The Best Meal Delivery Services for Busy Families

Best Meal Kits: Green Chef

Key Specs

• Starting Price: $12 per serving
• Delivery Area: 48 states
• Products Arrive: Fresh

Why You Should Try It 

As the first CCOF-certified organic meal kit company, Green Chef uses organic produce, house-made sauces, fresh proteins, and premeasured ingredients to craft its stellar dishes every week.

Pros and Cons

Overview

When it comes to the best meal kits for families, Green Chef can’t be beat. Each recipe uses ingredients that are sustainably sourced, including organic produce and eggs, and the company supports artisanal suppliers and local farms. Green Chef’s meal kits are delivered in color-coded bags and recycled and/or reusable packaging, some of which are also compostable. With nutritionist-approved recipe options for nearly every type of diet — from keto to vegan and protein-rich to gluten-free — you can mix and match to easily suit each and every member of your family. While some prep work will be involved, the vast majority of the ingredients, from spice blends to marinades, are already premeasured, preprepared, and ready to cook. This means that even on the most hectic weeknights, plating up restaurant-quality dinners for your family is a breeze in between the final school bell ringing and the start of extracurricular activities. 

Meals We Tried

• Harissa-spiced shrimp 
• Sesame ginger bavette steak and shrimp 
• Middle Eastern–style chickpea bowls 
• Maple-glazed carrots with figs

Best for Easy Prep: Home Chef

Key Specs

• Starting Price: $10 per serving
• Delivery Area: 48 states
• Products Arrive: Fresh

Why You Should Try It 

Home Chef allows its subscribers to customize their meal delivery orders, choosing to double up on their favorite proteins or swap out meals. The company’s line of Express, Oven-Ready, and Fast & Fresh meals are each fully prepped, preportioned, and ready to be devoured by your hungry family members in as little as 15 minutes. 

Pros and Cons

Overview

For busy families with either little time or minimal kitchen skills, Home Chef has you covered. This service is flexible enough to accommodate the child who will never touch a mushroom as well as the spouse who regularly craves extra protein, and the menu boasts a selection of meals that can be on the table in as little as 15 minutes. Home Chef easily lets you opt out of food like tree nuts and shellfish (and those dreaded mushrooms) and opt in to its selection of Express, Oven-Ready, and Fast & Fresh meals that are built for speed. These meals can be popped right into the oven with no mess at all, and some are even microwave ready for nights when a karate practice, soccer match, dance rehearsal, and science fair project due date all overlap. 

Meals We Tried

• Crispy sweet chili shrimp rice bowl 
• Creamy tomato and steak penne 
• Gnocchi and red pepper cream 
• Moo shu pork lettuce cups

Best Prepared Meals: CookUnity

Key Specs

• Starting Price: $11 per serving
• Delivery Area: 46 states
• Products Arrive: Fresh

Why You Should Try It 

CookUnity is a chef-run collective with a focus on making fine food available in the home, ready to eat, and prepared and shipped sustainably. Diversity and creativity rule the day because real-life chefs from around the world are behind the food you and your family will be tasting.

Pros and Cons

Overview

With CookUnity’s collective of chefs cooking from scratch every day, each meal is personalized and prepared with no artificial ingredients. With a CookUnity subscription, families can choose to receive anywhere from four to 16 meals each week. You can either select from the rotating globally inspired menu or enter your family’s unique preferences, and flag any allergies, alert CookUnity of the foods you wish to avoid, and have the chefs choose your meals for you. CookUnity can easily accommodate low-carb, low-calorie, dairy-free, plant-based, keto, and paleo meals, with dozens of choices available for each type of diet.

Meals We Tried

• Coconut lime hanger steak
• Carnitas street tacos
• Butternut squash ravioli
• Chili-roasted shrimp

Best Value: Dinnerly

Key Specs

• Starting Price: $5 per serving
• Delivery Area: 48 states
• Products Arrive: Fresh

Why You Should Try It 

Dinnerly provides families with over 100 fun, casual, and accessible meals to choose from each week, and through The Market, you can do some grocery shopping for pantry essentials and get desserts delivered, too. This is an affordable, one-stop food shop and meal delivery service that offers families the best value per serving.

