I Tried 10 of the Most Popular Meals Kits — These Are My 3 Favorites
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Meal kits have been assisting would-be cooks (if not for all that meal planning and grocery shopping) with prix-fixe dinners for more than a decade. The concept is simple: One box comes packed with almost everything you need to make a variety of quick and easy meals. Subscribe to any of these services and you can choose from a menu of options for the week, with most coming together in 20 to 30 minutes (more on that below!). Plus, with the planning and shopping already done, you can get right into the actual cooking (and eventually, the eating).
There are a lot of meal kit companies out there, and choosing between them can feel nearly as taxing as planning what to cook. That is, until now. I tried 10 popular meal kit delivery services — all packed into a short two-week span. Here’s how it went, plus my top three favorites.
How I Tested the Meal Kits
I cleared out my fridge to make room for my 14-day kit-off. There were a lot of similarities between the 10 different boxes that arrived at my door: Other than a few different flourishes of colorful, stylish labels, the packaging was mostly the same; sturdy cardboard boxes layered with reusable ice packs to keep everything fresh. All but one service required me to have salt, pepper, water, and cooking oil on hand (more about that below).
All of the companies offered plenty of new-to-me and exciting recipes, and the price per serving was reasonable for a household of two (although some seemed a little pricey compared to the average grocery bill). The ingredients were well-organized within their respective boxes — everything I needed was properly packed and easy to find. With all this considered, I judged each kit on four criteria: ingredient quality, total actual recipe time, difficulty level of recipes, and taste.
After eating nothing but meal kits for two weeks straight, these are the three I’d sign up for again.
The Best Meal Kits
1. Green Chef
Green Chef’s meal kit was a favorite based on the quality of the produce alone. Much like the name implies, this subsidiary of HelloFresh works directly with farmers to source many of their ingredients. It’s also the first meal kit company to be certified by California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).
Above all, I appreciated the flexibility of the recipes that Green Chef offered. You can choose between three or four meals for two, four, or six people, with a weekly menu of more than 30 different meals, including breakfast options. The company also offers customizable meals to fit many diets and lifestyles, including vegetarian, gluten-free, keto, and more.
Green Chef Meal Delivery Service, 6 Servings
Green Chef
$80.94
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For this test, I selected two meals: Gyro Spiced Pork Tenderloin Kale Salad and Steak and Shrimp with Spicy Peperonata. Both felt like exciting twists on familiar flavors and were relatively low lift to create in my kitchen — I could have easily made one for lunch in the middle of a work-from-home day or a last-minute weeknight dinner. Best, of all, they did not disappoint when it came to flavor.
The pork was a hearty spin on a traditional Greek salad crossed with a juicy gyro. The dish — from seasoning, to chopping, to mixing, to cooking, and even cooling — took just under 30 minutes. It was so good, it rivaled my usual order from the Mediterranean spot nearby.
Even with the batched cooking (first steak, then shrimp) and zucchini ribbon-ing, the Peperonata came together just as easily. I don’t usually care for zoodles (just give me the pasta!), but the tomatoey and slightly spicy zucchini was an appropriately zesty side for the Italian-style surf-and-turf. It actually changed my mind about zucchini noodles!
Depending on the number of meals you order, as well as any deals or promos you score, each individual meal is anywhere from about $11.99 to $13.49 a piece (plus shipping), making it the priciest of the kits on this list. But! The noticeably high-quality ingredients, combined with the ease of preparation, and out-of-the-box (veggie-focused) recipes did not disappoint. There are also steep discounts for first-time subscribers. You can read more about Green Chef in my review here.
Sign up: Green Chef
2. EveryPlate
Of the three on this list, EveryPlate is the most straightforward and the most affordable — meals can start at $5.99 per serving and go up to $7.49 (plus shipping). You can choose between three to five meals for two to six people for the week. Although EveryPlate’s menu is a bit smaller than the other kits I tried, it still includes several dozen choices each week. As someone living in a two-person household, I didn’t feel like I missed out on any of the conveniences (or enticement) other services offered.
Every Plate Meal Delivery Service, 6 Servings
Everyplate
$35.94
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There was plenty of variety, plus vegetarian and gluten-free options, and a family favorites meal plan catered to households with kids. (You can swap out different meats and vegetables based on your family’s preferences). It’s the best option for families looking for an affordable and fast way to keep everyone well-fed.
The recipes are crafted with ease in mind, often requiring six steps or fewer and take less than 30 minutes — they were some of the easiest recipes I tested. Many are simple sheet pan dinners, like the Balsamic Glazed Meatballs with Green Beans and French Onion Chicken with Roasted Carrots and Potatoes I received. Everything cooks together, so you save even more time on preparation and cleanup. The third meal — Blackened Shrimp Salad — required some stovetop cooking (homemade croutons, shrimp), but was still ready to eat in 30 minutes. You can read more about EveryPlate in my review here.
Sign up: EveryPlate
3. Marley Spoon
Marley Spoon (previously called Martha & Marley Spoon) offers more than 100 meals weekly from Martha Stewart’s personal recipe archives, including desserts. Of all the kits tested, I had the hardest time narrowing down my meal choices. They all looked and sounded so good!
The two I tried — Beef Ravioli in Mushroom Brodo and Apple-Cheddar Chicken Meatloaf — were as delicious and luxurious as if Martha herself had made them for me. (For an added flair, all the ingredients are packaged in cardboard crates that feel like they came straight from a farm-share.) The dishes were relatively simple to put together on a busy weeknight, although they took closer to 45 minutes to from start to finish. However, they were also two of the tastiest recipes I sampled in my two-week-long tasting menu. You can read more about Marley Spoon in my review here.
Marley Spoon Meal Kit Delivery Service, 6 Servings
Martha & Marley Spoon
$27.96 (was $63.95)
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The pre-packaged ravioli (filled with beef and red wine ragu) required little more than boiling some water, and the mushrooms just needed to be sliced and sautéd in garlic and olive oil. (Hold your applause, please.) For the minimal effort, it still felt like a dish I ordered at a nice restaurant.
The real knockout though was the meatloaf with roasted carrots and string beans. Despite it being one of the more labor-intensive recipes, my partner and I both gushed over the results: 10/10 would recommend.
Some recipes require you to have extra items on hand that other services do not. To the Marley Spoon’s credit, they’re staples, like eggs or ketchup, that many people might already have in their refrigerator. I did find myself in a pinch when I was out of ketchup needed for the meatloaf. (Thankfully, I had a collection of unused ketchup packets from old takeout orders to see me through.)
If you love food and are looking for amped-up comfort food recipes, then Marley Spoon is the kit for you. The meals can range from $10.99 to $12.99 per portion before any deals and promos. Shipping and specialty ingredients, like seafood, are also extra.
Sign up: Marley Spoon
Do you have a favorite meal kit delivery service? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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