The Most Nutritious Meal Kits On The Market, Ranked
Meal delivery kits have become a dime-a-dozen service in recent years. Whether you want budget-friendly meals delivered right to your door or you're looking for prepackaged and measured ingredients to create restaurant-quality meals in your own kitchen, there's a meal kit for you. According to Statista, the meal kit industry is expected to grow to more than $17 billion in the United States in 2023.
Although many meal kit services exist, not all of them cater to overall nutrition. However, the meal kits on this list are not only some of the most convenient and yummy, but they're also some of the best health-focused boxes your money can buy. To compile this list, we researched dozens of nutritious meal kits designed to boost overall nutrition or target specific health needs, like nutrient-rich meals for kids and plant-based meals. Then, we narrowed down our top picks based on each meal kit's unique benefits, meal variety, and reviews.
14. Gobble
Gobble offers an excellent mix of convenience and nutrition with its meals that are designed to cook in 15 minutes or less using ingredients that chefs prepare for you so that you can take some of the tedious work off your hands. You can choose how often you'd like your box, skip boxes when you don't need them, and customize how many meals and servings you get in each shipment.
Gobble's Classic plan has a good mix of flavors, cuisines, and proteins, with a personalized protein feature that lets you switch from animal-based to plant-based protein if you choose. Or, pick the Lean & Clean, which is packed with lean protein and balanced fat and carbs for a nutrient-dense plate with servings totaling 650 calories or less.
If there's anything to complain about with Gobble, it's the pricing, according to some reviewers on Reddit. However, as one Redditor says, the convenience might be worth the cost. "You won't think cooking [the meals] is too much of a chore," the commenter explains. "Also because there's less prep, you don't have to do as much clean up as well. So you're trading money for ease, convenience, and health."
13. Splendid Spoon
Splendid Spoon is a company that focuses on packing as much flavor as possible into its nutrient-rich meals. Its meals and products are backed by nutrition experts to ensure that they all have the right balance of healthy fats, proteins, and other nutrients, using natural and plant-based ingredients. For instance, its Cauliflower Tikka Soup has 4 grams of dietary fiber, no added sugar, 0 trans fat, and 3 grams of protein, and includes nutritious ingredients like cashews and turmeric for texture and flavor.
A unique feature of Splendid Spoon is the customer's ability to customize their shipments with other products in addition to healthy meals, like smoothies, juices, and shots. Its Wellness Shot, for example, boosts the body with oregano for immunity and lemon, which has antioxidant properties (via WebMD).
A review on Medical News Today notes that Splendid Spoon's plant-based and gluten-free options may benefit people looking to lose weight, reduce blood pressure, and reduce digestive sensitivities.
12. Yumble
It's not just adults who can access healthy meals through convenient delivery services. Yumble is just for kids, featuring nutritious ingredients in each meal that give them the important stuff their bodies need while also catering to pickier palates. Some of its offerings include cauliflower mac and cheese, chicken marinara with veggie-based sauce, and hidden veggie muffins. The menu changes weekly, allowing parents to choose from a broad range of meals to please even the pickiest eaters. There are also plenty of meals that cater to specific dietary needs, including soy-free, vegetarian, gluten-free, and egg-free. Simply look at the symbols in each meal's description to quickly find what you need.
Registered dietician Lindsey DeSoto explains in a review on Fit Healthy Momma that Yumble's meal plans help parents make good food choice for their kids, such as ensuring that meals fall within expert recommendations for sodium. Overall, DeSoto says that the meals provide ideal nutrition for kids using natural and wholesome ingredients. Bonus: The meals are already prepared and prepackaged to boost the convenience factor for busy parents.
11. Green Chef
Take one look at the Green Chef website and your mouth might immediately start watering when you see photos of bright-colored soups, flavorful chicken, and veggie-based meals. That's because Green Chef is all about helping you make both beautiful and healthy meals in your kitchen by shipping pre-measured and pre-prepped ingredients and recipe instructions to your door. Green Chef is certified as an organic company by the USDA and partners with farmers to source quality and sustainable ingredients for its meals.
When you sign up for Green Chef, you can choose from six different meal plans to customize your options, which you can change at any time. Mediterranean, gluten-free, and keto are a few of the available options. Each week, get up to four meals for as many as six people.
Registered dietician Kelli Shallal MPH RD says in her review on Hungry Hobby that Green Chef's meals plans are "composed of well-balanced meals." Shallal also credits Green Chef with doing a great job of prioritizing a balance between macronutrients.
10. Mosaic Foods
Mosaic Foods bases its company on its motto, "The Fresh Take," which governs the way it sources food and feeds its customers. In short, the company is on a mission to make food more sustainable and get healthy food into the hands of the people who need it most. Therefore, the company uses real ingredients rather than artificial stuff and expert chefs to craft recipes and cook the food. Additionally, all food is frozen after cooking to reduce food waste by helping it arrive in fresh condition to your home.
Customers on Trustpilot give Mosaic Foods an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars, consistently noting that the meals are delicious and unique, which helps them stay on track with healthy eating without getting bored. One customer states, "Out of all the meal delivery services I've tried, I've enjoyed the meals at Mosaic the most. I feel that there's a good variety of meals, the quality is good, portions are solid, and they are reasonably priced. Customer support has also been incredibly responsive whenever I have issues."
9. Territory
Territory offers a unique approach to finding the meals you want to add to your subscription box. With this service, you can search for meals based on a specific ingredient, a dietary need, or even a macronutrient range to ensure that you're hitting your carb, protein, and fat targets each day. Each week you place an order, Territory's algorithm learns more about you and your meal preferences to suggest meals that fit your lifestyle best. Some options you can find with a Territory meal plan include Lentil Shepherd's Pie, Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Peach BBQ Sauce, and Chia Crusted Tofu.
Territory meals come cooked and prepackaged to save you time and effort in the kitchen. Choose from weekly or twice-weekly deliveries with as many as 12 meals in each delivery.
One reviewer on Trustpilot says, "Choices are macro-friendly, good ingredients for people with nutritional limitations, easy to freeze and heat up later, great for health-conscious busy professionals."
8. Hungryroot
Hungryroot is a bit different from other meal kits on our list in that you pay a specific amount per week to get credits that you use to shop. Use those credits to purchase groceries specifically needed for Hungryroot recipes, or stock up your online shopping cart with various groceries you want to make your own dishes.
Some of the ingredients you can choose from include fresh-cut produce, healthy sweets, organic rice, and organic proteins. You can easily see which ingredients fit your dietary needs by looking for symbols like V for vegan and GF for gluten-free underneath their pictures on product pages. Hungryroot helps you out by starting with a list of recommended groceries and recipes, but you can customize your list to your preferences with a few clicks.
Registered dietician Kelli Shallal (via Hungry Hobby) calls Hungryroot "the one I've been waiting for!" and her favorite meal kit out of the several she's tried after using it every month for a full year. One perk of Hungryroot, says Shallal, is its clear nutrition information that you can find on every recipe on the website.
7. Freshly
Freshly provides already-cooked meals designed to be one full serving for an average adult, with between 300 and 650 calories per serving. When you sign up, you can set your preferences to include dietary needs, like peanut-free or low-carb. Subscriptions are available from four meals to 12 meals per week, allowing you to order as much as you need for yourself or your family. And, because these meals are already cooked when they arrive at your door, you can simply stack them in the refrigerator until you're ready to eat them and not have to worry about cooking.
Freshly's meats are certified by the USDA to have no preservatives, fillers, or artificial additives (via Healthline). In a review of the meal kit, Kelli McGrane, MS, RD stated, "As a dietician and mom, I especially appreciate the creative use of vegetables and legume-based pastas to create nutritious twists without sacrificing flavor."
6. Fresh N Lean
Fresh N Lean states that it's "food fast, not fast food," alluding to the fact that, although it offers fast and convenient meals, its meals are not the same quality you'd find at a fast food restaurant. Instead, you'll get prepared meals with organically-sourced ingredients prepared by chefs and delivered right to your door. Stick them in the refrigerator until you're ready to reheat and enjoy them.
Unlike some other kits, you can choose breakfast meals to add to your subscription, including a turkey maple sausage scramble, banana cinnamon pecan oatmeal, and scrambled eggs and hash browns. You can also choose from various diet plans, like vegan low carb, paleo, and keto, so you get only suggested meals that cater to those dietary needs.
According to a CNET review, portion sizes are "adequate," which could help people who struggle with portion control avoid overeating. The reviewer also notes that "...it's clear that the brand keeps meals to a high standard. An impressive feat considering the food is cooked ahead of time, vacuum-sealed, packed on ice, and flown across the country."
5. Trifecta
Trifecta goes beyond being a typical meal kit delivery service by adding nutrition coaching to each subscription it sells. Start by customizing your subscription for macro-balanced meals that are made by real chefs using organic ingredients. Then, you'll gain access to the Trifecta health program, an app-based system that allows you to track your food, workouts, goals, and progress at your fingertips. The app even includes resources from nutritionists and workouts and healthy recipes to follow.
