Philadelphia has a well-deserved reputation as a culinary hotspot. Pretzels, hoagies, water ice, and (of course) cheesesteaks are just a few of the many fine foods to be found in Philly. But how do you keep things exciting in your own kitchen?
I review meal delivery services for a living. I’ve spent years comparing shipping fees, consulting colleagues, poring over ingredient lists, and sampling meals from services large and small. And I’ve put all my expertise to work in bringing you this list of the best meal delivery services in Philadelphia.
Home Chef is my top choice because it offers a broad menu and a wide range of customization options. But every meal delivery service on this list has something to offer Philadelphia residents – and every listing features a coupon that can help you save money!
Fitness buffs, vegans, hungry Penn and Temple students, and household heads with hungry mouths to feed – each can benefit from a meal delivery service subscription. Read on and learn how you can save time and eat better.
Home Chef – The best meal delivery service in Philadelphia
Blue Apron – Best exotic recipes to fit your schedule
Green Chef – Best organic meal kits in Philadelphia
HelloFresh – Huge variety and great meal kits in Philadelphia
Purple Carrot – Philly’s best vegan meal delivery service
Customize-It feature lets you swap or double up on proteins
Over 25 meals and 18 extras to choose from each week
Dietary options include carb- and calorie-conscious
Current deal: 75% Off Your 1st Box + 60% Off Your 2nd and 3rd Boxes!
Home Chef takes first place for its highly customizable menu and variety of meal types. After cooking several Home Chef meal kits, our reviewer declared it “one of the most versatile meal delivery services out there.”
If you’re a seafood lover, you can order the Chesapeake-Style Shrimp Pot Pie pictured above with a double portion of shrimp. If you love pot pie but not seafood, you can swap in boneless skinless chicken breasts. And if you’re pressed for time, you can save prep time with diced chicken breasts!
For special occasions, Home Chef offers Culinary Collection meals featuring premium ingredients and more elaborate cooking techniques. And for busy weeknights, you can order one of Home Chef’s 15-Minute Meal Kits or Fast & Fresh Oven-Ready meals.
Home Chef may not be the best choice for vegans or those on other specialized diets. But most Philadelphians will find that Home Chef offers a lot to love.
Great choice for wine lovers, thanks to the Wine Club add-on
19+ recipes to choose from each week plus Add-Ons and Market items
Dietary options include a WW-approved Wellness plan, and more
Current deal: Enjoy $130 off across your first 6 orders
Blue Apron’s varied menu and step-by-step recipes bring you meals that are as enjoyable to make as they are to eat. Philadelphians have high standards for Italian dishes, but you can’t deny the appeal of a one-pan, holistically healthy dish like the Sheet Pan Italian Pork Roast pictured above.
Not much of a cook? Not a problem! Blue Apron’s recipes provide step-by-step instructions and videos to help you master all of the techniques you may encounter.
For even easier dinners, try a fully prepared meal from the Heat & Eat range. Our reviewer said “I love having the option to include one or two of these convenient meals for particularly busy weeks.”.
Combine these features with Blue Apron’s very reasonable pricing, flexible delivery, and optional wine subscriptions, and it’s easy to see why this is one of America’s most popular meal delivery services.
The first USDA-certified organic meal delivery service
30 recipes available each week
Dietary options include keto, paleo, and plant-based
Current deal: Get $250 Off + Free Shipping
If you’re looking for a meal kit delivery service that’ll help you stay on track, Green Chef is one of the best for high-quality recipes and ingredients for keto, paleo, low-carb and plant-based diets.
Green Chef’s ready-to-use sauces and seasonings make cooking healthy, sophisticated meals easier than you might expect. For example, you can prepare the Boom Boom Shrimp and Bacon Bowls pictured above in just 30 minutes.
While it’s one of the pricier meal delivery services on our list, I tried Green Chef at home and can attest that its meals are definitely worth the money.
Green Chef’s Keto + Paleo plan is excellent, and its Vegetarian and Vegan plans are also great. But whatever meal plan you choose, you can order any entree on the menu.
Quick and easy meals available, including one-pot, and more
50+ recipes each week
Dietary options include vegetarian, pescatarian, and low-calorie
Current deal: Get 25 free meals + free shipping + 3 surprise gifts
HelloFresh is the world’s biggest meal delivery service, and it’s no secret why. This meal delivery juggernaut delivers exciting yet accessible meals for families of all shapes and sizes, with plenty of options for vegetarians, pescatarians, and calorie counters.