Pros and Cons

Overview

In lieu of haute cuisine made with extravagant ingredients, Dinnerly provides families with uncomplicated, quick, and easy meals at affordable prices. There are over 100 family-friendly recipes available, including vegetarian and vegan choices, low-carb meals, and dinners that can be made fast for when there isn’t even time to break out the cutting board. But what sets Dinnerly apart from other meal delivery companies is that the service extends beyond just the meals. The Market allows families to stock up on grocery essentials, quick-bite breakfasts, and delicious desserts. All of the ingredients are shipped fresh in insulated packages and will keep for a few days if your weeknight schedule goes haywire unexpectedly. 

Meals We Tried

• BBQ cheeseburger with sautéed onions and smashed potatoes
• Low-cal veggie drunken noodles with broccoli, peppers, and cilantro
• Grass-fed ground beef and cheddar quesadillas with corn
• Caramel chicken stir-fry with snow peas and jasmine rice

Best Plant-Based: Hungryroot

Key Specs

• Starting Price: $10 per serving
• Delivery Area: 50 states
• Products Arrive: Fresh

Why You Should Try It 

For families looking to eat nutritious plant-based meals, Hungryroot is second to none. The company is focused on making healthy eating simpler and quicker, supporting a multitude of diets along the way. You’ll receive meals that are easy to cook, often in 10 minutes or less, allowing you to spend less time at the grocery store and more time enjoying meals together.

Pros and Cons

Overview

If you want the best for your family’s health as well as the environment, Hungryroot may be the best meal delivery service for you. The company provides a plethora of plant-based meal options across a number of different cuisine types, from Indian and Thai to Mexican and Mediterranean. In addition, everything is shipped in recyclable boxes with biodegradable ice packs, and each recipe is designed with the goal of minimizing food waste. Hungryroot is committed to helping families eat more plant-based foods, believing that sustainability through meal, snack, and grocery delivery can positively impact the planet.

Meals We Tried

• Spinach artichoke and mushroom tortelloni 
• Roasted salmon and sweet potato on Brussels sprouts
• Southwest chicken and rainbow veggie tacos 
• Thai peanut beef and broccoli stir-fry

Best for Picky Eaters: HelloFresh

Key Specs

• Starting Price: $9 per serving
• Delivery Area: 48 states (and select ZIP codes in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Anchorage, Alaska)
• Products Arrive: Fresh

Why You Should Try It 

A leader in meal kit home delivery, HelloFresh is among the best for families with picky eaters at the table. When you select the “family-friendly” preference, you’ll be served up the ingredients to make three meals per day, plus snacks, that everyone in your house will look forward to eating. 

Pros and Cons

Overview

HelloFresh is a boon for whipping up tasty meals without spending hours cutting, cooking, and cleaning, leaving more time for watching movies, playing games, and family bonding. This company is ubiquitous among the best meal delivery plans for families, delivering high-quality, fresh, and quick-to-prepare recipes that accommodate pescatarians, meat eaters, and vegans alike, all at an affordable price per meal. Picky kids and adults alike are sure to enjoy the meals in the “family-friendly” category because they are elevated and delicious, yet thoroughly unfussy, with ingredients everyone will know and love. 

Meals We Tried

• Crispy buffalo-spiced chicken 
• BBQ cheddar burgers 
• Tex-Mex pork with mango salsa 
• Pork sausage rigatoni rosa

Best for Adventurous Eaters: Blue Apron

Key Specs

• Starting Price: $8 per serving
• Delivery Area: 48 states
• Products Arrive: Fresh and frozen

Why You Should Try It 

If you’ve heard of meal delivery, you’ve likely heard the name Blue Apron. What began as one of the best meal delivery services for families has grown into a one-stop shop with easy-to-cook meal kits, bottles of wine, groceries, and even kitchen tools like frying pans and bread knives delivered straight to your door. 

Pros and Cons

Overview

Got a few foodies at the table? Blue Apron is an excellent choice. With an ever-changing menu of meals to select from each week, adventurous eaters can tour the globe through cuisine that’s as fun to make as it is to try. From yuzu and soy-glazed tilapia to seared steaks with mushroom agrodolce, families have the opportunity to expand their horizons and widen their palate with every meal. And with the convenience of home delivery and the breadth of the company’s offerings, from pantry essentials to cooking tools, you’ll have more time to spend together as a family after long days at work and school.

