Well, this one is a bit tricky, as both are included in this roundup, and there is some overlap. A meal kit is usually a subscription-based program that sends ingredients and recipes to your home.

A meal delivery service may be the above, or be pre-cooked meals or grocery items in addition or instead of ingredients for a specific meal. Do you need to subscribe to the meal kit?

Most of the time, yes! Usually a subscription is needed to try the meals, however, some companies also have a marketplace that sells items a la carte. How often do offerings and menus change? Typically, sites will switch up their meal offerings on a weekly basis.

Do I have to be a good cook to use a meal kit? Meal kits come in many different skill levels, from simply microwaving to more intensive chopping and cooking.

They can also be a great way to learn how to cook and teach children. Diet: Pay attention to the dietary options each service caters to, from vegetarian and vegan to Keto and paleo. Household Size: Count the number of people in your family and then account for how much they eat to best calculate how many servings you need to feed everyone.

Some kits detailed above have larger portions, while others are single-serve only. Budget: Meal kits and services have a wide range of prices. Some offer free shipping, while others have a minimum spend, and other specialty or health-related plans may cost more.

Time: Think about how long you want to be cooking for each night. Some meals require 30 or more minutes to cook, not including cleaning up. Check out New York Post Shopping for more content. Contact The Author Name required. Email required.

Comment required. Updated Jan. New York Post Composite. The hard part is just deciding which to try, which is why I tried them all for you first. Previous 1 of 3. Sophie Cannon. I promise the oven was off for these meal kits!

The beauty of trying so many companies was that some were intensive and others, like these, were microwave friendly. Brand spotlight. Pros: Full-sized ingredients, super fresh produce and large portions Offers a wine subscription box as well, to pair with your cooking creations A bit more in-depth cooking, with great tasting results Perfect for a hungry family or those who want to spend more quality time in the kitchen.

Cons: None to note. push function { if window. definedSlots [] ; } } ; }. This seriously looked straight out of Israel and tasted like it, too. How did I do?

I think the egg Gods were looking down on me, as this was the perfect fried egg for my burger that looked just like the photo. Cons: No options for vegans or other dietary preferences other than vegetarian and pescatarian. Pros: Delicious and high-quality meals — but what else would we expect from Martha?

Perfect for the home cook who likes a balance of easy meals and learning new skills. Also great for home-cooked dinners with easy directions and no need to go grocery shopping. Options for specific diets, including vegetarian and low-carb recipes, in addition to the classic comfort foods.

Cons: Make sure to check your zip code for delivery, as some areas in the Midwest and others are not eligible as of the time of publication. The steak and potatoes are a classic American meal from a classic American chef. The gravy was the best part, followed by the onion dressing topping the beans.

This was the best thing ever after a holiday gathering, with the ciabatta bread soaking up my drinks from the night before and the lovely comforting eggs and sausage on the inside of the casserole warming me from the inside out.

Good on you, Martha. Cons: Everything included except salt, pepper and oil. Pros: Dinnerly is one of the most affordable meal kits out there, perfect for families and new chefs alike. Vegetarians will rejoice at their meat-free offerings Digital recipe cards are on the site, so no need to keep a paper copy.

Cons: Make sure to check your zip code for delivery, as some areas in the Midwest and others are not eligible as of the time of publication Everything was included except for pantry staples like flour, salt, pepper and eggs, so be sure to check recipes before heading to the store if needed.

I now have a deeper appreciation for fried chicken, after now having made it from scratch. The one-pan gnocchi was super easy and also delicious, something Dinnerly does very well. Pros: Easy to customize meals and skip weeks.

Can order meals for two or four people, with two to six meals per week Easy-to-follow and aesthetically pleasing recipe cards in the box for each meal Accurate estimates for prep and cook time for an easy weekly schedule. Cons: Make sure to have kitchen staples such as salt, pepper, butter and oil in the house, as they are not included in the box.

Pros: Great for those with allergies in the house, as the cards indicate allergens in each basket ingredient Super fresh-tasting fish that comes on ice in the box Each meal takes six steps to complete, usually under about 35 minutes, perfect for quick lunches and dinners.

Pros: Breakfast, lunch, dinner and desserts all come frozen and ready to reheat and eat Great option for those on the go and also health-conscious Offers options for different diets, including keto, paleo, plant-based, low-carb, vegetarian, pescatarian and meat-eaters, too.

Cons: Have plenty of freezer space to store meals or order a smaller plan they range from four meals a week all the way up to 18 meals per week. Cons: Recipe cards are a bit harder to follow than some due to their small size, but easier to store and reuse for later No cook time estimations on the cards, but when timed, even a full steak meal was under 30 minutes, prep to plating.

