In today’s fast-paced world, meal delivery services have become a game-changer for individuals and families seeking convenient, healthy, and delicious meal options. Whether you’re a busy professional, a health-conscious individual, or someone who simply wants to skip grocery shopping and cooking, the Best Meal Delivery Services offer a wide array of choices to suit your needs and preferences. This guide dives into the top meal delivery services available, breaking down what makes each one stand out in terms of cost, meal types, convenience, and overall quality.
Understanding Meal Delivery Services: What to Look For
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Serious Eats / Greg Baker
Choosing the right meal delivery service involves considering several key factors. People sign up for these services for various reasons, so the ideal choice depends on individual priorities. Some services focus on providing pre-portioned ingredients and recipes for home cooking, while others offer ready-made meals that require minimal preparation. The spectrum ranges from grocery delivery with recipe guidance to fully prepared, heat-and-eat meals, catering to different levels of cooking interest and time availability.
Beyond the basic service model, reliability and food safety are paramount. A top-tier meal delivery service should ensure timely and secure delivery of fresh, high-quality ingredients. Variety in meal options and accommodation for dietary needs are also crucial. Look for services that offer diverse menus and cater to specific diets like vegetarian, vegan, keto, or low-calorie. Recipe clarity is another important aspect; even experienced cooks appreciate easy-to-follow instructions. Furthermore, consider the cleanup involved – minimal dishwashing is always a plus. Ultimately, the best meal delivery services provide meals that are not only convenient and easy to prepare but also satisfying, flavorful, and visually appealing.
The signup process for most meal delivery services is straightforward. Typically, you’ll start by entering your delivery zip code to confirm service availability, then select the number of meals and servings per week, and specify any dietary preferences. Based on this information, the service will present you with meal options, which you can usually customize to your liking, sometimes even modifying ingredients to fit your taste.
Top Meal Delivery Services: Our Expert Recommendations
To help you navigate the crowded market of meal delivery services, we’ve rigorously tested and evaluated numerous providers. Based on our hands-on experience, we’ve identified some standout services that excel in different categories. Here are our top picks for the best meal delivery services:
The Best Overall Meal Delivery Service
Hungryroot
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What We Liked: As a regular Hungryroot user, I can attest to its exceptional blend of convenience, flavor, and quality. Hungryroot distinguishes itself by offering meal kits that combine semi-prepared and raw ingredients, significantly cutting down on prep time without compromising on freshness or taste. You’ll often find high-quality components like sous vide meats ready for a quick sear or roast, and pre-made sauces such as pesto or chimichurri, enhancing flavor complexity effortlessly. Ingredients are sourced with a focus on quality, featuring organic or sustainably raised proteins and dairy, and distinctive spice blends from Spicewalla. Hungryroot also innovatively incorporates plant-based alternatives, such as substituting plant-based dips for traditional sour cream-based options.
What We Didn’t Like: While most meals were impressive, some flavor profiles missed the mark. For instance, the General Tso chicken ‘n veggie skillet lacked the desired sweet and spicy balance, leaning towards a one-dimensional flavor. Also, Hungryroot’s per-portion cost is on the higher side compared to some competitors, although it remains competitive with grocery store prices, especially considering the time saved and quality offered.
Key Specs for Hungryroot
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Number of dishes: 8 per week
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Number of servings: 16 per week
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Price per meal: Approximately $21
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Average prep time: 14.5 minutes
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Average calories per meal: 587
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Sample Meals: Shredded pork and guacamole tacos, rigatoni alla vodka and chicken sausage, chicken and chickpea bowl with avocado lime dressing, General Tso chicken ‘n veggie skillet, roast and ready pork chop saltimbocca, best-dressed swordfish salad, turkey meatloaf and roasted broccoli, everything chicken shawarma tacos
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Another Excellent Meal Delivery Service
Marley Spoon
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What We Liked: Marley Spoon is a fantastic choice for those who enjoy cooking from scratch but want to skip the grocery store hassle and meal planning. This service delivers recipes and all the necessary ingredients right to your door. It’s perfect for individuals or families who appreciate the process of cooking a good meal without the daily “what’s for dinner?” dilemma. While not designed for quick meals, Marley Spoon emphasizes flavor and quality. Dishes like sausage, rapini, and gemelli pasta satisfied my Italian food cravings, and the meatloaf with caramelized onion gravy was a comforting classic. Marley Spoon uses high-quality proteins, such as sustainably sourced farmed salmon, and provides clear, mostly straightforward recipes, avoiding unnecessary complicated steps.
