5 Best Meal Delivery Services in Indianapolis – Cheapest & Healthiest!

Food delivery in Indianapolis doesn't have to be a headache: there are so many options out there, from restaurant takeout to meal delivery services, Indianapolis-style, that you’ll have a harder time deciding how to order, than what to order! 

No two Indy food delivery companies are quite alike. In fact, I’ve spent my quarantine time super-effectively, by testing out all of the options available to you! 

Here are my top 5 recommendations for the best darn food delivery in Indianapolis. 

Short on time? Here are the best meal delivery services in Indianapolis. 

1. Sun Basket – Best for healthy meal delivery in Indianapolis

2. Grubhub – Best for all-types of prepared meal delivery in Indianapolis 

3. Home Chef – Best stress-free Indianapolis food delivery service

4. Diet to Go – Best healthy meal delivery in Indianapolis 

5. Purple Carrot – Best for vegan food delivery in Indianapolis 

Meal delivery vs food delivery: the key difference

Aren’t they just the same thing? Well, they do sound very similar, and to be fair, they are pretty similar, but there’s one important difference. It’s all down to the preparation. 

You’re probably most familiar with food delivery because that’s your standard takeout option. You choose your favorite restaurant and meal and then someone else will do the cooking and deliver it to your door. Pretty awesome for when you just want convenience and food, in front of you, right away. 

With meal delivery, you’ll have to put in a little more effort, but you’ll get a much healthier, and usually cheaper meal. You still get to choose what you want to eat, but this time, you’ll receive a box with all the pre-portioned ingredients, along with simple recipe cards to help you cook them. Or in some cases, you can order pre-prepared meals and all you’ll have to do is reheat them. 

Food delivery is the easiest option, but you’ll pay a premium for it  – you’re paying for someone to do the prep, cooking, and delivery after all. Meal delivery in Indianapolis works out cheaper per portion, plus you’ll know exactly what’s going into your meal and you’ll improve those cooking skills too.

What I Look For in the Best Meal Delivery Service in Indianapolis

Food delivery services in Indianapolis aren't that different from other cities and states around the country; however, among the food delivery services operating in Indianapolis, there’s quite a bit of difference in the way they operate that you should know about. 

My super-scientific research (read: I was hungry and tried a lot of different options) into the best prepared meal delivery in Indianapolis led me to find these types of food delivery: 

• Meal delivery you need to put some effort into – some of the Indianapolis food delivery services on my list need to be cooked. I’ll go more into it below, but note that these ‘prepared meals’ provide you with ingredients and cooking directions – the rest is left up to you!

• Weight-loss and dietary-specific – no need to gain the ‘quarantine 15’ with this one (although it's probably too late for me!). There are a lot of healthy meal delivery services in Indianapolis, meaning you can maintain, or even start eating healthily even during a lockdown!

• Cheaper per portion than takeout – funnily enough, some prepared meal delivery in Indianapolis actually works out cheaper per portion than straight-up restaurant takeout. It’s always worth checking out the different food delivery services Indianapolis has to offer (and that I’ve whittled down to 5 of the best below), and to shop around a little bit – if your stomach can handle it, that is! 

1. Sun Basket – Best for Healthy Meal Delivery in Indianapolis

I absolutely love Sun Basket: it uses 100% organic ingredients, straight out of California, it's one of the only meal delivery services in Indianapolis offering a massive range of vegan, paleo, keto and even diabetic options, and it's just all-round tasty (for every member of the family, no matter their dietary preferences). In each delivery, you’ll receive the ingredients for every recipe you’ve chosen, and a guide of how to cook it in simple steps – and I should know how easy it is! I tried it out for myself and you can read my genuine thoughts in my Sun Basket review.

• Healthy meal delivery in Indianapolis and the surrounding area – Paleo, vegan, keto, and a ton of other ‘out-there’ diets. Sun Basket has a really impressive range of dietary-requirement plans. In fact, it has more meal choices for followers of certain diets than most restaurants would have on their menu! 

• 18+ meals on each plan – No matter if you're a strict vegan, paleo or otherwise, there will always be 18+ meals for you to choose from each week… which is a LOT of choice!

• Family menu available – When your kids are driving you crazy (it’s ok to admit it, this is a safe space) or you just have a few extra people to feed, Sun Basket has a great family plan, and all of its cooking directions come with cool activities to encourage the kids to help you cook (which is never a bad thing for them to learn). 

2. GrubHub – Best for All-Types of Prepared Meal Delivery in Indianapolis

Can't cook, and won't cook? Never fear – for all those oven-shy citizens of Indianapolis seeking a food delivery service, Grubhub has your back. Grubhub brings you over 12,000 nationwide restaurants’ menus to your device. It’s the best option by far for meal delivery in Indianapolis of any sort. 

