10 Best Meal Delivery Services in Modesto 2023: Updated List

Between enjoying the extensive hills, valleys, and farmland surrounding Modesto, sipping on Gallo Family Wine, and managing the ins and outs of everyday life, meal prep might be the last to-do on your list.  

Luckily, finding the right meal delivery service is easier than you think. I’ve researched the extensive list of meal delivery services in Modesto and carefully chosen the top 10 for you to explore. Dietary preference, allergy accommodations, pricing, and eco-friendly packaging are all factors I considered when compiling this list. 

Home Chef is my top choice with its customizable options and high-quality ingredients. However, each meal delivery service in this list has something for every lifestyle, diet, allergy, and budget, so you can choose the best meal delivery service that adds value to your life. 

The Best Meal Delivery Services in Modesto Reviewed

1. Home Chef – Best Customizable Meal Delivery Service in Modesto

Key Features

• Meal kits for every lifestyle – from microwave-ready to culinary projects

• Customizable recipe ingredients – swap or upgrade proteins

• 8 dietary options including allergy-, protein-, and plant-based accommodations

• Current deal: Get 60% off your first three boxes

Home Chef’s customizable options are the best, as you can swap out or upgrade protein portions in most meals. The website makes this easy with the View Customize It Options button under most recipes, which shows you what substitutes are available.  

20+ recipes are on the menu each week, from which you can also easily filter for your dietary preferences and view all recipe options available that fit your needs. Prep times range from 10 to 40+ minutes, so you can prepare a hassle-free meal or savor the prep process. 

For those who savor the process – check out the Culinary Collection for meals that get you in the cooking groove. See how my colleague got on when they tried Home Chef’s meals in their full review.

You can add a little extra to your meals with bread, sides, snacks, and proteins or tasty, high-quality beverages like La Colombe Cold Brew Coffee and Koia Cold Brew Coffee Protein Smoothies.

2. Blue Apron – Best Gourmet Meal Kit Delivery in Modesto

Key Features

• Premium quality ingredients, humanely-raised protein, sustainable processes

• 35+ recipes per week with optional add-ons and wine pairings

• Vegetarian and diabetes-conscious plans

• Current deal: Enjoy $110 off across your first 5 orders

Few other meal services offer the level of culinary attention to each meal that Blue Apron does. While not the most affordable meal kit delivery service, Blue Apron is quality-forward, flavor-focused, and offers signature spice mixes for its meal kits.  

You can choose from 35+ rotating gourmet recipes and increase the experience of your meals with Blue Apron’s wine pairing service. Though not as customizable as Home Chef’s recipes, you can still swap, upgrade, or double-up protein portions for some meals.

Gourmet is the name of Blue Apron’s game with its Signature Collection. With prep times around 40+ minutes, these recipes are perfect for a night in for two on the weekend. My colleague wrote a full reviewof Blue Apron’s service if you would like more details.

Three Heat & Eat meals – like the Soy-Miso Chicken & Udon Noodles with Bok Choy & Mushrooms – are also available for those busier nights, and require shorter prep times of 3-5 minutes. 

3. Green Chef – Modesto’s Best Organic Meal Kit Delivery Service

Key Features

• First certified CCOF-organic and USDA-certified organic meal kit delivery service 

• 20+ recipe options that rotate each week

• 7 dietary and allergy-conscious accommodations including keto, paleo, and vegan

• Current deal: Get $250 off + free shipping

For health-conscious consumers, Green Chef is my top recommendation. Green Chef focuses on nutrient-dense, high-quality ingredients and is the first – and one of the few – certified CCOF-organic and USDA-certified organic meal delivery services. This certification means that all ingredients in your meal kits are certified organic!  

Additionally, Green Chef pays special attention to Keto and Paleo meal options by making them all gluten-free. The Spicy Chicken & Broccoli Stir-Fry with ginger, cashews, and ginger-lime aioli is a perfect example and only takes 20 minutes to prep. You can view more details about Green Chef’s ingredients and dietary accommodations in this in-depth review.

While some other meal kit services only offer two to four serving sizes, Green Chef offers up to six servings per meal. This is perfect for bigger families or if you’ve become a fan of a certain recipe that you want for dinner all week!

4. HelloFresh – Best Family-Friendly Meal Kit Delivery Service

Key Features

• Kid-tested recipes that are delicious and easy

• 55+ unique recipes per week with customizable sides and proteins

• Several dietary accommodations including carb-, plant-, and protein-conscious

HelloFresh caters to families with plenty of kid-friendly options, and it offers 55+ recipes each week to suit the pickiest palates. Meal prep times vary as well to suit any lifestyle, ranging from microwave-ready to 40 minutes for more complex cuisines.

What I appreciate most about HelloFresh’s website is that each recipe details ingredients and nutrients, plus staples that aren’t included like olive oil, salt, and pepper. The website ushers in another level of ease by listing each utensil required to cook and serve each meal. Few other services offer these details!

