Meal kit delivery services can make it easier to eat healthfully.
Coming up with something to cook every night of the week can be a daunting task. Add a spouse or kids into the mix and suddenly you’re trying to satisfy a handful of palates, preferences and dietary restrictions. If you’re overwhelmed, we can’t blame you. But there is a solution. Meal delivery services dispatch fresh ingredients and new recipes to your door each week, and they can even help you meet your dietary goals with weight loss options, vegan or vegetarian picks and the like. Rather than try each and every kit to find one you love, we’ve done some legwork for you by researching the best healthy meal kits on the market today. And if "healthy" isn't your key focus, you can also check out our list of the best overall meal kits on the market.
A meal kit delivery service can be surprisingly affordable, some offer dishes for as little as $5 per serving, and they make cooking a variety of entrees a no-brainer. Review weekly menus, select your number of meals per week and a mail-order healthy meal kit box will arrive on your doorstep within a few days. And just like that, you'll be ready to eat home-cooked meals that you’ll feel good about. These chef-crafted meals even eliminate the need for grocery shopping and the urge to order takeout. Don’t have time to prep a fresh meal at all? There are prepared meal delivery services too!
With so many different meal kits on the market, it can be tough to decide where to start. That’s where I come in. I’ve been writing about food and cooking for many years now, have a degree from the French Culinary Institute and have worked for various food publications. I'm also a mom, with an active teen and tween I cook for daily. If you’ve got a big family to feed, you might be interested in our reviews of the best family meal kits. Read on for my picks for best healthy meal kits, and scroll down to see how I tested and ultimately chose the winners.
Update, Jan. 23, 2025:We checked all product prices and availability. Our number one pick for best healthy meal delivery service remains unchanged.
Weekly menu choices: 70+ recipes | Diet choices: Chef favorites, wellness, family-friendly, fast and easy, vegetarian | Skill level: Beginner | Taste: 7/10
Blue Apron won the overall nutrition-conscious meal delivery kit because its "Wellness" category features lots of recipes designed in collaboration with nutritionists, each meal under 600 calories, and many are WW (formerly Weight Watchers)-approved and include information about how many WW points are in each meal. Three meals per week for four people costs $125 (or $9.49 per serving) plus a $10.99 shipping fee. You may order a maximum of four servings per meal and up to four meals per week.
I felt very efficient using a Blue Apron kit for weeknight dinners. Plus, I liked the variety of the weekly menu options, which could be tailored to a specific dietary restriction. In terms of flavor, I found these meals to be average overall, with the proteins rating lower in quality than expected, and therefore the meals themselves were bland. But I really appreciated the easy, clear instructions — and the fact that I was able to put dinner on the table relatively quickly.
The instructions were easy to follow and execute. For the most part, I was able to prepare the meals in the time suggested. This kit is appropriate for cooks of all skill levels and any home chef.
There are 70-plus weekly options on the rotating menu that range from fast and easy to vegetarian to wellness and beyond. The weekly menus also include add-on items like breakfast kits, à la carte proteins and party-friendly appetizers and desserts.
Over 85% of Blue Apron packaging is recyclable by weight, and its website provides easy-to-understand recycling instructions for specific components. However, I wished the packaging had featured allergen and ingredient labeling, rather than directing me to the website.
Read my full review of the Blue Apron delivery service.
Weekly menu options: 30+ recipes | Diet choices: Omnivore, plant-based, pescatarian, quick and easy, family-friendly, under 650 calories | Skill level: Intermediate | Taste: 8/10
HelloFresh was our overall favorite customizable delivery service because it’s a nice balance of all the important factors: a variety of calorie-conscious recipes that are easy to follow and family-friendly.
The Fit & Wholesome plan offers a selection of dietitian-approved meals that are about 650 calories each. We also appreciated the ability to customize meals for dietary preference. For example, if you prefer shrimp to fish, you can swap out the protein. Plus, the generous portion sizes mean you can (and will want to!) eat the leftovers for lunch the next day.
