Get Dinner Ready In Less Than 15 Minutes With These 8 Prepared Meal Delivery Services
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There’s nothing quite like a home-cooked meal. But meal delivery kits can be a lifesaver if you don’t have the time to go out shopping and meal-prep healthy dishes for the whole week. Especially if you have dietary restrictions, or just prefer to eat a vegan, vegetarian, paleo diet, then there’s a subscription box out there for you.
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But what if it’s late, and you don’t even have time to cook a full recipe from scratch? Or if you know your knife skills won’t leave you trying out for Top Chef anytime soon? The best prepared meal delivery services offer fast, ready-to-eat meals that are just as tasty (and nutritious) as a full-fledged meal kit. They eliminate the need for excessive prep work, trips to the store in advance, and some can also help you track specific macros and nutrients.
We picked our favorite subscriptions based on personal (taste)testing, as well as overwhelming well-reviewed choices from trusted brands. Just pop these meals into the oven or microwave, and bon appétit!
In This Article
What Are the Best Prepared Meal Delivery Services?
Buying Guide: How We Chose the Best Prepared Meal Services
What Are the Best Prepared Meal Delivery Services?
Whether you’re looking to have dinner ready in under 15 minutes, trying out to make going meatless a little easier, or looking for healthy options that are full of flavor, there’s nothing easier than stocking up on these ready-made meals. Here are our top picks for the best prepared meal delivery services to try right now.
BEST OVERALL: Factor
BEST LOW-PREP: Home Chef
BEST FOR LARGE GROUPS/FAMILIES: FreshDirect
BEST FOR ATHLETES: Fuel Meals
BEST VEGETARIAN: Purple Carrot
BEST VARIETY: Sunbasket
BEST TASTING: Territory
EDITOR’S CHOICE: Thistle
1. Factor
Did we say frozen? Well, Factor leads the pack when it comes to their prepared meals, which ships fresh, never frozen, to preserve both the overall taste and integrity of the dishes. Each meal is ready in around three minutes, and comes in a well-insulated, vacuum-sealed package that can stay fresh for up to 10 days in the fridge (though you can always freeze them yourself).
What most impressed us was their thoughtfully-crafted menu, which was designed for folks with specific nutrition goals in mind (including athletes). Their variety of plans include keto, vegan (along with an entire low-calorie menu), flexitarian, and high-protein menus. These were easy to throw in my bag to bring to work or for busy nights when I needed a fast, tasty meal and the portion sizes were always on the money.
There’s also an option to let them know if you have specific allergies (although most of their meals are inherently gluten-free and organic), and we like that you can add on extra protein in bulk. Choose from six to up to 18 meals a week starting at $5.50 a serving (normally $10.99) as opposed to choosing a number of days. We enjoyed dishes like Ground Pork Cheddar Chili & Mac, and elevated “Gourmet Plus” options like Roasted Red Pepper Filet Mignon.
While you won’t get the culinary pizzaz or range of international cuisines like you might from get other subscriptions, the breakdown of their macros shows Factor’s commitment to nutrient-dense foods, and just simple, delicious flavors.
subscribe on factor $5.50+/serving
Promising Customer Feedback: “Factor has made our life easier. On those days we just do not have the time to prepare and cook a proper meal it’s a ‘Factor Night’.” —Preston, Factor.com
2. Home Chef
So let’s say you actually enjoy the process of cooking, and are just looking so have 30 minutes off your weeknight dinner routine. Say no more, because Home Chef has you covered with their selection of oven-ready meals that take (almost) all the work out of dinner, but still could technically be considered “home cooked.”
Their Fresh & Ready meals focus on low-prep or oven-ready options such as a cheesy taco bowl, where you can toss all the ingredients into their prepared pan, pop it in the oven, and serve it up in around 30 minutes. Plus, for the summer, you can also order grill-ready meals and lighter salads that require minimal prep work and cleanup.
While these meal kits eliminate precious prep time, that doesn’t exactly mean the meals will be done fast as a microwavable one (they do offer sub 30-minute meal options, though). These meals are designed for those who still enjoy the process of cooking, but want to cut down just one part of the process. With Home Chef’s delivery kit, you don’t need ridiculous knife skills or a culinary school degree to make a satisfying meal.
There aren’t a ton of choices for this category yet, but the kit comes down to under $10 a serving, and you can choose from between 6-12 servings a week.
subscribe on home chef $9.99+/serving
Promising Customer Feedback: “I just received my first order and I am very impressed. The meal kit was fresh, the meal was easy to prepare, and the quality and quantity of the meal kits ingredients were more than I expected. Delicious and fun to prepare. Took all the time and effort out of figuring out what to eat and saved me tons of time in a grocery store. Truly happy and feel like the price was right on target.” —Shelley, Trustpilot
3. FreshDirect
When you’re already in the throes of your weekly grocery shopping, sometimes after all the prepping and budgeting and ordering — you just wish the groceries would magically turn themselves into a full-fledged dish. If you’ve got a lot of hungry mouths to feed, but you still do want to order other ingredients and produce, FreshDirect’s prepared meal section is the secret dinnertime weapon you never knew you needed.
