November 5, 2024
9 best options for 2023

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The best plant-based meal delivery will offer healthy and convenient meals to suit a range of tastes and budgets. If people struggle to find the time to cook from scratch or cannot find restaurant meals they like, meal delivery or kits are a suitable option.

“Fully vegan” refers to the exclusion of all animal products from nonfood items and lifestyle practices in addition to the diet, whereas “plant-based” describes only a diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant foods.

Learn more about the differences between plant-based and vegan here.

Many companies offer plant-based meal delivery services, but some offer only vegan options with no meat, fish, or dairy choices. We look at some of the top options below.

Best overall plant-based meal delivery: Purple Carrot

Purple Carrot is a completely vegan meal kit delivery service with a focus on sustainability. Its meal kits include preportioned ingredients and a recipe to follow, so users can prepare a plant-based meal at home.

The meals that this company offers may suit people with a variety of tastes and dietary needs.

  • Cost: Meals cost about $10–$12 per serving, with free shipping.
  • Menu options: Users can choose gluten-free, low calorie, or high protein options. Dishes includes lemon braised chickpeas, barbecue tofu sandwiches, and superfood bowls.
  • Customization: The subscription-based service allows people to skip weeks when they do not want to receive a delivery. mental issues. Their menu includes lemon braised chickpeas, barbecue tofu sandwiches, and superfood bowls. Users can select foods based on cooking and preparation time, and most meals should take less than 30 minutes to prepare.
  • Other considerations: Most of the ingredients are organic. This service requires the customer to prepare and cook the ingredients to make their meal.
  • Taste: Trustpilot reviews give Purple Carrot generally positive reviews, with customers stating that the flavors are good and that the meals are fresh, creative, and easy to prepare. However, some reviews mention that certain ingredients do not keep well while others are missing or insufficient in quantity.

Read our review of Purple Carrot here.

Best organic plant-based meal delivery: Daily Harvest

Daily Harvest offers plant-based and gluten-free frozen meals. The company uses organic whole fruits and vegetables and excludes preservatives or additives from its products.

Learn about the best organic meal delivery services here.

  • Cost: The cost of the service will depend on the items a person chooses and how many they order. Prices for items are in the range of $6–$9, and discounts are available for larger orders.
  • Menu options: A person can choose from smoothies, vegetable bowls and bakes, flatbreads, soups, oat and chia bowls, ice creams, snacks, lattes, and vegan milks.
  • Customization: People can choose the dishes they would like for each delivery, with weekly or monthly plans available. It is possible to skip deliveries or pause the plan. Customers can also amend the frequency of deliveries and their choice of dishes before 6 p.m. ET on Sundays.
  • Other considerations: All dishes arrive frozen, with dry ice in the box keeping the meals cool during delivery. A person must let the dry ice melt in a safe space away from animals and children when their order arrives. Additionally, meals must remain in a freezer until the person or household is ready to eat them.
  • Taste: Trustpilot reviews are varied for Daily Harvest, with some customers stating that they found the food bland and others describing the meals as creative, tasty, and easy to make.

Most offerings are gluten-free. Subscribers can customize their plans each week.

Read our review of Daily Harvest here.

Healthiest plant-based meal delivery: Sakara

Sakara delivers nutritious ready-to-eat meals on a customizable schedule. All meals are vegan and organic.

The company offers meals designed to be nutritious and luxurious, catering to specific health and wellness goals.

  • Cost: The service costs $70 or more per day, depending on a person’s selections.
  • Menu options: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner options are available.
  • Customization: People can select the frequency of deliveries. There are different meal programs to choose from, such as “The 10-Day Reset” and “Detox.”
  • Other considerations: Customers can choose a one-time delivery or sign up for a subscription.
  • Taste: An online review consists of generally positive comments, with a focus on the diversity of flavors on offer.

Learn about more of the healthiest meal delivery services here.

Cheapest plant-based meal delivery: MamaSezz

MamaSezz offers fully vegan ready-to-eat meals at a lower cost than other plant-based services.

Learn about the cheapest meal delivery services here.

The company operates a zero waste facility, and the meals are free from a range of allergens and additives.

It describes the meals that it offers as “comfort food” options.

  • Cost: The company states that it aims for meals to cost $4–$6 per serving.
  • Menu options: Breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts, snacks, and sauces are available.
  • Customization: People can choose specific subscription bundles that renew weekly or pick and choose meals from an à-la-carte menu.
  • Other considerations: The company offers a range of meals and bundles to suit different health goals, including weight loss, high protein, and detox.
  • Taste: An online review states that MamaSezz meals are often lacking in flavor despite the ingredients being fresh and of high quality.

Read our review of MamaSezz here.

Best vegan meal delivery for sustainability: Boycemode

Boycemode provides all of its meals in 100% compostable packaging, with the company claiming that all packaging biodegrades within 90 days. Customer reviews of other vegan meal delivery services mention excessive packaging, which this service tries to combat.

All meals, tonics, and smoothies from Boycemode are plant-based and suitable for vegans.

  • Cost: A weekly plan that includes five meals with no add-on smoothies, tonics, or other products costs $75. The cost increases depending on the number of meals in each weekly delivery and any optional additions.
  • Menu options: The Boycemode menu changes each week. The menu includes chilis, salads, wraps, rice dishes, pasta dishes, and soups. Each meal comes with a side salad, and the package includes two daily snacks. Customers can also choose to add wellness tonics and meal replacement breakfast smoothies.
  • Customization: A person can choose which breakfast smoothie flavors they receive in their delivery, and there is also an option to make meals gluten-free. However, gluten-free meals add an extra $10 to the cost of the plan.
  • Other considerations: A new customer can choose to sign up for an introductory trial before committing to a full plan. The trial includes a range of wellness tonics, smoothie packs, lunches, dinners, and snacks for a reduced price. Boycemode’s service is not currently available across the whole of the United States, so a person will need to check whether the company can deliver to their zip code.

Best plant-based meal delivery for easy prep: Mosaic

Mosaic offers vegan veggie bowls, soups, and family meals that the company claims involve no prep or clean-up.

Mosaic also works with the nonprofit organization City Harvest to distribute food to people in New York experiencing food insecurity. The company claims that for every Mosaic box that customers purchase, it donates 2 pounds of food to people in need.

  • Cost: Mosaic offers weekly, biweekly, or monthly meal deliveries. There is a minimum order of $70, which equates to about eight meals. The company prices each dish individually, with the costs ranging from $5 to $20. A person can get free shipping on orders over $100.
  • Menu options: The Mosaic menu includes soups, oat bowls, family meals, and vegetable bowls. The menu also includes Mosaic +, which features dishes that some of New York’s top chefs have prepared.
  • Customization: A person can change which meals they include in each delivery. It is also possible to skip, pause, or cancel an order at any time.
  • Other considerations: Not every dish is suitable for vegans. The company labels vegan dishes clearly on the Mosaic website, so individuals can check this when they choose their meals. They will also need to check that Mosaic delivers to their area, as the company does not cover all of the U.S.
  • Taste: Online reviews state that Mosaic meals are full of flavor and easy to prepare.

Best plant-based meal delivery for weight loss: Veestro

Veestro is an entirely organic and vegan meal delivery service offering prepared meals that require only heating.

Veestro offers a comprehensive weight-loss subscription that includes three meals totaling around 1200 calories per day.

It offers a range of meals to suit different tastes and introduce people to new tastes.

  • Cost: The cost of the service starts at about $10 per meal.
  • Menu options: All meals are vegan. Users can filter by dietary preferences, such as gluten-free, low calorie, nut-free, soy-free, kosher, and high protein.
  • Customization: People can buy meals without a subscription or subscribe to weekly deliveries.
  • Other considerations: Subscribers get a small discount on their purchases. It is possible to pause or cancel the subscription at any time.
  • Taste: An online review notes that Veestro meals are unique and flavorful. The reviewer says that the vegetables are fresh and that most of the plant-based meals have a good nutritional balance.

Some companies offer plant-based and meat-based menus, which may suit people who are also selecting meals for people who do not want eat exclusively plant-based meals.

However, these brands will not suit people who are unwilling to buy from a nonvegan company.

Best omnivore meal delivery: Fresh n’ Lean

This meal delivery service provides ready-to-eat meals — including some with meat and fish — that only require heating.

Designed for people with gluten-free diets, Fresh n Lean is not exclusively vegetarian. Instead, users can choose from a variety of meal options, including keto, paleo, and vegan. There is also a high-protein selection for athletes. The meals are suitable for people looking to lead a more healthful life, with low-sodium and low-sugar options.

The meals have simple flavors designed to suit a range of palates.

  • Cost: The program costs close to $10 per meal, but the Protein+ and Paleo plans are about $3 more expensive. Customers can also add on additional meals for a discount.
  • Menu options: The vegan menu includes options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Menu choices include the teriyaki bowl with garbanzo beans, romesco veggies with lentils and tofu, and sundried tomato brown rice with vegetarian chicken.
  • Customization: Customers can choose from a selection of meals or subscribe to the weekly meal plan.
  • Other considerations: People who wish to get meals from Fresh n’ Lean need a microwave or stove to reheat food.
  • Taste: Fresh n’ Lean reviews are generally positive. Trustpilot reviews mention that the meals taste very good and are varied. However, some users write that while they enjoy the fish and seafood dishes, they feel that there is room for improvement in the meat dishes.

Best meal delivery for couples: Blue Apron

Blue Apron offers a vegetarian menu in servings specifically for two people. Although there is not a dedicated vegan menu, a person can check the nutritional information of the vegetarian dishes to check for animal products.

This menu may suit couples who are not following a strictly vegan diet but are trying to add more plant-based meals to their diet each week.

  • Cost: The “Vegetarian For 2” plan costs about $10 per serving for two recipes per week. There is a further $9.99 shipping fee to add to each delivery.
  • Menu options: The menu includes rice dishes, vegetable dishes, and salads that may suit vegans.
  • Customization: A person can choose dishes from the fish, seafood, and poultry menu and personalize them to suit a plant-based diet. They can also adjust the number of servings they receive and the day of their delivery. Skipping a week is also possible with Blue Apron.
  • Other considerations: The dishes can take up to 45 minutes to make, so it might not be a good option for people with limited time.
  • Taste: Trustpilot reviews are mostly positive for Blue Apron, with users commenting on the high quality ingredients, the wide range of spices, and the flavorful meals.

Read our review of Blue Apron here.

People first need to decide whether they want to receive meal kits or ready-made meals. Meal kits allow customers to prepare and cook their meals, while prepared meals usually require only heating.

Meal kits can help people who are new to cooking in general or just starting out on a plant-based diet to learn some of the basics. Some people may also prefer cooking their own meals.

One benefit of choosing a meal kit service is that the kits often come with reusable recipe cards. Once a person learns a recipe, they can cook it again using the printed card. However, most meal kits require a person to have a well-stocked pantry.

Learn more about meal kits here.

People should also select a service that offers dietary accommodations if they need to avoid certain ingredients because of an allergy or another health condition.

Those with strong moral reasons for following a vegan diet may prefer to choose a company that offers only plant-based meals and no meat options. However, people who also need to accommodate meat eaters in their household may prefer a company that offers both vegan and nonvegan options.

Following a plant-based diets may offer a range of health benefits. However, there are also health risks to consider.

Health benefits of a plant-based diet

People on a vegan diet completely avoid eating any animal products or byproducts. Although vegetarians may still eat dairy and eggs, vegans avoid these products.

Learn more about the difference between vegans and vegetarians.

According to 2018 data from Gallup, 5% of United States adults are vegetarian. In western countries, there is a growing trend for vegetarian and vegan diets, so the demand for plant-based cuisine is increasing.

Many people eat a vegan diet because they have concerns about animal welfare or the environment. Others believe that a plant-based diet provides certain health benefits.

Some of the potential health benefits of a plant-based diet are:

Some studies suggest that vegetarians live longer, but it is difficult to prove this in studies conclusively while accounting for all variables.

Health considerations on a plant-based diet

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has stated that a carefully planned plant-based diet can be “nutritionally adequate.” However, without planning, it is possible to develop deficiencies in specific vitamins and minerals when eating a restrictive diet. People eating a vegan diet may wish to be conscious of the risk of deficiency.

Some possible vitamin and mineral deficiencies include:

Learn about important supplements for vegans.

Some research suggests a link between a history of disordered eating and the decision to adopt a plant-based diet. Anyone who thinks that they have an eating disorder should seek a diagnosis so that they can get support.

Learn about getting help for eating disorders.

Signing up for plant-based meal delivery can help people ensure that they eat a nutritious and balanced diet without worrying about time, planning, or cooking experience.

People who want to follow a vegan diet can try meal delivery services that are fully vegan or consider one of the companies offering plant-based meals, as these typically have many vegan-friendly options.

For people who want omnivore-friendly options, many meal delivery services offer choices of either plant-based or meat-based meals. This may suit couples or families with different dietary preferences.

Individuals should compare different menus and services to identify the plant-based meal delivery servoces most suited to their tastes, dietary needs, and budget.

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