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Not every day can be a cook-at-home day. And if your lifestyle involves not being at home most of the time, then prepared meal delivery services are what come in handy. You get ready-to-eat cooked meals delivered to your doorstep. Their feasibility and the convenience they add to our lives are what made these services wildly popular and the next best alternative to cooking at home.
In this article, we will list the five most popular and reliable prepared meal delivery services. You can compare these services based on their menu, prices, ingredients and delivery to make an informed decision. So, without further ado, let’s begin the feast!
What Are the Best Prepared Meal Delivery Services?
Now that you know what factors to look out for when selecting from the best-prepared meal delivery services, let’s see what these top services are:
Factor
One of the leading prepared meal delivery services, Factor specializes in healthy and fresh food prepared for your dietary lifestyle. Check prepared meals, in addition to a variety of options on the menu, make Factor our top choice.
Health is their focus, and nutrition is their motto, with delicacy in each bite. Moreover, Factor comes with a myriad of promotions and discounts on their meal subscription plans. If you’re someone whose focus is on the freshness of food, health and nutrition, and affordability, then Factor makes for the ideal choice.
Meal Variety: Factor offers an adequate number of meal varieties and dietary preferences, namely, Chef’s Choice (only choose if you’re non-vegetarian), Keto, Calorie Smart, Flexitarian, Protein Plus, and Vegan & Veggie.
Ingredients: Factor focuses on providing high-quality ingredients that are naturally sourced, organically grown, antibiotic-free meat and sustainably sourced seafood to prepare well-balanced and chef-prepared meals for your healthy lifestyle.
Pricing: The pricing depends on the type of box plan you choose, based on the number of weeks (6 to 18 weeks) you want your food delivered. Their prices per serving range from $5 to $7, depending on the box plan. In addition to being affordable, Factor is also flexible in plan, where you can cancel or change your plan any time you wish without losing any money on prepaid.
Rating on Trustpilot: 3.9 stars out of 5.
Get your meals home delivered with Factor.
Home Chef
If you’re someone who hates messes, especially when it comes to food, then Home Chef is the go-to option for you. Get oven-ready meals in oven-safe containers delivered to your doorstep. Just heat it and eat it. All you need to do is pick your portion order, and upon receiving the box, place everything in a tray that comes with your order and heat it. No cleanup afterward.
Meal Variety: Home Chef emphasizes on dietary well-being for all preferences, be it calorie conscious, vegetarianism, non-vegetarianism, veganism, gluten-smart, keto-friendly or others. There are options for you to choose from family-friendly boxes as well. Get oven-ready meals delivered to your doorsteps.
Ingredients: Every ingredient used at Home Chef is ensured for the highest quality standards, keeping with the evolving sustainability practices. You can find all the ingredients and their nutritional value on the page of specific meals.
Pricing: Home Chef makes it affordable for you to order on a daily basis, with their meals starting at $9.99 per serving.
Rating on Trustpilot: 3.2 stars out of 5.
Get oven-ready meals with the least clean-up with the Home Chef.
Daily Harvest
You get what you wish for at Daily Harvest, from smoothies, pasta, pops, harvest bowls, to whole grains. Daily Harvest focuses on making food healthy, plant-based, sustainable and economical for you. If you’re going to be reliant on a prepared meal delivery service, then it might just as well be the one that provides but cares.
You get educational content on nutrition on DH website, and a community of health conscious folks, where you can learn what’s best for your nutritional needs. All you need to do is build your customized box with nutritious choices and set a plan and schedule, and get it delivered with no need for shopping, chopping or cleaning.
Meal Variety: You get a variety of choices from plant-based foods such as smoothies, flatbreads, pasta, soup, oat bowls, chia bowls and more. With a variety of sustainably grown plant-based food, Daily Harvest positions itself as the top contender among prepared meal delivery services for vegetarians.
Ingredients: Daily Harvest uses plant-based ingredients that are organically grown and naturally sourced, meeting all quality standards to ensure the food is nutrient-packed and healthy.
Pricing: You can schedule your orders, customize it, or change it later, it’s all very flexible. Food per serving ranges from $5.99 – $11.99.
Rating on Trustpilot: 4.1 stars out of 5.
Visit Daily Harvest and start your sustainable food journey!
Snap Kitchen
Snap Kitchen provides just the right food for your hunger in a snap (figuratively speaking) However, Snap Kitchen is still the quickest prepared meal delivery services you will see out there. Have an idea about a recipe in your head? Snap will shop for fresh ingredients for you, assemble your recipe, and deliver it to you ready to eat.
When it comes to delivery, Snap provides home delivery on-demand if you schedule ahead of time. You can also set the recurring plan for delivery with Snap Pass. Moreover, they’re available in eight locations, including Austin, Dallas, and Houston. How to reach them? Just download the app on Android or iOS, and you’re all set to order your prepared meals.
