With the rushed pace of life, many people struggle to find enough time to go grocery shopping and cook healthy and tasty meals from scratch every day. The purpose of meal kit delivery services is to make our daily life go smoother – for busy people, they truly can be a lifesaver. There is no longer a need for long trips to supermarkets, meal planning and prepping, and hours spent in the kitchen.
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Plant-based eating has become more and more popular and continues to grow. Whether you do it for ethical or health-related reasons, the times of being discriminated against for your dietary preferences seem to be over. It is no wonder that most meal kit delivery services on the market today offer a vegan-friendly meal plan.
After thorough research, we picked out 5 vegan-friendly meal kit providers in the USA:
Our team has been subscribing to the chosen vegan meal delivery services to try their plant-based dishes for the past couple of months.
Our mission was to find the best one out there. So, now the question is, which one wins? Let’s find out!
Best for variety – Purple Carrot
Starting price: 11$ per serving
Delivery area: USA – except Hawaii and Alaska
Cruelty Free Reviews rating:
5/5
PROS:
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Purple Carrot was the first meal kit delivery service we tried, and it set high expectations for the rest. The quality that caught our attention at first was Purple Carrot’s entirely vegan menu. However, we discovered many more enjoyable sides of the service after subscribing.
As we just mentioned, everything Purple Carrot offers is 100% plant-based. This makes the weekly subscription service incredibly convenient for us vegan folks. There is no need to scroll through the recipes and filter out everything that contains anything animal-based. As for vegans with any food allergies, Purple Carrot has not forgotten about you. Many of their dishes are gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free. They even offer high-protein meals!
Purple Carrot offers a weekly rotating menu, as most meal delivery services do. The weekly menu generally consists of 8 different dinner recipes, as well as a couple of breakfast meals and a couple of lunch meals. You can see options from oat bowls and avocado toasts to grain bowls and creamy pasta. Purple Carrot also allows you to stock up on pantry staples, such as chocolate bars or sauces. Although the pantry options are pretty limited.
While plant-based eating has never been as easy as it is with weekly Purple Carrot meal kits, the subscription is rather pricey. Dinner meals start at 11$ per serving, and lunch and breakfast options are more affordable. If your weekly box is under 85$, you’ll have to hand over an extra 8$ for delivery. It is worth noting that while most people living in the US can enjoy Purple Carrot, the company does not yet deliver to Alaska and Hawaii.
Best for a tight budget – Fresh n Lean
Starting price: 7.83$ per serving
Delivery area: USA
Cruelty Free Reviews rating:
4.5/5
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Fresh n Lean is not like most meal kit delivery services – perhaps because we can’t really call it a meal kit delivery service. Instead of providing you with recipes and pre-prepped and measured ingredients to cook your meals, Fresh n Lean does the cooking for you. So it is basically a vegan meal delivery service.
Thanks to the ready-made meals that just need to be heated up, the company is a brilliant solution for people who struggle to find time for cooking in their daily lives. And guess what – there won’t even be any need for cleanup after eating!
But there is something we loved even more than the convenience – the price!
It comes as no surprise that meal delivery services are more costly than doing your own food shopping. But Fresh n Lean is surprisingly affordable compared to other similar service providers. Meals start at just 7.83$ per serving for the Vegan Standard plan – the Vegan Low Carb plan is slightly pricier, with the cheapest serving being 9.4$.
No matter how many dishes you choose to receive, delivery is always free! That means there won’t be weekly shipping fees adding up. And unlike other services we reviewed, Fresh n Lean delivers their meals all over the US.
Health-conscious folks might be worried about the healthiness of the ready-to-eat meals, but there is no need for that. Unlike most other ready-made meals that come frozen, Fresh n Lean’s dishes are always freshly done. They never fry or freeze the meals. The meals are the opposite of unhealthy as the company only uses top-notch ingredients. To ensure the highest quality, they work closely together with local farmers. Oh, and did we mention all the meals are organic and gluten-free? Because they are!
It’s good to know that Fresh n Lean has not forgotten about us vegans – they don’t just have one but two vegan-friendly meal plans. And luckily for us, the weekly dishes aren’t too limited either. They always have a good amount of meals to choose from.
Best for gluten-free vegans – Sunbasket
Starting price: 9.99$ per serving (ready-to-eat meals)
Delivery area: USA – except Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, and parts of New Mexico
Cruelty Free Reviews rating:
4/5
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Like Green Chef, Sunbasket carries a certified organic label and promotes sustainability. This makes it another favorite for people who care about their health and the environment.
Sunbasket seems to also be a favorite among gluten-free vegan folks. While the number of available options isn’t that big, there is always something to choose from. And the dishes are not bland or mediocre like gluten-free meals often tend to be.
The San Francisco-based meal kit service was the only one we tried that did not have a vegan meal plan. That was a bummer for us, but not all hope was lost. They have a vegetarian meal plan – filter out all dishes that contain dairy, eggs, and anything else animal-based. You can expect to be left with 5 vegan dishes every week. We asked them about this, and they were very responsive. This was their comment: ‘’Unfortunately, we do not provide a vegan meal plan – however, we do provide vegan meals.’’
We didn’t have much to choose from, but we took what we could get and gave it a try. The meals were phenomenal. Everything had a unique taste and took our taste buds on a journey. There was nothing bland or basic about any of the foods.
So It may be one of the best vegetarian meal delivery services, but it is probably not the greatest for a plant-based eater.
The price for ready-to-eat meals was pretty affordable at 9.99$ per serving. On the other hand, meal kits cost more, starting at 11.49$ per serving. However, we cannot forget about the 7.99$ fee that is added to your weekly meal boxes for shipping.
Best for organic food – Green Chef
Starting price: 11.99$ per serving
Delivery area: USA and UK – except Hawaii, Alaska, Northern Ireland, Northern Scotland, and the Scottish Highlands.
Cruelty Free Reviews rating:
4/5
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Green Chef is a choice of many eco- and health-conscious people. The company prioritizes clean and supreme ingredients and proudly carries the USDA Organic label. They are picky with where they source their ingredients and work with local farmers and artisanal suppliers to ensure the best possible quality and sustainability. Green Chef proves that eating clean meals made from organic produce does not have to be boring – it can be delicious and so easy!
The Colorado-based company caters to several different lifestyles and dietary restrictions. Whether you’re on a weight loss journey and follow a keto diet or eat plant-based – Green Chef has something for you. So, if you are searching for a plant-based delivery service, you are at the right place. However, the vegan options are a bit limited. They generally have 5 plant-based meals on their menu every week. But the dishes are delicious, we have to give them that.
Green Chef is also a good choice for families and bigger households. Most delivery services offer 2-serving or 4-serving plans, but this certified organic company can feed 6 people.
Because sustainability and the highest quality, clean ingredients are things that Green Chef is known for, we weren’t too surprised when we saw the price of their meals. Green Chef is definitely on the pricier side. Meals start at 11.99$ per serving, and a shipping fee of 9.99$ is added for delivery.
We were surprised to find out that Green Chef is not limited to the US, but you can also find them in the UK. However, there are some exceptions – they don’t deliver to Hawaii, Alaska, Northern Ireland, Northern Scotland, and the Scottish Highlands.
Best for added extras – Hungryroot
Starting price: 9.29$
Delivery area: USA – except Hawaii and Alaska
Cruelty Free Reviews rating:
4.5/5
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Hungryroot is another meal kit delivery service that we tried out and very much enjoyed. And it’s safe to say that the company knows how to think outside the box.
The meal delivery service provides us with meal kits for our daily dinners. However, we are not limited to that. Hungryroot has brought together meal kits and groceries. Some meal delivery services offer extra add-ons, but with Hungryroot, you are not limited to a bag of granola and a few jars of pasta sauce. Whether you want fresh produce, bread, snacks, or beverages – Hungryroot has you covered. Imagine going to a grocery store – just a virtual one!
We cannot complain when it comes to vegan meal kits, either. There is a fully vegan meal plan available to us plant-based enthusiasts. And instead of having 5 options to choose from, we can opt for any meal that Hungryroot has ever offered. New dishes are added every week while also keeping the previous ones available. The number of options can feel slightly overwhelming, but we love it!
The cost of a subscription? Their pricing is somewhat average. Some would even consider it to be on the cheap side. Meals start at 9.29$ per serving. As customers often choose to add groceries to their weekly order, Hungryroot uses a credit-based system.
Hungryroot does not deliver to Alaska or Hawaii – this is common among USA-based meal delivery services. For the people in the rest 48 States, weekly meal kits are available. As long as your weekly order comes to over 70$, you won’t have to pay the shipping fee of 6.99$.
Let’s compare all the meal delivery services we tried.
