6 Best Crock-Pot Meal Delivery Services 2024: Ranked
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. I thoroughly evaluated each service's menu variety, ingredient quality, cooking times, and customization options. As a result, 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.
Short on Time? Here Are the Best Crock-Pot Meal Delivery Services
Blue Apron – Best gourmet crock-pot-friendly meals
Marley Spoon – Best family-friendly one-pot recipes
Dinnerly – Best affordable crock-pot-friendly meal kits
Hungryroot – Best customizable crock-pot-friendly recipes
Splendid Spoon – Best vegan crock-pot soup bases
The Best Crock-Pot Meal Delivery Services Reviewed
1. Blue Apron – Best Gourmet Crock-Pot Friendly Meals
Key Features
Gourmet meal kits with custom spice mixes
Crock-pot-friendly meals every week
Diets include low-calorie and vegetarian
Current deal: Enjoy meals starting as low as $4.00 + get your first week shipped for free!
Though not specifically a crock-pot service, Blue Apron offers 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.
What’s on the Menu?
The service offers up to a dozen 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, Harissa Beef Pitas, Cornbread and Chili Casserole, Pork Chorizo, Potato & Fig Bake (pictured below), and many more.
When we tried Blue Apron, we found that the Ready to Cook meals also feature ingredients that come prepped. For instance, you’ll get pre-chopped ingredients (and a recyclable baking tin) with any of such recipes. To me, this makes prep and cleaning a breeze, which I genuinely dislike doing!
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, and Four-Cheese Enchiladas. At the time of my review of the best Crock-Pot meal delivery services, there were 16 prepared meals to choose from each week.
What Makes It Special?
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.
The Blue Apron Market offers specialty meal kits and seasonal holiday boxes. Moreover, the company 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.
Is It Good Value?
Blue Apron’s minimum order is 2 meals of 2 servings each every week. The maximum order is 5 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 $4.00 per serving. The minimum order of Prepared & Ready meals is 4 single serving meals.
However, you can manually add more of either type of meal to your weekly order than what initially appears. You can switch between plans week by week. But you have to create a separate order to mix and match Meal Kits & Prepared & Ready meals in one week.
2. Marley Spoon – Best Family-Friendly One-Pot Recipes
Key Features
One Pot recipes great for crock-pots
Dozens of unique recipes per week
Diets like calorie- and protein-conscious
Current deal: Get up to 46% off on the first box + free shipping
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.
What’s on the Menu?
The company is 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 Meal. 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. Many labels and tags, such as Low-Calorie, No Added Gluten, Fish, Meat, Kid Friendly, Healthy, Optional Spice, Veggie, and Low Carb, indicate key features of the meals they accompany. Since Marley Spoon offers one of the largest menus available, I’m not surprised about that.
What Makes It Special?
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 Marley Spoon’s 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 tested Marley Spoon review.
Is It Good Value?
Marley Spoon usually has a few dozen crock-pot-friendly meals on offer. But it doesn't have filters to help you sort out dietary requirements. On the bright side, you can switch ingredients in select meals to better suit your needs and preferences.
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 $4.99 per serving.
3. Dinnerly – Best Affordable Crock-Pot-Friendly Meal Kits
Key Features
- Family-friendly meal kits
- Dozens of crock-pot-friendly recipes each week
- There are some Vegetarian and No Added Gluten options
- Current deal: Get up to 41% off on the first box + free shipping
Dinnerly’s meals are the most affordable on this list. But just because it’s affordable doesn’t mean it’s low quality. You still get a respectable number of dietary preferences and cuisines.
What’s on the Menu?
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, though. So it’s up to you to decide which ones you’re comfortable with.
Still, lots of the meals work in a crock-pot. 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 our in-depth Dinnerly review for more menu information.
Menu tags include No Added Gluten, 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.
What Makes It Special?
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.
You can customize various Dinnerly meals to suit your preferences. For ingredient swap options, check out meals with the Customizable label. Note that some replacements may come at an extra cost.
Is It Good Value?
Dinnerly chooses quality, tasty ingredients for its meals. While the recipes avoid complex or rare components, they are still hearty and nutritious. What's more, the Customizable label accompanying many recipes means there's a broader selection of crock-pot-compatible dishes than first meets the eye.
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.
4. Hungryroot – Best Customizable Crock-Pot-Friendly Recipes
Key Features
Easily customizable recipes
Weekly recipes and a la carte groceries
Dietary options include veggie, vegan, and paleo
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.
What’s on the Menu?
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.
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.
What Makes It Special?
To choose recipes, you'll have to take a customization quiz first, 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.
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.
Is It Good Value?
HungryRoot caters well to specific dietary preferences and picky eaters. But a major drawback is the frequent recurrence of certain ingredients across recipes. Also, you'll have to complete the questionnaire, which takes some time, to see offerings. I find this inconvenient for people seeking a quick glance at menu options to determine the service's fit for their needs.
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.
5. Splendid Spoon – Best Vegan Crock-Pot Soup Bases
Key Features
100% vegan prepared soups, grain bowls, and more
Convenient menu filters
Dietary options include low-sodium and low-carb
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.
What’s on the Menu?
The soups and grain bowls can serve as bases for many veggie or omnivore crock-pot recipes. All Splendid Spoon foods contain zero artificial sweeteners and 100% non-GMO produce. Read our full Splendid Spoon review to find out more about the menu.
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.