Cons: A a bit more prep work, but worth the extra chopping time for the taste Everything was included even baking soda and butter except for oil, salt and pepper.

Pros: Wide variety of meals for those on a special diet, like Keto, paleo, vegetarian, vegan and more Comes with extras like weight management coaching, diet plans and more on the app or on your account Ability to order from different plans, in order to try different diets Ability to cancel or pause your plan at any time.

Pros: Plant-based to a whole new level: very healthy salads, breakfasts and bowls for super clean eating Unique offerings; not just trying to mimic traditional meals with plants, but creating whole new dishes and flavor profiles Labeled options for every day of the week, three meals a day, takes the planning out of meal prep Offers a detox program as well.

Cons: Sacrifices some flavor for health but replaces with superfoods and a rainbow of nutrients. Pros: Perfect for taking to work or school or having an easy lunch at home, with recyclable packaging and to-go style dressings and condiments.

All meals do not contain gluten, dairy, refined sugars, nitrates, chemical preservatives or artificial colors. Cons: Not the most upscale packaging or gourmet meals, but plenty of actually filling salads, bowls, and even some choices for breakfast, snacks, and desserts. Pros: Plant-based people take note as every meal and smoothie is plant-based Not boring, as there are more than 50 options ranging from soups to bowls to smoothies Great for on-the-go meals and snacks for busy people, post-gym pick-me-ups and no dishes to do after.

Cons: Not a total replacement for every night of the week but pretty close. Pros Great for toddlers and older kids, as they graduate into solid foods Pre-packaged and ready to heat and eat for easy meal times and no cleanup Variety to choose from, including smoothies, snacks and full meals Yummy enough for parents to take a bite, too ; Cut small to prevent choking.

Cons Mighty Bites snacks may be a bit high in sugar for those parents watching sugar intake Meals may need to be plated or hand-fed to avoid them ending up on the floor. Cons Not ideal for families or if you want leftovers On the more expensive side for some of the meal kits Only order what you can eat via refrigerator; meals taste less fresh when frozen.

Cons: Not a ton of options on the weekly menu, especially for larger plans Some meals have smaller portion sizes. Previous 1 of 5. Meals arrive refrigerated and can then be reheated in the microwave in about three minutes.

After microwaving, the meat remained tender and the meal was well-seasoned and tasted fresh. This take on Kung Pao chicken used a healthier noodle option and seasonings instead of breading or frying. Pros: Great selection of meals, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks and desserts Perfect for on-the-go eaters, busy people who forget to eat but want to be nutritious.

Most meals heat up in the microwave or stovetop in under 10 minutes, others need to be blended and some you can eat frozen ice cream and frozen treats. You can also skip or cancel at any time Menus are super easy to read and have specific details on nutrition, ingredients, protein content and more.

Cons: Mosaic specializes in veggie bowls, soups and oat bowls, so not for those that are looking for other options. But bowls include dishes like pasta and curries, for example, and not just vegetables! Pay attention to order and shipping minimums. This is the older packaging from , showcasing the classic cook-it-yourself meals and some snacks, too.

Pros: Wide array of options for both pre-made and traditional cook meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and snacks Ready-to-eat meals taste fresh, even when microwaved Ample amounts of organic produce and nitrate-free meats in the traditional meal kit; can serve more than the serving size and perfect for hungry families Smaller recipe cards for easy storage, and also found online or on the app for iPhone and Android.

Pros: Plans can include full meals, snacks and sweets — perfect for mindful eating all day A super fun and unique combination of a grocery delivery service with options to choose recipes as well — great to re-stock the fridge and help spark inspiration for meal planning Great for those who like to cook on their own terms but also enjoy a new recipe now and then.

Cons: The recipe card is found on the back of your order receipt and is not too colorful, but it gets the job done. Cons: Some meals do better in the oven or stovetop rather than in the microwave, like eggs, but others can be eaten right from the fridge, like salads and bowls.

For an easy keto breakfast, Fresh Meal Plan has got you covered. As a tip, remove the sauce and the eggs before microwaving for a better texture from the fridge.

Pros Many options for breakfast, lunch and dinner Meals come in plastic take-out-style containers for easy lunch-packing on the go Each item arrives fresh and has the eat-by date printed on the label for easy meal planning.

Cons Some areas of the United States are not available for shipping as of Jan. Thistle also offers snack options for each day, my Monday snack being a well-spiced chickpea dip, crackers and a few grapes. Share this article: Facebook Twitter Flipboard WhatsApp Email Copy.

click to copy. Home Chef. Most all diets, vegetarian, carb-conscious, calorie-conscious. Most all diets, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free.

