10 Best Senior Meal Delivery Services 2023: Easy & Healthy
As we age, our energy expenditure and metabolic rate decrease. We won't need as many heavy meals and must pay more thoughtful attention to avoiding processed, carb-rich, high-sugar meals. Health concerns may become more specific over time as well.
With those points in mind, I've researched and tailored a list of meal delivery services for seniors who want hassle-free meals with customizable and high-quality ingredients, seasonally fresh produce, nutrient density, minimal food processing, and easy prep.
You can choose from any of the following services to avoid grocery store trips, spending extensive time on meal prep, and eating foods that weigh you down rather than give you energy.
My top recommendation for you is Hungryroot. Customizability and ingredient quality are Hungryroot’s strengths, as meal plans and recipes are ultimately flexible.
Read on to find out more about why Hungryroot wins, and to peruse other excellent meal delivery services with healthy, high-quality food.
Short on Time? Here Are the Best Meal Delivery Services for Seniors
Hungryroot – Best recipe customizability and diet accommodation
MealPro – Best for building your own meals
Green Chef – Best certified-organic meal delivery
Purple Carrot – Best plant-based meals
The Good Kitchen – Great gluten-free farm fresh meals
The Best Meal Delivery for Seniors Reviewed
1. Hungryroot – Best Recipe Customizability and Diet Accommodation
Key Features
All meal kit ingredients are swappable and most are available a la carte
100+ recipes each week
10 dietary accommodations including shellfish-free, nut-free, and dairy-free
Current deal: 30% off + free gift in every delivery
If you want diet-accommodating meal kits with ultimate ingredient flexibility – Hungryroot’s for you. Unlike most meal delivery services, you can swap ingredients in Hungryroot's recipes for a selection of others from Hungryroot’s grocery list. This allows you to include more foods with nutrients you need or less of what you need to avoid.
You can even pair multiple diet options, like vegetarian, gluten-free, and soy-free, and still have great recipe options. If you’re a light eater you can also filter for meals under 500 calories.
You first take a quiz about your diet, Hungryroot fills your cart with recommended meal kits, then you can customize as you wish. Read our full review of Hungryroot’s complete ordering process.
Once you choose a minimum plan of four servings, you can add as many a la carte options as you like. Hungryroot offers hundreds of products, including grass-fed beef, wild-caught fish, free-range poultry, and fresh organic produce, to create your own recipes or upgrade recipes in your cart.
2. MealPro – Best for Building Your Own Meals
Key Features
Non-GMO produce, zero artificial flavors, preservatives or refined sugars
33 recipes and the option to build-your-own recipes
10 meal plans including the Anti-Inflammatory meal plan
Current deal: Get $10 off with HEALTHY10
Want to make eating custom meals super simple? Check out MealPro’s menu. It’s the only meal delivery service on this list that offers a Build Your Own meal plan. You can choose from the menu or construct your own meals with protein, veggie, and other complex carb options. While vegetarian and vegan options are minimal – ingredient quality is maximal.
What’s excellent about MealPro’s prep process is how each meal is carefully cooked to preserve the nutrient density of ingredients with heat-sensitive vitamins and minerals. Eating meals with preserved nutrient integrity allows your body to more easily absorb the nutrients.
See my colleague’s review for an in-depth look into MealPro’s delivery service!
MealPro is also the only plan on this list that offers an Anti-Inflammatory plan. Inflammation is the cause of many chronic issues as we age, such as cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, and arthritis. This clinically researched plan offers 10 days of lunch and dinner, so you don’t have to think twice about your daily food prep or choices.
Order a minimum of five a la carte meals or subscribe.
3. Green Chef – Best Certified-Organic Meal Delivery
Key Features
CCOF-organic and USDA-certified organic meal kits
24+ rotating recipes per week
Seven dietary accommodations including Mediterranean and gluten-free
Current deal: Get $250 off + free shipping
If going organic is essential to your lifestyle – Green Chef‘s meal kits are for you. Green Chef's produce and eggs are certified organic and non-GMO, so you can rest assured that there are no contents artificially preserving these ingredients. Plus, this service only chooses proteins from farms with high animal welfare standards.
Recipes aren’t customizable, which isn’t ideal if there are specific non-filterable ingredients you need to avoid. However, you can still choose from seven meal plans that might accommodate what you need, like the Vegetarian and Paleo plans.
