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After three years and counting of fending for ourselves in the kitchen during the pandemic, it’s about time to start thinking outside of the box — and into the meal kit box. Cold Room
Meal kit boxes of recipes and their ingredients can offer the combined powers of mixing things up in the kitchen and crossing off some of those New Year’s resolutions, from wanting to eat healthier to spending less time at the grocery store.
For me, a mid-20-something who has graduated from the microwave and into the culinary world of two or more pots on the stove at a time, I wanted to try out as many meal kits and delivery companies as possible. I started this journey in the last week of December 2020 and since then my meal kit adventure has taken off.
Best Overall: Blue Apron | Best for Home Cooks: EveryPlate | Best Comfort Food: Martha & Marley Spoon | Best Variety: Home Chef | Best Affordable: Dinnerly | Best for Families: HelloFresh | Best Vegetarian: Green Chef | Best for One: Factor | Best Value: Gobble | Best Vegan: Purple Carrot | Best Healthy: Trifecta
For this 2024 refresh, I tested, re-tested, tasted and built box-forts with 22 meal delivery services, ranging from plant-based to protein-packed, fresh to flash-frozen.
My conclusion? There’s truly a meal kit for everyone, many with exclusive New York Post deals running all the time for new users and specials for true meal kit masters. They range in skill level just as much as they range in dietary preferences, price and serving size to fit every household.
The hard part is just deciding which to try, which is why I tried them all for you first.
Here’s everything you need to know about all the meal kits you’ve been hungry to try.
Need help choosing a meal kit? Jump down to the bottom of this article for an FAQ:
Deal: Take $180 off across 6 orders, plus your first order ships free
Strap on your aprons, it’s time to get cooking with a kit that will make you feel like a master chef in no-time.
Blue Apron was one of the first meal kit companies to hit the market, and it has continued to be ultra popular — for good reason. Their ingredients are full-sized and appeared insanely fresh. I chose the harissa chickpea shakshuka with pita and the pesto chicken pasta as my meals, and received full cans of tomatoes, chickpeas, a whole bag of Brussels sprouts, a full bulb of garlic and the most beautiful large green pepper I’ve seen.
What’s a meal without wine? For those who know little about pairings, and for a home sommelier who wants to try something new, the meal kit service also doubles as a wine guru, offering a wine pairing subscription on their site.
For a healthy and hearty meal, I went with the shakshuka with za’tar pita. As promised on the recipe card, the meal took roughly 30 minutes to prepare, and only used two pans — one for the meal and one to toast the bread, although I’m sure you could use a toaster oven if you have a lack of pans or burners. The shakshuka was a different recipe than I was used to, but thanks to the packet of za’tar seasoning and the fresh mint and feta cheese that came with, it tasted pretty darn close to needing a passport.
The rest of the Blue Apron offerings look to be just as filling and have full-sized ingredients. It’s ideal for feeding a hungry family, or for the culinarily-inclined who like to know exactly what ingredients they are using and from where they came.
Coupon Code: Click the link for $104 off throughout your first 3 boxes with code NYPEP
EveryPlate is an affordable option from the Hello Fresh family. The kit includes recipe cards, fresh produce, meat and fish coming packaged on ice, and a brightly colored box that arrives on your doorstep for no supermarket stops along the way. For less cash than any fast food meal, the options are also healthier, and the produce that came in my box was all fresh and full-sized, overflowing out of the box.
As I was cooking up my chicken sausage tomato soup, I noticed the recipe cards had some other helpful tips to save food waste. There were also plenty of helpful notes to reassure a home chef who is just starting out.
After devouring the soup — a great meal for any winter’s day — I checked out the site to see what other offerings they had. Each week, they lay out 16 different meals to choose from, ranging from chicken, pork, beef to fish and veggie-based. The plans are customizable for your household’s needs, allowing you to order for two or four people, three to five meals per week. The best part is that no matter the combination, each standard meal is $5.99 per serving.
Deal: Take $235 off your order, no coupon code needed!
Martha Stewart can do no wrong — well, at least when it comes to food.
For those that don’t know, you can get pretty close to having Martha as a live-in chef with her meal kit company, Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon. The kit is a traditional one, with 40 recipes loaded onto the site weekly to choose from and fresh ingredients shipped out according to your plan. You can opt for the two-person or the four-person plan and then select the amount of meals you need per week, from just two to six.
