plastic film seal, and a plastic lid or thin cardboard sleeve. Harvest bakes are the exception; they have the sleeve and plastic seal, but the vessel is an aluminum tray.
In general, containers, lids, and sleeves are recyclable or compostable. Preparing your Daily Harvest meals is about as foolproof as it gets. Aside from overnight oats and chia bowls, which need to soak for at least six hours, harvest bakes and flatbreads take the longest, requiring roughly 20 to 30 minutes to bake in the oven or toaster oven.
Everything else is ready to eat in about five minutes. We sampled nine different items to get an idea of what Daily Harvest has to offer, including:. During testing, we found that the more umami a dish had, the more filling it felt to testers.
However, this service fits the bill if you want something fast and healthy. Pros: With its ethical sourcing and USDA-certified organic ingredients, Sunbasket has a level of variety and customization options that set it apart from the rest.
Cons: Our testers found some of Sunbasket's recipe instructions hard to follow, and shipping is only free for your first order. Sunbasket takes pride in ethical sourcing and using certified USDA-organic ingredients whenever possible from a plethora of U.
purveyors and farmers. The service offers healthy and nutritious meals , with an option for a traditional meal kit with pre-portioned ingredients or fresh-and-ready prepared meals you can heat up in minutes.
Meals are available for two or four servings, and many of the meals offer protein customization alternatives, plus options to add on breakfasts, lunches, and snacks. From Persian salmon to chimichurri steaks to chop suey, Sunbasket creates enticing and internationally inspired meals.
Sunbasket tries to ship its meals in environmentally-friendly packaging; our items arrived in a cardboard box lined with paper and denim insulation.
The food is kept cold with plastic ice packs, which are filled with compostable gel. Proteins are sealed in plastic, while all other ingredients are sealed in brown paper bags.
Recipes are printed on a full-color folded sheet, and their information is extensive and helpful. There are even instructions on making your meal ahead of time, which we thought was a nice touch.
As part of our testing, we cooked and prepared:. Despite the care Sunbasket puts into its packaging, we were puzzled to find that the company made ingredient substitutions with no warning beforehand.
The differences were small we received Parmesan instead of Pecorino, and the recipe listed roasted garlic when we had raw cloves , but enough to give us pause.
Pros: Home Chef has recipes designed to save you time, and with its easy-to-customize dishes, bigger serving sizes, and affordable price point, it's a great option for families. Cons: Home Chef only offers limited dietary accommodations, so those with specific needs may want to look elsewhere.
You can choose from tasty, comfort food-leaning options like Tuscan-style shrimp penne, crispy shallot beef burgers, and mushroom and black bean chili, each of which can feed up to six people. Then you specify your dietary preferences. You have until Friday each week to pause, skip, or cancel your order, which you can do via Home Chef's website or app.
At this time, Home Chef does not ship to Alaska or Hawaii. Our Home Chef ingredients arrive in an insulated cardboard box, with items kept cool with ice packs.
Proteins are individually wrapped and packed together in a plastic bag, and all premeasured ingredients are grouped in resealable plastic bags, making it easy to store the items in the refrigerator until ready for use.
Each recipe comes with its own double-sided card; these are already three-hole punched and intended to be saved in a binder. We sampled several recipes from Home Chef, which consisted of the following:.
Pros: Dinnerly offers comfort food favorites in varying sizes at budget-friendly price point. Cons: In order to cut down on cost, Dinnerly only offers digital recipe cards. Some of our testers also report chatbot issues when reaching out to customer service.
You can order meals with either two or four servings, with an option of three to six meals a week. Dinnerly's rotating weekly menu focuses on family-friendly comfort foods like steak and potatoes, quesadillas, and rice bowls. You can also incorporate grocery items into your shipments using the new online Market by Dinnerly.
With preportioned items and only a handful of ingredients, meals are quick to prepare and delicious. You don't need to create an account to view Dinnerly's menu. Simply click on "View Menu. First, select the number of meals and servings you need.
Then, provide your location, email address, and delivery address. Choose the delivery day that suits you best. Once you've added your payment information, you can select the meals you want for your first delivery. Dinnerly will choose your meals, but you can adjust your preferences by clicking on the "edit taste profile" link in your account settings.
Once there, you can customize the types of proteins you prefer, whether you want vegetarian options, and whether you like spicy food. To choose your meals, simply click on "edit recipes," select the meals you want, and then hit "continue" to reach Dinnerly's "Market" section. In the "Market," you can choose up to 10 additional items from categories such as bakery and dessert, breakfast and brunch, drinks and smoothies, fresh fruits and vegetables, lunch, and prepared meals and sides.
