6 Best Crock-Pot Meal Delivery Services 2023: Updated List

Finding the best crock-pot meal delivery services can be quite a challenge. Many services focus on quick meals or oven-ready dishes, often overlooking the unique needs of slow cooker users. If you appreciate the convenience and flavors of crock-pot meals, you may find yourself struggling to identify a suitable option that offers a variety of crock-pot-friendly recipes.

Fortunately, I've put 6 of the most popular crock-pot meal delivery services to the test. After thoroughly evaluating each service's menu variety, ingredient quality, cooking times, and customization options, I've compiled a comprehensive review to help you make an informed decision.

Among the ones I checked out, Blue Apron emerged as the clear winner. Offering a wide range of creative and delicious crock-pot recipes, it stands out for its commitment to high-quality ingredients and user-friendly customization options. However, there are still some other great options. Read on to discover more about my findings.

The Best Crock-Pot Meal Delivery Services Reviewed

1. Blue Apron – Best Gourmet Crock-Pot Friendly Meals

Though not specifically a crock-pot service, Blue Apron offers several great options every week. For instance, anything you can bake in the oven is a perfect candidate for a crock-pot – and Blue Apron offers no shortage of excellent meals.

It offers around 11 oven-ready meals each week that can easily be cooked in a crock-pot. For example, you can find things like Oven-Baked Curry Peanut Chicken Thighs, Gnocchi and Feta, Harissa Beef Pitas, Cornbread and Chili Casserole, and many more.

Our reviewer noted that the Oven-Ready meals also feature ingredients that come prepped. For instance, you’ll get pre-chopped ingredients (and a recyclable baking tin) with any of its Ready-to-Cook recipes. To me, this makes prep and cleaning a breeze, which I genuinely dislike doing!

There are 4 main menu categories to choose from – Signature for 2, Wellness, Signature for 4, and Veggie. All categories but Wellness seem to contain a small number of Oven-Ready meals per week. However, there are more meals than just Oven-Ready that could work well in your crock-pot.

Blue Apron offers a bunch of add-ons, extras, sides, snacks, desserts, and even meat and protein add-ons. Some examples include the Overnight Savory Bread Pudding, Charcuterie Board, Morning Glory Muffins, and a bunch more.

Keep in mind that there are also wine subscription boxes, seasonal holiday boxes, and even kitchen tools. Items include utensils, gadgets, specialty salts, seasonings, and even small appliances. Blue Apron can truly be a one-stop kitchen shop.

You’ll find that any of the protein and meat add-ons are excellent crock-pot candidates. Unless you specifically plan on grilling or pan-searing these items, you can easily replace that step in the recipe with your crock-pot. This has the added benefit of making the meat more tender as well.

If you’re looking for a bit more convenience, you can choose from several prepared meals, too. Some options include Sichuan-Style Beef, Soy-Miso Chicken and Udon Noodles, Four-Cheese Enchiladas, and more. There are roughly 5 to 6 prepared meals you can choose from every week.

Blue Apron’s minimum order is 2 meals of 2 servings each every week. The maximum order is 4 meals of 4 servings each. If you do go for the largest order, you can save some money, too. Pricing for the maximum order is $5.74 per serving.

2. Hungryroot – Best Customizable Crock-Pot-Friendly Recipes

Hungryroot's best features are its customizability and variety. There are hundreds of recipes on the menu, 20+ of which are soup and stew kits you can easily cook with your crock-pot.

But first, you'll take a customization quiz, during which you can specify the types of foods you eat. You can also specify when you eat, what primary flavors you prefer, which meals you normally eat, and even what appliances you use to cook. There are several appliances to choose from – including a crock-pot.

You can select from many dietary preferences, including vegan, veggie, pescatarian, gluten-free, and nut-free. Something I did notice, however, is that the site could be simpler to use. You won’t be able to see any items before filling out the questionnaire, which is something to keep in mind.

After the questionnaire, Hungryroot will fill your cart with recommended crock-pot-friendly recipes. Each recipe also features swappable ingredients, so you can replace ingredients with ones that are better suited for slow cooking. Read our full Hungryroot review for a step-by-step guide to the whole process.

The recipes will feature ingredients that you can “set and forget” in your crock-pot for ultimate convenience. Some easy crock-pot-friendly recipes include the Bison Chili, Hearty Veggie Minestrone, and the Shrimp and Turkey Sausage Gumbo.

