The 6 Best Meal Delivery Services for Families
Updated: Jul. 25, 2024
The last thing busy parents need is a never-ending grocery list and cumbersome meal prep. We've found the best meal delivery services for families with various needs and budgets.
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Imagine coming home after a long day and finding a perfectly portioned dinner on your front stoop. Investing in the best meal delivery service for families means saving time and mental energy. Suddenly the soccer carpool and late Zoom meeting don’t seem so overwhelming because you know a family-friendly homemade meal is just 30 minutes away.
Nowadays, meal delivery services are everywhere, and you can find different services that suit a variety of tastes and diets. When looking for a service, nutrition should always be at the top of your priority list—especially if you have kids.
Kristen Smith, MS, RDN, LD, Spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics notes that it’s best to peruse the menu before choosing a meal service. “Similar to any meal you’d prepare for your family, seek out a service that offers meals with a well-rounded nutritional profile, incorporating lean protein, whole grains, and a variety of fruits or vegetables,” she says. “Look for a meal delivery service that provides a diverse selection of menu items, including a range of lean protein options such as chicken, fish, or beans.”
Additionally, Kristen suggests aiming for meal choices that fill half of each family member’s plate with fruits and vegetables. She notes that while protein needs will vary among family members, a protein source should typically fill at least a quarter of their plate.
The best meal delivery services for families remove the stress of meal planning, grocery shopping and all the chopping. According to Kristen, additional benefits include alleviate the need for meal planning and reducing food waste. In order to find the best meal delivery service for families, we tested 10 services, looking for variety, nutrition, family friendly menus and fresh ingredients. Our recommendations will leave more time (and energy!) to gather around the table together.
Best Overall for Any Family
Dinnerly
Pros:
- Perfectly portioned ingredients that create little to no food waste
- Accurate prep times
- Fresh ingredients
- Delicious recipes that yield hearty servings
- Eco-conscious packaging
- Affordable
Cons:
- Requires a decent amount of cleanup
- Recipes must be accessed by phone or computer
Dinnerly checks all the boxes as the best meal delivery service for families. It’s an affordable option that’s flexible enough for any family, both in terms of recipe customization, and cancellation and pause options. It helps save money with its cheap meals (starting at $4.99 per serving) and its elimination of suppertime food waste from leftover ingredients. Dinnerly can keep costs low with digital recipe cards and fewer ingredients per recipe.
The recipes are in no way lacking, though—our Dinnerly review confirms it. I was obsessed with the Seared Cheddar Bratwurst with Horseradish Cream and German Potato Salad. And your kids will love the Tex-Mex Stuffed Zucchini Boats and the Oven-Baked Tilapia and Chips.
Best for Budgeting Families
EveryPlate
Pros:
- Affordable
- Helpful recipe cards that outline steps and ingredients
- Plentiful portions
- Quality ingredients
- Flexible cancellation policy
Cons:
- Inaccurate prep times
If you’re looking for an affordable way to try meal delivery services, check out EveryPlate—tied with Dinnerly as the cheapest service on this list. It’s a super-flexible option with simple recipes that taste anything but. Perfect for beginners and old pros alike, EveryPlate offers classic, vegetarian, family-friendly and easy meal plans.
The app is easy to use and lets you skip weeks or cancel without hassle. The pre-portioned ingredients are always fresh, and the colorful recipe cards make following the recipe easy. Plus, we love that you can add extra protein like ground beef or chicken breasts to keep on hand for busy nights. Speaking of, have you tried these meat delivery services?
Some family-friendly options from their menu include Tortellini Chicken Sausage Bolognese and Creamy Corn & Bacon Chowder. I raved about the latter in my full review of EveryPlate.
Best for Busy Families
Gobble
Pros:
- Very little prep work—under 15 minutes!
- Generous portions
- Auto-selection option
- Flexible cancellation
- Fresh ingredients
Cons:
- Some food waste
- Small menu
- Pricier than some other options
Other meal delivery services offer the occasional 15-minute meal, but Gobble promises that all its meals take 15 minutes. Woah! Although our tester needed more than 15 minutes to finish some recipes, you can count on Gobble to be quick. (Read her full review.) Gobble’s menu is smaller than others, but you can add salads, soups, sides and even desserts to make the experience your own. Plus, you can input your preferences and allow the service to auto-select recipes for you. That’s a big score for families with packed schedules!
Although the recipes are fast, they still serve up plenty of food—and with high-quality ingredients. Some of the ingredients even arrive already chopped or sliced! Meals like the Bistro Cheeseburger, enjoyed by our tester, or the Chicken Tortellini Alfredo will keep the whole family’s hearts and tummies happy.
Best for Families with Younger Kids
HelloFresh
Pros:
- Well-rounded, tasty recipes
- Requires straightforward tools and techniques only
- Informative recipe cards
- True to cook/prep times
Cons:
- Considerable cleanup
- Pricier than some other options
HelloFresh offers flavorful meals that can be thrown together in 30 minutes, which is a must when you have young kids scurrying around the house. Each meal is tested more than 200 times to ensure it’s delicious and easy to prepare. The contributing writer for this article, Carrie Madormo, was a former recipe tester for HelloFresh, and she attests that the company is tireless about making sure chefs of any experience level can easily follow their recipes to create something tasty. Moreover, I’ve tried HelloFresh three times, and I concur that the recipes would appeal to kids and adults alike.
The meal plans are flexible and easy to cancel or skip. You can even tell them which foods your family (or, honestly, your kids) won’t eat to guarantee each meal is a winner. Child-friendly favorites include One-Pan Beef Enchiladas Verdes and Homestyle Turkey & Biscuit Pot Pie. Some meals are even explicitly labeled as “Make Ahead Kids Eats,” “Family Dinner” and “15-Min Kids Lunch” to make for quick picking each week.
Best for Families with Older Kids
Blue Apron
Pros:
- Elevated, low-effort meals
- Quality produce
- Virtually no food waste
- Accurate prep/cook times
Cons:
- Recipe cards aren't as comprehensive as some competitors'
- Some inconsistencies with ingredients
- Recipes might be too unconventional for some kiddos
Blue Apron is one of the original meal kit delivery services, but it’s fancier than most. Sure, Blue Apron offers everyday favorites, but it also offers adventurous health-conscious choices and premium dishes for special occasions. All the recipes I tested felt sophisticated—but without much intensive work. (Hoisin Pork Belly & Miso Ramen, anyone?) This can especially be said for the company’s line of Ready to Cook recipes.
Blue Apron has special meal plans, too, with options such as plant-based, WW-approved, diabetes-friendly and carb-conscious. We love that ingredients are responsibly sourced, too. Your teenagers, college-age kids or bold middle-schoolers will savor each bite. Some customer faves include Ravioli, Pancetta & Prime Beef Bolognese and One-Pan Udon Noodle & Spicy Peanut Stir-Fry. Note, however, that the fanciness of these meals is reflected in the price.
Best for Health-Focused Families
Mosaic Foods
Pros:
- Vegan, vegetarian, low-carb and gluten-free offerings
- Family-friendly flavors
- Heat-and-eat meals that require no ingredient prep
- At least four vegetables in every meal
Cons:
- Pricier than some other options
- Some meals reheat better than others
Mosaic Foods is a vegetarian frozen-food service that delivers veggie-packed meals the whole family will love. And before you say, “I can’t get my kid(s) to eat a single veggie, let alone a veggie-packed meal,” don’t worry, Mosaic’s got you. The beauty of Mosaic’s plant-based meals is their ability to mask veggies so kids don’t even know they’re there.
Taste of Home Product Reviews Home Editor, Madi Koetting, tried one of Mosaic’s family casseroles and said, “As a kid at heart, I appreciate Mosaic’s ability to make it taste like I’m not eating a whole plate of veggies.”
Some family meals, like the vegetable pot pie, are more veggie-forward than, say, the pasta options. There are also vegan, low-carb and gluten-free meals. Yet, there are still at least four veggies in each one, so you can feel good about the whole family getting their daily greens. The best part? Meals come ready to bake and serve so you can spend more time with the kiddos than cooking in the kitchen.
Psst! Did you know produce delivery is a thing?
What to Look for When Subscribing to a Meal Delivery Service
There’s a lot of reasons to invest in a meal delivery service. On top of the convenience factor (especially for new parents), Kristen says that meal delivery services also help families with dietary restrictions or specific nutritional needs, since gluten-free or vegan services take the guesswork out of sourcing ingredients. Here’s what to consider when choosing a meal kit:
- Price: The best meal delivery service for families fits within a budget.
- Familiarity: Keep an eye out for those that feature kid-approved recipes with familiar foods and fun flavors.
- Taste: Although the recipes are kid-friendly, you want the service’s offerings to appeal to the adults in the house, too.
- Ingredients: Prioritize services that send fresh, responsibly sourced, potentially name-brand ingredients.
- Flexibility: Life happens, especially when you’re responsible for other humans, so meal delivery services should be flexible. Look at the cancellation and pause policies.
In addition, Kristen recommends being mindful of the number of people the meal kit indicates it will feed. “A meal kit that feeds two people per meal is likely not sufficient to feed a family of two adults and two teenagers,” she says. As for picky eaters, she recommends involving them in the process and trying to choose meals with familiar foods.
Why You Should Trust Us
These meal kit services were tested by our team of editors in order to find the best meal delivery service for families. Although they’re experts at curating gift guides and testing products, they’re not culinary professionals. They’re home cooks with busy schedules and regular kitchens—just like you and the meal-prepper in your family. When cooking the recipes in their homes, they replicated the authentic experience of any consumer of these meal kit delivery services. You can trust their needs, skills and budget match those of an average shopper.
How We Choose the Best Meal Delivery Services for Families
We chose the best meal delivery service for families by cooking two to three recipes from each. Then, we evaluated the services based on the aforementioned criteria. We noted overall value (i.e., price versus quality), family-friendliness, freshness, and ease and taste of the recipes. We’ve tested nine meal delivery services but only a portion of those made this list based on how suitable they are for families.
Additional research contributed by Carrie Madormo, Taste of Home writer and Emily Way, Affiliate Editor. For this piece, we consulted Kristen Smith, MS, RDN, LD, Spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, in order to determine what aspects to look for in a family meal delivery service.
Originally Published: September 01, 2022
