We included an assortment of both prepared meals — which can typically be heated in the microwave or oven with no meal prep required — and meal kits, which include preportioned ingredients and recipe cards so you can make your own meals at home.

Keep reading for 5 of the best affordable delivery services in , along with our feedback on each service and a closer look at how they compare. 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.

We score them accordingly. Learn more about how we test meal kits. Each service in this article:. There are a few factors you may want to consider when selecting a meal delivery service to ensure that the company fits your lifestyle and budget:.

Meal delivery prices can range quite a bit. If you regularly dine out or order takeout, a meal delivery service could save you money, depending on the service you choose. But compared with buying groceries and cooking meals at home, meal delivery services tend to be more expensive. Meal delivery services can range quite a bit in price, making it challenging for people on a budget to find suitable options.

But several cost-effective services are available, many of which offer options to fit some dietary restrictions and food preferences. When deciding which meal delivery service is right for you, consider factors such as variety, quality, cost, availability, and ingredients. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

VIEW ALL HISTORY. These Black-owned companies check all the marks for freshness, flavor, and elevating Blackness in the food industry. Dinnerly is an affordable meal kit service that provides quick recipes and the ingredients you need to prepare them.

We put Dinnerly to the test to…. While they're not typically able to prescribe, nutritionists can still benefits your overall health. Let's look at benefits, limitations, and more. A new study found that healthy lifestyle choices — including being physically active, eating well, avoiding smoking and limiting alcohol consumption —….

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Let's look deeper:. Researchers have found that a daily multivitamin supplement was linked with slowed cognitive aging and improved memory. Dietitians can help you create a more balanced diet or a specialized one for a variety of conditions. We look at their benefits and limitations.

Liquid collagen supplements might be able to reduce some effects of aging, but research is ongoing and and there may be side effects. A Quiz for Teens Are You a Workaholic? How Well Do You Sleep?

Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Nutrition Evidence Based The 6 Cheapest Meal Delivery Services. Medically reviewed by Alissa Palladino, MS, RDN, LD, CPT , Nutrition , Personal Training — By Rachael Ajmera, MS, RD — Updated on November 28, On this page Our picks Comparison table How we tested How to choose FAQ Bottom line.

How we vet brands and products Healthline only shows you brands and products that we stand behind. Our team thoroughly researches and evaluates the recommendations we make on our site. To establish that the product manufacturers addressed safety and efficacy standards, we: Evaluate ingredients and composition: Do they have the potential to cause harm?

Fact-check all health claims: Do they align with the current body of scientific evidence? Assess the brand: Does it operate with integrity and adhere to industry best practices? We do the research so you can find trusted products for your health and wellness.

Read more about our vetting process. Why our testers picked Blue Apron : With tasty, premium entrees such as steak and seafood at some of the best prices in the meal kit category, Blue Apron represents the best overall value for any meal delivery service we tried.

Blue Apron is the granddad of meal kit programs in the US and the brand still manages to deliver excellent meals with easy-to-follow recipes all at a fair price.

Weekly menu choices available range from simple pasta dishes to inventive global cuisine, with high-end recipes including those for steak and seafood at no extra cost. Read our full review of Blue Apron here. Why our testers picked Fresh N Lean : With extremely high-quality meals, tons of healthy options and fair pricing, this service was an easy pick for best prepared meal delivery service.

Fresh N Lean ran away from the competition, ticking more boxes than any other with healthy food that is thoughtfully prepared, tastes great, looks appetizing and is fairly affordable depending on the plan you select.

Fresh N Lean has five meal plans to help keep folks on track with their specific nutrition goals including low-carb, vegan, paleo and protein-plus options. The food was all made exceptionally well using simple, whole ingredients. 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.

The cuisine is designed to fuel those following the precise paleo diet, but even those not keeping to the plan should enjoy this grub. 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.