A popular diet that contributes to longevity and high quality of life is the Mediterranean diet, which is one of Green Chef's meal plans. For more on Green Chef’s other meal plans – check out my colleague’s in-depth review!
If you're still concerned about specific ingredients in your meals, all Green Chef's meals arrive as meal kits, so you can leave those out during your meal prep.
4. Purple Carrot – Best Plant-Based Meals
Key Features
Seasonally fresh vegan, plant-based recipes with heat-and-eat options
12 meal kits and 8 prepared meal recipes weekly
Dietary accommodations include gluten-free, soy-free, and high protein
If adhering to a plant-based diet works best for you – Purple Carrot is an excellent choice. All Purple Carrot's meals are vegan, plant-based, nutrient-dense, and seasonally fresh. Most recipes are naturally gluten-free and use veggies as the central source of nutrients and flavor.
You can choose from meal kits ranging from 25 to 45 minutes of prep time, or select from the fully prepped heat-and-eat recipes for completely hassle-free meals. For more about Purple Carrot's full meal delivery service and details, check out my colleague’s experience ordering from Purple Carrot!
Though somewhat limited each week, Purple Carrot’s menu options are veggie-dense and flavorful. Protein options for plant-based dieters usually just replace animal proteins with highly processed substitutes. However, Purple Carrot uses minimally processed, nutrient-dense proteins like organic quinoa.
Plus, non-produce items like tempeh, tofu, nut milk, and nut butter are almost all organic!
5. The Good Kitchen– Great Gluten-Free Farm Fresh Meals
Key Features
Family farm-to-table, non-GMO, ethical, sustainable ingredients
20 recipes per week that arrive fully prepared
Dietary options include Paleo, Whole30, dairy-, nut-, soy-, and shellfish-free
If you need to avoid common food allergens like gluten, peanuts, and soy, The Good Kitchen’s full menu is good for you! All meals are 100% USDA-approved gluten-free, peanut-free, and soy-free.
The Good Kitchen also prioritizes seasonality and the highest animal welfare standards when sourcing ingredients. Fresh produce is locally sourced from small family farms and is 100% non-GMO. Proteins include 100% grass-fed beef; pastured-raised pork, lamb, and turkey; antibiotic- and hormone-free poultry; and humanely sourced eggs.
For more on The Good Kitchen’s excellent sourcing practices and full meal delivery service – check out my colleague’s in-depth review!
Plus, eating healthy farm-to-table has never been easier as meals arrive fully prepared in microwave-safe trays that are ready for you to heat and eat.
While recipes aren’t as customizable as other services, you can still easily filter for five adversities – garlic, mushrooms, nightshades, onions, spicy – and choose from several other dietary and allergy-accommodating options.
6. Splendid Spoon – Great Light On-the-Go Meals
Key Features
Meals are fully prepared, vegan, plant-based, and 100% non-GMO
23 smoothies, 25 soup & grain bowls, nine noodle bowls, and more
Eight dietary accommodations including vegan, low sodium, high protein
If convenience and nutrient-dense eating are your priorities – Splendid Spoon’s for you. This service offers the best fully prepared meals you can take on the go for zero hassle, zero prep, and zero cleanup dining.
You can choose from plant-based smoothies, fresh-squeezed juices, veggie-dense soups, and grain bowls. Ingredients are 100% plant-based with zero artificial sweeteners and 100% non-GMO produce. These meals are a super convenient way to add more fresh fruits and veggies to your diet.
For more on Splendid Spoon’s complete service and its clean, vegan, prepared meals, check out our in-depth review!
Customizing your order to exclude ingredients is super easy with Splendid Spoon’s nine dietary need filters and 10 ingredient avoidance filters. You can even choose a blood sugar-friendly filter that shows you low-carb, low-sugar, low-sodium options.
Ordering is super simple since you can choose any items from across the menu to fill your box!
7. Sunbasket – Great a la Carte and Snack Variety
Key Features
Veggie, protein, complex carb and healthy-fat-based recipes for all three meals
140+ US-sourced prepped or fresh a la carte products across meals and market items
Nine dietary options including Paleo, Mediterranean and Carb-Conscious
Sunbasket prioritizes ingredient quality with seasonally fresh, US-sourced, nutrient-dense ingredients, plenty of organic, wild-caught fish, and sustainably raised meats free of hormones and antibiotics.
