5 Best Meal Delivery Services in Portland (2020) Safe + Easy

Meal delivery in Portland doesn't have to be difficult. Whether you're after a satisfying home-cooked meal or a takeout from your favorite restaurant, meal and food delivery services in Portland come in a variety of shapes and sizes, to suit all tastes.

Looking for vegan meals? I’ve got a solution for you. How about paleo? I’ve got you covered. What about diet meal delivery in Portland? Yep – that too! 

Read on to discover my top five recommendations for the best meal delivery in Portland. 

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

1. Sun Basket – Best for clean and healthy meals that come as kits or ready-made

2. Postmates – Best food delivery service in Portland

3. Home Chef –  Best for customizable recipe options

4. Freshology – Best for effortless diet plans that keep you on track 

5. Purple Carrot – Best for vegan meal kit delivery 

Meal Delivery vs Food Delivery: The Key Difference

So, here’s the big question – meal delivery or food delivery? And what’s the difference anyway? 

Let me lay it all out so you can choose the best option for you.

The difference between meal delivery and food delivery boils down to where the food is prepared and the subscription-based versus single-order model. 

Meal delivery services follow a subscription-based model, which means you can receive weekly, biweekly, or monthly packages of meals you’ve preselected based on your plan. Within the meal delivery world, you have two major options:

• Meal kits, which are delivered to your door and contain pre-portioned ingredients based on the recipes you’ve selected. These often come with the company’s recipe cards for step-by-step instructions and even special spice blends.

• Prepared meals, which come chilled or frozen. You simply need to warm them up to enjoy (unless you’ve ordered salads and smoothies, which are good to go straight from the box).

Food delivery services, on the other hand, are the middleman between you and your favorite restaurant. This is ideal if you have an event coming up, or are craving your favorite dish for dinner but want to avoid the restaurant scene. You simply order your meal, and it’ll be brought to your door by the food delivery service. 

Both have their advantages – that’s why we’ve included a popular food delivery service on the list. After all, there’s nothing quite like pampering yourself with your favorite meals from your favorite restaurants. However, when it comes to the cheaper and healthier option for the day-to-day, we recommend taking a closer look at the meal delivery services on this list. 

Of course, there’s a huge range of meal delivery services on offer in Portland – including vegan, keto, paleo, organic, and diet-friendly meal plans. Take time to look around for the best meal delivery in Portland, so you can find a company that suits your budget, food preferences, and lifestyle.  

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

Meal delivery services come in several different packages so it’s important you know what to look out for:

• Meal delivery to suit your lifestyle – Prepared meal and food deliveries in Portland can mean anything, from takeout to a meal kit subscription. These meal kits provide you with all of the pre-portioned ingredients and guidance on how to cook them! Whether you’re looking for daily meal solutions or a one-off treat, you’ve got plenty of options. 

• Weight loss and dietary-specific – Yes, diet meal delivery in Portland really is a “thing”. Who said you can’t emerge from the quarantine sleeker and fitter than you went in? 

• Cheaper per portion than takeout – It's true. Meal delivery in Portland actually works out as cheaper per portion than a restaurant delivery. But then again, sometimes you just need food delivered right away, without the hassle and effort of having to cook it. Money or time – it’s up to you!

1. Sun Basket – Best Meal Delivery Service for Clean and Healthy Recipes in Portland

Sun Basket is hands down the best meal delivery to order if you're looking to eat all-organic, clean meals that will help keep your health goals on track.

• Lots of paleo menu options– Paleo options are slightly less common in meal delivery service menus. However, if you’re looking for the best paleo meal delivery service in Portland, Sun Basket has you covered. In fact, if you have any kind of dietary requirement: vegan, diabetic, or even if you follow a Mediterranean diet, Sun Basket has everything you need to be happy, healthy, and well-fed. 

• 18+ meals on each plan – There's lots of variety to choose from here – something that healthy dieters might not be used to! You can enjoy a weekly rotation of all-new recipes to try out, too. I was reasonably impressed with the selection, as I wrote about in my Sun Basket review.

• Healthy and hands-on family menu – Whether your family is already gluten-free or vegan, or you're simply looking to introduce some healthier eating practices, Sun Basket is all about enjoying meals together, from start to finish. The family plan lets you order enough meals for everyone in your household, and the kid-friendly cooking instructions make for a fun evening activity together. 

2. Postmates – Best for All-Types of Prepared Meal Delivery in Portland

Postmates lets you order from local restaurants, fast-food joints, and even convenience and liquor stores. You can order for any occasion, from Sunday night dinner to stocking up for a party. Its unique model lets you order just about any food or beverage you have a hankering for, often at cheaper prices than if you were to go out and buy it yourself. 