Besides soups, you can order smoothies, noodles, homemade dishes, and shots to enrich your weekly menu. These options vary from several to dozens per week. Some options I found during my review of the best crock-pot meal delivery services on the menu were Roasted Tomato Risotto (the best-selling dish), Meatball Marinara Noodles, and Blackberry Basil Smoothie.
What Makes It Special?
Where Splendid Spoon really shines is with its wide array of dietary preferences and menu filtering options. You can find anything from Higher Fiber and Higher 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 recipes. You’ll also find textures and flavors like creamy, hearty, spicy, rich, saucy, tangy, tart, and more.
Is It Good Value?
Splendid Spoon may be the right choice for picky fans of crock-pot meals. 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.
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. The cost per item starts from $9.99.
6. Instacart – Best Crock-Pot Grocery Delivery
Key Features
Order groceries from your favorite grocery store
Complete control over your recipes
Wide variety of premade slow-cook seasonings
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.
What’s on the Menu?
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 and select them from Instacart's online store. Alternatively, you can search for crock pot recipes within Instacart (pictured below) and shop the recommended ingredients. You’ll receive items within 1 hour to 1 week – depending on Instacart Shopper availability and store hours in your area.
You can get any item from any grocery store that has partnered with Instacart, just like you could if you went in person. Read our in-depth Instacart review if you want to find out more about exactly how it works.
You can also order Instant Pots to add to or upgrade your cooking appliance options. Instant Pots function as pressure cookers and crock-pots.
What Makes It Special?
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.
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.
Is It Good Value?
Instacart is a great choice if you prefer cooking with ingredients you select than someone else. Also, it provides you with the flexibility to have your purchase delivered to your doorstep or pick it up where you find it convenient. However, people on a limited budget may find this service inconvenient, as it's more expensive than going to the grocery store. Prices at Instacart start at $9.99 per month.
Quick Comparison Table
Top Plans | ||||||
Top Plans |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Our Rating | ||||||
| Our Rating | ||||||
| Best Offer | ||||||
| Best Offer | $4.00 Per Serving | $4.99 Per Serving | $2.12 Per Serving | $8.99 Per Serving | $9.99 Per Serving | $9.99 Per Serving |
| Minimum Order | ||||||
| Minimum Order | 2 meals for 2 people | 2 meals for 2 people | 3 meals for 2 people | 3 meals for 2 people | 5 lunches | $10 worth of items |
| Meal Types | ||||||
| Meal Types | 5 - 60 min meal kits and prepared meals | 30-60 min meal kits | 30-minute meal kits | Groceries, meal kits | Prepared Meals, Juices & Smoothies | Grocery delivery |
| Prep Time | ||||||
| Prep Time | 5-45 min | 20-40 min | 20-45 min | 5-15 min | 0-3 min | varies |
| Active Deals | ||||||
| Active Deals | ||||||
Tips for Choosing the Best Crock-Pot Meal Delivery Services
Here are the factors I took into account when selecting the best crock-pot meal delivery services for this year. I strongly advise considering these points when making your choice to ensure you're getting the most from your crock-pot meals:
Prep & cook times: Opt for a meal delivery service that provides recipes specifically tailored for slow cookers or crock-pots, with distinct preparation times and directions. This guarantees that the dishes are ideally suited for slow cooking and deliver the best outcomes in terms of flavor and consistency.
Ingredient compatibility: Look for services that provide ingredients that work well in a crock-pot. Such ingredients are meats that benefit from long, slow cooking and 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.
Meal portions: Choose a meal delivery service that's compatible with your slow cooker's size. Opt for recipes that can be scaled to fit your cooker's capacity, preventing overfilling and ensuring uniform cooking.
Customization: Opt for a service that allows you to customize your meal plan according to your specific crock-pot or slow cooker needs. For example, choose recipes with longer cooking times for days when you're home, and meals with shorter cooking times on other days.
How to Choose the Right Crock Pot Meal Delivery Service for Your Lifestyle
- Assess meal convenience: Look for services that provide fully prepared meals suitable for slow cooking, allowing for effortless meal preparation. Every service on my list provides crock pot-friendly meals that you can simply set and forget – until they’re done at least!
- Evaluate the variety of options: Choose a service that offers a diverse range of recipes that can be made in a crock pot, catering to different tastes and dietary preferences. A wide variety keeps meals exciting and prevents repetition.
- Check ingredient quality: Ensure that meals are made with fresh, high-quality ingredients to enhance flavor and nutrition. Quality ingredients can significantly impact your overall dining experience.
FAQ
How do you meal prep with a slow cooker?
Wash, peel, cut, and/or chop your produce, and place it inside your crock-pot with your chosen meat. Then, slow-cook the ingredients together on low-to-medium heat for 4 to 6 hours, or until it’s all done. Once you’re satisfied that everything is cooked, turn off your crock-pot and let the meal rest for 15 to 30 minutes.
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?
Yes, absolutely – however, only certain things can be cooked in a crock-pot. For example, some of the best candidates for crock-pot cooking are soups, stews, meats like roasts such as beef and pork, chicken, turkey, ground (or minced) meats, and veggies.
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 2024 — Final Score
- Summary
- Short on Time? Here Are the Best Crock-Pot Meal Delivery Services
- The Best Crock-Pot Meal Delivery Services Reviewed
- Quick Comparison Table
- Tips for Choosing the Best Crock-Pot Meal Delivery Services
- How to Choose the Right Crock Pot Meal Delivery Service for Your Lifestyle
- FAQ
- Best Crock-Pot Meal Delivery Services in 2024 — Final Score