The best meal kit delivery services of 2020: Blue Apron, Freshly, Sun Basket and more
These are stressful times. For many people, the motivation for planning and cooking a healthy meal has disappeared as they contend with more urgent matters. Not to mention the fact that going to the grocery store and meal planning is less fun than usual when you have to wear a mask and worry about a global pandemic as you hunt for a ripe avocado.
Then there’s the pandemic rut. Many people haven’t been able to shake up their meal routine with a bite at their favorite restaurant in a very, very long time.
So, we have a suggestion — a meal kit service. Having delicious ingredients and/or precooked meals delivered right to your door may be just the solution for people looking for a tasty meal as we continue to ride out thecoronavirus crisis.
We’ve been on the meal delivery service bandwagon for a while now. Many of the companies highlighted below are well versed in the types of dietary restrictions that many people contend with, offering options like organic meals, low-calorie and low carb dishes and, of course, vegan and vegetarian menu options.
We’ve been on the meal delivery service bandwagon for a while now, and what follows is a list of our favorite picks for delicious and nutritious meals. Many of these companies are well aware that many people have dietary restrictions, offering options like organic meals, low-calorie and low carb dishes and, of course, vegan and vegetarian menu options. Even better, many of these meal kit services — including Freshly, Blue Apron, Sun Basket, Every Plate and Gobble — are currently offering deals for new customers. And those deals are good. Like, several free meals good. There’s absolutely no reason you need to put on a mask and real pants to get your groceries or grab some takeout if you’re just looking for a healthy meal.
We’re sure that most of you have probably noticed cheerful meal kit company boxes from the likes of Blue Apron,Freshly,Home Chef,Sakara Life, Purple Carrot andGobble making ever-more-frequent appearances on your neighbors’ stoops over the last several years. Truly, the age of the meal kit food delivery service is upon us. Each meal delivery company provides a type of convenience service that combines the efforts of chefs, nutritionists and personal grocery shoppers, and delivers them into the hands of enthusiastic eaters or willing home kitchen cooks, with weekly menus and delicious, preportioned fresh ingredients including vegetables and meat for you to easily prepare. The variety of meal delivery program options available today is just staggering, with everything from fully prepared meals to gluten-free healthy meals to vegetarian options available and ready to ship. That means that people with special diets such as a diet for healthy weight loss don’t have to exclude themselves from reading further. It’s time to find the best meal kit delivery service for your needs whether you are a picky eater, vegan, on a keto diet or another special diet.
I once met one of the founders of Blue Apron, whose meal delivery kit box I’d become familiar with, thanks to the denizens of my apartment building. I mentioned that I thought the Blue Apron service sounded like a cool idea, but inundated him with a litany of reasons why such a thing didn’t apply to me: I work in an industry where tasty meals are often provided, I’m rarely home, I’m culinary school-trained and so on. His counterargument was flawless: “Can I send you a free box?” I mean, duh.
Despite my protestations, the reasons I enjoyed the Blue Apron meal plan were plenty, and inspired me to continue my subscription with an occasional box of ingredients. Even with culinary school cred, I liked having ingredients I didn’t know of or would rarely seek out when the groceries were put directly into my hands. I was especially moved by the concept of being provided the single rib of celery that a recipe demanded, sparing me the heartache of watching an entire head of celery languish in my produce drawer when left to my own devices.
There are now dozens of meal kit delivery programs to choose from, like Sun Basket,Martha & Marley Spoon andPurple Carrot, with a variety of healthy and niche meal selection customizations. These meal kit delivery service options have ingredients and menus available to fit special diets like vegan gluten-free, vegetarian gluten-free, plain old gluten-free, paleo, low-carb, vegetarian, pescatarian, keto, plant-based, health-conscious and just about anything else when it comes to dietary preference. You’ll also often find promotional offers for new customers and convenient features like being able to skip weeks and cancel anytime. With limited or no commitment, if you’re a calendar master and an account-management ninja, you can dabble in any or all of these services and choose, week-by-week, which best suits your circumstances.
Read more:Best air fryers of 2020: Philips, Cuisinart, Black and Decker and more
Home Chef
Home Chef boasts over 38 meal kits to choose from in any given week, including the all-new grill packs and one-pan dinners. Meal kit examples include Chipotle Chimichurri Mini Pork Meatloaves with Roasted Sweet Potato and Garlic Peppercorn Salmon Scampi with Garlic Cream Gemelli and Broccolini. Plus, you can customize the protein in your meal choices, which makes Home Chef dishes stand out from the pack. For example, with some Home Chef recipes, you can order double the protein such as chicken or meat without doubling the overall portions. With other Home Chef options, you can choose to order antibiotic-free protein instead of the standard version. Meal kits and ingredients are usually pretty standard in their offering (which is what keeps Home Chef efficient to the masses).
One new and unique offering from Home Chef is their oven-ready meals, which come with everything you’ll need to make the meal including the cooking tray (no messy kitchen and no dishes). See an example of an oven-ready meal here.
Subscription: Starting at $7.99 per serving with additional premium Home Chef recipes offered at market price.
Chowhound
Healthy and fresh are common favorite meal kit descriptors, but Sun Basket goes a step further. Sun Basket is committed to organic, non-GMO, sustainably and responsibly raised products and ingredients, which it packages in 100 percent recyclable materials to boot. Basically, the box took the trip to the farmer’s market for you. Sun Basket’s recipes are developed by Justine Kelly, a San Francisco chef known for her work at the James Beard Award-winning Slanted Door restaurant, and for her appearance on Top Chef. All of her easy and delicious meals with organic ingredients are nutritionist-approved (500 to 800 calories per serving), and most meals take only about 30 minutes to prepare, with online Sun Basket tutorials available if you need a little extra guidance. You’ve got options for these nutritious meals too — you’ll be able to choose from a selection of six to 18 different organic meal recipes each week, including paleo, vegan meal, vegetarian and gluten free meals, so you’ll always get what you want. Sun Basket delivery is available in 36 states, and Sun Basket shipments arrive on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. For three Sun Basket meals each week, you’ll pay $74.93 for the two-person plan (or $11.99 per serving) and $143.87 for the four-person plan ($10.99 per serving), with a $5.99 shipping fee either way.
Subscription: For three Sun Basket meals each week, you’ll pay $74.93 for the two-person plan (or the $11.99 price per serving) and $143.87 for the four-person Sun Basket plan ($10.99 per serving), with a $5.99 shipping fee either way.
Freshly
A few of these services provide fully cooked, ready to eat meals to your doorstep, and Freshly is a good one if you desire wholesome, tasty comfort foods such as peppercorn steak, penne bolognese or chicken and rice pilaf. Meals are prepared right before delivery and are never frozen. With minimal reheating required by you, it’s like having Mom cook dinner for you in your kitchen, without having Mom live with you. (Sorry, Mom.)
Subscription: $8.99 to $12.50 per serving, with up to 12 servings per week. Shipping is free.
At just $4.99 per serving and with an emphasis on delicious, hearty meal options and generous portion sizes, EveryPlate is the best plan for those whose journey into meal kit delivery is based on affordability. It keeps its overhead low by offering eight easy recipes to choose from weekly, which does mostly exclude vegetarians and those on special diets, but the eight available meals are full of variety and flavor otherwise. Get 18 meals for only $3.33 each, free shipping on your first order, plus the ability to skip or cancel anytime.
Subscription: Each serving is only $4.99. Each weekly box includes three recipes with either two or four servings apiece.
Blue Apron
Blue Apron is largely accepted to be the granddad of meal kit delivery programs in the US. The eight menu choices available weekly range from simple pastas to delicious international options, with a seafood and vegetarian option always available. Even the simplest recipes might include an unfamiliar component or two, and the website often highlights these ingredients as an educational opportunity. Recipes are tagged with helpful keywords such as “customer favorite,” “quick and easy,” “great for grilling” and so on. Occasional promotions include a menu from guest celebrity chefs, or recipes that highlight popular travel destinations. An optional wine pairing service is also offered.
Subscription: Price per serving ranges from $7.49 to $9.99, with options to prepare two to four recipes per week and two or four servings per recipe.
Dinnerly
Dinnerly rolls out some pretty exciting-sounding and delicious meals such as summery chicken panzanella and risotto with asparagus and cannellini beans. But with no more than six ingredients per recipe, the damage done to your time and kitchen is minimized. Along with not overwhelming you with myriad ingredients and multiple steps, the price tag for Dinnerly puts it squarely in the budget-friendly category, clocking in with a cost per serving of around $5.
Subscription: The options include a Two-Person Box for $30, or a Family Box for $60, each with three recipes for the week.
Brandy Yowell
Gobble takes the template from the old guard of meal delivery kits but speeds it up by prechopping and part-cooking many of the components so that all recipes have a prep time of 15 minutes or less. Despite the “fast food” angle, each menu has a sophisticated and worldly vibe. Weekly recipe choices are cleverly categorized into From the Range, From the Ranch, From the Sea and From the Earth options.
Subscription: Options range from $11.99 to $13.99 per serving, with options for two to four servings of two or three (or more!) recipes.
HelloFresh
HelloFresh helpfully tags each recipe accordingly, whether you are allergic to (or avoiding) dairy, gluten, soy, nuts and so on. Familiarity of ingredients is key, even when applied to dishes from various world cuisines. A Hello Fresh’s portion sizes are generous, going with its relatively high cost per serving (up to $10 a person). “dinner to lunch” element is a unique twist that provides the home cook a variation on tonight’s dinner to serve as a tasty portable lunch tomorrow.
Subscription: Options range from $8.74 to $9.99 per serving, with options for two to four recipes per week and two or four servings per recipe, customizable along Classic, Veggie and Family plans.
Green Chef
We like Green Chef for its versatility in the different specific diet plans available. Green Chef offers paleo, keto, pescatarian, vegan, and vegetarian options as well as gluten-free meals. No matter which diet you’re following (for health or personal reasons) you’ll be able to find a Green Chef plan that works for you. Because it offers so many different diet plan choices, this also makes Green Chef one of the most versatile meal kit delivery services since you get a plethora of different tasty menu options per week.
Subscription: $12.99-$11.99 per serving for a two-person Green Chef subscription at three meals/week; $10.99 per serving for a four-person Green Chef subscription at two meals/week.
More food delivery recommendations
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