Meal Variety: They offer curated bags under which you get a Starter Bag, Protein Bag, or Lonestar Bag. If you want recurring meals, you get breakfast, lunch and dinner, in addition to snacks and drinks. Their special diet offerings include Keto, Paleo, vegan, vegetarian, low-carb, and high-protein. Snap also has provisions for opting out of allergens such as gluten, special oils, seeds etc.
Ingredients: Snap Kitchen uses high-quality ingredients, emphasizing fresh, locally sourced produce and sustainably raised proteins. Their meals are free from artificial preservatives, colors, and flavors.
Pricing: Meals start from $10 per serving.
Rating on Trustpilot: 4.2 stars out of 5.
Start your health and nutrition journey today with Snap Kitchen.
Fresh n’ Lean
With over a hundred items on the menu to pick from, Fresh n’ Lean makes your everyday journey to prepare meals interesting. Fresh n Lean believes in providing a rich taste with ensured freshness and quality ingredients. They’ve delivered over 25 million meals so far and counting, making them one of the most popular prepared meal delivery services out there.
Moreover, they are also FSMA compliant, which means FDA-regulated preventative measures are actively taken to make sure your food supply is contamination-free. Furthermore, you also get free delivery on orders above $100. All things considered, Fresh n Lean is an organic meal provider that specializes in chef-prepared meals that suit different dietary requirements.
Meal Variety: Fresh n’ Lean brings you a wide array of options when it comes to dietary preferences, including vegan, keto, paleo, and low-carb, along with an option to choose from 7 different diet plans:
- Keto Meal
- Plant-Based Meal
- Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan
- Paleo Meal
- Low-Carb Meal
- Protein+ Meal
- Whole30 Meal
Ingredients: The ingredients used at Fresh n Lean are fresh and locally sourced. They never use frozen products in their meal preparation. Besides, they use produce that is free from GMOs and artificial preservatives.
Rating on Trustpilot: 3.9 stars out of 5.
Bring a positive change in your life with Fresh n Lean.
What To Look For in Prepared Meal Delivery Services?
When looking for a prepared meal delivery service that can add convenience to your life while also preserving the taste of home, it is crucial. You cannot make hasty decisions, especially when it comes to food. That’s why you must compare the services in this list based on the following factors:
Meal Variety and Customization
The most crucial factor is the variety of meals a particular service provides. Check out if their menu is vibrant to save you the trouble of having to change your provider once the menu is exhausted.
Moreover, make sure that they provide you with the flexibility to adjust your meal quantity, portions, combinations and type. Furthermore, you can also check to see if they cater to different dietary preferences, such as vegetarian, non-vegetarian, vegan, keto, paleo, and Gluten-free.
Quality of Ingredients
What you eat is a matter of utmost precaution. There are various types of food ingredients that cater to different segments and have different production methods. Clearly, there are the bad ones and the good ones. If you see your products organically or hydroponically grown without the use of pesticides, then that is a sign of a good one.
Additionally, check the nutritional value of the ingredients used. Most mass-produced ingredients that go through the supply chain and cleaning process lose their nurturing properties. See if the particular prepared meal delivery service uses nutritious ingredients.
Pricing and Plans
Consider the cost of meals and subscription plans for the concerned service. For some users with a fast-paced lifestyle, prepared meal services could be the only option left. If so, considering the cost of food and subscription plans becomes necessary.
Under any situation, making sure that your meal is financially viable can be favorable. Moreover, see if they have flexibility for canceling or changing plans so that you have the freedom to make another choice.
Delivery Options
When choosing a meal delivery service, check to see if they deliver to your location. If so, how much time does it take for them to deliver to your location? You don’t want your food cold.
The most crucial factor is the customer support and service they provide. Once assured with agile customer service, check to see how they’re packaging your food for delivery. If they use eco-friendly material for packaging, choosing them would be a better choice for the environment.
Reviews and Reputation
How they’ve served their previous customers is how they’re going to serve you. That’s why it’s urgent to check for reviews and reputation of the provider online. Check their google rating to see if they’re rated at least 3.5 to consider them a potential choice.
Read customer issues with them and their Yelp reviews, and compare them with their competitors to get the best choice.
The Bottom Line: Our Best Pick
Prepared meal delivery services are a convenient and healthy way to avoid cooking at home when people are busy with their schedules. Ranging from Factor’s delivering nutrient-packed meals, Home Chef’s oven-friendly dishes, and Daily Harvest’s plant-based ones – HelloFresh has all bases covered.
It proved more convenient than other typical meal prep services such as Snap Kitchen, which offers quick meals customized by the customer or Fresh n’ Lean, an organic meal preparation company that delivers chef prepared meals to its clients.
These services are unique for their quality ingredients, multiple options in menus, and a variety of plans and approaches, making them ideal for the customer’s on-tabling options. Remember that you can choose the perfect meal delivery service depending on your diet and schedule to help you have delicious and healthy meals brought to your doorstep.