• Thousands of restaurants’ menu options – Get that awesome dish from that cute little place around the block delivered to you, contact-free, or search further afield for something new and exciting. Plenty of variety for every cuisine, no matter how specific your craving! One other thing to remember. By ordering from Grubhub, you'll be helping  a local restaurant keep its doors open during the pandemic. 

• Easy-to-use helpful filters – I absolutely love the ‘free delivery’, ‘order tracking’ and pricing filters on the app. They really help me define exactly what it is I’m looking for, without going over budget (hey, we all have to save pennies, amirite?).

• Coupons available – As with any good Indy citizen, I love finding useful coupons. Grubhub has a whole filter setup just to help avid couponers like me to get the best food delivery in Indianapolis at a discount! 

3. Home Chef – The Best Stress-Free Indianapolis Food Delivery Service 

Stress-free? Yes Indy-eedy! I love Home Chef – it's my go-to food delivery service in Indianapolis, especially when I’m trying to impress someone. Home Chef has a massive array of mouthwatering recipes, which, along with some super-clear instructions, allows me to cook restaurant-perfect meals, each and every time. I never have to stress out about finding ingredients at supermarkets again, as they’re all delivered straight to my door with each Home Chef delivery. 

• 26-30 meal options on offer, for each plan – I  rotate through each of the recipes on offer, discovering so many new flavors and exciting ideas each week, that sometimes, there’s just too much choice. I really credit Home Chef with helping me to widen my culinary horizons!

• Protein substitutes available – My absolute favorite thing about Home Chef? I can substitute or double up on any of the protein available. In fact, there was a whole month where all I did was swap out chicken for shrimp. This is for a slightly extra fee, but who cares? I got shrimp dishes for a whole month! 

• Awesome premium meals available – Home Chef offers the best Indianapolis food delivery service with its premium meals. These are chock full of gourmet ingredients, for an altogether more classy meal and, since the premium meals start from only $15 proportion, you can also bet you're getting a classy dinner for a much cheaper price than any high-end restaurant takeout. 

4. Diet to Go – Best Healthy Meal Delivery in Indianapolis

Diet to Go is one of my favorite healthy meals delivery options in Indianapolis, and customers using the service say it's helped them to avoid the dreaded 'quarantine 15’! Its portions are delivered straight to your door, twice a week, and all you need to do is heat them up. Now that’s some easy dieting that even I can get my head around!

• A complete meal plan for weight loss – Each plan sets a daily 1200 calories limit for women and 1600 for men, and, as well as your main meals, comes with a snack to round out your macronutrients. It's completely hassle-free, and (I think) the absolute easiest way to diet!  

• Five-week meal rotation – The meal plans rotate their options every five weeks, meaning you get to lose weight while trying something new every single meal time (if you want to, and I do!). 

• No cooking necessary – Just heat up your food, which is delivered straight to your doorstep, contact-free, twice weekly. I can't stress this enough: Diet to Go really is the easiest, most delicious way to lose weight! 

5. Purple Carrot – Best for Vegan Delivery in Indianapolis

Purple Carrot is the only vegan food delivery in Indianapolis, and a perfect Indy food delivery option if you're a committed vegan or want to use the lockdown period to try something new. You’ll receive each recipe’s ingredients pre-portioned, alongside cooking instructions to your door – contact-free. 

• 8 meal options per week – Eating vegan can be pretty tough, especially when supermarket shelves are stripped bare. With Purple Carrot, you’ll have 8 delicious, 100% vegan meal options to choose from. 

• Breakfast and lunch options available – Even better, breakfast and lunch options in 5 minutes flat! You can easily eat vegan for every meal with some really delicious options too.

• Cooked meals and non-cooked meals available – This is one for lazy or reluctant chefs! Purple Carrot offers all-vegan recipes, some of which don't even require cooking! Has being vegan ever been easier than this? Probably not. 

The Best Prepared Meals Delivered in Indianapolis in a Nutshell

Food delivery in Indianapolis doesn't need to be a tough call - as long as you know what you want and how you want it, getting any meal delivery in Indianapolis is as easy as choose, order, and receive. 

If you're still struggling to decide which food delivery in Indianapolis to go with, here’s my roundup of suggestions: 

• If you love home cooking (or think it's time you learned how to cook),Home Chef is your best bet. You can't get easier than this, with pre-portioned, clearly guided recipes to keep you from messing up or burning your meal. 

• If you're looking for the best healthy meal delivery in Indianapolis, Purple Carrot and Sun Basket are your best options. If you have a super-specific dietary requirement, check out Sun Basket’s plans. If you're straight-up vegan, either Purple Carrot or Sun Basket could both be great options for you. 

• If you just want straight-up takeout, go for Grubhub. Your delivery will be hassle-free, contact-free, and you can also support a local Indy food delivery business while you're at it.