Best Vegan Meal Delivery Service for 2024
We tested 15 services to find the best meatless meal delivery that will keep your stomach full and your to-do list short.
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What's the best vegan, plant-based meal delivery service?
If you want to cut down on meat but not taste, you may be searching for a quality plant-based meal subscription. Of the 15 we've tested, Mosaic Foods is the overall best plant-based meal delivery service for 2024. Mosaic delivered numerous vegan meals we loved, all at a cheaper price than most competitors.
If you prefer to do some of the cooking yourself, Purple Carrot is our pick for the best vegan meal kit in 2024. But there are others still, including vegan meal delivery for picky eaters, families and flexitarians that might be an even better fit for your plant-based life.
Best vegan meal delivery services of 2024
I tried about nine of Mosaic's plant-based prepared meals and there wasn't a true miss in the bunch. Not only is Mosaic Foods my favorite plant-based meal delivery, but it's also one of the cheapest vegan meal subscriptions available with plans starting at $6 a serving. That makes it an easy pick for this top spot on the list.
Mosaic uses global flavors and creative meat substitutes such as jackfruit, tofu and vegan sausages to create satisfying meals (even for this omnivore) that are all tasty and fresh. While everything I had from Mosaic was at least good, some standouts included the bean and vegan jackfruit chili, tomato olive and feta ragout and tangy Thai noodles.
Pros:
- Over 50 vegan recipes per week
- Most of the food was excellent
- Family meals are only $6 a serving
Cons:
- Very few low-carb options
- The flatbreads were just OK
Pros:
- Unique, interesting recipes
- Fresh, high-quality ingredients
- Great way to learn plant-based cooking
Cons:
- On the expensive side
- Few modifications allowed
Best vegetarian meal kits
Purple Carrot
Purple Carrot is the first, and to my knowledge, the only 100% plant-based meal kit service, and this vegan food service option takes its recipes seriously, too. Purple Carrot's underlying vegan philosophy is not to imitate other foods using plant-based alternatives, but to create tasty and nourishing vegan dinners the old-fashioned way, using fresh vegetables, grains, legumes and other whole foods.
Out of all the vegan meal kits I've tried, Purple Carrot's provided me with the best practice cooking vegan cuisine and its ingredient mainstays like lentils and grains. Purple Carrot also introduced me to some really interesting sauces and condiments great for a vegan diet like cashew cream and other nut-based "dairy" products. You will find lots of lentils, mushrooms, ancient grains and nutritious produce. I tested a week's worth of Purple Carrot meal kits that you can read about here.
Pros:
- Unique, interesting recipes
- Fresh, high-quality ingredients
- Great way to learn plant-based cooking
Cons:
- On the expensive side
- Few modifications allowed
Best vegetarian meal kits for families
HelloFresh
Pound for pound, HelloFresh has the most vegan meals that will appeal to larger groups. Because HelloFresh isn't confined by vegan rules, you'll find plenty of plant-based "cheat meals" like cheesy bean enchiladas, hot honey brussels sprouts and ricotta flatbread, and pasta dishes galore. HelloFresh also has a ton of crave-worthy meal kits that aren't vegetarian, so if you still want the occasional steak with peppercorn sauce or Thai coconut chicken curry, this is a great choice.
I tried out HelloFresh and found it to be one of the most affordable, flexible and consistent meal kit services on the market. HelloFresh's vegetarian meal kits were also some of the easiest to prepare, with many taking less than 25 minutes from start to finish.
Best prepared meals for flexitarians
Fresh N Lean
If it's a fully prepared meal delivery you're looking for, Fresh N Lean is one of best. Every meal I tried from the service was good, and many of them were great, including its plant-based offerings. With Fresh N Lean you don't have to go fully plant-based unless you want to but the nonmeat meal kits were just as good as any other, with fresh ingredients, all cooked to perfection with no mushy vegetables (a major problem I've encountered with prepared meals).
Fresh N Lean has as many as 12 vegan meals to choose from each week with plant-based meal options like cauliflower and squash with tofu, mushroom rice with lentils and teriyaki bowls with Beyond Beef crumbles. There are even some breakfast meals to tack on to your order, including pineapple coconut chia and banana oatmeal. There is even a low-carb vegan meal plan if you're going keto and plant-based.
Pros:
- Great selection of tasty vegan meals
- Meals are healthy and fresh
- Very few misses
Cons:
- Expensive if you order less than 10 meals per week
- Some portions were small
Pros:
- Over 100 smoothies, soups, and bowls to choose from
- Meals are all vegan and gluten-free
Cons:
- Some smoothies are high in sugar
- Meals are hit or miss
Splendid Spoon has some interesting recipes. Some worked better than others.
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","imageCredit":"David Watsky/CNET","imageAltText":"screen-shot-2022-02-11-at-4-03-02-pm.png","imageFilename":"screen-shot-2022-02-11-at-4-03-02-pm.png","imageWidth":2012,"imageHeight":1390,"imageDoNotCrop":false,"imageDoNotResize":false,"imageWatermark":false,"imageDateCreated":"2022-02-11","imageParallax":"","imageCrop":"","imageEnlarge":false}" usepricing="true" ng-block="{"id":"he7s8pl2hek2hps","type":"listicle"}" edition="us" data-key="cnetlisticle__a802cfb8-2fb1-48fd-bb32-d3521cc6fee1" index="5" imagecredit="David Watsky/CNET" tagslugs="bl-promo-banner,meal-kit,hv180,kitchen" contenttype="Best List - Precap" isbestlistredesign="true" filtershortcodetypes="" totalfilteritems="0" pagelayout="Default - Article Page" productpromo="true" showdetails="true" suppressautoplay="true" tocheadlineitem="[object Object]" class="c-bestListProductListing">Best for plant-powered smoothies and soups
Splendid Spoon
Splendid Spoon is the best meal delivery for healthy, ready-to-go breakfasts and lunches. This healthy, 100% vegan and gluten-free service uses whole ingredients and superfoods in its pre-made meals and snacks including smoothies, soups, noodles, flatbreads and bowls.
The weekly menu includes bold flavors such as cauliflower tikka and Mexican tomato, while smoothies come in tasty combos like almond butter and jelly, blueberry açai and green matcha with spirulina, ginger and turmeric. Soups and smoothies are loosely categorized by their overall intended effect, such as "heal," "energize" and "refresh." Splendid Spoon also offers a full-day soup cleanse add-on to reset your system. Read more in my full Splendid Spoon review here.
Pros:
- Over 100 smoothies, soups, and bowls to choose from
- Meals are all vegan and gluten-free
Cons:
- Some smoothies are high in sugar
- Meals are hit or miss
Pros:
- Recipes are well thought out and unique
- High-quality ingredients
Cons:
- Expensive
- Prepared meals not as good as meal kits
Best meal kits for flexitarians
Sunbasket
Sunbasket is my pick if you're looking for vegan and vegetarian meal kits but not all vegan and vegetarian meal kits. Sunbasket has three or four plant-based options per week, which is significantly fewer than Purple Carrot, Green Chef or HelloFresh. That said, Sunbasket's meal kits, vegetarian included, are higher quality than any others I tried.
Sunbasket also has a great market of vegetarian grocery add-ons like fresh fish, cheese, prepared foods, snacks, bread and breakfast foods so you can essentially tack on an entire shopping list to your meal kit delivery if you choose. Read my full Sunbasket review here.
Pros:
- Recipes are well thought out and unique
- High-quality ingredients
Cons:
- Expensive
- Prepared meals not as good as meal kits
Best for breakfast and lunch
Daily Harvest
Daily Harvest offers an enormous menu of frozen and ready-to-blend vegan smoothies, flatbreads, snacks, pre-made soups, hearty grain bowls and beverages to keep stocked in the freezer. You can order a one-time box to try them or keep these healthy vegan meals coming monthly with a subscription.
Some of the bowls and soups could pass as dinner, but I like this vegetarian meal delivery service best for a quick vegan lunch or breakfast. Depending on the specific meal, you either drop it into a saucepan or skillet to heat and eat, or add nut milk and blend it up with any of Daily Harvest's protein-packed smoothies and lattes. Daily Harvest uses lots of ancient grains, oats, nut milk and trendy superfoods like chia, avocado and kabocha squash in its recipes.
Pros:
- Meals made from healthy, mostly organic superfoods
- Most meals ready in under a minute
Cons:
- Requires some blending or cooking
- Must provide your own milk for smoothies
Pros:
- Mostly organic produce
- Substitutions are allowed to tailor meals
- Meal kits are easy to make
Cons:
- On the expensive side
- Don't expect many leftovers
Best organic, plant-based meal kits
Green Chef
Green Chef bills itself as one of the healthiest meal kit companies, with mostly organic produce, and features nine vegetarian meal kits per week, making it a solid choice if you're looking to eat less meat or go completely meatless.
I tried Green Chef for a week, and you can read my full Green Chef review here. While it wasn't my favorite meal kit experience, the results were solid, and it is certainly one of the healthiest meal kit options whether you're eating vegan or not. Green Chef actually offers more vegetarian meal kits per week than Purple Carrot, making it a clear contender for the best vegetarian meal kit service, especially if you want variety and eating organic is important to you. Green Chef's veggie meals are also hearty, with lots of chickpeas, cauliflower and lentils.
Pros:
- Mostly organic produce
- Substitutions are allowed to tailor meals
- Meal kits are easy to make
Cons:
- On the expensive side
- Don't expect many leftovers
Best vegan meal delivery for picky eaters
Veestro
Veestro is a fully prepared vegan meal delivery service and not a meal kit, so all you've got to do is heat and eat. I tried it and found the 100% plant-based food to be consistently fresh and tasty, and Veestro has a massive menu of around 20 ready-to-eat, meat-free meals to choose from each week.
