What you eat every day impacts your life and well-being. And the hustle and bustle of professional life can make healthy eating seem impossible. Meal kit delivery services like Purple Carrot offer a simple and effective solution to such problems.
By simplifying and cutting short the tedious cooking process for you, it’s easier to cook meals for yourself or others without compromising on flavor or freshness.
Purple Carrot and its top-ranking alternatives offer an easy and delicious solution with the help of nutritious and globally inspired flavors.
Whether you’ve been a loyal customer of Purple Carrot and are looking to try out other similar services or are new to the world of healthy meal kits, this is the right place for you.
An Overview of Purple Carrot
Every week, you can pick from a wide selection of dishes from Purple Carrot, which is a plant-based meal delivery service. It offers both meal kits and prepared meals, offering fresh and preportioned ingredients needed to make meals at home.
Customers can easily create a custom menu from scratch by adding meal recipes ranging from breakfasts, lunches, dinners, to snacks. It’s worth mentioning straight away that Purple Carrot is a vegan, plant-focused meal delivery service ideal for a plant-based diet.
Cooking is more effective and comfortable because all the ingredients in their meal kits are preportioned and designed to be cooked in 30–40 minutes. And if you don’t have the time to do even that, their prepared meals save the day.
Purple Carrot offers an accessible website to cancel, skip, or pause orders easily. Pause meal orders for up to 10 weeks, but make sure you make all the changes by Tuesday of the week before delivery.
A word on the packaging – each meal kit is stored in a large recyclable plastic bag. Separate pieces of packaging are used for each ingredient, more than half of which are eco-friendly and can be recycled in a separate facility. The prepared meals take up considerably less room and plastic in the box with single-serve containers that can easily be reused and recycled.
Purple Carrot Meal Plan Prices
Purple Carrot’s meal kits and prepared meals are priced differently, depending on the number of servings you order each week. Extra items from their “Plantry” menu come at an additional cost, with each cost mentioned on each item’s card along with its portion size.
Breakfasts cost $4.50 per serving, while light lunches like sandwiches and rice bowls cost $9 per serving for 2 people.
This is what you pay for their vegan meal kits:
| 2 servings per meal | 4 servings per meal | |
| 2 meals | – | $11 per serving |
| 3 meals | $13.25 per serving | $11 per serving |
| 4 meals | $13.25 per serving | – |
And this is what you pay for their vegan-prepared meals:
| Number of meals per week | Cost per serving |
| 6 meals | $13 |
| 8 meals | $13 |
| 10 meals | $13 |
First timers will receive a one-time discount on their first order, capped at $20 off on the final bill amount.
Thankfully, the Purple Carrot cost does not incur a shipping fee like many other meal kit delivery services.
Pros and Cons of Purple Carrot
Pros
- Vegan and plant-friendly meal kits and prepared meals.
- Unique flavors with gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free diets.
- The majority of fresh produce is organic.
- Meals are delicious and easy to make.
- No repetitive meal selections for plant eaters.
- Easy to modify orders without paying extra.
Cons
- No menu options for keto or paleo diets.
- Prepared in a facility that handles common food allergens.
- More use of plastic packaging for meal kits.
- Some meals take longer to cook.
Purple Carrot Meal Options
Both meal kits and prepared meals (all plant-based foods) include only the freshest fruits, veggies, and plant-based proteins. A great way to boost a wholesome, vegan-friendly diet lifestyle is with this meal delivery service.
This healthy vegan meal delivery service is a no-brainer, especially for beginners who have no idea where to start. Cooking a Purple Carrot meal is the easiest thing ever, and you’ll end up learning a thing or two about cooking.
Purple Carrot’s menu variety is vast and diet-friendly. They feature labels on all their meal kits and premade meals. You’ll easily be able to hunt down meals that are high protein, nut-free, soy-free, low-calorie, and gluten-free.
Their menu features four categories: Meal Kits, Prepared Meals, Less Prep, and Frozen Meals.
Meal Kits: This offers a wide range of plant-based recipes, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack items. The focus is on plant-forward ingredients only that are high in proteins and require minimal prep.
Prepared Meals: Though not as many as meal kits, Purple Carrot offers 8 prepared meals for you to pick each week. The menu changes every week so there aren’t any repetitions. Plus, the diet includes cuisines from all over the world like Italian, Chinese, Indian, Mediterranean, and more.
Less Prep: Fewer prep meals are meal kits that come with preportioned ingredients, premade sauces, and fewer cooking steps per recipe. The recipes are designed to make life simpler with minimal prep, faster cooking time, and no cleanup.
Frozen Meals: Free up more time in the day with Purple Carrot’s vegan and healthy frozen meals. These include healthy bowls, salads, noodles, and pasta – easy to heat up and eat in less than 2 minutes.
Purple Carrot Alternative #1 – Green Chef
Green Chef delivers meal kits with diverse diets, such as low-calorie, high-protein, gluten-free, vegan, veggie, Mediterranean, keto, and paleo. Theirs is also a USDA-certified organic meal delivery service with premium-quality proteins and recipes that are vetted by expert nutritionists and dieticians.
Green Chef stands out from the crowd for its bold variety of flavors and diets. Plus, it lets you peek inside the menus for the 3 upcoming weeks. On their menu, each recipe is stocked with a picture of the recipe, nutrition facts, ingredients list, estimated cooking time, and cooking steps.
Their meal kits serve 2, 4, or 6 people at a time, so it’s couple- and family-friendly. For a meal kit delivery service to include such specialized diets is unique. That’s why Green Chef makes a fantastic alternative to Purple Carrot for meat eaters.
Modifying meal orders can be done online easily, and the deadline to do so is 1 week before delivery. It includes skipping, canceling, pausing, and adding or removing meals. In case you’re unable to skip or cancel, you can contact customer support as they’re incredibly responsive.
The packaging is well-organized and easy to unpack. A large cardboard box carries large recyclable paper bags, with each paper bag containing all the ingredients you need for a recipe. So, say you order 6 total servings – the cardboard box will contain 6 separate paper bags. The box is also stocked with additional items like ice packs, liners, tags, and recipe cards.
Green Chef Meal Plan Prices
It’s just as simple to browse through Green Chef’s meal plan prices to order your first box. You start by selecting your ideal meal preferences, which you can go back and change any time you select. Green Chef clearly states that you’ll have access to all the recipes regardless of what you choose.
Their meal preferences include Protein packed, Keto, Vegetarian, Vegan, Mediterranean, Fast & Fit, and Gluten-Free.
Next, choose your box size that includes the number of servings and meals per week.
| 2 servings | 4 servings | 6 servings | |
| 2 meals per week | – | $12.99 per serving | – |
| 3 meals per week | $13.49 per serving | $12.49 per serving | $11.99 per serving |
| 4 meals per week | $12.99 per serving | $11.99 per serving | $11.99 per serving |
Green Chef is more price-flexible than Purple Carrot, but Purple Carrot has a lower price per serving for the highest order than Green Chef.
Green Chef also charges a shipping fee, which amounts to $10 per box, no matter the box size.
Pros and Cons of Green Chef
Pros
- Delicious and creative meal kit recipes.
- Wide variety of diets for weight loss and balanced nutrition.
- Gluten-free, certified organic, and high-quality ingredients.
- Plenty of vegan options.
- Well-organized meal plans with recipe cards.
- Plastic packaging is recyclable.
Cons
- Flat shipping fee on all orders.
- Some recipes take a long time to cook.
- More expensive than other meal kit services.
Green Chef Meal Options
Straight away, the Green Chef menu introduces you to several diet categories for all of its recipes. You can mix and match and select as many recipes as you like. Plus, Green Chef’s menu also includes an interesting array of add-ons like breakfast, light lunches, desserts, snacks, and proteins.
Their meal kits are varied in that there are some easy-prep meals with less than 15 minutes of cooking time. And then some premium recipes take up to 45 minutes to prep and cook.
Green Chef’s meal plans include keto, paleo, gluten-free, vegan, veggie, Mediterranean, high-protein, and low-calorie meals.
These dietary labels also apply to Green Chef’s add-ons with select items that are vegan, gluten-free, and keto.
The menu consists of recipes that are high in vegetables, premium protein, and healthy carbs and fats. The vegetarian recipes include a high-protein plant-based ingredient, something that’s good for vegans to try without compromising on flavor.
If eating fewer calories and more proteins is in your diet plan, Green Chef’s meals would be perfect for you. Their meal kits contain organic ingredients which elevates the quality and freshness of every meal kit. The menu is a mixed bag of worldly cuisines, with many family-friendly options.
Purple Carrot Alternative #2 – Blue Apron
You won’t find a more straightforward and pocket-friendly meal kit delivery service than Blue Apron. It boasts premium ingredients divided into several different diet categories. But mostly, it caters to people on a balanced and wholesome diet plan.
Their meal preferences include Chef’s Favorites, Wellness, Family Friendly, Fast & Easy, and Vegetarian. Complementing that, there is an Add-Ons menu, which includes a blend of light lunches, heat-and-eat meals, and proteins.
A lot of people prefer a vegan and plant-forward diet plan without running out of options. Blue Apron, fortunately, does provide a fully vegan and veggie meal option, allowing you to pick all meat-free ingredients, including proteins, for every meal.
Blue Apron has a website and app interface that allows you to make any changes to an order after placing it. You can pause or skip weeks as and when you like 6 days before the scheduled delivery.
Despite being one of the oldest meal kit delivery services, Blue Apron continues to make use of single-use plastics. But considering how organized and intricate their packaging is, it’s worth a shot nevertheless. Ice packs and cooler boxes are used to store ingredients well. On the plus side, the majority of the packaging is recyclable.
Blue Apron Meal Plan Prices
Compared to Purple Carrot and Green Chef, Blue Apron has more affordable meal prices. Starting from $7.99 per serving, it goes up to $11.99 per serving for minimum orders.
Craftier recipes with premium ingredients like meat and seafood cost a bit more per serving than vegan and vegetarian meal recipes. You can easily swap or add more proteins, but doing so will incur an additional charge of around $0.95–$5.95 per item or per serving.
| 2 servings | 4 servings | |
| 2 meals per week | $11.99 per serving | $9.49 per serving |
| 3 meals per week | $9.99 per serving | $8.49 per serving |
| 4 meals per week | $9.49 per serving | $7.99 per serving |
Just like Green Chef, Blue Apron also charges a shipping fee of $9.99 on all orders. For smaller orders, you do have to splurge a bit, but it’s well worth the cost when you consider how high quality and fresh the ingredients are.
Heat and Eat meals and add-ons don’t cost as much as meal kits. This also applies to the extra proteins you can add to your weekly box.
Pros and Cons of Blue Apron
Pros
- Health-conscious and wholesome meal kits.
- Family-friendly meal kits with larger servings.
- Low-carb and weight loss-friendly meal kit recipes.
- You can add heat-and-serve premade meals easily.
- Swap proteins on select meal kits with a la carte proteins.
- Additional items like breakfast, snacks, and desserts are included.
- Non-GMO, preservative-free, and seasonal ingredients.
Cons
- The packaging is a bit excessive.
- A flat shipping fee of $9.99 on all weekly orders.
- Meat dishes are expensive.
Blue Apron Meal Options
The menu of Blue Apron is divided into five distinct categories:
- Signature
- Vegetarian
- Wellness
- Signature for Four
- Add-Ons
The Add-Ons have a few different types of meal types like breakfasts, lunches, premade meals, and a la carte proteins.
The Signature meal plan contains a mix of everything, including weight loss-friendly meals, meat and fish recipes, and some veggie recipes. This category provides you with healthier and more creative recipes, still a less expensive option than dining out regularly.
The Vegetarian meal plan is completely meat-free and plant-forward. You’ll typically find 4–5 veggie recipes offered each week. Compared to their Signature plan, it’s a bit limited. But if you’re not a picky eater, these vegetarian meal kit recipes look and taste extremely good.
The Wellness meal plan is more diet-focused and custom-tailored by nutritionists. Even though nutritional facts and ingredient lists are available for every recipe on Blue Apron’s menu, the Wellness plan is more diet-driven with low-carb and low-calorie meals.
Blue Apron also offers the convenience of cooking for 4 people at a time with their Signature for Four meal plan. The meal kit recipes are portioned precisely to fill the bellies of 4 people. On the plus side, some meals have a shorter estimated cooking time, down to 30 minutes per kit.
Purple Carrot Alternative #3 – Marley Spoon
Marley Spoon includes vegetarian options with balanced, easy-to-prepare meals for couples as well as families. Each week, you can choose from a wide selection of more than 50 different types of recipes.
Compared to Purple Carrot, it might not suit the needs of a fully restrictive diet like keto, paleo, Mediterranean, or vegan. But it has plenty of meal options like gluten-free, low-calorie, low-carb, vegetarian, dairy-free, and more.
What sets Marley Spoon apart is their diverse menu of meal kits. They offer more than 100 recipes that are family-friendly and nutritious. Even if you don’t cook as often, Marley Spoon’s meal kits will encourage you to do so. Every box is equipped with properly stacked and organized meal kits with fresh ingredients.
With this service, you may find it simpler to make delicious meals at home. Their weekly box of recipes includes preportioned ingredients and useful information about every recipe.
To get started, you must first pick how many servings you will be cooking at one time and how many recipes. There’s no specialty plan or menu. What you see is what you get, but they do offer you the option to make the entire weekly box vegetarian.
Through their website or app, you can easily skip weeks, pause, or swap recipes. But all this must be done at least 6 days before the scheduled delivery day.
Packaging-wise, Marley Spoon uses conventional but eco-friendly materials like plastic, cardboard, paper, cooler bags, and ice packs. Marley Spoon labels each packaging item and explains how you can go about recycling them effectively.
Marley Spoon Meal Plan Prices
Depending on whether you require a meal box for two or four people, Marley Spoon provides you with several different options in their meal plan pricing. The cost varies according to the total number of servings you order. Plus, the shipping fee is $11.99 per order.
| 2 servings per meal | 4 servings per meal | |
| 2 meals per week | $12.99 per portion | $10.49 per portion |
| 3 meals per week | $10.99 per portion | $9.49 per portion |
| 4 meals per week | $10.49 per portion | $8.99 per portion |
| 5 meals per week | $9.99 per portion | $8.99 per portion |
| 6 meals per week | $9.49 per portion | $8.69 per portion |
Pros and Cons of Marley Spoon
Pros
- Over 100 different types of recipes every week.
- Diet and allergy information is provided for each recipe.
- The sign-up and meal selection process is simple.
- Preportioned ingredients are of high quality and fresh.
- Swappable proteins on select recipes.
- You can make your meal box vegetarian.
- Many low-calorie and low-carb meal options.
- Recyclable packaging materials are used.
Cons
- Limited variety of vegan meals.
- No keto or paleo diet meals.
- Expensive $11.99 shipping charge on every order.
- It does not include basic pantry ingredients.
Marley Spoon Meal Options
Compared to other meal delivery services, the Marley Spoon menu offers more than 100 recipes spread across different cuisines and proteins such as meat, fish, and veggie. Also included in their menu are entrees, microwave-ready meals, desserts, and breakfasts.
Since Marley Spoon lacks dietary- and allergy-friendly meals, the variety is appreciated. With that said, the recipes are backed by some dietary information, which allows you to pick meals easily without wasting too much time.
You can even choose your preference of protein for select meals with the “Customizable” tag on them. For example, in the Tuscan Sheetpan Chicken, you can swap the protein from chicken breast to either ribeye pork chop, culotte steak, or salmon. However, upgrading to a more premium protein like steak or salmon will cost you a few dollars extra.