What We Didn’t Like: Meal preparation with Marley Spoon takes longer compared to some other services, averaging around 44 minutes per meal. While recipes are easy to follow and minimize fussy techniques, the cleanup afterward can be extensive. Also, while it’s typical for meal kits to require basic pantry staples like salt, pepper, and oil, I was surprised to find that butter and flour were needed for some recipes but not included in the kit, which might be an inconvenience for some users.
Key Specs for Marley Spoon
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Number of dishes: 5 per week
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Number of servings: 10 per week
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Price per meal: Approximately $9.99
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Average prep time: 44 minutes
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Average calories per meal: 832
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Sample Meals: Cheese buldak, seared salmon and citrus butter sauce, pumpkin-coconut curry and shrimp, Martha’s best sausage and broccoli rabe gemelli, meatloaf with caramelized onion gravy
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The Best Plant-Based Meal Delivery Service
Purple Carrot
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What We Liked: Purple Carrot is the top choice for those seeking plant-based meal delivery. My delivery included a mix of quick heat-and-eat meals and ready-to-cook options, providing flexibility for different schedules and preferences. An unexpected highlight was a tasty cocoa-flavored sunflower cereal with pistachio milk, reminiscent of popular childhood cereals. The heat-and-eat meals were generally satisfactory, though some relied heavily on chili for flavor. The ready-to-cook meals, such as a chickpea dish and farro with lentils, featured clear, easy-to-follow recipes, each taking about 25 minutes to prepare.
What We Didn’t Like: While I appreciate plant-based cuisine, some dishes had a distinct “vegan-flavored” profile, reminiscent of early vegan cooking styles from the 90s, characterized by a specific spice blend heavy on paprika, cumin, and turmeric. The Veggie Wow Bao, in particular, had this flavor and was also doughy and heavy.
Key Specs for Purple Carrot
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Number of dishes: 6 per week
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Number of servings: 11 per week
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Price per meal: Approximately $13.25
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Average prep time: 14 minutes
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Average calories per meal: 450
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Sample Meals: Chickpeas alla faux-dka, creamy mac ‘n cheese, veggie wow bao with spicy gochujang dipping sauce, Seven Sundays sunflower cereal (with real cocoa) and Táche pistachio milk, egg and cheese burrito with potatoes and tomatillo salsa, Lebanese farro with lentils and crispy dates
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The Best Heat-and-Eat Meal Delivery Service
Factor
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What We Liked: Factor is the ideal solution for those who prioritize convenience and health without sacrificing taste. Factor specializes in ready-to-eat meals, offering a variety of dietary options including keto, low-calorie, high-protein, and vegan/vegetarian. The meals arrive fresh, pre-packaged in single servings, and are ready to eat after just two to three minutes in the microwave. Standout dishes included the bleu cheese filet mignon and blueberry pancakes with turkey sausage. The sample pack featured a range of options, from low-carb and vegetarian meals to comfort food classics like chili mac.
What We Didn’t Like: While Factor meals are convenient and generally tasty, they aren’t particularly flavor-forward; they taste good but lack excitement. One dish, the smoky Gouda chicken, was somewhat bland and reminiscent of institutional food. Being fresh and pre-packaged, these meals contain preservatives to extend shelf life, resulting in higher sodium levels. Sodium content was as high as 1,060 milligrams in some meals, with most averaging around 800 milligrams. As a fully prepared meal service, Factor also comes with a higher per-serving cost.
Key Specs for Factor
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Number of dishes: 9 per week
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Number of servings: 9 per week
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Price per meal: Approximately $12.99
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Average prep time: 2 minutes (heating time)
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Average calories per meal: 628
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Sample Meals: Bleu cheese filet mignon, blueberry pancakes, Louisiana shrimp with smoked Gouda cauliflower grits, smoky Gouda chicken, chipotle roasted salmon, queso fundido and ground beef, chicken and mushroom cauliflower risotto, smoky tofu and baked beans, beef chili mac
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Other Meal Delivery Services to Consider
Also Good
While Hungryroot, Marley Spoon, Purple Carrot, and Factor stood out as top performers in our tests, several other meal delivery services are also worth considering depending on your specific needs. Services like Blue Apron, HelloFresh, Green Chef, Home Chef, EveryPlate, CookUnity, and Mosaic offer various meal types, price points, and dietary options. These services cater to a broad range of preferences and budgets, providing alternatives if our top picks don’t perfectly align with your needs.
Not Recommended
[Table of Cost Breakdown of Meal Delivery Services]
| Cost Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Product | Cost/Portion | Number Portions | Type of Kit |
| Marley Spoon | $5.00 | 10 | Ready to cook |
| Blue Apron | $5.50 | 6 | Ready to cook |
| HelloFresh | $5.00 | 6 | Ready to cook |
| Purple Carrot | $7.23 | 11 | Hybrid (Eat/Cook) |
| Green Chef | $6.00 | 6 | Ready to cook |
| Home Chef | $5.50 | 6 | Ready to cook |
| EveryPlate | $3.00 | 4 | Ready to cook |
| CookUnity | $14.23 | 4 | Ready to eat |
| Factor | $12.99 | 9 | Ready to eat |
| Mosaic | $13.64 | 16 | Ready to eat |
| Hungry Root | $10.50 | 16 | Hybrid (Cook/Prepared) |
Note: Prices and offerings may vary; introductory offers often reduce the cost of the first order significantly.
Frequently Asked Questions About Meal Delivery Services
What is the cheapest meal delivery service?
When evaluating the cost of meal delivery services, it’s essential to focus on the price per portion rather than just the total plan price. Many services utilize a sliding scale pricing model, where the cost per meal and per portion decreases as you order more meals or servings. Among the services we reviewed, EveryPlate stands out as the most affordable, with a cost of approximately three dollars per person per meal. While I personally found the food quality less impressive compared to higher-priced options, for budget-conscious consumers, EveryPlate offers a significant value.
What is the best meal delivery service for two people?
The best meal delivery service for two depends largely on your cooking preferences and lifestyle. If you enjoy cooking from scratch, Marley Spoon provided the best overall meal quality and appropriate portion sizes for two in our testing. For those who prioritize convenience and dislike cooking, Factor offers the tastiest ready-to-eat meals. However, if you and your partner prefer to eat the same dishes, you’ll need to ensure you order two servings of each meal with Factor.
Which food delivery service is rated the highest?
Rating the best food delivery service is subjective and depends on individual priorities – whether it’s convenience, portion control, time savings, or taste. If I were to choose “the best” service from our test group, Hungryroot would be my top recommendation. This is based on its balance of time savings, portion and calorie control, ingredient quality, and overall meal flavor and texture. While Hungryroot is one of the pricier options, I personally find it saves me over $200 per month compared to my regular grocery spending, considering the reduced food waste and time saved.
Why Trust Our Recommendations?
- Greg Baker is a highly respected culinary expert and a multi-time James Beard Award-nominated former chef from Tampa, Florida. His extensive culinary background brings a depth of expertise to our meal delivery service reviews.
- Greg has a proven track record of product reviews for Serious Eats, including evaluations of knife sharpeners and charcoal chimneys, demonstrating his rigorous testing methodology and commitment to quality assessments.
- For this comprehensive review, Greg dedicated months to testing 11 different meal delivery services, personally cooking and sampling 67 unique dishes. Each service was meticulously rated based on ease of preparation, meal quality, packaging efficiency, and delivery reliability, ensuring our recommendations are based on thorough, firsthand experience.
Learn more about our extensive testing process for subscription boxes.
