I love a lavish restaurant meal or a decadent dinner party spread. But when I’m cooking at home for myself, I gravitate toward meals that make me feel good. I guess you could call them healthy—a word that means different things to different people, but to me, it suggests something balanced, packed with vegetables and protein, and that doesn’t leave me bloated or in need of a nap.
The problem? Cooking that kind of food is easier said than done—especially on a weeknight. The solution? Meal kits.
The best healthy meal delivery services
- Best healthy meal kit for variety: Sunbasket
- Best prepared healthy meal delivery service: Factor
- Best for plant-based eaters: Purple Carrot
- Best prepared meals for wellness-heads: Sakara
- Best for a busy lifestyle: Hungryroot
- Best organic healthy meal kit: Green Chef
- Best for salad lovers: Gardencup
Meal delivery services are the ticket to easy feel-good food because they take the guesswork out of both planning and cooking. But not all of them live up to their “healthy” promises without sacrificing flavor or variety. That’s why we’ve rounded up the best healthy meal delivery services, both kits and prepared, based on years of hands-on testing.
Scroll down for our top picks, read more about how we tested these kits, and get a registered dietitian’s take on what to look for when shopping for meal kits with healthy eating in mind.
New in this update: After testing several new services over the past year, we’ve added Hungryroot to our list of best healthy meal kits.
The healthy meal kit with the most variety: Sunbasket
Pros:
- Good variety of recipe options
- Meals feel fresh and produce-forward
Cons:
- Organic ingredients may be substituted with nonorganic
- Price can add up, depending on your selections
Tester: Alaina Chou, commerce writer
About Sunbasket: Sunbasket follows the blueprint of most kit-style meal delivery services, but it sets itself apart by focusing on high-quality, certified organic produce. The company offers both traditional meal kits as well as ready-made options.
What we loved: My favorite thing about Sunbasket—and why I’m recommending it here—is the variety of meals it offers. While some companies offer over 100 meals every week, Sunbasket keeps a tight list of 15–20 or so (plus some additional add-ons and ready-to-eat options). But don’t let that number fool you—it’s impossible to be bored flipping through the weekly menu offerings. You’ll find everything from Afghan-Style Butternut Squash Stew or Mexican Street Tacos with Tomatillo Chicken, Salsa, and Lime Yogurt to Dukkah Pork Chops and Kale Salad with “Everything” Ranch Dressing.
I appreciated how easy it was to filter recipes by dietary restriction (e.g., Paleo, Gluten-Free, etc.), nutrition (e.g., High Protein, Low Added Sugar, etc.), excluded ingredients (dairy-free, soy-free, etc.), and cook time—a plus if you have specific goals in mind, be they upping your protein or saving time.
The meals themselves were easy to make, relatively produce-heavy, and quite tasty. Portion sizes were generally plenty big, and I liked that the service got me cooking dishes and using specific ingredients that weren’t previously in my repertoire.
What we’d leave: In testing, I found that recipes tended to take 5–15 minutes longer to make than the stated times. But my main callout with Sunbasket is that it reserves the right to swap ingredients that were intended to be organic for nonorganic subs based on availability, which did happen to me on multiple occasions. As someone who isn’t married to eating organic produce only, I didn’t really mind this, but it’s something to be aware of—especially given you’re paying the same price regardless.
Sunbasket also offers heat-and-eat meals, but the one I tried—a chicken-and-dumplings riff with gnocchi—was a bit of a miss.
Read our full review of Sunbasket here.
The best prepared healthy meal delivery service: Factor
Pros:
- Easy and fast to prepare
- Meals feel balanced
- Generally tasty
Cons:
- Sides can feel repetitive
- Some dishes are less successful than others
- Portion sizes might feel small for some
Testers: Alaina Chou and Gunsel Pehlivan, video director
About Factor: Factor offers entirely premade, heat-and-eat meals that require just a short trip to the microwave. The brand positions its meals as nutritious, dietitian-approved, and “designed to support your wellness goals.”