All Sunbasket recipes are “dietitian-approved” and contain a minimum of 5 g of fiber, 10 g of protein, and less than 800 mg of sodium. You can even filter to avoid inflammatory ingredients like high sodium, dairy, soy, and more.
Check out my colleague’s in-depth review of Sunbasket’s complete meal service for more on its ingredient sourcing!
Sunbasket’s menu consists of a wide variety of kits or fully prepared meals, snacks, and a la carte groceries. Add-ons and a la carte ingredients allow you to create customized meals to suit all your dietary wants and needs.
Something unique that I love about Sunbasket is that it states the ingredients used to prepare each meal! I usually have to reach out to customer service for this information, but Sunbasket lists everything on its website so you can ensure each meal’s ingredients are optimal for your health.
8. Daily Harvest – Great Affordable Easy Prep Meals
Key Features
Super simple meal plans of easy prep meals
100+ recipes over nine categories of food
All recipes are vegan-friendly
Daily Harvest is another great plant-based option with slightly lower starting prices than other services on this list. Each recipe is entirely plant-based and includes 100% non-GMO produce.
While recipes aren’t customizable, Daily Harvest offers excellent ingredient filters. Ingredients won’t be substituted but the meal will be removed from your search options.
One unique feature of Daily Harvest’s menu is the “Likes” filter you can use to filter for ingredients you want to include in your menu options. Fun! Check out our Daily Harvest review for more on this complete meal delivery service and excellent customer support.
Daily Harvest plans are super simple and flexible – all you have to do is pick the number of items you’d like to order and fill your box with any item from across each menu category. You can choose to repeat your order, change your order contents each week, order bi-weekly, or only order monthly.
9. Fresh N Lean – Excellent Dietary Accommodation
Key Features
All veggies are organic and non-GMO, all meat is grass-fed
100+ unique recipes across various diet plans
Nine dietary options including Whole30 and Mediterranean
If you’re a light eater but still want a balance of complex carbs, veggies, and protein, Fresh N Lean is a great option for you. The average calorie count in meals for Fresh N Lean's diet plans is less than 500 calories. You can instantly view the calorie count for each meal when you click on the recipe card.
Check out my colleague's in-depth review of Fresh N Lean if you’d like to know more about its complete service including customer support.
Whether you’re following the Whole30, Mediterranean, Vegan, or Paleo diets, there’s plenty to choose from on each plan’s weekly menu. Fresh N Lean offers 10-12 lunch and dinner recipes and 3-4 breakfast recipes for each plan, each week.
Customizability is great since you can exclude 10+ ingredients and receive accommodations for sesame, soy, dairy, and shellfish allergies. Plus – all Fresh N Lean meals are certified gluten-free.
10. Blue Apron – Weight Watchers-Aligned Meals
Key Features
Partnered with Weight Watchers (now WW)
19+ unique recipes per week including three Heat and Eat options
Dietary accommodations including vegetarian, low-calorie, and diabetes-friendly
Blue Apron offers quality-forward, flavor-focused meals with signature spice mixes. You can choose from a total of 19 rotating gourmet recipes, some of which you can swap, upgrade, or double-up protein portions.
Gourmet is the name of Blue Apron's game with its Signature Collection. To learn more about Blue Apron's full menu, check out my colleague's full review of Blue Apron's service!
Prep times range from five minutes with its three Heat and Eat meal options each week to about an hour with Signature Collection recipes. If you want to savor your cooking and eating experience – try Blue Apron's wine pairing service.
One of Blue Apron's unique menu features is its Wellness plan containing WW-approved recipes. You can easily track each recipe in the Wellness plan through your WW app.
Within the recipe cards of WW-approved meals on the website, Blue Apron even includes recommendations for calorie-conscious meal prep ingredients.