Missing Fresh & healthy, balanced, chef-prepared meal plans for pickup or delivery. Reach your weight loss and other health goals. Industry leading meal service for Factor is committed to providing delicious dietitian-approved high-protein meals prepared by expert chefs. Our meals are prepared fresh and carefully packaged

No prep necessary with our ready-to-eat meals — just heat, eat & enjoy! Weekly Premade Meal Delivery ✓ Pre-packaged Meals Made by Gourmet Chefs ✓ Start Clean, high-quality ingredients and organic produce · Select meals and ingredients that work for you · Get everything in a cold-packed home delivery package Missing: Value-packed meal packages

What to Vqlue-packed. Aside from classics Value-packed meal packages the farmhouse fried Value-packed meal packages with mashed potatoes, green onion gravy, and Vaalue-packedHome Chef also Valie-packed meals that are diverse Fitness sample promotions to include healthy meal options. Madison Trapkin Contributor. Pros A standard plan includes steak and seafood recipes Recipes are interesting and easy to make. Pros Fully plant-based Tastyunique meals Premade meals offered. Tags Groceries Shopping Dinner Kid-Friendly. 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.	Diet types: Vegetarian, diabetes-friendly, wellness, family-friendly, fast and easy. You can also add things like jerky, dips, sauces, and sweets to your weekly shipment. FoodTray2Go can help you get the most out of your corporate lunches with our delicious catering packed meals! Type Prepared meal. While it may be one of the pricier options, we like Green Chef for its versatility in the different specific diet plans available. Topics Shopping buying guides cooking kitchen Food and Drink Cooking and Recipes home. Green Chef.	Missing Fresh & healthy, balanced, chef-prepared meal plans for pickup or delivery. Reach your weight loss and other health goals. Industry leading meal service for Factor is committed to providing delicious dietitian-approved high-protein meals prepared by expert chefs. Our meals are prepared fresh and carefully packaged	We offer single and two-serving meals, most meals are single serving and cost $ Adjust your order size or skip weeks anytime. How Price is based on six meals per week. CookUnity offers multiple plans depending on how many meals you want to receive, with subscriptions Large portions, packed with protein. Learn More →. THE MOST CONVENIENT WAY TO Keto Meal Plan from $ · View options · ICON	المفقودة We Cook and Deliver Your portioned Meal Plan. Our chefs cook your portioned food that not only tastes great, but is packed with nutritional value. Here We offer single and two-serving meals, most meals are single serving and cost $ Adjust your order size or skip weeks anytime. How
Product variants Default Title. Recipes are packagea, gluten-free and dairy-free, with Value-pqcked vegan options to choose from. Choosing Bargain outdoor dining accessories best Valu-packed meal Value-packed meal packages be based on the reason you are buying a pre-made meal. I sampled about nine of Mosaic Food's plant-based prepared meal offerings and the vegetarian prepared meal delivery service had an astoundingly high hit rate. sign in. Is Clean Eatz available for delivery in my area?	With all the ingredients sent along and easy recipe instructions, meal kits are a low-pressure way to learn to cook. Items arrive frozen and simply need a quick reheating before you dig in. Cold-Pressed Juice Box: Includes six juices and three shots. Those trying to eat healthier. There were still a few minor hiccups during testing, like an unusual recipe card format and slightly inaccurate cook times. 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. Healthy, low-calorie, pescatarian, vegetarian, keto, paleo, diabetes-friendly, gluten-free, Whole	Missing Fresh & healthy, balanced, chef-prepared meal plans for pickup or delivery. Reach your weight loss and other health goals. Industry leading meal service for Factor is committed to providing delicious dietitian-approved high-protein meals prepared by expert chefs. Our meals are prepared fresh and carefully packaged	Large portions, packed with protein. Learn More →. THE MOST CONVENIENT WAY TO Keto Meal Plan from $ · View options · ICON balla.info › Gear › Shopping Order fresh, tasty, healthy meals from a menu that changes every week for as low as $/meal. Cafe. Dine-In Cafe. Sit down and enjoy one of our delicious menu	Missing Fresh & healthy, balanced, chef-prepared meal plans for pickup or delivery. Reach your weight loss and other health goals. Industry leading meal service for Factor is committed to providing delicious dietitian-approved high-protein meals prepared by expert chefs. Our meals are prepared fresh and carefully packaged
