5 Best Meal Delivery Kits for Couples in 2024

The term “healthy” now has so many definitions, but if you look at it objectively, it means food that is nutritious from top to bottom. As for the variety of definitions for the word, it can mean so many things – carb-conscious, low calorie, gluten-free, keto-friendly, high protein, vegan, etc. – or simply that the meals are healthy, that is, health-focused!

Whatever your definition of healthy may be, there will always be more than one meal delivery service to suit your dietary needs and preferences. In this article, I’m going to talk about the best meal kits for couples because cooking for two is even more time-consuming and exhausting than cooking for one, hence more unlikely to do.

Evaluating all the different meal kit delivery services involves carefully taking into account important factors like nutritional value, menu options, packaging sustainability (recyclable), customer service, freshness and quality of the ingredients, and so much more.

It’s now not only important but also necessary to take these factors into consideration. Likewise, it really helps if the menus have been laid out by professional chefs, dieticians, nutritionists, and the like. So, let’s evaluate, compare, and find out all that is necessary about some of the best meal kits for two people.

What Are Meal Kits and the Benefits of Using Meal Kits for Couples?

That extra time needed in the day for preparing tasty and healthy meals from scratch is usually just not at our disposal if we’re living busy lives – add to that the to-do list of weekly meal planning and grocery shopping as well. Freshly cooked, homemade meals take a lot of time and effort indeed.

When you’re busy or occupied with managing a career, staying in shape, maintaining an active and interesting social life, fulfilling family responsibilities, and so much more, cooking a nutritious and delicious meal at the end of the day feels like a huge burden, even more so if you have to cook for two. This is why it’s beneficial to choose a good meal kit delivery service.

These meal deliveries, surprisingly, are quite helpful. The recipes are designed by expert chefs with locally sourced and fresh ingredients, and in most cases, orders are delivered once a week.

A meal kit consists of meal boxes that contain premeasured and preportioned ingredients. Some even offer already-cooked or prepared meals (i.e., microwaveable or oven-ready meals). For meal kits, instructions and tips are provided by the brand; it’s all printed on the recipe cards. These are quick and easy homemade-style lunches and dinners!

Meal kits are delivered, and you get to choose how many meals you want per week and how many servings you want per meal (in this case, 2 servings since you’re a couple) on time and on the day of your choosing. So, there are no supermarket or grocery store visits and no cooking burnouts either.

Benefits of Meal Kits for Couples

1. Well-Balanced, Healthy Nutrition

Every recipe or dish has its nutritional value mentioned on its page – the best meal delivery service makes sure of that. So, you can see for yourself how well-balanced and healthy the meals really are.

At the same time, the list of ingredients is also mentioned. Together, the nutrition content and ingredients list allow you to check whether or not the meal fits into your diet plan. This is very useful if you’re following a particular diet such as paleo, keto, low carb, low calorie, or anything of the like.

At the end of the day, balanced nutrition is what counts and meal kits provide just that.

2. Convenience

Think about how much time you and your partner will be saving!

There’s no meal planning, no grocery shopping, no meal preparation, and no post-cooking clean-up as well – just healthy eating with zero to minimum fuss!

You get to savor chef-crafted meals at home without having to do anything more than just gettinga meal subscription to one of the best meal kits for couples and selecting your recipes for the week. The meals have high-quality, fresh, and mostly locally sourced ingredients (e.g., even organic produce in the case of Sunbasket).

It’s like dining at a restaurant but within the comforts of your home!

3. Affordability

If you live in America, you’re probably spending thousands of dollars on takeout. In comparison, opting for a meal kit delivery service saves you a ton of money. Meal delivery is a comparatively much more affordable route to take, especially for healthy eating.

Meal kits are not only cheaper but also healthier since competitors in the market are always trying to outperform one another by improving the quality of the ingredients and the standards of the service.

4. Increased Consumption of Vegetables

When choosing to order meal kits for couples or otherwise, you’re actually incorporating more fresh, healthy veggies into your daily diet. Meal kits, even those that are meat- or seafood-based, include plenty of delightful (and sometimes even exotic) vegetables.

On your own, with homecooked meals, takeout, or junk food, you may not be consuming enough vegetables you’re supposed to be eating. But that’s not the case with meal kits. The meals on the menu consist of satisfying portions of veggies that provide your body with the nutrients it needs to stay active and healthy.

5. Great Culinary Diversity

The weekly rotating menus of the top or popular meal kit delivery services feature all kinds of dishes. For example, there’s Korean, Italian, Thai, Mediterranean, Chinese, Indian, Mexican, Greek, and traditional American cuisine too.

Would you have been able to prepare global-inspired meals on your own at home? Most likely, the answer is no. So, when you pick meal kits, you allow your taste buds to familiarize themselves with different types of culinary sensations through a diversity of spices and flavors.

How Much Do Meal Kits Cost?

Not every meal kit delivery service is affordable. Likewise, not every meal kit delivery service is expensive either. The prices vary quite a lot depending on the company.

Typically, one serving of a meal can be anywhere between $4 or $4.99 and $18–$20. If you’re on a budget, you will veer more toward the lower-cost options. Maybe you can also include 1–2 “premium” dishes in your weekly order.

In the case of meal kit delivery services, the pricing model is volume-based, meaning the higher the number of servings and/or the number of meals per week, the lower the cost. So, if you’re looking for the best meal kits for couples, the price of your weekly order is automatically going to be lower than ordering for just a single serving of a meal.

For instance, with Green Chef, 6 meals per week cost about $13.49 per serving, but 16 meals per week bring down the per-serving price to $11.99 or something like that.

Are Meal Kit Delivery Services Healthy?

What does healthy mean to you? Does it mean low carb, low calorie, diet-friendly, gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, vegan, weight loss, etc.? If yes, then meal kits are certainly very healthy options. Each meal delivery service offers its own set of meals based on a variety of dietary requirements and preferences.

Compared to takeout food, meal kits are surely much healthier alternatives, and this also applies to premade or oven-ready meals. Both kinds of meals are prepared using fresh, high-quality ingredients, lots of vegetables, higher cuts of meat, and more.

You can filter the menu according to your likes and dislikes. For example, you get to exclude recipes that have too much sodium, sugar, etc. Heart-friendly, gut-friendly, and health-focused meals are a part of the best meal kit delivery services.

Best Meal Kit Delivery Services for Couples

1. Blue Apron

Blue Apron is an all-around, healthy, and reliable meal kit company for couples. It caters to several meal preferences in a 2- or 4-person meal plan. Selecting the meals is a straightforward process. If you’re new to the world of meal kit delivery subscription services, Blue Apron’s user interface is very convenient.

Meal kits include every preportioned and some prepped ingredients for a particular recipe. Plus, you can pick which day you want them to be delivered as well. You can select the recipes manually if you have specific meal preferences, or you can allow Blue Apron to select your meals for you based on the meal preferences you choose.

The incredible thing about Blue Apron is that it cuts down meal preparation time by half, sometimes more depending on what meal you pick. Meal planning and grocery shopping, besides the basic pantry ingredients like salt, oil, butter, etc., are eliminated. You can quickly get started with any meal plan, and you’ll have new recipes to pick from each week.

Pricing

Blue Apron features a discount offer that gives you $130 off on the first order including free shipping. You can either choose to go ahead with this offer and select your meals, or you can skip the offer and pay their usual per-serving charges starting from $7.99 to $11.99 per serving.

Blue Apron offers different prices for different meal plans. Based on the number of servings you add to your weekly cart, the price alters, getting cheaper and more affordable as you increase the number of meals per week.

Unfortunately, like most meal delivery services, Blue Apron charges a shipping fee of $9.99 per order. For the first meal order, however, first-time customers get to opt out of the shipping fee. But from the second order onward, you are bound to pay for it, no matter the size of the order.

Meal Options

Blue Apron’s menu consists of 5 different meal categories or preferences starting with the Signature meal plan for 2 and 4 servings per meal. In this category, you will find a blend of healthy, nutritious, and delicious recipes that are vegetarian and nonvegetarian.

If you have no specific meal or diet preference, opting for the Signature plan is a more realistic option because it gives you a bit of everything. Signature meals for couples are the ideal meal plan if you crave more lean proteins with a generous serving of vegetables and wholesome grains.

The Vegetarian meal plan includes all plant-based meals, though it is not necessarily vegan. There are fewer meal options in the Vegetarian category than in Signature.

The Wellness meal plan caters to health-conscious eaters who want high protein and fewer carbs in their meals. Again, the meal variety of the Wellness plan is limited when compared to the recipes in the Signature meal plan. But they are enough for couples to indulge in for 3–4 meals per week.

The Signature for Four caters to larger groups of 4 or more people. Couples can also order from the Signature for Four menus if they want some leftovers to eat for the next meal. This is the most affordable meal plan on Blue Apron’s menu. It offers a blend of everything including vegetarian options and meals with chicken, beef, and seafood.

The last meal category on Blue Apron’s menu is the Add-Ons section. It’s a weekly menu with new breakfast, dessert, and snack items. It changes every week, and you pay less for each add-on and can add as many as you like each week. The Add-Ons menu also includes some healthy protein bundles for a cheaper cost like plant-based patties, salmon fillets, and roasted chicken breast pieces.

Pros:

• Easy to mix and match between veg and nonveg recipes.
• Some heat-and-serve meal kits are also included.
• Intricate recipes take less than 30 minutes to prepare.
• Convenient and quick delivery.
• Add-ons include dessert, snacks, breakfast, and a la carte proteins.
• Some of the meals are high in proteins and low in carbs.
• The ingredients are non-GMO, organic, and preservative-free.

Cons:

• You have to buy basic pantry items yourself like salt, pepper, oil, etc.
• Not a vegan meal delivery service.
• Not the ideal choice if you have common food allergies.
• Vegetarian and wellness meals are very limited.

2. HelloFresh

Signing up on HelloFresh can be a breath of fresh air for a lot of couples. It’s because HelloFresh is one of the more affordable meal kit delivery services to sign up for. It’s also one of the most popular services to try for beginners.

HelloFresh features plenty of meal options from a wide variety of diets like low-carb, low-calorie, pescatarian, vegetarian, and other chef-curated recipes. You can also choose meal kits based on several other benefits such as easy clean-up, kid-friendly, fit and wholesome, etc.

HelloFresh improves the quality of meals you eat every day by taking care of most of the prep work. So, all you’re left to do is unpack a meal kit and cook the ingredients by following their convenient and beginner-friendly cooking instructions.

Pricing

HelloFresh has got a New Year Sale going for meal plans for 2, which means they’re best suited for couples. You get 22 free meals plus 3 surprise gifts and free shipping during checkout. The offer is for first-time customers only, so if you’ve never made an account on HelloFresh before, you can reap the benefits of this offer right away.

For returning customers, without the seasonal offer, the average cost per serving for 4 meal recipes every week is $9.50 for a 2-person meal plan. The price increases or decreases based on the number of recipes/servings you order each week.

Here’s what you have to pick from based on the different per-serving meal plans.

How many meals do you require every week?

If you plan to make each meal count and eat healthy every day, you can sign up for 6-recipe meal kits and the 2-person plan. This gives you 2 servings each of 6 different recipes of your choosing.

If you want to include lunch and dinner meals for the same day for 6 days per week, choose 6-recipe meal kits with the 4-person plan. It will give you 4 servings of 6 different recipes that you can pick and eat for lunch and dinner, as a couple, every day.

The pricing is very flexible and affordable for couples to indulge. The only minor inconvenience is that you have to pay a $10 shipping fee on every order.

Meal Options

HelloFresh’s menu has over 30 different recipes covering the most homemade-inspired and crafty meals ever. The focus is more on meals that you can quickly and easily cook by yourself in under 30 minutes.

So, HelloFresh is good for a beginner to learn new cooking skills, and it’s good for intermediate or chef-level cooks who want quick and easy meals.

The meal plans are Meat & Veggies, Veggie, Family Friendly, Fit & Wholesome, Quick & Easy, and Pescatarian. Please note that no matter which meal preference you choose, the cost per serving alters only based on the number of recipes you add. All the meal preferences fall under the same price umbrella.

Families and picky eaters will have all their food needs met because HelloFresh has one of the most versatile recipe menus in the industry. These are meal kits that are healthy and fun to cook, with a blend of gourmet and home-inspired recipes.

The menu is divided into different weeks starting from the upcoming week’s menu and additional 3 weeks of meal recipes to come. This erases any misconceptions or doubts that you may have regarding their meals and repetitions. All the recipes are unique and nutritionally balanced whether you pick a vegetarian or nonvegetarian diet plan.

Pros:

• A variety of different meal plans for vegetarians and healthy eaters.
• More than 30 new recipes every week.
• Calorie-smart and low-carb meals are included.
• The recipes cook in under 30 minutes.
• The cost per serving for couples is low and affordable.
• The meal kits arrive neatly on time every week.
• Families and picky eaters love the wide selection of meals.
• You can quickly change or cancel a meal order.

Cons:

• No dietary modifications for allergies.
• You cannot skip or swap ingredients from a meal kit.
• Some of the meal recipes are too bland and basic.
• $10 shipping per meal order is a bit steep.

3. Sunbasket

Sunbasket has better meal options and diet varieties than most meal delivery services. With two different types of menus, they feature healthy and delicious meal kits not only for couples but families as well.

You can mix and match different diets and meal preferences, customize each meal that works best for your eating habits, and get a brand-new recipe every week to pick from.

Sunbasket is one of those high-ranking meal delivery services that offer both meal kits and premade meals. You’re in good hands with Sunbasket as all their meals are prepared by expert chefs, health professionals, and dieticians. The meal kits don’t take long to prepare, and they also match your nutrition needs, which is impressive.

Pricing

To view Sunbasket’s prices of meal kits and premade meals, you have to first set up your account by selecting a few meal preferences.

If you prefer adding meal kits to your weekly cart, the starting price is $11.49 per serving. For premade meals, the cost per serving is $9.99.

Considering this, Sunbasket is a relatively expensive meal kit delivery service with the meal cost going up to $18 per serving. Vegetarian meals cost a bit less, but it’s still a major commitment considering how we have competitors that charge only $5 per serving.

Once you take into consideration whySunbasket is an expensive service, you would prefer to pick it over others. Sunbasket has organic food, and it serves higher-quality meat including chicken, beef, and seafood. Plant-based foods are whole with organic produce without any preservatives, additives, or artificial flavoring.

Meal Options

Sunbasket allows better meal customization when selecting different types of meals for your weekly box. You can pick dinners, breakfasts, lunches, different types of pasta and sauces, a la carte proteins, and snacks.

By sorting the different meals on their menu that you have under the abovementioned categories, you can also filter your meals by diet type and cooking time. Filters like under 20 minutes, Paleo, under 600 calories, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, diabetes-friendly, and vegan are included.

Each recipe is displayed with the serving size and dietary option. So, you can immediately tell which recipe is Mediterranean, high in protein, soy-free, dairy-free, low calorie, etc.

Sunbasket serves more than 20 meal kit choices and 13 additional single-serve premade meals every week. Their add-ons cost less than the per-serving price, and you can easily add extra servings of proteins to each meal.

If you’re confused about what to add, you can leave the meal selection process up to Sunbasket. Based on the dietary preferences you select, Sunbasket recommends the ideal meal choices, including add-ons and premade meals for the entire week.

Pros:

• Meal kits come with preportioned ingredients and quick and easy meals.
• The Fresh & Ready meals take less than 5 minutes to heat up.
• Extensive menu that fits various dietary needs like keto, paleo, and Mediterranean.
• It does accommodate dietary restrictions like gluten, soy, and dairy.
• Specialty meals for proteins, snacks, and breakfast are included.
• The recipes are very tasty and nutritious.

Cons:

• The meal kits are more on the expensive side.
• The a la carte proteins cost too much.
• The Fresh & Ready meals have a smaller serving size.

4. Dinnerly

Dinnerly is the most affordable and homemade-inspired meal option for couples. If you and your partner do not have a lot of time to cook every day, Dinnerly can be your savior. Every meal is designed to reduce cooking time and eliminate heavy prep work. The meals are labeled according to convenience and nutrition, so you’ll find recipes that begin with the titles “low cal,” “easy clean-up,” “speedy,” and so on.

Dinnerly works because it provides multiple meal options for 2 or 4 people at a time. While selecting your meals, you can opt for an all-vegetarian diet plan or a mix of plant-based meals and meat.

Deliveries are based on your zip code, so you can see all available slots for your delivery window. Once you’ve signed up and answered a few of Dinnerly’s questions regarding your diet preferences, likes, and dislikes, Dinnerly recommends you a personalized menu based on those answers. It’s very intuitive, convenient, and easy to work with.

Pricing

To get started with Dinnerly, you have to first select your meal box plan. This includes customizing your weekly plan based on the number of servings and meals you want. You can save more money in the long run by ordering more recipes each week at an affordable cost per serving.

The shipping costs extra, about $11.99 per order, for all meal orders.

Meal Options

Dinnerly’s menu may not feature separate meal categories or diet filters, but they do offer meals that cater to a variety of different dietary restrictions. Each recipe comes with a few tempting labels such as low calorie, no added gluten, one pot meal, healthy, kid-friendly, nutritious, dairy free, meat, vegetarian, and so on. It’s a nice way to get to know which recipe is most suitable for you.

There are over 30 different meals to pick from, which is impressive, and you can learn more about each recipe by checking its nutrition profile and ingredients list. Some extras like snacks, desserts, and breakfast items are also a part of the main menu.

To add a la carte proteins to your weekly plan, you will have to select the additional protein option along with your weekly meals.

The recipe page reads about the most important information about the meal: allergen information, what you’ll need, the preportioned ingredients list, nutrition, and cooking instructions.

Pros:

• Flexible prices for different meal plans.
• You can add extra proteins as an option.
• You can customize recipes/meals after placing an order.
• Different meal varieties for dietary restrictions and allergies.
• Minimal prep and cooking time.
• Versatile cooking methods for stovetop, oven, and microwave.
• The packaging is eco-friendly and durable.
• Smooth meal selection process and consistent delivery.

Cons:

• Some of the meals seem very bland.
• An additional $10 shipping fee on every order.
• All the ingredients are boxed together.
• Unpacking all the meal kits can be confusing.

5. Green Chef

Green Chef redefines what simple cooking feels like at home. They cater to different dietary lifestyles such as keto, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free. Some of the ingredients are organic, and all are sourced from local farms. What works for Green Chef is the simplicity with which they create home-inspired meals.

Green Chef only serves meal kits with preportioned ingredients and some prepped ingredients to make cooking easier. All the ingredients are packed individually and delivered. You will also receive a recipe card for every meal along with additional instructions for storing the ingredients and cooking them.

With Green Chef, you can also learn a thing or two about cooking. The recipes are beginner-friendly and take between 30 and 45 minutes to prepare. Green Chef prioritizes vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free meals on its menu. So, if your goal for the new year is to eat healthier and plant-forward meals, Green Chef is the ideal choice.

Pricing

Green Chef’s prices differ according to the number of meals you order per week. You can easily select your box size and meal preferences when signing up. Everything you need to know about the cost will be displayed on the first page itself.

Here’s the actual pricing of each meal plan.

As you can see, the price starts from $11.99 per serving on higher orders and goes up to $13.49 on the minimum order. You can add as many as 24 meals to your weekly box or order the least amount, which is 6 meals per order. Green Chef offers flexible pricing and a wide variety of meals without repetitions.

Meal Options

Green Chef’s menu is one of the easiest menus to access because it’s so quick to use. It features 30 different meal varieties, and all of them come with distinct dietary labels such as low-carb, keto, gluten-free, paleo, Mediterranean, vegan, vegetarian, and healthy.

The only drawback to their menu is that you cannot filter the recipes based on these dietary recommendations. You have to pick out the meal recipes yourself based on your eating habits. But considering how versatile and tempting the menu looks, that shouldn’t be a problem for you to do.

All the recipes are meal kits and vary between 10 and 40 minutes of cooking time. The recipes that are easiest to cook are usually vegetarian such as salads, healthy bowls, and sandwiches. Nonvegetarian dishes take slightly longer to cook, and Green Chef offers you different ways of preparing them, which is exciting to pick.

You can see by the way the menu is designed that Green Chef prioritizes health-conscious foods, so some meals contain organic ingredients, and nearly all the meals are certified gluten-free with a few exceptions.

Pros:

• One of the best meal kit delivery services for dietary restrictions.
• It beats meal prep time with easy-to-follow and beginner-friendly recipes.
• Most of the meal recipes are gluten-free.
• Some of the ingredients are organic.
• Healthy and nutritious meals with fewer calories.
• You can choose from several different cooking times.
• Tons of vegan and vegetarian meal options weekly.

Cons:

• The meals are relatively more expensive in the long run.
• Additional shipping charges apply to every order.
• Some of the recipes take longer to prepare.
• Not all ingredients are organic.

Conclusion

As is clearly evident, there’s a whole market of meal kit delivery services not just for couples but singles and families too. The menus have classic as well as global cuisine-inspired recipes and prepared meals. As a matter of fact, some even have groceries, entrees, smoothies, soups, snacks, etc.

It’s all about easy cooking to enjoy homemade-style, comfort food that is also very flavorful and delicious!

Using a meal delivery service certainly eliminates the worry and frustration of meal planning and preparation. Whether you’re living with a partner, kids, or all alone, meal kit delivery services are immensely convenient, affordable, and the most suitable for healthy eating.