Territory Foods. Most all diets, paleo, Keto, plant-based, vegetarian, vegan, Whole 30, low fat, low carb. Your weekly order cost depends on which items you choose, but plans require a minimum of nine items per order. The subscription can be paused or canceled easily and at any time.

Read our full review of Daily Harvest here. Daily Harvest meals arrive in recyclable packaging with very little excess plastic waste. Purple Carrot is easily the best meal kit service for eating plant-based. The recipes, though limited per week, are interesting, unique and use high-quality ingredients.

Purple Carrot full review here is the original plant-based meal kit service and this healthy food delivery service has a loyal and growing customer base. Purple Carrot makes it easy to sort its offerings into high-protein or gluten-free meals that satisfy even nonvegetarians.

In addition to the tasty vegan meals, you can add extras like banana chia pudding or overnight oats with apricot, goji berries and cashew butter to your weekly delivery.

Do be aware that some of the Purple Carrot meals take a bit of time and some skill to prepare but if quality, homemade vegan meal kits are a priority for you and extra trips to the store are not , this is probably the best meal kit for you.

Hungryroot is for anyone who seeks online grocery delivery and healthy recipe suggestions with all the ingredients to make them but doesn't want to commit to the rigor of a meal kit subscription. Hungryroot is part meal kit company and part healthy grocery delivery service.

Unlike traditional meal kits, Hungryroot tailors a delivery of groceries with simple recipe suggestions that can be created from them. The cost per serving decreases the more you order. While services like Blue Apron and Sunbasket lock you into recipes with rather specific ingredients portioned for that particular meal.

This is simply the best prepared plant-based meal service we've tried and it's one of the most affordable, too. I tested a week's worth of Mosaic inventive meatless meals full review here and for plant-based meal delivery, it doesn't get any better than this. Of the nine Mosaic meals I tried, none were bad and I really loved nearly all of them.

Personal favorites included the tender jackfruit chili and the olive, pepper and feta ragout, but there were plenty more that hit the spot.

There were also no mushy vegetables -- a plague in meal delivery -- and the meat stand-ins like jackfruit, tofu and vegan sausage were used in creative ways and cooked extremely well. It's also the most sustainable meal kit service when it comes to packaging.

Probably the most recognizable of the meal kit services, Blue Apron has a lot of healthy, fresh options on the menu -- and just a lot of options, in general. Blue Apron teamed up with Weight Watchers for easy-to-cook healthy recipes like sheet pan tandoori-style chicken and tilapia in lemon caper sauce.

These recipes align with its point system, making it easy for those in the program to have a healthy diet meal plan and keep track. Blue Apron offers customers roughly eight to 12 delicious meals to choose from per week including more than one vegetarian recipe option as well as a few that were created for the Weight Watchers Freestyle program.

Separate from Weight Watchers meals, its vegetarian options get high marks in the reviews I read, but if you're full-on vegan or vegetarian, there are likely better vegetarian specialty meal kits and meal delivery services with more daily or weekly plant-based options and ingredients.

Blue Apron also has one of the most user-friendly meal plan interfaces of all the meal kit services and optional wine pairings, too. With free dietician support, this meal service takes a holistic approach to better health through diet.

Plus, the food is pretty tasty. This comprehensive meal subscription includes free dietician counseling and is designed for those with food sensitivities and digestive issues.

ModifyHealth also offers tailored meal plans for diabetics, those with celiac disease as well as looking to improve heart health or eat fewer carbs. The food we tested was solid with lots of lean proteins, green vegetables and light, flavorful sauces.

Some dishes were bland and required salt but most were good or better. ModifyHealth uses a strategic elimination diet to help find the triggers of your adverse, The program puts a lot of focus on FODMAPS , which are fermentable carbohydrates found in many foods and are thought to be a common trigger for IBS and other gastrointestinal ailments.

A no-nonsense way to get your nutrients in with easy plant-based breakfast and lunch meals with no cooking required. This is the best meal delivery for ready-to-go, healthy breakfast and light lunches.

Splendid Spoon is hoping to entice folks who want to keep it simple, easy and nutritious for breakfast and lunch with its ready-made smoothies, soups and grain bowls delivered to your door weekly. Soup options include cauliflower tikka and Mexican tomato, while smoothies come in tasty combos like almond butter and jelly, blueberry acai and a green matcha smoothie with spirulina, ginger and turmeric.

