The quality of your diet is directly linked to your overall health and wellness, so it pays to be picky when it comes to the food you eat. If you’re looking for a way to improve your diet, consider upping the quality of the ingredients you use by going organic. Organic ingredients are free from artificial additives and synthetic processing methods.
Many people think going organic is overly expensive. While the price of organic foods may be higher than non-organic foods, there’s no reason you can’t enjoy a healthy organic diet without breaking the bank. One option to consider is using an organic meal delivery service.
Meal delivery services send either fully prepared meals or simple recipes and fresh ingredients (meal kits) right to your door in weekly deliveries. Ready-to-eat meals can be reheated on demand and meal kits, based on my personal experience, can take anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes to prepare. Regardless which option you choose, you’ll save yourself the hassle of grocery shopping and you’ll get to enjoy organic meals for less money and effort than you might think.
Read on to learn more about the benefits of organic food and to see our top picks for the best organic meal delivery services on the market.
Best Overall (USDA Certified Organic Company)
Green Chef
What It Is: Green Chef offers a variety of easy-to-follow recipes and certified organic ingredients to help you cook delicious and good-for-you meals at home. They give you the option to choose from a number of different diets including Keto, Paleo, or Plant-Powered as well as their Balanced meal plan.
The Details: If you’re looking for a simple way to improve the quality of your diet while cooking at home, Green Chef is easily one of the best options out there. This meal delivery service gives you a wide variety of clean meal plans to choose from, including popular diet. Simply select your meals each week and choose from 2 or 4 servings and you’ll start receiving weekly deliveries of premium, pre-measured ingredients and the recipes you can cook at home.
Green Chef makes it easy to eat organic without breaking the bank too. Try the Keto + Paleo meal plan for just $6.99 per serving and you can enjoy recipes like Grilled Cumin Pork Chops or Mediterranean Chicken. The Balanced Living meal plan starts at $5.99 per serving and includes meal options like Bulgogi Burgers, Lemon Mustard Chicken, and Southwest Zucchini Fritters. Customize your box size for 2, 4, or 6 people and select 3 or 4 meals per week. You can change, skip, or cancel your subscription at any time.
Why It Made This List:
- Green Chef is the only meal delivery service I know of that is a USDA Certified Organic Company (others just use organic ingredients).
- They have a tasty diverse selection of meals to choose from—including good-for-you options and comfort food options.
- They fit many different diets and have meals that are gluten free, low-carb, vegan, and more.
Best Adventurous Meals
Sunbasket
What It Is: Sunbasket makes it easy to enjoy delicious and diverse cuisines made with farm-fresh ingredients in just 6 minutes or less. Simply choose from a wide variety of quick and easy recipes or stock up on Fresh & Ready meals for the nights when you don’t feel like cooking.
The Details: At Sunbasket, you’ll enjoy USDA certified organic meals made simple with easy recipes. This meal delivery service sends organic produce and clean ingredients right to your door along with easy-to-follow recipes to help you prepare wholesome meals at home. For the days when you don’t feel like cooking, they have a selection of Fresh & Ready meals you can pop in the microwave to enjoy in 6 minutes or less. In addition to meals, Sunbasket has one of the largest add on marketplaces out of any meal kit we’ve reviewed. You’ll have the ability to add foods to your box such as premade pasta, meats (seafood, beef, chicken, and more), as well as a ton of snacks (crackers, cheese, jerky, veggie dips, and more).
With Sunbasket, you’ll enjoy the best of the best when it comes to organic cooking. Their Meal Kits are ready in 15 to 40 minutes and feature the freshest seasonal ingredients. They are also one of the most delicious meal kits we’ve reviewed. When it comes to diet variety, you can choose from Paleo, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, and Carb-Conscious meal options among other popular diet plans. Some of my personal favorites include flavorful meals like Lemongrass Steak Lettuce Cups with Pickled Vegetables and Chicken Kief with Salad. Meals start at $10.99 per serving and you can skip, change, or cancel at any time.
Why It Made This List:
- They offer some of the most delicious and diverse meals out of any meal kit (perfect for more adventurous eaters).
- Meals range in time based on cooking preference and can be ready anywhere between 15 to 40 minutes.
- They’re one of the few organic meal kit options that offers an addon marketplace with hundreds of options ranging from snacks to meats.
Best Plant-Based Option
Daily Harvest
What It Is: Enjoy meals that are good for you and undeniably delicious and fully premade with Daily Harvest. Choose from a variety of meal options including smoothies, harvest bowls, flatbreads, and more to create a custom meal plan sent right to your door and ready to enjoy in minutes.
The Details: If you’re in the market for a meal plan that utilizes clean ingredients based on fruit and vegetables, look no further than Daily Harvest. This meal delivery service features clean, organic, and nourishing ingredients without dairy, gluten, gums, or fillers. They offer smoothies, flatbreads, soups, harvest bowls, snacks, and much more.