I wanted to go all out comfort food, as I knew Martha would be proud of that decision, choosing the Pastrami Spice-Rubbed Steak and the Cheesy Sausage Brunch Bake for something a bit easier. When unboxing the ingredients, I liked how the included recipe cards listed out exactly what I would need, making for easier sorting in my fridge and also to make a mental note of the extras I would need, like butter, oil, vinegar and some household spices. The cards also lists the cooking tools you need, as well as allergens and nutrition per serving.
Because these recipes are from the Martha Stewart, I wasn’t surprised that my cook time of about 35 minutes was slower than her listed time of 25 on the steaks, so if you need to sharpen your knife skills that is more than okay, it just may take a bit longer.
However, I was rewarded for my time and effort, as the steaks were perfectly seasoned with her spice blend and the recipe yielded lovely mashed potatoes and green beans for a very all-American dinner.
Coupon Code: $90 off across your first three orders with code NYP90OFF
Home Chef brings the elements of comfort food and home cooking to your doorstep, with recipes tailored to fit your schedule.
When curating my own box, I imagined all the types of meals I cook in order to go about my day well-fed and on-time. I ended up choosing a classic cooking meal with a 35-minute cook time, a faster 15-minute option and an oven-ready dish for those nights when you can’t bring yourself to do much more than turn on the oven and set the table.
For a taste-test, I went with the happy medium of the three, opting for the 15-minute hoisin pulled pork with jasmine rice. The first note to make is on the notes themselves. The recipe cards were super well-organized, making my type A personality very happy.
After unzipping the correct package for my meal, the cooking process was as easy as promised, clocking in at about 20 minutes due to my slower chopping skills.
The four-part directions were a breeze to read, and also featured photos for those who need a photographic confidence boost to compare their cooking to. The meal itself was flavorful, easy and didn’t taste like a time constrained cook at all.
With new meals offered weekly, choose between regular meal kits, 15-minute meals, easy-prep and oven-ready and extras like a protein pack of meats and fish to supplement a kit or make your own recipes with. Many meals can also be customized with Impossible Foods products, for those who go meat-free without sacrificing taste.
Deal: Order now to take $140 off your first five boxes
Dinner is served, and fast!
We reviewed this kit back in 2020, but sadly since they didn’t yet deliver to Minneapolis, I had a colleague test the meals. This year, it was my new home in Brooklyn that allowed me to try the delicious meals, as they do ship to New York as well as most of the contiguous US states (you can check by entering your area code on the site) from three warehouses in New Jersey, Texas and California.
The thing that sets this meal kit apart is the affordability, as I was shocked to see that portions start at just $4.69, with options for a two-person box or a family-sized box of four portions. You can choose between three and six meals per week, and pick if you want the box to be vegetarian. Best of all, they’re offering $140 off your first five boxes, which is pretty rad. When you visit the website, just click redeem and a promo code saving you up to 37% is applied to your order.
As a carnivore myself, I left the box unchecked and ordered three meals, trying to see the full range of options when it came time to cooking, prep and clean-up. I loved to see that many meals only required one pot or pan, while others on the weekly menu are listed as 30-minute meals or meals with no knife required — perfect for cooking with the kids and those with no knife skills.
A few other things I noticed while cooking up my Buffalo Fried Chicken Sandwich was just how fresh the ingredients were, admiring the tiny head of butter lettuce and the soft dinner rolls. This was a 30-minute meal, and it truly was, as I was able to toss the green beans in the oven and work on the chicken at the same time, without feeling stressed or getting too messy.
One thing to note is that the Dinnerly recipe cards are digital, so don’t be alarmed when opening your box and they aren’t there. I personally like this for recycling sake, but it was a bit tricky to not touch my computer with oily hands when trying to scroll to the next step. The plus side is that the recipes live online, so no need to store sticky cards in your bookshelf or try and photocopy for later.
Deal: Use our link to get 65% off order of first box, plus free shipping!
HelloFresh and hello, easy directions for gourmet-looking meals.
Once you’re ready to cook, each meal is laid out in six easy steps. How they can make both one-pot pasta and a full steak meal into just six steps in beyond me, but it works and makes meals manageable for all skill levels.
I decided to go big or go home with my test cook, choosing a steak with mushroom cream sauce and roasted potatoes and carrots for a Monday night dinner. HelloFresh packages each set of ingredients conveniently into individual brown paper bags. Once unpackaged, I did a quick wash and dry for the produce, and the rest of the meal was pretty straight forward.
I timed the cook, and sure enough it was pretty close to the estimation on the cards — 47 minutes for me for a slightly more well-done steak and an older oven for the crispy potatoes.