Menu tags like Easy Prep and Easy Cleanup ensure you only get the meals that suit your lifestyle. And its Hall of Fame label lets you find especially popular meals like the Fully Loaded Pork Taquitos pictured above. After trying the service, our reviewer declared “HelloFresh’s recipes were foolproof.”
HelloFresh’s latest feature, HelloCustom, gives you the option to swap out sides and proteins on more than 12 dishes each week. And the HelloFresh Market offers grocery items like fresh proteins, spices, produce, and desserts.
Plant-based meal kits and prepared meals
20 entrees each week, plus breakfast and lunch options
Dietary options include high-protein, gluten-free, and more
Current deal: Get $30 Off with code carrot30
If you’re a vegan, you’ll love Purple Carrot’s 100% plant-based menu. There are no soy burgers or fake chicken to be found here, just meals like Roasted Red Pepper Shakshuka (pictured above) that you might find in a high-end vegan restaurant.
Not vegan? Not a problem! We could all use more vegetables in our diet, and Purple Carrot is a delicious way to get your veggies. After trying Purple Carrot at home, our non-vegetarian reviewer declared it “guaranteed to please even the fussiest of omnivores.”.
In fact, Purple Carrot is a one-stop shop for all your plant-based food needs. You’ll also find breakfasts (like Loaded Avocado Toast) and fresh lunch options (like Mango Poke Bowls) in addition to its meal kits and prepared meals. There’s even a Plantry with snacks and ingredients. Eating more plants has never been tastier!
Easy-to-follow recipes and quality ingredients
45+ dishes on the menu, plus seasonal extras
Dietary options include vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and more
Current deal: Get $190 off Your First 4 Boxes!
You may feel a bit intimidated by cooking with Martha Stewart. But while some Marley Spoon recipes may seem daunting, my colleague declared in their expert review “the easy-to-follow recipes and prepared spice blends make it simple to create something new and flavorful.”.
Alongside more sophisticated offerings, Marley Spoon offers family-friendly meals like burgers, meatloaf, and pastas. There’s also a selection of pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan entrees and meals that are ready in under 30 minutes. The Five Spice-Glazed Barramundi pictured above is ready in just 15-20 minutes.
Marley Spoon is the first carbon-neutral meal delivery service, and also employs sustainable practices and uses recyclable packaging. To reduce food waste, ingredients come prepared and weighed for exactly the number of servings specified on the packaging.
High-quality ingredients in every dish
34 prepared meals each week
Dietary options include keto, low-calorie, plant-based, and more
Current deal: Up to $276 Off!
Factor meals are chef-prepared with only antibiotic- and hormone-free proteins and non-GMO ingredients combined in utterly delicious combinations. All you need is a microwave and in three minutes you can enjoy a healthy meal.
Choose from a wide selection of keto, low-carb, vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-free meals on the Factor menu. Keto choices include tasty entrees like Ranch Baked Chicken with Cheesy Broccoli "Rice" and Roasted Mushrooms (pictured). Factor also offers add-ons like protein packs, smoothies, soups, and wellness shots.
Our expert reviewer found Factor meals to be “of high quality and really tasty”. Every subscription includes a free 20-minute consultation with an in-house dietitian who can help you achieve your goals. Factor isn’t cheap, but fitness-conscious Philadelphians may find it a great investment in their health.
You can use the “Customize It” option
14+ unique recipes per week
Dietary options: calorie-conscious, and carb-conscious
Current deal: Get 16 Free Meals!
For busy Philadelphians, Home Chef’s Fresh and Easy line offers high-quality meals with easy prep requirements. The Sun-Dried Tomato Shrimp Pasta pictured above is fit for a fine Philly restaurant, but is ready in just 15-20 minutes!
Cleanup is a breeze since everything is prepared and pre-packaged. Plus, oven-, microwave-, and grill-ready meals come in containers and trays, so there’s no need to get any pots and pans out. As my colleague said in their expert review: if you sign up for Fresh and Easy, “you’ll save loads of time and hassle!”
Fresh and Easy lets you take advantage of Home Chef’s Customize It feature. You can order your Sun-Dried Tomato Shrimp Pasta with twice the shrimp, or swap in steak strips, diced chicken breasts, or veggie Impossible Burger.
Affordable, home-style recipes from the minds behind HelloFresh
25 meals per week, plus extras like desserts and salads
Dietary options include VeggiePlate, Family Friendly and Quick & Easy
Current deal: $1.39/meal On Your 1st Box
Philly’s cost of living is lower than other big cities like New York or LA, but that doesn’t mean you don’t want to save a few bucks where you can. EveryPlate is a meal delivery service designed with your budget in mind, with meals starting at $1.49 per serving.
