Mar 16, 2024 12:00 PM

The Best Meal Kit Delivery Services for Every Kind of Cook

From Blue Apron to Dinnerly, meal kits cater to a range of diets and budgets. I've spent months cooking with boxed ingredients shipped to my door.

If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIRED

Featured in this article

Prepared meals in dishes from Blue Apron meal subscription service.

Image may contain Food Lunch Meal Box Cardboard Carton Bread and Produce

home chef box filled with fruit and veggies

4 / 13

Trying to choose the best meal kit delivery service? It's easy to feel overwhelmed by all the options. Whether you're going vegan, cooking for a family of six, or are a complete newbie in the kitchen, there's probably a service that caters to your needs. Some meal kits provide ingredients paired with recipes, while others send groceries or premade meals. All of them are meant to make the process of planning and cooking meals more convenient.

I've spent a couple of years testing more than two dozen meal kits. Few are outright bad, so go with whatever seems like the best fit for your way of life. I'm an experienced home cook, and I don't have dietary restrictions, but I looked for plant-based meals along with more omnivorous options. I also had help taste-testing from lifelong vegans, finicky children, and my cat (by accident). Taking into account the recipes, ingredients, ease of use, amount of packaging waste, and the fact that every home chef has different needs, I recommend the services below.

Updated March 2024: We adjusted pricing and added more tips to help you decide whether meal kits are right for you. We've also added links to weekly menus.

Special offer for Gear readers: Get WIRED for just $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com, full Gear coverage, and subscriber-only newsletters. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.

Photograph: Blue Apron
Best for Most People
Blue Apron Meal Kit
This is the best simple, no-fuss meal kit. My colleague Adrienne So also swears by Blue Apron. The flavor and quality of each dish were great, even factoring in that some of the produce I received was bruised. The recipe cards are large and easy to follow. The service caters to lots of dietary lifestyles, it's not too expensive, and the weekly menus have plenty of choices. The company has partnered with How2Recycle, which teaches you how to recycle the various packaging materials found in your shipment. It's an excellent resource for anyone subscribing to meal kits, which have a reputation for being environmentally unfriendly.
This service is straightforward, meaning if you want to hone your chef skills or make impressive meals, opt for something else.
Plan Details: The weekly menus have a heavy focus on Mediterranean-style meals, which feature lots of veggies and proteins. There are no specific plans for dietary requirements outside of vegetarian, but weekly menus feature a mix of recipes, including filters like vegetarian, carb-conscious, plant-forward, and sub-600 calories. There are also individual plant-based offerings, but no dedicated vegan meal plan.
Cost: The lowest price per serving is $8. The lowest subscription cost is $61 (including shipping) for two meals per week with two servings per meal.
Buy at Blue Apron (Subscription)
Buy at Amazon
Photograph: Hello Fresh
Runner-Up
HelloFresh Meal Kit
HelloFresh is a close second to Blue Apron. The recipes I've tried had great flavors, but the instructions may be difficult for inexperienced home chefs to follow. Give them a thorough read before you start cooking, lest your food grow cold before you're officially finished plating it. I like that individual recipes have tips you can use in future cooking endeavors, such as putting the cut side of Brussels sprouts down on a sheet pan to ensure they get extra crispy. Ingredients for each meal are separated into paper bags upon delivery, which keeps recipe components corralled in your fridge. Upon initial testing, I had an issue with the quality of the meat that was sent, but after long-term testing, I believe that was a fluke as I've had no problems since. Each recipe card has a QR code to get help if there's an issue with your order.
Plan Details: Weekly menus have options for vegans and vegetarians as well as omnivores. There are also filters like higher-protein, lower-carb, and lower calorie count overall. Handy notes like Dietician Picks and 20-Minute Dinner can help you decide further when selecting your meals. Some recipes allow for customization of the included sides or protein—for example, if you're not a fan of broccoli, you may be able to swap it for potatoes.
Cost: The lowest price per serving is $10. The lowest subscription cost is $57 (including shipping) for two meals per week with two servings per meal.
Buy at HelloFresh

