10 Best Fresh Meal Delivery Services 2023 (Easy and Healthy!)

Eating fresh no longer means having to trek to the farmers’ market or your local grocer. Now, with more than 100 meal delivery services available in the US, you can get fresh, high-quality produce delivered to your door. But which fresh food service is right for you?

To help you get to grips with these ever-evolving offerings, I’ve found some great options to fit a variety of dietary needs and lifestyles. 

Always on the go? I’ve got you covered with freshly prepared meals that’ll be ready in minutes. Want sustainable, organic ingredients? I’ve listed services that offer both certified organic and locally-sourced produce. Vegetarian? I got you. Vegan? Check. Want to eat fresh on a budget? Covered. 

And if you’re looking for a freshness guarantee – that’s how Blue Apron got my #1 spot. 

Read on to find out which companies made my list of the 10 best fresh food meal delivery services of the year.   

The Best Fresh Food Meal Delivery Services Reviewed

1. Blue Apron – Best Fresh Food Meal Delivery Service 2023

Key Features

• Seasonal ingredients sourced from local, family-run farms

• 19 recipes each week

• Dietary plans include Vegetarian, Wellness, and WW-Approved 

• Current deal: Enjoy $130 off across your first 6 orders

Blue Apron is so serious about being the freshest meal delivery service out there, that it’s the only company on the list that markets a “Freshness Guarantee”. This is a promise that each ingredient will arrive fresh and ready to cook – or the company will make it right. 

All Blue Apron ingredients are high-quality, non-GMO, and responsibly sourced. From fresh produce to sustainably-sourced seafood, and meats free of antibiotics and hormones, you can be sure you’re getting only the healthiest food with Blue Apron.

The company also works with more than 100 family-run farms to source local and seasonal ingredients where possible. 

While Blue Apron is better known for its meal kits, it recently added some prepared meals to its weekly menu for those busier nights when hunger strikes. That said, the step-by-step recipes and fan-favorite ingredients in the meal kits – including sweet potato, scallion jam, and pesto – will turn anyone into a gourmet chef. 

2. HelloFresh – Best For Local Ingredients at a Low Price

Key Features

• Commited to sustainability, including reduced waste and smarter packaging

• 35 recipes each week

• Dietary plans include Veggie, Pecatarian, and Fit & Wholesome

• Current deal: Get 25 free meals + free shipping + 3 surprise gifts 

Perhaps one of the better-known meal delivery services out there, HelloFresh is great if you want seasonal, locally sourced ingredients at a budget-friendly price. All HelloFresh’s ingredients come from a pool of trusted suppliers who meet strict quality standards – and the team always meets them in person. 

This means that not only does HelloFresh deliver top-quality produce and proteins, but the streamlined supply chain has a reduced impact on the environment, too. 

HelloFresh works with its trusted suppliers to bring you specialty produce that you won’t find at the grocery store. The result is a weekly menu that’s bigger than most other meal kit delivery services, with a ton of family-friendly dishes, vegetarian offerings, and even calorie-smart meals. 

3. Fresh and Easy – Best For Fast & Fresh Meal Kits

Key Features

• Home Chef’s line of easy-prep meals

• Eight entrées per week, plus protein add-ons and other extras

• Dietary plans include Calorie-Conscious, Vegetarian, and Carb-Conscious

• Current deal: Get 16 Free Meals!

Fresh and Easy is delivered by Home Chef, so it’s a reliable service designed to take the stress out of meal prep. Everyone, from individuals to busy families, will love the grill- and oven-ready meals that require nothing more than a little assembling.

There are 15-minute meal kits, too, for people who love to cook from scratch but can’t afford to be in the kitchen for long. 

Fresh and Easy offers the high-quality ingredients and customization that everybody loves about Home Chef, but focuses on quick and simple meals. “Getting a meal on the table was completely hassle-free.” admits this reviewer. 

All Fresh and Easy meals come with prepped and portioned ingredients, which means you can start supper with no washing, weighing, peeling, slicing, or dicing! The oven-ready meals arrive in a disposable container, so you don’t even have to worry about dishes.

4. Green Chef – Best For Certified Organic Produce

Key Features

• Vibrant, seasonal produce directly from the farm to your door 

• 9 to 12 recipes each week

• Dietary plans include Keto + Paleo and Plant-Powered 

• Current deal: Get $250 Off + Free Shipping

It’s fun to meander around a farmers’ market on a sunny weekend, picking up fresh, organic produce to take home – but what about the rest of the week? Cue Green Chef, a USDA-certified organic meal delivery service that also offers responsibly-raised meats and fish free from antibiotics, growth hormones, and steroids.