What we loved: I tested the service for two weeks and was pleasantly surprised. The dishes were well-seasoned and flavorful for microwave meals, and as someone who is trying to prioritize protein in her diet at the moment, I appreciated how easy Factor made it to do just that. Because the meals are completely premade and labeled with nutritional information, they’re a great option for anyone with hyper-specific macro goals or dietary preferences in mind.
Some favorites from my two weeks of testing were the Green Chile Chicken and Homestyle Turkey and Gravy. Video director Gunsel Pehlivan enjoyed the Cavatelli with Pork Ragù and Chimichurri Chicken. “I was pleasantly surprised at how moist the chicken breast was and how balanced the flavors were in almost all of the mains,” Pehlivan writes.
The meals tend to follow a protein plus vegetable plus starch format, which, while a bit repetitive after weeks of testing, meant they all felt balanced. Vegetable portions in particular felt generous—not always a given in the world of meal delivery services.
Factor recently partnered with the plant-based meal delivery brand, Sakara (one of our other favorite healthy meal delivery services), to develop a line of nutrient-dense, protein-packed salads. The salads, which get their protein either from chicken or plant-based options like chickpeas, tofu, or edamame, are substantial and tasty. Contributor Lizzy Briskin tested the Factor x Sakara salads for a week, reporting that “the lettuce, which can often become sad and limp in prepared salads, was crisp and green. I was especially impressed with the tender and flavorful chicken breast, which came well seasoned and cut into satisfying bite-size pieces.”
What we’d leave: While Factor meals are well executed for microwave meals, they are still, at the end of the day, microwave meals. After two weeks of eating six meals a week, I was ready for something home-cooked. With that in mind, this would be a great service to mix in with a few nights of actual cooking.
I found that some of the vegetable sides were both repetitive and a bit waterlogged after their trips to the microwave—though not egregiously so.
Read our full review of Factor here.
Best for plant-based eaters: Purple Carrot
Pros:
- Healthy meals that are quick, easy, and genuinely delicious
- Costs significantly less than regular takeout
- Offers a range of difficulty levels, including fully prepared options
Cons:
- Requires you to read the recipe carefully
- Entirely vegan menu may not appeal to all eaters
Tester: Alaina Chou
About Purple Carrot: Purple Carrot is an entirely plant-based meal delivery service that offers both meal kits and ready-to-eat meals. Over the past few years, multiple BA contributors have tested the service for several weeks. Every tester came to the same conclusion: This is an excellent meal delivery service for vegans and non-vegans alike.
What we loved: Most meals are a mix of fresh produce and packaged ingredients—think vegan cheeses, precooked grains, and premade sauces. I loved how neatly each kit was preportioned for its respective recipe, so I could easily grab everything I needed from the fridge when cooking at my boyfriend’s place.
Purple Carrot squashed my outdated perception of what vegan food could be. Around 20 meal kit recipes are available each week, and the variety of dish types and cuisines made it hard to narrow down my choices. The instructions were straightforward, and each meal was balanced, well composed, and packed with flavor. Standouts included the Winter Squash Soup spiced with togarashi and served over quinoa-speckled rice, the light and refreshing Zaru Soba, and the BBQ Burnt Ends made from mushroom-based protein that could’ve fooled me into thinking it was meat. Many recipes introduced me to new ingredients or techniques I’ll continue using, like crumbling extra-firm tofu into stir-fries instead of cubing it.
What we’d leave: When I placed my first order on the delivery cutoff date, over half the meal kit options were sold out—so I’d recommend selecting meals well in advance. Both weeks I tested Purple Carrot, I received emails a few days before delivery saying one of my selected items wasn’t available because “the ingredients didn’t meet our quality standards.” Those meals were replaced with alternatives I had no say in, and both times I ended up with dishes I never would’ve chosen (a premade meze platter instead of a falafel bowl, and a 60-minute pesto risotto). This happened consistently enough that I suspect it’s fairly common, and I’m unsure whether replacements would align with specific dietary preferences noted at sign-up.