FreshDirect, as a grocery delivery service, has the massive inventory of options of a supermarket, from whole vanilla beans, to farm share boxes of fresh, local produce. But unlike a regular supermarket’s (typically sad) hot foods section, think of their prepared foods section like your own personal deli counter. Want a smoked salmon platter for a high holiday? You’ve got it. Fresh rotisserie chicken? They’ll deliver it hot and fast. Have family coming over and next a full BBQ spread? They’ve got you covered.
They also offer offer same-day Express Delivery in certain zip codes, so you don’t even have to order takeout if you want a full meal you can heat up in just a few minutes to put on the table. The one thing to note is that FreshDirect is currently only available on the East Coast, including New York (all five boroughs) and parts of New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington, D.C., the Hamptons, and the Jersey Shore. That being said, if you live in those areas and you’re party-prepping or have to feed a large number of people fast, their ready-made options are solidly tasty (we’re big fans of the Arugula Salad with Beets and Goat Cheese).
The standard minimum for most deliveries is $30, and delivery fees range from $5.99 to $15.99, but if you know you’re going to order frequently, consider investing in DeliveryPass, which costs $129 for the year and gets you free delivery.
order prepared meals on freshdirect
Promising Customer Feedback: “I cannot say enough about how much better a food delivery service FreshDirect is over any other I have used. It isn’t only that they deliver what I’ve ordered on time, but since I have zero time to cook or mess around in the kitchen, FreshDirect’s prepared meals are a godsend. Everything I’ve ordered is fresh and delicious and EASY! Oh, and they are not only delicious, they are also nutritionally great. Is there anything that can be better than all this? Oh, yes, and it’s definitely worth the money.” —Nina T., Yelp
4. Fuel Meals
Specially-designed by nutritionists, there’s no better program that gives you ready-to-eat meals to help you maintain your fitness goals than Fuel Meals. The meals are also made to accommodate specific goal-focused needs, with two options — a Weight Loss Plan and a Muscle Gain plan.
But you don’t need to be in a specific stage of your life or necessarily looking to bulk up to reap the benefits of their well-balanced, nutritious meal options. The full program helps eliminate guesswork from any meal-prepping or planning process, giving you eight days of dinner, and the option for seven days of breakfast (you can choose up to 28 entrees and seven breakfasts per delivery).
Based on how your goals and needs change, you can approve or remove meals from the rotation at any time, so there’s real room for your input. Fuel Meals programs are best if you have a specific health-related goal in mind, anyways. Plus, they’re all ready to eat in three minutes or less, if you tend to get bored or frustrated by the repetition of these kinds of subscriptions. You can also add on dietitian-approved snacks to your meals.
Best part? Use exclusive promo code ROLLINGSTONE to get 30% off your entire order.
subscribe on fuel meals $9.95+/serving
Promising Customer Feedback: “I’ve been buying Fuel Meals for a while now and the Turkey Chile is probably my favorite…I’m so glad they’ve kept it on the menu! It’s the perfect mix of protein and carbs for me. I add some low fat sour cream and it hits the spot every time. 10/10 would recommend!” —Danielle T., FuelMeals.com
5. Purple Carrot
If you’re looking to go plant-based, but don’t know how to get in enough nutrients, or don’t want to learn to start out cooking complicated vegan recipes, Purple Carrot offers a wide range of prepared and low-prep meals that puts protein front and center.
For vegetarians and vegans alike, all their meals are plant-based, and include dishes like pesto portobello tortellini, creamy peanut noodles, and shawarma spiced broccoli and chickpeas. For those who are indecisive, Purple Carrot offers almost 20 prepared options per week, all of which come in single-serving compostable trays or plastic pouches, ready to be heated up.
But we love that their regular a la carte options are packed with plant-based proteins, from tofu, beans and legumes, to an “Impossible”-type faux chicken. It’s a great choice for those who want to ease into going meatless, or vegans and vegetarians looking for substitutes to popular comfort food dishes, like chicken nuggets, pizza, and baked mac and cheese. You won’t feel like you’re missing out on any of the flavor (or variety) compared to other services.
Select 2-4 recipes with 2-4 servings each per week, with meals starting at $13 per serving depending on the plan. Your subscription can be changed or canceled at any time, though.
subscribe on purple carrot $13+/serving
Promising Customer Feedback: “I’m amazed by both the quality of ingredients and the cleverness of the recipes. We are not vegan or even vegetarian, but I’m really happy to be adding plant-based meals to our diet.” —Rob L., PurpleCarrot.com
6. Sunbasket
While it’s a lot of fun trying out new recipes with regular meal kits, sometimes after a stressful day you want something that’s quick and easy for a weeknight dinner. Enter: Sunbasket’s Fresh & Ready Meals, a rotating weekly menu of 14 ready-to-eat meals.
Whether you’re working from home and in need of a ready-to-heat lunch, or living alone and don’t want to waste extra groceries, these meals come in single-serve portions and require no cooking—simply heat them up in a microwave or oven, and they’re ready in as little as six minutes (mine took around four).
If you need a break from cooking or meal prepping, these are a solid option. The meals are still on the level of Sunbasket’s creative, chef-driven meal kits, so you’re not sacrificing nutrition or flavor for convenience. My favorite of the batch I tried was the Zesty Black Bean Quinoa Bowl, which was like a great substitution for a Chipotle bowl.
However, one downside is that they’re purposefully under-seasoned, specifically so that you can add salt and pepper to your own taste. But the variety and sheer “why didn’t I think of that?”-type meals to come out of this service makes Sunbasket our favorite if you want to shake up your dinner routine.
subscribe on sunbasket $9.99+/serving
Promising Customer Feedback: “Everything has tasted delicious and was so easy to make. It’s such a relief to not have to plan and shop to have healthy and tasty meals.” —Brittany H., SunBasket.com
7. Territory
Territory’s offerings check all our boxes for prepared, fresh, and easily heated up in a microwave or oven — all with unique, creative dishes. We cannot emphasize enough that this is one of the tastiest meal deliveries we’ve tested, thanks to their independent chefs that prep all the food out of local commercial kitchens.
There are a whopping 10 different menus, with options that rotate weekly your specific menu varying depending on the time of year and where you’re located. They know their stuff, catering to a multitude of dietary needs, including vegan, vegetarian, and low-carb plans along with keto-specific options.
Territory have excellent, diverse menus that expand into different international cuisines while still keeping your nutritional requirements in check. Simply adjust your macros and calories with the slider while building your plan, or choose from any flavorful menu option. Think more “Mushroom Asado Bowl” and less bland, baked chicken on mashed cauliflower.
You can get six, 12, or 18 meals delivered once or twice per week, with over 35+ meal options per week. If you want branch out from the typical “meat and potatoes” fair of meal delivery kits, Territory Foods will show you what flavorful possibilities lie ahead.
subscribe on territory $11.95+/serving
Promising Customer Review: “I’ve been eating Territory Foods regularly for more than a year. They are always healthy, filling, and the vast majority of the meals are also delicious. The chicken enchiladas and Dijon mustard pulled pork are my two favorites (though they might only be offered in the DC area). I haven’t had a single issue with delivery. I’d recommend Territory without reservation.” —Joey M., Trustpilot
8. Thistle
We don’t consider ourselves picky eaters per se, but we do consider ourselves health conscious, especially when it comes to food. Add-in a gluten intolerance and a desire to incorporate more vegetables into our diet and well, there aren’t many meal delivery services that offer more than a couple generic dishes for our needs. That’s why we were excited to discover Thistle, a prepared meal service that offers plant-forward (read: vegetarian) cuisine that goes beyond a basic salad. A weekly menu could incorporate everything from polenta bowls and rice bowls to pesto pasta and even a Burmese khow suey. Thistle also offers pressed juices, smoothies and wellness shots too, which is great if you want to skip a full meal but still want something nutritious that can be added to each order. What we like: meals are 100% gluten and dairy-free, and you can choose vegan options as well. The variety of choices, the fresh ingredients, and the restaurant-inspired dishes make Thistle an easy way to make healthy eating a part of our weekly routine. It’s also the most best meal delivery service for people with dietary restrictions.
SUBSCRIBE TO THISTLE $11.50/serving
Promising Customer Review: “I have really loved Thistle. The meals are fresh, healthy and taste is consistently great. I also really like the flexibility with ordering (as much or as little as you want) with each delivery and transparency with ingredients and allergens. I also appreciate minimal packaging waste and recycling of bags and cold packs.” — Anna C., Reddit
Buying Guide: How We Chose the Best Prepared Meal Services
For this article, we’ve picked subscriptions that will ship pre-portioned, pre-cooked meals frozen (or fresh ingredients with minimal cook time) straight to your door. Just pop one out of your fridge or freezer, warm it up, and you have a satisfying and healthy meal ready to go for lunch or dinner — all you’ll need is a microwave, or oven. Many meals are made right before they’re shipped to you, so they’re fresher than picking up a frozen TV dinner that’s been sitting in a freezer for months.
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