The best thing to say about services like Dinnerly and EveryPlate is that they do live up to their expectations. For people who want quick, affordable, and nutritious meals, both meal delivery services are straightforward and very easy to understand.
It’s because they’re such similar services that finding a winner between Dinnerly and EveryPlate is more difficult than ever. The features and the type of meal kits they offer are very similar to each other.
After hours of research and evaluation, I have a few key differences between both services, which you can make full use of to pick the winner. Don’t go by just their features but also compare them with what you personally prefer. This will help you pick what best suits your needs and dietary requirements.
Best Meal Kit Delivery Service – Why Choose Meal Delivery?
Why choose the best meal delivery services? Two words – dinner burnout!
Dinner burnouts are more common than you think, and they seem to catch up to you very quickly and frequently. Now the solution shouldn’t be ordering takeout – not always at least. Restaurant food, first of all, is expensive. Secondly, more often than not, it’s not healthy either.
On the other hand, homemade meals are fresh, healthy, and also affordable options. The biggest drawback, however, is the time and effort it takes to cook proper meals at home. If you have a heavy daily or weekly load, then home cooking can be a real ballbuster.
Enter meal kit delivery services such as Dinnerly and EveryPlate. They ensure your precious hours at home remain precious, and at the same time, they don’t cost all that much (definitely cheaper than takeout food on a per-serving basis).
If it’s a top-rated meal kit delivery service like Dinnerly or EveryPlate, then you know exactly what goes into your meals instead of consuming instant, excessively salty mashed potatoes, mystery meat, and whatnot. In comparison, weekly meal kits are total game-changers as far as meal planning is concerned.
They seem like the perfect choice even for cooking enthusiasts who need a little bit of help in the kitchen. You prepare the meals delivered to you (in the form of prepped, portioned ingredients) based on the simple step-by-step instructions provided. All this is done without having to plan, shop for groceries, or do the prep.
You can cook lunches and dinners along with breakfast and snack items as well!
Healthy Meal Kit Delivery Services
Meal kits are a subcategory of meal delivery, much the same way as prepared premade, ready-to-eat, or microwaveable meals (call it what you may, the concept is all the same). Both meal kits and fully cooked meals are equally highly nutritious and contain healthy ingredients. Both are delicious too!
All you have to do is select the number of meals and servings per meal you want every week from a wide-ranging menu. Once delivery is done, just follow the quick, easy instructions printed on the recipe cards, and that’s about it. There you have a filling and superdelicious lunch/dinner that did not demand too much time or effort from you!
The most amazing part is the menu. The choices on the weekly rotating menus of Dinnerly, EveryPlate, etc. are sometimes endless. And these options are presented to you after taking into consideration modern-day eating habits, diet plans, and preferences, for example, a menu for vegans, pescatarians, and more.
Likewise, dietary restrictions are also part of the meal planning process. For instance, both Dinnerly and EveryPlate take into account gluten-free, low-sodium, keto-friendly, low-carb, paleo-friendly, organic, diabetes-friendly, etc. diets. Even fussy eaters and kids will find the meals tasty and varied.
Agreed that meal kits still require you to cook at home, but this cooking demands no extra effort like having to do weekly meal planning, going out to the supermarket to purchase groceries, and chopping, slicing, dicing, and measuring all the ingredients. Instead, what you need to do is only cook!
Bring together all the ingredients, be they traditional or seasonal, and roast, stir-fry, bake, or slow cook them. The recipe could be as simple as roasted chicken or even a unique one such as Dinnerly’s Turkey Enchilada Bowl or EveryPlate’s veggie-based Panko-Topped Tortelloni Bake. All menu options are very flavorful and never bland-tasting at all.
In all, the meal planning and kits are such that only minimal effort is required with almost no cleaning post-cooking. Just make sure that the lunches or dinners you select adhere to your particular diet plan, be it vegan or otherwise, and that the quality of the meals surpasses the questionable quality, and sometimes even premium quality, of restaurant food.
How to Choose and Test Meal Kits
Very quickly, here are the most important factors that you should think about when choosing the best meal kit delivery service for you and/or your loved ones.
Recipe/Menu Variety
Cooking burnouts are one of the most common reasons for opting for meal deliveries. So, wouldn’t it be much better if the menu of the meal kit delivery service is extensive and multi-varied?
Every week, there should be a new menu with new dishes containing new, seasonal, and a blend of one of-a-kind and traditional ingredients. Overall variety really matters if you’re bored of eating the same type of meals every week.
Taste of the Meals
When testing and narrowing down our options, a crucial factor like taste cannot be neglected or undermined because if these meal kits do not prepare fresh, delicious lunches and dinners, then what’s the point?
Cooking Process
A difficult or time-consuming cooking process is never preferred. Most of us want to spend fewer minutes in the kitchen. So, how do you do this without having to compromise essential factors such as proper nutrition, fresh ingredients, and the like?
In that context, choose meal kits or recipes that don’t take more than 20-30 minutes to cook. In that case, the menu of whichever meal delivery service you’re going with – Dinnerly or EveryPlate – has to feature meals that are Under 30 Minutes (Dinnerly) or 30 Mins Or Less (EveryPlate).
Value for Money
Don’t use the terms money or cost and value interchangeably. Both are two separate and incredibly important factors when it comes to evaluating your options for meal kits. After all, price per serving matters a great deal if you’re going to order weekly meals.
Nonetheless, don’t let the cost be the highlight of the show, meaning it’s not always the bottom line or deciding factor. Selection and evaluation ought to also consist of the quality of the ingredients and meals, along with the quality of packaging materials used, customer service, long-term benefits, and stuff like that.
Overall Meal Delivery Experience
In simpler words, this means ease of use or a user-friendly meal delivery experience. More specifically, the weekly subscription-based meal kit delivery service should make it easier and quicker for you to order meals. The same applies to editing/changing weekly orders, managing account settings, and also pausing or canceling your subscription altogether.
Dinnerly vs EveryPlate – Detailed Comparison and Most Important Factors!
1. Menu
The first thing I look at to pick the ideal meal kit delivery service online is to check their menu:
- What variety of meal kits does a service offer?
- How many meal kits per week?
- Is the menu the same each week or does it change?
You probably have more questions, so allow me to walk you through each and every answer with regard to both Dinnerly and EveryPlate’s menu.
How many meals do they offer per week?
Dinnerly features quite an extensive menu with 50-52 meal kit recipes each week. Plus, you can view last week’s menu and the upcoming 2 weeks’ menus to compare and see what’s coming.
The last week’s menu is displayed just to prove to those in doubt about repetitive meal recipes, especially if you have some diet restrictions to keep in mind.
In comparison, EveryPlate features fewer meal options – 21 in total – each week. You can also view the rest of the month’s upcoming menu for up to 3 whole weeks.
EveryPlate also features various add-ons, both vegetarian and nonvegetarian, for an extra boost of protein per serving – over 15 items including a few dessert dishes, garlic bread, herbs, soup, and sauteed veggies.
How many vegetarian options are available?
I found 17 vegetarian recipes out of the 50+ recipes, the rest being meat-based with chicken, seafood, or beef as the primary source of protein.
Vegetarian meals are varied and protein-rich. Meals like Tortelloni Marinara and Cheesy Cauliflower Parm are one-pot meals that are kid-friendly and low-calorie.
On EveryPlate’s menu, I found 6 vegetarian recipes out of 21, which means vegetarians will have to eat a few repeats per week to keep up with a vegetarian diet. For plant-based options, EveryPlate is not very accommodating.
The veggies that EveryPlate does serve seem more traditional and family-friendly than nutritionally balanced. The meals don’t look very health-driven, so if you’re looking for simple recipes, nothing modern or fancy, EveryPlate should suit your needs.
Sweet Broccoli Bowl with ginger rice and sriracha mayo looks very interesting on the current week’s menu. Another customer favorite is the Farmer Markets Linguine with lemon and parmesan.
Can you filter the menu based on different diet categories?
Neither Dinnerly nor EveryPlate comes with subcategories to help you filter and find meal kit recipes of your choice.
With Dinnerly, however, you can see a few basic dietary labels such as Low Carb, Low-Calorie, Kid Friendly, No Added Gluten, Meat, Healthy, Dairy Free, One Pot Meal, Under 30 Minutes, and Special. These labels tell you right away what each meal is good for.
EveryPlate has a similar feature with labels like 30 Mins or Less, Customer Fave, and Veggie, but the labels are not as diet-focused as Dinnerly’s.
With Dinnerly, you can quickly tell which meal recipe has fewer calories and carbs. Plus, they have labels like One Pot Meals, Kid Friendly, Dairy Free, and No Added Gluten.
EveryPlate does not cater to as many diet-friendly and convenient labels as Dinnerly. If you’re looking for a basic but delicious food menu, EveryPlate is not a bad choice. But for diet-friendliness and customization, it’s best to pick Dinnerly.
2. Price
Who doesn’t take a quick peek at the price before subscribing to a meal delivery service? Especially if you’re planning to order most of your meals from a service like this, looking for an affordable meal kit service is your number one priority!
How much does Dinnerly cost?
The meal plan of Dinnerly is as simple as ever. The meal kits are divided by two factors: the number of people or servings per meal and the number of meals per week. Here are your options:
- Number of people: 2 or 4
- Number of meals per week: 3, 4, 5, or 6
Based on how many servings and meals you require per week for yourself, you can adjust the meal plan accordingly.
The starting cost for the minimum order of 2 servings each of 3 meals per week, that is, 6 meals in total, is $6.39 per portion. This amounts to $48.33, which includes the shipping cost. The shipping cost is $9.99 per order.
With as many as 24 servings per week, you pay only $4.99 per serving plus $9.99 shipping.
Here’s the breakdown of the meals per week and the price per serving:
- 6 servings per week: $6.39 per serving
- 8 servings per week: $5.99 per serving
- 10 servings per week: $5.89 per serving
- 12 servings per week: $5.69-$5.79 per serving
- 14 servings per week: $5.49 per serving
- 20 servings per week: $5.29 per serving
- 24 servings per week: $4.99 per serving
The only big disadvantage to subscribing to Dinnerly is that you have to pay $10 extra every time for shipping. Even if you order 24 servings per week, that increases your per year by $120 just like that!
How much does EveryPlate cost?
EveryPlate is as affordable as Dinnerly, but it’s a safer bet because it charges no shipping fee on the first order. After the first order, the shipping fee is $9.99 per order. But as a first-timer, you don’t have to pay shipping, even on the minimum order.
The rest of the meal plan features are the same. It’s divided by the number of people and the number of meal kits per week. Here are your choices:
- Number of people: 2 or 4
- Number of meals per week: 3, 4, or 5
Just short of 6 meals per week, EveryPlate lets you pick anywhere from 6 to 20 servings weekly. Here’s the breakdown of all the meal box sizes and the cost per serving:
- 6 servings per week: $6.49 per serving
- 8 servings per week: $5.99 per serving
- 10 servings per week: $5.79 per serving
- 12 servings per week: $5.49 per serving
- 16 servings per week: $5.29 per serving
- 20 servings per week: $4.99 per serving
After the first order, you have to pay $9.99 shipping fee on every order.
Comparatively, EveryPlate is cheaper than Dinnerly by $0.5-$1.0 per serving. For 6 servings per week, Dinnerly is $0.10 cheaper per serving, but EveryPlate charges less for a meal box with more than 10 servings per week.
Both services, in my opinion, are on equal ground when it comes to cost and meal customization, although with EveryPlate, you end up paying less on the first order because of the discount offer.
3. Diet-Friendliness
Both Dinnerly and EveryPlate cater to different diet plans. As affordable meal delivery services, they cater to basic meal kit plans supported by dieticians and nutritionists.
There’s more to following a diet than just eating the correct meals such as exercising, staying hydrated, and proper sleep. Combined with the effectiveness of Dinnerly or EveryPlate, you can improve how you cook your food and eat every day and set realistic goals of getting healthier and fitter.
Let’s begin with the most obvious question about dieting.
Are the meals nutritionally balanced?
Dinnerly offers lots of meals with low calories, low carbs, and lots of protein and fiber. The entire menu is at your disposal to comb through if you want to look for specific diet meals such as Low-Calorie, Low Carb, Healthy, and Vegetarian.
Even if a meal does not have a Low-Calorie label, it doesn’t mean that it’s an unhealthy meal. All of Dinnerly’s meals are balanced and fortified with superior ingredients for improving overall health and well-being.
None of the meals have excess calories, carbs, and other undesirable markers like more carbs or unhealthy fats. Speaking of fats, Dinnerly makes use of natural sources of healthy fats such as nuts and seeds.
None of the meals contain processed sugar, artificial ingredients, and preservatives.
Lots of Dinnerly’s meals are vegetarian, low-carb, low-calorie, dairy-free, and gluten-free. In that, Dinnerly is straightforward, health-conscious, and convenient.
EveryPlate features a similar format of displaying how healthy and diet-friendly the meals are. On their weekly menu, though there are no filters for viewing specific diet plans, you can quickly comb through the entire menu and pick out meals you like.
Premium, Veggie, and Customer Fave are some of the labels that accompany the meal options. But for comparing the nutrition profile of each meal, you have to click and open the recipes pages, and all the nutrition values are accessible to you.
I found that EveryPlate is less diet-friendly than Dinnerly because of its lack of proper dietary labels. The meals have more calories per serving as well, which some people may find unattractive, especially those on a weight loss or calorie-deficit diet.
To get more information about EveryPlate’s meals, you have to open the recipe pages and find all the nutrition values, ingredients list, and other helpful details without signing up.
With regard to diet-friendliness, you don’t have labels like low-carb, low-calorie, dairy-free, gluten-free, and organic for EveryPlate’s recipes. Only vegetarian recipes have the Veggie label.
Can you select meal plans while ordering?
Dinnerly does not feature different meal categories. Their entire menu is available to you at the time of ordering.
If you want to see vegetarian or low-calorie options first, there is no way to pick your preferred diet plans on Dinnerly’s menu. You must look for the recipes yourself, which shouldn’t take very long to be honest.
Dinnerly has over 40 different recipes, and most of them are healthy catering to different diets – kid-friendly, low carb, low calorie, dairy-free, and vegetarian are a few of them.
You can opt to make the entire meal box vegetarian by selecting that option while placing an order.
While selecting your meal kit and signing up on EveryPlate, several options are available to you. Even if you select only a few meal plans on the Select Plan page, the options you didn’t select will also be available to you.
EveryPlate simply wants to know your most preferred meal categories so it can show you those meal recipes first. You can pick Meat & Veggie, Veggie, Family Friendly, and Quick & Easy. All the meal plans cost the same per serving.
Are the meals allergy-friendly?
If you’re on a serious, restrictive diet plan because of an allergy, IBA, or indigestion, Dinnerly and EveryPlate may not be the best choices for you.
Some meals by Dinnerly are gluten- and dairy-free, but the ingredients are still processed in the same kitchen facility. Only the meal does not contain gluten and/or dairy. There may be a risk of cross-contamination since all the meal ingredients are packed using the same resources as other meal kits with gluten and dairy.
Dinnerly does include some high-quality, organic ingredients but it’s not a priority. The meat is antibiotic-free, grass-fed, and preservative-free. This is superb if you want to include natural and non-GMO ingredients in your diet.
EveryPlate, comparatively, is more traditional than modern. It does not have a gluten- or dairy-free label. All the ingredients delivered are conventional, wholesome, and preservative-free.
4. Shipping and Delivery
A meal delivery service may deliver the meals of your dreams, but it can be a huge letdown with its shipping and delivery. This is the next factor of consideration when deciding between two similar meal kit delivery services.
If you have nothing else to compare the differences with between Dinnerly and EveryPlate, you can finalize your ideal pick after this.
How are the meals packed?
It’s true that a lot of meal delivery services use plastic because there is no alternative as durable and dependable for packing meals and ingredients. Unfortunately, DinnerlyandEveryPlate have joined the bandwagon.
Dinnerly and EveryPlate deliver meal kits that require more plastic in packaging than prepared meals. The meal kits are delivered in portions of 2 or 4, which means a single meal kit serves either 2 or 4 people at a time.
The ingredients are portioned and packaged with the necessary prepping. Once the meal kit arrives, you don’t have to open the seal if you don’t want to cook a meal right away. Follow the storage instructions of each meal kit, and you can quickly store the meals without the risk of moisture exposure or leaks.
Dinnerly minimizes the use of plastic wherever it’s possible. Along with that, they tell you what you need to have in your pantry as preparation alongside the ingredients that Dinnerly provides.
For example, to make the Low-Carb Garlic-Butter Steak, you will need kosher salt, ground pepper, olive oil, and butter in the pantry. These are ingredients that Dinnerly does not provide.
Plus, to make the recipe, you’ll need a Microplane grater and a medium-heavy skillet or cast-iron pan.
What Dinnerly sends you in the meal kit are 1 whole romaine heart, 1 plum tomato, 1/4 ounce of granulated garlic, 3 ounces of ranch dressing, and half a pound of sirloin steak. You’ll have everything you need to cook the recipe from scratch, including the ranch dressing, which is prepped without preservatives or sugar.
The veggies are delivered straight from the farm, so they will feel firm and have a great texture as soon as you take them out of the wrapping. Just make sure you follow the recipe instructions to the dot and you’ll be able to make a dish out of the meal kit in no time!
EveryPlate makes use of more eco-friendly packaging than Dinnerly. The meal kits are packed in the same way, separating the ingredients to avoid spills or leaks. The fresh vegetables and fruits are packed as is to avoid spoilage.
All the individually packed ingredients are then stacked in an organized fashion in a big cardboard box. The necessary recipe cards and labels are placed on top of each meal kit so you don’t confuse the ingredients.
The packaging is recyclable, including the cooling gel packs and ice boxes that come along with every EveryPlate meal kit.
The recipe card offers information about what you’ll need to have on your own to make the recipe and the ingredients that EveryPlate sends.
For example, the Chipotle Glazed Meatloaves meal kit includes preportioned scallions, garlic cloves, carrots, ground beef, panko breadcrumbs, chipotle powder, potatoes, and sour cream.
What you’ll need to have are basic pantry items like butter, cooking oil, ketchup, salt, and pepper. The cooking instructions, recipe details, cooking time, and other useful information are printed on each meal kit recipe card for your benefit.
Where do they deliver?
Dinnerly delivers meals everywhere in the continental United States. They also ship to specific fulfillment centers in New Jersey, Texas, and California, which means it reaches uncommon areas too.
These fulfillment centers help speed up the process of delivery. If you live in New York, you will receive the meal box the fastest because Dinnerly main headquarters are in NY.
You can, during signup, enter your zip code to immediately check if Dinnerly delivers to you or not. The day and time of delivery depend on the location, but you can set your ideal preference based on the options available to you.
EveryPlate’s orders are organized and delivered a bit differently. They deliver to most of the continental United States. The delivery days vary from Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, to Friday, depending on your location.
Most of the time, you can easily select the delivery dates from either one of the abovementioned days of the week. The timings, unfortunately, you cannot select yourself, but the orders get delivered on time between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Receiving the order even if you’re not at home is fine. The meal kits are packed with ice packs and insulation to keep the ingredients fresh and firm for more than 48 hours, which includes transit time.
Once you take the meal kit inside, make sure you follow the storage instructions carefully to keep the ingredients from spoiling or leaking.
Both Dinnerly and EveryPlate make use of high-quality and durable cooling materials including ice packs and insulated liners. They ensure freshness during and after transit and are reusable and recyclable.
Depending on where you live, the order should arrive cold and sealed at your doorstep. You can even leave special delivery instructions in case you won’t be at home at the time of delivery. Both Dinnerly and EveryPlate make the delivery process more convenient and user-friendly, regardless of the size of your weekly orders.
5. Nutritional Value
The foundation of both Dinnerly and EveryPlate meals, in terms of variety and quantity, is more or less the same. With Dinnerly, your weekly menu options include around 14-15 meals, along with protein packs (chicken, chicken and steak, and more).
As for EveryPlate, their weekly menu consists of 15-16 recipes and a variety of protein packs (chicken, pork, beef, etc.)
Likewise, both meal kit delivery services offer dishes with protein and a side. Once again, the meals of Dinnerly and EveryPlate are flavorful and tasty because fresh, high-quality ingredients are used. A full breakdown of nutrition is provided in both scenarios, although Dinnerly puts in some extra effort as far as nutrient profile range is concerned.
What that means is the Dinnerly nutrient range is comparatively broader (with low-calorie meals), whereas EveryPlate only includes meals with 600 or higher calories. This also gives rise to a variety of other nutrients, especially fats and carbohydrates, and all of it matters a great deal in case you have specific dietary restrictions to follow.
Here’s the nutritional breakdown of both Dinnerly and Everyplate dishes, and of course this lets you know about the protein values of the meals offered. Each comparison table here has a similar type of protein source (i.e., chicken, beef, pork, and more).
Dinnerly vs EveryPlate – Vegetarian/Vegan Recipes
| Dinnerly’s Easy Clean Up! Bean Boo-rrito Casserole with Cheese & Salsa | EveryPlate’s Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas with Queso Roja |
| Vegetarian, one pot meal, kid-friendly | Veggie |
| 30-40 minutes of cooking time | 35 minutes of cooking time |
| Calories per serving: 870 kcal | Calories per serving: 970 kcal |
| Protein per serving: 38 g | Protein per serving: 31 g |
| Carbs per serving: 106 g | Carbs per serving: 124 g |
| Fats per serving: 38 g | Fats per serving: 41 g |
| Allergens: wheat, milk, and soy | Allergens: wheat, milk, and soy |
Dinnerly vs EveryPlate – Chicken Recipes
| Dinnerly’s No Chop! Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl with Corn & Sour Cream | EveryPlate’s Mediterranean Lemon Chicken Bowl with Tomato-Cucumber Salad, Garlicky Jasmine Rice & Feta |
| Kid-friendly, poultry, no added gluten, under 30 minutes | – |
| 20-30 minutes of cooking time | 35 minutes of cooking time |
| Calories per serving: 710 kcal | Calories per serving: 750 kcal |
| Protein per serving: 37 g | Protein per serving: 40 g |
| Carbs per serving: 182 g | Carbs per serving: 83 g |
| Fats per serving: 26 g | Fats per serving: 30 g |
| Allergens: milk | Allergens: milk |
Dinnerly vs EveryPlate – Beef Recipes
| Dinnerly’s Italian Beef & Rice Stuffed Peppers with Grated Parm | EveryPlate’s with Fajita-Style Veggies & Lime |
| Kid-friendly, meat, no added gluten | Easy cleanup |
| 30-40 minutes of cooking time | 30 minutes of cooking time |
| Calories per serving: 740 kcal | Calories per serving: 690 kcal |
| Protein per serving: 39 g | Protein per serving: 29 g |
| Carbs per serving: 72 g | Carbs per serving: 59 g |
| Fats per serving: 27 g | Fats per serving: 39 g |
| Allergens: milk | Allergens: wheat, milk, and soy |
Dinnerly vs EveryPlate – Turkey Recipes
| Dinnerly’s with Salsa & Garlic Crema | EveryPlate’s with Pickled Onion & Sour Cream |
| Kid-friendly, under 30 minutes, poultry, one pot meal | Customer fave, 30 mins or less |
| 15-20 minutes of cooking time | 30 minutes of cooking time |
| Calories per serving: 760 kcal | Calories per serving: 690 kcal |
| Protein per serving: 41 g | Protein per serving: 44 g |
| Carbs per serving: 65 g | Carbs per serving: 55 g |
| Fats per serving: 40 g | Fats per serving: 37 g |
| Allergens: milk, soy, and wheat | Allergens: milk, soy, and wheat |
Dinnerly vs EveryPlate – Pork Recipes
| Dinnerly’s Low-Carb Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Buttery Corn & Tomatoes | EveryPlate’s with Carrots & Wasabi Mashed Potatoes |
| Kid-friendly, under 30 minutes, one pot meal, low-carb, low-calorie, meat, healthy, no added gluten | – |
| 20-30 minutes of cooking time | 45 minutes of cooking time |
| Calories per serving: 650 kcal | Calories per serving: 790 kcal |
| Protein per serving: 49 g | Protein per serving: 29 g |
| Carbs per serving: 20 g | Carbs per serving: 73 g |
| Fats per serving: 46 g | Fats per serving: 43 g |
| Allergens: milk | Allergens: milk, soy, and wheat |
Dinnerly vs EveryPlate – Seafood Recipes
| Dinnerly’s with Tomato Rice & Garlic Aioli | EveryPlate’s with Lemony Asparagus & Roasted Potato Wedges |
| Fish, dairy-free, under 30 minutes, no added gluten | Premium+ |
| 20-30 minutes of cooking time | 35 minutes of cooking time |
| Calories per serving: 700 kcal | Calories per serving: 710 kcal |
| Protein per serving: 34 g | Protein per serving: 35 g |
| Carbs per serving: 62 g | Carbs per serving: 46 g |
| Fats per serving: 36 g | Fats per serving: 44 g |
| Allergens: egg and fish | Allergens: milk and fish |
| Dinnerly’s with Bacon, Panko &Parm | EveryPlate’s with Creamy Tomato Sauce |
| Meat, seafood, kid-friendly, special | Premium+ |
| 20-30 minutes of cooking time | 30 minutes of cooking time |
| Calories per serving: 1150 kcal | Calories per serving: 720 kcal |
| Protein per serving: 61 g | Protein per serving: 37 g |
| Carbs per serving: 78 g | Carbs per serving: 73 g |
| Fats per serving: 64 g | Fats per serving: 29 g |
| Allergens: shellfish, soy, wheat, milk, and sulfites | Allergens: shellfish, wheat, and milk |
Dinnerly Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Inexpensive meal kit delivery service starting from only $4.99 per serving. | $9.99 shipping fee on every order. |
| An ideal choice for picky eaters with some dietary restrictions. | You have to have some pantry ingredients like salt, pepper, cooking oil, butter, etc. |
| Some of the ingredients are sourced from organic farms. | No vegan diet included. |
| The meat is anti-biotic-free, grass-fed, and preservative-free. | The minimum order is for 2 people only. |
| All the recipes are divided according to the cooking time and skill level. | No allergy-friendly diet plan is included. |
| Gluten-free, dairy-free, low-carb, low-calorie, family-friendly, keto, and one-pot meals are included. | |
| You have more than 40 recipes in your weekly menu with plenty of vegetarian options. | |
| Minimal packaging is used, and all the plastic and cardboard boxes are recyclable and eco-friendly. | |
| You are not required fancy cooking equipment. | |
| Great for beginners who want to improve their cooking skills. | |
| The portion size is large and very filling. |
EveryPlate Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| One of the most affordable meal kit delivery services out there. | Shipping fee is extra for every order. |
| The recipes are beginner-friendly and easy to follow. | Plastic is used for packing individual ingredients, but it’s all recyclable. |
| Not a lot of fancy cooking equipment is necessary. | You have to have simple pantry ingredients such as salt, pepper, butter, and cooking oil. |
| Wide selection of healthy and delicious recipes. | No dietary restrictions for a low-carb, low-calorie, high-protein diet. |
| You can select new recipes every week to avoid repetitions. | Not allergy friendly because the ingredients are processed in one facility. |
| EveryPlate’s meals are restaurant-inspired but with a quick prep time. | Not the ideal choice for a vegan diet. |
| All the meal kits are preportioned and come with homemade sauces, spices, and blends. | Not a lot of vegetarian recipes per week. |
| Allergy information is mentioned for each meal kit on the menu. | None of the ingredients are organic or gluten-free. |
| Packaging is eco-friendly and minimizes clean-up after cooking. | |
| You can cook a meal in less than 30 minutes. |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Can I make changes to my order before delivery?
Dinnerly lets you customize the number of meals or swap meals easily even after you place an order, but make sure you do this before the order gets shipped.
You can edit the number of meals you’ve ordered, swap the meal kits if you don’t like any particular ingredient, or increase the size of your order easily without paying a fee.
If you’d like to pause or cancel the order completely even after you’ve paid, you can do so without any trouble. You can pause your membership for a couple of weeks or cancel all your future orders and request a refund but, once again, before the order gets shipped.
In case you decide to cancel the membership after an order gets shipped, the changes will be applied after you receive the shipped order.
To complement this, Dinnerly sends you live updates regarding your order, including the cutoff time so you know when to make the changes.
EveryPlate has a cutoff time period for all their orders as well. Before the cutoff time expires, you can pause, cancel, edit, and customize placed orders without paying an extra fee.
Changing the delivery address, pausing or resuming membership, and changing the type of meals you’ve ordered are all possible with a touch of a button.
For cancelations, EveryPlate will issue a refund if you’d like to cancel your order or subscription. You don’t have to contact customer service because EveryPlate has all these features on the order settings page. You can see all your active and upcoming orders after logging in.
2. How much time do the meals take to cook?
Since these are meal kits, not prepared meals, you have to put in some time every day to prepare the meals with the help of the meal kits that Dinnerly and EveryPlate provide you.
With Dinnerly, you have several options starting with the easiest meals that require no chopping. These meals take somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes to prepare, including those with meat options.
Each meal kit on Dinnerly’s menu comes with a skill level indicator: easy and medium. Most of the meal kits are labeled Easy, which means they are beginner-friendly and take less than 30 minutes to cook from scratch.
In fact, Dinnerly also lets you know, through the recipe’s title, which meal kit is a “Speedy Recipe,” “No Chop,” “Easy Clean Up,” and so on. There are plenty of “One Pot Meal” meal kits that are family-friendly and do not require a lot of prep work to put together.
Along with cooking instructions, time, and skill level, Dinnerly provides you with a list of things you’ll need and want to use to turn a meal kit into a hot and delicious meal.
It’s important to have basic pantry items like salt, pepper, cooking oil, butter, sugar, etc. and the standard cooking utensils and/or microwave oven.
With EveryPlate, the meals are super easy and quick to prepare. Even a complicated recipe with a premium ingredient shouldn’t take longer than 30 minutes to make.
The meals that are slightly complicated and require some cooking skills come with helpful instructions and pictures indicating the cooking process.
If you’re a beginner, you can opt for recipes with an Easy skill level, but if you want to learn the basics of cooking well, the entire menu is at your disposal.
EveryPlate mentions everything you need to get started such as the equipment and basic pantry items like butter, cooking oil, and salt and pepper with a few more helpful tips to make the meal taste more delicious.
3. Are the ingredients and meals vegan and/or organic?
Some of Dinnerly’s ingredients are organic. This includes ingredients like vegetables, fruits, and some quality proteins. Dinnerly sources its ingredients from high-quality and superior farms.
Even for meat, the chicken is antibiotic-free, the beef is grass-fed, and none of the ingredients contain GMOs, MSG, or flavor enhancers.
While Dinnerly delivers plenty of meals that are vegetarian, vegan meals are not found on their menu. You can either select a few vegetarian recipes or make the entire meal box vegetarian without paying any extra fee. There are no vegan plans on Dinnerly’s menu.
None of EveryPlate’s ingredients are organic. Unfortunately, EveryPlate does not source its ingredients from organic local farms for vegetables, fruits, and meat.
This is due to expense since organic food is more expensive than traditional ingredients. To keep the per-serving cost low, EveryPlate makes use of preservative-, GMO-, and MSG-free ingredients, but none of them are organic or vegan.
Similar to Dinnerly, EveryPlate does not support a vegan diet. They do have lots of veggie options but none for strict vegetarians following a vegan diet.
I would not recommend EveryPlate even if you are a vegetarian because they do not do tons of vegetarian meal kits. Dinnerly is the better option for vegetarians because you can make your entire meal box vegetarian as they have more veg options than EveryPlate.
Conclusion
Traditional family-friendly recipes, classic favorites, and comfort food – those are the very reasons why you should choose Dinnerly. The fact that its menu is so simple and conventional is precisely why picky eaters enjoy every bit of Dinnerly meals. This particular meal kit delivery service also paves the way for various diet accommodations. Plus, it’s only $5 per serving!
Why choose EveryPlate? Simply because it has a wider variety of menu options to pick from. The menu, in short, is very creative and the meals are very flavorful. These tasty dishes are also on the more affordable side.