|
Starting price |
Number of diet options |
Available vegan option |
Delivery area |
Serving sizes available |
Is it organic? |
Average meal prep time | |
|
Purple Carrot |
11$ per serving. |
Five. |
Everything they offer is vegan-friendly! |
USA – except Hawaii and Alaska. |
Choose between a 2 or 4-serving plan. |
Some organic options are available. |
30 minutes. |
|
Green Chef |
11.99$ per serving. |
Six. |
Yes! One of the available diet plans is vegan. |
USA and UK – except Hawaii, Alaska, Northern Ireland, Northern Scotland, and the Scottish Highlands. |
Choose between a 2, 4, or 6-serving plan. |
Certified Organic. Every ingredient provided by Green Chef is organic unless stated otherwise. |
30 minutes. |
|
Hungryroot |
9.29$ per serving. |
Ten. |
Yes – Hungryroot has a vegan meal plan. |
USA – except Hawaii and Alaska. |
Choose between a 2 or 4-serving plan. |
Some organic options are available. |
15 minutes. |
|
Sunbasket |
11.49$ per serving. 9.99$ for ready-to-eat meals. |
Eight. |
No. However, it has a vegetarian plan that has some vegan options. |
USA – except Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, and parts of New Mexico. |
Meal kits serve 2, and ready-to-eat meals are 1-serving. |
Certified Organic. |
30-35 minutes. |
|
Fresh n Lean |
7.83$ per serving. |
Seven. |
Yes! There are two vegan plans – Vegan Standard and Vegan Low Carb. |
Everywhere in the USA. |
All meals are 1-serving. |
Yes, all meals are organic! |
2-3 minutes in the microwave, 7 minutes in the oven. |
Best overall meal delivery service
Time for a drumroll – after trying all 5 meal delivery services and comparing them to each other, we have decided on the winner! We have to give the Best Vegan Meal Delivery Service title to Purple Carrot!
Why Purple Carrot?
Purple Carrot has simply thought about everything and covers every need of a vegan customer. It was most definitely the most convenient meal delivery service that we tried. From its all-vegan menu to its customer service and flexibility – it provided a great overall experience.
As our mission was to find the best vegan meal kit service, we prioritized vegan accessibility, the quality of the meals, and the consideration of people with dietary restrictions. Purple Carrot checked out all the boxes.
While the meals weren’t too exotic, there was a lot of variety, and no dish disappointed us. We appreciated the breakfast and lunch options as most similar services only provide dinners. While vegan food can be consumed by most people, some meals can’t be consumed by people with allergies and intolerances. Purple Carrot acknowledges that and caters to that. Respect to them for that!
While the subscription isn’t the cheapest you could find, it is worth the money. Thanks to its constantly changing meals, brilliant customer service, and user-friendly subscription management, we could see ourselves using Purple Carrot for a long time.
How to choose the best vegan food delivery service for yourself?
Thanks to the rushed lifestyle of most people nowadays, meal delivery services have become incredibly popular. And with veganism continuously rising, every other such service offers a vegan meal plan to be able to cater to plant-based people. With tens and tens of options available, deciding on what service to opt for can be overwhelming and stressful. We believe it doesn’t have to be.
While there isn’t a one size fits all meal plan that we can confidently recommend to everyone, we have some tips to keep in mind when choosing your weekly meal kits. Here is a checklist of questions we recommend asking yourself before signing up for a meal delivery service.
- Who are you feeding? Are you looking for meals for yourself, or are you living with your partner? Ready-to-eat meals by meal delivery companies tend to come as 1-serving, while meal kits usually start from 2-serving plans. 2-serving meals can work well even for single people – cook those 2 servings, have one for dinner, and heat up the leftovers for lunch the next day. However, if you’re cooking for more people, finding a service that provides bigger meal plans is a good idea. Purple Carrot and Hungryroot offer 4-serving meals, and Green Chef can feed 6 people.
- Do you have any dietary preferences? Other than eating plant-based, do you have any other dietary restrictions you need to pay attention to? If you have allergies or intolerances or prefer to eat low-calorie or low-carb meals, check that the plant-based meals fit into those categories.
- What is your budget? Grocery shopping and preparing meals from scratch is always much cheaper than subscribing to weekly meal kits. That’s pretty obvious and makes sense – you pay for convenience. But still, some services are more expensive than others, so it’s good to know your budget. Look through different delivery services and compare the serving prices for the meal box size you’re looking to get. Usually, the bigger the meal box, the cheaper the serving.
- How much time do you have? Convenience tends to be the main reason that makes people subscribe to weekly meal kits. While all these services will make your day-to-day life more convenient, some meal kits require more time than others. For example, meals by Purple Carrot take around 30 minutes to cook, while meals by Hungryroot require 15 minutes of your time. If you opt for ready-made meals by Fresh n Lean, you’ll only need a few minutes to heat those meals up.
- What are you looking for from your weekly box? All meal kit delivery companies provide the same service essentially – deliver meal kits to your doorstep. However, some offer more than that. Hungryroot not only provides weekly meal kits but also lets you do your grocery shopping with it. Purple Carrot and Sunbasket allow you to add snacks, small bites, and basics to your order.
Don’t let yourself get too overwhelmed by the many available options on the market. Do your research and opt for the service that caters to your needs the most. And if it doesn’t end up being a good fit for you, you always have the option to cancel your subscription and try a new one. Finding a perfect fit can be a bit of trial and error – have fun with it!
Don’t forget to send us your favourite vegan meal delivery service!
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