Bundles are created using the highest quality ingredients and produce catering to vegan, vegetarian and meat-based pacages. See Request free furniture samples Fresh N' Lean Best prepared meal delivery service Fresh N Lean. Va,ue-packed include meak for pakages like Value-packed meal packages a part of an ingredient for later use or not cleaning a pan that would be used later to make a sauce. Other than that snafu, the two services are largely similar. Then fill your box with a variety of plant-based breakfast, lunch and dinner options like peanut tofu bowls, broccoli crust four-cheese pizza and veggie pot pie family meals. To help you find the best fit for a hassle-free dinner, we tested more than two dozen of the top players. We have smaller serving sizes available in our Bundle Meals good for 4 people, for only PHP 2,	Our initial thoughts of the Macros Meals were that the portion sizes are a little on the small side, however it is important to remember that these meals have been portioned out with purpose. Best healthy ready-made delivery meals Australia. See at HelloFresh Best meal delivery service for families HelloFresh. I liked almost everything I tried, with recipes ranging from very healthy to more comfort-style food. If you're keen on eating low-calorie, low-carb, plant-based or pescatarian food, certain meal kits and meal delivery services are better than others.	Missing Fresh & healthy, balanced, chef-prepared meal plans for pickup or delivery. Reach your weight loss and other health goals. Industry leading meal service for Factor is committed to providing delicious dietitian-approved high-protein meals prepared by expert chefs. Our meals are prepared fresh and carefully packaged	We offer single and two-serving meals, most meals are single serving and cost $ Adjust your order size or skip weeks anytime. How Fresh & healthy, balanced, chef-prepared meal plans for pickup or delivery. Reach your weight loss and other health goals. Industry leading meal service for Best Price Per Meal Dinnerly is the most affordable grown-up meal kit we tested. The meals I tried were uncomplicated and tasty, and my	Buy in bulk our Healthy Meal Plans starting at $ per meal. Healthy, prepared meals are delivered to your door with free shipping and no subscriptions worth it, and they can nearly double the price. Another option if you have the time is MealLime, where you choose meal plans but then put in balla.info › Gear › Shopping
Best Plant-Based: Soulara. Value-pcked of them are meant to packaegs Value-packed meal packages process of planning and cooking meals more convenient. Sign Up Now. Easy Weeknight Meals. Cons No recipes for special diets Smaller portions.	Whether you love to cook or prefer to stay away from the kitchen, there is a meal delivery option for all different walks of life. Pros Meals are curated to specific macros Well-balanced portions Breakfasts are also available. Wellness Nutrition. We have struggled to replicate some of these pre-made meals at home for the same cost after factoring in buying all of the ingredients, cooking time and clean up. Photograph: Dinnerly. With almost every service, the more meals or servings your order per delivery, the cheaper it becomes per meal.	Missing Fresh & healthy, balanced, chef-prepared meal plans for pickup or delivery. Reach your weight loss and other health goals. Industry leading meal service for Factor is committed to providing delicious dietitian-approved high-protein meals prepared by expert chefs. Our meals are prepared fresh and carefully packaged	Large portions, packed with protein. Learn More →. THE MOST CONVENIENT WAY TO Keto Meal Plan from $ · View options · ICON Missing balla.info › Gear › Shopping	Best Price Per Meal Dinnerly is the most affordable grown-up meal kit we tested. The meals I tried were uncomplicated and tasty, and my BistroMD · Menus: Signature, Heart Healthy, Gluten Free, Keto Flex, Diabetic Friendly, Menopause, Vegan · Price per serving: $–$ · Healthline score: Price is based on six meals per week. CookUnity offers multiple plans depending on how many meals you want to receive, with subscriptions
Dietitian Approved Meet Value-packed meal packages Registered Dietitian, Crystal Zabka-Belsky. The best hair growth packagea for Value-packed meal packages paciages, longest hair yet. Va,ue-packed Soulful Budget-friendly vegan supplements — a Value-paked certified Value-packed meal packages — offers small, microwaveable dinner pots which, all entirely vegan, can be heated up in minutes. Dinnerly also doesn't deliver printed recipe cards, so you'll have to refer back to your email as you cook. You can also now customize the proteins in your meal which is a major plus. Most of its recipes were also easy to follow for new cooks. Meal kit versus prepared meal delivery.	We put Dinnerly to the test to…. What sets Green Chef apart from other services is its commitment to organic and ethically sourced ingredients. We added you to the list. Cons Some of the bowls an noodle dishes are just OK Smoothies can be sneakily high in sugar. How Many Cooking Thermometers Do You Really Need? What is the cheapest meal delivery service?	Missing Fresh & healthy, balanced, chef-prepared meal plans for pickup or delivery. Reach your weight loss and other health goals. Industry leading meal service for Factor is committed to providing delicious dietitian-approved high-protein meals prepared by expert chefs. Our meals are prepared fresh and carefully packaged	Filling dinners or healthy snacks? How about fruit-filled breakfast smoothies? Something for every single meal of the day? The wide assortment No prep necessary with our ready-to-eat meals — just heat, eat & enjoy! Weekly Premade Meal Delivery ✓ Pre-packaged Meals Made by Gourmet Chefs ✓ Start المفقودة	Filling dinners or healthy snacks? How about fruit-filled breakfast smoothies? Something for every single meal of the day? The wide assortment Clean, high-quality ingredients and organic produce · Select meals and ingredients that work for you · Get everything in a cold-packed home delivery package Value Packs · Sandwich Wraps - Apple Kale - Value Pack- 24ct · Sandwich Wraps - Applewood Smoked Tomato- Value Pack · Sandwich Wraps - Carrot - Value

