Your cart is empty.
Our online classes and training programs allow you to learn from experts from anywhere in the world.
Premade meals and meal kits are an easy way to buy back some precious time and energy throughout your week. And if you’re someone with diabetes, it can also take the guesswork out of meal planning.
“When it comes to meals for folks with diabetes, the two most important things to consider are timing (eating regularly) and the pairing of nutrients,” says Shana Minei Spence, M.S., RDN, CDN. “Diabetes can be managed without a premade meal or kit, but for some it might make things easier—especially if the amount of carbs, fat, and protein are listed out.”
Luckily, there are several meal delivery services out there that prioritize diabetes-friendly diets, such as low-carb, paleo, or keto, which are suggested to maintain a healthy blood sugar level. If you’re looking for a little help with the prep and planning of your meals, read on for our picks of the best meal delivery services for diabetics.
Recent studies have found that diets like low-carb1, paleo2, Mediterranean, and keto3 may help folks with diabetes manage their blood sugar levels. Several meal delivery services prioritize these diets, which makes meal planning a little easier for diabetics. Before starting a new eating plan be sure to talk to your healthcare provider to ensure the diet is appropriate for you.
“It’s important to look for meals that are balanced,” says Spence. “Does your plate have a good amount of carbs, fat, and protein? Conscious pairing of carbohydrates with fat and protein will help prevent a sudden spike in sugars.”
“Many times people are hyper-focused on work and other activities and they go hours without eating,” says Spence. “Eating regularly throughout the day is extremely important in order to keep blood sugars stabilized.” Premade meals can help even the busiest people make time to sit down and enjoy a meal. And if you’re someone who doesn’t mind spending 15 to 40 minutes pulling a meal together, meal kits cut out the shopping and chopping of cooking for you.
The cost of a meal delivery subscription will often vary depending on the subscription size or how many servings you receive each week. Some plans can drop as low as $5 a serving with larger subscription sizes, while others start significantly higher up at $14 to $15 per serving.
Of course, shipping can also play a big part in the overall cost of your meal delivery. Some services offer free shipping with larger orders, while others have flat-rate shipping. Don’t worry: We’ll go over the shipping costs of each brand below!
Each featured brand offer paleo, keto, low-carb, or plant-based meals, all of which are suited for people with diabetes.
We prioritized brands that use organic or sustainably sourced ingredients and recyclable packaging.
Everyone’s budget is different, so we selected a variety of price points to fit your lifestyle.
We stuck to brands that offer a wide range of cuisines—who says premade meals have to be boring?
As you’ll notice from the website, BistroMD is catered heavily toward weight loss. However they do have an extensive menu that’s designed specifically for folks with diabetes, too. All of the meals on BistroMD’s Diabetic Friendly Program contain 25 grams or less of net carbohydrates, which is designed to help manage blood glucose levels. They’re single-serving meals, but a lot of reviewers praise the generous portion sizes.
BistroMD offers a 5- or 7-day diabetic meal plan that includes lunches and dinners with the option to tag on breakfast. Once you’ve selected, you can further customize your plan to meet your schedule and choose from 150 dietitian-designed entrées each week.
And if you want to take a break or cancel, you can at any time. However, the biggest negative for this service is the shipping costs; you’ll likely get the shipping fee waived on your first order thanks to promos, but it’ll cost you around $20 per shipment after that.
Example Meal:
-Pork tenderloin with whole grain mustard sauce
-Roasted tofu and ancient grain salad bowl
Sustainability & Quality: While they don’t have a focus on organic ingredients, BistroMD partners with local, family-owned farms whenever they can, and sources environmentally responsible seafood and hormone-free chicken and beef. They also provide a full list of banned ingredients, which are mostly artificial ingredients and preservatives. Almost all of BistroMD’s packaging is curbside recyclable) and they offer suggestions about how to repurpose anything that isn’t).
Cost: From $10 per serving with 7-day subscription
Meal kits are an excellent way for anyone looking to hone their culinary skills to gain some easy experience. Cooking a Green Chef meal can take anywhere between 15 and 40 minutes, but all of the portioning (and most of the chopping) is already handled for you.
The meals are creative but accessible, so there are bound to be several items on the menu that call to you each week. Green Chef doesn’t have a specific filter on its menu for diabetics (or a filter to weed out potential allergens), but they do call out paleo, keto, and Mediterranean recipes. Plus, all ingredients are clearly marked on the recipe cards, so you can always leave out something that’s not a fit for your diet.
Example Meal:
-Thai coconut chicken soup with carrots, red bell pepper, shiitakes, and black sesame seeds
-Roasted curry pork chops with cauliflower rice, kale, mango chutney, and almonds
Sustainability & Quality: As the name suggests, Green Chef puts an emphasis on using sustainably sourced ingredients and partnering with smaller farms. They are a certified business by the California Certified Organic Farmers Foundation (CCOF), and Green Chef’s kits are both carbon and plastic offset.
