Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service (2024): Healthy Eating Has Never Been Easier

Once upon a time, “meal delivery” meant “pizza delivery,” and that was about it. In 2024, however, “meal delivery” can mean a lot of things—your favorite takeout via DoorDash, last-minute grocery delivery from Instacart, or food subscription boxes with ready-made meals or fresh ingredients and recipe cards. 

Looking for the latter? You’re in luck. After weeks of testing the best meal delivery services, we’ve created a comprehensive guide to the best healthy meal delivery services for our nutritionally minded folks.

We taste-tested about 40 services, but that’s not all we did. We also: 

• Had registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) Perry Nix review every service we tried to break down the good and the bad
• Compared pricing across all services we tried to understand the industry standard (and who’s charging too much) 
• Replaced our usual diets with meals from these services to see what it’s like to rely on them
• Fed the meals to our families and significant others for extra opinions on taste, quality, and portion sizes 

Medical disclaimer: This article is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. For health advice, contact a licensed healthcare provider.

Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service

• Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service Overall: Home Chef
• Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service on a Budget: EveryPlate
• Healthy Meal Delivery Service for Singles: Fresh N Lean
• Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service for Plant-Based Diets: Purple Carrot
• Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service for Keto Diets: Diet-to-Go
• Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service for Paleo Diets: Pete’s Real Food
• Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service for Weight Loss: BistroMD
• Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service for Dietary Restrictions: Hungryroot
• Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service for Families: HelloFresh
• Best Organic Healthy Meal Delivery Service: Green Chef

Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service Overall: Home Chef

Good for: Balanced, nutrient-dense meals with a wide range of flavor profiles 

Best Overall

Home Chef

GGR Score: 4.1

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Product Highlights

• Can choose from meal kits, pre-made meals, or grill-ready ingredients
• Recipes can accommodate two, four or six people, and you can get up to six meals per week
• No specific meal plans, but you can narrow down your choices
• Menu changes weekly, with up to 30 meals to choose from
• Requires a subscription, but you can cancel or skip a week anytime

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Menu changes weekly to prevent food boredom
• Options for meal kits or pre-made meals
• Can skip a week if you don’t need a delivery
• Can accommodate larger groups and families (many meal delivery services cap out at four servings per recipe)
• Reasonably priced

Cons

• Doesn’t accommodate a lot of dietary restrictions
• Options can be limited if you’re on a specific diet
• Requires a subscription (that you can skip or cancel, but you have to remember)

Bottom Line

Home Chef is a meal delivery service that gives you options between meal kits, heat-and-eat meals, and grill-ready selections. It does require a subscription, but you can cancel any time or skip a week if you don’t want a shipment.

Home Chef is a winner for anyone with a broad palate who enjoys exploring new flavor profiles and eating meals from many different cultural cuisines. It’s easily one of the best meal kits available.

Our product tester, Emily Chidester, has been using Home Chef consistently since September 2022, and she rates it positively for taste (5 out of 5), ingredient quality (4 out of 5), variety (5 out of 5), and portions (5 out of 5). 

“I’ve tried a few different meal delivery kit services and this is by far the best,” she says. “My husband and I love these meals, frequently getting more than the three we typically order because they are so easy to make and are delicious.” She adds that even on weeks they don’t order a box, they’ll make some of the recipes with store-bought ingredients because they are just that good. 

“The portion sizes are typically perfect, leaving my husband and I both satisfied after eating,” Emily continues. She explains that meal kits can be adjusted to accommodate different serving sizes (two, four, six, or eight) and that there are separate family meals that make four, eight, 12, or 16 servings.

The only real downfall of Home Chef, Emily points out, is that there aren’t really any options for specific meal plans. You can filter by “Vegetarian,” “Calorie Conscious,” and “Carb Conscious,” as well as for “dislikes” that can help you avoid common allergies or dislikes like seafood, shellfish, tree nuts, soy, and gluten.

