Best Vegan Meal Delivery Services for 2023 – CNET

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What’s the best vegan, plant-based meal delivery service?

mosaic foods boxes

Mosaic Foods

Want to cut out the meat but not the taste? Mosaic Foods is the best plant-based meal delivery service in 2023 — and we’ve tried most of ’em. In fact, Mosaic provided some of the best premade meals of all the services we sampled, plant-based or otherwise. 

The meal delivery newcomer churns out excellent, healthy lunches and dinners for as cheap as $6 a serving, earning it CNET’s Editors’ Choice award and my pick for the best vegan meal subscription for your money. 

But Mosaic isn’t the only service killing the plant-based meal delivery game, and there are other options available that may be better suited for you, including vegan meal kits that require a bit of cooking. 

The best vegetarian meal subscriptions I’ve tried are ones that keep the meat-free recipes interesting and the ingredients fresh without busting the budget. I’ve tasted the offerings of just about every plant-based meal subscription service available, and I’m happy to report that there are some exceptionally tasty vegan and vegetarian meal delivery options that send premade meals or premeasured ingredients for fast and tasty lunches and dinners.

Read moreBest Cheap Meal Delivery Services in 2023

But first…

What about plant-based prepared meal delivery?

The same goes for prepared meal-delivery services, which require no cooking at all. There are a few strictly vegan meal services like Veestro, Mosaic Foods, Splendid Spoon and Daily Harvest to peruse, but even services that provide meaty meals (such as Fresh N Lean and Freshly) offer vegan and vegetarian plans with as many as 12 plant-based options a week to keep you well-fed, even when there’s no time to cook. These vegan meal services often send frozen vegan meals, but some will send their meals fresh, wrapped up with eco-friendly ice packs and recyclable coolers.

You may be wondering, with all these plant-based players in the game, which is the best meal delivery service for vegans and vegetarians? The answer varies a bit depending on what you’re looking for, and each meal kit or delivery operation takes a slightly different approach. For example, some vegetarian meal-kit companies use plant-based foods like Impossible Burger that imitate meat, while others emphasize whole foods in lunch and dinner recipes. There are also vegetarian meal kits that specialize in organic ingredients and produce, in case that’s important to you, while others aren’t organic but are able to offer more budget-friendly meal plans. Some meal kits are also more complicated to execute, aimed at chefs with cooking experience looking to hone their skills, while others are quick to prepare and help you get a healthy, no-fuss dinner on the table sometimes in as little as 20 minutes.

Best vegan meal delivery services of 2023

Having personally tested as many of the plant-based meal kits and prepared meal services as I could get my hands on, I’ve settled on this list of the absolute best meal delivery for vegans and vegetarians. We’ll continue to update this list periodically as new players enter the arena.

harissa-jackfruit

David Watsky/CNET

Pricing Starts at $6/servingType Prepared mealsMeal options per week 80Good for Vegan, vegetarian, paleo, gluten-free, low-calorie

I tried about nine of Mosaic’s plant-based prepared meal offerings over the course of a few weeks 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.

A meal from Purple Carrot is displayed on a counter top.

Purple Carrot

Pricing Starts at $11/servingType Meal kitsRecipes per week 8Good for Vegan, vegetarian, paleo, gluten-free, low-calorie

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 simply to create tasty and nourishing vegan dinners the old-fashioned way, using fresh vegetables, grains, legumes and other whole foods.

$30 off order with code:

hellofresh

HelloFresh

Pricing Starts at $9/servingType Meal kitsRecipes per week 50+Good for Vegan, vegetarian, keto, gluten-free, low-calorie, Whole30, families, picky eaters

Pound for pound, HelloFresh has the most vegan meals that will appeal to larger groups — in my opinion. 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.

18 free meals across 8 boxes, first box ships free + 3 surprise gifts with code:

keto-tofu

Fresh N Lean

Pricing Starting at $10/servingType Prepared mealsMeal options per week 18Good for Keto, paleo, Whole30, gluten-free Mediterranean, vegan, vegetarian, high-protein

If it’s a fully prepared meal delivery you’re looking for, Fresh N Lean is my top pick. Every meal I tried from the service was good, and many of them were great, including the 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).

$20 off first box with code:

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David Watsky/CNET

Pricing Starting at $8/mealType Pre-madeRegional Availability Continental United StatesNumber of Meal Options per Week 40+Menu Options/ Diet Types Plant-based, gluten-free non-GMO

This is definitely the best meal delivery for ready-to-go, healthy breakfast and lunches. Splendid Spoon is hoping to entice folks who want to keep it simple, easy and nutritious for breakfast and lunch with its ready-made smoothies, soups and grain bowls delivered to your door weekly.

sunbasket

Sunbasket

Pricing Starts at $11/servingType Meal kitsRecipes per week 21Good for Healthy, organic, gourmet, low-calorie, pescatarian, vegetarian, keto, paleo, diabetes-friendly, gluten-free, Whole30

Sunbasket is my pick if you’re looking for vegan and vegetarian meal kits but not all vegan and vegetarian meal kits. Sunbasket has about 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 of a higher quality than any others I tried.

$100 off with code:

several daily harvest meals in glamour shot

Daily Harvest

Pricing Starting at $8/mealType Pre-madeRegional Availability 95% of continental United StatesNumber of Meal Options per Week 40+Menu Options/ Diet Types Organic, whole fruits and vegetables, dairy-free, gluten-free

Daily Harvest offers an enormous menu of frozen and ready-to-blend vegan smoothies, flatbreads, snacks, premade 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.

40% off first box with code:

green-chef

Green Chef

Pricing Starts at $12/servingType Meal kitsRecipes per week 30Good for Organic, healthy, low-calorie, pescatarian, vegetarian, keto, gluten-free, Whole30, gourmet

Green Chef has billed itself as one of the healthiest meal kit companies with a majority of 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 .

$250 off + free shipping with code:

veestro vegan meals on plates

Veestro

Pricing Starting at $11/mealType Pre-madeRegional Availability Most of the United StatesNumber of Meal Options per Week 50+Menu Options/ Diet Types Plant-based, low sodium, under 500 calories, vegan

Just to be clear, Veestro is a fully prepared vegan meal delivery service and not meal kits, 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 ready-to-eat, meat-free meals to choose from each week.

$25 Off Your First 2 Orders

Other vegan meal delivery services we tried

Sakara Life: While all the food we tried from this trendy, organic and 100% plant-based meal delivery was great (and Instagram-ready) it’s just too expensive to long on our list.

Martha Stewart and Marley Spoon: This service is comparable to Sunbasket in both its 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 to try but it’s on the expensive side and is not 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 various styles offered by the brand. Further, I made sure to test a variety of cuisines — Italian, Indian, Thai, Mexican — if they were offered.

I took careful 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 gently in a nonstick skillet or reheating in my air fryer. Many of the meal delivery services offer a microwave heating option, but I almost always found that produced worse results than my trusted methods, even if they typically take a few seconds longer.

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

Meal kits or 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 and sent 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. 

Vegan and vegetarian meal delivery FAQ

What is the cheapest vegan meal delivery service?

Mosaic Foods is the cheapest plant-based meal delivery service, with family meals that will run you just $6 per serving. Standard single-serving meals are more like $10 or $11 each but that’s still one of the cheapest price-per-serving subscriptions in the category. 

Are vegan and vegetarian diets the same?

Vegan and vegetarian diets are similar but not the same. While neither diet includes meat, vegans typically avoid all animal byproducts including eggs and dairy, and in some cases, even honey. Most of the services on this list offer both vegan and vegetarian meals on their weekly menus. 

Is there a vegan meal kit service?

While most services offer plant-based and vegan options, Purple Carrot is the only 100% plant-based meal kit service in 2023.

Are there vegan meal subscriptions?

There are a handful of plant-based, vegan meal subscription services that send premade meatless meals to your home. Mosaic Food, Veestro and Daily Harvest are among the most popular vegan meal services for 2023.

Is a vegan diet healthy?

Most diet and nutrition experts would agree that limiting your intake of meat and animal byproducts is better for health — particularly heart health. That said, eating a vegan diet can pose certain challenges, including but not limited to getting enough daily protein. It’s best to consult with a doctor or health professional before making any drastic dietary changes. 

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