When life gets hectic, getting a home-cooked meal on the table can be a begrudging part of your to-do list. A fully prepared meal delivery service may be the answer.
If you're feeling the pull to spend less time meal planning and grocery shopping, you're not alone. One study reports that the average American spends about 37 minutes a day preparing, serving and cleaning up after their meals — which is even less appealing when you're in a serious cooking rut. In that case, there's nothing wrong with taking the easy way out and ordering healthy, delicious and fully prepared meals delivered right to your door. There are tons of companies offering ready-to-eat meals that conform to dietary restrictions, and we've taken all of the guesswork out for you by narrowing the field to the best prepared meal delivery services on the market.
Lots of fully premade meal delivery services are surprisingly affordable. Some offer subscriptions for as little as $8 per serving (the more you order per week, the lower the cost per meal) and make eating nutritious meals a no-brainer. You can review the weekly menus, select your dishes and then, presto — a mail-order box will arrive on your doorstep within a few days. You'll be able to heat up a dinner that you feel good about and that doesn't require any prep work.
There are so many different heat-and-eat meals on the market, that it's tough to decide where to start. From meal kits for weight loss to those on a keto diet, and much more, there's a lot to choose from. That's where I come in. I hold a degree from the French Culinary Institute and have years of experience editing and writing for various food publications. I'm also a mom with an active teen and tween whom I cook for daily. I personally tested the best prepared meal delivery services on this list with my family, plus I worked with our in-house team of testers to evaluate the services based on menu and dietary selections, flavor, cost, presentation, ease of preparation and eco-friendliness. Read on to see our top picks for best prepared meal delivery services of 2025.
Hungry for more? These are the best meal kit delivery services and the best healthy meal kit delivery services for 2025.
Update, Jan. 23, 2025: We checked all product prices and availability. Our number one pick for the best prepared meal delivery service remains unchanged. We're currently testing Daily Harvest and will update this story again with the results.
Weekly menu options: 25+ | Diet choices: Paleo, Whole30, keto, Mediterranean, low-carb, low-calorie, plant-based, performance-nutrition | Taste: 8/10
Territory combines nutritionist input with creative recipes from local chefs to produce meals made in localized commercial kitchens. You can filter meals by categories like Paleo, Whole30, keto, Mediterranean, low-carb, low-calorie, plant-based, ingredients you want to avoid, and meals under a certain number of calories or sodium levels.
First off, we appreciate that all Territory meals are made without refined sugar, dairy or gluten. I did not tell any of my testers what was not in the meals, and no one noticed or found them lacking in flavor or texture. The consensus was these are healthy meals with fresh ingredients that take the pressure off of dinner on busy weeknights. We would have been happy eating some of them weekly, especially when the temptation to pick up takeout strikes.
Territory meals start at $11 each. One delivery of eight meals a week is $130 (less if you use a promo code). In most regions, deliveries will incur a flat shipping charge of $11. If you receive two deliveries a week, that cost will double. For national shipping, the cost can range from $12 to $18 per week based on UPS two-day shipping rates in your area.
There are 40-plus menu options per week, and you may order a maximum of 24 meals per week. Some meals are ready to eat cold and do not require heating. For most other meals, you can microwave according to package instructions.
We gave Territory an 8/10 for taste, and we found ourselves looking for these meals in the fridge instead of turning to less-healthy quick meal options. That's a win in the taste category. To boot, most of the packaging is recyclable. You can find specific information about recycling the packaging here.
Weekly menu options: 35+ | Diet choices: Keto, carb-conscious, vegan or vegetarian, calorie-smart, protein plus | Taste: 7/10
If you're trying to maintain a keto diet plan, Factor may be your best bet when it comes to fully prepared meal delivery services. The meals are packed with protein and flavor and are ready to eat in minutes.
Factor was our overall favorite prepared meal delivery service for keto-friendly meals because it offers flavorful dishes (think Tex-Mex, Indian, Thai and more), a variety of options to satisfy dietary restrictions such as keto and preferences such as protein plus. If you're seeking lots of protein but can't stand the idea of plain chicken or beef at every meal, give Factor a go.
Factor meals start at $11 each. A box of 12 meals (including shipping) costs $143.88 without any promotion.
There are 35-plus meal choices per week, with the ability to filter recipes by diets and dietary restrictions like keto, vegan or vegetarian, calorie-smart, protein plus and more. À la carte options include breakfasts, snacks, smoothies and portions of fully cooked proteins. You may order a maximum of 18 meals per week. Most meals are microwavable and ready in less than three minutes.
When you have a high protein goal in mind and you get bored of the same flavors at every meal, these dishes will spice things up and make mealtimes more exciting. Plus, most of the packaging is recyclable. You can learn about how to recycle Factor's packaging here.
Read my full review on the Factor meal delivery service. And read up on other keto meal delivery services we recommend.
Weekly menu options: 30+ | Diet choices: Vegan and vegetarian, wheat-free, nut-free and no sugar added | Taste: 6/10
Mosaic Foods offers lots of easy options for people who eat vegan, vegetarian and plant-based meals. With almost no effort, you'll have balanced and nutritious meals on the table. Our vegan tester reported that he and his family enjoyed some of the meals, but not all, and found that when they heated them up in a skillet on the stovetop, the results were better.