Still, registered dietitian Perry Nix says, “If you have severe food allergies, you may want to avoid Home Chef. Meals are made in a facility that handles many common allergens, so there is a risk of cross-contamination. Additionally, Home Chef doesn’t offer vegan, keto, or paleo-friendly meals, so if you follow these restrictive eating patterns, this might not be the best choice.”

On the upside, Perry loves that Home Chef creates balanced meal kits with a variety of nutrient-dense ingredients, and also offers premade meals on the weekly menu. It’s the best of both worlds if you’re looking for a meal kit delivery service and a prepared meal delivery service in one—we all have days when a microwave single-serving meal is all we can manage! 

Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service on a Budget: EveryPlate

Good for: High-quality ingredients and lots of meal options for a lower price

Best on a Budget

EveryPlate

GGR Score: 4.1

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Product Highlights

• Meal kit delivery service with five menu plans to choose from
• Kits included pre-portioned ingredients and recipe cards
• Approximately 26 recipes to choose from each week
• Recipes serve two or four people
• Can opt for three to six recipes per week

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Low price per serving
• Can mix and match from all meal plans
• New menus drop weekly
• Most meals take less than 30 minutes to prepare

Cons

• Doesn’t cater to any specialized diets
• No substitution options
• Not a lot of focus on ingredient quality

Bottom Line

EveryPlate is a low-cost meal kit delivery service that offers new meals weekly. If you don’t have dietary restrictions or need to follow a specialized diet, it could be a good option for you.

Are you looking for the cheapest meal delivery service? Then, you’ve got to take a look at EveryPlate, where meals start at just $4.99 per serving, depending on how many meals you order. 

Perry Nix, MS, RD, LD, uses EveryPlate and has found it to be really helpful in her everyday life. “I was tired of meal planning and making the same meals over and over again,” she says. “I’m now cooking with new ingredients I wouldn’t typically buy at the store, and my family enjoys the variation in meals.” 

Additionally, it can save you money, with Perry calling it “one of the most affordable meal kits available.” 

Erin Chancer, certified nutrition coach and GGR editor, also tried EveryPlate. She used the service for more than six months, and liked it for the most part, although she did start to get bored with the variety after some time. She gave EveryPlate 4 out of 5 points for variety, saying you’ll probably start to notice some repetition if you use the service for a while.

EveryPlate also earned 4 out of 5 points for taste. “A few of the recipes simply call for just salt and pepper,” Erin says, but “EveryPlate does have a few unique seasonings that don’t seem to have grocery store equivalents.” 

Erin ran into some problems with ingredient quality, saying vegetables sometimes arrived “past their prime” and chicken would sometimes go bad before she could use it. By cooking the chicken earlier in the week, she was able to avoid wasting it. 

All in all, EveryPlate earned a high GGR score of 4.1, its top qualities being taste, portion size, variety, packaging and shipping, and price per meal. 

Healthy Meal Delivery Service for Singles: Fresh N Lean

Good for: Individuals who need single-serving, ready-to-eat meals 

Best for Singles

Fresh N Lean

GGR Score: 4.1

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Product Highlights

• Meal delivery featuring 7 different meal plans
• Gluten-free options
• Non-GMO, no artificial ingredients
• Paleo, Keto, high protein, and vegan plans
• A la carte options with a $85 minimum

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Free shipping in the Contiguous U.S.
• Low minimum of meals
• Over 100 meals to choose from

Cons

• Very little customization when choosing meal plans
• Meals can be pricey

Bottom Line

Fresh N Lean is a prepared meal delivery service that has a variety of meal plans to choose from. From those plans, you can choose how many meals you’d like weekly, and notify anyone of food preferences. In addition, you can select exact meals from their A la carte section.

For those in need of heat-and-eat meals for one person, Fresh N Lean is a worthy option. Kate Meier, GGR Head of Content and certified personal trainer, found herself extremely surprised at the quality of these meals. 

