Are you tired of the daily dinner dilemma or overwhelmed by lengthy meal preparation? It might be time to explore meal delivery services. These services offer a convenient solution by delivering pre-made meals or perfectly portioned ingredients with easy-to-follow recipes right to your doorstep. Experts suggest that these services can reduce grocery expenses, alleviate meal planning stress, and enhance your cooking skills, all while accommodating specific dietary needs like pescatarian or gluten-free options.
To help you choose the best meal delivery service, we consulted chefs, nutritionists, and recipe developers about the essential factors to consider. We also highlight top picks that have been thoroughly tested and reviewed, along with expert-recommended options.
Top Meal Delivery Services
Here's a quick look at some of the best options available:
- Best Prepared Meals Overall: CookUnity
- Best Meal Kit Service Overall: Home Chef
- Best Prepared Meals with Variety: Factor
- Best for Beginners: Blue Apron
How to Choose the Best Meal Delivery Service
When selecting a meal kit delivery service, consider these essential features:
Serving Size: Determine the number of people you need to feed and ensure the service offers appropriate serving sizes. Single-serve pre-prepared meals are ideal for individuals, while customizable plans with multiple servings (typically two to eight) are better for families or partners.
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Dietary Restrictions: If you have dietary restrictions such as gluten-free, vegetarian, or vegan, choose a service that provides a variety of options to meet those needs.
Customizability: For picky eaters or those who prefer variety, select meal delivery services with a weekly rotating menu and customizable features like portion size, and the amount and type of protein in each meal.
Pricing: Meal kit delivery service prices vary based on meal quality, ingredients, delivery frequency, the number of people you're cooking for, and the specific meal plan. Budget-friendly services may not cater to all dietary restrictions, while specialized options typically cost more.
Delivery Dates and Times: Consider your availability to receive deliveries to avoid spoilage. Most services offer customizable delivery plans, allowing you to choose delivery days and pause or skip weeks as needed.
Our Testing Methodology
To determine the best meal delivery services, we evaluated several factors:
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Serving Size: We assessed whether the service accommodates multiple servings, considering that some editors cook for themselves and partners or families, while others cook for one.
Prep Time: We evaluated the time required to cook or heat up meals and whether it was suitable for busy schedules. All recommended services offer easy-to-follow recipes and take less than an hour to prepare or under 10 minutes to heat up.
Price: We tested options across various price points, with most falling within the $10-$12 per meal range.
Dietary Restrictions: We assessed services that cater to different diets, including gluten-free and pescatarian, and evaluated the taste of the food.
Shipping and Packaging: We considered how meals are packaged, how packaging aids in meal preparation, and whether shipping is quick, easy, and painless.
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Top Meal Delivery Services of 2025
Here are some of the best meal delivery services, based on testing, expert recommendations, and staff favorites:
CookUnity: Best Prepared Meal Delivery Service Overall
CookUnity is a favorite among our staff, offering multiple plans with subscriptions ranging from four to 16 meals per week. The service provides a rotating menu of ready-made options or allows CookUnity to choose meals based on preferences and dietary restrictions like vegetarian, vegan, low-carb, and gluten-free. You can also flag allergies or disliked foods.
Reviewers found CookUnity's pre-made meals varied, delicious, and suitable for various dietary restrictions. Former NBC Select social commerce editor Sadhana Daruvuri notes that CookUnity helped her enjoy a variety of delicious meals while spending about the same amount she previously spent on groceries.
NBC Select SEO editor Nikki Brown also appreciates CookUnity, receiving six meals each week. She enjoys browsing and selecting her meals, comparing it to grocery shopping without the hassle of carts or bags.
NBC Select reporter Zoe Malin highlights the convenience of CookUnity, noting that the meals arrive at her door at the beginning of the week, making dinner stress-free. However, she mentions that some meals require more prep work, such as removing components like kale salad or coleslaw before microwaving.
CookUnity meals are packaged in a reusable bag that can be returned to the company. The meals are fresh and have a refrigerated shelf life of four to seven days.
Home Chef: Best Meal Kit Overall
Home Chef's weekly rotating menu includes over 30 meals to choose from, with options like 15-minute meal kits, grill- and oven-ready kits, and special occasion meals. Before ordering, a quiz personalizes your menu based on tastes, serving size, and delivery preferences. Each meal listing includes an estimated preparation time. The customizability and the ability to choose the amount and type of protein make this service a standout.
Factor: Best Prepared Meals with Variety
Factor offers a rotating weekly menu of over 30 pre-made meals catering to various dietary needs and preferences, including keto, paleo, low-carb, vegetarian, plant-based, and high protein. Plans range from four to 18 meals per week, and Factor offers complimentary consultations with registered dietitians.
