Meal delivery services are a huge timesaver, delivering fresh ingredients to your door and making dinner easy. Yet choosing a meal delivery service can be challenging. Luckily, we’ve rounded up the best options for you:
Each of the following five meal delivery services are among the best on the market. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide whether price, organic ingredients, or variety is most important to you, your budget and your family’s culinary preferences.
HomeChef
HomeChef is a meal delivery service that is ideal for those families pressed for time. On average, meals take just 53 minutes to prepare, making them one of the fastest meal delivery options available. A typical weekly menu offers a choice of 11 unique dinners, but there are no vegan options available. There are also often one or two quick lunch options as well as additional add-ons like smoothies or servings of fruit. The meals are also among the most family-friendly, with a variety of meals that children actually enjoy.
The average cost of a HomeChef meal is $9.95 per serving. Shipping is free as long as the minimum order of $45 is met. To get started, choose how many meals you would like to receive each week. You can pick anywhere from two to six weekly dinners. Then, decide whether you would like to receive two, four, or six servings of each meal. Finally, input any dietary preferences that can guide your meal selection choices.
If you know a friend that already has a HomeChef subscription or just want to get those you know on broad with HomeChef, there are incentives using the service’s referral program. New subscribers that use a referral invitation receive $30 off their first order. After a successful referral, active subscribers receive $30 credit for future HomeChef meals. The only restriction on this program is that you can’t refer new subscribers from the same household.
SunBasket
For those who want organic, healthy meals or who are eating according to specific diets, SunBasket might be a top pick. You can easily pick a meal plan that avoids dairy or gluten, and many of their meals focus on low-calorie, paleo, or vegetarian options.
SunBasket is also a favorite of busy parents. While some meal delivery services require you to prep everything in advance, SunBasket prepares many of its sauces and creams in advance. While this saves a lot of time, it might not be right for those who want to learn how to recreate their favorite dishes again in the future.
There are 10 weekly dinner options for you to choose from. If you purchase a two-person box with three dinners per week, the cost works out to be $11.49 per meal. The price drops to $10.99 per meal if you opt for the family plan with four servings per recipe. Keep in mind that there is also a $5.99 shipping fee for each weekly delivery.
Get started by choosing serving size per recipe, specifying your dietary preferences and then mixing and matching meal choices until you have planned the perfect week of dinners.
HelloFresh
The meal delivery service HelloFresh is one of the cheaper options, especially if you choose a family plan. When you pick three recipes per week, each with four servings, the average cost per meal is just $8.74. Combined with free shipping, this makes it an obvious choice for those on a budget. However, there are fewer options and choices each week with HelloFresh. Typically, there are just 10 dinners to choose from weekly. While you can pick from the classic plan, family plan, or veggie plan, there are no gluten-free, vegan, or low-calorie meals.
To get started with HelloFresh, just choose from the three-available meal plans and pick your serving size. Then, you can select the specific meals you want to receive each week. There is even a convenient app to make this process easier.
Many people appreciate that the packaging of HelloFresh can go straight from box to fridge, making the unpacking a breeze.
If you are looking to save some money when signing up with HelloFresh, use coupon code HF40NOW to save $40 on your first two boxes.
Plated
On average, Plated works out to cost $11.95 per person. Although it is not the cheapest meal plan on the market, it is a favorite among those who care about the quality of their ingredients. Plus, each week there are 14 dinner options to choose from. This is a wider variety than average, which gives home cooks plenty of choice.
If you’re trying to feed your entire family, you won’t have any trouble finding several meals that everyone will love. You can narrow down meal options by searching for gluten-free, vegetarian, or low-calorie meals. There are usually one or two dessert options per week, but there are no breakfast, lunch, or snack options available.
To order from Plated, you’ll need to decide how often you want to have meals delivered. You can have up to four deliveries each week, and each meal can offer two, three, or four servings apiece. Everything arrives in an insulated box, and there is no signature required for delivery.
Currently, Plated is offering 25 percent off your first order and the following three weeks if you sign up before May 31. Delivery restrictions may apply, so consult Plated’s website to make sure this deal applies to you.
Freshly
For families who want access to a vast variety of meals each week, Freshly is a fantastic option. Each week, you’ll be able to choose from 25 unique entrees as well as five breakfasts. For busy families on the go, this makes it easier than ever to meal plan for the week. The more meals you order each week, the more affordable each meal will be. By opting for 12 meals each week, the cost is just $8.99 per serving.
Getting started with Freshly means deciding how many meals you would like to have delivered each week. You can pick the exact number of servings, which makes it more convenient for families with more than four people. You can also opt for five servings of one meal, and then just two or three for the next. There is plenty of flexibility. All the meals also state common allergens so that you can choose the right fit for your family. Prep time is relatively quick for each meal, with breakfasts being incredibly fast.