Top Plans | ||||||||||
Top Plans |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Our Rating | ||||||||||
| Our Rating | ||||||||||
| Starting Price | ||||||||||
| Starting Price | $8.99 Per Serving | $6.99 Per Serving | $5.99 Per Serving | $8.50 Per Serving | $11.86 Per Serving | $6.50 Per Serving | $4.27 Per Serving | $3.70 Per Serving | $7.53 Per Serving | $5.74 Per Serving |
| Minimum Order | ||||||||||
| Minimum Order | 3 meals for 2 people | 18 meals | 3 meals for 2 people | 3 meal kits for 2 people/6 prepared meals | 6 prepared meals | 5 lunches | 2 meal kits for 2 people/4 prepared meals | 9 items | 5 prepared meals | 2 meals for 2 people |
| Meal Types | ||||||||||
| Meal Types | Groceries, meal kits | Prepared meals | 30-minute meal kits | Meal kits, prepared meals | Prepared meals | Prepared Meals, Juices & Smoothies | Fresh & Ready meals, 30-Min Meal Kits | Prepared meals, smoothies | Prepared meals | 20 - 60 min. meal kits |
| Prep Time | ||||||||||
| Prep Time | 5-15 min | 0-5 mins | 25-40 min | 3-40 min | 2-3 min | 0-3 min | 3-40 min | 0-3 min | 3 mins | 5-45 min |
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Tips for Choosing the Best Senior Meal Delivery Service
New to choosing a meal deilvery service? Don’t worry – I’ve compiled a few tips to walk you through the process of choosing the best meal delivery service for you.
Consider your health concerns: Each meal service offers a different menu that might be perfect or unsuited for your dietary concerns. If you know which foods are best to consume or avoid in your diet, find a service that offers the inclusion and exclusion options you need.
Consider recipe flexibility: If you need to follow a specific diet due to health concerns, you’ll want to choose a service that allows recipe and ingredient swapping. Services that offer customizability are excellent for specific diets since you can swap ingredients or build your own meal in order to tailor meals to your health.
Consider ingredient quality: Generally, eating foods as close to their original form as possible is the best way to maintain a high quality of life via diet. Choosing a meal service that prioritizes ingredient quality is a great start. All the meal services on this list offer some combination of 100% non-GMO, organic, locally sourced, wild-caught, free-range, hormone- and antibiotic-free proteins, gently cooked, preservative-free, and artificial flavor- and color-free.
Consider the meal prep process: Eating food as close to its original form as possible usually preserves nutrient density and bioavailability of nutrients. Fresh meal kits are a great option so that you know your ingredients are fresh and you can cook them in the way you think is best for your diet. The services that offer fully prepped meals on this list use zero preservatives, additives, or sweeteners, and prepare meals to maintain nutrient density.
Bottom Line: Which is the best senior meal delivery service?
My top recommendation is Hungryroot’s meal delivery service. This service offers the most customizable menu of quality-packed, nutrient-dense, high-quality ingredients. You can swap recipes or ingredients within recipes to curate meals that match all your dietary wants and needs.
MealPro was a close second on this list! If the price point isn’t your concern – go with MealPro so you can Build Your Own Meal or choose from its research-designed Anti-Inflammatory meal plan. This service is on the pricier side, but you can eat your food free of inflammatory worry.
If affordability is the name of your meal game, check out our review of the 10 Best Cheap Meal Delivery Services From $5!
FAQ
Are meal delivery services worth it?
Meal delivery services are worth the price if you want to avoid trips to the grocery store or long periods standing and prepping meals by instead receiving meal kits or fully prepared meals directly to your doorstep. You can find meal delivery services for any diet or lifestyle on this list, as most recommended services, like MealPro, have recipe customization features and tailored meal plans.
How do meal delivery services work?
Meal delivery services typically consist of groceries, meal kits, and partially prepared, or fully-prepared meals like Fresh N Lean’s that are delivered right to your door. Each meal delivery service offers a different menu and service features and is priced differently per meal and shipping plan. Food arrives fresh, frozen, or cool to the touch depending on the company’s service plans. Some meal delivery services offer customizable delivery days and times, while others decide the days for you.
What is the best diet for elderly people?
The best diet is the one that suits your specific wants and needs that you’ve discussed with your healthcare professional. Each person’s health concerns are different than the next person’s. All the meal delivery services recommended on this list are for people who already know their dietary needs and are looking for a convenient way to meet them.
However, seniors typically need less food than younger people, so you can find low-calorie options and plenty of light, plant-based foods that provide nutrient-dense, easily digestible meals, like those from Purple Carrot.
Best Senior Meal Delivery Services in 2023 – Final Score:
