Updated on Dec. 04, 2024
There are plenty of options when it comes to meal kits—so we tested the most popular brands to find the best meal delivery service for every kind of cook.
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Anyone with a busy schedule can understand the appeal of a meal delivery service. Portioned-out ingredients to make tasty meals delivered right to our door? Sign us up! There are many meal prep delivery kits to choose from, catering to just about every want, need and dietary preference.
Our editors spent hours researching, testing and reviewing to answer those questions—and more. After trying each service multiple times over the course of two years, we found the best meal kits for every lifestyle, including gluten-free, plant-based and keto. They make meal prep a breeze for busy schedules.
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Queen of the kitchen, Martha Stewart, is the face of Marley Spoon meal delivery service, which offers an impressive selection of meals each week. Choose from more than 100 recipes, including vegetarian, vegan and family-friendly options, as well as meals that take fewer than 30 minutes to make. In addition to a wide variety of entrees, Marley Spoon also offers some breakfasts and desserts, as well as protein add-ons. Overall, it’s the best meal delivery service. Here are a few more best vegetarian meal kits, we tested, read on for our top picks.
To order, start by selecting the number of people you’ll be cooking for (either two or four as well as the number of meals you’d like to receive per week (between two and six). At this step, you can also select if you’d like to make your box vegetarian. Next, you’ll enter your zip code and email address, set up delivery details and payment information—and then it’s time to choose your meals. Your cart will automatically populate with their suggestions, but you can change it to fit your personal taste.
Meal selections range from no added gluten to low carb, low calorie, under 30 minutes, nutritious, dairy-free, kid-friendly and more. The ingredient listings provide calories, fat, protein, carbs, allergens and other information. Meals do not provide info on sodium or sugar, so this may not be the best choice for people with specific dietary needs. Add-ons include desserts, fresh produce (e.g., greens, lemons and onions), breakfast items and snacks.
One tester, Molly Allen, tried the Sheet Pan Piri Piri Chicken. “The flavor of the seasoned vegetables and chicken, paired with the drizzle of piri piri vinaigrette, was incredible,” she says. “I ended up eating every single piece of the roasted veggies in one serving—they were that good.” Next up was the Italian Sausage Ragu Pasta. “This kit was quick and easy,” Molly says. “The prep for this recipe was super simple, as well as the cooking method. I was shocked by just how flavorful this dish was with so few ingredients. It easily stacked up to a restaurant-quality bowl of pasta.”
Overall, our experience was exceptional, with secondary tester Sheri Kaz only noting one area of concern: the packaging. While her box kept everything well insulated, she did note that the meals don’t come separated in different bags as they do with most of the other services we tested. One of her boxes also had some leaking ice packs. That said, she was able to determine the ingredients for each dish on her own, and nothing arrived ruined (not even the recipe cards).
Canceling is as easy as skipping a week of service. Answer a multiple-choice question about the reason for cancelation and end the service with just a few clicks—easy peasy! Read our Marley Spoon review for the full scoop on this top-rated service.
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HelloFresh is one of the most trusted meal kits, and it’s been around for years. It offers a variety of meals for both novices and kitchen veterans. Plus, the servings are on the more affordable side. What’s newer, though, is the HelloFresh market, which elevates a HelloFresh subscription to a truly custom experience. The HelloFresh Market also includes apps and sides, desserts, breakfast and brunch, lunch, snacks and drinks, pizza and pasta, proteins, healthy dog food and Beyond the Box, which provides food to community members in need. These add-ons then arrive in the same box as the other recipes and come from an array of popular brands and vendors.
Ordering is easy—and highly customizable. First, you select meal preferences such as “meat and veggies,” “family-friendly” or “quick and easy.” At this step, you’ll also select whether you’re cooking for two or four people, as well as how many meals you’d like per week (between two and six). You’ll then create an account, checkout and select your meals.
Most recipes are customizable for an additional cost, and nutrition information like calories, fat, carbs, sugar, fiber, protein, cholesterol and sodium is all listed. We love that recipes call out the items “not included in your delivery” and the utensils you’ll need. You also have the option to add “premium” dishes that cost around $10 more per serving.
The app is another handy tool that shows your current and upcoming orders and offers buttons to change meals or edit delivery. You can skip any time, and cancellation is relatively simple once you navigate through the “are you sure?” messages. Attempting to cancel prompts alternatives to keep your subscription, and subsequent emails offer big incentives to come back.
Both Sheri and I tested this service over several weeks. HelloFresh texts you once the box is delivered, which allows for a quicker response and, therefore, less time for ingredients to sit unrefrigerated.
I was really impressed with the Street Cart-Style Turkey Bowls. All the components came together for an interesting, unexpected and texturally exciting dish. Maybe it’s because I’m partial to Middle Eastern food, but this meal was easily my favorite of the bunch. Same goes for the Creamy Dreamy Mushroom Cavatappi.
In all, I was blown away by the service’s flavorful meals. (Read my full HelloFresh review for the full scoop.) It’s ideal for busy weeks when you want the convenience of takeout but the nutrition of a home-cooked meal.
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EveryPlate provides the cheapest meals (by serving) around. It narrowly beats out Dinnerly, with costs as low as $4.99 per person. What gives? The company claims it’s able to offer low prices thanks to a limited meal selection and packaging adjustments, but we still wanted to make certain that the quality was on par with the other services.
The ordering process is standard. Opt between a variety of preferences, like “meat and veggie,” “family faves” or “nutrish and delish,” then select your box size. You can order for two, four or six people and between three and six meals per week. After that, you know the drill. It’s on to creating an account, filling out your address and payment details and selecting meals.
Even though navigating through all the options is a bit cumbersome due to the lack of recipe filters, Everyplate offers a pretty good variety. The site has 25+ different meals, and each recipe offers a full nutritional value label. Every recipe you select has an option for add-ons with an upcharge. Add-ons are usually sides they think would pair well with the recipe, such as garlic bread, mac and cheese or veggies. One thing to note is that unlike some of the services on this list, EveryPlate expects you to have some ingredients on hand. These are pantry basics like salt and pepper, cooking oil, mayo and other odds and ends.
I was wowed by the delicious flavors and intentionality of the Creamy Bacon and Corn Chowder. The cream cheese added a tanginess where other corn chowders sometimes fall flat. The combination of textures with the crispy bacon, tender corn, semi-mashed potatoes and raw jalapeno was delightful.
The Sticky Soy Pork Burgers didn’t disappoint, either. The glaze, made of soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, lime, ginger and a couple of other ingredients, really took things up a notch. The potato buns were a fluffy, tender complement to the equally tender pork. This service scored high marks across the board in my EveryPlate review.
Like the other best meal delivery services on this list, skipping a week or canceling is easy. Simply click on your account at the top right, then click “Plan Settings.” From there, we scrolled down and found the option to deactivate our plan. A pop-up window gives you options to skip, pause or adjust the delivery schedule.
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Green Chef stands out from the crowd thanks to its certified organic ingredients, sustainable packaging and diverse meal plans. It aims to be healthy for you—and for the planet. Choose from standard, keto, paleo, vegetarian or “balanced living” plans. How do they taste, though? Sheri and I both tested this service to get the scoop.
Rather than meal preferences, Green Chef kicks off the ordering process with lifestyle preferences. Here, you can select options like “gut and brain health,” “keto” or “calorie smart.” You’ll choose from two, four or six servings for two to four meals per week. After setting your details, it’s time to select your meals! Meals change weekly, and ample add-ons are available, like breakfasts, desserts and side dishes. Steak, ground beef or turkey, chicken, pork, fish, snack bars and a selection of probiotics and supplements are also available for purchase.
After signing up, Sheri received an email notifying her of a complimentary 20-minute consultation with a nutritionist, which she took advantage of. They followed up with an email and some info sheets to help her balance her blood sugar levels. Talk about a healthy meal delivery service!
Each meal comes pre-packaged in its own paper bag within the box to keep the ingredients separated. The recipe cards list a cooking time, which is accurate. That said, in some cases, Sheri and I found the total time to prep and cook took much longer.
First, I made the Blackened Chicken Salad with Dijonnaise. The preparation process went super smoothly. This salad was chock-full of mix-ins, yet there was hardly any chopping to be done. It was so fresh, texturally interesting and flavorful—I was obsessed! Every bite was like a surprise inside.
Next, I tested out the Chicken with Basil Pistou. I would’ve never thought to pair artichokes, fennel, chard, red peppers and dates, but alas, it worked! That’s the beauty of these meal kits: getting you and your family outside of your comfort zone without much creativity on your part. Learn more in my Green Chef review.
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Among the most recognizable names in the game, Blue Apron is one of the brands that kickstarted the meal delivery service craze. Blue Apron offers 16 recipes each week, including vegetarian and wellness options, and its meals stand out for their complex and delicious flavor profiles. The fanciness is reflected in the cost, but it’s a small price to pay for homemade restaurant-level meals on demand.
When ordering Blue Apron, the first step is picking between meal kits or their prepared meals. For meal kits, you’ll pick preferences like “chef favorites,” “fast and easy” or “veggies” and select either two or four servings for between two and five meals a week. For prepared meals, there are only three options—”600 calories or less,” “30g of protein” and “carb conscious.” Each meal is single-serve, and you can order six, eight or 10 per week. After that, you’ll create an account and check out, then choose your meals.
I enjoyed the Hoisin Pork Belly and Miso Ramen until the very last drop. It is the fanciest ramen I’ve ever made at home. The miso lent a richness and sweetness, and it made the dish that much more interesting. The perfectly soft-boiled egg that peeled easily, the acidic pickled radishes, and the glazed pork belly—albeit slightly overcooked—really took things over the top. I was thrilled to have leftovers for lunch the next day. Read my full Blue Apron review.
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If plant-based meals are your go-to, we recommend trying out Purple Carrot. This 100% vegan meal delivery service specializes in both meal kits and ready-to-eat options rather than offering one or the other. For the meal kits, choose between two or four servings per meal and three or four meals per week. If you have less prep time, opt for single-serve premade meals instead. Premade options are available in choices of six, eight or 10 meals per week.
Despite its vegan restrictions, the menu is exceptionally creative. It had a good amount of options while maintaining some core staples each week. This offers dedicated subscribers plenty of “go-to” meals to count on. Since finding tasty and imaginative meals is often difficult for folks eating a plant-based diet, consider us impressed.
Purple Carrot groups meals into different categories. Choices include high-protein, less prep, soy-free, nut-free, chef’s choice, gluten-free, healthy carbs and low sodium, among others. The grocery section offers lots of plant-based add-ons such as desserts, boxed mac and cheese, meat substitutes, tofu, cereal, drinks, dips, protein bars, soups, fries and coffee beans.
While we don’t love that deliveries only take place on Saturdays, we do appreciate the consistency. The biggest issue we encountered with Purple Carrot was price transparency. The total charge in our confirmation emails didn’t always match the charges made to our card. While these discrepancies are minor (under $10), we still think it’s worth noting.
Editorial Coordinator Sydney Manning tried the Crunchy Cabbage Salad and was surprised by its flavors. “I really liked this salad, especially the sauce,” she says. The tofu wasn’t bad either, but I would’ve done more prep on it next time to get it crispier because its texture was a little spongy. But I really loved all the ingredients together, and the sauce tasted great!”
She was also a fan of the Elote Tacos. “This one also surprised me—it tasted better than I expected with the heavy nondairy ingredients,” she says. “I love corn, so this was a favorite for me.” If you want meals and grocery items, we also recommend Hungryroot for plant-based eaters.
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Gobble is a newcomer to our list of the best meal delivery services. But that doesn’t stop it from landing a spot as the best meal delivery service for beginners! Easy-to-prep meals coupled with under 15 minutes of prep time required make this our favorite service for those with limited time on their hands.
To get started, Gobble offers three options: Standard, Vegetarian and Lean and Clean. Subscribers choose between two and four servings and two, three, four or five meals per week. Not every recipe has customization, but about 70% do. Customization is mainly limited to choosing the type of protein you want. That said, most changes are free unless it’s a premium option.
The meals arrive in their own plastic bags, nestled in a box with ice packs and ample insulation. Each meal comes with a large recipe card that outlines steps and required supplies. Most ingredients arrive chopped and prepped, though some ingredients (like meat) must be sliced at home.
Despite the ease of the recipes, canceling the service takes a little effort. While you can call or email to cancel, there’s also an option to cancel via the website—but it’s convoluted, according to tester Dylan Fischer. “Under your account settings, there’s a tab for Subscriptions and Preferences. When you pull this up on your own, there are options for servings, meal preferences, number of nights per week and delivery day. But no subscription change,” he says. Eventually, he was able to navigate to an FAQ section on Gobble’s website with a link to cancel.
“When you click, it redirects you back to the Subscriptions and Preferences tab, but now there’s a pop-up window that says ‘Manage your Subscription’ with the option to cancel the sub. From what I can tell, there is absolutely no way to access this pop-up window without having to click the link provided in that FAQ article,” notes Dylan.
Despite that slightly annoying roadblock, Dylan enjoyed the recipes overall—especially the Black Pepper Chicken with Stir-Fried Vegetables and Jasmine Rice. “The green beans, sauce and chicken were the stand-out stars of the dish,” he says. “The green beans were fresh and crisp, the sauce was abundant with the right balance of salty and savory, the chicken was a good portion and coating it with cornstarch added a great texture to it.”