Soups and smoothies are loosely categorized by their overall intended effect, like "heal," "energize" and "refresh. One thing to note is that the smoothies can be high in sugar. If you're cutting back on the sweet stuff is a goal in , you may want to look elsewhere or buy a good smoothie blender and make them at home.

Here's my full review of Splendid Spoon. Pete's may be pricey but you'll taste the difference. The tasty premade meals are perfect for athletes and those seeking high-protein and gluten-free meals for extra energy.

Pete's won me over in a week-long taste test , notching its place as one of the best healthy, organic meal delivery services I've yet to try. Pete's Real Food meals were all well-prepared too.

The meats were tender, the vegetables mostly cooked to proper doneness and all the flavors worked. The food wasn't overly seasoned and the recipes were mild and maybe even on the safe side -- but that's nothing a few shakes of hot sauce can't fix. If you're in training, avoiding gluten or keeping to a paleo plan and looking for lots of protein, healthy fats and nutrient-filled carbs such as sweet potatoes and beets, Pete's Real Food should hit the spot.

Pete's has lots of ordering options and the meals are made to freeze so if you don't want to subscribe, you can keep an inventory on hand for those moments you need a quick fix.

To test each meal delivery service, I tried at least five and sometimes as many as 10 meals from any given service. I tried to choose a range of meals from the various menu and meal plan offerings.

For instance, if a service offers plant-based meals I was sure to try at least one. I also mixed up the meal types to include rice bowls, meat dishes, plant-based offerings and other various styles offered by the brand. Further, I made sure to test a variety of cuisines -- Italian, Indian, Thai, Mexican -- if they were offered.

Because healthy food is subjective and people have varying nutrition needs and goals, I tried to approach this list from all angles and determine which meal services were healthiest for different types of eaters. Folks keeping to the keto diet, for instance, may consider low-carb meal delivery "healthiest.

I also took careful note of each meal delivery service's website, including what information was provided ingredients, nutritional info , how clearly the menu was organized and how simple it was to pick a healthy meal plan and order meals.

When they arrived, I noted how well they were packaged and checked whether each meal was still chilled or frozen. I took careful note of how food arrived and whether it was still chilled or frozen, as it was intended. To reheat meals, I took a twofold approach.

For some, I meticulously followed the heating instructions on the label. But since these are suggestions, I reheated other meals the way I would if left to my own devices. Often that meant warming gently in a nonstick skillet or reheating in an air fryer.

Many of the meal delivery services offer a microwave heating option, but I almost always found that produced worse results. Testing meal kits requires cooking and thus a different stand of practices and procedures for evaluation. Here's more on how we test meal kits at CNET.

The first thing you'll want to consider is what your nutrition goals are, ideally with the help of a health professional, since some services are better suited to specific diets or health conditions. If it's eliminating some or all meat from your diet, there are vegan meal plans that will make it easy.

If you're trying to cut carbs or calories from your weekly intake, there are other services that specialize in keto, paleo and low-calorie foods. Others have meal plans specifically for diabetics in case you are carefully managing your blood sugar.

You'll also want to decide if a meal kit service or prepared meal subscription is best. If you like the idea of cooking, but don't want to do the shopping and prep, a service such as Blue Apron or Sunbasket will take the legwork out of dinner a few nights each week.

If you'd rather not cook at all, prepared meal delivery is the obvious choice. They'll send ready-to-eat meals to be stored in the fridge or freezer for whoever you need them. The price you're willing to pay is another important consideration.

Meal delivery can make life much easier but not if it adds financial stress. Use our comparison chart to help determine which meal services best fit your budget and go from there. Most health experts will tell you that eating a healthy, balanced diet is just about the best thing you can do to improve your health.

The bottom line : EveryPlate's meal kits were all solid and easy to make. EveryPlate meal kits are easy to prepare and I loved everything I made in multiple rounds of testing. You won't find a lot of foofy, upscale cuisine or complicated recipes, but you will get a lot of satisfying comfort food, such as hoisin meatloaf with mashed potatoes, cheeseburgers, umami pork chops and sweet potato quesadillas.

I tested EveryPlate and was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked the meals. Having tested all of the leading prepared meal delivery service options, Fresh N Lean ran away from the competition, ticking more boxes than any other.

The food is healthy, thoughtfully prepared, tastes fantastic, looks appetizing and is fairly affordable, depending on the plan you select. Fresh N Lean has five meal plans to help keep folks on track with their specific nutrition goals, including low-carb, vegan, paleo and protein-plus options.

The food I tried was all made exceptionally well, made from simple, whole ingredients. This is the perfect service for families with picky eaters trying to eat well on a budget.