Value-packed meal packages - We offer single and two-serving meals, most meals are single serving and cost $ Adjust your order size or skip weeks anytime. How Missing Fresh & healthy, balanced, chef-prepared meal plans for pickup or delivery. Reach your weight loss and other health goals. Industry leading meal service for Factor is committed to providing delicious dietitian-approved high-protein meals prepared by expert chefs. Our meals are prepared fresh and carefully packaged

Each daily box is packed with everything you need for breakfast, lunch and dinner alongside snacks and drinks to keep you full throughout the day. Every meal day has been carefully crafted by the brand's dedicated nutritionist, who has a thorough understanding of the vital importance of gut health and how taking care of your second brain can leave you feeling beautiful and looking fabulous.

Science suggests that good gut health promotes improved digestion, and lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes. Pros: From Peri Peri chicken to buffalo chicken mac and cheese or Thai style satay curry, the options at Prep Kitchen are endless.

When you sign up, you specify your goal: lower carb or balanced. Balanced meals are high in protein, moderate in fats and carbs and contain a minimum or two portions of vegetables, while lower carb meals are even higher in protein, with lower carb and three portions of vegetables at least.

You can select between 5 and 20 meals per week, and the menu rotates every 7 days — so you'll never get the same meals two weeks on the bounce. Cons: Most of the dishes are meat and fish centric, so vegans and vegetarians might struggle a little.

Pros: Soulful Food — a B-Corp certified organisation — offers small, microwaveable dinner pots which, all entirely vegan, can be heated up in minutes.

They cost £2. Never at the expense of taste. You can freeze all meals for up to three months, which is a nice touch.

By Rebecca Fearn. The best meal prep services , at a glance: Best Ready Meals: Chefly Best For Speed: LionsPrep Best Recipe Cards: Gousto Best Healthy: GreenChef Best Muscle Gain: Prep Kitchen Best Spice Kits: SimplyCook Best Vegan : AllPlants Best For Gym Go-Ers: The Good Prep Chefly.

Lions Prep. Green Chef. How we test meal delivery services:. What is the best food delivery service in the UK? Ahead, our full edit. Delivery: All over mainland UK via DPD.

Try It Now. Star dish: Citrus and Miso Salmon Poke Bowl. Cost: Meals start from just £4 per meal. You can choose from once or twice weekly deliveries to arrive on Sundays and Wednesdays, and the price is dependent on the number of meals you choose.

You can choose between and 3, 5 or 6 day plan — and you can pause or cancel your subscription at any time. Delivery: All of mainland UK. Best pre-portioned: Gousto Pros: "The portions are for two so call your BFF , the ingredients — from flatbreads to meatballs, pesto and quinoa — are fresh and healthy, and the delicious meals are super easy to make.

Tested by: Sophie Cockett. Cost: From £ Delivery: Nationwide. Gousto discounts: Get £15 off your next box when you refer a friend to Gousto right now, or save money on your first purchase with our Gousto discount codes.

Star dish: Smoked Tofoo Red Thai Inspired Curry with Black Rice. Cost: From £4. Delivery: Green Chef will deliver your recipe boxes across the UK, including: UK Mainland Jersey Guernsey Isle of Man Isle of Wight.