“The meals sounded good, but once I nuked them, I didn’t think by the looks of them that they would taste good,” she says. ”I was surprised! The paleo red pepper chicken with sweet potatoes is delicious. Whatever sauce is on there is perfect, and everything was juicy and moist. The paleo bearnaise grass-fed steak with roasted sweet potatoes—wow. The steak was cooked medium and was perfect! Even the brussels sprouts, which looked a little mushy after microwaving, were still a little crispy.”

The fact that you only have to microwave the meals for two to three minutes is hugely convenient, too, Kate says, awarding it 5 out of 5 points for ease of preparation (and taste, if we needed to clarify!).  

And the meals don’t just taste good: They’re made from high-quality ingredients. Fresh N Lean prioritized organic ingredients when it makes sense and is possible, and all ingredients are non-GMO. Fresh n Lean also sources ingredients locally and prioritizes animal welfare by choosing grass-fed meat, free-range chicken, and sustainable aquaculture for fish and seafood.

Registered dietitian Perry Nix likes that Fresh N Lean offers a high-protein plan for people looking to maximize fitness, health, or performance.“ Each Protein+ meal contains a whopping 36 grams of protein on average, which falls well within the recommended 20 to 40 grams of protein per meal needed to maximize muscle protein synthesis,” she says. 

RELATED: Best High-Protein Meal Delivery

Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service for Plant-Based Diets: Purple Carrot

Good for: Vegan meal options

Best Plant-Based

Purple Carrot

GGR Score: 4

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Product Highlights

• Vegan meal kits and prepared meals
• Breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and pantry items available
• Boxes ship weekly
• Quick prep options (meals that take less than 25 minutes)
• Most non-produce items are organic

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Has meal kits and prepared meals
• Can choose from the whole menu
• All meals and snacks are available
• Menus change weekly

Cons

• Can’t mix and match meal types
• No option for add-on proteins
• Maxes out at 4 meals per week
• Limited meal choices

Bottom Line

Purple Carrot offers vegan meal kits and prepared meals. There are no specific meal plans, but you can choose from the full menu, which includes breakfasts, lunches, dinners and “plantry” items—add-on products like brownie bites and salad dressing. You can’t mix and match meal types, though.

Those in need of chef-crafted vegan meals will love Purple Carrot. Even our product tester, GGR performance editor, and certified nutrition coach (CNC) Anthony O’Reilly found the meals tasty and satisfying, and he doesn’t even come close to eating a vegan diet. 

“Everything was fresh and delicious,” Anthony says, and the portions were “actually quite generous for a plant-based meal service. I always felt full. My favorite was the sloppy Joe (with tofu instead of meat). Considering this was a plant-based meal service I was quite happy with how everything came out.” He gave the service 5 out of 5 points for taste and ingredient quality; and 4 out of 5 points for portion size and variety.

Purple Carrot is not just for vegan dieters: It’s also a good choice for individuals interested in exploring more plant-based meals. Thanks to the creative menu and ready meals, customers of this service will soon realize that eating a vegan diet is not as boring, bland, difficult, or nutritionally deplete as some like to make it seem.

Registered dietitian Perry Nix says, “Purple Carrot strives to make plant-based eating accessible and enjoyable by delivering recipes and ingredients to prepare nutritious meals in your own kitchen.” 

Perry has one callout about the service: “While Purple Carrot does offer some pre-made meals, this probably isn’t the best meal service if that’s what you’re looking for. Their pre-made meal selection is limited, and you’ll run out of options quickly.”

According to Anthony, the cherries on top are that all of the packaging is recyclable, and it was super easy to cancel his subscription—he didn’t even have to interact with a human. That’s a win for introverts and busy people!

RELATED: Best Plant-Based Meal Delivery

Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service for Keto Diets: Diet-to-Go

Good for: Premade keto meals 

Best for Keto

Diet-To-Go

GGR Score: 4.1

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Product Highlights

• Meal delivery service with 5 diet plans
• Ready to heat chef-prepared meals
• Mediterranean diet and low-carb options
• Choose up to 21 meals per week
• Customized meal plans available
• New meals every 5 weeks

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Appeals to a variety of diets
• Meals are ready to eat in 3 minutes
• Can order all 21 meals for the week
• Meal plans are curated for you, but you have the option to customize it

Cons

• Very limited customization
• Doesn’t offer any organic options
• Calories are very low on the standard plan

Bottom Line

Diet-To-Go accommodates a number of dietary preferences and restrictions, but the menu doesn’t have as much variety as some of the other programs. These are heat-and-eat meals, so they’re ready to eat in three minutes.