Ariane Resnick, a special diet chef and certified nutritionist, appreciates Factor's reasonable pricing, dietitian-approved meals, and diverse dietary options. Factor's meals are ready in under 10 minutes and can be heated in their disposable containers.
Blue Apron: Best for Beginners
Blue Apron offers weekly menu items based on your selected meal plan. Options include a signature plan with chef-favorite recipes, a vegetarian plan, and a wellness plan with nutritionist-approved, carb-conscious recipes. While Blue Apron requires some cooking skills, Leonard recommends it for beginner cooks who want to develop their basic skills.
Blue Apron also offers over 30 pre-made meal options per week. These meals are easy to prepare, ready in under five minutes when microwaved, and taste homemade. However, the brand does not cater to many dietary restrictions like gluten-free and keto.
Splendid Spoon: Best for Healthy Eaters
Splendid Spoon offers over 50 healthy ready-made meals and snacks, including smoothies, soups, noodle bowls, and dishes, all of which are gluten-free. Your cart is automatically filled with bestsellers, but you can manually swap in your favorites.
Resnick recommends Splendid Spoon for those who want healthy meals quickly, noting the selection of juices and smoothies. Although you can't pick the number of meals per plan, Splendid Spoon lets you customize the frequency of meal deliveries: weekly, every other week, or monthly.
HelloFresh: Best for Families
HelloFresh is a popular meal kit delivery service with easy-to-follow recipes, varied meal options, and great-tasting food. The service offers a mix of dishes in its weekly rotating menu, appealing to everyone in the family.
You can customize your weekly meal settings by selecting from six preferences: Quick & Easy, Pescatarian, Family-Friendly, Fit & Wholesome, Veggie, and Chef’s Choice/Meat & Veggie. The service accommodates several dietary restrictions. Malin, who tried the service for a week, was impressed by how many HelloFresh meals fit her gluten-free and pescatarian diet.
You’ll automatically receive meals that fall under your specific preferences, or you can choose the meals you want each week. You can also swap proteins and sides if the weekly recipes don’t quite fit your preferences. The service offers 14 veggie meals (including up to two vegan meals) in its Classic Plan each week.
Sunbasket: Best Gluten-Free
Sunbasket offers both ingredient-based meal kits and pre-made meals, all made with high-quality ingredients and organic produce. You can choose from 10 meal plans, including chef’s choice recipes, pre-made Fresh & Ready meals, and paleo, gluten-free, vegetarian, and diabetes-friendly options. The Fresh & Ready option offers single-serve meals that can be heated in the oven or microwave in just a few minutes. The service lets you mix and match over a dozen meals from its weekly rotating menu.
Malin, who follows a gluten-free and pescatarian diet, found plenty of delicious dishes to choose from. Resnick and Lisa Moskovitz, a registered dietitian and CEO of NY Nutrition Group, recommend Sunbasket as their top choice for healthy meal kits, noting the variety of options that can be modified for both carnivores and plant-based eaters.
EveryPlate: Best Affordable
EveryPlate’s meal options offer variety and fulfill most cravings. The recipes are easy to follow.
When choosing your plan, you can highlight specific dietary and meal preferences, including veggie, quick and easy, and family-friendly. Based on those preferences, the service will show you the most relevant recipes first, while still providing access to all recipes on the weekly menu.
Purple Carrot: Best Vegan
Resnick calls Purple Carrot’s meal kits a "wonderful blend of familiar and innovative." The fully plant-based meals make it easy to add more plant foods into diets without fully converting to veganism.
Additional Healthy Meal Kit Options
- Green Chef: Known for being a CCOF-certified organic meal kit delivery service.
- Sakara: A wellness-focused meal delivery and supplement brand.
- Gardencup: Specializes in salads and bowls packaged in plastic jars.
- Trifecta: Popular in the CrossFit community, offering meals designed with registered dietitians.
- Dinnerly: A simple and affordable meal delivery service with a large weekly menu.
- BistroMD: Focuses on nutritious prepared meals specifically designed for weight loss.
- Gobble: Known for fast prep times.
- Hungryroot: A meal delivery service that's also an online grocer.
- Marley Spoon: Known for partnership with Martha Stewart.
What to Look for in a Healthy Meal Delivery Service
When choosing a healthy meal delivery service, consider the following factors:
- Variety: Look for a service that offers a wide variety of meal options to prevent boredom and ensure you're getting a range of nutrients.
- Ingredients: Opt for services that use fresh, high-quality ingredients, and ideally, organic produce.
- Nutritional Value: Check the nutritional information for each meal to ensure it aligns with your dietary goals and preferences.
- Customization: Choose a service that allows you to customize your meals based on your dietary needs and preferences.
- Convenience: Consider the ease of preparation and the overall convenience of the service.
- Cost: Compare the prices of different services to find one that fits your budget.