This is one of the most popular meal delivery services – check out my colleague’s tried-and-tested review of HelloFreshto discover why.

HelloFresh also posts weekly menus for the next six weeks so that you can plan all your and your family’s deliveries in advance.

5. Purple Carrot – Best Plant-Based Meal Kit Delivery in Modesto

Key Features

• All meals covered – breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, snacks

• 12 meal kits, nine ready meals, five snacks and desserts

• Unique three-course, two-servings meals for celebrations

Purple Carrot is the best meal delivery service option for vegans. Eating a plant-based diet can be challenging for those with on-the-go lifestyles, but Purple Carrot makes mealtime hassle-free, delicious, and satisfying. Check out my colleague’s in-depth review of his experience with Purple Carrot, or a quick overview below!

While many other meal services offer vegan and veggie options by substituting meats for plant-based protein substitutes like tempeh, these recipes focus on nutrient-dense dishes that enhance rather than hide veggies and their natural flavors. 

Prep times are a little longer than the average meal kit prep time, but recipes are easy to follow, flavor-rich, and protein-packed. 

For anyone wanting to try a plant-based diet, or plant-based consumers who want to avoid sifting through the produce piles for fresh pickings, Purple Carrot is an excellent choice.

6. Marley Spoon – Martha Stewart-Designed Meal Kits in Modesto

Key Features

• All recipes take fewer than six steps

• 45+ unique recipes from a wide variety of international cuisines 

• Excellent dietary options including calorie-, carb-, plant-, and protein-conscious

Martha Stewart does not disappoint with her thoughtfully curated, wide variety of easily-prepped standard American and international cuisines. Cooking times average about 40 minutes but are mostly hassle-free one-pot or one-pan recipes.  

Marley Spoon is a little cheaper than other meal services but offers exotic and flavorful meal kit options. Classic dishes are available as well as plenty of kid-friendly options. But why go classic when you can have an easy one-pan Spanish Breakfast Hash with Chorizo and Peppers (as seen above), or one-pan Corn and Poblano Enchiladas?

The website and menu cater to families, but there’s something for everyone in Marley Spoon’s cookbook. For an in-depth insight into what it’s like to put together these meal kits, you can check out my colleague’s full review of Marley Spoon.

With 45+ rotating weekly recipes, you can find multiple options for any diet or palate.

7. Freshly – Best Microwave-Ready Meal Delivery in Modesto

Key Features

• Three-minute meals for on-the-go lifestyles

• 35+ microwave-ready meal options that rotate weekly

• Dietary accommodations include calorie-, carb-, plant-, and protein-conscious

Freshly is the best on-the-go meal delivery service. All meals come microwave-ready and require 2-3 minutes of heating time – zero prep, zero hassle, and zero clean-up! If you don’t finish your meals on time according to its carefully labeled packaging, you can freeze your meal and reheat it later.

Sound like a TV dinner? These aren’t. Meals are made-to-order to ensure freshness upon arrival. Freshly makes a special effort to use minimally processed ingredients and preps each meal with 100% non-GMO expeller pressed canola oil. 

For more details about Freshly’s freshness and service, check out my colleague’s in-depth review here.

Freshly has an amazing 24/7 live customer service chat for any trouble with your orders! 

8. Fresh and Easy – Best Easy Prep Meal Delivery in Modesto

Key Features

• Meals arrive in microwave-, oven-, or grill-safe trays.

• 20+ meals options for the week are emailed to you each Monday

• Customizable protein selections with various fish, meat, and plant-based options

Want the same customizability as Home Chef with guaranteed low-to-no prep times? Fresh & Easy is Home Chef’s easy-prep meal kit delivery service. Read an in-depth review of Fresh & Easy’s meal delivery service here.

Fresh & Easy’s best feature is its minimal meal prep. Meals require only a few minutes of prep as everything arrives in trays safe for the microwave, oven, or grill.

20+ options that include calorie-conscious, carb-conscious, vegetarian, pescatarian, nut-free, and shellfish-free options are available each week. Like Home Chef’s customizable options, you can swap or increase each meal’s protein portion. 

9. EveryPlate – Best Cheap Meal Delivery in Modesto

Key Features

• Cheapest per-serving price 

• 15+ unique recipes per week

• Menus is mostly standard American with vegetarian options

If you are on the go, have no dietary restrictions, are on a limited budget, or are trying out the meal kit delivery service lifestyle for the first time – EveryPlate meal kits are for you. With our discount, prices hover around $1.49 per-serving – making this budget-friendly service even cheaper!

EveryPlate offers about 17 or 18 meal options per week with mostly American, Mediterranean, and a sprinkling of more exotic options like the Tunisian-Spiced Apricot-Beef Tagine. For more on meal variety, pricing, and lifestyle accommodations check out our full review of EveryPlate!