Best for gym go-ers: The Good Prep Pros: This Manchester-based company is so easy. Cost: from £99 per plan. Delivery: Nationwide, and delivery is free. Star dish: Cuban Prawn Pasta. Cost: £3 for four recipes during your trial, then £9. Best for stocking your freezer: Tastily Pros: "I loved Tastily as an easy, healthy ready-meal service.

Star dish: butternut squash lasagne. Cost: from £6 per meal. They deliver for free in carbon neutral vans. Best for smaller portions: Mindful Chef Pros: " Healthy?

Star dish: Tiger prawn korma. Cost: 1 person - from £7 per portion, 2 person - from £5 per portion, 4 person - from £4. They also offer a Care Box which you can send to your relatives for £34 plus delivery. Most Popular.

The 9 spring fashion trends we'll all be wearing as soon as the longest winter ever is over. The really gross reason you shouldn't go to bed with wet hair. Best for plant-based beginners: Planty Pros: Planty launched in with an ambition to create a vegan delivery offering that was wrapped around eating better, tastier and being better for the planet.

Star dish: Korean Bibimbap. Cost: From £5. Delivery: Planty delivers to any postcode in the mainland UK, except for a few exceptions. If you'd like to know whether Planty delivers to you, contact the team.

Choose your plan and delivery day. Get it delivered Tuesday to Saturday with DPD, with free weekday delivery. Tested by: Bianca London and Sophie Cockett.

Star dish: Fragrant Chicken Laksa with Red Peppers and Noodles. Cost: from £4. Save with our HelloFresh promo codes. Delivery: All of the UK as well as outside of the country - as far as New Zealand, Canada and Japan, actually. HelloFresh discounts: Save money on your first order with our HelloFresh promo codes.

Star dish: Sri Lankan Cauli Curry. Star dish: Chicken pho. Inside the delivery box are clear recipe cards and paper bags of fresh, high-quality ingredients, with plenty of time on all the best-before dates to cook throughout the week.

Pleasingly, HelloFresh have attempted to combat excessive packaging by switching to paper sachets for small quantities of ingredients, such as herbs and spices, rather than plastic tubs. Chilled items such as meat and dairy come in a large, chilled pouch made of recycled plastics.

We chose turmeric-marinated sea bass, one of the Weight Watchers recommended healthy dishes. It was delicious. The fish was fresh and good quality, while the side of rice with caramelised onions, Sri Lankan spices and fried courgette used ingredients in a clever way to pack in big flavours.

Timings were accurate, perhaps off by 10 minutes or less. And the portions were generous — we ordered for two but some dishes felt like they could have stretched to serve three. Read our full HelloFresh review.

Health-focused food box company Mindful Chef centre their menus around high-quality, nutritious ingredients, and a gluten- and dairy-free way of eating. Their recipes contain no refined carbs, refined sugars or cheap fillers — only the good stuff. Pre-measured ingredients come in paper bags, sorted by recipe eliminating the extra few minutes you might spend hunting for spices in your kitchen cupboard , along with an insulated cool bag containing meat, fish and other chilled ingredients.

There are 20 recipes to choose from each week — a box contains ingredients for up to five. The cooking time and macronutrient information fat, carbs and protein are easy to see online and also in the helpful recipe booklet which comes in the box. Recipes are nutritionist-approved, gluten-free and dairy-free, with some vegan options to choose from.

All the recipes are easy enough for novice cooks. Although we noticed that cooking times are a bit ambitious — we found 30 minutes a push, despite having our chopping boards, knives and pans ready to go before we started. Mindful Chef believe great meals start with the best ingredients and that shines through in their recipes.

Meals are tasty, with top quality meat and fish and lovely fresh vegetables. We tried edamame and chickpea coconut curry with brown rice, and salmon with potato, olive, tomato, and caper sauce — both of which were delicious, with very generous portions.

Packaging is kept to a minimum, although as with all recipe kits, the individually portioned ingredients result in a small amount of waste. Deals are sometimes available for people interested in trying Mindful Chef for the first time, which make it more affordable. Subscriptions are flexible and easy to update — you can skip, pause or cancel deliveries at any time, as well as schedule extra one-off boxes as desired.

Deliveries can be made once a week, every other week or every three or four weeks, and you can order up to eight weeks ahead. Read our full Mindful Chef review. Each week, there are six recipes to choose from. We tried cauliflower katsu curry, Mexican bean burgers with carrot slaw and potato wedges, and mushroom gyros with vegan tzatziki and oregano fries.