While none of the recipes were particularly difficult, they could’ve been more streamlined. The Winter Squash Soup, for example, required three cooking vessels instead of two because the bok choy had to be roasted separately. It’s also worth noting that some prep steps (chopping garlic, crumbling tofu) appear in the ingredient list rather than the instructions, so give recipes a thorough read before you start cooking.
Read our full review of Purple Carrot here.
Best prepared meals for wellness-heads: Sakara
Pros:
- Healthy, nourishing meals
- Appealing to vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free eaters
- Curated menu means all the planning is taken care of for you
Cons:
- Premium price point might not fit into a lot of people’s budgets
- Most breakfast options skew sweet, which may not suit savory fans
Testers: Emma Laperruque, associate director of cooking; Carina Finn, former commerce editor; and Alaina Chou
About Sakara: Sakara is a wellness-focused meal delivery and supplement brand with two nutrition program offerings: its Signature Nutrition Program and its Level II Detox. Meals are entirely plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free. They’re also an aesthetically-minded wellness head’s dream: Think rainbow-hued salads, veggie-laden soups, and protein-rich breakfast parfaits crowned with granola.
What we loved: We’ve extensively tested both of Sakara’s nutrition programs and think the Signature Program is the way to go if you’re looking for something to subscribe to long-term. Both associate director of cooking Emma Laperruque and contributor Carina Finn praised Sakara’s balanced, thoughtfully designed meals. The salads in particular were a highlight for Laperruque: “They’re generously portioned, so you have enough fuel to power you through the afternoon, and they’re thoughtfully designed with a range of textures and colors. Just about every dressing I wished I had a full bottle of to keep in the fridge for future meals.”
“As someone who puts condiments on my condiments, I expected to feel the need to doctor things up to make them taste better, but everything was already packed with flavor. The dishes ranged from Indian-ish (‘clarity curry’ soup with naan) to Mexican-ish (a lavender ‘cheez’ quesadilla with broccoli pesto), and there was enough range that I didn’t get bored,” Finn writes.
What we’d leave: This is not necessarily a negative, but breakfasts tend to be sweet—something to be aware of if you’re a savory breakfast person. But the main downside to Sakara is the price. “At $140 to $465 per week (per person!), depending on your plan, it’s the priciest option on this list. But if you’re someone who prioritizes wellness and sees food as a source of nourishment and healing, you’ll like what you get. It’s also a great option for people who are gluten-free or vegan,” Laperruque writes.
Read our full review of Sakara here.
Best for a busy lifestyle: Hungryroot
Pros:
- Lots of variety/grocery items
- Kid-friendly snacks
- Super-easy recipes
- You can add items to your “never” list if you hate them
Cons:
- Like all meal kits, there’s a hefty amount of packaging to deal with
- Selecting your groceries is labor-intensive
Tester: Olivia Tarantino, senior commerce editor
About Hungryroot: If you hate grocery shopping or meal prepping, Hungryroot is the healthy meal delivery service for you. It’s more of an AI-powered grocery delivery service than a meal kit, but if you choose to add “recipes” to your weekly order, your box will include a recipe card with suggestions for how to easily combine the grocery items into quick and easy meals.
What we loved: Hungryroot’s flexibility is its biggest strength. Unlike services with limited weekly menus, you can select from recipe kits (like Southwest Chopped Salad with Beyond Patties and Cheddar or Craveable Chorizo Street Corn Grain Bowl), prepared meals (microwave-friendly bowls, soups, sandwiches, and salads), and grocery items à la carte (snacks, yogurt, juices, bread, and more). Your plan determines how many credits you receive each week, and you redeem those credits for whatever you want; meal kits typically cost around 11 credits, while snacks run one to three credits.