The service’s priority is keeping prices low, so allergy- and dietary-specific plans are unavailable, except for some vegetarian options. However, all packaging is carefully labeled so you know exactly what you’re getting in each meal kit.

10. Grubhub – Best Fast Meal Delivery in Modesto

Key Features

• Receive a fully prepared food delivery in any Modesto zip code within 45-90 minutes

• Choose from dozens of restaurants at almost any time of day

• Filter based on cuisine, dietary options, delivery charge, and more

Whether you’ve had a long day at the office, a busy day running errands, or ran out of your delivered meal kits early, Grubhub can deliver any type of meal, at almost any hour, from any restaurant in Modesto that’s connected to its platform.

Grubhub even has a GHG Perks program that offers a “lowest price guarantee” for meals up to $15. If you see a meal available for cheaper on one of its competitors’ platforms, you can tell Grubhub, and the company will give you the lowest price available for your meal.

Additionally, if your meal does not arrive within the estimated time, you can tell Grubhub within a week of your order, and you will receive a GHG Perk to use on your next order.  

Ordering is super simple and easy through Grubhub’s app or website. Just type in your zip code and cuisine preference, and order away.

Quick Comparison Table

Tips for Choosing the Best Meal Delivery Service in Modesto

Unsure where to start when choosing a meal delivery service? Here are some tips for choosing the best meal delivery service for you in Modesto:

• Consider your dietary needs: Ensure that your preferred diet and allergy accommodations are available by checking menu options, recipe ingredients, and reading FAQs. While many of these meal services cater to various dietary options and food allergies, each meal service is a little different.

• Consider your lifestyle: Ensure your delivered meals require your desired level of meal prep convenience. Some meal delivery services offer ready-to-eat meals, while others have an average prep time of 25-45 minutes.

• Consider price: Make sure subscription plans are in your price range. For most services, your per-serving price will show as you adjust your meal plan during checkout. Also, keep an eye on shipping prices. Some services offer free shipping if your order is above a certain price, while others will charge a flat rate per delivery.

• Consider different services: Try different meal delivery services in Modesto! If multiple services cater to your dietary needs and preferences – give them all a try. You can use our discount codes to make trying out these services more affordable!

Bottom Line: What’s the Best Meal Delivery Service in Modesto?

Modesto has meal delivery services for every diet, budget, and lifestyle, but some are a cut above the rest. 

Home Chef is my top recommendation for its customization options, pricing, meal variety, ingredient quality, and excellent dietary and allergy accommodations. Whether you’re a family hoping to ease grocery shopping trips, a couple on the go, or a busy student with a full schedule, Home Chef can deliver high-quality meal kits to suit your lifestyle.

Home Chef meal kits are cheaper than the average food delivery meal price, and you can receive a whole week of food without stepping into a grocery store.

For more options that deliver nationwide, check out this list of Best Meal Delivery Services of 2023.

FAQ

How much does shipping cost for meal delivery services in Modesto?

Shipping costs vary for each company and usually range from $8.99 to $15.99, depending on your meal plan. Some services increase shipping costs as the size of your delivery increases, while others decrease shipping costs as the size of your order increases.

For example, Fresh & Easy’s shipping decreases as your order size increases. Fresh & Easy’s minimum two meals for two people per week costs $15.99 in shipping, while a larger order of six meals for six people per week costs only $10.99.

What is the difference between meal delivery and food delivery services in Modesto?

Food delivery services are non-subscription and make one-time deliveries of fully prepared meals, like Grubhub. You can choose from any restaurant in your area that’s connected to the company’s delivery platform. Zero meal prep and clean-up are always guaranteed with food delivery.

Meal delivery services are weekly subscriptions that deliver a box of meal kits or fully prepared meals according to your chosen meal plan. Minimum meal plans range from 4-6 servings to about 12 servings per week. Prep time varies between recipes from 0-60 minutes, and you can find ready-made meals or meal kits that require some culinary panache.

Which meal delivery service in Modesto has the easiest prep?

Freshly offers microwave-ready meals that you can heat in 2-3 minutes, or freeze for later if you don’t get to them by the indicated use-by date.

Fresh & Easy offers low meal prep times of 0-15 minutes. Meals come in trays, which can either be heated in the microwave or oven.

What are the healthiest meal delivery services in Modesto?

If organic is your definition of health – Green Chef takes the (organic) cake. All ingredients are certified organic by the USDA and CCOF.

If plant-based is your definition of health, Purple Carrot deserves an honorable mention because most of its products are organic and non-GMO such as beans, nut milks, tofu, tempeh, vegan cheeses, and yogurts.

If products from humanely-raised animals fit your definition of health, Blue Apron is a great option. Meats and dairy products are sourced from pasture-raised animals that never received hormones such as sub-therapeutic antibiotics or beta-agonists. All animal products are sourced from select farms that follow the WHO’s Five Freedoms of the Animal Welfare Policy.

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