The company offers a number of meal options, including carnivore, omnivore, vegetarian, and vegan plans—plus gluten-free weekly menus. The recipe cards are easy to follow and designed to take just 30 minutes to make. You’ll also find there are three plans—single-serve, for couples, and families.
Meal examples: Thai red curry with chicken, beef and sweet potato taco skillet, mezze-inspired tossed salad.
Review: In SELF’s Green Chef review, our associate health director wrote that this brand’s meals can definitely help you break out of a cooking rut, but they tend to require a lot of cookware (which means more cleanup later). She also noted there was a lack of variety in some of the dishes—for instance, a lot of the meals she tried relied heavily on rice.
Cost: Meals start at $13 per serving. The weekly order minimum is $81 for three meals for two people. Shipping is an additional $11.
Availability: Nationwide, excluding Alaska and Hawaii.
4. Most Established: Blue Apron
Who it’s for: The person who wants to try the OG meal kit that popularized them all
Rating: 6/10
Why it’s worth it: Blue Apron’s recipes are designed to keep cooking and prep time down to an average of 45 minutes. The company’s mission is to improve our country’s food system at large by focusing on sustainable farming, direct shipping, and less waste. Its chefs work directly with farmers to create the meal plans and provide stories behind the ingredients, so you can actually know where your food came from.
As an added bonus, the company offers a monthly wine subscription that pairs specially sized bottles with your meals. And if you’re not a meat eater, Blue Apron has a vegetarian dinner option for the two-person plan and recently added Beyond Meat boxes to its roster, so you can whip up meatless burgers at home.
Meal examples: Oven-baked Korean eggs and rice, pan-seared duck breasts, yuzu and soy-glazed tilapia.
Review: In SELF’s Blue Apron review, our senior manager of analytics found the recipes easy to follow with generally tasty results. However, she noted that some of the meals are on the bland side.
Cost: Two-person plans start at $61 for two meals per week ($12 per serving); four-person plans start at $91 for two meals per week ($10 per serving). Shipping is an additional $11.
Availability: Nationwide, excluding Alaska and Hawaii.
5. Most Customizable: Territory
Who it’s for: The person who has specific dietary needs
Rating: 7/10
Why it’s worth it: If you’re looking for heat-and-serve dinners with bigger portions than typical prepared meal delivery services provide, Territory is just the service to try. Its meals are filling and delicious, and the menus offer a ton of customization based on your dietary preferences or restrictions (including vegan, carb-conscious, plant-based, low-fat, whole30, paleo, pescatarian, keto-friendly, and Mediterranean options).
Most meal services deliver once per week, but Territory allows you to get two shipments weekly if you prefer, so the meals are at their absolute freshest when they show up at your door. There are more than 90 dishes at your disposal—developed by registered dietitians and crafted by local chefs.