Meals We Tried

Meal Kits

• Togarashi shrimp and vegetable fried rice 
• Space Ranger chicken enchiladas 
• One-pan white bean and poblano shakshuka 
• Baked meatballs and romesco mayo 

Heat and Eat

• Sweet and spicy beef bowl with rice, peppers, and edamame 
• Chicken Alfredo pasta with peas

Best for Babies: Little Spoon

Key Specs

• Starting Price: $2.75 per serving for Babyblends, $5 for meals
• Delivery Area: 48 states
• Products Arrive: Fresh

Why You Should Try It 

Caring for a new baby is exhausting and all-consuming. Luckily, Little Spoon is here to help by crafting nutritious food that’s made fresh and ready to serve to your baby in minutes. 

Pros and Cons

Overview

Designed by pediatricians and nutritionists, Little Spoon allows you to spend time with your baby while knowing the food they are eating is healthy and appropriate for their age and stage of development. The company’s menu of Babyblends, Biteables, Plates, and Smoothies makes it a breeze to transition into solid foods and probiotics when your child is ready. Ingredients are sustainably sourced and free of preservatives and additives, and organic produce is used whenever possible. Additionally, Little Spoon has vetted all of its farm partners and ensures that its kitchens are allergy-friendly and minimize cross-contamination. 

Meals We Tried

• Broccoli bites with sweet potato carrot poppers and green beans 
• Chicken nuggets with veggie patties with breading and sweet potato carrot poppers and broccoli 
• Whole-wheat penne with veggie marinara and mini turkey kale meatballs 
• Mac and three cheese with invisible butternut squash carrots 
• Chicken pot stickers, brown rice, quinoa veggie stir-fry, and edamame 
• Turkey rice ball with sweet potato mash 
• Three cheese egg bites with sweet potato hash 
• Turkey kale patty bites with veggie millet poppers and carrots

Best for Toddlers: Nurture Life

Key Specs

• Starting Price: $6.50 per serving
• Delivery Area: 48 states
• Products Arrive: Fresh

Why You Should Try It 

Born from a familiar struggle that many parents can relate to — the quest for healthy, tasty, and fresh food for kids — Nurture Life serves up meals, snacks, and smoothies that are ready in one minute and feature vegetables your kids will enjoy eating. 

Pros and Cons

Overview

Nurture Life helps parents replace high-sodium foods and snacks with made-to-order, nutritious meals with hidden veggies in every serving, plus superfood smoothies crafted to ensure that your toddler grows up healthy and strong. The meals are crafted by registered dietitians and chefs and feature organic veggies, whole grains, and proteins free of added hormones. Additionally, the Nurture Life production facility is nut-free and has been inspected by the FDA. If your toddler has allergies, your subscription plan can be customized to exclude certain foods from your deliveries. Nurture Life’s food is good enough for discerning adults but designed specifically with the needs and taste buds of growing children in mind.

Meals We Tried

• White mac and cheese 
• Chicken and mac 
• Beef taco pockets 
• Tortellini Bolognese 
• Chicken dumplings 
• Pesto and cheese ravioli

Best for Older Kids: Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon

Key Specs

• Starting Price: $9 per serving
• Delivery Area: 48 states
• Products Arrive: Fresh

Why You Should Try It 

With Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon, older kids can easily take an active role in their meal planning and preparation. Because each recipe requires just six steps and includes detailed instructions and photographs as a visual guide, this service can also be a launchpad into life lessons and self-sustainability.

Pros and Cons

Overview

Sure, parenting babies and younger children has its share of complexities, but parents of older kids know that everyday life can be a dizzying roller coaster of emotions and activities. Luckily, Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon is here to lend a hand. With meals that feature fresh, never-frozen ingredients (all viewable through the website’s Ingredient Hub) and Martha Stewart’s own spice blends to add unique flavors, you can skip a few trips to the grocery store and know that what’s going on the plate at mealtime is healthy, well balanced, and delicious. With vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, low-carb, dairy-free, one-pot, and protein-rich choices that are all family-friendly, finding meals to make with your older kids is going to be one of the easiest things on your to-do list each week.

Meals We Tried

• Greek chicken gyro with chopped salad and garlic sauce 
• Broccoli Reuben, Russian dressing wedge salad 
• Oven-fried beef taquitos, tomatillo salsa, and jalapeños 
• Gochujang turkey ragu with fresh udon, cilantro, and scallions