You can add crock-pot-friendly a la carte groceries and snacks to your cart but only after selecting the order minimum. Select ingredients to build your own soup, stew, or roast recipes. With this feature, you’re getting the best of meal delivery services and a grocery store since you can select from 100+ grocery items.

The minimum order here is 6 servings of lunches, dinners, or a mix of both. There’s also the option of adding up to 10 breakfasts, 12 snacks, and/or 10 sweets servings. Pricing starts at around $8.99 per serving.

3. Marley Spoon – Best Family-Friendly One-Pot Recipes 

Marley Spoon doesn’t disappoint with its thoughtfully curated, wide cuisine variety. You’ll find something for every palate between the internationally-inspired and hearty classic American meals.

The company is also endorsed by Martha Stewart, which indicates that you can expect quality here. You can get a good range of cuisines including classic American-inspired Easy Prep! Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad, Latin American-influenced Fast! Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas, or even Chipotle-Honey Pork Tacos.

The most crock-pot-friendly meals are those tagged “One Pot Meals”. This means you typically cook most ingredients in 1 skillet, pot, or on 1 baking sheet. Instead of this, you can place ingredients in your crock-pot and slow roast for as long as necessary. Each of the meals above is crock-pot friendly.

In terms of ingredients and dietary preferences, there appears to be a laundry list of options. There’s everything from low-calorie and no gluten added to fish, meat, kid-friendly, healthy, optional spice, veggie, low carb, and tons more. Since Marley Spoon offers one of the largest menus available, I’m not surprised about that.

You’ll find a small selection of prepared meals on the menu, too. You can get around 4 to 5 prepared meals on those nights that you may be too busy to wait for a crock-pot meal. However, it doesn’t offer the largest selection of prepared meals. If you want more prepared meals, definitely check out Blue Apron instead.

Something else unique is its focus on sustainability. It’s one of few fully carbon-neutral meal delivery services. Plus, it ships out mostly recyclable materials, which you can learn more about in our full review.

The minimum order is 2 meals for 2 people per week, up to 6 meals for 4 people. If you choose to order the maximum number of meals, you can also save some money and only pay $2.99 per serving.

4. Dinnerly – Best Affordable Crock-Pot-Friendly Meals

Dinnerly’s meals are the most affordable on this list. But just because it’s considered affordable doesn’t mean it’s low quality. You still get a respectable number of dietary preferences and cuisines.

Menu tags include No Gluten Added, Vegan, Low-Calorie, Healthy, Low Carb, and more. Cuisines on offer include Italian, French-inspired, classic American, Tex-Mex, and lots more which is very similar to the Marley Spoon menu. 

Lots of the meals also work in a crock-pot, too. Take the Pulled Pork Stuffed Baked Potato, for example. The pulled pork is a perfect candidate for your crock-pot. Another prime candidate for your crock-pot is the Tex-Mex Beef Chili. Check out my colleague’s in-depth Dinnerly review for more menu information..

Look for the One Pot Meal label on the menu if you want to quickly find meals that work in a crock-pot. Not all of the One Pot Meals will work – so it’s up to you to decide which ones you’re comfortable with.

Dinnerly’s menu isn’t easily filterable, though, which means you’ll have to search the recipes manually. Press “ctrl + F” on your Windows PC or “command + F” on your Mac, then type “One Pot Meal”, “stew”, “soup”, or “chili” to find recipes that will work for your crock-pot.

The minimum order is 2 servings for 2, up to a maximum of 6 meals for 4 people. Dinnerly is already pretty affordable, but if you go for the largest order, you can save even more money. For the largest order, you’ll only pay $2.12 per serving.

5. Splendid Spoon – Best Vegan Crock-Pot Soup Bases

If you’re looking for 100% plant-based crock-pot meals, Splendid Spoon is your best bet. It offers a range of soups, grain bowls, and smoothies to simplify healthy eating. While it doesn’t specifically design its meals for crock-pot use, its ready-to-eat soups can be easily heated and served using a crock-pot.

For instance, the soups and grain bowls can serve as bases for many veggie or omnivore crock-pot recipes. All Splendid Spoon foods also contain zero artificial sweeteners and 100% non-GMO produce. Read our full review to find out more about the menu.

Where Splendid Spoon really shines is with its wide array of dietary preferences and menu filtering options. You can find anything from High Fiber and High Protein to Lower Calorie, Carb, Fat, Sodium, and Sugar. You can also choose to omit lots of ingredients like sesame, soy, cilantro, and more.