Daily Harvest offers recipes for every meal of the day starting with superfood breakfast options like the Mulberry and Dragon Fruit Oat Bowl through light and good-for-you dinners like the Tomatillo + Pepper Flatbread. They also offers an assortment of beverages like plant-based milks and lattes. Everything is shipped flash-frozen to lock in freshness and meals range from $5.99 to $8.99.
Why It Made This List:
- They’re one of the few frozen premade meal delivery services that offers meals made with majority organic ingredients.
- They offer dozens of different foods—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—as well as snacks.
- I’ve found their foods to be a great balance between tasty and good for you. For example, their Hazelnut + Chocolate bites are my favorite for a midday snack and are made with ingredients like avocado, hazelnut, cacao, reishi, and vanilla bean.
Best Premade Option
Fresh ‘N Lean
What It Is: Fresh ‘n Lean sends healthy, ready-to-eat meals right to your door in regular weekly deliveries. Choose from a variety of non-GMO recipes all nutrient-dense and gluten-free, priced under $8 per serving.
The Details: With Fresh ‘N Lean, you’ll enjoy a wide selection of ready-to-eat meals made with premium USDA certified organic ingredients. Your meals will be delivered fresh (never frozen) in an insulated box, ready to pop in the fridge or heat and eat. Simply subscribe to a weekly meal plan or pick your meals a la carte. You can also add snacks, sides, and other add-ons to completely customize your plan.
You can choose from a variety of meal plans including Keto, Protein+, Paleo, and Vegan to enjoy healthy, fully prepared meals sent right to your door. Enjoy flavorful options like BBQ Steak with Bell Pepper, Blackened Shrimp with Roasted Cauliflower, or Herbed Cage-Free Chicken and Lemon with Brussels Sprouts.
Why It Made This List:
- They offer the most diet variety compared to any other meal delivery service on this list.
- Their meal packaging is very unique. Each individual meal is vacuum sealed to keep the food its freshest.
- They are one of the only premade meal delivery services that offers a bulk plan, perfect for stocking up on foods.
What Does Organic Mean?
When you hear the word “organic,” you probably picture farm-fresh ingredients free from artificial additives. While that image may be correct, it doesn’t tell the whole story. The truth is the word “organic” has different meanings in different contexts, so it’s important to learn the basics about the term before you start using it as a requirement to narrow down your meal kit options.
Some meal kits say they use USDA certified organic ingredients while others use the term organic a little more “loosely”. A handful of companies say they are fully USDA certified organic, but what does that really mean and are organic ingredients really any better for you?
If you’re looking for a fully organic meal delivery service, look for the USDA certified organic seal. In this case, the only meal delivery service that has that is Green Chef. Every other option on this list uses a majority organic ingredients but are not USDA certified companies.
USDA certified organic ingredients are grown and processed in accordance with federal guidelines for things like soil quality, animal rearing practices, pest control, and the use of additives.
Organic farmers rely on natural farming methods as much as possible. Produce can be labeled organic if it’s grown in soil that hasn’t been treated with prohibited substances (things like synthetic fertilizers and pesticides) for three years prior to harvest. Organic meat must be raised in living conditions that accommodate the animal’s natural behaviors and must be fed 100% organic feed and forage.
Things get a little tricky when it comes to processed, multi-food ingredients. If a product contains at least 70% organically produced ingredients, it can be labeled “made with organic ingredients”. These products can’t bear the USDA certified organic seal. Products can bear the USDA certified organic seal if they contain 95% or more organic ingredients.
Is Organic Really Better?
Now that you have a better understanding of what the term “organic” means and how it applies in different situations, you may be wondering whether it’s worth the extra cost. Some people think organic food is healthier, safer, and even more flavorful than regular food while others are more concerned about the well-being of animals and the impact on the environment from production methods.
The most obvious benefit of organic food is that it is made without the use of artificial hormones, antibiotics, and genetically modified organisms. Organic foods are also free from artificial food additives which includes artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, and sweeteners.
Aside from the subjective benefits of organic food production, there is scientific evidence to show that organic food is superior to regular food in several ways. Though studies regarding the nutrient content of organic and non-organic foods have mixed results (and are possibly no more nutritious than conventional foods), there is evidence to suggest organic foods may be higher in vitamins and antioxidants. Some studies have found organic foods to be higher in vitamin C, zinc, iron, and various antioxidants.
In the end, it’s largely a matter of preference whether you choose organic food or not. More research is needed to ascertain any true health benefits.
Have a question we didn’t answer in this article? Know of any other organic meal delivery services we may have missed? Let us know in the comments below!
I don’t even know if it is worth the extra price to go organic. I have tried GreenChef and there was no difference in the flavors.
Are these certified organic companies or they use organic ingredients? Looking for a meal kit that is certified but the only one I am seeing is green chefs.
Hi Mark. The only certified organic meal kit currently available is Green Chef. The others listed use organic ingredients.
Does Home Chef have organic meals? I just signed on for their meals but now I am not sure it is the best option.
Home Chef meals occasionally use organic ingredients but not all of the time and not in every meal.
super disappointed there are not more organic vegan options out there….
Where can I find organic and lower carb meal delivery options?
You may want to also read our top picks for low carb meal delivery services here.