The Best Prepared Meal Delivery Services to Keep Mealtime Easy and Healthy – Sports Illustrated

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We’ve compiled our picks for the best prepared meal delivery services because a tasty, healthy and convenient dish can typically be hard to find. Luckily, more and more companies are using the latest research and cooking science to develop fully prepared meals that pack in nutrients and exclude unhealthy ingredients. Many of our choices contain organic ingredients, sustainable packaging, vegetarian or vegan options and add ons like extra protein or dessert to meet a wide range of dietary needs.
Some of our picks take their meals and menus a step further, providing options for accountability and support from medical professionals or access to supplements, mobile apps, gifts and more.
Purchasing a prepared meal doesn’t have to be expensive, unhealthy, or bland- our choices have hundreds of entree options that can adhere to a multitude of dietary preferences and needs.
Just grab your microwave, a fork and dig in. These prepared meal delivery services are sure to delight and taste just like a home-cooked favorite.
This content is meant to be informative, but should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention or treatment of health problems. Always speak with your doctor before starting any new supplement or exercise regimen.
Are you searching for additional support on your journey to better health and nutrition habits? Noom might be the right choice for you. Noom is passionate about helping you get off the diet cycle for good so that you can actually invest in your health once and for all—no “reset” required.
Noom is a nutrition app that focuses on changing behaviors over time that affect weight, nutrition, fitness, stress and more. Key features include food tracking, suggested meals and recipes and coaching from real humans like Registered Dietitians and health coaches.
Noom, combined with a prepared meal delivery service, can help you establish healthy eating habits and conquer your nutrition, fitness and overall wellness goals.
Nutrisystem is a prepared meal delivery service primarily designed to support weight loss. The plan is focused on eating many small meals and snacks throughout the day to help you maintain satiety. This includes snacks, meal replacement shakes and desserts, so you don’t feel deprived of sweets and snacks.
All of your meals for the month come frozen and ready to heat and eat, which cuts out prep time. You’ll also get access to the NuMi app, which provides recipe ideas and support such as weight loss tips, articles, exercise tips and daily habits that will help you achieve your goals. 
Fresh N’ Lean
Freshly is our pick for the overall best meal delivery service. This meal delivery service cooks up its fresh, never frozen, pre-made meals right from Phoenix, Arizona and Savage, Maryland. Delivery is available throughout the 48 contiguous US states. This means that nearly everyone can get their hands on Freshly’s delicious single-serving entrees.
Beyond being quick and convenient, Freshly offers different menus based on dietary preferences. Menu options include gluten-free, dairy-free, plant-based, carb-smart (low-carb) and calorie-conscious. All meals, regardless of menu, can be heated up in the microwave or oven.
On the gluten-free menu, you can choose fresh means like the Wild-Caught Fish Cake or Spiced Apple Pork Chop. On the plant-based menu, items like Middle Eastern Falafel are available for purchase. Ultimately, Freshly provides a large selection of delicious meals and is a trustworthy, tasty subscription service to meet your nutrition needs.
Trifecta
Trifecta is a prepared meal delivery service that offers fully-prepared and vacuum sealed entrees that are perfect if you’re trying to lose weight. Customers can store Trifecta meals in the refrigerator for up to seven days, or they’re encouraged to freeze their meals and enjoy them later. Trifecta does not use preservatives in its food, making it important to consume as quickly as possible.
Unlike other meal delivery services, you can reheat Trifecta meals in a few different ways. You’re not just limited to the microwave, because Trifecta allows customers to heat their prepared meals in the air-fryer, oven or stove top. Regardless of the preparation method, Trifecta offers unique additions to its meal delivery service that sets it apart as a useful tool in meeting nutritional needs and losing weight.
Customers can choose one of Trifecta’s menu options including the clean meal plan, keto meal plan, paleo meal plan, Whole30 approved meal plan, vegan meal plan, vegetarian meal plan, classic meal plan and meal prep plan- each with specific macronutrient distributions to make weight loss goals a breeze. Additionally, you’ll receive access to Trifecta’s phone app that allows you to track your fitness and weight loss journey.
Ultimately, Trifecta provides a wide range of meals and meal plan options alongside its unique application that can help you facilitate sustainable weight loss. 
BistroMD
Dr. Caroline Cederquist founded BistroMD in 2005 after she recognized that weight loss and healthy eating was inaccessible and difficult for many of her patients. She knew that making calorie-conscious, high-quality meals would help her patients ward off chronic diseases and make choices to support their nutrition in the long term. Since 2005, her team of chefs and Registered Dietitians have developed more than 150 recipes in the signature meal plan alone and expanded to meet the needs of different dietary preferences and chronic conditions.