Trifecta's recipes are designed by real dieticians to ensure they meet the necessary macros and nutrition guidelines for a healthy diet. When you sign up, you can choose from six menu types, including Whole 30, clean eating, and paleo.
A review from Carnivore Lifestyle praises Trifecta for its rotating menu preventing the reviewer from feeling bored with the available options. They also mention that meals are full of flavor and ingredients are obviously high quality, leading to a satisfying feeling after eating them.
4. Soupergirl
On season 10 of Shark Tank, we were introduced to a company called Soupergirl, which touted healthy soups with loads of flavor and quality ingredients. Unfortunately, after sharing that they weren't making much of a profit on their revenue, the owners had to leave without making a deal with a shark. Still, Soupergirl has thrived on its own, thanks to its mother-daughter ownership's commitment to real, freshly-made foods.
When you order a Soupergirl subscription, you can fill your box with wholesome soups, like Really Creamy Mushroom or Sweet Potato Chowdah Rules. The company also has gazpacho, nutritious bowls, oats, and soup toppers to take your soup to another flavor level.
One article in The Washington Post followed the reviewer through consecutive days of eating Soupergirl soups as part of a cleanse. Following the cleanse, the reviewer admits that they reaped some benefits from it, stating, "This cleanse hasn't ruined pizza for me forever — nothing is that powerful — but before I pick up a slice, I'll remember how I felt more energetic and healthy when I kept my diet plant-based."
3. Purple Carrot
Purple Carrot focuses on plant-based nutrition. Choose between its already-prepared meals or save a few dollars by ordering meal kits with all the ingredients you need to cook them yourself. The latter might also help you learn a few things about cooking vegan or vegetarian if you're looking for more of a lifestyle change instead of purely a diet transformation.
According to Purple Carrot, its plant-based meals can help people lower bad cholesterol and lose weight. Some of the meals you can enjoy include Cuban-Style Black Beans with Sweet Potatoes, Cavatappi Alla Norma, and Kimchi Mushroom Fried Rice.
A review on CNET mentions that most meals take about 30 minutes to cook, and you don't need to be a professional chef to figure them out. And, although they usually eat and enjoy meats, the reviewer said that, while trying Purple Carrot, "I didn't miss the meat all that much."
2. Factor
Designed by dieticians and created by chefs, the prepared meals from Factor are suited to fit a variety of dietary needs. The company crafts several weekly meals to fit keto, low-calorie, high-protein, and other types of diets, or you can choose a mix of diet types to add variety to your box. Options like keto Monterey spinach chicken and pesto salmon are sure to get your mouth watering, and you can view all the nutrition information and ingredients for each meal before you order by viewing the meals on the weekly menu.
Factor has a bit more customization for subscribers than other meal kits. While some limit you to only getting three or four meals a week, you can choose up to 18 on Factor. The service adds suggested meals for you each week, but you can always head to your dashboard to select and swap meals to get what you want.
After trying Factor, registered dietician Kelli McGrane tells Medical News Today, "I tried several prepared meal delivery services around the same time, and Factor was my favorite. [...] As promised, all of the meals were quick and easy to reheat. I was especially impressed by the quality of ingredients used (organic produce, sustainable seafood, grass-fed meat). I was also impressed by the textures and flavors of the vegetables and grains included."
1. Sunbasket
Landing at the top spot on our list is Sunbasket, which bases each of its meals on healthy, real, organic ingredients. Not only does Sunbasket prioritize health through wholesome meals, but it also ensures that it's helping the environment when doing so. Sunbasket produce is certified organic, and its proteins are only sourced from responsible, sustainable farms and fishing practices.
Let's talk about the meals. One thing you might notice about Sunbasket's meals is freshness. The company emphasizes seasonal produce, whether you opt for its already-prepared meals or its cook-on-your-own meal kits. You can also choose from several dietary needs when crafting each weekly menu, including Mediterranean, Pescatarian, and Carb-Conscious.
On Trustpilot, Sunbasket has garnered more than 3,300 reviews with a 4.7 out of 5-star rating at the time of this writing. One longtime customer recently reviewed the service on Trustpilot, stating, "We have eaten three meals a week with Sun Basket since 2015. If they weren't absolutely amazing, we wouldn't have gone with them for so very long. Their food is always delicious and allows us to enjoy many different cuisines and flavors and learn great recipes and prep/cooking techniques."