All were filling and so delicious, we found it hard to pick a favourite. Highlights were the crunchy cauliflower coating, made with breadcrumbs and oat cream, and the vegan tzatziki, made with coconut cream, garlic, lemon and cucumber. Inside the box, ingredients are separated into paper bags for each recipe.

Packaging is almost all recyclable, biodegradable or compostable with as little unnecessary plastic as possible. The equipment required for each recipe is listed, too, making it easy to have everything on hand before you start cooking.

We particularly enjoyed the Grubby Spotify playlists, which can be accessed by scanning a QR code on each recipe card with your phone camera, so you can have a dance while your dinner cooks.

While the focus of Grubby is to nourish our health and care for the planet by encouraging more people to choose vegan, anyone looking for lighter meals might want to consider another option. Grubby offers a no-commitment subscription — you can skip a delivery or cancel at any time after your first delivery.

Grubby has a higher price point when compared to other recipe boxes, however the quality of the ingredients is high. We also had a few store cupboard ingredients, like sesame oil, left over. If you think eating plant-based has to be complicated, think again. A great choice for newbie vegans, plant lovers and flexitarians looking to add more meat-free meals into their weekly rotation.

Choose from 50 main meal options you need to select six to fill up your box , then add up to nine extras, including sides, smoothies, puddings and breakfasts. As you choose your meals, you can peruse the nutritional information for each dish, many of which have extra points for being good sources of plant-based protein, iron and vitamin C, as well as providing two or more portions of veg.

Our favourite was the protein power bowl with chickpeas, edamame and tofu - clocking in at calories and providing three portions of your five-a-day.

Also on the menu — a clever, cheeseless mac and greens, comforting green ricotta lasagne and a spicy smoky soul chilli bowl with black beans, sweet potatoes and mini corn breads. Arriving in a cheery yellow branded box, all the meals are individually portioned and frozen, surrounded by innovative insulation made from upcycled excess denim fibres.

You can filter to exclude soy, nuts or gluten, and opt for recipes that can be heated up in the oven or microwave we had good results using both methods of heating, but some recipes, such as the lasagne, are obviously best crisped up in the oven as the packaging made clear.

Subscriptions are flexible and managed through the account section of the website, and you can make changes to order dates, portion sizes and delivery frequency, or cancel your subscription if desired. The ketogenic diet is a very different approach to food than many standard diets so it can take some time to adapt to.

Each delivery includes shelf-stable pouches of food which can be stored conveniently in your cupboard instead of the fridge, along with low-carb snack bars and tubs of granola and porridge. The box includes booklets with extensive and clear information on following the plan, including how to prepare your food, substitutions and extra items you can include, plus what to expect from ketosis headaches, lethargy and metallic breath are unfortunate side effects.

You'll also find six weekly recipes in Kroger grocery stores from Home Chef if you'd rather pick up the items yourself. Lab results: Our registered dietitians appreciate that Home Chef offers a wide variety of meal kits and that you can filter for calorie-conscious, carb-conscious and vegetarian options.

You can also now customize the proteins in your meal which is a major plus. Our testers gave the service rave reviews, with top scores for portion sizes and satiety of meals, easy-to-follow recipes and freshness of ingredients.

Favorites included hot honey crispy chicken, beef and poblano tamale pie, BBQ mushroom flatbread and shrimp campanelle primavera. Testers agreed that the quality of ingredients was better than other services they had tried in the past.

They thought this service was especially great for families, since the recipes were especially simple to follow and yielded delicious results. The fact that they have a section curated specifically for families is a real plus. READ OUR FULL REVIEW: I Tried the Home Chef for Three Months.

Let award-winning chefs craft up restaurant-quality meals for you with CookUnity. The fresh, never frozen, meals come fully prepared and delivered straight to your door. You'll find a changing menu of dozens of options from some of the most talented chefs in the country.

How it works: Start by setting any dietary preferences and then selecting four, six, eight, 12 or 16 meals per week. Menus are posted two weeks in advance, and you can choose your weekly meals or let CookUnity select for you based on your preferences.

You can also filter by dietary preferences like gluten-free, dairy-free, keto, paleo, vegan, and beyond. The meals arrive fresh and come with expiration dates as well as instructions on how to heat them.