The keto diet—with its high fats and little-to-no carbs—may be one of the most difficult diets to stick to, especially without advanced preparation. Diet-to-Go makes keto dieting easier than ever with prepared, microwaveable keto meals. In fact, Diet-to-Go is one of our top picks for the best meal delivery for weight loss. 

The service’s KetoCarb30 meal plan features dishes like Spicy Ham and Egg Sofrito, Andouille, Shrimp and Egg Hash, and Chipotle Flat Iron Steak. Our tester, GGR video reviewer Lindsay Scheele, loved the Mushroom Ravioli from the vegetarian lineup and the whole chicken with cauliflower puree from the keto lineup. 

Lindsay says the taste of the meals was hit or miss, with some being just OK and some being great. The portion size was also hit or miss, she says, noting that there were some meals she couldn’t finish and others she was unsatisfied with. Because of this, she rated Diet-to-Go with 3 out of 5 points for taste and 3.5 for portions.

Registered dietitian Perry Nix appreciates the ease that comes with Diet-to-Go, saying it’s “super convenient for people who want to lose weight by improving their diet but don’t have the time to cook meals.” 

She does caution individuals to be aware of their overall daily calorie intake, noting that Diet-to-Go’s meals are very low in calories. “Most Diet-to-Go meals contain between 300 and 500 calories, which isn’t enough to sustain healthy, long-term weight loss,” she says. “Unfortunately, eating too few calories for a prolonged time can actually damage your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight.”

For this reason, it’s not recommended to eat exclusively from Diet-to-Go for more than six to eight weeks, at which point your weight loss may stall. Of course, if you’re also eating snacks or adding onto the meals with your own produce or extra protein, this may not be the case. 

RELATED: Best Keto Meal Delivery Service

Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service for Paleo Diets: Pete’s Real Food

Good for: Quick, easy paleo meals

Best Paleo

Pete’s Real Food

GGR Score: 4.2

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Product Highlights

• Prepared meal delivery service
• Offers paleo meal plans, along with keto, kids, and vegan meal options
• Able to mix and match meals
• One-time purchase and subscription services available
• Delivers once every 1 - 4 weeks
• Commitment to sustainability and less food waste

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Less food waste
• Vegan, keto, and kids meal options
• Foods from local sources

Cons

• More expensive than competitors
• Some users report bland vegetables

Bottom Line

Pete’s Real Food is the first nationwide ready-to-eat meal delivery company, founded in 2012. Along with serving paleo meals, they offer vegan, keto, and kids meals as well. Pete’s Real Food has prioritized minimizing its impact on the environment from the start, making sure to only order ingredients needed to fulfill orders. They offer one-time mix-and-match services, as well as plans that can be delivered once every one to four weeks.

One of our highest-scoring meal delivery services overall and appearing on our guide to the best paleo meal delivery, Pete’s Real Food got high marks for ease of preparation (5 out of 5), ingredient quality (4.5 out of 5), customization (4 out of 5), and variety (4 out of 5). 

GGR staff writer and Olympic weightlifter Caine Wilkes tried this service, and he appreciated the high-protein entrees and the ability to add extra protein to dinner entrees. While the portion sizes were a tad small for him at times, he recognizes that the 300-to-500-calorie meals are likely sufficient for people who are not Olympic-level strength athletes. 

Caine says, “The food was pretty good, albeit some meals were hit or miss. The corned beef and cabbage was a highlight, but a lot of meals had bland vegetables.” For microwaveable meals, though, we don’t expect perfection.

