If you're considering a meal kit service, you probably have questions. How much do they cost? Which services have the quickest or easiest recipes? Maybe you have picky eaters and need plenty of family-friendly options, or a service that can be adjusted to accommodate preferences or the number of people you're feeding. We consider all of this, and more, when testing meal kits for review.
While meal kit services mostly follow a similar formula -- sending pre-portioned ingredients to help you easily execute home-cooked meals -- there are differences that make some better suited for those with specific tastes, diets or culinary skill levels. And some are, well, just plain better than others.
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We lay out each meal kit before cooking to ensure all the ingredients are included. David Watsky/CNET
At CNET, a handful of editors -- including a self-proclaimed novice cook, a vegetarian and some who are experienced home cooks -- personally tested every meal kit service we could get our oven mitts on, from the original that launched it all, Blue Apron, to one that is great for families, HelloFresh or Purple Carrot, a completely vegan meal kit service. All this testing is aimed at one thing: helping you find the best meal kit for your taste and budget. Here's exactly what we do to suss it all out and a closer look at how meal kit services are evaluated at CNET.
Choosing meal plans and the ordering process
The first thing any meal kit subscriber does is choose a plan, so that's where we start. Some services offer a variety of meal plans at different prices to accommodate larger groups or individuals who only want a few meal kits per week. Others have super-simple meal plan options with standard pricing.
We'll always note how easy it is to select meals and change them from week to week. Gobble/Screenshot by David Watsky/CNET
If a meal kit has overly complicated plans and pricing, we'll note that in the review. We'll also download and play around with the meal kit's app if it exists. The apps are most handy for changing the order for next week's meals on the fly or pulling up a recipe if you've lost the recipe cards.
Pricing
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