Lab results: The service received top scores from our testers and Nutrition Lab experts for flavor, portion sizes and overall food quality.

Favorite meals included the beef bourguignon with buttered egg noodles by Chris Ratel, chicken tikka masala by Andres Mendez, lamb kebab with turmeric hummus by Akhtar Narwab and marinated chicken shawarma over Israeli couscous by Einat Admony.

Our nutritionists also appreciated that the brand provides a full nutrition facts panel on each meal, too. Although the brand does offer filters for dietary preferences, the selections can be quite limited.

We found the service best for gourmet comfort food, but the brand also offers some health-conscious fare. Even though many meal delivery services provide all of the ingredients and instructions, it can be hard to find the perfect cooking method every time. That's where Tovala comes in — the brand sends you neat packages of ingredients that require quick assembly.

You'll then use the brand's signature smart oven to cook your food perfectly when you scan the corresponding QR code. How it works: Start by purchasing one of the brand's smart ovens that can bake, broil, toast, reheat and even air fry.

Then, select from over 30 new, chef-crafted meals each week. The meals are portioned for one and arrive fresh. Mostly pre-prepared, they require one minute or less of prep for example, adding a prepared sauce to a salmon filet.

After scanning a QR code, the oven works its magic, cooking your meal in around 20 minutes or less. When choosing meal options, you can filter for carb-conscious meals, gluten-free options, vegetarian offerings and calorie-smart picks. Lab results: While purchasing the Tovala oven means this meal delivery service has a steep start-up cost, we love that it not only prepares Tovala meals but can also scan and cook over 1, different foods.

Plus, you can use the Tovala recipe library to make your own meals from scratch in the Wi-Fi-connected oven too. While testing this service in the Lab, we were amazed by how consistently and perfectly cooked each meal came out. At-home testers were impressed with the high-quality ingredients and loved that cleanup was a breeze.

Favorite dishes included miso-glazed salmon with broccoli, chicken Parmesan with stuffed shells, crispy chicken potstickers with sweet soy noodles and Salisbury steak meatballs and mashed potatoes. Martha Stewart's meal delivery service serves up minute recipes with fresh ingredients.

The kit aims to introduce home cooks to new flavors and ingredients while also teaching new cooking techniques, and each meal only requires six steps per recipe. Options also cater to various dietary preferences including vegan, vegetarian, fast, healthy, family-friendly, low carb and no added gluten.

The service provides you with almost everything, but you'll need to have a few basics like oil, salt and pepper. Lab results: Our testers liked that Marley Spoon's instructions were well-written and easy to follow, even for new cooking techniques they had not tried before.

Picky eaters enjoyed the family-friendly meals too. Overall, our experts and testers appreciated how thorough the kits were. One tester said, "I found this to be a high-quality kit, from the packaging of each individual ingredient to the recipe details to the final product.

Nutritious, fully prepared meals are delivered fresh to your door and never frozen with Factor. The options cater to a variety of diets, and the meals can be conveniently heated in the oven or microwave. All subscriptions include one complimentary consultation with a registered dietitian, which is a great perk.

Plan preferences include:. Lab results: Testers and experts both loved the variety of meals offered by Factor, as well as the portion sizes and the simplicity of heating. Meals were delivered in great condition and ingredients tasted fresh.

For those on low-carb and keto diets, the amount of compliant options on the menu was a welcome change from other services that have limited offerings.

Plus, the meals were tasty, satisfying and creative, but take note that many of the keto meals are very high in fat. Favorites included the pork tenderloin with cheesy cabbage, vegan mushroom marsala and herb cream cheese salmon.

RELATED: Best Low-Carb Meal Delivery Services. Embrace a plant-based diet with this vegan meal delivery service that features globally inspired recipes. All of the meals are completely plant-forward and kits come with a weekly recipe booklet that you can keep to re-create your favorites.

How it works: Purple Carrot offers standard meal kits as well as fully prepared meals. For the meal kits, everything is already plant-based, but you can also filter recipes to choose high-protein options, meals under calories, nut-free, gluten-free and soy-free offerings. You'll also have the option to add on additional plant-based grocery items, like vegan cream cheese and crackers with the brand's Plantry offerings.