EveryPlate meals tend toward filling comfort food like the Cheesy Steak and Caramelized Onion Sandos pictured above. There are few options for people with specialized dietary needs, but our reviewer tried EveryPlate at home and found “people without dietary restrictions will find a lot to love on EveryPlate’s menu.”
EveryPlate offers four plans: Meat & Veggie (meat, seafood, and veggie options); Veggie (plant-forward meals); Family-Friendly (kid-approved dinners); and Quick & Easy, for no-fuss meals that take 30 minutes or less. (The Cheesy Steak Sandos are a Quick & Easy entree).
Enjoy frequent promotions
Order from more than 500 local Philadelphia restaurants
Get snacks and convenience items as well as dinner
For those nights when only a takeout will do, food delivery services like Grubhub make it easy to get your fix of locally-made hoagies, pretzels, and other classic Philly dishes, direct from the restaurants.
Delivery fees vary by restaurant and can quickly add up if you’re regularly ordering takeout. But with a Grubhub+ subscription you get free delivery on orders over $12 at participating restaurants, as well as special discounts and bonuses.
Simply order through Grubhub’s app or website, and you can enjoy freshly cooked meals and desserts in as little as 20 to 30 minutes.
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Our Rating | ||||||||||
Our Rating | 9.3 | 9.4 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 8.4 | 9.5 | 9.7 | 7.8 | 9.0 |
Starting Price | ||||||||||
Starting Price | $6.99 Per Serving | $5.74 Per Serving | $5.99 Per Serving | $3.32 Per Serving | $8.50 Per Serving | $2.99 Per Serving | $6.19 Per Serving | $6.99 Per Serving | $1.49 Per Serving | |
Minimum Order | ||||||||||
Minimum Order | 2 meals for 2 people | 2 meals for 2 people | 3 meals for 2 people | 2 meals for 2 people | 3 meal kits for 2 people/6 prepared meals | 2 meals for 2 people | 4 prepared meals | 2 meals for 2 people | 3 meals for 2 people | Varies by supplier |
Meal Types | ||||||||||
Meal Types | Kits, speedy kits, oven-ready, prepared | 20 - 60 min. meal kits | 30-minute meal kits | 20 - 30 min. meal kits | 30-minute meal kits | 30 min. meal kits | Prepared meals | Oven- & grill-ready, kits, prepared | 30-minute meal kits | Prepared |
Prep Time | ||||||||||
Prep Time | 5-50 min | 5-45 min | 25-40 min | 15-40 min | 3-40 min | 20-40 min | 2-3 min | 15-30 min | 20-45 min | 0 |
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Active Deals |
With so many meal delivery service options out there, finding the one that best suits your needs can be a big challenge. Here are some professional pointers that’ll help you narrow down your search.
Know your dietary needs. Browse the plans and menu to make sure the service offers meals suited to your dietary needs and lets you avoid ingredients that trigger your allergies or intolerances. Also, check to see if the service offers enough variety to keep dinner interesting.
Price is important, but it’s not the only thing. If the difference between a meal service your family loves and one they tolerate is $0.50 a serving, you’re spending $6 extra for three great 4-serving meals a week. Your suppertime happiness is worth a few dollars!
Check available delivery days. Depending on your service and your zip code, you may be able to choose between six delivery days or be stuck with one or two. Make sure to pick a service that works for your schedule.
Don’t be afraid to switch. You may have to try a couple of meal delivery services before you find the one that’s right for you. All the services we listed make it easy to cancel your subscription, so don’t be afraid to try something different if you’re not completely satisfied.
Speaking in my expert capacity, I can attest that meal delivery services are definitely worth it.
Home Chef will be the best choice for most Philadelphians thanks to its menu variety and customization options. But you really can’t go wrong with any service on our list. No matter your budget, tastes, or dietary preferences, there’s guaranteed to be a meal delivery service that fits your needs.
Meal delivery services are a great way for Philadelphia households across the US to streamline their daily dinners. By getting prepared ingredients and recipes delivered to your door, you can take the headache out of planning and cooking meals and introduce your family to new cuisines.
Home Chef wins my vote for the best meal delivery service in Philadelphia. Its Customize It feature and wide-ranging menu mean that most Philadelphians will love Home Chef, although those on specialized diets may want to look at some of our other choices.
Green Chef’s organic meal kits make it our choice for those seeking Philadelphia’s healthiest meal delivery service. I tried Green Chef at home: not only are the meals healthy and nutritious, but they also taste great!
Factor gets the nod for our choice of Philadelphia’s best prepared meal delivery service. All Factor meals are made with antibiotic- and hormone-free proteins and non-GMO ingredients and ready to eat in just three minutes in the microwave.