How do you know which meal delivery service is best for you? With so many meal delivery options, it can be hard to know which one to try, if they are worth it, and which one is the best value.
I break down the 11 best meal delivery services for you to try in 2021. Freshness, price, variety, everything you need to know to help you decide which meal delivery service is right for you.
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Why use a meal delivery service?
Our lives are busier than ever. Having fresh and healthy meals planned out, sent to you for you to cook or simply reheat saves time. It also reduces waste since the meals kits come in the individual portions, thus saving money in the long run too.
Along with our reviews below, you can get a discount to try any or all of the meal delivery services listed. These companies love the chance to show new customers what they offer!
What about the environmental impact?
I’m an advocate for a greener earth and one of the first things I wanted to know before subscribing to any of these meal delivery services is the environmental impact it has.
Happily, it turns out they do care about reducing their carbon footprint and try to use as much recyclable packaging as possible.
Take a look at this meal box from Factor below. The box and padding is made from paper, the ice pack can be drained and dropped off at your local grocery store for recycling, and the meal tray can be rinsed and recycled by most curbside recycling programs.
In fact, a study shows that meal kits have a small carbon footprint than going grocery shopping.
My Experience Using Meal Delivery Services
I’ve probably tried every meal delivery service available in the last few years. It’s hard not to when companies are offering free meals or heavily discounted ones just to try them out.
In true The Money Ninja form, I signed up for one meal delivery kit service after another. It’s hard to say no to subsidized food for months on end 🙂
The other reason I wanted to try this out was because I was either eating out way too much or eating something at home that was quick and convenient, but not necessarily the best for me. Fresh food shipped to your door and easy-to-make meals had too many “pros” and too few “cons” to pass up.
After trying them all, it’s still hard to say which meal delivery service is best. They all provide delicious options, but they all have a certain niche. Some are more focused on meat as the main entrée while others have additional choices for seafood lovers and vegetarians.
I recommend trying them all and seeing what works best for you and your family.
Best Meal Delivery Services
In my opinion, here is a list of the best meal delivery services (in no particular order). I’ll also provide links under each one where you can sign up as a new user and try them out for a massive discount!
1. Blue Apron
Covering vegetarian, wellness, Weight Watchers approved, and diabetes-friendly recipes, Blue Apron has an ever-changing menu with options for everyone. Founded in 2012 in New York City, this American company was one of the first meal delivery services available and the first one I ordered from.
Whether you want to try Mexican, Indian, Thai, or just simple tasty burgers, there are meals you will enjoy. Blue Apron includes meals with chicken, fish, shrimp, beef and Beyond Meat™, providing you with a nice selection of meals to choose from.
Boxes start at $7.49 per serving plus shipping, with the option of up to 4 meals for 2 or 4 people. However, Vegetarian or Wellness boxes can only be ordered for 2 not 4 people.
2. HelloFresh
HelloFresh is the OG of the meal kit industry. It’s one of the first meal delivery services to come to America and provides a wide variety of meals worldwide. Their boxes are for either 2 or 4 people and include classic meals, vegetarian, pescatarian, calorie smart, family friendly and lastly, a quick and easy box.
You can choose which meals suit your needs for each box every week. Selections include Italian, Mexican, and Asian inspired dishes, to name a few. HelloFresh aim to provide a wide variety and change their menu regularly to ensure you have new, enticing meals to try.
Boxes start at $7.49 per serving plus shipping, with the most popular plan being 3 meals for 2 people at $8.99 per serving.
Limited-Time Offer: Get 4 Free Meals + Make $31 Through Swagbucks
3. Green Chef
Keto and paleo, balanced living, and plant-powered meals are the point of difference with Green Chef. Each of these boxes have 9 meals to choose from with inspiration taken from all over the world for the recipes. The chefs have carefully selected a great range to suit everyone.
From $5.99 per serving, Green Chef is an extremely affordable, healthy meal delivery service.
Limited-Time Offer: Get 6 Free Meals + Make $24 Through Swagbucks
4. Sunbasket
Sunbasket probably has the highest quality food selections on this list.
They strive to deliver a minimum of 99% USDA-certified organic fresh product, eggs, milk, and yogurt. Their seafood is wild-caught or sustainably raised, and meats are sourced from responsibly-raised farms without any added hormones or antibiotics.
You can choose to cook meal kits yourself or opt for ready made meals with Sunbasket. Dietary requirements can be catered for with meal plan options including paleo, vegetarian, pescatarian, Mediterranean, gluten-free, carb-conscious, diabetes-friendly, and more. Essentially, whatever diet or lifestyle you have, Sunbasket has an option for you.
Meals start at $8.99 per person and you can choose to either select a meal plan or mix and match the meals to tailor the box to your needs.
Limited-Time Offer: Get 4 Free Meals + Make $29 Through Swagbucks
5. Home Chef
Home Chef aims to make meal times quick, easy, and healthy. With easy prep meals which have most of the preparations done for you and 15-minute meals, they take the stress out of meal time.
Most of the meals are meat such as chicken or pork with a few vegetables, but you can select vegetarian options. Home Chef also lets you pick any meats you would rather avoid such as pork or shellfish to truly tailor your box to your life.
Starting at $6.99 plus shipping, Home Chef is more affordable. There’s also the option to purchase Home Chef instore to save on shipping and choose only what you really want from their range.
6. Dinnerly
Dinnerly is a newer option, starting in 2017, specialising in quick, easy meals with only 6 ingredients per meal. Recipes are easy to follow and unlike most of the meal delivery services, Dinnerly has less packaging and they don’t include recipe cards in their boxes to reduce waste.
With fewer ingredients per meal, the serving sizes sometimes feel small and it can lack variety. But if you like things to be quick and easy to both cook and clean up, Dinnerly is a great option.
From $4.69 per serving, Dinnerly is one of the cheapest meal delivery services available. This is due to the reduce packaging and limited ingredients.
7. EveryPlate
EveryPlate is another lower cost meal delivery service with reduced packaging and fewer ingredients per meal. With 14 flavorful meals to choose from each week, there is still a wide variety to keep meal times interesting.
EveryPlate doesn’t cater to dietary requirements and the vegetarian options are limited compared to other meal delivery services.
At $4.99 per serving it is one of the cheapest options though. EveryPlate has boxes with 3 to 5 meals per week for 2 to 4 people.
8. Freshly
Freshly is a meal delivery service which has done all the preparation work for you. All you need to do is heat your meal for 3 minutes then enjoy. Plus, Freshly caters to dietary requirements including gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and other dietary needs.
More nutritious than many of the other meal delivery services, Freshly chefs have made some sneaky swaps to pack more nutrition into each meal. For example, almond-butter gravy or using cauliflower to add creaminess to a sauce.
Starting at $8.49 per serving, Freshly is different. Instead of a box being for a set amount of people, you choose how many meals you want in your box between 4 and 12.
9. Hungryroot
Hungryroot is a plant-based meal delivery service combined with groceries. Offering over 3,000 recipes with the option to select any dietary requirements such as gluten or diary free, Hungry Root is unique.
You choose your preferences then Hungryroot offers their recommendations based on your choices. It’s up to you if you choose to cook what they suggest or go rogue with your own recipes.
Starting at $59 a week, it’s a great plant based option for those who like to have a little more control over their plant-based meals.
10. Factor
Preprepared meals don’t need to be boring. Factor has a wide range of healthy meals ready for you to heat and eat. The menu changes regularly, ensuring a variety of options are available. Either choose the meals you want or let Factor choose for you.
Meals start at $11 each and you can select between 4 meals to 18 meals per week.
11. Purple Carrot
What if you could have breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks sorted?
Purple Carrot is the only meal delivery service offering all meals. Choose what you want to focus on such as protein and Purple Carrot will offer suggestions for you.
Breakfast starts at $4.49 per serving with only two options. Lunch is $8.99 per serving with only 2 options. Dinner starts at $9.99 and snacks are priced individually.
The Bottom Line
I really enjoy trying different meal kits. It’s a happy compromise between getting served at restaurants and getting your own ingredients from the grocery store. The former cost more money and the latter takes away a lot of your free time.
Meal delivery services can save you time and money while helping you keep healthy. With our busy lifestyles, planning meals, shopping, and cooking take a lot of time we might want to spend on hobbies or with family instead.
Choose the one that suits you best, take advantage of the discounts offered with each one, and get some of your life back.
