10 Best Meal Delivery Services in Abilene 2023: Updated List

With a small-town feel, a bustling cultural and business scene, and a vibrant student life, Abilene really gives you the best of both worlds. 

But what do you do when life gets busy and cooking healthy meals gets put on the back-burner? Try a meal delivery service! You can get delicious and nutritious meals and recipes delivered right to your doorstep. 

To help you weigh up your options, I’ve done a deep dive to find the best meal delivery services in Abilene. Want even more options? Try our list of this year’s Best Meal Delivery Services. 

What’s the Difference Between Meal Delivery and Food Delivery?

Food delivery and meal delivery sound almost identical at face value, and the differences may not be what you expect. Both types of service can deliver ready-to-eat meals prepared by chefs.

However, food delivery services like Grubhub and Postmates deliver food on-demand, direct from restaurants. These services can be great in a pinch, but costs can build up quickly. 

A subscription meal delivery service like Home Chef, on the other hand, delivers prepared meals and/or meal kits and some food prep is required at home. Deliveries are normally every week and they’re often more health-focused than food delivery. 

Our Best Meal Delivery Services in Abilene Reviewed

1. Home Chef – Abilene’s Best Customizable Meal Delivery Service

Home Chef Best Features 

• Buy meal kits and prepared meals in-store

• Pick your own protein sources 

• Take the quiz to find your perfect meal plan

• Special Deal: Get 18 Free Meals (50% off your first 4 boxes)!
  

Home Chef in a Nutshell 

One of the best features about Home Chef is that it lets you pick your own protein sources using the Customize It feature. This means you can personalize your meals and substitute ingredients you don’t like. You can see more details about how it works in our Home Chef review. 

Unlike a lot of other meal delivery services, Home Chef lets you pick your meals from the full recipe catalog, rather than limiting you to specific plans. But, if you don’t want the pressure of picking, you can go with the suggested recipes. 

Among its collection of 20+ recipes per week, you’ll find options for vegetarians, carb-conscious, and low-calorie diets. 

2. Blue Apron – Healthy Recipes and More in Abilene

Blue Apron Best Features 

• Fully recyclable packaging, including ice packs

• Gift cards available 

• Non-GMO ingredients, some of which are organic

• Special Deal: Enjoy $180 off across your first 6 orders
  

Blue Apron in a Nutshell 

Blue Apron has plenty of options for the whole family and is known for making healthy eating innovative and fun. 

Blue Apron is also one of the most versatile services on this list, with options for vegetarian, pescatarian, diabetic, and weight-loss diets. Its weight-loss line is particularly impressive with many recipes backed by WW (Weight Watchers). 

Blue Apron has three main plans, Signature, Vegetarian, and Wellness. The Signature plan can feed up to four people, but the vegetarian and wellness plans are limited to two. You can read more about Blue Apron’s plans and pricing in our full Blue Apron review. 

With Blue Apron, you can also sign up to get a variety of wines, carefully curated to pair well with your weekly recipes. 

3. Purple Carrot – Vegan Recipes in Abilene for Every Occasion

Purple Carrot Best Features 

• Prepared meals and meal kits available

• Stock up on vegan snacks from the Plantry

• Options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

• Special Deal: Get $30 off with code carrot30
  

Purple Carrot in a Nutshell 

Purple Carrot is the gold standard of plant-based meal delivery, as you can see from our full Purple Carrot review. 

Rather than focusing on meat alternatives, Purple Carrot designs its recipes with plants at the center. With innovative combinations to maximize nutrition, you can rest assured you’ll be getting a well-balanced and delicious vegan meal. 

While many meal delivery services focus only on lunch and dinner, Purple Carrot has options for all three meals, as well as plenty of snacks from the Plantry. 

As someone with a massive sweet tooth, the snack range is a huge bonus with everything from vegan marshmallows to chocolate to popcorn. There’s also a new range of prepared meals, making it even faster and easier to get healthy meals. 