Cost: $13 per serving
Mosaic Foods is a plant-based meal delivery service that offers smoothies, plant-crust pizzas, veggie bowls, and family-style vegetarian and vegan meals. The menu isn’t catered to low-carb diets, but it does clearly list the nutrition facts on each item. Plus, the system uses tags on each meal to highlight high-protein recipes, as well as meals without added sugar.
Mosaic Foods’ subscription model is based on items (you can mix-and-match smoothies, pizzas, full meals, etc.), so the total cost varies by what you choose to pop in your box each week. But shipping is free for boxes with 12 and 18 items, which helps make them a more affordable option than a lot of other delivery services. Another great perk: For every box sold, Mosaic donates two pounds of food to City Harvest, a New York City nonprofit that helps feed families in need.
Example Meal:
-Curried lentil shepherd’s pie
-Pepper, feta & olive ragout
Sustainability & Quality: All of Mosaic Foods’ meals are frozen to extend shelf life and reduce food waste—both during manufacturing and at customers’ homes. Its recipes are always free of preservatives and artificial ingredients, and the company sources fruit, veggies, and grains from small, local farms. What’s more, all of Mosaic Foods’ packaging is curbside recyclable, from the foil tins and paper cups to the box your meals arrive in.
Cost: From $5 per serving for family meals
Snap Kitchen offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals designed by a registered dietitian. All meals are free of gluten, soy, artificial preservatives, and artificial sweeteners. While it’s not an extensive menu, it does have paleo, keto, and low-carb-specific recipes that can suit diabetics. Plus, meals rotate often, so you can try new things each month.
We picked Snap Kitchen as a budget-friendly option because the 12-meal subscription comes to $11 per serving, which is significantly more affordable than other premade meal delivery services. On the downside, it has only two subscription plans available (6 or 12 meals) and doesn’t ship everywhere (yet!).
Example Meal:
-Buffalo ranch burger with loaded roasted cauliflower
-Baja shrimp taco salad with pickled slaw and mango salsa
Sustainability & Quality:
Snap Kitchen uses organic ingredients where possible, and sources meat and produce from farmers that practice mindful, sustainable farming. It also uses curbside recyclable materials for the packaging.
Cost: From $11 per serving
Sunbasket is a great option for folks who want to prioritize sustainably sourced, organic ingredients. Both its fresh, premade meals and meal kits are available in a wide range of dietary preferences, including a diabetic-friendly filter for maximum ease.
If you’re someone who enjoys spending some time in the kitchen, the meal kits will take you anywhere from 15 to 40 minutes to prepare (all of the ingredients come pre-portioned). One of the best parts about Sunbasket is that you can mix and match meal kits and premade meals under one subscription, just not in the same box. They even have a few pantry items that you can pop in your box each week so you can take one less trip to the grocery store.
Example Meal:
-Indian fish curry with tamarind and onions over cauliflower rice
-Sichuan glass noodle bowl with pork, cabbage, and carrots
Sustainability & Quality: Sunbasket uses organic produce, eggs, yogurt, and tofu, as well as responsibly sourced, hormone-free meat and seafood. Plus, all of Sunbasket’s packaging is made from recycled materials like paper and denim, so it’s easy to recycle or compost. Like BistroMD, Sunbasket has a how-to page dedicated to recycling their packaging.
Cost: Dinners start at $10 per serving
Diabetic-friendly meals take the breakdown of carbohydrates, fat, and protein into account to provide a balance that will help manage your blood glucose levels.
Several services provide specific premade menus for diabetes-friendly diets like paleo, keto, low-carb, and plant-based—however, some services like BistroMD cater its premade meals specifically to diabetics.
Meal delivery services range anywhere from $5 to $15 per serving, depending on your subscription size, portion size, and meal type (premade meals or meal kits).
Hello Fresh doesn’t have a diabetes-specific menu, but it offers low-carb meal kits which might be a fit—you’re likely better off with its sister brand, Green Chef, which takes into account several diabetes-friendly diet options.
Blue Apron doesn’t have a diabetes-specific menu, but they offer low-carb meals and WW-approved meals, which might be a fit—just be sure to read the nutrition facts.
Maintaining a healthy blood sugar level is key for managing diabetes—but shopping and prepping a week’s worth of meals can be tough. Whether you’re looking for a diabetic-specific plan like BistroMD or are following a diabetes-friendly diet like paleo, there are several brands out there that aim to make mealtime a little easier.
And if there wasn’t a fit for you on this list, take a peek at our lists of the best keto and best paleo meal delivery services.
© 2009 – 2023 MindBodyGreen LLC. All rights reserved.