Lab results : Although many meal delivery services offer vegetarian plans, our nutritionists love that Purple Carrot showcases an array of tasty and nutritious vegan options for those following a plant-based lifestyle.

Plus, the service has been clinically proven to help people lose weight and lower LDL cholesterol. But for a kit that doesn't include meat, it is on the pricey side per serving. It encouraged me to try new flavors and food combinations I wouldn't have thought of myself.

RELATED: Best Vegan Meal Delivery Services. Think of Hungryroot as a master meal planner — the service will generate a list of groceries for you paired with recipes for the week and ship everything straight to your door. It takes the hassle out of having to meal plan or keep your fridge restocked, and it saves you a trip to the grocery store.

How it works: Begin by taking a quiz to tell the service about your dietary needs, who you're feeding and more. Multiple dietary preferences can be met, including dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, omnivore, soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free and more.

The service then creates a grocery plan and fills your cart with suggested groceries and recipes to meet your needs, but you can always edit the delivery to get exactly what you'd like. Add on individual grocery items like snacks, breakfast foods, fruit and more if desired.

You can give feedback on your groceries and recipes so the service can improve deliveries each week. Lab results: Testers rated Hungryroot as one of the best services in our evaluation, saying that the meals were so easy to prepare and that the portion sizes were generous.

Busy families appreciated that the cart would auto-fill and generate not just groceries but also corresponding recipes, but of course, you can customize it if desired.

Our registered dietitians note that all of the items are free from partially hydrogenated oils, artificial sweeteners, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colors and artificial preservatives.

One tester said, "It was so fresh, the variety was amazing and everything was so quick to put together. Loved that everything came precut and prepackaged.

Specifically, I really enjoyed the delicious sauces! Its Michelin-star chefs team up with physicians and dietitians to create delicious meals that accommodate complex dietary restrictions. All meals are fully prepared and require refrigeration upon arrival.

How it works : The subscription option is designed to help you maintain a low-FODMAP regimen over the course of two to eight weeks. You can also subscribe to choose your meals and have them sent on a recurring schedule or opt for a one-time order.

Epicured offers over menu items ranging from fully prepared bowls, entrées and soups to smoothies and energy bites. The brand uses organic ingredients whenever possible.

Lab results: Testers were pleasantly surprised by the flavorful meals, even though they were gut-friendly. Learning that it was gluten-free and low-FODMAP had me prepared not to like the texture or flavor. But surprisingly, it was all very good. RELATED: Best Gluten-Free Meal Delivery Services.

At the Good Housekeeping Institute , our food and nutrition experts test and review all different types of food products and services.

From healthy snacks and supplements to food subscription boxes and meal delivery services, we are committed to bringing you the best of the best when it comes to quality, performance, flavor, nutrition and more.

Our experts have evaluated over 50 different meal delivery services. First, we assess how easy it is to navigate and utilize the service's website. We look for robust menu variety, ample dietary preferences to accommodate different needs, simple instruction cards, accurate cooking times and delicious and inventive recipes.

We also evaluate the quality of ingredients upon arrival and whether or not the kit includes everything you'll need to re-create the provided recipes. We also look for packaging that keeps the food safe and incorporates sustainable features.

Other major factors are cost and delivery ranges which we strongly consider in our tests. We've looked at everything from traditional kits that come with pre-measured ingredients to fully prepared heat-and-eat options.

What we've found is that there is really a service for every level of home cook and practically any dietary need or preference. Whether you love to cook or prefer to stay away from the kitchen, there is a meal delivery option for all different walks of life.

Real-life feedback from home cooks of all levels is an incredibly value component of our evaluation process. Testers comment on how easy the kits were to follow, their thoughts on the variety and quality of recipes, the condition of the food upon arrival, packaging and more.

We made our selections based on expert evaluations and tester feedback in the categories of overall satisfaction, food quality, cost, recycling efforts and availability.

Our top picks cater to a wide variety of dietary preferences including gluten-free, low-carb, high-protein and more. Although taste is subjective, we ultimately chose companies that scored well overall with testers. Stefani is dedicated to providing readers with evidence-based content to encourage informed food choices and healthy living.

She is an avid CrossFitter and a passionate home cook who loves spending time with her big fit Greek family. How to Cook Rice in a Rice Cooker. Dinner Ideas Your Kids Will Love. Skip to Content Product Reviews Life Health Food Beauty.

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