There are different types of online delivery services on Android that let you request an order from a restaurant or a grocery store. But what if you wanted to cook your own food at home while trying different recipes? That’s where a meal kit service app comes in.
Better yet, a meal kit service app saves you time since you don’t need to go to the store every time you want to cook a new recipe. The question is, which is the best meal kit app to try out different recipes? Let’s find out.
What Is a Meal Kit Service App?
A meal kit service delivers pre-measured ingredients with recipes to your doorstep. If you want to order, you can choose your favorite cuisines on a meal kit service app and a courier will deliver all the ingredients you need in a refrigerated box to your doorstep.
This is convenient for people who find it tedious to shop for fresh cooking ingredients every day or week. It’s also a good idea to use a meal kit service app if you’re disabled or a senior citizen. Not to mention, you can use it to learn how to cook different varieties of food every week.
1. HelloFresh
With over 10 million downloads, HelloFresh is one of the most popular meal kit service apps for Android. It comes with more than 40 diverse menu options. The most impressive thing is, the menus include kid and diabetic-friendly meals—this makes it convenient for families that have different eating preferences.
Once you log in to the app, you can customize your meal plan with the options of mostly meat, veggie, family, calorie-smart, pescatarian, and quick cook. After choosing a meal plan, you can choose the number of people that will be at the table. This helps to measure the food potions to minimize wastage.
With meal plans starting at $8 per serving, HelloFresh can be more affordable compared to some retail stores. Similarly, it gives you the option of choosing between two and five meals a week. As for the delivery standards, the ingredients are neatly packed in an insulative box with ice that can keep your order fresh for up to 24 hours.
However, HelloFresh charges an extra $10 shipping fee. Also, it doesn't include seasonings such as salt and black pepper in its delivery.
Download: HelloFresh (Free, subscription required)
2. Home Chef
If you love quick and simple recipes, you should consider Home Chef. Most of its recipes take an average of 20 minutes to prepare. Also, they're easy to follow and include picture illustrations to help you through the cooking process.
When you sign up, you can customize your menu to suit your diet, lifestyle, and preferences. This means if you have food allergies, you can swap an ingredient. Also, like most meal kit services, all the ingredients are packed in an insulative box to keep them fresh.
Another cool thing about it is that you can skip a meal without any penalties—this is helpful if you’re traveling out of town. The flip side is, the Home Chef app includes a section of more expensive premium recipes.
Download: Home Chef (Free, subscription required)
3. Blue Apron
Blue Apron is convenient if you’re looking for recipes inspired by world cuisine. This makes it ideal for people who love trying out new dishes that are out of their comfort zone.
Most meals on the app are between $7.49 and $9.99 per serving. However, the more servings on your table, the cheaper the meals since it comes with free shipping. On the other hand, if you have a small order, you will need to pay $9.99 for the shipping fee.
Although Blue Apron can be more expensive than grocery stores for some recipes, they deliver hormone-free meats, non-GMO plant-based ingredients, and seafood that are sustainably sourced. Not to mention, its meal plans are safe for diabetics and weight watchers.
But if you have many family members that have different eating preferences, this app might not work for you. Its family-size meal plan doesn't offer meal options for people with special eating preferences—unless you’re choosing two servings.
Download: Blue Apron (Free, subscription required)
4. Sunbasket
The Sunbasket app is ideal for anyone looking for a meal kit service that offers a creative and healthy take on meals. Most of its products are organic, and there is a wide range of options for vegetarians and pescatarians. It also includes diabetic and keto diet recipes.
Most of the recipes take about 20 minutes to prepare since they include easy-to-follow recipe cards with picture illustrations. Besides that, Sunbasket also offers oven-ready meals that only require heating—this way, you're also sorted for days when you don't feel like cooking.
Although Sunbasket focuses on vegetarian meal kits, it also offers meat recipes, but they’re more expensive with an average cost of between $15 and $17 per serving. In addition to that, the meat recipes don't include comfort foods like pork chops or meatloaf.
Unlike most meal kit apps for Android, Sunbasket also offers a single meal kit delivery option. You can also add groceries like coffee, sugar, snacks, and bread to your box.
Download: Sunbasket (Free, subscription required)
5. EveryPlate
EveryPlate offers a range of recipes that are budget friendly with meal kit boxes starting at $5.49—its pricing is constant whether you buy two servings or more. However, if you're interested in seafood and steak options, you need to pay an extra $3 since they're only available on its premium subscription.
EveryPlate comes up with 16 weekly menus consisting of popular comfort food recipes such as chicken pot pie, pork chops, meatloaf, tacos, and rice. You can choose three to five meals per week with either two or four servings per meal.
If you're on a strict diet, every ingredient on this app comes with dietary information to help keep your calorie count in check. On the other hand, if you enjoy a vegan diet, this app might not work for you since it focuses more on comfort foods with more meat-based recipes.
Download: EveryPlate (Free, subscription required)
A Meal Kit Service App Saves You Time
Using a meal kit service app is like sending your assistant to go shopping on your behalf. Better yet, a meal kit service makes it easier to try out different recipes and improve your cooking creativity. Another benefit is that you can choose healthy meal plans and avoid throwing out food. Try them out to see which one suits you best.