Deal: Use our link for $250 off, plus free shipping
The green cousin of Hello Fresh, Green Chef stands out as a traditional meal kit with better-for-you options. When researching all the kits on the market, I noticed that Green Chef offered the first Keto options for those on the fad diet trend. Now, they offer an array of other options too, from vegetarian to plant-based to paleo.
Another highlight is the allergen-friendly notes on the cards, as there are indications on each ingredient that say if it could trigger an allergy, for example an “SH” next to the shrimp and an “S” next to the sesame sauce for those with a soy allergy.
I went with the sesame shrimp noodle bowls from their gluten-free menu, which claimed to take 25 minutes to cook. The cooking itself stood up to the pretty picture on the recipe card, and so did the cook time; a great sign for those who only have a half-hour lunch break or don’t want to cook for hours only to eat in minutes. The kit came with everything I needed, sans salt, pepper and cooking oil, so make sure you have those on hand.
Coupon Code: Take $90 off your first three boxes with code NYP90OFF
If your resolution this year is to cook less but eat healthier, Factor is for you.
A new sister-site to the HelloFresh family, Factor is unlike the rest of its siblings in that no cooking is required — unless you consider using a microwave cooking.
I decided to cook my pumpkin pancakes in the microwave, to see if they really stand up to the chewy-making effect a micro can have on some frozen foods.
The pros: the pancakes certainly weren’t rubbery, and they provided ample butter and syrup, which instantly makes for a great breakfast — or, in my case, a perfectly fine dinner. The cons: even though it was a microwave meal, there are a few sticky steps, such as flipping each (hot) pancake and then making sure the butter is melted all the way through the stack of three cakes. As for the taste, neither a pro nor a con. They definitely tasted like healthier pancakes — butter and syrup helped — and the addition of the nuts on top was a satisfying touch.
To wash it all down, I also grabbed one of the cold-pressed juices — Factor also offers wellness shots in addition to their four juice flavors. The pineapple turmeric basil juice sounded super interesting, and sure enough it was as tasty as it was vitamin-packed. The option to go to my fridge instead of a 9-dollar-a-pop juice shop with a hipster barista is worth it in of itself for me.
In terms of variety, if you’re planning to factor in Factor into breakfast, lunch and dinner, too, you certainly can and not get bored of your options. There’s even dessert options too — the dark chocolate peppermint keto-friendly cheesecake was my personal favorite.
The very best part of this kit for me was the ability to feel like I was having a fancy meal without any of the work. For those truly don’t want to, or don’t have time to cook, the grab, micro, and go method is a definite perk.
Deal: Use our link to get two weeks of six meals for $36
Not only for Thanksgiving, Gobble is the meal kit that serves up generous turkey-day-sized portions no matter the season.
The first thing I noticed about Gobble was just how much fresh produce I received in my order. For the beautiful Italian flat iron steak meal, which is supposedly two servings, I got a huge bag of ripe cherry tomatoes and an entire bundle of green onions. Even though this meal’s side was a creamy polenta, I could have just as well made a side salad of marinated tomatoes with the leftovers. For my miso-baked salmon, I got a giant bag of fresh broccoli and a ton of jasmine rice. During the unboxing alone, it was evident that Gobble values quantity and quality. One last thing that didn’t go unnoticed? The four balls of cookie dough that came with my meal, not that I had any room left in my stomach after the meal to come. A second dessert stomach is a thing, right?
Another thing to note was the smaller, more compact recipe cards. While they are so much easier to save and store in a kitchen drawer than full-sized pieces of paper, they are also a bit more cramped in terms of directions and information. I couldn’t find an estimated cook or prep time like on other company’s cards, and the cooking directions were a bit complicated looking as they follow a more crowded paragraph format.
After gathering salt, pepper and oil, not included in the box, I decided to pick the steak as my meal, as I was making this for a filling dinner after a long day at work (well, work is cooking meal kits, so I can’t complain). While cooking red meat has always been a subject of some fear for me, the steaks were already cut into the two portions, so my hand-to-raw-meat interaction was a breeze, and isn’t bad even for the more squeamish.
Since there wasn’t an estimated time on the recipe card, I set my own timer. The total time for my medium-rare meal came out to 29 minutes and 33 seconds, prep work included. For a full steak dinner that yielded enough for two portions and leftovers of the polenta and veggies, this is the kit for hungry families who want to spend some quality time together in the kitchen.
100% plant-based, 100% stands up to the taste-test, too.
Purple Carrot is one of the vegan and vegetarian-friendly meal kit boxes that friends had been telling me to try for a while now, and I’m so glad I did. Though I am a carnivore through and through, I found that Purple Carrot is a great introduction to vegan eating.
When choosing a meal to cook, I knew I wanted something that I loved already in its original meaty form, made vegan, to really put the box to the test. I picked the vegan chick’n and dumplings with oyster mushrooms and green beans, which had a hefty cook time of 40 to 50 minutes, according to the recipe booklet.
After I had chopped everything down to size and foraged for my mushroom heads (well, picked them apart from the woody stems, but it sure felt like foraging) 15 minutes had already ticked by. The rest of the cook was pretty straight forward, used minimal dishes, and came out almost exactly like the photo, albeit a bit more soupy of a sauce.
Did this vegan dupe stand up to comforting chicken and dumplings? Absolutely. And I didn’t feel like taking a food-coma nap afterward since all the ingredients were so light and nutritious. Another pro; everything was included in the box expect salt, pepper and oil, as they made sure to package vegan butter, flour, baking soda and thyme into pre-measured baggies.
For those who do want to eat plant-based for all three meals of the day and then some, the site does offer a lot of different options, changed up every week. On the site now, curate your box with eight different dinner options, two breakfasts, two lunches and six different snacks from an array of vegan companies.
Coupon Code: Get $120 off across your first 6 orders with code NYP120
These aren’t just pre-packaged, portion controlled meal kits. Instead expect a trifecta of support, with meals, coaching and tracking, too.
Trifecta is indeed a meal kit company, meaning you can simply order the meals to arrive to your home, fresh and pre-packaged, sent to your door on ice to then be reheated in the microwave or oven. However, for those who want a whole body and mind experience when it comes to healthful eating and lifestyle, you can add on a lot more from Trifecta. For the purposes of this meal-centric article, we won’t get too into it, but note that you can also use their personalized health plan services, community support resources and fun daily activities and challenges to keep you motivated.
Back to the food at hand — and in fridge — there are a variety of options to choose from when selecting your meal plan. I wanted to try their Clean Meal Plan ($110.99/week) that uses fresh and clean ingredients with a variety of proteins and vegetables, as well as their Vegan Meal Plan ($99.99/week), which you can read more about here.
When receiving my box, I loved that all of the items were packaged with the meals clearly labeled, helping me choose which I wanted to eat now and stick in the fridge and which I wanted to freeze for later — you can freeze the meals for up to three months in the freezer, or leave them for up to seven days in the fridge. The label also included cooking instructions, for which you can use the microwave or a stovetop/oven.
To really put the flavors and textures to the test, I used the microwave, and to my delight the rice was cooked to perfection, sausages were left juicy and the packaging was cool enough to touch. One note, since these meals are in sustainable packaging, the bottom may get soggy, so it is advised to use a plate underneath. Otherwise, the meals provided enough food for a full meal (maybe add a fresh fruit on the side) and made me feel more energized than if I were to have grabbed a different freezer meal from the grocery store.
Clean eating has never been easier with Sakara Life calling the shots for every meal of the day.
The plant-based and nutrition-focused meal delivery service is one that can really revamp the way you eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. The meals each come in a take-out style container, with a sticker indicating when I should eat the meal right down to the time and day of the week. Don’t tell, but for this test, I pulled out a Saturday breakfast and a Friday dinner, just to see the range of offerings… and because I needed to know what a pink poppy seed muffin looked like, even though it was 6 p.m.
The best part for me was the portability and ease of the whole thing, especially as someone who skips breakfast or opts for a muffin when running late.
While heating my dinner bowl, a Sakara burger with chili cashew creme, I decided to browse the site to see what sort of plans they offered. For those that want to try out a weekly meal plan but are a bit timid, they do have a one-week trial to test the waters. If you like it, you can set up a reoccurring subscription and have Sakara Life meals all week long, your choice as to which meals of the day and for how many days. Bonus points for being super customizable, as some may want just a few days a week and others an entire fridge of pre-planned meals for their three squares.
With my burger bowl, after incorporating the cashew creme and the other garlicy dressing, I do have to say that while not a burger in my meat-eating eyes, this was one of the best salads I have had — ever. I’m always wary of salads that come pre-made, as it is always a game of dodging wilted lettuce and mushy greens. Even though this bowl was shipped to my door, everything was crunchy and fresh, no wilted leaves in sight.
Commuters, school-lunchers and healthy eaters better listen up.
As someone who spends far too much money at Sweetgreen only to find myself hungry again, finding filling and yummy salads and bowls that I can bring into the office can be a challenge. This is where I think Territory Foods fits in nicely.
The pre-made meals come refrigerated to your doorstep, each made with health in mind, even if you don’t choose the paleo, keto, vegetarian, vegan Whole30, plant-based or low-fat options. They are also all made without gluten or dairy, which is super great for those with allergies in the house.
