I Tried Mosaic Foods Vegan Meal Delivery and It Blew Me Away
Editors' Choice: Want tasty premade vegan and vegetarian meals delivered? This service, the best we've tried, has meals as cheap as $6 a serving.
Why You Can Trust CNET
Score Breakdown
Pros
- Tasty and healthy meals that are easy to prepare
- Interesting and diverse recipes
- Food was cooked well with no mushy vegetables
- Affordable, especially for families
- Easy and intuitive website and ordering process
Cons
- Some excessive packaging
- Shipping only free on orders over 12 items
- Few low-carb options
If you have designs on adding more plant-based food to your diet (or healthier meals of any sort), it's never going to happen -- or stick -- if that healthy food doesn't taste good. Trust me on this one. Mosaic Foods is a fairly new meatless meal delivery service. I tried a week's worth of Mosaic's plant-based offerings and it earned this editor's pick as the best plant-based meal delivery service for 2023. All the meals I tried were good or great, and with family plans starting at $6 a serving, Mosaic is one of the most affordable, too.
Meal delivery is a booming business and there are dozens upon dozens of options for healthy, plant-based meal delivery services. The benefits of eating more healthy, protein-packed plant-based food are well documented, but figuring out how to add vegan and vegetarian food that you actually want to eat to your diet takes a little effort. Employing a tasty vegan food subscription service like Mosaic Foods is a great place to start; not just as a time-saver but as a way of learning new recipes and discovering what great plant-based cooking can be.
Read on for my full review of Mosaic Foods, and check out CNET's full list of the best meal delivery in 2023.
Mosaic Foods' affordable plant-based meals did not disappoint.
A quick note before you dive in: As of now, Mosaic's meal delivery service is available in more than 85% of the US, including both coasts and most of the Midwest. You can check your ZIP code here to see if Mosaic Foods is available where you live.
What is Mosaic Foods?
Mosaic is a newer entry in the growing field of meal delivery subscriptions and a welcome addition to the category. All of the healthy premade food that comes out of Mosaic's kitchens is vegetarian and much of it is vegan, too. Mosaic offers healthy plant-based bowls, pizzas, soups, smoothies and oat bowls. All meals are fully cooked and flash-frozen when they arrive and require only thawing, heating and eating with no prep required.
According to the brand, Mosaic's food is made by chefs, not machines, and the kitchen is helmed by a French Culinary Institute alum. All the food I tried certainly tasted like it was produced by someone with real kitchen experience under their belt.
Mosaic pricing
| Meal | Cost |
|---|---|
| Veggie bowls | $12 |
| Mosaic Plus (premium meals) | $11 |
| Soups | $9 |
| Oat bowls | $6 |
| Family meals (serves 4) | $24 ($6 per serving) |
How Mosaic Foods works: Picking plans and ordering
Mosaic functions much like other meal delivery subscription services in that you select recipes from a menu and then set a delivery frequency. You can have the premade, frozen meals show up at your door, either weekly, biweekly or once a month, in an insulated box. From there, you can pop a few on the counter or in the fridge to defrost, or keep them in the freezer until you're ready for them.
With Mosaic, you pay for meals a la carte but must order a minimum of six items, which can consist of full meals or smaller dishes such as soups and smoothies. If you order 12 or more items Mosaic knocks off the $10 shipping. Order 18 or more and you'll get free shipping, plus another $10 off your total bill ($20 savings).
Mosaic is a subscription service, so the same collection of meals will keep coming if you don't edit your order, pause or cancel, which you can do anytime. I found the meal plans and the ordering process intuitive, clear and easy, and the website is simple to navigate.
What are Mosaic Foods meals like?
I found the selection of Mosaic meals interesting, a nice cross-section of a lot of my favorite global cuisines such as Indian, Greek, Thai, Mexican, Moroccan, Caribbean and Japanese. The food is all plant-based and mostly healthy, but it doesn't sound, look or taste like "diet food." There are noodle bowls and spiced curries along with pasta, risottos and even an inventive beet bourguignon. Many dishes are accompanied by rice or another grain.
For those following specialty diets or avoiding dairy, there are lots of vegan and gluten-free meal options as well as high-protein recipes to choose from. There are almost no carb-free options, however.
Mosaic makes good use of healthy natural meal alternatives such as beans and tofu.
What I ate and how I liked it
I had nine Mosaic meals and there was not one dud among them. The flavors popped and the ingredients were all cooked to a proper doneness, which is often not the case with prepared food services. Most of the meals are made with "whole foods" including meat stand-ins such as jackfruit and cauliflower. There is also some use of tofu and plant-based alt meats such as vegan sausage, but perhaps not as much as you might expect.
Most of my food looked appetizing upon arrival and portions were sufficient for this guy with a famously healthy appetite. Each serving is meant for one. I rarely had leftovers, but I also never felt particularly hungry after finishing my meals.
Tangy Thai stir-fry: I was impressed with this first Mosaic meal. The noodles were cooked to a proper al dente texture, and the sauce was excellent.