One downfall of this service is that you don’t actually get to hand-select your meals. Instead, you choose how many meals you want for the week, and the chef (presumably Pete) fills your box with the predetermined weekly menu. This could be problematic for people with allergies, says Perry Nix, MS, RD, LD, although Pete’s does offer gluten-free and vegan menus. 

There’s one big thing I want to mention about Pete’s Real Food that makes this service a winner in my book. The company is committed to paying its workers a living wage and championing sustainable agricultural practices for a better American food system. 

Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service for Weight Loss: BistroMD

Good for: Simple meals for streamlined weight loss

Best for Weight Loss

BistroMD

GGR Score: 4.27

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Product Highlights

• Doctor-designed meal plans 
• May help improve metabolism and aid with weight loss
• Weekly frozen meal deliveries
• Variety of meal plans including vegan, keto, and diabetic

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Program is based on science behind metabolism correction
• Options to skip a week
• Packed in oven-safe, BPA-free trays
• Support from registered dietitians

Cons

• Programs don’t allow you to order less than 10 meals
• Expensive subscription
• Shipping is not free

Bottom Line

BistroMD was designed by a doctor to help folks struggling with weight loss. BistroMD addresses insulin-resistance and aids a healthy metabolism with lean protein and high-fiber foods to keep you full in addition to low glycemic carbohydrates to stabilize blood sugars. You’ll find a meal plan that works within your dietary restrictions including gluten-free, vegan, or keto.

BistroMD is another prepared meal delivery service, but this time with a focus on doctor- and dietitian-formulated meals for specific health needs. For instance, BistroMD offers plans for heart health, diabetes, menopause, and weight loss, as well as vegan, gluten-free, and keto programs. 

Registered dietitian Perry Nix is a fan of this approach. “BistroMD recognizes that weight loss isn’t easy and that an ‘eat less, exercise more’ approach doesn’t work for everyone,” she says. “Instead, these meal plans focus on fueling your metabolism, stabilizing your blood sugar, and keeping you full and satisfied so you can burn more calories and utilize energy efficiently.”

Perry warns, though, that very low-calorie diets can stall weight loss over time¹. It’s important to make sure you’re not eating too little as you try to lose weight, which may sound counterintuitive but can lead to a significant slowdown of your metabolism.

Lauren Strong, certified personal trainer, GGR staff writer, and product tester, sampled a variety of BistroMD meals. Ultimately, she gave the service 4 out of 5 stars for taste, saying it’s “pretty darn good for these being both health-conscious and frozen.” 

RELATED: Best Meal Delivery for Weight Loss

Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service for Dietary Restrictions: Hungryroot

Good for: Picky eaters or people with specific dietary needs

Best for Dietary Restrictions

Hungryroot

GGR Score: 4.4

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Product Highlights

• Grocery delivery meets meal kit
• Meal delivery service that sends you ingredients based on recipes you like
• Many recipes only take 10 minutes to prepare
• Starts at $70 per box

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Simple and quick
• Caters to many styles of eating
• Can add on groceries to your order

Cons

• You do have to cook
• Have to meet plan minimum each week (though you can adjust your minimum on a weekly basis)

Bottom Line

Hungryroot offers a unique take on meal delivery, in that you find a recipe you like, and the company will send you all of the ingredients to make it. There are many options for types of food to choose from, and you can even order extra groceries that you might need as well. You do have to cook though, so if that's not interesting to you, this won't be the right plan.

Whatever your dietary needs—dairy-free, low-carb, gluten-free, high-protein, soy-free, nut-free, low-calorie, pescatarian—Hungryroot can make healthy eating easier for you. My favorite thing about Hungryroot is that it really gets to know you through the get-started quiz. It’s the most in-depth assessment I’ve seen across meal prep companies. 

Kate Meier, GGR Head of Content and product tester, also gives an affirmative nod to the quiz, saying she appreciates Hungryoot’s commitment to allowing subscribers to customize their meal plans. You can also use Hungryroot for groceries, with add-ons like fresh produce, extra protein, and sauces and dips. She does admit the process is a little confusing at first because of the combo of groceries and meal kits with recipes. 

Kate loved the food, giving Hungryroot a 5-out-of-5 rating for taste and a 4.5-out-of-5 for ingredient quality. “Everything is so fresh, and you don’t need to do any seasoning because most foods are prepared already for you with spices,” she says. “Everything is high-quality; they use humanely raised meat and dairy, and a lot of organic fruits, vegetables, and grains/grains. I did have some things, like a bell pepper mix, that weren’t organic. However, in terms of quality, everything is so fresh and crisp.”

According to registered dietitian Perry Nix, Hungryroot is filling a gap left by most other meal delivery services. “Hungryroot helps you find the best plan for your dietary needs and preferences,” she says. “They include groceries and recipes made without common food allergens like soy, nuts, shellfish, and eggs, which is hard to find in other meal service plans.”

RELATED: Best Gluten-Free Meal Delivery

Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service for Families: HelloFresh

Good for: Parents in need of fresh, healthy recipes for their families 

Best for Families

HelloFresh

GGR Score: 4.13

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Product Highlights

• Meal service that delivers ingredients and recipes
• 6 different plans available, including vegan and pescatarian options
• Can swap out different proteins and sides
• Can purchase between 2 and 6 meals, in portions to feed 2 or 4 people
• 40 weekly recipes to choose from
• Sourced from U.S. farmers

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Saves on meal-prepping
• Can swap out ingredients
• Chef-curated recipes
• Sourced from U.S. farmers
• 6 meal plans to choose from

Cons

• Customer reviews complain about ingredient inconsistencies
• Some reviews claim meal portions are small

Bottom Line

HelloFresh is a subscription meal delivery service that provides ingredients and recipes for weekly meals. They provide six different plans, including plant-based, pescatarian, and quick and easy meals. Additionally, 40 different recipes are available each week, and proteins and sides can be swapped out as needed. The subscription is flexible, as you can skip a week, pause, or cancel your account at any time.

I’m not a parent, but I watched my mom raise four children—and interrogate us for dinner ideas almost every night. If you’re a parent and can sympathize, HelloFresh might be your ticket to less stressful weeknights (and more timely dinners). 

RELATED: HelloFresh vs Blue Apron vs Home Chef

Registered dietitian Perry Nix says HelloFresh is a great option for “quick, balanced, home-cooked meals” and “a good option for anyone who would rather eat their food hot off the stove instead of reheated in the microwave.” 

And, as a mom of two young children, Perry appreciates the Family Friend meal plan HelloFresh offers. “It can be difficult to find nutritious meals that everyone will eat,” she says. “Also, since you cook these meals at home, the kids can help prepare their meals, which inspires them to taste new foods.”

Our product tester, GGR SEO director Ashley Little, has used HelloFresh for several years, a testament to her satisfaction with the service. She rated HelloFresh 4.5 out of 5 stars for taste and 4 out of 5 for ease of preparation. “I’m almost always satisfied with my meals,” she says, adding that “most meals are quite simple to make. Prep time usually takes about 5 to 10 minutes, and cooking is usually between 20 to 45 minutes depending on the complexity of the meal.” 

For more, check out our in-depth HelloFresh Review.  

Best Organic Healthy Meal Delivery Service: Green Chef

Good for: Individuals who only eat organic ingredients

Best Organic

Green Chef

GGR Score: 3.92

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Product Highlights

• Certified organic meal kit delivery service
• Meal kits can feed two, four, or six people
• New menus drop weekly; you can choose from 32 meals each week
• Add-ons, like prepared breakfasts and salads, available for an extra charge
• Delivers almost everywhere in the continental U.S.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Offers several specialized diet plans
• Can mix and match meal plans
• New meals drop weekly
• Most ingredients are organic and high-quality

Cons

• On the expensive side (but ingredients are organic)
• Shipping fee

Bottom Line

If you want high-quality and/or organic ingredients, Green Chef is a good option that can feed two to six people per recipe. There are several specialized diets to choose from, and you can mix and match from weekly menus to suit your needs.

