While going to the local farmer’s market or a favorite supermarket to stock up on fresh produce for one’s meals is an essential part of the entire cooking experience for many people, more often than not, time is not on our side. Luckily, online meal kit delivery services come in plenty, and we can now have someone else plan our dinner and send all the needed ingredients to our doors.
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Such services not only take the guesswork out of dinner planning and shopping but help us save time and thus cater to other needs while the ingredients are being prepared and delivered. What’s more, many such services are priced in such a way that they can help you save in the long run.
Now, the market does not run short when it comes to such services. If you’re new to meal kit delivery services, here is a short list of some of the most popular ones out there. We have selected them based on the quality of their services, variety of products, recipe prep time, prices, and customer service.
Each of them brings something new to the table, whether it’s in terms of price points, meal kit variety, or portion size, so you’re likely to find something to meet your needs and preferences.
Blue Apron
If you’re interested in getting first-hand cooking experience, Blue Apron is worth a closer look. The meal kit service offers a variety of recipes to choose from. It will help you get experience and learn to do various things meal prep involves at home. To make it easy for you, the service provides helpful tips and photos with each recipe.
The chef-developed recipes come in plenty and are inspired by Indian, Asian, and European cuisines. It even offers vegetarian menus, so if you fall in this category, rest assured that you will find something to meet your preferences.
For three meals for a family of four, you will pay $95.88 per week, which means a serving is only $7.99. Plus, you benefit from free shipping if you order three meals per week, no matter if your family is of two or four. As far as the family plan is concerned, there are five options you can choose from every week. Moreover, Blue Apron also has a wine program for $66/month.
HelloFresh
Considered by many to be the most popular meal kit service in the U.S., HelloFresh comes with an offer that features chef-designed recipes, as well as easy-to-follow instructions. This makes it an option worthy of consideration even if you’re a beginner when it comes to cooking.
The offer at HelloFresh includes four plans with 20 recipes every week, including vegetarian, low-calorie, meat and vegetables, as well as family-friendly recipes. What’s more, you can personalize your order as far as the weekly number of meals and servings is regarded. To take flexibility one step further, HelloFresh allows customers to even skip a week, pause the subscription, or even change a meal.
Each box you receive includes the pre-measured ingredients needed for the recipe, recipe cards detailing the time needed to prep and cook the meal, and the number of calories.
A serving starts at $9, but HelloFresh does run deals from time to time. For example, at the time of writing, it offered 50% off the first box, plus 15% OFF all your other boxes over the next year for licensed healthcare workers.
Home Chef
Another meal kit service you might want to consider is Home Chef. One of the things that set this service apart is that it offers customers the possibility to create a taste profile based on the foods they like and those they want to avoid. Once you’ve created your profile, you can choose from a great variety of 30-minute recipes.
What’s also great is that the menus featured cover the needs of all types of eaters and thus include vegan, dairy-free, carnivore, and fish-based recipes. To cover the needs of all customers, Home Chef allows you to customize your plate, so you can double up, swap, or upgrade your favorite protein on select recipes. The price per serving starts at $6.99. You can also buy Home Chef meal kits from Kroger, in the ready-to-eat section.
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Martha & Marley Spoon
If you’re interested in eating healthy meals yet you don’t have too much at disposal to prep them, the offer at Martha & Marley Spoon is also worth a try. The meal-kit service offers 29 recipes every week, as well as five categories, including 30-minute and family-friendly recipes.
Once you’ve decided upon the recipes you want to try, you will receive the pre-measured ingredients at your door. Kits are designed for two or four people, and the plan starts at $53 per week.
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Dinnerly
Since meal kit services send you only the ingredients you need for a specific recipe, they make meals more convenient money-wise. However, there are such services that take affordability even one step further, and Dinnerly is one of them.
The meal-kit provider offers several recipe options every week, and the price per adult-size serving is $4.69. The minimum order is two portions per recipe and three recipes per week. The shipping fee is $8.99, but if you intend to make this a regular thing, you get to save in the long run.
Besides offering some of the best prices in this area, Dinnerly is also worth trying if you’re interested in simple yet delicious recipes. The recipes include fewer ingredients and thus fewer prep steps than the recipes offered by other meal-kit services. What’s more, some recipes don’t require you to chop, slice, or even use a knife. It’s that simple!
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Gobble
If you’re really short on time, yet you’d still like to cook at home, the offer at Gobble is worth considering. All the meals they deliver take 15 minutes to prepare, which makes this meal-kit provider one of the options worth considering. Each box includes ingredients that are already peeled, chopped, and even marinated, so, basically, all you have to do is cook the meal. You can even personalize select meals.
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Dinner kits are available in plans for two or four people. Each plan includes three recipes, and each recipe serves two or, respectively, four people. The cost per week is $56. Plus, Gobble runs deals from time to time. For example, at the time of writing, if you sign up, you get 6 meals for $36, plus free shipping.