We chose BistroMD as our top pick for a meal delivery service for singles because this program can be tailored to meet the needs of both men and women individually, allowing for completely optimized nutrition. Beyond the extensive menu options and single-serving meal plans, BistroMD also offers a wide variety of meals each week. For example, you can choose to be a weekday warrior and receive all of your breakfasts, lunches and dinners for the entire work week. On the other hand, if you’re looking to avoid the grocery store completely, you can opt to receive seven breakfasts, seven lunches and six dinners per week. Examples of their menu options include Hickory Smoked BBQ Pork with Broccoli and the Southwest Taco Bowl.
BistroMD is a great option for individualization and customization, especially for singles wanting a prepared meal delivery service tailored to their needs.
Purple Carrot
Purple Carrot is our pick for the best organic prepared meal delivery service. This popular meal delivery service provides high-quality vegetarian meals that are sure to taste great and provide you with more vegetables in your daily diet. Their meals contain about 500 to 800 calories each and choose vendors that can provide high-quality ingredients, like organic produce, that are sourced responsibly and with intention.
Examples of prepared menu items include a Quinoa Burrito Bowl, Thai Peanut Noodles and even Gochujang Fried Rice among others. These meals and more can be heated in the microwave in just minutes, making it a quick and convenient option for those who need it.
Purple Carrot is passionate about plant-based cooking and provides an excellent avenue if you want to eat more vegetables in an easy, prepared way. Plus, it uses organic ingredients.
Mosaic Foods
Mosaic Foods is our choice for the best frozen prepared meal delivery service. This service offers a wide range of vegetarian meals including veggie bowls, pizza, smoothies, family meals, soups, oat bowls and more. Additionally, meals can be nut free, wheat free, vegan or higher in protein. Regardless of your nutrition goals, Mosaic Foods makes it easy to eat more vegetables all from the convenience of home. Examples of Mosaic Foods meals include BBQ ‘Meatloaf’ and Sweet Potato Hash as well as Curried Lentil Shepherd’s Pie.
While it can feel wasteful to eat frozen meals on demand, Mosaic is an eco-friendly option that saves you time, energy and money at the grocery store while giving back to the planet. Whereas food waste and spoilage is a huge problem, Mosaic aims to alleviate this through providing recyclable packaging. The shipment box, dividers, liner, welcome letters, meal boxes and trays are all recyclable. While some items may not always be recycled, Mosaic Foods also provides instructions on how to try and recycle the dry ice and cups so you can do your part in helping the environment.
Mosaic Foods is a vegetarian prepared meal delivery service that will help you fuel up during the week with tasty, convenient meals.
Sakara
Sakara is a luxury plant-based nutrition program and we’ve named it the best healthy prepared meal delivery service. Sakara is not just a food company, but a health and wellness brand that provides a multitude of services that can elevate your nutrition and overall health.
Customers have the option to purchase the Sakara Signature Nutrition Program which allows them to receive fully prepared meals for two to five days per week, including breakfast if desired. However, this company goes one step further to provide extensive options like the Metabolism Reset, Fresh Start Cleanse, Performance System, Gut Health Reboot, Level II: Detox and even The Bridal Program. Some programs include guides, supplements, protein bars, protein shakes and more alongside their meal options.
While customers cannot alter their meals, sample entrees include the Sakara Burrito Bowl with Turmeric Corn Salsa, the Smoky and Sweet Seasonal Bowl and the Banana-Nut Brain Food Granola. All meals are curated to help you make healthier choices fueled by plants.
Many customers enjoy the extensive product line that Sakara has to offer, which includes snacks like protein bars and supplements including teas, vitamins, probiotics and more. As well, Sakara provides gifts like clothing, mugs, candles and more. Sakara is much more than just a prepared meal delivery service and truly acts as a one stop shop for healthy living.
Home Chef
Home Chef is an affordable, customizable prepared meal delivery service that will fuel you and your family all week long. Ditch the grocery store and choose Home Chef to receive two to six servings per meal and up to six different meals or recipes each week. With the Fast and Fresh options, your meals can be heated in the microwave or oven—no cooking required.