The company offers meals for a variety of lifestyles and diets, and has a number of vegetarian and vegan options. Its menu is more limited than some of the other meal delivery services on this list, but the recipes are exciting and varied. 

In fact, novice cooks may feel intimidated by some of Green Chef’s menu offerings, but the instructions are clear and easy to follow, and all of the produce arrives prepped and ready to cook – picture squash cubed to perfection and signature sauces and spice blends crafted by in-house chefs.

5. Home Chef – Best for Meal Customization Options

Key Features

• Swap, upgrade, or double-up on protein in selected meals  

• Around 24 recipes each week

• Dietary plans include Vegetarian, and Carb- and Calorie-Conscious 

• Current deal: 75% Off Your 1st Box + 60% Off Your 2nd and 3rd Boxes!

If you’re looking for a fresh food meal kit delivery service that’s customizable and convenient, Home Chef has some great options on its weekly menu. The Fresh and Easy plan includes oven-ready meals and salads that require little-to-no prep, while the Fast and Fresh meals are ready to eat within 15 to 20 minutes.

Home Chef is also up there as one of the best fresh food delivery services when it comes to tailoring your meal preferences. You can choose to avoid certain foods, such as shellfish and nuts, while the Customize It feature allows you to swap out the meat in most recipes for a protein of your choice. 

Home Chef offers high-quality across the board – but you’ll have to pay extra for its Cuilnary Collection meals if you want premium ingredients that often come as standard with other meal delivery services, including antibiotic-free meats and organic produce. 

6. EveryPlate – Best For Fresh Food at a Low Price

Key Features

• Fresh ingredients at a budget-friendly price   

• 17 recipes each week

• Dietary plans include VeggiePlate

• Current deal: $1.39/meal On Your 1st Box

If you want to eat fresh on a budget, EveryPlate is for you. Despite being the lowest-priced meal delivery service on this list, the quality is excellent and you’ll find only the finest produce in your box each week. 

So how does EveryPlate keep fresh food on your table while keeping its prices low? It’s all about simplicity. The company offers pared-down, crowd-pleasing dishes with basic ingredients that still taste great. This means the recipes are super easy to follow, too. 

You’ll find 17 recipes to choose from each week. It does have some vegetarian options, but EveryPlate doesn’t cater to specific dietary needs or allergies. If you’re looking for customizable meal kits, EveryPlate isn’t for you. But if you want fresh food that won’t break the bank, it’s definitely worth a look.

7. Purple Carrot – Best For Vegetarians & Vegans

Key Features

• Wide selection of purely plant-based meals and extras

• 20 meals per week, plus lunch, breakfast and store-cupboard essentials

• Dietary plans include Gluten-Free, High Protein, and <600 Calories 

• Current deal: Get $30 Off with code carrot30

Whether you’re purely plant-based or want to cut down on the number of animal products in your diet, Purple Carrot’s exciting menu proves you can still cook up a storm with the best of them. 

Purple Carrot’s tasty produce is sourced from trusted farms all around the US. Most of the non-produce items in your box (including beans, tofu, and vegan cheese) will be organic and non-GMO, but because of Purple Carrot’s efforts to provide unique ingredients and recipes, sometimes it’s limited in its options for organic goods. 

And in its bid to make veggies the star of the show in each and every dish, the recipes from Purple Carrot really are varied and globally inspired. Eating a more colorful diet has never been easier! 

8. Marley Spoon – Best Martha Stewart-Approved Meal Kits

Key Features

• Select from a menu of 45+ weekly options

• Choose from a variety of 30-minute meal kits that are super easy

• Get various diet plans like Health & Diet, Vegetarian & Vegan, Meat & Fish

• Current deal: Get $190 off Your First 4 Boxes! 

As Marley Spoon has officially partnered with – and is endorsed by – Martha Stewart, you’ll be getting some of the highest quality meal kits available today. But just because it has a big name behind the brand doesn’t meant that’s the only reason it’s a great service. It offers one of the largest menu selections out there, along with specific diets to suit a large number of people.

One of the things I like most about Marley Spoon (and something our reviewer also noticed) is that it provides meals that are simple enough to prepare for those without tons of kitchen experience. It’s nice to see that you can still get stellar-tasting meals without having to use a bunch of fancy techniques or spend lots of time cooking.

Some of the dietary preferences include low-carb, low-calorie, vegetarian, pescatarian, dairy-free, and more. Lastly, you’ll also be able to access lots of add-ons and sides like cookies and cakes, waffles, shrimp platters, smoked salmon everything bagel gougères, and ready-made mac and cheese and rigatoni alfredo.

9. Dinnerly – Best for a Large Selection of Affordable Meals

Key Features

• Choose simple recipes with only 6 ingredients per dish

• 50+ meal kits and prepared meals per week plus extras

• Opt for dietary options like low-calorie, vegetarian, and low-carb

• Current deal: Get up to $142.75 off 3 orders, from $1.29 per portion!

It’s easy to see why Dinnerly has become so popular. Aside from EveryPlate, it’s one of the most affordable fresh food meal delivery service today. It uses 6 simple ingredients in each dish, and many of these are either “no chop” or “easy clean up”.

You might be wondering how it can offer such low prices. The way it has accomplished this is not by reducing the quality of its ingredients. Rather, it uses simpler packaging than more expensive competitors, all your recipe cards are digital (rather than sent to you in the box), and you get fewer ingredients for each meal kit.

Lastly, you can find different cuisines to suit a variety of taste preferences. For example, you’ll find mostly classic American dishes with a few others sprinkled in like Italian, Latin American, Asian, English (UK), Middle Eastern, and more.

10. BistroMD – The Freshest Diet Meal Delivery Service

Key Features

• Enjoy three meals per day, up to seven days a week 

• More than 150 breakfast, lunch, and dinner options

• Dietary plans include Heart-Healthy, Diabetes-Friendly, Gluten-Free, and more

• Current deal: Get 40% Off + Free Shipping on Your First Week 

BistroMD’s model is centered around menus that have been designed by doctors and prepared by chefs. The result is healthy, prepared meals that feature hormone-free meats and, where possible, local and seasonal produce.

Many diet meal delivery services offer heavily processed, shelf-stable meal replacements that can leave you feeling hungry later on. BistroMD aims to fill your plate with fresh, home-cooked food. In fact, my colleague who reviewed BistroMD found that “the portions are on the generous side and designed to leave you feeling satisfied.”

Dieting can be hard, but BistroMD’s diverse menu and fresh ingredients makes it easier. Enjoy up to three meals per day, with dishes like Steak & Egg Scramble, Jamaican Style Black Pepper Shrimp, and Chicken Molé. All you do is heat and eat!

 See BistroMD’s Recipes

Quick Comparison Table

Tips for Choosing the Best Fresh Food Meal Delivery Services

Almost every meal delivery service can claim its ingredients are fresh to some extent – but that doesn’t mean they’re fresh when they get to you. Here’s what I look for in the best fresh food meal delivery services:

• Top-quality ingredients: Look for produce that is ripe and ready to eat or cook with. The texture and firmness of vegetables indicate freshness – they should also smell good and be vibrant in color.

• No preservatives: Typically whole foods and unprocessed meats should not contain any additives or preservatives. 

• Locally-sourced: Not only does local food taste better because it spends less time in transit, but it’s better for the environment too. Plus, it’s nice to know you’re supporting local businesses! 

• Organic and non-GMO: These ingredients may be pricier, but they’re grown without the use of man-made fertilizers and pesticides, and so they’re better for you.  

Bottom Line: Eating Fresh at Home has Never Been Easier

I’ve narrowed down the options, now the rest is up to you. Which fresh food meal delivery service will be gracing your table?

If you’re looking for that freshness guarantee, plus a ton of exciting recipes Blue Apron is a great choice. If locally sourced produce is what you’re after, give HelloFresh a go. And if you want fresh meals that fit your busy lifestyle, Fresh and Easy has meals that can be on the table in less than 20 minutes.

With 10 great services on this list, there’s sure to be a fresh food meal delivery service for you.

FAQ

Which meal delivery service is the best for fresh, local ingredients at a low price?

HelloFresh is the best meal delivery service for fresh, local ingredients at a low price. All HelloFresh ingredients come from the company’s pool of trusted local suppliers, so they don’t travel far. HelloFresh also has one of the lowest price points of all the meal delivery services I compared.

Which meal delivery service is the cheapest?

EveryPlate offers the cheapest home-delivered meal kits. It keeps prices low by keeping its ingredients and recipes simple. It doesn’t cater to specific dietary needs – and the meals can’t be customized – but the ingredients are super fresh. 

What meal delivery service has the best prepared meals?

Fresh and Easy offers a selection of Oven-Ready and 15-Minute Meal Kits for people who want to eat home-cooked meals without spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Fresh and Easy meals come with fresh ingredients that are perfectly portioned and prepped to help you get dinner on the table with ease when hunger strikes.