As for his Truffled Potato Pizza Bianca with Spinach and Caramelized Onions, he notes that it took him out of his comfort zone—but in a good way. “I’ve made some standard pizzas before but never flatbread ones—and especially not with ingredients like this. And I gotta say, this was another winner,” he says. “The pizza itself was very delicious and very filling.” Read our full Gobble review.
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When time is of the essence, Tovala is our meal kit of choice. Unlike the other heat-and-eat options on this list, Tovala’s meals do require minimal prep—slicing and seasoning veggies or adding water or milk to a tray of gnocchi, for instance. This makes these meals taste more homemade than similar options and instills more confidence in me about the quality of the finished recipe. But the real star of the show is the companion Tovala smart oven, which makes cooking these meals almost seamless.
Simply prep each meal according to the instructions, scan the QR code on the recipe card with the app and press start on the oven. I’ve found that the trickiest part about using air fryer toaster ovens is figuring out cook times, functions and temperatures. The QR code system that Tovala uses with its meals and smart oven is completely foolproof. I’m so impressed.
The Tovala smart oven costs $300 for the cheaper model and $350 for the pricier one if bought alone. Alternatively, it costs $50 and $99, respectively, if you buy six meals to accompany it and subscribe to the service. I found the splurge to be worth it, though. Additionally, it’s worth noting that Tovala delivers its meals multiple days of the week—just choose if you want them to arrive towards the beginning or the end of the week.
Before I made my first meal, I had to set up the oven, which was super easy. It took under 10 minutes to fully unwrap the oven, fill the steamer portion with water and pair the oven with Wifi and the app. Then, I was instructed to turn the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit on the bake setting and run the oven for 20 minutes (plus a six-minute preheat cycle). All in all, I was up and running after about 40 minutes. Everything was very straightforward, but it’s something to be aware of as a first-time user.
In my tests, I prepared the Roasted Mushroom Gnocchi Alfredo. The gnocchi are cooked to perfection—pillowy and tender. The Alfredo is ingenious—I mean, cream, water and grated Parm mixed together to create this thick, luscious sauce? Amazing.
My next meal was Crispy Chicken Potstickers and sweet soy noodles. These are so good and potentially my favorite thing from the Tovala box. The convection oven puffed the potstickers up a bit and gave them a light, crisp exterior. The spices on the chicken interior provide a nice pop of flavor, and the chicken mixture itself is tender and juicy. Overall, I’m impressed—especially for a heat-and-eat meal!
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Upon signing up for Home Chef, you’re greeted by a questionnaire about your taste and dietary preferences. Helpful labels let you choose from quick prep and gluten-smart options, among others. The meal delivery service’s keto-friendly menu isn’t lacking in variety and offers up to six portions per meal and up to six meals per week, making it one of the best keto-friendly meal services we tested.
Deliveries are available Sundays through Fridays, and the helpful app allows you to skip and reschedule meals easily. “I love being able to access everything on my phone and have the recipe card to physically look at,” says Sydney. “There’s also a digital cookbook that keeps all your recipes. I’ve used Home Chef before and have canceled it since, but I still go back to the digital cookbook that’s on my account to re-create yummy meals that I remember liking from when we had the subscription.”
As with Purple Carrot, our biggest gripe with Home Chef was a lack of price transparency. This one was a larger discrepancy (around $50). As with any subscription, we urge anyone thinking about subscribing to take a close look at their bank statements to ensure the monthly charges are correct.
While the price discrepancy isn’t ideal, the meals themselves are delicious. Sydney’s favorite was the Lemon Rockefeller Scallop Penne with Garlic Breadcrumbs. “The sauce was amazing, and it was really easy to make because this was an express meal,” she says. “I’ve cooked scallops before, so we had an idea of how to cook them, and they weren’t too rubbery. The lemon also provides a fresh taste and complements the dish well.”
Additionally, she enjoyed the Cherry Chipotle Brisket Tacos with Corn Elote Salad. “I loved this meal—it was perfect for lunch. I personally love corn, so I really enjoyed having the corn slaw in this dish. The sauce had some spice to it, but I personally like spice, so this was great for me. If you don’t want as much spice, I wouldn’t add all the barbecue sauce,” she notes. Read our full Home Chef review for more.
As mentioned, this is not our first rodeo when it comes to exploring the best meal delivery services. We originally wrote and published this piece in 2022. Since then, we’ve tested each service again (along with a few newcomers) to ensure our analysis remains current.