Green Chef is a “no-brainer” for people who only want to eat organic meals, says Nicole Davis, nutrition coach, GGR senior editor, and product tester. With Green Chef, you aren’t getting just organic produce: The entire menu is USDA-Certified Organic, including grains, sauces, seasonings, and proteins. 

RELATED: Best Organic Meal Delivery

Nicole mentioned that she was disappointed in the portion sizes, finding them a bit too small for her—and much too small for her active, six-foot-two husband. Otherwise, Nicole liked Green Chef and found most of the meals tasty and fresh. 

She gave Green Chef 4.5 out of 5 stars for taste and for ingredient quality. “I tried four dinners as well as the breakfast bundle, which had oatmeal, egg white bites, muffins, and two recipes to make,” she says. “The Monterey jack cheese-smothered chicken with mushrooms and squash was delicious. So were the chicken burrito bowls. The oatmeals were just fine—a good option to eat quickly in the morning.”

Registered dietitian Perry Nix says Green Chef is unique in that it’s completely USDA-Certified Organic. This is tough to do because individual ingredients require certification, so it shows Green Chef’s commitment to organic agriculture. 

 For more, check out our in-depth Green Chef Reviews.

Other Healthy Meal Delivery Services We Tried

We’ve covered our top picks for the best healthy meal delivery; now let’s look at some others we tested that didn’t make the cut this time.

• Sunbasket: Sunbasket is a good service with a large number of meals to choose from; however, we found the ingredient quality lacking (2.75 out of 5) in comparison to its competitors. 
• CookUnity: CookUnity provides single-serve meals cooked by popular chefs, which you can reheat at home. The menu is a la carte and rotating, but the service area is limited compared to other options.
• Daily Harvest: Daily Harvest isn’t for those looking for home-cooked meals. This service supplies pre-portioned smoothies and soups, oven-ready flatbreads, and side dishes like quinoa with veggies. Everything’s frozen, and the menu options are nutritious, but they’re more like snacks than true entrees, especially for active people. I found the portions to be quite minimal and not filling, for all meal types that I tried, so I rated them a 3 out of 5 in this category.
• Splendid Spoon: Splendid Spoon offers smoothies, soups, pastas, juices, and wellness shots, and a limited amount of entree dishes. While the options are nutritionally rich, there aren’t many to choose from compared to other services. 
• Sakara Life: Sakara Life is a meal delivery service and a wellness coaching service. The food is good, but really expensive (1 out of 5 for price per serving), and probably not worth it for most people. Read our full Sakara Life review.
• Blue Apron: Blue Apron is a great service with a wide range of balanced meals. According to registered dietitian Perry Nix, “The plans are limited as far as dietary preferences go. There’s no gluten-free, keto, or vegan plan. There’s also no diabetic, heart healthy, or weight loss plan, however, some meals could fit into these dietary patterns.”

How We Picked and Tested the Best Healthy Meal Delivery Services

Our top picks aren’t random. Our team of product testers, which includes certified nutrition coaches, personal trainers, and athletes from recreational to Olympic, spent several weeks testing more than 40 meal subscription boxes. We also consulted with registered dietitians to get an expert’s take on these services. 

Price Per Meal

Meal delivery services can get expensive—quickly. We analyzed the cost per serving of all of the subscriptions to get an understanding of the industry standard and find out which companies are more budget-friendly and which would be considered luxury by most standards. Here’s how we rated companies for pricing: 

• To get a 1, $16 or more per meal 
• To get a 2, $14-16 per meal 
• To get a 3, $10-14 per meal
• To get a 4, $8-10 per meal
• To get a 5, less than $8 per meal

Taste and Ingredient Quality 

Our meal delivery testers rated the overall taste of the meals they tried, as well as the quality and freshness of the ingredients. Points were docked for ingredients that arrived in bad shape or, in some cases, inedible. Taste is subjective, but we did take note of whether or not the meals needed a lot of spicing up or modifying to be palatable. 

Portion Sizes

No one wants to finish a meal hungry. Although everyone has different nutritional needs, we noted whether the meals filled us up or not. Because we also fed these meals to our families, we were able to gain additional perspectives from people who have different calories needs than ourselves. 

Meal Plans and Customization

We looked at the filtering options for every service we tried to get an understanding of how customizable each service is. Some people need vegetarian options, others prefer non-GMO or organic, others still are looking for high-protein meals to build muscle. The more options a service offers, the better; we also give credit for brands that specialize in one area, such as vegan or paleo diets. 

Ease of Preparation and Cleanup

These services are supposed to make your life easier, not harder. We judged each company according to these criteria: 

• To get a 1-2, you’ll have to cook this meal with the ingredients they sent and it takes more than 20 minutes to prepare (multiple modes required, i.e. stovetop, oven, etc.), plus there’s substantial clean up involved (multiple pots/pans, utensils, etc.)
• To get a 3-4, you’ll have to cook this meal with the ingredients they sent, but it’s a fairly quick process (using the air fryer/microwave/oven), done in 20 minutes or less, and doesn’t require half your kitchen to prepare and eat.
• To get a 5, this meal is fully prepared—just heat and eat—and there’s no clean up required. 

Shipping, Packaging, and Sustainability

Shipping is a really important part of the overall experience with a service like this. If there are hiccups in delivery, food may arrive spoiled—likewise with poor packaging. Aside from shipping experience itself, we took sustainability into consideration and rated companies according to how easy (or not) it was to recycle or compost the packaging. 

Customer Service

There are two things everyone wants to know before signing up for a meal delivery service: Is it easy to skip a delivery, and is it easy to cancel? Brands with frustrating cancellation procedures or policies lost points, while brands that allowed us to cancel within minutes and avoid interacting with a rep or bot scored the highest. 

Benefits of Healthy Meal Delivery Services

Allow us to convince you to sign up for a meal delivery subscription. 

Less Grocery Shopping

Raise your hand if you despise going to the grocery store! Arguably the greatest benefit of meal delivery services—and probably a big reason why most people elect to use one—is that it greatly reduces the amount of time you have to spend grocery shopping (and driving to the store, parking, driving home, etc…) 

Greater Variety of Meals 

I don’t know about you, but I tend to get stuck in recipe ruts. Meal delivery services can be a great source of culinary inspiration, even for picky eaters. They can introduce you to new seasonings, new fruits and vegetables, and even new types of protein. (Pro tip: Choose “Chef’s Choice” when ordering for either more variety or to eat meals you might not pick on your own.) 

Not only is variety in your diet fun and exciting, but it also opens you up to more nutrients, potentially reducing your risk of deficiencies. 

Catered to Dietary Preferences

From Whole30 to Mediterranean to diabetes-friendly meals, the modern world of meal delivery has something for everyone. It’s truly never been easier to find nutritious meals for specific wants and needs.  

Best Healthy Meal Delivery Services FAQs

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases.

References

1. Fothergill E, Guo J, Howard L, et al. Persistent metabolic adaptation 6 years after “The Biggest Loser” competition. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2016;24(8):1612-1619. doi:10.1002/oby.21538

Amanda Capritto, CPT, CES, CNC, CF-L1, CSNC

Amanda is a content writer and journalist with extensive experience in the health, fitness, lifestyle, and nutrition niches. Before joining Garage Gym Reviews, she worked as an independent writer for various brands and outlets.Her work has appeared in national and global digital publications, including Health.com and Shape.com (Meredith Corporation), CNET (Red Ventures, formerly ViacomCBS), LIVESTRONG (Leaf Group), Verywell Fit and The Balance (DotDash), SlickDeals (Goldman Sachs/Hearst), Health Journal, and more.Now, Amanda brings her expertise in fitness to the GGR team by testing equipment and writing authentic, honest reviews on everything you might need to stock your home gym.

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