Dinnerly ships its meal kit ingredients fresh, and items are kept chilled in transit by a combination of insulation which can vary based on your location and a large ice pack. Proteins are separated from your produce and seasonings, and all perishable items should be stored in the refrigerator.
The company only provides digital recipe cards to reduce costs and its carbon footprint. These are always available in your Dinnerly account and can be accessed on your phone via the app or on your computer. Our sample meals included:. Our main complaint?
The broccoli and chicken were supposed to be cooked in the same skillet, but this proved impossible and required another skillet and thus more dishes to clean. Dinnerly is also the most affordable meal delivery service we tested.
Blue Apron stands out from the rest for its diverse selection of meals and entrées available, all with a gourmet touch. Additionally, the company offers both kits and the convenience of heat-and-eat meals, giving busy folks more options to save valuable time in the kitchen.
Last but not least, with its pre-prepped ingredients and clear, step-by-step instructions, Blue Apron makes it both fun and convenient to try new meals each week.
Our dedicated team, which includes editors, researchers, home testers, dietitians and skilled chefs, has conducted a comprehensive review of over 50 meal delivery services. We've carefully evaluated each company on various criteria, such as pricing, meal variety, packaging, cooking time, and more.
To ensure we provide the best recommendations to our readers, we've tested and tasted over 1, meals and counting! Our testers begin by creating an account with the service and exploring the website to assess its user-friendliness.
They then select a diverse range of meals that represent a variety of dietary preferences and make a purchase. Upon delivery, our testers meticulously document the unboxing process by conducting a packaging count and taking photos.
Next, our testers follow each recipe's directions and photograph the cooking process as they chop, slice, and sauté. They keep track of the time spent preparing and cooking the dish to see how these recipes stack up against their expected preparation and cooking times. Finally, we document the best part—the food!
Our testers are encouraged to assemble a tasting panel of family and friends to try the meals and make note of details such as texture, seasoning levels, and presentation. While we know taste is subjective, we collect feedback from the panel and present those notes to our readers to help them make an informed decision when choosing a meal delivery service.
Each meal delivery service is unique and may offer a variety of health benefits. For instance, if you follow a strict diet, such as vegan , gluten-free , or keto, there are specific meal kits that focus on these dietary needs.
For those looking to lose weight, there are dietitian-designed services that cater to customers who want extra support. If you are looking to add more organic produce or vegetables into your diet, many meal services offer a vegetarian meal plan or work with local farms to procure and produce healthful meals.
While each meal delivery service is distinctive in its offerings, most of the meal companies share nutrition facts for each meal and may even offer filters or tags to help you find the ideal meal.
If you have any specific health ailments or issues, speaking to a doctor or registered dietitian may be advised to help select the right meal delivery plan for you.
Fortunately, for those who suffer from food allergies and restrictions, there are plenty of options when it comes to meal delivery. Many services cater to a variety of food allergies and dietary needs, and some meal services are created by physicians and registered dietitians to offer custom meal plans.
A variety of services offer a selection of diets, such as vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-, nut-, and dairy-free. It's important to note that, despite offering diet-specific meals, many companies process foods in facilities that may not uphold strict allergen standards.
For this reason, consider reaching out to customer service to learn more about each service's processing and facility practices. With so many meal kit plans available, there are several factors to consider when selecting a meal delivery service.
Who is the plan for? How big is the household? Some services are geared towards single-serving meals , while other services offer multiple serving sizes, which may appeal to families or homes that love to have a fridge stocked with leftovers. Time commitment may also be an important factor.
Which deliveries will work best with your schedule? Are you looking to microwave a complete meal in a few minutes, or do you enjoy the process of cooking a gourmet meal some evenings?
Additionally, it's important to consider diet, food restrictions, and food allergies when selecting the best meal plan for your household. Most meal delivery services make it quite easy to cancel, update, skip, or even pause your service. Many companies let customers make changes and updates to their account in the online profile or mobile app.
Depending on the service, you may need to answer a few questions before fully canceling your subscription. Other services may even require contacting a customer service agent to cancel a subscription.
If you have any hesitations or questions, check the FAQ section of the company website or reach out to customer service for assistance. Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising.
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Measure content performance. Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources. Develop and improve services. Use limited data to select content. While HelloFresh offers a wide variety of dishes, it still lacks many vegan offerings.
But it does offer a variety of meal options for other specialty diets, like vegetarians and pescatarians. HelloFresh has made strides over the years to improve its variety as well as its ordering interface.
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. Our only ongoing complaint with the ordering process is that you have to pay close attention to your email, or schedule your own reminder, so you don't miss the deadline to customize your order each week.
If you do miss it, HelloFresh sends you its selections for you according to the preferences you set in your account. If you set those preferences with intent, you should always get meals you'll like, but it's still nice to tailor your selections to your mood or plans for the week.
We love the clearly labeled, recyclable paper packaging used to contain each meal. But you'll still have to dispose of the large ice packs and cardboard boxes each week.
Cost: Visit HelloFresh for updated pricing. You can choose your combination of desired servings and recipes each week. The valuable convenience of most meal kit delivery services come at a price—but not at Dinnerly.
But cutting down on price doesn't mean cutting down on quality. When we tested Dinnerly, we were taken aback by the flavor and portion sizes of each meal.
Dishes with global flair like chicken satay and Moroccan-spiced chicken soup felt akin to ordering takeout from an international restaurant. Better yet, Dinnerly is devoted to simple, fuss-free prep. That means every recipe has just five steps or less, and uses minimal pots and pans so post-dinner clean-up is a breeze.
And a lot of the dishes we tested were actually ready faster than the estimated recipe time. There are a few minor downsides we found, though, like disorganized packaging and fewer included ingredients.
The ingredients are not organized according to each recipe, which means you'll have to sift through a pile of produce and packaged spices before cooking each meal. Dinnerly also doesn't deliver printed recipe cards, so you'll have to refer back to your email as you cook.
We also found that you may need to have some staples on hand before your package gets delivered, like fresh garlic and apple cider vinegar. But don't worry: Dinnerly will send you a list of ingredients via email before the box arrives.
Despite these minor hiccups, we think Dinnerly delivers major value for the price, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a better meal delivery service with such excellent value.
Read the full Dinnerly review. Favorite meal: Soy-ginger pork tenderloin with garlic rice and green beans. Cost: Visit Dinnerly for updated pricing. Subscriptions can serve two or four people, and you can choose anywhere from two to six meals per week. Like its name suggests, Home Chef provides customers with the tools necessary to become true masters of the kitchen.
Home Chef also offers oven-ready meals which come with their own cooking trays and the option to swap out proteins, making it appealing to an even wider swath of busy cooks.
Aside from classics like the farmhouse fried chicken with mashed potatoes, green onion gravy, and corn , Home Chef also offerings meals that are diverse enough to include healthy meal options.
It also accommodates almost any dietary preference, including vegetarians and vegans. The menu offers at least 25 dinner options per week, as well as a handful of oven-ready meals.
There are also some lunch and snack choices as add-ons to its main menu. We were impressed by the depth of flavor in the yang-yang beef with shishito peppers , a lighter alternative to traditional American Chinese food, and loved the hot honey salmon with zucchini and tomatoes for its summer simplicity.
What we love most about Home Chef is its organization. Ingredients are divided per meal into labeled bags that easily slide into the fridge, recipe instructions are consistently clear, and time estimates are always accurate. Plus, the website is easy to navigate, allowing you the freedom to choose what you want and skip delivery weeks at will.
One of its only downsides is the lack of variety on the weekly menu. We would describe most of Home Chef's recipes as American-style, with a few Italian or Mexican-inspired options each week. HelloFresh, on the other hand, offers a wide range of dishes with international flair every week, like Peruvian chicken and Indian-inspired curry.
Home Chef would be also wise to incorporate more biodegradable packaging into its existing model. Read the full Home Chef review. Favorite meal: Farmhouse fried chicken with mashed potatoes, green onion gravy, and corn.
Cost: Visit Home Chef for updated pricing. Subscriptions can serve two, four, or six people, and you can choose anywhere from two to six meals per week.
Paneer Tikka Masala was our favorite dish we tested from Gobble, our pick for best pre-prepped meal kit. That means your box will contain pre-portioned ingredients, pre-made sauces, and partially-cooked starches that require simple reheating, plus pre-sliced, -diced, and -minced veggies.
We were pleasantly surprised by the ingredients' freshness, and found that everything survived a day or two in the fridge before cooking.
Our biggest qualm with Gobble is that not all recipes are created equally. While some dishes were inventive, balanced, and super flavorful, others had us wishing we tweaked some of the ingredients ourselves.
That said, most of what we tried was very tasty and we would definitely make most of the dishes again. But because Gobble preps most of the veggies for you, there's unnecessary albeit recyclable packaging for things like chopped onions, which means more stuff for you to dispose of. Read the full Gobble review.
Favorite meal: Paneer and cauliflower tikka masala with garam masala basmati rice. Cost: Visit Gobble for updated pricing. Although we found some flaws with this fully vegan meal delivery service a few years back, our second time testing proved most if not all of our issues had been remedied.
We tried Purple Carrot for two weeks—trying meals from both the meal kit menu and the prepared meals section—and were impressed by the results. Previously, we found the brand to suffer from confusing recipes, bland flavors, and unsatisfying portions.
This time around, we were excited by the menu's international variety, protein-packed ingredients, and overall tastiness. Standout plant based meals included the tamarind cauliflower with gingered fried rice and cashews , which was addictively tasty, and the buffalo tempeh quinoa bowl , which had a satisfying balance of heat and freshness.
We also tried the brand's single-serve prepared meals, which arrive ready to eat after a few minutes in the microwave. These meals weren't to the same level of deliciousness as the freshly made stuff, but they were still hearty, balanced, and decently tasty. We were happy enough to take them to work on in-office days.
Subscribers to Purple Carrot can choose between either two or four servings a week for a meal kit subscription, or three or four meals a week for a prepared meal subscription. You can also add prepared meals to your meal kit subscription for an additional cost—that's what we did.
There are about a dozen meals to choose from each week, and several are conveniently labeled for folks with dietary restrictions, like Gluten-Free or Nut-Free.
There are even a few Less Prep options, which feature pre-mixed sauces, pre-cut veggies, and recipes that require fewer pots and pans. The service also offers breakfast and lunch dishes, plus add-ons think snacks and pantry staples from the cleverly named Plantry.
There were still a few minor hiccups during testing, like an unusual recipe card format and slightly inaccurate cook times. But once you get used to this learning curve it's not a dealbreaker. Whether you're a longtime vegan or just someone looking to add more plant-based ingredients into their life, we recommend subscribing.
Read the full Purple Carrot review. Favorite meal: Tamarind cauliflower with gingered fried rice and cashews. Cost: Visit Purple Carrot for updated pricing. Unlike the other services in this roundup, CookUnity delivers fresh, fully prepared meals directly to your door—no cooking required.
CookUnity wowed us from the moment we created an account and started browsing the hundreds—yes, hundreds —of meal options that are offered in any given week. Each dish on the website is curated by one of CookUnity's featured chefs, who typically specialize in a certain style of cooking. Subscribers can choose to filter the overwhelming number of offerings by anything from diet type think vegan and keto , ethnicity think Mexican, African, or Mediterranean , or by featured chef once you become familiar with them.
When we tested these meals, it felt like we were dining at a restaurant. Each dish was flavorful, fresh, and enticing; they felt like they had been cooked fresh—but the prep took mere seconds. The meal packaging prompts you to choose between a typical pre-made meal preparation read: microwave or a chef-suggested preparation.
The latter requires popping the tray into the oven or transferring the food into a pan. We opted for the chef's suggestions—and it was worth it. A few of the dishes we tried had smaller portions and left us craving more of a balance of protein, carbs, and veggies.
But this issue can easily be avoided by reading the in-depth meal guides on the website to see what's featured in each dish and what its nutritional information is.
Read the full CookUnity review. Favorite meal: Sesame-ginger tofu poke bowl. Cost: Visit CookUnity for updated pricing.
Despite the success of its competition, the original meal kit service still has some fight left in them. Time and experience has allowed Blue Apron to keep prices low, perfect time estimates on recipes, and offer fun wine-pairing and gift options. When we originally tested this service, we had problems with flavors and ratios being off.
Oregano overpowered orecchiette , jalapeño overwhelmed peach salsa, and my polenta was in desperate need of salt, spice, or anything to make it more than a bland mush. But when we tested it again in , we found that the menu offered much more variety. Flavorful meals like Mexican-spiced shrimp bake and shawarma chicken and currant rice had us enjoying every last bite.
A few details continue to fall short, though, like disorganized packaging and inaccurate time estimates. There's also a lack of vegan offerings with this meal kit. But if you're someone looking for dietician-approved meals, tasty recipes, and options for wine and breakfast, you might be very satisfied with this kit.
Read the full Blue Apron review. Favorite meal: Crispy skin salmon with salsa verde and farro salad. Cost: Visit Blue Apron for updated pricing.
Different plans are available. Each dish we tested, from hibachi-style steak and rice bowls to apricot dijon chicken legs, was quick and easy to prepare and used high-quality ingredients. While we were disappointed by the recipe for creamy peppercorn chicken with roasted potatoes and carrots chicken breast can easily dry out when baked, and the sauce was overwhelmingly peppery , we found the other meals satisfying.
However, EveryPlate is focused on affordability and not specific diet plans, which means its recipes may not suit everyone. But if you're looking to subscribe to a meal kit on a budget, EveryPlate just might do. Read the full EveryPlate review.
Favorite meal: Apricot dijon chicken legs with roasted carrots and lemon garlic couscous. Cost: Visit EveryPlate for updated pricing. Meals like chipotle-spiced steak with potato salad were simple, sophisticated, and downright American, just like the homemaking queen.
The service is also far from ideal for those with dietary restrictions—in typical American fashion, every recipe revolves around an animal protein or heavy carbs.
Since we originally posted our review, Martha and Marley Spoon has added more vegetarian and low-carb options, but we haven't tested them yet. The service did score points with us for its eco-friendly packaging, made almost entirely from biodegradable materials.
Most of its recipes were also easy to follow for new cooks. Want to learn more? Read our full Martha and Marley Spoon review. Favorite meal: Chipotle-spiced steak with potato salad and charred snap peas. Like Sunbasket, Green Chef promises organic ingredients and a variety of different diet-based meal plans think keto, paleo, and vegan at different price points, with about eight options to choose from per week.
What sets Green Chef apart from other services is its commitment to organic and ethically sourced ingredients. The company is USDA-certified organic, meaning that customers are buying certified ingredients from suppliers that follow strict standards.
When we tore open our bags for dishes like red-miso steak stir-fry and chicken with harissa apricot sauce, we were surprised to see that many of the ingredients were pre-prepped.
The carrots and cabbage were already chopped, the miso sauce was already prepared, and there was a baggie of finely minced garlic and ginger that was almost a paste. All these pre-prepped ingredients made preparing our food very speedy and simple. Most were plated and ready to eat in 30 minutes, and we only dirtied a handful of prep bowls, one pan, one pot, and a cutting board.
However, convenience has its drawbacks. Many of the pre-chopped veggies were brown or wilting by the time we went to cook with them. But otherwise, we quite enjoyed Green Chef. Read the full Green Chef Review. Favorite meal: Red-miso steak stir-fry with udon noodles, carrots, edamame, pickled ginger and carrots.
Cost: Visit Green Chef for updated pricing. This meal delivery service offers a wide variety of recipes that will satisfy omnivores and vegan customers alike with its certified organic produce.
Fresh pappardelle verde with sweet pea pistou and sugar snap peas and crispy tempeh tenders with barbecue sauce and lemon-shallot green beans were among its standout offerings when we tested. We were impressed by how easily our Sunbasket dinners came together, relying on just a few key ingredients and spice blends to do most of the heavy lifting.
That meant spending less time cooking and more time enjoying the food. We particularly loved the flavorful veggies and non-meat protein options, making Sunbasket perfect for people who avoid eating meat.
You can easily skip weeks, adjust delivery frequency, pause your account, or cancel your subscription entirely by easily navigating the Sunbasket website. Favorite meal: Fresh pappardelle verde with sweet pea pistou and sugar snap peas.
Cost: Visit Sunbasket for updated pricing. There are several options to choose from when it comes to buying a meal delivery kit. To help make your selection a little easier, here are some of the most important factors to keep in mind before you subscribe to a delivery service:.
As with any subscription service, the price is one detail that should not be overlooked, especially since you'll be paying for the delivery on a weekly or monthly basis.
As a rule of thumb, stick to the basics when you first start out with a meal delivery service. See what it has to offer at a price point that matches your budget, and then weigh your options if you decide you want to switch things up.
Not everyone is a connoisseur in the kitchen, and some folks may want their dinner to be prepared more quickly or easily than others.
Certain recipes can take longer to prepare, while some may be less labor intensive. Before ordering your meal kit, check to see how long each recipe is intended to take, as well as how much additional chopping, cutting, or prepping you may have to perform.
If you find yourself having little to no time to cook, then a pre-made meal kit like CookUnity could be your best option.
Meal delivery services tend to offer a variety of options to meet a wide range of dietary needs, whether it be low calorie, vegan, or gluten-free dishes.
There's also the benefit of customization, which allows consumers to change some of the ingredients within the meal kit to suit their needs. This is particularly useful when it comes to protein options or excluding a particular ingredient due to an allergy or taste preference.
Before you select your meal kit delivery service, check to see what delivery days or times it offers. Some may vary based on your location, but you'll typically be able to select a delivery date for Monday-Friday, with some services offering weekend availability.
This is important to keep in mind as you sign up for your first delivery to ensure you are receiving your meals at the most convenient time for you.
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.
I would suggest you can try Blue Apron because this is one of the best meal delivery services at an affordable big.kim › eat › cheap-meal-kits Looking for affordable meal delivery? HelloFresh offers cheap meal kits that are as delicious as they are budget-friendly