4. HelloFresh – Most Popular Meal Kit in the USA

HelloFresh Best Features 

• The app makes for easy swaps and cancellations 

• Add sides and extras like garlic bread

• Access the online cookbook anytime 

HelloFresh in a Nutshell 

According to USA Today’s readers, HelloFresh is the meal delivery service with the best customer service in America. If you’re looking for a meal kit that’s backed by a great reputation and a stellar customer service team, HelloFresh might be for you. 

You can choose from six different plans from HelloFresh: Meat & Veggie, Pescatarian, Veggie, Quick and Easy, Calorie Smart, and Family Friendly. To find out more about what’s included in each plan, check out our full HelloFresh review!

Another big bonus to using HelloFresh is limiting your carbon footprint. Choosing HelloFresh for your meal kits can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 25% compared to shopping at a grocery store. 

5. Sunbasket – Healthy Options for a Variety of Diets

Sunbasket Best Features 

• Options for 10 different dietary needs

• USDA-certified organic ingredients 

• Every purchase supports donations to food banks 

Sunbasket in a Nutshell 

Sunbasket is one of the most versatile meal delivery services out there. It has 10 different meal plans available: Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Lean & Clean, Chef’s Choice, Fresh & Ready, Gluten-Free, Carb-Conscious, Mediterranean, Diabetes-Friendly, and Paleo.  

If you just want recipe inspiration, you can check out the blog section, which also has helpful tips on how to make the most of your Sunbasket boxes. For even more details on what you’ll get with Sunbasket, try reading our Sunbasket review. 

One of Sunbasket’s main goals is to provide the freshest produce available, all year-round. It does this by rotating ingredients based on what’s most fresh.

Sunbasket is also committed to giving back to the communities it operates in. Every purchase you make will support donations to local food banks across the country. 

6. Marley Spoon – Southern Comfort Food with a Healthy Twist

Marley Spoon Best Features 

• Designed by celebrity chef Martha Stewart 

• Easy six-step recipes 

• Choose from 29 dishes a week 

Marley Spoon in a Nutshell 

Marley Spoon was designed by Martha Stewart with the goal to provide healthy food with a Southern twist. 

It’s also a sustainability pioneer, with green initiatives to offset its carbon emissions. That makes Marley Spoon the only entirely carbon-neutral service on this list. 

The best way to get a full picture of Marley Spoon is to have a read of our full review. All Marley Spoon boxes are made to serve two or four people, and they can cater to vegetarian, low-carb, or family-friendly diets. 

It’s important to note that Marley Spoon doesn’t cater to many specialized diets, and it doesn’t offer prepared meals. Instead, all boxes contain pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes. 

7. Green Chef – Innovative Healthy Food with Gluten-Free Options

Green Chef Best Features 

• USDA and CCOF-certified organic 

• Keto, paleo, and vegan options 

• Prepped and measured ingredients 

Green Chef in a Nutshell 

As part of the HelloFresh family, Green Chef has the backing of a highly rated service, with a more niche focus on healthy eating and weight loss. 

When you’re looking for a meal delivery service to help you lose weight while building healthy habits and cooking skills, Green Chef is one of the best out there. It has three main plans to choose from – Keto+Paleo, Balanced Living, and Plant-Powered. 

To see the full details on plans and pricing, check out our Green Chef review. 

While these plans provide options for gluten-free and vegetarian diets, it doesn’t have a ton of choice for vegans. Green Chef is, however, one of the only meal delivery services to have an official Gluten-Free Certification. 

8. EveryPlate – The Most Affordable Meal Delivery Service in Abilene

EveryPlate Best Features 

• Affordable meals from only $1.49 per serving 

• Add protein packs like chicken or beef

• Meal plans are flexible and easy to reschedule or cancel 

EveryPlate in a Nutshell 

Looking for a low-commitment, inexpensive meal delivery service? Try EveryPlate, the most affordable service on this list! Meals from EveryPlate are only $4.99 per serving, making it a great way to dip your toes into the world of meal delivery. 