Much like EveryPlate, Dinnerly has a lot of comfort foods such as ravioli with spinach and parmesan sauce, carne asada tacos and chicken pad thai. Dinnerly has an enormous menu of recipes -- typically more than 60 to choose from in a given week. The bottom line: This plant-based meal delivery service had some of the best, healthy prepared meals of any service we tried.

I sampled about nine of Mosaic Food's plant-based prepared meal offerings and the vegetarian prepared meal delivery service had an astoundingly high hit rate.

Mosaic uses bold and interesting global flavors and employs creative use of meat substitutes such as tofu, jackfruit, cauliflower and vegan sausages to create tasty and satisfying vegetarian meals -- even for this omnivore. There are some vegan meals, but many of them use dairy products, so vegans must choose their Mosaic meals more carefully.

The bottom line: Blue Apron is a classic example of a quality meal delivery service. One of the original providers of this service, it also stands out for eco-friendliness.

Blue Apron is one of the original meal kit services and it's also one of the best. In fact, Blue Apron topped our list of best meal delivery services for with a wide range of excellent recipes, all for an affordable price.

It's true, you can order bistro steaks and roasted trout dinners with Blue Apron's standard plan, where many services charge extra for those premium proteins.

In addition to solid meal kits, Blue Apron is the most eco-friendly service of the major players, according to a recent study. The heartier meals are great too, like the cauliflower rice and pesto harvest bowl with cashews and spinach.

You won't need more than a saucepan, toaster or blender to prepare most of the meals, and most can be made in as little as 5 minutes. When I tried Daily Harvest , I loved the interesting smoothie combos such as a chocolate blueberry smoothie with greens, banana and almond butter.

The bottom line : It doesn't get much easier than HelloFresh. This service has tons of cheap meal kit options, more than 50 per week, and allows you to add proteins or extra servings to keep the whole crew fed and happy.

HelloFresh has as many as 25 dinner meal kits per week, so it is nearly impossible not to find something you'll like. HelloFresh also has five or six plant-based recipes a week, making it the best cheap meal kit service for vegetarians. Over the past few years, we've tested nearly every meal kit delivery and prepared meal delivery service we could get our oven mitts on, and that includes the best budget meal delivery services.

Many of the menu options for the meal delivery services we've listed include nutritious plant-based food or high-protein recipes with lots of veggies and lean meats. To test each cheap meal delivery service, I tried at least four and sometimes as many as 10 meals from any given service.

I always choose a range of meals from the various menu and meal plan offerings. For instance, if a meal subscription service offers vegan or vegetarian meals I was sure to try at least one. I also mixed up the cuisine types to include pasta, meat dishes, bowls and other various styles offered by the brand.

To test the best cheap meal kits, there was another set of standards and protocols to adhere to. Here's more on how we test meal kits at CNET. The first big decision you'll make is whether you want meal kits, which require some prep and cooking, or a prepared meal service that sends fully cooked meals ready to heat and eat.

Prepared meals require almost no time and energy, other than what it takes to actually eat the food, but typically run a few dollars more per serving. If you're keen on eating low-calorie, low-carb, plant-based or pescatarian food, certain meal kits and meal delivery services are better than others.

Our list of the healthiest meal delivery services for is a good place to find the most nutritious options. With almost every service, the more meals or servings are in your order per delivery, the cheaper it becomes per meal.

Ideally, you'll want to determine exactly how much food makes sense for your household. That means it's less of an issue if you order too many meals on your first go-around. Services like Daily Harvest and Splendid Spoon have meals for similar prices but are focused more on grain bowls and smoothies and might be better for breakfast or lunch versus dinner.

When it comes to meal kits, your options are many, and most services provide weekly recipes that are low on calories but still filling. HelloFresh has the most recipes per week of any meal kit service, so that might be your best bet for finding consistent meals that keep your diet goals on track.

But all services list the calorie content for each recipe, along with carbs, protein, sugar and sodium. Depending on your weight loss goals, a healthy prepared meal delivery or meal kit service can help.

Fresh N Lean, Pete's Real Food and Daily Harvest all have low-calorie meals to choose from. Some of the services listed here are healthy prepared meal delivery services , sending fully cooked meals -- often frozen or partially frozen -- and ready to eat when you receive them.

Others include health-focused meal kits with premeasured ingredients all boxed up and ready for easy weeknight cooking. There's a stark difference between meal kits and meal delivery, but both make dinnertime easier and can translate into healthier eating choices for you in Plus, we sussed out the best healthy meal services for those on special diets like keto or paleo or for those who wish to eat organic prepared meals and meal kits.

Wellness Nutrition. Written by David Watsky. Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission.