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WIRED TIRED Completely plant-based? Availability Plan details Cost Purple Carrot Adventurous, tasty recipes; has both meal kits and ready-to-eat premade meals; varied choices and frequently changing seasonal menus; grocery options Recipes can be involved and time-consuming; not great for beginners Yes (plus no dairy or eggs) Lower 48 states Fresh meal kits, ready-to-eat frozen meals, or Jumpstart Program, and groceries. Two- or 4- person plans, 3 or 4 meals per week. Meal kits start at $11 per serving. Ready-to-eat starts at $13 Green Chef Basic meals that would work for most people and families; servings up to six people Vegan options tend to be mostly stir-fries; sometimes long prep times No Lower 48 states (minus some parts of Louisiana) Servings for 2, 4, or 6 people, at either 3 or 4 meals per week. Each serving is $12 Thistle Fresh produce; easy-to-no prep or cook time; complex flavors; great textures; gluten-free Limited availability in the US; maybe too adventurous for some; mostly salads Yes (vegan with optional meat add-ons) East and West Coast cities and Chicago Curated preset menu each week of single servings, consisting of 3 meals, a snack, and a dessert for 6 days. Breakfasts start at $9.50, lunches and dinners at $14, and snacks at $8.50 Hungryroot AI-powered menu curation; many choices of familiar flavors and foods; good for people transitioning or new to a vegan diet; also offers grocery options Difficult to view meal options before committing; flavors could be one-note No Lower 48 states The smallest plan is two or three two-serving dinners; after, plans vary depending on meal quantity. $8 to $13 per serving Mosaic Tasty frozen meals ready in 5 minutes or less; all vegan or vegetarian choices; each meal has 13-30 grams of protein High calorie count; flavor combinations can become repetitive Yes (vegan and vegetarian options) East Coast, West Coast, and some of middle America Plans start at 6, 12, and 18 items per week. Family plans start at $6 per serving, single-serve start at $10 per serving. Splendid Spoon One of the tastiest frozen meal kits we've tried; great textures and spicy flavors; healthy detox program The majority of offerings are liquid; detox program may not be suitable for all people Yes (vegan and glute-free) Lower 48 states Plans start at 6, 12, and 18 items per week. Five-Day Detox Program includes 25 meals and 5 superfood juice shots. Meals are $10-$13. The 5-Day Detox Program is $299. Daily Harvest Ideal for solo eaters; easy-to-no prep; gluten-free; you can choose all your own meals à la carte Mushy texture; some meals require a blender or food processor; limited selection; can be bland Yes (vegan, gluten-free) Lower 48 states À la carte; just need to hit $50 minimum on orders. $8 for breakfast bowls and go up to $11 per serving for most everything else. Sunbasket Short prep times; meals that appeal to most people; grocery options; mostly paper, without tons of plastic packaging Limited options for vegans weekly; produce arrived on the decline and was not always organic No Ships to most zip codes in the US, except Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, and parts of New Mexico Servings are 2 to 4, or one if it's a premade meal, with 3, 4, or 5 meals per week. $10 to $30 per serving.
Others Tested
Courtesy of Sakara Life
Sakara Life; starts at $141 per week; up to $465 for specialty programs: This plant-based, gluten-free meal kit reminds me of what most people think when they think of “crunchy” vegan food—raw vegetables with an earthy taste. Nearly all meals in Sakara's lineup are uncooked and preprepared—items like veggie burgers are without buns, lasagnas are “deconstructed.” For example, a “Lavender Quesadilla” has broccoli pesto and cashew “cheese” with hibiscus salsa … you get the idea. The menu is curated each week, and meals come in single servings. Sakara also has health supplements (which can be scientifically dubious), like a metabolism booster and fulvic acid cell reset. Sakara's signature nutrition program meal plan is designed to replace all meals and is delivered twice weekly. If you buy one week of five days, three meals a day, it's $465 per week; weekly subscriptions of five days, three meals a day, is $395 per week; prices go down to $141 per week with a 12-week subscription for three days at two meals per day. There's also a "Level II: Detox" program, starting at $465 per week. This meal kit seems fit for Gwyneth Paltrow or WAGs (wife or girlfriend of professional athletes) everywhere, but it wasn't the right fit for my budget and taste preferences.
NutriFit
NutriFit for $10 to $45 per meal: NutriFit is more like a personal chef than a meal-kit delivery service, specializing in nutrient-dense, fully prepared meals with a huge range of fare, with gluten- and dairy-free and vegetarian and vegan options. The company ships to the lower 48 states, and most meals hovered around $20. NutriFit has customized, chef-curated meal plans that are tailored for the eater and include specifics like health goals and dietary restrictions, where the customer can select their own meals on the Premium plan or have the curated meals from the 13-week rotating menu, starting at $19 per day. There are also à la carte options, which I tested, which range from $10 to $45 per meal. These don't require a subscription or a minimum, and come in meals that serve three to four people or in individual size Fit for ONE meals that feed one, where you choose from “Always Available Favorites” and rotating new specials. A lentil chickpea salad, cold udon noodles, hearty roasted tomato soup, and crispy vegan tacos were standouts. But I wasn't a huge fan of most of the chef-curated specials, and the food started to wilt or get mushy if not eaten within the first few days. The user interface of the service isn't the best or easiest to navigate, either.
Photograph: Molly Higgins
Fresh! Meal Plan from $11 to $14 per meal: You can choose from 6, 10, or 14 meals per week, or order à la carte (which is a minimum of eight meals), ranging from $11 to $14 per meal, with the price lowering the more you order. It's got choices for keto, paleo, high-protein, dairy- and gluten-free, and vegan and vegetarian meals, and everything is preprepared and just needs to be microwaved (or air fried) for about three minutes. There were six vegan meals and four vegetarian meals at the time of writing, with a menu filter to easily see choices. The vegetarian coconut chia breakfast pudding and margherita breakfast pizza were standouts, the vegan crab cakes had a mushy consistency and almost cinnamon-like flavor, and the vegan blackened "chickn" and Cajun pasta was rubbery and lacked spice. Since testing several months ago, none of the plant-based meal choices has changed, so this may be best as a supplemental meal kit for plant-based eaters.
Not Recommended
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