On the same recipe page, you can view additional information about the meal like the preparation time, cooking level, nutrition, allergy information, step-by-step cooking instructions, and more – everything you need to get started and cook the meal effortlessly in the kitchen.
The weekly changing menu also includes delicious and nutritious breakfasts, entrees, and desserts such as Glazed Lemon Breakfast Cake, Make-Ahead Scrambled Egg Muffins, and Baked Popcorn Chicken.
On that note, it’s worth mentioning that the menu variety and diet preferences of Marley Spoon are crowd-pleasing with recipes that fall into the following labels or categories:
- Low Calorie
- Low Carb
- Climatarian
- No Added Gluten
- Kid Friendly
- Healthy
- Under 30 Minutes
- One Pot Meal
- Fish
- Poultry
- Meat
- Vegan
- Veggie
- Dairy Free
- Optional Spice
- Spicy
- Nutritious
Purple Carrot Alternative #4 – Hungryroot
Thanks to meal kits that are easy to put together and grocery items that include vegan alternatives, Hungryoot is an excellent choice for delicious and nourishing meals for the entire family.
To get to know all about your dietary needs and preferences, Hungryroot makes you take a quiz so it can formulate a customized meal plan for you. This quiz asks you about your health-related goals, like weight loss, for example. By choosing Hungryroot, you’re eliminating grocery store visits, prioritizing organic ingredients, and doing cost savings too.
The quiz will include your dietary restrictions and preferences, such as what ingredients you’re allergic to. Then, you select the number of meals you want per week as well as the number of servings per meal. You move on to adding/editing your groceries and recipes after that, which is fun to do on Hungryroot because of the presence of a multitude of options.
Even with Hungryroot meal kits, the experience is marked by convenience – the recipes don’t require any dicing, chopping, or mixing. Most of the meals take no more than 20–30 minutes (and the instructions are very simple to follow), all because the ingredients are preportioned and already prepped for you.
Every meal is highly nutritious and filling, and every ingredient is high quality and fresh (be it seafood, meat, poultry, or even just veggies). Overall, Hungryroot is a fantastic meal delivery service for nutrient-rich meals and a wide range of grocery products. Both categories are bursting at the seams because of the sheer amount of variety.
Hungryroot Meal Plan Prices
It’s up to you to decide how many lunches/dinners you want to order per week depending on how many people are going to eat. The smallest order consists of 3 recipes per week and 2 servings per meal. Add to that a few breakfast and snack options and the shipping fee, which is $6.99 per order.
As for the biggest meal plan, it consists of 8 recipes with 2 servings each plus extras, so that would amount to $158 per week. Now you know how much Hungryroot costs per week. In this case, since the order exceeds $70, you don’t have to pay for shipping as it’s free over $70.
Here is the Hungryroot pricing breakdown:
- For 6 servings, $9.99 is the cost per serving.
- For 8 servings, $8.99 is the cost per serving.
- For 10 servings, $8.75 is the cost per serving.
- For 12 servings, $8.49 is the cost per serving.
The larger the order, the cheaper the cost per serving. Extra goodies are priced separately, of course. But if you have to stick to a particular budget, it’s best to skip the snacks. You do get that kind of flexibility with Hungryroot.
Pros and Cons of Hungryroot
Pros
- Individual groceries and full meals are available.
- Organic ingredients and flexible meal plans.
- A variety of menu filters for diet preferences and allergies.
- Meals and ingredients can be customized easily.
- A sustainable approach toward packaging and sourcing.
- Shipping is free over $70.
Cons
- Sometimes additional ingredients are required.
- Too many basic recipes.
- Slightly complicated credit-based purchase system.
Hungryroot Meal Options
Think of Hungroot as your very own online grocery store with endless options – the list of grocery items goes on and on, which is great if you prefer to have a variety to choose from.