“I appreciated being able to pick exactly what I wanted without feeling locked into a specific meal plan,” senior commerce editor Olivia Tarantino says. “Each recipe can also be edited, so if you already have cheddar cheese at home (like I did when shopping for a burger bowl recipe), you can remove it from your order and spend those credits elsewhere.” She also appreciated the freedom to repurpose ingredients: “I ordered a Marinara Ricotta Ravioli with Baby Mushroom dish and ended up using the mushrooms in an omelet instead of the pasta.”
The flexibility extends to timing too. “If I couldn’t cook one night, I wasn’t frantically worrying about my meal kit expiring before I could get to it,” Tarantino notes. “Because most of the ‘recipes’ are basically collections of grocery ingredients, you’re free to use them for whatever you want.”
What we’d leave: The credit system takes some getting used to. “You use credit rather than dollar values, and each item has an assigned credit value—it’s not immediately intuitive, though you can reduce or roll over unused credits to the following week,” Tarantino says.
Because Hungryroot functions as a grocery store with endless recipe-building possibilities, scrolling through all the options can be time-consuming. Tarantino found herself spending over 30 minutes selecting meals, even with filtering options. If that doesn’t appeal to you, Hungryroot’s AI quiz will learn your preferences and automatically fill your cart with suggestions each week.
Read our full review of Hungryroot here.
Best organic healthy meal kit: Green Chef
Pros:
- Simple recipes with tasty results
- Easy-to-follow instructions with step-by-step photos
- High-quality meat, seafood, and produce
- Vegetarian meals are creative and satisfying (lots of beans, nuts, seeds, dairy and higher protein veggies, and offered some (but not a lot) of tofu or tempeh options)
Cons:
- Produce options can feel repetitive and out of season
- Would have liked to see more “Protein Packed” vegetarian or vegan meals, and some more tofu or tempeh options
Testers: Kelsey Jane Youngman, senior service editor; Joe Sevier, senior SEO editor
About Green Chef: Green Chef is the first CCOF-certified organic meal kit delivery service, which means it’s committed to sourcing organic fresh produce and eggs, as well as providing organic beef, chicken, and wild-caught seafood as an option. While the company acknowledges that it reserves the right to replace a given ingredient with a high-quality conventional option if the organic option doesn’t meet its quality standards, this is not a common occurrence, according to our testers.
What we loved: Senior SEO editor Joe Sevier praised Green Chef for its generally tasty meals, writing, “This was the best packaged kit I’ve ever reviewed.” Senior service editor Kelsey Jane Youngman appreciated the ease of cooking thanks to premade sauces, stocks, herb blends, and precut vegetables. “I am confident that a beginner cook could easily follow the instructions and make a delicious meal,” she writes.
Green Chef also offers a free one-on-one nutrition coaching session with your first box. While neither of our testers took advantage of this, it’s a great option to have for people with specific health goals.
What we’d leave: The recipe offerings tended to be pretty formulaic, consisting of a protein, a veggie, and a carb or starch. Youngman felt a few of the recipes didn’t quite work, like a Spiced Salmon with Mango Salsa, in which the ratio of purple sweet potatoes to black beans and bell peppers felt off. Sevier also noted that the prep for his Coconut Curry Glazed Cauliflower dish “was a little all over the place,” and thought that the use of multiple pans and both the oven and the stove could’ve been better streamlined.
Read our full review of Green Chef here.
Best healthy meal delivery service for salad lovers: Gardencup
Pros:
- Fresh ingredients
- Meat options come with generous amounts of protein
- Super convenient for on-the-go lunches
Cons:
- Vegetarian/vegan salads don’t feel as substantial
- Hard to mix thoroughly without transferring to a bowl
Tester: Wilder Davies, commerce writer
About Gardencup: Gardencup specializes in salads and bowls packaged in plastic jars (or cups, as the brand name suggests). Their offerings are nostalgic (think Caesar, Cobb, Southwest chicken, and wedge salads), travel-friendly, and ultra convenient—just open the jar, add your dressing, shake, and eat (or transfer to a bowl if you prefer).