It costs $10 per serving if you order meals for four people (less if you can lay your hands on a promo code). Three meals per week for four people costs $130.
There are 30+ options per week, with the ability to filter recipes by the following categories and dietary restrictions: Omnivore, plant-based, pescatarian, quick and easy, family-friendly and under 650 calories. You may order a maximum of four servings per meal and up to six meals per week. Some meals took longer to prep than what the recipe cards estimated and were occasionally too much work at the end of a long day. However, some of the portion sizes were generous and could be saved for lunch the next day. We recommend this kit for cooks with at least some experience.
Most of the packaging is recyclable, plus the company determines each order’s most efficient ice levels and box sizes to ensure that each delivery vehicle can carry more boxes and produce fewer carbon emissions.
Read my full review of the HelloFresh meal delivery service.
Weekly menu options: 35+ recipes | Diet choices: Calorie-conscious, carb-conscious, vegetarian, easy-prep, under 30 minutes | Skill level: Beginner | Taste: 7/10
Home Chef earned most flexible meal kit because it offers meals for every scenario you might face in a week. Whether you want a meal on the table in 15, 30, 45 or more minutes, you will find a solution that works. Starting at $7.99 per serving (depending on the type of kit), three meals for four people costs $131 per week, which includes shipping. You may order a maximum of six servings per meal and up to four meals per week.
Home Chef is very solutions-oriented. It's certainly the meal kit delivery service we would turn to when faced with a variety of weeknight schedule quirks. Across the board, the recipes were easy to follow and the meals were flavorful, if not adventurous. Most meal prep times were accurate and none of the steps were particularly complicated. Even novice cooks could make any of the meals we tested.
There are about 35 menu options to choose from each week with familiar flavors inspired by global cuisine (Italian, Tex-Mex, Greek, American classics, etc.). They do not cater to specific dietary restrictions, though some vegetarian/plant-based recipes were available. There was an option to filter recipes by the following categories: Calorie-conscious, carb-conscious, vegetarian and under 30 minutes.
All three meals we tried seemed reasonably healthy and tasty. One tester said the Japanese-Style Steak Tacos were the best meal they had cooked in a while. We tried the Souvlaki Greek-Style Chicken one night, which is a version of a dinner I make two or three times a month anyway, which is to say that many of the options are perfect for newer cooks and perhaps a bit too familiar to more experienced ones.
Most of the packaging is recyclable.
Read my full review of the Home Chef meal delivery service.
Weekly menu options: 31 recipes | Diet choices: Customer favorites, 30 minutes or less, vegetarian, vegan, omnivore, pescatarian | Skill level: Beginner | Taste: 7/10
EveryPlate earned best nutritional info for its transparency. It has familiar, flavorful recipes that are quick to make and budget-friendly. Three meals per week for four people costs $72 (including shipping), or $5.99 per serving — less if you use a promo code. You may order a maximum of six servings per meal and up to six meals per week.
EveryPlate's recipes may not be super sophisticated or feature 12 ingredients in each dish, but that’s exactly what you want when you have to feed a crowd of hungry people who are looking for familiar flavors. You’ll save time and money and will likely have leftovers. Full nutritional estimates per serving on a Nutrition Facts Panel can be downloaded five days before the products arrive by clicking on “View complete nutritional info” on each recipe detail page as well as allergen information on recipe cards and/or ingredient packaging.
Some prep times turned out to be longer than advertised, but there are only six steps in any given recipe, making EveryPlate a good choice for even the most reluctant cooks.
With 26 menu options to choose from each week, you're bound to find a few that appeal (although some dishes were too creamy and didn’t seem healthy enough to eat frequently). There is no catering to specific dietary restrictions, though some vegetarian options were available. You may order a maximum of four servings per meal and up to six meals per week. Most of the packaging is recyclable.
Read my full review of the EveryPlate meal delivery service.
Weekly menu options: 70+ recipes | Diet choices: Keto, paleo, Mediterranean, vegan, vegetarian, "Fast & Fit," gluten-free | Skill level: Beginner | Taste: 9/10
We easily rated GreenChef best organic and sustainable meal kit because it took the work out of putting meals on the table with mostly organic ingredients, including keto-friendly options. (Looking for more keto meal kits? We’ve got you covered.) It also allowed us to choose based on various dietary restrictions. Three meals per week for four people costs $150 (including shipping), or $12.99 per serving. You may order a maximum of six servings per meal and up to four meals per week.
I preferred GreenChef's vegetarian meals to the omnivore dishes I tried, and I found them appealing enough to continue eating them for lunch the next day. I appreciated the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) designation. After consulting with registered dietitian Jaclyn London, I was left wondering about the nutritional value of some of the marinades and sauces. She advises that in order to make choices that match your goal, you must carefully review the nutrients of packaged marinades, glazes and sauces in meal kits for high sodium levels and added sugar.
The directions were clear and easy to follow, though I would have liked a tip on which size pan to use. The protein provided for the chicken dish we tried was cut into small, uneven pieces, which resulted in overcooking. However, this kit is good for cooks of all levels.
There are 24 organic meals to choose from each week across categories including keto + paleo, vegan, vegetarian, Fast & Fit, Mediterranean and gluten-free. GreenChef also offers a high-protein plan. The weekly menus also offer a couple of 10-minute lunch kits.
The meals my family tried were a mix of vegetarian and omnivore recipes (all featuring organic produce). We loved the taste of both and found that the flavors were much more complex than our usual weeknight go-tos.
GreenChef boasts a 100% offset of the direct carbon emissions and plastic from every box sold. Most of the packaging components are recyclable, depending on what types of items your community recycling system supports. We found the allergen labeling clear and helpful.
Read my full review of the GreenChef meal delivery service.
Weekly menu options: 16 recipes along with menus for breakfast (4) and lunch (4) | Diet choices: Vegetarian, vegan, soy-free, gluten-free, nut-free | Skill level: Beginner | Taste: 8/10
The spot for best vegetarian/vegan meal delivery service easily went to Purple Carrot, which offers a variety of vegetarian meals that are satisfying and flavorful. Three meals per week for four people costs $132 (including shipping), or $11 per serving. You may order a maximum of four servings per meal and up to four meals per week.
For vegan meals, Purple Carrot's pricing seems a bit high, but the quality, freshness and variety of recipes were better than that of other meal kits we tried — and the meals packed in all the fresh produce we were looking for. Overall, Purple Carrot helped my family get out of our weeknight dinner rut, and we would probably try it every few months for that reason. We loved the flavors and textures and found the recipes to be a nice change of pace from our usual home-cooked dinners.
There are roughly 24 menu choices per week, ranging from breakfast to dinner. There are also categories based on dietary restrictions such as soy-free, gluten-free and nut-free. These recipes took a bit longer to cook than the instructions suggested but could easily be prepared by most home cooks.
The majority of the packaging components are recyclable, depending on what types of items your community recycling system supports. You can read more about our thoughts on Purple Carrot in our review of this meal kit.
Weekly menu options: 100+ recipes | Diet choices: Kid-friendly, dairy-free, under 30 minutes, vegetarian, low-carb | Skill level: Beginner | Taste: 7/10
Dinnerly is our best budget healthy meal kit when it comes to going low-calorie and low-carb. Though portions were on the smaller side, the recipes were easy to follow, and the price can’t be beat. Three meals per week for four people costs $86, or $7 per serving, including shipping. You may order a maximum of four servings per meal and up to six meals per week.
There were more than 100 meal options to try each week across categories like kid-friendly, dairy-free, under 30 minutes, vegetarian and more. The weekly menus also include breakfast options, as well as party-friendly appetizers and desserts. Teenagers could probably get these meals on the table. That’s how easy the recipes are to follow and execute, none with more than six steps. Most dishes came with only five ingredients, making even the greenest of cooks feel like chefs.
Dinnerly does not include recipe cards but rather directs you to a digital recipe card for instructions. Most of the streamlined packaging is recyclable.
Read my full review of the Dinnerly meal delivery service.
Weekly menu options: 18 recipes along with premade meals and snacks | Diet choices: Paleo, vegan, pescatarian, dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, diabetes-friendly | Skill level: Beginner | Taste: 7/10
Sunbasket is not the cozy sweatpants of meal kits. Most options recipes were pretty healthy and nutritionally dense with organic produce and sustainable proteins wherever possible. My kids are fairly adventurous and sophisticated when it comes to flavors, but some options from Sunbasket were a reach. I’ll say this though, they’re not as boring as other brands I’ve tried.
There are lots of vegetarian options to which you can add on meat, poultry or fish or leave as is and more than the usual number of fish and seafood choices from meal kit services. What struck me in particular was the elevated prices of the kits that contained animal proteins. The pricing structure is a bit different as the servings don't get cheaper as you order more meals. At up to $18 per serving, this is not a budget-conscious offering. You can order two to four meals per week for two to four people each.
I found the recipe cards with instructions easy to follow and the prep times accurate. The website offers full nutrition and allergen info and also gives suggestions for which cooking steps kids could help with. While there was a lot of packaging in each box, I understand that most of it is recyclable or compostable. Unfortunately, some of the containers of ingredients had burst open in my delivery and were leaking. A call to Sunbasket customer service earned me a 50% refund.
For this review, I personally tested the seven most popular meal kits at dinner with my family — the ones you’ve probably already heard of — and evaluated them based on the following criteria:
Menu choices/nutritional value, because you want a good variety of recipes and quality ingredients that fit your dietary needs (such as plant-based, keto or gluten-free concerns) and can help you stick to your healthy eating goals.
Subscription price, because everyone has different budgets.
Ease of use, because you’re getting a meal kit to make your life easier, so you don’t want anything too complicated or time-consuming.
Taste, because, above all, you want to eat delicious meals!
Packaging: Is there too much? Too little? Is it putting too much waste into the world? We factored this into our reviews.
We tested all the best healthy meal delivery services hands-on. In selecting the top picks, I considered feedback from other on-staff meal kit testers in order to get a variety of opinions — from a family with both an infant and a tween, to a family of three vegetarians, to a family of five. I also received input from Facebook Groups devoted to meal kits, along with expert advice from Jaclyn London, a New York City-based registered dietitian.
Every healthy meal kit we reviewed has different strengths and weaknesses. Some are very easy, others offer more variety, some are great for families, and others are geared toward vegetarians.
Meal kits are meals that are delivered to your home in a box. Unlike fully prepared meals or grocery delivery, they contain premeasured, high-quality ingredients and an accompanying recipe, enabling you to create a fresh-cooked meal at home without having to run to the grocery store or measure your own ingredients. You can usually order a meal kit to come between one and seven days per week, and you'll find services that offer meals for two, four and, with a few services, even more people.
A weight lifted off your shoulders! With each delivery of preportioned ingredients and recipes that may feed two, four or more people, you won't have to worry about what’s for dinner. There are healthy food options to suit every budget, cuisine and dietary need. These companies generally allow you to filter meals by your dietary preferences (omnivore, vegan, gluten-free, pescatarian, carb-conscious, etc.), ease of use and time constraints. You can usually choose your delivery day and even add extras like portions of protein, breakfast foods and quick lunches.
Most meal kit companies offer major discounts to first-time customers, making it very affordable to try a bunch before you commit (or don’t) to any one meal plan. All you have to do is take advantage of any one of these offers and then mark your calendar with an alert for the date by which you must cancel the subscription service.
We received complimentary samples of some meal delivery services and purchased others ourselves, but reviewed all with the same criteria.