The coolest part for me, though, was when I took a peek at the packaging and the menu, to find out that my options were actually tailored to my region, partnering with local chefs and restaurants to create the weekly menu of over 35 rotating options. My Ginger Garlic Chicken Salad was not only ready-to-eat and delicious, but was also made by Chef Rachelle Slotnick of Chantilly, VA. While this isn’t as local as running out to my local Brooklyn bodega for produce, I really liked the traceability of the meals.
Also a nod to the packaging, the removable slip contains the calories, protein, fat and carbs of each meal, should you be tracking yours, as well as the eat-by date and the warming instructions (if needed) on the back. The meals themselves do look a bit like cafeteria plates with little Solo-brand dressing containers and all, but for me, I didn’t mind, as they really do remind me of pricey salad fast-casual restaurant meals without the hassle and price.
The last thing that really sets Territory Foods apart is the pricing plan structure. Like many meal delivery companies, they are priced out per meal, starting at $13.95 per meal for the standard plan. However, for those that eat smaller meals or are planning to use this as a fridge-stocking mechanism for snaking, they also offer a Boost Size meal with about 250 to 450 calories, starting at $10.95 per meal.
Splendid Spoon is a top pick for those who can’t be bothered with pots and pans but value healthy and tasty plant-based meals and drinks.
The company is less meal kit and more delivery option for nutrient-packed soups, bowls, smoothies and wellness juice shots. When setting up my account, the first thing to make note of was just how many options for breakfast, lunch and dinner there are. There are currently 31 different bowls and soups, six varieties of noodles, five lighter “reset” soups for diet days, three wellness shots, and 16 flavors of smoothies. I’d say a combination for every day of the week, but there are so many more than that.
In unboxing, one quick thing to remember is that there is dry ice that comes on top of your order, so make sure to have an adult unpack and dispose of the ice.
As for the meals, the smoothies and wellness shots can be thawed in the fridge or enjoyed as an icy treat. I chose the latter for my mango guava smoothie due to my impatience, and it was a refreshing option that I sipped on during this whole review, and eventually melted into a drinkable smoothie. The wellness shots are more like a few sips, but great as an ice cube or a liquid — up to you. The soups, however, should be reheated in my opinion and can be warmed in the microwave, as the bowls they come in are micro-safe and BPA-free. Can I hear it for no dishes?
Coupon Code: Use NYPOST50 for 50% off your first week of meals
Full transparency, we had our very own Matt Levy help with this review, or, more specifically, his toddler did the hard work. While the little one munched, mom and dad also took some bites, deeming the Nurture Life foods parent approved, should there be leftovers when your kiddo is done.
Nurture Life has a few options, including full meals in pre-packaged trays to be heated up and then served, as well as jars of ‘Finger Foods’ that are designed for 10 months and older, helping them graduate from purees to solids. These are chopped up small to prevent choking, and come in a variety of flavors to expose your tike to new flavors and textures.
Some of our tester’s notes included that the meals were indeed perfectly portioned for a hungry toddler, and had a great variety between the full meals, Mighty Bites, smoothies and even the snacks that came in small jars. Note: for those parents watching sugar intake, skip the Mighty Bites, as those were a tad high in sugar for our tot’s liking.
The meal service is great for those parents who are sick of sharing off their own plates as well, as the Nurture Life meals let your kid have their very own plate of yummy food, and a great option for those who need some more variety in their weekly kid-approved cooking rotation.
“Pro tip: only give your kid one piece of the meal at a time. Otherwise everything will end up on the floor,” said Levy. “Although that’s true of almost any dish!”
Eating clean has never been so easy — plus, the cleanup was also pretty clean, too.
Eat Clean is a prepared meal delivery service, that not only takes the grocery shopping out of the equation like a typical meal kit, but also takes care of most of the prep work, cooking and cleaning. The meals arrive in a pre-packaged and pre-portioned tray that is microwave safe, or you can opt to open the pack and use an oven-safe dish to reheat the food in minutes. And yes, packaging is recyclable.
Stainless Steel Belt Spiral Freezer This service is great for those with ample fridge space and less ample time to cook healthy meals, as you can load up on as many as 14 meals per weekly delivery, which is also the lowest cost per meal, at $9.60. On to the nutrition aspect, the packaging wrapped around each tray has detailed nutritional information, plus, the website does a great job of describing each menu item, outlining all of the ingredients as well as health information. For those on a specific diet, you can also choose from plant-based meals, Keto and paleo.