Mosaic meals start at $8 each. A box of 12 meals is roughly $129.88, including shipping. Bonus: Mosaic Foods offers a "100% Guarantee," meaning if you don't love your meals, the company will issue a full refund, no questions asked.
Most meals can be zapped in the microwave in under five minutes. Family Meals are oven-ready, which means no hands-on work for you, but you'll need about an hour's lead time to heat these through. To prep the smoothies, you simply empty the contents of the prepared cup into a blender with your liquid of choice (e.g., oat milk or water) and blend.
There are 40-plus menu choices per week, ranging from smoothies to family-size meals to veggie bowls. There are also categories based on dietary preference such as wheat-free, nut-free and no sugar added. You may order a maximum of 18 items per week.
As far as taste goes, we were happy to have a change of pace from our usual home-cooked dinners and leftovers but weren't wowed by these.
We were impressed, however, that 100% of Mosaic's packaging is either curbside recyclable or made with post-consumer recycled fiber. You can learn more about the company's sustainability efforts here.
Curious about other plant-based options? We rounded up the best vegan meal delivery services and the best vegetarian meal delivery services too.
Price: $11-$13.50 per meal | Weekly menu options: 100+ | Diet choices: Paleo, keto, Mediterranean, gluten-free, pescatarian, vegetarian and vegan | Taste: 10/10
CookUnity delivers chef-crafted meals inspired by a variety of global flavors to your home in a way that none of the other meal delivery services do. This is seriously good food. We tried omnivore, pescatarian and plant-based dishes in categories like American, Indian, Vietnamese, Italian, West African and more, and there wasn't a single dud in the bunch. I was so impressed with the high-quality shrimp and fish dishes in particular, as those are notoriously challenging to reheat without turning into cardboard.
The price for these meals starts at $11 per meal, and a box of 12 meals costs about $135, including shipping, which varies depending on your location.
There are more than 40 new dishes to choose from each week that you can filter by paleo, vegetarian, vegan, keto and Mediterranean, if you wish. In addition, you can filter by dairy-free, low-sodium, low-carb, less than 600 calories and gluten-free meals. The weekly menus also feature breakfast options, snacks, dips, dressings, desserts and pressed juices. You can order up to 16 meals per week and most meals we tried were microwavable and ready in under four minutes.
These were the most delicious meals we tried. The quality of fresh, high-quality ingredients and diversity of flavors were remarkable. Another perk: CookUnity meal trays are industrially compostable, so if you have access to an industrial compost bin or organization, you can recycle them there. Otherwise, you can clean and recycle your trays with other paper materials. Learn more about their sustainability here.
Every heat-and-eat food delivery service has different strengths and weaknesses in their meal plans. Some offer more variety, some are great for families and others are geared toward vegetarians and those who prefer plant-based diets. When choosing the best prepared meal delivery service for your needs, you'll want to keep the following things in mind:
Subscription price, because everyone has a different budget.
Ease of use, because you're getting a meal to make your life easier, so you don't want anything too complicated or time-consuming.
Menu choices, because you want a good variety of meals, flavors and ingredients.
Taste, because above all, you want your dinner to be yummy!
Packaging. Is there too much? Too little? Is it putting out too much waste into the world? We factored this into our reviews and rankings.
In order to find the best prepared meal delivery services out there, we first reviewed Facebook groups devoted to discussing meal kits and gained expert advice from Jaclyn London, a New York City-based registered dietitian. We then tested the top 15 prepared meal services, evaluating each based on various criteria, such as cost, flavor profiles, dietary-specific needs such as allergies or trending diets (keto, Paleo, Mediterranean), ease of ordering, shipping efficiency and eco-friendliness.
A sigh of relief! No more grocery shopping and you won't have to worry about what's for dinner, or lunch, or any meal that stresses you out. There are options to suit every budget and dietary need, including picky eaters. These companies generally allow you to filter meals by dietary restriction, special diet or preference (omnivore, vegan or plant-based, gluten-free, pescatarian, low-calorie, heart-healthy, etc.). You can usually choose your delivery day and even add on extras like portions of fully cooked protein, breakfast foods, snacks and desserts.
With the market flooded with meals, choosing the right food delivery service can feel overwhelming. Don't worry — we tested loads of them so we could recommend the best meal delivery service of 2025 that's just right for you. Because each brand has its own points of difference with offerings for people focused on everything from allergies to wellness to weight loss, you're sure to find one that suits your needs. If weight loss is your primary goal, we have a roundup of the best weight-loss meal delivery services that cater to low-calorie diets.
Most prepared meal delivery companies offer major discounts to first-time customers or a number of meals for free, making it very affordable to try a bunch before you commit (or don't) to any one 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.
Jaclyn London, MS, RD, CN is a New York City-based registered dietitian. She is an adjunct professor of nutrition at Touro College and previously served as senior clinical dietitian at The Mount Sinai Hospital.
We received complimentary samples of some meal delivery services and purchased others ourselves and reviewed all with the same criteria.