Packed with nutrition and designed to feed an entire family (including the picky eaters), EveryPlate’s recipes are easy and quick to make with most ready in under 30 minutes. You can find out even more about the recipes in our dedicated EveryPlate review.

But what if you’re a student on a tight budget? Well, luckily for you, EveryPlate has a student discount to make it even more affordable to eat healthy even after late nights at the ACU library. 

9. Grubhub – Best Food Delivery Service in Abilene

Grubhub Best Features 

• Choose from hundreds of local favorites  

• App-based ordering for ease and flexibility 

• Join premium membership for lower delivery fees and more perks

Grubhub in a Nutshell 

Grubhub is a food delivery service, not a meal delivery service, and it’s the best in the game. The biggest bonus of Grubhub is that it doesn’t charge an extra fee for delivery, unlike most other food delivery services. Instead, the only delivery fee you pay is the one the restaurant already charges. 

Your options are only limited by the time you’re ordering and your proximity to your chosen restaurant. Most delivery times are under an hour, and there’s a section on the app that specifically lists the fastest options. 

For example, you could have a triple meat burger from Whataburger at your door in less than 20 minutes. And, if you want access to even better deals, you can join Grubhub+ for $9.99 a month.

10. Postmates – Custom Food Delivery Service in Abilene

Postmates Best Features 

• Customize your orders across multiple restaurants 

• Track your orders in the app

• Avoid surge pricing by joining the subscription service

Postmates in a Nutshell 

Postmates is a food delivery service that’s quite similar to Grubhub. It offers limitless options to its customers, and unlike Grubhub, you aren’t limited to only partner restaurants to pick from. 

In fact, you can get literally any order you want, from multiple sources at once, using the Fleets feature. As long as you can give the driver directions and instructions, you can get food and convenience items from anywhere in Abilene. 

The downside of Postmates, however, is that it uses surge pricing. If lots of people order at the same time, delivery prices go up. To avoid this, and lower your minimum order requirement, you may want to consider Postmates Unlimited for $9.99 per month. 

Best Meal Delivery Services for Abilene: Comparison Table

Bottom Line: Are Meal Delivery Services in Abilene Worth It?

Abilene is full of busy families, thriving businesses, and a buzzing student population thanks to ACU. What does everyone here have in common? They’re all short on time. 

A meal delivery service is the ideal way to keep up with your healthy eating goals no matter where you are, and they’re a great option for anyone in Abilene.

If you find yourself getting overwhelmed with the task of shopping, planning, and prepping meals, then a meal delivery service might just be the solution you’ve been looking for.

FAQ

What is the most affordable meal delivery service in Abilene?

If you’re looking for the ultimate affordable meal delivery service in Abilene, look no further than EveryPlate, which has meals from $1.49 per serving. However, if you have specific dietary needs, you might want to try the affordable options from HelloFresh, Blue Apron, or our list of affordable meal kits.

What is the best healthy meal delivery service in Abilene?

Pretty much every meal delivery service on this list caters to a healthy diet in some form, but the most health-focused are Blue Apron, Green Chef, and Sunbasket. The best one for you will depend on what specific diet you follow. For even more healthy options, you can check out our list of healthy meal delivery services.

What is the best diet meal delivery service in Abilene?

The winner for the biggest range of diets in Abilene is Sunbasket, without a doubt. It has a plan for almost every popular diet, including Carb-Conscious, Mediterranean, and Lean & Clean. However, if you’re looking specifically to lose weight, other great options are Green Chef, Home Chef, or Blue Apron’s Wellness plan. For more options, try our list of weight-loss meal delivery services.

What is the best paleo meal delivery service in Abilene?

Sunbasket has the biggest range of paleo recipes in Abilene, with around 10 paleo-friendly meals a week. It’s closely followed by Green Chef which has nine paleo meal kits to choose from every week. Check out our full list of paleo-friendly meal delivery services.

Best Meal Delivery Services in Abilene in 2023 – Final Score: