“What to cook today?” – Doesn’t this particular question haunt us every single day? Deciding what to cook or eat has become such a challenge these days because who’s got the time, energy, or even interest to do all that meal-prepping business when you’re more involved in other more demanding businesses, right?
Enter meal kit delivery services to save the day! The only problem here now is which ones are the best for you in terms of value, budget, quality of ingredients, cooking time/instructions, types of dishes, and the list goes on and on.
Speaking of best, what usually comes up is the comparison of Hungryroot vs Sunbasket. Meal prep guides, a wide range of different, international-inspired recipes, and more have become a part of this experience.
As for choosing between Hungryroot and Sunbasket, the latter offers both meal kits and premade (Fresh & Ready) meals while the former delivers groceries and meal kit boxes.
With Sunbasket, the ingredients used are organic including the meat and fish that are responsibly and sustainably raised/caught. With Hungryroot, it’s the ultimate go-between grocery delivery and meal kit delivery systems.
Why Are Such Meal Delivery Services Becoming So Popular?
There’s a lot to love about meal delivery!
If you can have a mental burnout, then cooking burnouts are also coming for you sooner or later. You want to avoid eating out since those restaurant meals are not doing your body or bank account any good. At the same time, meal prep at home bites into your day’s precious hours. Hence, the advent and huge success of meal delivery plans.
These types of grocery and meal kit delivery services surely minimize all that excessive daily load in the kitchen without drilling a hole through your wallet. Companies like Hungryroot and Sunbasket churn out fresh, healthy ingredients that are a part of the most savory and quick-and-easy-to-cook recipes. Nutrition and productivity goals are always met indeed.
As a matter of fact, you also get premade, oven-ready or microwavable dishes that further cut down your prepping and cooking time.
You spend so much less when you choose meal delivery
It should not come as a shock to you that some meal kits cost more than buying out or grocery shopping but when you compare them to premium restaurant food, they do save a ton of your money in the long run.
It’s almost impossible to find takeout services that are, for one, inexpensive and, secondly, deliver healthy food. There are meal delivery services that meet both demands – they’re budget-friendly and provide you with the most nutritious meals (that are also delicious by the way!).
Meal delivery is a healthy option
The top brands in the sector of meal subscription services have acquired first-class chefs that craft wholesome recipes to fit all kinds of diet plans and preferences. This includes meal kits for vegans, vegetarians, and those on a keto, paleo, low carb, and other diets. You can actually, finally consume meals that help you reach your nutrition goals.
The most useful is the nutritional information that is a part of every recipe, unlike in the case when eating out or even when cooking your food from scratch at home.
Even if you commit to eating clean and healthy a few times per week, your overall health will benefit. For all you know, a few times a week will then soon encourage you to eat healthier all week long! The goal is to take small steps at a time, you can start with changing your daily eating habits.
Hungryroot vs Sunbasket – Ingredients and Meals
You get to eat nutritious meals; we all know that by now, right? What about that much-needed support in case you can’t cook? With that in mind, meal kit delivery services should offer more well-rounded meal plans that include extra support.
With Hungryroot, the meals consist of plant-based ingredients only, most vegan. Therefore, no common allergy-causing foods such as eggs, milk, etc. At the same time, the ingredients are GMO-free and organic as well, for the most part at least. Furthermore, no chemical preservatives, artificial flavors, or added colorants.
Even Sunbasket’s ingredients are sourced very carefully and sustainably. As for Sunbasket’s (grass-fed) meats, they are free of hormones and antibiotics. Organic produce, wild-caught seafood, and a lot more are a part of the whole Sunbasket experience.
Sunbasket does have on its menu a ‘vegan’ category, but the options are quite limited. Sunbasket’s menu, nevertheless, is quite varied in terms of accommodating different dietary needs and preferences.
Sunbasket menu categories:
- Gluten-free
- Soy-free
- Dairy-free
- Paleo
- Vegan
- Diabetes-friendly
In addition to these, here are some more tags used by Sunbasket to be more descriptive and informative about its recipes:
- Pescatarian
- Carb-conscious
- Vegetarian
- Protein Plus
- Mediterranean
- Lean & Clean
- No added sugar
- <600 calories
Over 20 different dishes every week are churned out by Sunbasket, whereas Hungryroot has no such weekly menu system. Rather, they rotate recipes every month. So you have about 66 new meals monthly, along with their cooking instructions of course. Each meal comes with its nutritional value and ingredients list including common allergy-causing ingredients.
As for the Hungryroot menu, it too can be filtered based on your dietary needs:
- Dairy-free
- Soy-free
- Gluten-free
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Egg-free
- Peanut-free
- Shellfish-free
- Tree nut-free
- Pescatarian
You can also shop for groceries on Hungryroot just like you can also choose Sunbasket’s Fresh & Ready meals that are premade, oven-ready dishes.
Aside from all that regular stuff, both Hungryroot and Sunbasket offer add-ons.
Sunbasket add-ons:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Pasta & Sauce
- Proteins
- Snacks
Hungryroot complete menu:
- Pasta
- Mains + Sides
- Grain Bowls
- Tacos
- Salads
- Stir-Fries
- Sandwiches
- Burgers
- Wraps
- Soups + Stews
- Veggie Bowls
- Roast + Ready
- Flatbreads
- And baked items
Hungryroot vs Sunbasket – Pricing and types of meal pplans
Affordable pricing is what you get with Hungryroot. Now it goes without saying that the cost depends on which meal plan you choose. However, a minimum of $65 is spent on Hungryroot. So let’s get to know how the meal plans and their prices are structured.
Please note that the price table below is not for snack, breakfast, and dessert recipes. These types of add-ons are to be found under the ‘groceries’ category, which you add to your order and have to pay extra for.
Hungryroot meal plan prices:
| MEAL PLANS | COST PER SERVING/WEEKLY COST |
| 8 different recipes – 2 servings each | $8.49 per serving/$135.84 weekly |
| 7 different recipes – 2 servings each | $8.49 per serving/$118.86 weekly |
| 6 different recipes – 2 servings each | $8.49 per serving/$107.88 weekly |
| 5 different recipes – 2 servings each | $9.49 per serving/$94.90 weekly |
| 4 different recipes – 2 servings each | $9.99 per serving/$79.92 weekly |
| 3 different recipes – 2 servings each | $9.99 per serving/$59.94 weekly |
| 4 different recipes – 4 servings each | $8.49 per serving/$135.84 weekly |
| 3 different recipes – 4 servings each | $8.49 per serving/$101.88 weekly |
| 2 different recipes – 4 servings each | $8.99 per serving/$71.92 weekly |
Then you have Sunbasket whose pricing is a bit expensive. The range is between $8.99 and $13.99 per serving. The greater the number of meals you pick per week, the more affordable the cost becomes. When you order for 4 dinners for 4 people weekly, that is 4 servings per dinner, this equal to around $175.
Sunbasket meal plan prices (Meal Kits):
| MEAL PLANS | COST PER SERVING |
| 2 meals per week – 2 servings
2 meals per week – 4 servings |
$13.99 per serving
$10.99 per serving |
| 3 meals per week – 2 servings
3 meals per week – 4 servings |
$11.99 per serving
$10.99 per serving |
| 4 meals per week – 2 servings
4 meals per week – 4 servings |
$10.99 per serving for both |
Sunbasket meal plan prices (Fresh & Ready):
| MEAL PLANS | COST PER SERVING |
| 4 meals per week | $11.99 per serving |
| 5 meals per week | $11.99 per serving |
| 6 meals per week | $9.99 per serving |
| 7 meals per week | $9.99 per serving |
| 8 meals per week | $8.99 per serving |
Once again, even in the case of Sunbasket, the prices above don’t include snack, breakfast, or lunch options, which, when added, increase the cost.
What is also not included is the shipping fee. Sunbasket charges flat $7.99 for delivery. (although for the first box, you don’t have to pay anything for shipping) while Hungryroot’s delivery cost is $10 in the case of air shipping whereas ground shipping is free.
Hungryroot vs Sunbasket – Packaging and Delivery Areas
The grocery items of Hungryroot are packed conventionally. Every ingredient is individually wrapped using plastic and then sealed. As for the meal kits, these arrive in cardboard boxes that contain ice packs (made of biodegradable gel) to preserve freshness. All inclusions are arranged properly in clear, large plastic bags.
So, to sum it up, most of Hungryroot’s packaging is plastic-based, which includes recyclable rigid and non-recyclable soft plastic. Lastly, Hungryroot’s meals can be delivered to every continental state of the US (including Washing DC) except for Hawaii and Alaska. You get to choose the delivery day, although it has to be a weekday only (8am-9pm delivery time).
Sunbasket’s every order consists of compostable, recyclable packaging. Except for the plastic that is used in wrapping all the individual ingredients in each meal box. I must also point out that this is the case with almost all such meal kit delivery services. The plastic bags used for individually wrapping the ingredients are not always recyclable, this depends on depends on where you stay.
Sunbasket’s delivery areas do not include Montana, Hawaii, Alaska, and a few parts in New Mexico. The rest of the 47 mainland US states are eligible. Weekly deliveries are the norm here as well and you can pick your delivery day.
Shipments are well-insulated for maximizing freshness. Sunbasket’s meats come frozen (to enable optimal temperature control) inside airtight bags. There will also be a brown paper bag with each order which contains all the ingredients for that recipe and recipe cards (for cooking instructions, nutritional information, pantry ingredients, and other tools needed).
Hungryroot vs Sunbasket – Taste and flavor
With Hungryroot, prepping/cooking is so quick and easy that it’s only logical to wonder if that comes at the cost of factors like freshness and flavor. Hungryroot, thankfully and very thoughtfully, has made sure that nothing of the sort is compromised. Flavor, freshness, and quality are surprisingly very good.
Both basic and complex ingredients are up to the mark and also filling. All the fresh produce is never delivered damaged or wilted, this includes the protein that’s also fresh so it reheats/cooks really well.
The only disappointing part with Hungryroot is that they don’t tell you much about their sourcing except that the pork, beef, and poultry are raised antibiotic-free. This affects the flavor and texture of the meat.
No doubt, they prioritize animal welfare, food quality, and sustainability. On top of that, Hungryroot brand (farm-raised) salmon is certified, which suggests that the farming practices in this case too are more sustainable.
Moving on, when we talk about Sunbasket’s values, there’s no shortage of information when it comes to where its ingredients actually come from. The Farms & Sourcing page on Sunbasket has all the farmers, ranchers, fishermen, etc. that the company works with.
As for the taste of Sunbasket’s both Meal Kit and Fresh & Ready dishes, all of it is loaded with a diversity of flavors. But what struck me as the most appealing characteristic was Sunbasket’s ‘organic’ produce, which surely not only looked better but also tasted a lot fresher in comparison to Hungryroot and other meal delivery services.
Hungryroot vs Sunbasket – Meal Prep / Cooking Process
It’s all about fast and easy cooking with Hungryroot, that’s actually one of their main advantages. The meals that require cooking, on the other hand, have the most accurate estimated cooking time and instructions. Nothing is going to exceed the 30-minute mark, that’s for sure!
Hungryroot dishes are easy to prepare even for first-timers and beginners. Basic cookware is needed, such as pans, pots, baking sheets, etc.
As for the meat provided by Hungryroot, all proteins are already seasoned so no spending any time or effort on additionally seasoning your food. Although, you have to season vegetables, with basic stuff like salt, pepper, and oil.
Now, what about the Sunbasket cooking-from-the-box experience? Each Sunbasket meal bag is equipped with a recipe booklet inside, which contains the list of equipment to use, additional ingredients (if needed), step-by-step cooking instructions, and the complete nutrition value of that particular recipe.
No matter your cooking skills/experience, Sunbasket meals are extremely easy to prepare. However, sometimes the cooking times are not all that accurate, so you have to be a little extra vigilant about not burning your food. But the recipes are very easy with straightforward and easy-to-understand instructions, hence nothing in terms of meal prepping or cooking is such a big problem or dealbreaker.
Hungryroot vs Sunbasket – Vegetarian and Vegan Meal Plans
Hungryroot meals are mostly bombarded with wholeheartedness and delightful, varied flavors of vegetables. You can use the ‘vegetarian’ and ‘vegan’ filters on the menu/recipes page of Hungryroot to have a look at your many delicious options. All the veggies are already prepped for you!
The most amazing part is that almost every ingredient and grocery item has a plant-based, vegan, whole-grain alternative. Those more health-oriented are simply going to love Hungryroot’s cashew-based sauces, chickpea pasta, and a lot more.
Vegetables make up a large portion of nearly all of the meals here; including those that contain meat. They’re like the backbone of the food.
You also get the option to add on more veggies if you like, although this does increase the price of the basic meal plan. The most important thing is that Hungryroot’s vegetarian and vegan dishes are tasty meals packed with fresh vegetables that require only minimal prep.
Sunbasket too has the ‘vegan’ category on its menu, although their options, in comparison to Hungryroot, are highly limited. The vegetarian and vegan recipes on Sunbasket may not be enough for someone on a strict no-meat diet.
However, the fact that Sunbasket ingredients are organically sourced and are actually also certified organic says a lot about the quality, taste, and freshness of the vegetables they use.
Moreover, in their add-on Proteins category, there are plant-based options as well for meat-free dietary preferences. So it’s not like Sunbasket doesn’t have any vegetarian and/or vegan choices; they evidently do, but these can seem a tad too limited when compared with Hungryroot.
Hungryroot vs Sunbasket – Nutritional Value
With Hungryroot, protein sources include poultry, beef, pork, lamb, fish, and more. As for non-meat-eaters, you have tofu, beans, lentils, and other plant-based alternatives to meat. One thing is for certain, Hungryroot’s menu is much more varied, andyou get more options as well (for both meat and no-meat dietary preferences).
Moving on to Sunbasket, their menu consists of Meal Kits and Fresh & Ready (Hungryroot has only meal kits). Their menu range/diversity is not as generous asHungryroot, especially for vegetarians and vegans.
The only upper hand Sunbasket has here is that, because of Meal Kits and Fresh & Ready meals, you can customize your weekly orders by combining both. So your order can include vegetarian dishes with beans or tofu as well as premade, microwavable, ready-to-eat chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, or pork meals.
Whatever the case, it’s now time to compare randomly selected recipes from Hungryroot and Sunbasket for the most common lunch/dinner categories.
Vegetarian Meals
| HUNGRYROOT’S | SUNBASKET’S
PINTO BEAN and HOMINY POZOLE ROJO with QUESO FRESCO |
|
| Serving size | 2 servings | 2 servings |
| Total number of calories | 740 calories per serving | 380 calories per serving |
| Total carbs | 62 grams per serving | 51 grams per serving |
| Protein | 32 grams per serving | 16 grams per serving |
| Total fat | 31 grams per serving | 15 grams per serving |
| Sugar | 8 grams per serving
(no added sugar) |
12 grams per serving
(no added sugar) |
| Cooking time | 30 minutes | 20 minutes |
Chicken Meals
| HUNGRYROOT’S | SUNBASKET’S
SPICY CHICKEN TINGA TACOS with BLACK BEANS and PICO DE GALLO |
|
| Serving size | 2 servings | 2 servings |
| Total number of calories | 490 calories per serving | 690 calories per serving |
| Total carbs | 35 grams per serving | 75 grams per serving |
| Protein | 40 grams per serving | 37 grams per serving |
| Total fat | 20 grams per serving | 28 grams per serving |
| Sugar | 4.5 grams per serving
(no added sugar) |
8 grams per serving
(no added sugar) |
| Cooking time | 12 minutes | 15-20 minutes |
Beef Meals
| HUNGRYROOT’S | SUNBASKET’S
BEEF DONBURI RICE BOWL with EDAMAME and KIMCHI-LIME VEGETABLES |
|
| Serving size | 2 servings | 1 serving (Fresh & Ready) |
| Total number of calories | 590 calories per serving | 610 calories per serving |
| Total carbs | 66 grams per serving | 52 grams per serving |
| Protein | 21 grams per serving | 30 grams per serving |
| Total fat | 20 grams per serving | 32 grams per serving |
| Sugar | 7 grams per serving
(no added sugar) |
6 grams per serving
(no added sugar) |
| Cooking time | 15 minutes | 4-5 minutes (microwave oven), 20-25 minutes (conventional oven) |
Seafood Meals
| HUNGRYROOT’S | SUNBASKET’S
HONEY-UMAMI GLAZED SALMON with CABBAGE and VIETNAMESE GARLIC NOODLES |
|
| Serving size | 2 servings | 2 servings |
| Total number of calories | 710 calories per serving | 810 calories per serving |
| Total carbs | 59 grams per serving | 71 grams per serving |
| Protein | 40 grams per serving | 46 grams per serving |
| Total fat | 27 grams per serving | 37 grams per serving |
| Sugar | 5 grams per serving
(contains 2 grams added sugar) |
13 grams per serving
(contains 9 grams added sugar) |
| Cooking time | 13 minutes | 20-35 minutes |
Hungryroot and Sunbasket FAQs
How easy is it to sign up or cancel orders on Hungryroot and Sunbasket?
The Hungryroot sign-up process requires your email id (Facebook log-in is an option too).
As for canceling your Hungryroot order, you have to visit your account settings page and then choose if you wish to make changes to or cancel any current orders. On this ‘edit account details’ page, you can also pause or cancel your Hungryroot subscription altogether.
The ‘Get Started’ button on Sunbasket leads you to create your account using your email address, name, and zip code. After that, you have to select which meal plan you want – Classic or Family. Next, customize the order and then head to the checkout.
Canceling the Sunbasket subscription requires you to get in touch with their customer service team via their toll-free number. You can also text them or chat with their digital assistant. The Help Center page provides you with all the necessary information regarding order/account support.
Managing weekly deliveries (through ‘My Menu’) and making changes to your account (through ‘My Account’) can be done very easily and quickly on Sunbasket. Also, there’s a cut-off time for the former – Wednesday noon (that’s 12 pm Pacific Time) before the delivery date.
Can you skip a box with Hungryroot and Sunbasket?
You might be thrilled to know that both meal subscription services offer tons of flexibility to their users/customers. So skipping a week or box is possible indeed.
Although I will add that Hungryroot, in comparison to Sunbasket, makes the task of skipping orders, pausing subscription, and even canceling the account entirely more transparent, accessible, and straightforward, unlike Sunbasket which can be a little tricky because, at some point, you have to fill out a form on the website in order to get them to contact you.
With Hungryroot, you can opt-out of receiving your orders every week. What’s also possible is to modify the order and cancel the subscription. Just do it on Friday (the one prior to your scheduled delivery date) before 5 pm EST.
Sunbasketalso has a deadline like this, which is Wednesday noon (12 pm Pacific Time) before the delivery day.
Which meal kit delivery service is better for people with food allergies?
One look at both the Hungryroot menu and Sunbasket menu and you’ll immediately be able to tell which of the two is more food-allergy-accommodating. That would be Hungryroot, definitely Hungryroot!
First of all, Hungryroot includes all of these dietary preferences:
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Soy-free
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
- Pescatarian
- Peanut-free
- Tree nut-free
- Shellfish-free
- Egg-free
Secondly, you can apply any one, two, or more filters to suit your specific diet plans. And thirdly, Hungryroot also has enough meat-free plant-based alternatives in case you don’t consume non-veg at all.