Also, unlike other Portland competitors, such as Grubhub, Postmates drivers look for delivery options close to where they already are… so you might even get your food faster than you thought!  

• Get your food quicker – Postmates drivers might already be waiting at, or close to, the restaurant you've just ordered takeout from. If that’s the case, all it takes is for your driver to accept your request and bring it over. 

• A greater range of takeout options – Postmates drivers are self-contracted, as opposed to being on the payroll of any individual restaurant. So if you want a delivery from a restaurant that’s far away, you might find a willing Postmates driver to fulfill it for you.  

• Cheap, or even free deliveries – Postmates sometimes offers free or discounted delivery for its partnered restaurants, or for certain promotions. It's worth keeping an eye out because then you'll enjoy an even more affordable food delivery service in the Portland area! Its Unlimited Plan gives you even more access to this unique service.

3. Home Chef – Best for Customizable Recipe Options

Home Chef is hands down one of my all-time favorites, and not just for meal delivery in Portland. You can see what I’m raving about in more detail in my Home Chef review. It offers a dizzying array of straight-up delicious meal options, complete with epic substitution and protein upgrade options. 

• 26-30 meal options on offer, for each plan – Lockdown or not, Home Chef’s plans keep things interesting, with new dishes to try out every week, along with some repeats.

• Protein substitutes available – One of the best things about Home Chef is its unique protein substitution/upgrade options. Swap out one protein for another, or double-up if you really love something (as I do with shrimp). 

• The awesome premium meals available – Who said you can't get festive during a lockdown? If you find yourself in need of a way to celebrate, Home Chef’s gourmet meal delivery brings Portland's finest meals to your table. And, starting from just $15 per portion, it's a lot cheaper than a high-end restaurant takeout! 

4. Freshology – Best for Effortless Diet Plans to Stay On Track

Hate cooking, but want lean, nutritious, and delicious chef-prepared meals delivered to your door? Freshology could be just what you're looking for. Order your meals for the week, receive them via a non-contact dropoff to your front door, heat up each meal, et voila! 

• 500+ meal options, rotating over five weeks – There’s no need to eat the same boring food day in, day out, or whatever you can get your hands on at the (severely depleted) supermarkets! Freshology keeps things – well, fresh – by offering you a massive selection to choose from. 

• Just heat up your meal – No cooking, whatsoever. Because some people just aren't meant to cook (and I’m one of them!). Order your meals, heat them up in the microwave, and within a few minutes, you’ll have a delicious meal ready to be eaten – you’ll see what I mean in my fully tested review of Freshology. 

• Diet-friendly plans – All of Freshology’s plans – keto, paleo, low carb, and diabetic-friendly – are approved by dietitians, are portion controlled, and nutritionally balanced, meaning you won't be coming out of lockdown with the “quarantine 15” we’ve all come to dread. 

5. Purple Carrot – Best for Vegan Delivery in Portland

This is the only all-vegan delivery in Portland. Maybe you're a card-carrying vegan or just want to experiment – either way, Purple Carrot has everything you need to enjoy a healthy, vegan alternative. 

• Eight meal options per week – No need to make do with whatever the supermarket has left, or whichever vegan restaurants are still delivering. With these eight weekly options, you have more than enough yummy vegan delivery in Portland to keep you well-fed, without compromising on your principles. 

• Breakfast and lunch options available – Enjoy vegan breakfast and lunch options, all of which can be served up in just five minutes flat. It’s all in a day’s work for Purple Carrot.  

• Cooked meals and non-cooked meals available – If you want to spend less time in the kitchen, half of Purple Carrot’s offerings are non-cook. All you have to do is assemble the ingredients, heat them up, and you're good to go! 

The Best Prepared Meals Delivered in Portland in a Nutshell

Portland has some of the best meal delivery options in the Pacific Northwest – you just need to know where to look, and what you want! 

Here’s a brief summary of the range of meal delivery options in Portland:

• Love home cooking (or want to learn how to cook with a lot of guidance)? Choose  Home Chef. From the variety to the clearly worded instructions, there's no way you can mess it up.  

• If you're looking for the best vegan delivery in Portland, try Sun Basket or Purple Carrot. 

• For the best paleo meal delivery in Portland, go for Sun Basket. Sun Basket has the bigger range of meal options per week, while Purple Carrot is an all-vegan option. 

• If you just want takeout, go for Postmates. You’ll get quick, hassle-free, contact-free meal delivery in the Portland area. 

Enjoy!