If you want, you could even filter down the menu by health benefits and texture. You’ll have access to more than 25 menu filters. For instance, there are options for blood sugar-friendly, gut healthy, immune boosting, and skin-friendly – and textures and flavors like creamy, hearty, spicy, rich, saucy, tangy, tart, and plenty more.

Just keep in mind that the more you filter down the menu, the fewer options you’ll be presented with. This is especially the case if you’re looking specifically for crock-pot-friendly meals as there’s already a fairly limited selection in that regard. For a bigger selection, check out Hungryroot.

One of my favorite crock-pot-friendly meals is the Channa Potato Soup Stew. It contains chickpeas, curry, and ginger, which really comes together the longer you slow-cook it in your crock-pot.

Ordering with Splendid Spoon is pretty simple as well. All you have to do is fill your box with any item on the menu. Box sizes come in 7, 14, and 21 meals.

6. Instacart – Best Crock-Pot Grocery Delivery

With Instacart, the only limitation is your imagination, which is why I included it on my list. If you can think of it, you can make it. Just place an order for your favorite crock-pot-friendly ingredients, and you’re all set to start cooking.

Instacart is a grocery delivery service that'll do all your grocery shopping and delivery. You can create your list of crock-pot recipe ingredients, select them from Instacart's online store, and receive them within 1 hour to 1 week – depending on Instacart Shopper availability and store hours in your area.

Once your order is placed, Instacart Shoppers shop for your groceries, so you don't have to leave the house. And, if an ingredient isn't available, your Shopper can contact you via the Instacart app to offer you the next best alternative.

You can get any item from any grocery store that has partnered with Instacart, just like you could if you went in person. Read my colleague's in-depth Instacart review if you want to find out more about exactly how it works.

Instacart partners with over 900 of the most popular retailers and local shops across the country. Type in your zip code on the website to see available stores and groceries in your area. If pickup is easier, Instacart offers pickup locations depending on your zip code.

You can also order Instant Pots to add to or upgrade your cooking appliance options. Instant Pots function as pressure cookers and crock-pots.

There are a number of crock-pot recipe ideas on the site that can help you figure out what to make. For example, the Tasty Crockpot Party Food Ideas article helps you easily create striking dishes for your next at-home party or event. Prices at Instacart start at $9.99 per month.

Quick Comparison Table

Tips for Choosing the Best Crock-Pot Meal Delivery Services

Here are the factors I considered when choosing the best crock-pot meal delivery services for this year. I highly recommend keeping these points in mind when making your selection to make sure you’re getting the most out of your crock-pot meals:

• Cooking times: Choose a meal delivery service that offers recipes specifically designed for crock-pots or slow cookers, with clear cooking times and instructions. This will ensure that the meals are well-suited for slow cooking and yield optimal results in terms of taste and texture.

• Ingredient compatibility: Look for services that provide ingredients that work well in a crock-pot, such as meats that benefit from long, slow cooking or vegetables that hold up well under extended cook times. Hungryroot is a service that can provide all your crock-pot ingredients. This will help you create flavorful and tender meals without overcooking or mushiness.

• Portion sizes: Consider meal delivery services that cater to the size of your crock-pot, offering recipes that can be easily adjusted to fit your slow cooker's capacity. This will prevent overcrowding and ensure even cooking of your meals. You can order recipes from Blue Apron designed to feed either 2 or 4 people which is great if you have a smaller capacity crock-pot.

• Customization: Opt for a service that allows you to customize your meal plan according to your specific crock-pot or slow cooker needs, such as the option to choose recipes with longer cook times for days when you'll be away from home or shorter cook times for more convenient meals.

FAQ

How do you meal prep with a slow cooker?

If you need some recipe ideas, check out Blue Apron. It offers a variety of gourmet meals that are perfect for crock-pot-style cooking.

Can I cook in my crock-pot?

If you want a wide variety of crock-pot friendly meals, I suggest having a look at Marley Spoon. It offers a respectable number of One Pot Meals that you can slow-cook in your crock-pot for enhanced flavor, tenderness, and richness.

What are some easy crock-pot meal kits?

Stews, soups, and chilis are some of the easiest crock-pot meals to prep and leave to cook. For instance, Splendid Spoon offers a variety of stew and soup recipes that are perfect candidates for your crock-pot.

Best Crock-Pot Meal Delivery Services in 2023 — Final Score