As for Sunbasket, its menu can be sorted based on more than enough common dietary demands:
- Soy-free
- Dairy-free
- Gluten-free
- Vegan
- Diabetes-friendly
- Paleo
- Under 600 calories
- Under 20 minutes
As you can see, Sunbasket’s capacity to accommodate food allergies is more limited than Hungryroot’s. At the same time, the former also has a limited list of meal options in each of these categories, especially for vegetarians and vegans.
How does the Hungryroot/Sunbasket website and app work?
I would say that Sunbasket is more communicative and transparent about how its service works, right from sourcing its ingredients. But then both Sunbasket and Hungryroot have a website platform (user interface) that is very beginner-friendly where you get to make changes or adjustments to your meal plans, orders, and other concerns. You can also manage your account including organizing payments most easily.
Hungryroot orders come with recipe cards. Regardless, you can access the same information – nutritional value, cooking method/instructions, number of servings, estimated cooking time, etc. – both on the website and smartphone app.
Even with Sunbasket, managing your account, upcoming orders, delivery, and billing details, and the like can be very conveniently done through their mobile app.
Once again, both companies have their own FAQs page – Hungryroot FAQs and Sunbasket FAQs – and this section is well-organized and properly streamlined for your benefit.
Hungryroot Pros
- Quick, easy, vegetable-rich meals
- Makes room for a wider range of special diets
- Offers grocery items and meal kits
- Cooking process for almost all recipes is fast and simple
- Reasonable pricing range of meal plans
- Ground shipping is free
Hungryroot Cons
- Menu diversity is still a bit lacking
- Recipes seem a bit too simplistic
- The credit-based system can complicate things
Sunbasket Pros
- Organic and GMO-free, thus better and fresher ingredients
- Menu contains meal kits and premade (microwavable) meals
- Flexibility in terms of customizing orders and service
- Chef-crafted, nutritionist-approved dishes
- Recyclable, compostable packaging
- Plenty of add-on options
Sunbasket Cons
- Delivery charges not free
- Not the most food-allergy-friendly in comparison
- Slightly more expensive
Wrapping It Up Between Hungryroot and Sunbasket
Making the case for Hungryroot
On the one side, there’s Hungryroot with its interesting, delicious vegan menu. It’s a really good meal kit delivery service for meat-eaters too, but the greater diversity and number of vegan/vegetarian options is what speaks volumes. Their recipes, vegan or otherwise, are completely satisfying in terms of portion size and curbing your cravings.
At the same time, the Hungryroot menu also includes extras like desserts, snacks, and sides (apart from breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes of course). On top of that, groceries are available too! With plant-based meat alternatives!
Even when it comes to accommodating different food allergies, Hungryroot doesn’t let you down. Allergy-friendly recipes on the menu (e.g. gluten-free, shellfish-free, peanut-free, and more) are also something unique about this meal service brand. The part that’s lacking and worth mentioning though is the little bit of flexibility you get as far as customizing meal plans is concerned.
Regardless, Hungryroot is the best for those on a vegan diet, those too busy to go grocery shopping, and, ultimately, those who want to replace their unhealthy, preservatives-packed frozen foods with healthier meal kit alternatives.
Making the case for Sunbasket
If you care about your ingredients being USDA-certified organic, nothing better than Sunbasket! They use non-GMO, organic products, so you can eat the most nutritious meals. These are high-quality, fresh ingredients and also chef-curated recipes. No wonder Sunbasket is one of the best meal delivery services in America!
What’s even more appealing is that Sunbasket has meal kits and Fresh & Ready dishes. You can prepare the latter choice quickly in your microwave oven or just a little bit longer in a conventional oven.
Pick Sunbasket if you want to incorporate more international-inspired cuisine into your weekly diet plan. Even on the Sunbasket menu, you can choose recipes based on dietary preferences like soy-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, etc.