The assortment of groceries includes the following:
- Meat + Seafood
- Grains + Pastas
- Plant-Based Proteins
- Sauces + Condiments
- Bread + Bakery
- Produce
- Sweets
- Pantry
- Snacks
- Dairy + Eggs
- Beverages
- Ready to Eat
For lunches and dinners, the recipes menu features the following types of meals:
- Grain Bowls
- Main + Sides
- Tacos
- Pastas
- Sandwiches
- Wraps
- Stir-Fries
- Salads
- Burgers
- Bakes
- Flatbreads
- Roast + Ready
- Soups + Stews
- Veggie Bowls
- Starters + Sides
When you click on any one recipe/ingredient, its detailed information can be viewed. This includes a description, nutrition facts, allergens, and dietary tags (like gluten-free, vegan, etc.).
You can even filter both menus by selecting your dietary needs. For example, you only want to see dairy-free, vegetarian, or pescatarian options for both grocery items and meal kits.
Purple Carrot vs. Other Meal Delivery Services
For special diets: Green Chef serves up a variety of meal kit recipes, especially for people on a diet as restrictive as keto, paleo, Mediterranean, and gluten-free. In addition to that, Green Chef is a certified organic meal delivery service with premium proteins and a menu that’s thoroughly vetted and reviewed by dieticians.
For more than just meal kits: Blue Apron not only serves meal kits that are easy to cook, but they also include some premade meals, a la carte proteins, breakfasts, and lunches. They also do wine pairing and deliver premium wines that pair well with their meals. Plus, their Marketplace includes featured meal kits, kitchen tools, pantry items, and bundles.
For more meal variety: Marley Spoon has, so far, the highest number of meal kit recipes on their weekly menu, more than Purple Carrot. Their menu features entrees, breakfast, desserts, and dinner meals with some customizable proteins, and all are easy and quick to prepare.
The recipes boast of flavorful combinations and are a balance of nutrients, so nothing is unhealthy to eat.
For online grocery shopping: Hungryroot is not only a meal delivery service but also a grocery delivery service. It has two separate menus – one for recipes and another for groceries, like packaged snacks, pantry staples, fresh fruits and vegetables, and lots more. They also provide personalized grocery and meal recommendations, which really sets them apart from Purple Carrot.
What Is A Meal Delivery Service Like Purple Carrot Good For?
Meal kits offer unmatched convenience with preportioned ingredients (so no meal prep), recipe cards, nutrition facts, and more. Everything you need for a delicious at-home dinner is packed and delivered in one box. You can order multiple meals at a time and pay less for more. Say goodbye to last-minute grocery runs, and introduce a simpler and more stress-free way of cooking meals by yourself.
Meal kits are also fun for people who are beginners at cooking. Don’t know your way around the kitchen? Meal kits can be a great way to learn simple but effective cooking techniques to build confidence. Plus, they’re a fun activity to do with your family and eat from a wide variety of cuisines every week (time to say goodbye to fast food!).
Thanks to food delivery services like Purple Carrot, eating healthy has never been easier. With plenty of fresh vegetables and plant-based options, you can find meals that fit your dietary preference, whether you’re a vegan or vegetarian.
On the plus side, if you already cook but are tired of making the same old meals every week, meal kits can inspire new and flavorful food combinations. You can order more of your favorite recipes and recreate meals on your own by swapping ingredients.
Convenience is key when considering the best way to cook meal kits at home. Since everything is prepped and measured for you, making even difficult recipes don’t take too much effort. You’ll feel like a pro in the kitchen in no time.
Final Verdict
Even though Purple Carrot is a fantastic meal subscription service, it’s always better to have more options to choose from. To begin with, it might not be the first pick for most omnivores and meat lovers, but it is for vegan food.
This article includes a wide range of meal kit deliveries similar to Purple Carrot, offering meals that are meat-, plant-, and diet-friendly and more. Beyond meal kits, some of these services also offer prepared meals, breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and proteins. There’s even a meal kit service that offers wine!
With that said, a meal kit delivery service can benefit you if you frequently cook meals at home and have to run to the grocery store for the smallest of things.
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