Unlike other programs, Home Chef provides a large number of meals for the whole family to enjoy without messy clean ups or using all the dishes in your home. This is a convenient option that your family will love. Because Home Chef allows customers to determine their shipment schedule, you can also customize your meal deliveries to meet your needs ranging from weekly deliveries to biweekly or just monthly. Since 2021, Home Chef has also allowed customers to tack on extra products like protein sources, desserts, breakfasts and more so you can purchase the bulk of your groceries in one place.
As well, Home Chef provides vegetarian options weekly. However, allergens like wheat, nuts and dairy can not be managed through this program alone and customers must be mindful of their recipe ingredients.
Ultimately, we recommend Home Chef the best budget prepared meal delivery service so you and your family can eat healthy, convenient meals all throughout the week.
Choosing the best prepared meal delivery service requires customization along with a bit of research. Do you have food allergies or intolerances? Do you have a family history of certain conditions like diabetes that you’re trying to avoid? Do you want to cook some days, or never? These are important questions when choosing the best prepared meal delivery service.
Additionally, knowing what kinds of meals you enjoy is key. Some prepared meal delivery services offer things like pizza or flatbreads, soups and smoothies whereas others have full meals with proteins, vegetables and carbohydrates or starchy foods all in one plate.
Regardless of your choice, choosing a prepared meal delivery service can help you achieve your nutrition goals, lose or gain weight, explore alternative dietary preferences and save you time. No more reaching for the takeout menu or simply snacking after work- these prepared meal delivery services will help you eat tasty, convenient meals every night of the week.
We chose the best prepared meal delivery services by addressing the most important features an entree should meet. Our chosen meal delivery services offer unique dishes that taste great and are often chef-curated and Registered Dietitian approved. Furthermore, these meals are jam-packed with high-quality ingredients that will meet a wide range of nutritional needs and dietary preferences. Our picks for the best prepared meal delivery services offer menu options that are sure to please your taste buds all week long.
Making delicious and healthy meals can be expensive, nerve-wracking and time-consuming. Many of us are running from place to place, working long hours and taking care of kids. Our busy lifestyles make it difficult to choose healthy ingredients and fulfilling recipes.
Meal delivery services are a great solution to meet your nutritional needs as well as enjoy a delicious entree. Many meal delivery kits offer entrees that can be prepared in 30 minutes, and even better, prepared meal delivery services offer meals that require just five minutes and a microwave.
No matter your resources or timeframe, prepared meal delivery services can be used to provide budget-friendly menus that taste great.
Many meal delivery services offer both do-it-yourself and done-for-you options. If you have more time, want to get creative in the kitchen, or simply like making your meal at the end of the day, you may want to consider purchasing a meal kit delivery service.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for as little preparation as possible, a prepared meal will be the way to go. Prepared meals usually require just a microwave or oven, so you can enjoy a delicious meal with minimal tools and equipment, as well as time.
There’s no right or wrong way to eat your meals—it all comes down to preference.
If you want to learn more about convenient premade meal delivery services , check out our guide to the best meal planning services here.
Today, many prepared meal delivery services are mindful about the materials they use in their packaging. For example, Sakara uses their proprietary blend of Recycled Polyethylene Terephtalate (PRT) for food containers, which is made from recycled plastic and does not leech any harmful chemicals into your food. Other prepared meal services are similar, aiming to use sustainable materials that are good for the planet and your health.
Food allergies can be incredibly difficult to manage, especially if the severity of reactions can cause anaphylaxis. Depending on your allergy or overall dietary restrictions, there are likely options for you. For example, Mosaic Foods has a nut free menu, and Freshly offers gluten-free and dairy-free menus. While these are typically not entirely allergy free (meaning they may have cross contamination) some companies do offer more individualized options for your needs.
Not every prepared meal delivery service is the same, and many provide fresh meals. No matter if a meal is fresh or frozen, many meal services include high-quality ingredients and are often organic or non-GMO.
Eating healthy can feel unattainable for the majority of people. Everyone is busy chasing after children, working hard in school or meeting strict work deadlines. It can often seem that nutrition and health are at the back of everyone’s minds and priorities.
Prepared meal delivery services can help all individuals make healthier nutrition choices by offering convenient and nutrient-dense meals. Rather than pick up takeout for another night of dinners, reach for a prepared meal delivery service to make a healthier choice with high-quality ingredients.
Our list of the best prepared meal delivery services will keep you full and satisfied while ensuring you save on time grocery shopping and frustration over making a healthy choice.
Prices are accurate and items in stock as of publish time.
Emily is a Registered Dietitian, functional medicine specialist and wellness copywriter.

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