9 Best Meal Delivery Services in Ann Arbor in 2024

In Ann Arbor, you can benefit from meal delivery services that cater to a range of dietary needs. These companies deliver everything you need to create a home-cooked meal, usually in the form of meal kits or convenient heat-and-eat dishes.

Choosing the right service can be tough since there are so many options available. Depending on your needs and budget, certain types of service might suit you better. My team and I have tested every service on this shortlist to bring you reliable information about the menus, taste, and value of each company.

Factor is my top pick for Ann Arbor. It provides great value for money with its prepared meals and even offers free nutrition coaching. But my list below includes a whole range of options, so read on to see which is best for you.

The Best Meal Delivery Services in Ann Arbor Reviewed

1. Factor – Best Heat-And-Eat Service for Ann Arborians

I consider Factor the top prepared meal delivery service on the market right now. Its dietitians formulate heat-and-eat recipes and experienced chefs prepare them. You don't need any cooking know-how to plate up a meal from Factor, and the easy cleanup is a bonus.

What’s on the Menu?

Factor's weekly menu consists of 30+ lunches and dinners. Common options include roasted chicken, beef bowls, and vegetable casseroles. Check out the tags – like Carb Conscious, Calorie Smart, and Protein Plus – to shortlist suitable options. 

Factor's extras selection contains desserts, beverages, proteins, and even picnic packs. It includes things like pancakes, energy bites, keto picnic packs, smoothies, and juices. If you want to make your own meals using Factor's meats, you can choose seared salmon, grilled pork chops, or the Bratwurst Bundle, depending on availability. 

The company offers recipes inspired by various international cuisines. You'll usually find Mexican, Thai, Italian, Indian, and Mediterranean options on its menu. You can also stick to classic American dishes if you prefer. 

What Makes It Special?

Tailor your meal plan by selecting from these meal categories: 

• Vegan & Veggie

• Chef’s Choice

• Calorie Smart

• Protein Plus

• Flexitarian

• Keto

Factor’s menu doesn’t offer any customization options, as we discovered in our dedicated Factor review. If a recipe contains an ingredient you don't like or are allergic to, you won't be able to customize or skip that particular ingredient. The only option in such cases is to avoid the meal altogether. 

You can book a 1-to-1 coaching session to learn which diet suits you best. During this 20-minute meeting, a certified dietitian will provide valuable guidance on meals and offer helpful tips to assist you in making the right decision. This is a pretty unique offering from Factor.

Is It Good Value?

Factor delivers fresh food, never frozen, straight to your doorstep. Its meals typically have a shelf life of around 7 days when stored in the fridge. But check the Best by label printed on each meal for the exact expiration date.

The cost per dish varies based on the quantity of single-serving meals you purchase. The larger the order, the lower the cost per meal. For example, its best-value box gives you 18 meals for just $103.41 on your first order if you use our link. The shipping fee for Ann Arbor residents is $10.99.

2. Green Chef – Best Organic Meal Delivery Company

Green Chef was the first meal kit service to receive CCOF certification, and it's also a USDA-certified organic company. The service strongly commits itself to providing organic food. So, it's no wonder that Green Chef is consistently among the leading organic meal delivery services in the USA.

What’s on the Menu?

Green Chef offers around 45 meals on its menu each week. You'll find most options suitable for lunches and dinners. Depending on availability, you may find soups, meatloaves, meats with sauces, and noodle bowls. The service offers dishes inspired by various global cuisines. These include Mexican, Italian, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern, as well as American. 

Browse the Add-Ons section for appetizers, breakfasts, and desserts. You should find flatbreads, oatmeal, muffins, and bites. Green Chef also offers bundles, salads, and proteins.

Check the tags accompanying the meals and extras to choose suitable dishes. These provide basic info about the recipe. Some tags I find useful are Keto, Gluten-Free, and Low Added Sugar.

What Makes It Special?

You’ll get organic produce, eggs, farm-raised meat, and wild-caught seafood from this service. It gets quality ingredients from trusted suppliers when organic items are unavailable. When these substitutions happen, they’ll be clearly labeled. 

Click Our Plans to provide your dietary preferences and simplify the choosing process. Our tried-and-tested Green Chef review has more information about these different plans. You can mix and match between the categories, which include:

• Keto

• Gluten Free

• Plant Based

• Quick & Easy

• Calorie Smart

• Mediterranean

• Protein Packed

• Gut & Brain Health

All recipes are free from artificial preservatives so its meals have a shorter shelf life, typically up to 5 days after delivery. You should eat seafood-based recipes within 3 days, though.

Is It Good Value?

Green Chef is a great meal subscription service for health-conscious people. But note that it doesn't accommodate ingredient customization. So the best option is to skip recipes containing foods you don't like or are allergic to. Alternatively, you can leave out or replace those that don't suit your preferences and dietary needs at home during prep.

The larger your purchase, the lower the price per serving you'll pay. If you have a large group to feed, you can order 4 meals for 6 eaters. The minimum weekly order is 3 meals for 2 people. The cost per portion starts at $9.99. Since you live in Ann Arbor, you'll have to pay the fixed-price delivery fee of $9.99 per box. 

3. Blue Apron – Best Eco-Conscious Meal Delivery Service in Ann Arbor

Blue Apron has various meal kits and prepared meals on its menu, with a total of over 80 weekly options. A team of experienced chefs carefully crafts each dish. If you're environmentally conscious, you'll be glad to know that this service is an eco-friendly, carbon-neutral meal delivery service.

What’s on the Menu?

You'll find up to 16 complete meal kits featuring healthy ingredients on the weekly menu, depending on the category you choose. You can browse them via the Meal Kits 2 servings and Meal Kits 4 servings tabs. You can plan your mealtime up to 4 weeks in advance.

Don't forget to check Blue Apron's Add-ons section. It contains various ready-to-eat meals, salads, and desserts. If you're looking for freshly prepared meals for couples, check out the Prepared & Ready labeled meals.

You'll need between 25 and 50 minutes to prepare most of Blue Apron's Meal Kits recipes. But if you lead a busy life and wish to eat quality food you can prepare in a few minutes, opt for Prepared & Ready options or check out Factor. You benefit from Blue Apron’s 7-day Freshness Guarantee.

What Makes It Special?

You can swap ingredients in selected recipes. In Seared Steaks & Lemon Caper Butter, you can remove bistro steaks and add ribeye or tenderloin steaks. And if you're an omnivore, you can make changes to selected vegetarian meals by adding meat. Take the Oven-Baked Chipotle Eggs & Pinto Beans, for instance. You can change this vegetarian dish by adding pancetta. For more info, check out our in-depth Blue Apron review. 

You can customize the menu by selecting categories in the Pricing section. You can choose any or all of the following Meal Kits options – Veggies, Wellness, Fast & Easy, Chef Favorites, and Family Friendly. If you prefer Prepared & Ready recipes, choose between Keto Friendly, 600 Calories or Less, 30g of Protein, and Carb Conscious alternatives. 

Is It Good Value?

The service's meals accommodate all skill levels. So you'll prepare them effortlessly, even if you're a beginner, let alone a seasoned cook. Blue Apron's team pre-measures the ingredients, ensuring you get the right amount of nutrients and preventing food waste. 

The cost per meal depends on the size of your order. It begins at $4.00 per portion. The maximum Meal Kits order is 5 meals with 4 servings, while the smallest purchase per plan is 2 meals with 2 servings. If you choose Prepared & Ready meals, you can buy 4, 6, 8, or 10 single-serving recipes per plan. You can manually add extra recipes if you need more food. Note that Ann Arborians pay a flat-rate shipping fee of $10.99.

4. HelloFresh – Best Variety of Meal Kits

What’s on the Menu?

The service's dishes are primarily suitable for lunch and dinner. But you're likely to discover some options appropriate for breakfast thanks to its meal variety. Some recipes on its extensive menu could be quesadillas, salads, roasted vegetables, and burgers.

HelloFresh's food is easy to prepare. In general, its serving time is 10 to 50 minutes. Check the prep time info accompanying each recipe on the menu. Also, pay attention to tags pointing out their key features. Protein Smart, Spicy, and Quick are a few of them.

The company caters to the dietary needs of low-calorie and gluten-free dieters, too. In fact, HelloFresh consistently ranks among the top-rated gluten-free meal delivery services nationwide.

What Makes It Special?

Personalize your meal plan by selecting up to 6 categories in Our Plans, which are Veggie, Pescatarian, Under 20 Minutes, Family Friendly, Meat & Veggies, and Fit & Wholesome. Note that you'll be able to choose even meals from the categories you don't select. Check out our tested HelloFresh review to learn more about this. 

Use the HelloCustom feature to tailor selected meals. With it, replace more than 12 proteins or side dishes every week. You can make swaps like replacing shrimp with chicken or steaks with chicken. 

Look for culinary inspiration in HelloFresh's Cookbook, available on Our Menus. It's a treasure trove of over 2,500 recipes from various renowned cuisines. You can browse according to food type, such as Burger Recipes and Soup Recipes, and world cuisine, including Indian Recipes and Spanish Recipes.

Is It Good Value?

Some HelloFresh recipes contain organic ingredients, but most don't. Still, the company sources seasonal food at peak freshness from trusted farms. If you prefer organic food, you should try Green Chef, HelloFresh's line of organic meals.

You can order a minimum of 2 meals for 2 people and a maximum of 6 recipes for 6 people. The more dishes you purchase, the lower the price per individual meal you pay. For example, using our link, new customers can enjoy 6 meals for 4 people for just $107.75.

5. Home Chef – Best Service for Meal Customization

Home Chef is second to none when it comes to personalization. It has 4 customization levels, 3 of which are about meals and 1 about ingredient customization. It also has a quick "What kind of chef are you?" quiz, which gives you tips about what types of recipes you should prioritize from its menu. 

What’s on the Menu?

The service has around 30 dishes on its weekly menu. Check HelloFresh for a meal selection soaring to 100+ menu offerings a week. Among other options, you’ll find food inspired by Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Mexican, and Caribbean cuisines on Home Chef’s menu.

The menu features several meal categories including Meal Kits, Oven-Ready, Bundle & Save, and Extras. Meal Kits cater to beginner and intermediate cooks. You can prepare these dishes in 15 to 50 minutes, depending on the chosen recipes. The Bundle and Save and Extras categories suit busy people as the serving time of most of these recipes is 5 or 10 minutes.

Bundle & Save options are often in high demand and may sell out quickly. To secure your preferred choices, try to place your order in advance. And that shouldn't be a problem since the service publishes upcoming recipes 6 weeks ahead of schedule. 

What Makes It Special?

Use 4 filters to narrow down your meal choices when browsing the menu. These filters are Calorie-conscious, Carb-conscious, Vegetarian, and < 30min. If you follow a low-carb diet, Home Chef is widely regarded as 1 of the best low-carb meal delivery services countrywide.

Keep an eye out for the Customize It feature that accompanies select dishes. It offers you the flexibility to personalize meals by easily swapping out ingredients to better align with your preferences. Depending on the available options, you may replace scallops with shrimp or ground pork with ground beef. Check out our dedicated Home Chef review to learn more about Customize It.

Exclude up to 9 common allergens and meats from your meal selection during signup. These are tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, mushrooms, fish, shellfish, beef, pork, and poultry.

Is It Good Value?

You should find Home Chef works no matter what your cooking skills and time availability are. It also caters to most dieters, including omnivores, vegetarians, and pescatarians. But it’s a little light on vegan options. 

You can start with a minimum order of 2 meals for 2 individuals, but you can easily order up to 6 meals for 6 people. Items are priced individually, starting at $9.99 per serving. Lastly, you'll have to pay the fixed-priced delivery fee of $10.99 to get your order delivered to Ann Arbor.  

6. BistroMD – Best Weight Loss Customization Plans

What’s on the Menu?

You can choose a meal category directly from the service's menu. All programs include Breakfast and Lunch/Dinner options, except the Vegan plan which just has Lunch/Dinner. There are also Snacks to order. Find out what my colleague thought of the meals in this tested BistroMD review.

Some meals are available in multiple categories. A few of them are Meatloaf with Honey Bourbon Glaze and Hickory Smoked BBQ Pork with Broccoli, which are the lunch and dinner options. If you don't have any specific dietary restrictions or health conditions and just want to eat healthily, choose the Signature program.

What Makes It Special?

Besides gender-specific plans, the service has the following 7 meal plans:

• Signature – over 150 meals free from artificial ingredients

• Gluten Free – more than 100 dishes that don’t contain wheat, barley, and rye

• Heart Healthy – 100+ dishes containing controlled levels of sodium and fat

• Diabetic – boasting over 100 meals consisting of lean proteins that help regulate blood sugar

• Menopause – including more than 100 recipes to help with hormone changes

• Keto Flex – featuring 85+ meals low in carbohydrates and offering a less restrictive diet than the traditional keto diet

• Vegan – more than 25 dishes free of meat, dairy, and other animal-derived products

You can opt to receive food 7 or 5 days a week. Also, you can focus solely on lunches and dinners if you wish to skip breakfast. With the full 7-day program, you'll receive 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, and 6 dinners. For the remaining dinner, called My Night, you can eat anything you like.

Is It Good Value?

You can lose weight without eating less with this company. Its team of seasoned nutritionists formulates balanced and complete recipes, ensuring you get all the nutrients you need. And people report noticing results in as little as 10 days. The best part is that you can still have 3 main meals along with snacks every day. 

Think about ordering more meals at once to maximize savings. The cost per portion starts at $6.59 for the maximum purchase. Ann Arbor residents also pay a shipping fee of $19.95. 

7. Purple Carrot – Top Vegan Meal Delivery Service in Ann Arbor

What’s on the Menu?

You'll find 4 meal categories on the menu. These are Meal Kits, Prepared Meals, Less Prep, and Frozen Meals. Each category provides a different level of convenience based on your lifestyle and needs. 

Meal Kits typically contain 12 weekly recipes, including Less Prep dishes. You can choose between Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, and Plantry. Dinners typically feature 16 recipes for 2 or 4 people. Breakfasts have 4 servings, while Lunches suit 2 people. You’ll usually need around 5 minutes to serve breakfasts, 15 minutes for lunches, and up to 40 minutes to prepare dinners. 

The Prepared Meals section offers 16 heat-and-eat recipes. While you need to heat for 2 or so minutes for most of these, some options don't require warming. If you don't mind quick food prep, opt for the Less Prep meals. These typically require between 20 and 30 minutes to prepare and assemble. Frozen Meals usually feature 6 dishes. If you prefer a wider variety of frozen Vegan-friendly meals, check out BistroMD. 

What Makes It Special?

Tags help to narrow down your meal selection. These include Soy-Free, <600 Calories, and Gluten-Free. Also, each meal comes with serving time information. The shelf life of meal kits is typically 3 to 5 days from delivery. Check the Best by label accompanying prepared meals to learn their expiration date.

The service doesn't allow ingredient customization, as we found in our tested Purple Carrot review. So, you'll need to check the meals to ensure they don't feature unwanted ingredients before purchasing them. Alternatively, you can simply leave them out or substitute them during preparation if you order meal kits. 

Is It Good Value?

You can choose 6, 8, or 10 prepared meals per week. Each meal serves 1 person. As for meal kits, you can order 3 or 4 recipes with 2 servings or 2 or 3 recipes with 4 servings. 

The cost per serving starts at $11.00, but note that meal kits are usually more affordable than prepared meals. Purchases of more than $99 qualify for free shipping. Otherwise, you’ll pay $10 for shipping to Ann Arbor.

8. Dinnerly – Low-Cost Meal Delivery Service for Ann Arborians

Dinnerly is a great choice if you're after an affordable meal delivery service in Ann Arbor. Besides competitive pricing, it stands out for meal customization. This level of flexibility is quite rare among low-cost providers.

What’s on the Menu?

Choose between plans for 2 and 4 people when customizing your meal plan. When you proceed to the menu, you'll notice that most recipes are suitable for lunch and dinner. But I found options that work well for breakfast, too. Unlike most other meal delivery services, Dinnerly doesn't separate the meals into different sections, though. 

But the service provides helpful tags introducing the meal's main features. These may relate to the nutritional breakdown, main ingredients, or estimated serving time. Some of them are Kid Friendly, No Added Gluten, and Under 30 Minutes. You'll also notice labels like Poultry, Veggie, and Fish indicating the type of meal. Check our tried-and-tested Dinnerly review to learn more. 

What Makes It Special?

Look for the Customizable label to personalize selected dishes. Depending on the recipe, you can replace sirloin steak with chicken breast or swap tortelloni for gluten-free ravioli. Note that some replacements come at a cost, which varies depending on the upgrade. 

Dinnerly offers meals catering to certain allergies. But it doesn't have dedicated plans for allergen-free or other diets. So, carefully check the ingredients of each dish to ensure they meet your dietary needs. Or simply substitute or exclude unwanted ingredients during meal prep. Check HelloFresh to tailor your mealtime and benefit from dozens of available recipes.

Is It Good Value?

Dinnerly is a great choice for those on a budget. Despite being affordable, it sometimes includes organic ingredients and always sources chicken from antibiotic-free suppliers.

