10 best meal kit delivery services for 2021

Photo courtesy of iStock / monkeybusinessimages

Americans seem pressed for time now more than ever, and a variety of meal delivery services are helping to save time by getting dinner on the table faster. There are meal kits for all sorts of cooks and diets – paleo, vegan, keto, vegetarian – that cut out the necessity to go to the grocery store by delivering just what you need for freshly cooked meals at home.

Our readers voted these 10 meal delivery services as the best.

Photo courtesy of Purple Carrot

No. 10: Purple Carrot

Purple Carrot makes it easy to add more plant-based meals to your diet with new vegan recipes delivered each week. Meals include 30-minute and high-protein options, as well as add-ons like quick breakfast and lunch dishes.

Photo courtesy of Sunbasket

No. 9: Sunbasket

Sunbasket is a certified organic meal delivery service with 18 weekly recipes to choose from. Meals are designed to be prepared in about 30 minutes, thanks to pre-measured ingredients. Plans include Carb-Conscious, Paleo, Mediterranean, Gluten-Free, Lean & Clean, Vegan, Vegetarian, Quick & Easy, Diabetes-Friendly or Chef’s Choice.

Photo courtesy of Freshly

No. 8: Freshly

Freshly is the meal delivery service for those who truly don’t like to cook (or simply don’t have time). Customers choose from a menu of more than 30 all-natural dishes, cooked up by chefs and ready to go from fridge to plate in three minutes.

Photo courtesy of Fresh n’ Lean

No. 7: Fresh n’ Lean

Fresh n’ Lean, a ready-to-eat meal delivery service, delivers pre-made meals catered toward a range of dietary requirements, including clean keto, paleo, vegan, low-carb vegan and high protein. Ingredients are natural and organic, without any GMOs, sugars, preservatives or gluten.

Photo courtesy of Home Chef

No. 6: Home Chef

Home Chef offers one of the most customizable meal kit subscriptions, where home chefs can mix and match 26 weekly options while swapping, upgrading or doubling the protein in each recipe. Recipes include handy tips and tricks to help hone key cooking skills. 

Photo courtesy of Blue Apron

No. 5: Blue Apron

Each Blue Apron box contains step-by-step recipes designed by professional chefs and responsibly sourced ingredients in just the amounts you need so that nothing goes to waste. Customers can personalize plans based on dietary preferences.

Photo courtesy of Green Chef

No. 4: Green Chef

Green Chef specializes in delivering organic ingredients to cook easy and flavorful meals. Subscription options can be tailored to two or four people, with flexible delivery days. Ingredients are pre-measured and prepped, so most recipes take less than 30 minutes to prepare. Green Chef offers keto, paleo, omnivore and vegan plans.

Photo courtesy of Factor

No. 3: Factor

Factor specializes in chef-prepared meals designed by a nutritionist to take the guesswork out of healthy eating. Meals come with grass-fed and pasture-raised protein, gluten and soy-free ingredients and no refined sugars or GMO products. Factor is antibiotic-, preservative- and hormone-free and offers plan sizes of four, six, eight, 12 or 18 meals per week.

Photo courtesy of EveryPlate

No. 2: EveryPlate

Each week, EveryPlate dishes up a new menu of ten chef-created recipes. This affordable plan includes a range of options, like garlic-rosemary chicken with roasted root vegetables or beef banh mi bowls with sriracha mayo and pickled cucumber.

Photo courtesy of HelloFresh

No. 1: HelloFresh

HelloFresh boxes come with easy-to-follow recipes and ingredients sourced directly from farms and producers, all packed in meal kits that slide right into the fridge. This company wins with variety – a combination of 20-minute meals, global eats, one-pot wonders, kid-approved meals and gourmet options.