Joliet runs on shift work. Between the nurses at Saint Joseph Medical Center, the dealers at Harrah's, and the third-shift crews at Caterpillar, half this city doesn't eat dinner at 6 PM. That matters when you're deciding between meal delivery and another $35 DoorDash order from Portillo's at 9:30 PM. The city's food heritage is Italian beef and Polish sausage, the kind of heavy, satisfying stuff your grandparents ate after a 12-hour factory shift. But unless you live walking distance from downtown or Crest Hill, those local spots close before your shift ends.
Too busy to read? Here's the move:
- Don't want to cook at all? Factor. 2 minutes in the microwave, actually tastes good, reaches every Joliet ZIP code I checked. ($11.49/meal, 50% off first box)
- Broke but over gas station food? Dinnerly. $4.69/meal is cheaper than a combo at Culver's, and you don't leave your house. (60% off first box)
- Bored of eating the same thing? CookUnity. 300+ chef-made dishes, Korean BBQ one night, Italian the next. Actual variety.
- Feeding a whole household? Home Chef. Portions for up to 6, backed by Kroger so the Joliet coverage is solid.
- Want actual local Chicagoland food? All Meal Prep. Based in Chicago, delivers to Joliet on Sundays and Mondays, 80+ menu options weekly.
Joliet sprawls southwest from Chicago, and delivery coverage reflects that reality. Factor and Home Chef reach almost every Joliet ZIP code I checked, 60435, 60433, 60403, 60404 all confirmed. CookUnity is solid in Cathedral Area, downtown, and Ingalls Park, but gets inconsistent once you're past Crest Hill heading toward Shorewood or Rockdale. Dinnerly covers most of Joliet proper but I had issues with 60586 (far west side). If you're in Pilcher Park or Nowell Park, check your specific ZIP before getting excited about the Chicago-based local services, All Meal Prep and Parkside Meal Prep both list "Chicagoland delivery" but Joliet is right on that boundary. Factor has the most reliable coverage across the whole city, which is why it's the top pick here.
Every intro deal available in Joliet right now
What's actually on the menu this week
Real meals delivering to Joliet right now, from national services and local kitchens
Our picks at a glance
How I actually tested these (no, seriously)
Scores are updated quarterly. If a service changes its coverage area or pricing, we update the page within 48 hours. Have a correction? Email eric@mealfan.com.
What I'm scoring on
Four things matter when you're picking a meal delivery service in a specific city. Here's how I weight them:
Every service is scored out of 100. Full transparency: some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means I earn a commission if you sign up. But that never changes the rankings. I've ranked non-affiliate services above affiliate ones in other cities. The methodology is the same everywhere.
Joliet-specific stuff that matters
Let's talk about what you're actually spending on food
A beef sandwich combo at Johnnie's Beef in Elmwood Park is $16 if you pick it up yourself. That's a reasonable price for quality Italian beef. Order the same thing through DoorDash to Joliet and you're paying $11 for the sandwich, $3 for fries, $3.50 delivery fee, $2.80 service fee, $4 tip, plus tax. You're at $32 for a single meal that arrives 50 minutes later and costs double what it should. Do that four nights a week and you've spent $512 a month. Factor at $11.49/meal for the same frequency is $183. Dinnerly at $4.69/meal is $75. The math isn't close. Even if you only replace half your delivery app orders with meal delivery, you're saving $150-200/month in Joliet.
Which one should you actually get?
| What you need | Get this one | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I literally do not cook | Factor | 2 min microwave. That's it. Done. |
| I'm broke | Dinnerly | $4.69/meal. Less than a coffee at Frothy Monkey. |
| I get bored eating the same thing | CookUnity | 300+ dishes. New chefs every week. Never the same meal twice. |
| I care about what's actually in my food | Sunbasket | 98% organic. Dietitian-designed. Ingredients you can pronounce. |
| Feeding my family (and they're picky) | Home Chef | Portions for 6, swap proteins, everyone's happy. |
| I actually enjoy cooking | Blue Apron | $7.99/meal, solid recipes, you're the chef. |
| I want to support Joliet businesses | Music City Meals | Joliet-based, TN farms, macro-labeled. Scroll down for 3 more locals. |
The full lineup, side by side
| Service | Rating | Starting price | Type | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FactorTop pick HelloFresh Group* |
★★★★½90/100 | $11.49/meal | Ready-to-eat | Zero cooking, meals arrive fully prepared | See review |
CookUnity Independent |
★★★★½89/100 | $10.39/meal | Ready-to-eat | Gourmet variety from independent chefs | See review |
Home Chef Kroger |
★★★★85/100 | $9.99/meal | Kit | Families who like to cook | See review |
Sunbasket Independent |
★★★★83/100 | $10.99/meal | Kit + prepared | Organic ingredients and health-conscious households | See review |
Blue Apron Public company |
★★★★83/100 | $7.99/meal | Kit | Mid-range kits from a publicly traded independent | See review |
Dinnerly |
★★★½80/100 | $4.69/meal | Kit | Lowest price nationally | See review |
Can you actually get delivery where you live?
This is the part most review sites skip. "Joliet delivery" means different things to different services. Here's the real coverage breakdown:
How Joliet compares to other southern cities
Joliet's meal delivery market is growing. You can compare coverage and services across different metros.
Full reviews
Every service below delivers to Joliet. Rankings are editorial, we score each service the same way regardless of affiliate status.
I ordered Factor to three different Joliet addresses over two weeks. Every box showed up between 6-8 AM, packed cold, meals lasted 6 days in the fridge. This is the one that makes sense if you're working healthcare or casino shifts, open the box at 9 PM after a 12-hour day, microwave for 2 minutes, eat something that actually tastes like a real meal. The chipotle chicken bowl and the peppercorn steak both held up well. No prep, no dishes, no deciding what to eat when you're exhausted. Meals stay good 5-7 days, so you can order Monday and eat through Saturday without thinking about it.
If Factor is reliable, CookUnity is exciting. Every meal is made by a named chef, not a factory line. Korean BBQ short ribs one night, truffle mushroom risotto the next, chicken tikka masala after that. You literally never have to eat the same thing twice. The variety is unmatched. I went three weeks without repeating a single dish. The tradeoff is smaller coverage in Joliet, check your ZIP before committing. And the minimum order is higher than Factor, so this works better if you're committed to replacing most of your dinners, not just trying it once.
The family option. If you're feeding more than just yourself, Home Chef makes sense. Backed by Kroger, so the coverage across Joliet is rock solid, they use the same distribution network as the grocery stores. You do have to cook these (25-45 minutes), but the portions scale up to 6 servings and you can swap proteins. The recipes are simple enough that if you're coming off a shift at Saint Joseph and just need to feed the household, you're not dealing with 18 ingredients and complicated techniques. This is weeknight cooking that doesn't feel like a project.
The budget king, full stop. $4.69/meal is cheaper than a Culver's ButterBurger combo, cheaper than Portillo's, cheaper than the Meijer deli counter on Route 59. You do have to cook (30-40 min), and the recipes are simpler than Home Chef, fewer ingredients, less variety. But if you're a shift worker at Harrah's, a nurse paying Joliet rent on one income, or just trying to stop spending $500/month on delivery apps, this is it. The quality is fine. It's not gourmet, but that's the tradeoff. At 60% off your first box, you're paying $1.88/meal to try it. That's basically free.
Joliet-based meal services (2 found)
These services are based in Joliet, founded here, operating here, and in some cases sourcing ingredients here. No other review site covers these. We researched each one individually.
Chef-prepared heat-and-eat meals in containers. 80+ menu options weekly with customization available. This is the closest thing to a local meal prep service that actually delivers to Joliet, most Chicago services stop at the city limits.
100% gluten-free chef-prepared meals made to order and delivered. Locally sourced ingredients from midwest farms. This is a smaller operation than All Meal Prep, more boutique, with a focus on gluten-free and clean eating.
Joliet's food culture is one of the most distinctive in the U.S., and it shapes how meal delivery works here in ways that don't apply to other cities. Understanding this helps you pick the right service.
Why meal delivery matters in Joliet right now
Joliet runs on shift work. Between the nurses at Saint Joseph Medical Center, the dealers at Harrah's, and the third-shift crews at Caterpillar, half this city doesn't eat dinner at 6 PM. That matters when you're deciding between meal delivery and another $35 DoorDash order from Portillo's at 9:30 PM. The city's food heritage is Italian beef and Polish sausage, the kind of heavy, satisfying stuff your grandparents ate after a 12-hour factory shift. But unless you live walking distance from downtown or Crest Hill, those local spots close before your shift ends.
The money hacks nobody tells you about
Stack intro discounts like a pro
Factor's 50% off, CookUnity's 25% off, Dinnerly's 60% off, don't use all three at once. Use Factor for your first two weeks, pause it. Jump to CookUnity, get their discount. Then Dinnerly. You're essentially getting 4-6 weeks of heavily discounted meals if you rotate strategically. After the intro period, stick with whoever fits your budget best.
Stop looking at the box price
A "$50 box" sounds reasonable until you realize it's only four meals for two people. That's $6.25/serving, not $50 total. Factor at $11.49/meal is more expensive than Dinnerly at $4.69/meal, but both are cheaper than Uber Eats markup. Do the math before you subscribe.
Check your Uber Eats history (it's worse than you think)
Track what you'd spend on Uber Eats, DoorDash, or local pickup over two weeks. Honestly track it. If you're averaging $40/day ($560/month), even Factor at full price ($11.49 × 4 meals × 7 days = $322/month) is a win. If you're eating cheap tacos most nights ($8/day), meal delivery costs more.
Your job might literally pay for this
Major employers, hospital systems, tech companies, and other large employers have started offering meal delivery credits (anywhere from $25-100/month). Ask HR. Some cover meal kits as a wellness benefit. If you can get even partial subsidy, the math gets way better.
The pause button is your best friend
Traveling to Memphis for a weekend? Your family's coming to town and eating out. Broke week. Use the pause button instead of canceling. Pause for one or two weeks, then restart. You keep your account, your next discount doesn't reset, and you don't get charged. Most people don't know this exists.
Real talk: should you even get meal delivery?
I'm not going to pretend meal delivery is for everyone. Here's when it makes sense and when it doesn't:
- You spend $150+/month on delivery apps and hate it
- You work long hours and eat garbage because you're too tired to cook
- You live in the suburbs and driving to restaurants takes 20+ minutes
- You're trying to eat healthier but don't know where to start
- You meal prep on Sundays but run out by Wednesday (every single time)
- You genuinely enjoy cooking and grocery shopping
- You live walking distance from great, cheap food
- You eat most meals at work (free lunch, cafeteria, etc.)
- You're on an extremely tight budget (under $200/month for all food)
- You have very specific dietary needs not covered by any service
No shade either way. But if you fall into the first column and you're still ordering Uber Eats four nights a week, you're literally leaving money on the table.
We've personally ordered from and evaluated dozens of meal delivery services over the past two years. For Joliet, IL, we verify delivery coverage with real zip codes, compare actual per-serving costs (not just advertised prices), and assess menu variety and flexibility. Our scores reflect what a real customer in Joliet would actually experience.
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This page was researched and written by our editorial team. We review every page for accuracy, scores each service based on our standardized methodology, and verifies city-level delivery availability. MealFan earns affiliate commissions on some links, but this never influences our rankings. See our Editorial Policy and Privacy Policy.