Almost 20% of Americans have tried a meal delivery service at once. And about one out of every five Americans has a subscription to a meal delivery service. The meal delivery service industry will also reportedly grow to be worth over $20 billion by 2027. Currently, this industry is worth about $5 billion. So, as demand for meal delivery services is bound to increase, we must ask – is it for everyone? Or are meal subscription services best suited for people with money to burn and who don’t like cooking? What is the cheapest meal delivery service?
Cheapest Meal Delivery Service
A meal delivery service sends meal ingredients with recipes in a box to your door. The meals aren’t prepared – you take the ingredients out of the box and prep them yourself.
And a meal delivery service isn’t just for people with disposable incomes. Subscribing to a meal delivery service has become a normalized American activity. Over 84% of people who order from a meal delivery service end up buying a subscription.
And due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is not always safe to cram into a supermarket. Meal delivery services are a normalized way of American life now.
But not all meal services are alike. Some are more expensive than others. And if you are not carefully considering which meals you’re ordering, you may end up paying more money than going to a traditional supermarket.
Here are three of the cheapest meal delivery service options you should consider.
Dinnerly
Dinnerly may arguably offer the cheapest meal delivery service, depending on your budget and the cost of meals you order. And Dinnerly technically has the cheapest costs per meal relative to its competitors on the meal delivery service market.
Check out Dinnerly’s website and you will see that it offers a wide-ranging selection of diverse menu options. Here are examples of Dinnerly’s menu offerings:
- Everything Bagel Seared Steak with Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
- Brown Sugar Chicken
- Caramel Chicken Stir-Fry with Snow Peas & Jasmine Rice
- Za’atar Crusted Tilapia with Couscous Salad
- Chicken Enchilada Stew with Crispy Tortilla Strips
- Brown Butter Short Rib Ravioli with Spinach, Walnuts & Crispy Garlic
And that is just a snapshot of Dinnerly’s weekly menu offerings. The company’s dinner meal delivery menu changes every week. Dinnerly’s delivery meals are basic, easy to prepare quickly, include step-by-step recipes, and affordable.
However, Dinnerly does offer menu options for people with special dietary needs. So for example, you won’t be able to find menu options if you are a vegan or adhere to keto or paleo diets.
If your family is on a tight budget, Dinnerly meals statistically cost about $4.69 per serving. And Dinnerly charges about $8.99 per order for shipping and delivery.
Home Chef
Home Chef is one of the cheapest meal delivery services out there that also offers its patrons a wide range of ordering options. You can choose from over 30 different menu options every week.
Home Chef claims that it has delivered over 200 meal kits to its customers.
Here is a sampling of the weekly menu options available at Home Chef:
- Honey-Cider Lamb Chops with fingerling potato, mushroom, and spinach gratin
- Smoked Almond and Herbed Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast with roasted potatoes and asparagus
- Fig-Glazed Pork Tenderloin with goat cheese Brussels sprouts and carrots
- Mozzarella Turkey Meatloaf and Tomato Jam with garlic cauliflower
- Italian Sausage Cowboy Pie with black beans and red peppers
- Southwestern Spinach and Mushroom Flautas with spicy chipotle sauce
And Home Chef also offers a variety of breakfast meals, fruits, and smoothies. Additionally, Home Chef offers its customers a lot more flexibility and options when ordering meals relative to its competitors.
For example, if you have special dietary needs, Home Chef gives you multiple options to consider. You can order vegetarian, low calorie, low carb, nut-free, and dairy meals. You can customize or upgrade the menu items offered in your Home Chef meal kit.
And Home Chef claims that its meal kits are so easy to prepare that you can cook a meal 5-minutes to 30-minutes out of the box.
The typical Home Chef meal will set you back about $6.99 per serving. Shipping and delivery of each meal kit cost $6.99 as well.
Dinner Apron
Blue Apron was one of the original meal delivery companies to popularize the service. Additionally, Blue Apron partners with Weight Watchers to design meals, menus, and to offer more culinary options for calorie watchers.
All of Blue Apron’s meal kits are designed by professional chefs, are perfected in test kitchens, feature sensible portion sizes, and are packed in eco-friendly recyclable packaging.
Blue Apron also offers you more options relative to its meal kits, especially if you have strict and specific dietary restrictions. The meals offered by Blue Apron are Weight Watchers approved, Beyond Meat protein varied, vegetarian, health-conscious, and even Diabetes friendly.
Blue Apron also offers a wide variety of wines for $10 per bottle.
The menu at Blue Apron is updated every week. Sample menu items include:
- Duck à L’Orange with Roasted Purple Potatoes & Brussels Sprouts
- Butternut Squash Enchiladas with Honey-Chipotle Sauce
- Shawarma Turkey Skillet & Garlic Pita with Zucchini, Onion & Labneh
- Honey Teriyaki Salmon with Brown Rice & Spicy Green Beans
- Lentils & Lemon-Shallot Dressing with Roasted Vegetables & Fried Eggs
- Seared Pork Chops & Apple Salsa with Pimento Cheese Mashed Potatoes
Blue Apron has various meal kit plans that range from $5 to $7.50 per servings depending on the number of servings. But generally speaking, Blue Apron meals cost about $9 per serving.
So, is Blue Apron one of the cheapest meal delivery services out there? Blue Apron does not charge for shipping and delivery. If you strategize your meal kit plans accordingly, you can save money buying from blue Apron.
Shop Around for the Cheapest Meal Delivery Service
Delivery meal services may suit your needs depending on your personal household budget. You may want to consider buying essential ingredients at the supermarket before committing to a meal kit subscription.
Whether or not you find the cheapest meal delivery service won’t matter if there are four or more members in your family. After all, those meal kits will add up and cost you a lot.
Shop around and consider your options before you commit to a service.
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Allen Francis was an academic advisor, librarian, and college adjunct for many years with no money, no financial literacy, and no responsibility when he had money. To him, the phrase “personal finance,” contains the power that anyone has to grow their own wealth. Allen is an advocate of best personal financial practices including focusing on your needs instead of your wants, asking for help when you need it, saving and investing in your own small business.
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