What we loved: Commerce writer Wilder Davies appreciated that the salads didn’t skimp on the meat. The salads he tried averaged around 30 grams of protein, “which left me feeling full by the time I finished eating,” he writes. For even more protein, the brand’s Powercups—with a grain or noodle base—range from 30 to 46 grams per serving.
While many premade salads wilt quickly in the fridge, Davies found his Gardencups stayed relatively fresh through day five. Crunchy toppings are packaged separately, so there’s no need to worry about sogginess.
What we’d leave: Davies notes that the vegetarian offerings didn’t feel as substantial to him, so those who don’t eat meat may want to look elsewhere. He also found that the cups were often so full, it was difficult to fully mix the salad with the dressing by shaking alone.
Read our full review of Gardencup here.
How we tested these meal delivery services
We continually test and retest meal delivery services throughout the year to ensure we’re getting multiple perspectives on each brand, and that we’re always keeping up to date with the latest quality levels and menu offerings. Each time we test, we try to subscribe to multiple weeks of the service to get a true sense for how well it integrates into our lives and how sustainable it is to eat for an extended period of time. We evaluate food delivery services based on the following criteria:
How does the kit fare in an unboxing test?
We take note of how each delivery is packed, making sure everything arrives adequately cold and that ingredients are packaged securely. We also pay attention to how the ingredients are divided up: Are they separated by recipe, or all thrown together in a single bag? We appreciated when the ingredients were packed according to their corresponding recipes as this made it easier to grab them all in one go when it came time to cook.
We cook each meal according to the provided instructions and evaluate whether those instructions are clear and accurate.
This is arguably the most important metric! We taste every meal and take notes on the seasoning, how well proteins and veggies are cooked, and how well the components work together.
How balanced are the meals?
For this healthy meal delivery services review in particular, we paid close attention to how balanced each meal was. We wanted to see an adequate amount of vegetables, sufficient grams of protein, and a mix of protein, carbs, and fats that kept us full and made us feel good.
Who is this meal kit right for?
Different meal kits are designed to meet different needs, so while we assess them compared to each other, we also keep in mind whether they’re serving the particular user they’re targeted for. A meal kit designed to be ultra fast and family-friendly should include kid-friendly options and speedy cook times, while a meal kit designed to introduce you to new flavors and techniques should have a menu that reflects that.
We also note the degree to which each meal kit caters to different dietary needs and preferences. Whether you’re pescatarian or carb-conscious, it’s helpful to have clear labeling and filters when you go to select your meals.
How does the price compare to grocery store prices, takeout, and the cost of other meal kits?
Meal kits are, on average, going to be pricier than getting groceries yourself. That’s because you’re paying a premium for the convenience they afford—not only do they save you a trip to the store, but they also spare you the hassle of meal planning and meal prepping. But when testing, we consider the price of each meal kit and whether it feels merited based on the quality of the service.
What to look for in a healthy meal delivery service
The word healthy can mean a lot of things, so we spoke with registered dietitian-nutritionist Lauren Manaker, MS, RDN, LD, CLEC, about what to look out for when selecting a meal delivery service.
The number one thing she recommends being aware of is sodium content. “A lot of [meal kits] tick a lot of boxes, but they’ll include some sauces or some ingredients that are surprisingly high in sodium,” she warns. This can be particularly true in the case of premade meals, where the meals come pre-seasoned and also might contain extra sodium as a form of preservative.
Another thing to keep an eye out for: How much produce do the meals include? “When I’m choosing [a meal kit], I like to look at whether they’re adding some broccoli just to add some color and say ‘we add the broccoli,’ or if they’re adding enough broccoli to be considered a full serving of vegetables,” Manaker says. While that full serving size will depend on the vegetable at hand, Manaker says it should be around a half cup of cooked vegetables.