Jackfruit chili with brown rice and pepitas: If you haven't had jackfruit prepared in a savory context, it kind of takes on the consistency of pulled pork. This jackfruit was excellent, and it was swimming in a tasty, smoky chili. This dish was my favorite.
The jackfruit had a texture that was eerily similar to tender pulled pork.
Yellow dal curry with butternut squash: A great yellow curry with lentils. The dish had some heat but I never broke a sweat.
Feta, pepper, tomato and olive ragout:Another big winner. I loved the salty Mediterranean flavors, and it went perfectly with the buckwheat -- also cooked perfectly. My only complaint was there was very little feta to be found.
The tangy ragout with classic Greek flavors was one of my favorite Mosaic meals.
Mac and greens: This mac and cheese with leafy greens was a Mosaic Plus (premium) meal, but was also the one I liked the least. I found it lacked flavor, although the ingredients were cooked properly.
This premium meal of mac and greens was the only one that lacked a little flavor.
Sichuan soba noodles with edamame: Edamame beans are perfect because they don't get mushy, and neither did the noodles in this tasty Japanese-inspired bowl.
Veggie sausage and gouda oats: Savory oat bowls for breakfast are becoming a thing. I really liked the flavors here and the sausage was very tender. The dish was a tad watery for some reason but still an overall positive experience.
Harissa jackfruit bowl: This was another one with excellent jackfruit and nice spice and heat from the harissa.
How I prepared my meals
The instructions on the box generally gave two options, one for the microwave and one not. As with just about anything I make -- prepared or not -- I avoided the microwave and gently heated everything in a pan over the range. I hold that a 10-second rinse of a nonstick skillet is worth it every time for a markedly better result.
I reheated all my meals gently in a nonstick skillet and suggest you do the same.
How much does Mosaic cost?
Standard veggie bowls are $11 each. There are a few Mosaic Plus premium options for $12 each that are made in partnership with high-end restaurants, including Balaboosta and Olmsted. You can also choose hearty soups for $9 each and breakfast oat bowls for $6.
Mosaic recently added family-size meals to the menu with about 12 options per week including veggie pot pie, vegetarian "meatloaf" and a buffalo cauliflower pasta bake. These larger meals serve four people and cost just $24, bringing the price per serving down to a very affordable $6. I tried several and they were as good as the individual meal with less packaging waste and bigger savings.
As mentioned, the minimum order is six items but that can be delivered as infrequently as every four weeks. Shipping is an extra $10 unless you order more than 12 items at a time.
My plant-based meals upon arrival.
Packaging and environmental friendliness
The food came housed in cardboard containers that theoretically could be recycled, although if cardboard is heavily soiled with grease or oils it can't be. What I found a little strange is that the meal boxes were housed in yet another protective cardboard box. Those were clean and can certainly be recycled but it still seemed like Mosaic could have probably gotten each meal into a single box.
Soba noodles with edamame and vegetables.
Who is Mosaic good for?
If you're a busy person with a desire to eat better or incorporate more vegetarian food into your diet but don't want to sacrifice taste and quality, this is a great meal delivery pick. There are also plenty of vegan meal options for those avoiding all animal byproducts.
Mosaic is one of the best meal delivery services for families too, since the larger meals are just $24 and feed four people. I'd say this service is an ideal fit for someone with a moderately adventurous palate, since a wide array of cuisines and flavors are represented. But you can find some more basic recipes with milder flavors, in case that's more your speed.
Who is Mosaic not so good for?
This is obviously not a good choice for a serious meat eater who desires chicken, beef, pork or seafood in their meal delivery. I'd also urge picky eaters to consider other options since the food is inventive with lots of global flavors, spices and sauces. Lastly, with lots of rice, grains and starchy vegetables, this is not a good meal delivery service for those who keep to a keto diet.
Mosaic recently added pizzas to the menu.
The final verdict on Mosaic
I've gone through a good many of the most popular meal delivery services, and Mosaic now ranks firmly in my top four. It's also the best 100% plant-based meal delivery service I've tried. Of the nine Mosaic meals I tried, none missed the mark; I enjoyed almost all of them and would gladly order them again.
My favorites were the tender jackfruit chili and the olive, pepper and feta ragout, both of which I plan to try and replicate at home. There were no mushy vegetables either -- a plague in meal delivery -- and the meat stand-ins like jackfruit, tofu and vegan sausage were used in creative ways and cooked well.
Best of all, Mosaic is affordable, especially if you choose family meals at just $6 per serving. Most solo meals clock in at $9 or $11, which also isn't bad for what you get, and they'll make for a nice respite on those busy days you don't want to cook but don't want to spend $30 on takeout, either. I give Mosaic's plant-based prepared meals a full endorsement. If you're looking for an easy vegan or vegetarian meal service, I'd encourage you to give it a try too. If Mosaic doesn't deliver to your area, know the brand is expanding rapidly. Mosaic will even give you $15 off your first box with a promo code that pops up on the website.
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