Veestro's vegan meals arrive frozen in shipments of 10, 20 or 30, so you can pop them into the fridge to defrost or into the freezer to keep for the days and weeks ahead. Having a few Veestro meals on hand is a good way to hold yourself to any plant-based nutrition goals since you're far more likely to eat healthy vegan food you have on hand than go out of your way to track it down in the throes of hunger.
Pros:
- Food is healthy and 100% vegan
- Options for low-carb, low-calorie meals
- No cooking required
Cons:
- Expensive
- Recipes hit or miss
Other vegan meal delivery services we tried
- Sakara Life: While all the food we tried from this trendy, organic, 100% plant-based meal delivery was great (and Instagram-ready) it's just too expensive.
- Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon: This service is comparable to Sunbasket on offerings and cost. It's a solid pick for those seeking plant-based meal kits with options for meat, too.
- CookUnity: This is another great prepared meal service, but it's on the expensive side and isn't quite worth the money if you're choosing mostly plant-based meals.
- Territory Foods: This healthy meal service only has a few plant-based offerings on its menu, and they cost between $15 and $17.
- BistroMD: These meals are intended to promote weight loss. The meals with meat are good, but the plant-based recipes are bland and boring.
- Home Chef: This meal kit service is good for families and has many plant-based meals. That said, there's too much plastic packaging, and many of the recipes we tried weren't very exciting.
How we test vegan meal delivery services
To test each meal delivery service, I tried at least five and sometimes as many as 10 meals from any given service. I tried to choose a range of meals from the various menu and meal plan offerings. For instance, I always mixed up the meal types to include pasta, rice bowls, soups, salads or any other options offered by the brand. I made sure to test a variety of cuisines -- Italian, Indian, Thai, Mexican -- if they were offered.
I took note of each meal delivery service's website, including what information was provided (ingredients, nutritional info), how clearly the menu was organized and how simple it was to pick a meal plan and order meals. When they arrived, I noted how well they were packaged and checked whether each meal was still chilled or frozen.
To reheat each prepared meal, I took a twofold approach. For some meals, I meticulously followed the heating instructions on the label. But since these are merely suggestions, I reheated other meals the way I would if left to my own devices. Often, that meant warming them gently in a nonstick skillet or reheating them in my air fryer.
Testing meal kits requires cooking, of course, and thus different practices and procedures for evaluation. Here's more on how we test meal kits at CNET.
Plant-based meal delivery compared
| Service | Plant-based options per week | Subscription only | Price per serving (entree) | Shipping | CNET rating (out of 10) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mosaic Foods (prepared) | 50+ | Yes | $10 | $8 | 9.2 |
| Purple Carrot | 8 | Yes | $12 | Free | 8.6 |
| Fresh N Lean (prepared) | 12 | Yes | $9-$13 | Free | 9.2 |
| Splendid Spoon (prepared) | 48 | Yes | $12 | Free | 7.8 |
| HelloFresh | 6 | Yes | $9 | $9 | 8 |
| Sunbasket | 4 | Yes | $14 | $8 | 9 |
| Sakara Life (prepared) | 15 | No | N/A | Free | 7.6 |
| Green Chef | 9 | Yes | $13 | $10 | 7.6 |
| Daily Harvest (prepared) | 50+ | No | $9 | Free | 8.8 |
| Veestro (prepared) | 50+ | No | $14 | Free for subscribers | N/A |
Factors to consider when choosing a vegan meal delivery service
Meal kits vs. prepared meals: Which one should you choose?
The first choice you'll have to make is between meal kits and meal delivery. Vegan meal kits still save time and effort over starting a recipe from scratch, but they require some cooking. If you're looking to hone your plant-based cooking skills or learn new vegan or vegetarian recipes, a meal kit service is the way to go.
Prepared meals are the other option, and it just doesn't get any easier. These services send freshly cooked individual meals that are packaged in cooler boxes to you to eat or freeze for later. There's generally no cooking involved, so you'll get all the benefits of a plant-based diet without having to do the work.
Purple Carrot is one of the only fully plant-based meal kit services.
Types of meals: 100% plant-based or a mix of meat and meatless
Some meal delivery services such as Purple Carrot and Mosaic Foods specialize in only plant-based foods. Most other services have vegan and vegetarian options mixed in with the weekly menus containing recipes with meat. Decide whether you want to go full force with your plant-based diet or give yourself the choice of a chicken or salmon dish every once in a while.
Cost and pricing
Most vegan meal delivery services range from around $9 to $13 per serving. If you want the most bang for your buck, choosing a budget-friendly meal kit such as EveryPlate or Blue Apron and selecting plant-based recipes will be your best bet. Mosaic Foods also has family-sized meals that cost just $6 per serving, making it the most affordable vegan prepared-meal subscription we've tried.
Number of meals and servings
Most meal services have a minimum number of meals you must order per week, but some are higher than others. For meal kits, you'll want to order only the amount of servings you know you'll cook and eat in a week since most of the ingredients can't be frozen. Prepared meals offer more flexibility since you can typically freeze them to thaw and eat later.