Healthline's picks of the best frozen meal delivery services
- Best for weight loss. BistroMD. SHOP NOW AT BistroMD.
- Best vegan. Daily Harvest. SHOP NOW AT Daily Harvest.
- Best gluten-free. Freshly. SHOP NOW AT Freshly.
- Best for keto or paleo diets. Paleo on the Go. SHOP NOW AT Paleo on the Go.
- Best for older adults. Magic Kitchen.
Amazon is now delivering refrigerated and frozen groceries outside of its Amazon Fresh program. Now, Amazon is including cold and frozen grocery items as part of its one-hour delivery service.
Home Chef isn't for everyone, but many people do benefit. At Home Chef, it could cost as much as $60 for one meal to feed a family of six. But, for some, the price is worth it. Even though you might spend as much as you would on takeout, you get much higher quality food and the satisfaction of preparing it yourself.
The 6 cheapest meal delivery services
- EveryPlate. Starts at $5 a serving. See at EveryPlate.
- Dinnerly. Starts at $5 a serving. See at Dinnerly.
- HelloFresh. $7.49 a serving (if you order meals for four) See at HelloFresh.
- Home Chef. $9 a serving (most meals) See at Home Chef.
- Freshly. Plans start at $8 per meal. See at Freshly.
HelloFresh is an excellent option if you want to learn to cook or simply don't have time to figure out meals for the week, and you don't want to eat takeout from your local bar every night. Overall, it's not an inexpensive option, but the time savings and meal quality are worth it.
Freshly delivers fresh prepared meals (they come chilled in a refrigerated box, never frozen). The service stands out from the sea of meal-delivery kits because Freshly's meals — developed by a team of chefs and nutritionists — require absolutely no cooking.
Sun Basket is $11.49 per serving for the 2 person plan, and $9.99 per serving for the family plan. There's also a $5.99 delivery fee each week. On the 2 person plan for 3 two serving dinners per week (or 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts), this comes out to $74.93 per week, so about $15 more per week.
Magic Kitchen. What It Is: Magic Kitchen is a frozen meal delivery service that has the most variety of meals out of any other frozen meal delivery service on this list. They offer hundreds of options, including main courses, side dishes, soups, snacks, and even desserts.
Ordering meal kits won't cut out your grocery store trips completely. You'll still have to go pick up essentials for breakfast, lunch and the nights you aren't using a meal kit. Still, meal kit delivery can help eliminate how often you go grocery shopping and it might even save you from an impulse buy or two!
Additionally, the Home Chef menu includes a variety of meal kits and dishes that require little to no preparation. Thus, Home Chef may be better for those with limited time, while HelloFresh might be more suitable if you're hoping to brush up on your cooking skills.
Home Chef Meal Delivery has a higher overall rating than Freshly Meal Delivery. Home Chef scores better than Freshly across: Convenience, Culinary Team, Shipping and Delivery, Cost, Quality of Ingredients, Variety, and Meal Options.
Meal delivery services like Home Chef, Blue Apron, and HelloFresh are a novel way to cook delicious meals at home. Ordering your food won't usually be cheaper than strategic grocery shopping, but at $10 a meal, on average, it could easily be less expensive than eating out.
Overall, Sunbasket has good food options, whether you enjoy cooking or are looking for a more convenient way to put together a meal. The oven-ready meals don't work, though.
Here are all the best full meal subscription boxes that will deliver fresh ingredients and recipes straight to your doorstep every week.
- HelloFresh. What it costs: $6.79 per meal.
- Blue Apron. What it costs: $9.99 a serving.
- Marley Spoon. What it costs: $62.93 – $103.67 per week.
- Freshly.
- Home Chef.
- Green Chef.
- Dinnerly.
- Gobble.
Sunbasket has to be one of the best meal kit delivery services for those with specific dietary preferences. The service's menu includes paleo and vegan dishes, as well as options for dietary restrictions like dairy-free and gluten-free. HelloFresh, on the other hand, has fewer specialized options.
However, it's not always the case that all recipes are equally delicious. I've found that some HelloFresh meals are much more interesting than others and that there's more variation in terms of the level of quality. Blue Apron, on the other hand, seems a bit more reliable in terms of quality.
The Healthiest and Unhealthiest Frozen Dinners
- Healthiest: Saffron Road Teriyaki Chicken With Soba Noodles.
- Healthiest: Evol Chicken Enchilada Bake.
- Healthier: Healthy Choice Grilled Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo.
- Healthiest: Stouffer's Fit Kitchen Cali Chicken.
- Healthier: Amy's Light & Lean Black Bean & Cheese Enchilada.
- Healthier: Amy's Sweet & Sour Asian Noodle Bowl.
Go for entrees with at least 10 grams of protein. Frozen foods can be high in sodium, too, so aim for 600 milligrams or less per serving for heart health. For frozen vegetables or fruits, avoid those with added sugar or high-fat sauces.
- Freeze out these foods. Lukas Gojda/Shutterstock.
- Processed meat. HandmadePictures/Shutterstock.
- Pasta dishes. MariaKovaleva/Shutterstock.
- Breaded fish and chicken. Alphonsine Sabine/Shutterstock.
- Breakfast foods. Tatiana Vorona/Shutterstock.
- Pre-chopped onion. zkruger/Shutterstock.
- Individual ice cream pots.
- Canapés.
Consumer Reports decided to test frozen steamable meals to see how well they deliver. Want a healthy dinner in a snap? Of those tested, the Marie Callender's meals were highest in calories and fat. Roasted garlic chicken weighs in with 17 grams of fat per serving!
THE FDA CONSIDERS ITS NAME TO BE A NUTRITIONAL CLAIM. Besides being low in calories, Lean Cuisine meals contain fewer grams of fat and cholesterol per serving than many other frozen food brands.
The good news is that frozen fruits and vegetables have plenty of nutritional value. The choice between fresh and frozen requires you to weigh price and convenience as well as nutrient value. "Frozen is a great, healthy alternative to fresh, especially if your fresh produce isn't so fresh anymore," says Dr.
5 Ways to Upgrade Frozen Food Tonight
- 5 Ways to Upgrade Frozen Food Tonight. Get a healthy flavor pop from herbs.
- Get a healthy flavor pop from herbs.
- Try stirring in some Greek yogurt.
- Add in valuable greens.
- Dip into any of your leftovers.
- And don't forget the (all-natural) sweet stuff.
9 healthy options
- Amy's Light in Sodium Black Bean Vegetable Enchilada.
- Luvo Steel Cut Oatmeal with Quinoa and Mixed Fruit.
- Ian's Fish Sticks Family Pack.
- Whole Foods' 365 Organic Quinoa with Vegetables.
- Luvo Organic Roasted Eggplant and Quinoa Burrito.
- Ian's French Toast Sticks.
- Sukhi's Samosas and Chutney.
By average, frozen meal eaters consume 253 fewer calories per day than fast food eaters. Researchers found that adults (19+ years) who reported eating frozen-food took in 253 fewer calories per day than fast food eaters and ate 25 percent more total vegetables and 61 percent more whole grains.