Photograph: Dinnerly
Best Price per Meal
Dinnerly Meal Kit
Dinnerly is the most affordable grown-up meal kit we tested. The meals I tried were uncomplicated and tasty, and my potatoes weren't plastic-wrapped. The “extra credit” steps give you options to tailor each recipe, such as cooking everything in the oven if you don't feel like pan-frying or making a quick side dish using staples you probably already have in your pantry. The paperless recipes are quick and easy; however, you will need a screen to read them. For novice chefs, the recipe instructions may not be detailed enough.
Plan Details: You can choose a two-person box or a four-person box. There's no option to filter things outright, aside from making your box vegetarian, but there are keywords for each weekly menu, where you'll pick your recipes. Examples include sub-30 minutes, low-calorie, dairy-free, and kid-friendly. Choices vary depending on the week.
Cost: The lowest price per portion outside of promotional pricing is $5. The lowest subscription cost is $46 for two meals per week with two servings per meal (including a $12 shipping fee).
Buy at Dinnerly
Photograph: Home Chef
Best for Beginners
Home Chef Meal Kit
Home Chef's detailed instructions make this service perfect for beginners. If you have no clue where to start, this service might give you some culinary confidence. Recipes include reminders for things like reserving a part of an ingredient for later use or not cleaning a pan that would be used later to make a sauce. Every dish has a difficulty rating. The meals I tried were delicious. Adept cooks might find the recipes a bit of a slog to read through. It also got me addicted to asiago-stuffed Roma tomatoes, which is both a blessing and a curse.
Plan Details: The customizable weekly menu lets you filter by carb-conscious, calorie-conscious, vegetarian, and under-30-minute recipes.
Cost: The lowest price per serving is $10. The lowest subscription cost is $57 for two meals per week with two servings per meal. Shipping varies by order but is free on orders over $50.
Buy at Home Chef

Photograph: Martha Marley Spoon
Best for Expert Chefs
Martha & Marley Spoon Meal Kit
The Marley Spoon dishes I tried were indulgent, flavorful, and supremely tasty. This service was one of my favorites. The finished recipes have better flavor and aesthetics than most of the other services listed here, and I'll be saving some of them for future use. I was proud to present completed meals to my dinner partner.
However, each step in a recipe has multiple steps within it, and the recipes generally take longer than their estimates. Careful reading and preparation is key. There's a lot of multitasking involved—referencing the recipe cards now, there are pan sauce drippings splattered all over the place, corners bent in haste, and scribbles in the margins where I made adjustments. You'll have a lot of dirty dishes after cooking.
Plan Details: You can choose between a two-person plan and a four-person plan. The company offers more than 100 recipes from categories like Health & Diet, Vegetarian & Vegan, Meat & Fish, Under 30 Minutes, and Family-Friendly. Here's the weekly menu.
Cost: The lowest price per serving is $9. The lowest subscription cost is $64 for two meals per week with two servings per meal (including a $12 shipping fee).
Buy at Martha & Marley Spoon
Photograph: Purple Carrot
Best for Adventurous Vegans
Purple Carrot Meal Kit
Purple Carrot is the best option of the many plant-based meal kits on the market. The instructions for each dish won't hold your hand—it's safe to assume that most vegans know how to dice an avocado, for instance—but there are helpful disclaimers when a recipe is spicy or requires that you divide the included ingredients. Animal-free diets are prone to dullness, but Purple Carrot's menu explodes with flavor. (During my testing week, spirulina, cacao nibs, harissa, cashew cream, bok choy, ancho chiles, and tomatillos were just a few of the ingredients on the menu.) Sometimes it can feel a little over the top. If you prefer less intense flavors, the selection might not appeal to you.
Plan Details: You can choose from a two-person plan or a four-person plan. Every meal on the weekly menu is vegan. There are different options within each customizable weekly menu, so you can choose from things like high-protein, soy-free, and gluten-free. You can also opt to add breakfast and lunch to your weekly plan.
Cost: The lowest price per serving is $11. The lowest subscription cost is $80 for three meals per week with two servings per meal.
Buy at Purple Carrot

Photograph: Daily Harvest
Best for Solo Eaters
Daily Harvest Meals
The frozen soups, bowls, and other items offered by Daily Harvest are vegan and easy to supplement with your own add-ins. The ingredients are clearly listed. Minimal prep means the food is ready quickly. Frozen convenience foods are typically not the healthiest, so having a stockpile of nutritious meals in the freezer was a welcome change. While they aren't “food” per se, I especially like Daily Harvest's mylk wedges, which make it easy to whip up almond milk on an as-needed basis (like when I'm out of coffee creamer and/or fridge space).
However, the items will take up a lot of room in your freezer. You'll need to supply a liquid base and/or a blender for some meals. Folks who think about the texture of food a lot might find the general mushiness of these items unappetizing.
Plan Details: All options are vegan and there are tons of filters, ranging from keto and gluten-free to likes and dislikes based purely on taste.
Cost: Plans are doled out in single-product servings, whether that's a smoothie, a latte, a soup, pasta, or something else. The lowest price per item is $7. The lowest subscription cost is $60 for nine items per week (including a $10 shipping fee.)
Buy at Daily Harvest
Photograph: Gobble
Best for Quick Cooking
Gobble Meal Kit
Gobble made me feel like a TV chef. Nearly every ingredient ships prepared—think shredded cheese or pre-peeled carrots—so you won't need to worry about measuring. Recipes only take about 20 minutes and the basic instructions are beginner-friendly. You'll have fewer pans to wash after dinner than with other services. It's perfect for people who swear they have “no time” to cook at home. However, the extra ingredient preparation is reflected in Gobble's cost and additional packaging.
Plan Details: Choose the classic dinner plan or opt for a lean-and-clean dinner plan with low carbs and high protein. You'll need to choose between plans for two people or plans for four people. There are vegetarian options and allergens listed clearly below each available recipe on the weekly menu.
Cost: The lowest price per serving is $12. The lowest subscription cost is $68 for two meals per week with two servings per meal. Shipping adds $7.
Buy at Gobble

Photograph: Nurture Life
Best for Kids
Nurture Life Meal Kit
Nurture Life's weekly meal subscription caters to different age groups. The prepared meals are fast and easy to reheat. They're also quite filling. While the various options are good for lunch or dinner, the minimal preparation and diverse menu allow for choices that work for breakfast, snack time, and after-school feeding frenzies.
Note that the hidden veggies aren't super hidden. All but the pickiest eaters should still have plenty of menu choices each week, but if your kid freaks out at the thought of a green pea, let alone the texture, Nurture Life meals might not be the best fit.
Plan Details: Mix and match finger foods, kids' meals, snacks, and smoothies. There are filters for meals that work well for picky eaters. There aren't more specific plans than that, but each item clearly lists allergens, ingredients, and other nutritional information.
Cost: The lowest price per item is $7. The lowest subscription cost is $48 for six items per week. Shipping varies per order.
Buy at Nurture Life
Photograph: EveryPlate
More Meal Kits We Like
Other Meal Kits We Like
Green Chef ($12+ per serving) is another terrific option for beginners (also owned by HelloFresh), and it offers plenty of plans centered around different dietary restrictions. Nearly every ingredient is organic as well. The recipe instructions have easy-to-follow pictures accompanying the trickier steps, and unlike some other services, Green Chef's recipes don't jump around from component to component. For example, all of the produce is prepped at the same time. That's more intuitive (and time-saving) than other recipes I've tested.
EveryPlate ($5+ per serving) recipe cards are concise, which helps save counter space, and there are helpful notes that offer advice or different instructions if you're doubling up a recipe. (It's also another HelloFresh brand.) Some steps require some kitchen knowledge, like slicing things on a diagonal or having an idea of when a steak is done to your preference. You'll also need more pantry ingredients, like butter, flour, and milk. If you keep your kitchen stocked, EveryPlate's costs are lower than most other subscriptions.
Veestro ($10+ per serving) is another great option for vegans. The premade meals are delivered fresh; some may need to be used during the week, while others may be able to stay in the freezer. As any vegan knows, it's good to have food options in case your takeout order includes dairy-based cheese on your burger (again). The service has a lot of filters to choose from for different dietary requirements. The food itself had satisfying tastes and textures for me, an omnivore, as well as my 17-year-vegan co-tester.

Photograph: Hungry Root
Specialty Kits We Like
Other Specialty Meal Kit Services We Like
Sun Basket ($11+ per serving) offers a plethora of meal plans with an emphasis on fresh and organic ingredients. There's a wide variety offered in each weekly menu, so there's something for everyone. Some of the other meal subscriptions I tried had wilted produce or subpar flavor—Sun Basket had neither. Its dinners were full of ingredients similar to the ones I'd pick out at the store, including unblemished in-season fruits and vegetables. Aside from nutritious dinners, you can also add on things like coconut yogurt, seed butter, sous vide egg bites, soups, and snacks like chocolate nuts and crickets. (If you're wondering, yes, the crickets were awesome.) Dietary filters allow for options such as Mediterranean and pescatarian, plus allergens. You can add items like jerky, dips, sauces, and sweets to your weekly shipment. For meals and groceries combined into one service, Sun Basket is a safe bet.
Splendid Spoon (prices vary) offers a plethora of plant-based smoothies, soups, bowls, and shots. Every item I tried tasted very natural—so yeah, those lemon juice shots will go down exactly as you'd expect. One very tart experience aside, I liked everything I tried, and I especially love the smoothies. The ingredients are listed too, so the Lemon Fiasco could have been avoided. All meals are plant-based and free of both gluten and GMOs. Plans include combinations of many different offerings, and deliveries can be scheduled as infrequently as once per month. Just make sure to have some space in your fridge—the products are a bit bulky.
Photograph: Factor
Meal Kits We Dislike
Meal Kits to Avoid
Sakara Life ($28+ per serving), according to my vegan taste tester, is “for people who take their coffee black.” I agree. Doled out in fresh, prepared portions, Sakara Life offers plant-based weekly menus that aren't customizable. The food has an emphasis on hydration, and you'll find crisp greens, flavorful sauces, and textural add-ons like seeds or berries in most of the meals. If you can't deal with bitter veggies or tart fruits, it may not be the service for you. The company also offers things like detox teas and “beauty-boosting” chocolates, which are scientifically dubious. I liked the food, but the plans are egregiously expensive and designed to replace nearly all of your weekly meals, depending on which one you choose.
Factor 75 ($13+ per serving) has a bevy of prepared meals that you reheat and eat. There are keto, calorie-conscious, and Chef's Choice meal plans, and I don't recommend any of them. Every meal I tasted had the flavor and texture of airplane food. There are too many similar services on the market that are more enjoyable.

Photograph: Getty Images
Are Meal Kits Right for You?
The Good and the Bad
Much like mattress-in-a-box companies, meal kit companies usually have some running promotions, so keep an eye out if you decide to sign up. Most meal kit pricing models offer bulk discounts: The more meals you purchase per week, the lower each serving's price will be. We go into detail on dietary restrictions and subscription costs. If you ever want to skip a week or cancel, you can find that information in the account section on your chosen service's website.
WIRED: Meal kits are convenient; I didn’t have to worry about planning dinner or panic-eating junk food after forgetting to eat a proper meal during the day. Learning to cook with one of these services can instill confidence and impart basic knowledge. If you're busy, or can't be bothered, meal kits may be just what you need to get cookin', and cooking at home is never a bad thing. Also, millions of Americans don't have easy access to a grocery store. These services can help bridge the gap. Meal kits may be right for you if you're cooking for a small household, if you work nontraditional hours, if you hate figuring out what to make for dinner, if you want to stop ordering out all the time, or if you are trying to develop your cooking skills.
TIRED: Nothing beats learning how to cook the old-fashioned way, so be sure to try that, too. It's cheaper and you learn more if you pick out fruit yourself or break down a whole chicken for $5. You simply don't get that experience if everything arrives at your door and the chicken parts come prepackaged. Planning and shopping is an integral part of the art of cooking. Meal kits are also generally more wasteful than traditional home cooking, and often more expensive. Meal kits may be the wrong choice for you if you are on a tight budget, if you're cooking for a large household, or if you want tighter control over the specific ingredients you'll be using.

Louryn Strampe is a product writer and reviewer at WIRED covering a little bit of everything. She especially loves discounts, video games … and discounted video games. She previously wrote for Future PLC and Rakuten. She currently resides in northern Illinois with two fluffy cats.

Writer and Reviewer

TopicsShopping buying guides cooking kitchen Food and Drink Cooking and Recipes home

The Best Air Fryers for Quick and Easy Cooking

Prepare flavorful fried food with little to no oil using this modern kitchen staple.

Emily Peck

The Best Portable Power Stations

Whether you are going off-grid or safeguarding against blackouts, these beefy, WIRED-tested batteries can keep the lights on.

Simon Hill

GoWise’s Steam Air Fryer Is an Intriguing Combo Cooker

GoWise’s countertop device combines two different cooking functions: air frying and steaming. It’s just OK.

Joe Ray

The Best Smart Plugs to Give Any Appliance a Brain

Adding an internet-connected plug is an easy way to modernize your home. Here are our favorites (and a few we don’t like).

Nena Farrell

Which Govee Smart Lighting Kit Should You Buy?

Govee makes some of the best affordable smart lights, but its enormous range can be overwhelming and confusing. Here’s how to choose the right fit for your home.

Simon Hill