Our current tests led to a few slight changes in rankings. In our latest updates, we changed HelloFresh from “Best Customizable” to “Best for Families” and re-ranked Green Chef from “Best Healthy” to “Best Gluten-Friendly.”
Upon testing a few newer services (and re-testing options we’ve tried in the past), we also added a few newcomers to our list. Changes include adding Purple Carrot as the “Best Plant-Based” option, Gobble as the “Best for Beginners” option, Tovala as the “Best Prepared/Heat-and-Eat” option and Home Chef as the “Best Keto-Friendly” option.
We connected with Debbie Petitpain, MBA, RDN, Spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, to hear her thoughts on choosing one of these services. She cites convenience as the biggest factor for most consumers. “Busy schedules make meal planning and preparation difficult,” Debbie says. “These services can be very time-saving. Using the ingredients and recipes provided, you can focus on learning cooking techniques.”
We know what you’re wondering because we had the same questions: How much is a meal prep service? Which meal delivery service is cheapest? What is the best meal delivery service for families?
With more meal delivery service options, how do you choose the right one? These are the criteria that we suggest assessing. There are reviews to read (including ours!), of course, but there’s also the cost, flexibility and recipe variety to consider. If you or a family member have dietary needs, choose a service that can accommodate gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian or vegan diets. Or, if you have a picky eater at your table, then opt for a meal delivery service with enhanced customization features.
“Always review the ingredients for allergens or undesirable additives, as well as sodium and added sugar levels,” says Debbie Petitpain, MBA, RDN. “Portions should meet your daily caloric and nutrient needs. Be realistic—if you are cooking for two people but one of you usually eats two portions, you may need to increase the amount of food you order. Also, if you depend on leftovers for a quick meal on a busy night or lunch the next day, plan for that.”
Debbie also recommends looking for meals that provide a variety of food groups and options for each food group to ensure a balance of protein, fiber and healthy fats.
This list is based on our success while sampling each of these meal delivery services. We tested over a dozen options, well beyond the favorites you see here. Most of the health—or diet-based winners are based on feedback provided by nutritionist Nancy Snyder, who attempted to verify the legitimacy of recipe labels.
While weighing the actual taste and flavors of the recipes in each box, we also factored in the aforementioned criteria. This included value (i.e., price versus quality), freshness, recipe techniques and instructions, cleanup, recipe variety and more. We judged and rated each criterion on a scale of 1-5 for each service, then added it together for a total score. Only the highest earners made our list.
In our latest tests, we tried 13 services and prepared between four and six recipes from each. That’s roughly 115 servings of meals that we plated! Additionally, we collected more than 2,000 data points and spent a collective 225 hours on this test, including researching, ordering, cooking, cleaning and note-taking.
Since many of the services are very similar, we also did comparison testing. We evaluated the ingredients, waste and cleanup commitment of the most popular services on the internet. Sure, they’re great on their own—but how do they compare? Get the full breakdown in our Home Chef vs. HelloFresh and Blue Apron vs. HelloFresh comparisons.
These meal delivery services were tested by various Taste of Home team members, all with varying degrees of cooking expertise. Molly Allen has previous professional baking experience, whereas the rest of us are strictly home cooks. No matter where you fall on the culinary spectrum, you can be sure that the services on this list are within your capabilities based on our authentic testing methodology. Our testers’ needs, wants and budgets reflect those of the average shopper. Plus, since many factors can affect delivery, we tested most services several times to ensure the experience was consistent for multiple testers.
We also aren’t new to testing this product category. In addition to several meal kits, our team has reviewed meat and chicken delivery services like ButcherBox, Snake River Farms and Good Chop. Our testing extends to grocery services, like Misfits Market and Thrive Market, as well.
Everyone! They cut down on time spent grocery shopping and meal prepping, so they’re ideal for those with busy schedules or anyone looking to revamp their meal routine. Whether you’re gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan or somewhere in between, there’s a meal prep service for you.
It depends. Most meal delivery services offer a wealth of recipes, so if you prefer veggie-packed, gluten-free or low-carb meals, there are likely options. However, some services offer indulgent meals that are too caloric for a single meal. It’s a good idea to check out the meal variety offered by each service and choose accordingly. From there, on a weekly basis, read through ingredients, allergens and nutritional facts before you order your box.
Meal delivery services certainly help save money if you frequently order takeout or dine at restaurants. However, they can get expensive week after week because most don’t include everyday groceries like eggs, bread or everyday produce.