The price per dish depends on the box and the number of servings you choose. It starts at $2.12 for the maximum purchase for 4 people. The rule of thumb is that the cost per portion increases the fewer recipes you order. The delivery fee for residents of Ann Arbor is $11.99, regardless of the order size.

9. Eat Clean – Flexible Portion Control Plans

What’s on the Menu?

You can choose your desired meal category from the menu. If you go for the Traditional menu, you might come across dishes like Garlic Parmesan Chicken Breast or Turkey Sausage Breakfast Pizza. If you're after Paleo options, Chimichurri Palomilla Beef with Baked Sweet Plantain and Chicken Tikka Masala over Cauliflower Rice may be available options. 

You can opt for Regular Size or Large Size meals at Eat Clean. Large meals are a little more expensive, but I think they offer better value for money. Meals are portioned as single servings, but if you fancy sharing with someone and don’t want to order loads of meals, try a large portion between 2. To get there, you need to select Plans in the header and state your email and zip code first.

The number of servings in your meal plan is consistent regardless of the portion size. You can select from 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, or 20 weekly recipes.

What Makes It Special?

Eat Clean has 4 dietary plans – Traditional, Keto, Paleo, and Plant Based. You can choose only 1 program, you can't mix and match recipes from various plans. If you don't follow a particular program, consider subscribing to Dinnerly, a low-cost meal delivery with over 100 meals.

Eat Clean’s meals cater to people with little time. You can heat the service's food in the microwave or the conventional oven. Expect your meal to be ready in about 3 minutes if you warm it in the microwave. If you go with the oven, the approximate heating times are usually between 25 and 35 minutes. Your meal is ready when its inner temperature reaches 165 degrees. Read our comprehensive Eat Clean review to learn more about the taste. 

Eat Clean is a prepared meal delivery service that doesn't allow ingredient customization. For this reason, you should carefully review recipes to see if they contain food you don't like or are sensitive to. If so, skip the dish. Consider subscribing to Home Chef to customize ingredients and leave out up to 9 allergens. 

Is It Good Value?

How much you'll pay depends on the portion and order size. The starting cost is $4.30. The more dishes you purchase, the more affordable the price per recipe is. Note that you'll pay between $9.99 and $17.99 for shipping to Ann Arbor, depending on the size of your order.

Quick Comparison Table

Tips for Choosing the Best Meal Delivery Service in Ann Arbor

Finding the right meal delivery service may seem daunting, but I have some tips to help choose the ideal service for your specific requirements. 

1. Dietary objectives: Review the menus of different meal delivery services to ensure they align with your specific needs. If weight loss is your objective, for example, look for a service that offers low-calorie options like Home Chef. But if you're a diabetic, search for meal deliveries offering meals with lean proteins, such as BistroMD. 

2. Lifestyle: If you relish cooking and have the time for it, give priority to meal kits. They call for a significant amount of time and energy but often result in a more gratifying culinary experience. If you're constantly on the go and lack the time for meal preparation and cleaning up, choose prepared meals. HelloFresh ranks among the best meal kit delivery services, while Factor is considered one of the top providers of prepared meals. 

3. Budget: Striking a balance between cost and value is another key factor. Some services, like Green Chef, are pricier than others but provide organic and high-quality ingredients. But if you're on a budget, maybe Dinnerly would make a better choice. Another piece of advice I can give you is to purchase big to lower the price per meal and save on shipping fees. 

4. Delivery: Learn about the company's delivery rules. Most companies have set delivery days, but some let you pick the delivery days. Think about talking to customer service to learn about the delivery options. Ask what happens if you're not home, like if the driver leaves the package at your door or with a neighbor. 

FAQ

What is the best meal delivery service in Ann Arbor?

Factor is currently my favorite meal delivery service in Ann Arbor. It provides restaurant-quality recipes designed by nutritionists and prepared by chefs. It also has a wide range of extras, including desserts, drinks, and proteins, and provides a free nutrition coaching session.

What is the most affordable meal delivery service in Ann Arbor?

Dinnerly is the most affordable meal delivery service in Ann Arbor. Its meals are budget-friendly, and you can even customize some of them. To keep costs down, the recipes are quite simple and your ingredients won’t be pre-sorted into separate recipe bags.  

What is the best healthy meal delivery service in Ann Arbor?

Green Chef’s fresh meals make it the healthiest meal delivery service in Ann Arbor. It prioritizes sourcing organic ingredients, thus ensuring the highest food quality standards for its meals. 

Best Meal Delivery Service in Ann Arbor in 2024 – Final Score