If you’ve ever found yourself standing in the supermarket after a long day, at a loss for what to buy and cook for dinner you are not alone.
In a state of exhaustion you end up buying a bunch of random items that by the end of the week are still sitting in your fridge, slowly wilting and rotting away.
Let’s face it: trying to cook nutritious and tasty meals every night is near impossible, and that’s why meal delivery services have become so popular in recent years.
If you haven’t tried one yet, here’s a quick rundown on how they work.
You sign up to a flexible plan, choose how many meals you want per week and how many people you’re cooking for, choose the recipes you’re keen on, and they do the rest.
By the rest, I mean they put together a kit with the pre-portioned ingredients and a simple-to-follow recipe card and all you have to do is whip up tasty and speedy meals.
They save on time (no more of those evening supermarket stops), and effort (trying to find new recipes to replace the high-rotation spaghetti bolognese) and also reduce food waste by providing you with the exact portions you need.
BEST MEAL DELIVERY SERVICES
If you’ve been considering signing up to a meal delivery service but you’re not sure which one to commit to, worry not. We’ve done the research to give you the lowdown on the best providers in Australia.
CHEAPEST MEAL DELIVERY SERVICES
EveryPlate
Price: Starting from $3.98 per serving, plus $9.99 shipping
Suitable for households of two, four or six people, EveryPlate is one of the cheapest options on the market. They cut back on unnecessary frills to provide you with fresh veg and quality produce without the fancy extras, keeping their prices super affordable.
To sign up, you can select how many people you’re feeding (two, four or six) and how many meals you want delivered per week (three to six). You can choose to skip deliveries whenever you want, and cancel at any time – it’s super flexible, and there’s no lock-in.
Once you’ve selected the date of your first box delivery, you can get to the fun part: Each week, you can choose from 12 tasty recipes (including meals like sesame chicken schnitzel with wedges and salad and vegetarian options like Indian lentil and cauliflower pie). Each recipe card has only four steps, so less confident cooks can get through with ease; and while you can’t sign up to specific diet plans, certain dietary requirements are catered to in some of the weekly recipes.
Price: Starting from $5.49 per serving, plus $10.49 shipping
Calling itself Australia’s most affordable meal kit, Dinnerly offers six-ingredient recipes with five simple steps, ready in 30 minutes or less. You can choose from more than 40 easy recipes per week, including beef smash burgers and pumpkin and caramelised onion pizza. They also offer specials each month, including dessert recipes like passionfruit melting moments and flourless orange cake – so you can really wow the household.
Simply choose from a two-person or family box, select how many meals you want per week (three to six), and tick the box if you’d like to make your boxes vegetarian, add your delivery details and first delivery date, then choose which meals you want each week. In your boxes, you’ll receive all the portioned ingredients, and you can cook using the digital recipe card. Simple!
BEST CUSTOMISABLE MEAL DELIVERY SERVICES
Marley Spoon
Price: Starting from $6.74 per serving, plus $10.49 shipping
Offering over 40 delicious meals each week to inspire everyday chefs, Marley Spoon is a great choice for those wanting to excite their tastebuds. Their chef-designed menu offers options for all tastes and lifestyles, including vegan, low-calorie, and family-friendly options (so you don’t need to stress about picky eaters). We’re talking Korean loaded sweet potatoes, four cheese ravioli, glazed teriyaki chicken, and classic beef cottage pie.
Start by choosing a two or four person box, then however many meals you’d like per week – two to five. Check if you’d like to make your boxes vegetarian, and from there it’s the usual delivery details and date information. Each week when you select your meals, you can also add on monthly dessert and snack specials, like apple and sticky date crumble or beef empanadas. And if you’re feeling particularly busy, they even offer pre-cooked, “ready to heat” meals like chicken ragu.
Price: Starting from $8.25 per serving, plus $9.99 shipping
HelloFresh gives you a versatile range of recipes to select from each week, so you’ll never be bored. Using high quality fresh and seasonal ingredients, you’ll be able to create delicious meals like seared salmon with sage butter and mashed potatoes, Thai green coconut noodle soup, and garlic prawn and chorizo risotto. Yum.
Select your plan size – two or four people, and three to five recipes per week – then add your delivery details and you’re ready to go. Available as one-off extras, HelloFresh also offer a variety of upgrade recipes and add-ons such as gourmet, fresh and fast, dinner to lunch and sides so you can tailor the menu to your household to keep everyone happy.
BEST MEAL DELIVERY SERVICES FOR GYM-GOERS
ChefGood
Price: Starting from $10.45 per serving, plus $12 shipping
If health is your main concern, ChefGood is a great choice. They offer healthy lunch and dinner meal plans with a focus on nourishing food and also cater for anyone on weight loss diets, is a vegetarian or vegan or is gluten or dairy intolerant. Meals include chicken green goddess salad, satay chicken, quinoa and sweet potato bowls. All are hand crafted with fresh local produce, and contain no hidden sugars.
A ChefGood subscription is even simpler than some of the other options already mentioned, as they do the cooking for you – so in your box you’ll receive vacuum-sealed meals ready to reheat and enjoy.
Price: Starting from $9.40 per serving
Offering a wide variety of meal plans including balanced, family, weight loss, plant-based, sculpt or perform and gain, MACROS single-serve, chef-made meals make healthy eating easy.
Every meal is dietitian-formulated to give your body all the goodness it needs with none of the unhealthy extras. Dietary requirements can be catered to as well, with plant-based, paleo, low carb, dairy free, and no added nuts options. Delicious menu items include slow cooked beef with polenta, red duck curry, black bean chilli and more.
All you need to do is select how many lunches and dinners you want per week (select between seven and 24), and they’ll arrive freshly made on your doorstep on the day of your choosing, ready for reheating.
Prices: Starting from $10.95 per serving, plus $15 shipping
Another great option for delivering freshly cooked meals to your door, My Muscle Chef aims to save you time in the kitchen so you can focus on hitting the gym, the studio, the pool or the pavement to meet your fitness goals. They’ve got more than 70 high protein meals available, each made to order by real chefs using sustainably sourced ingredients. They also offer tasty breakfast and snack options. Meal options include the likes of lemongrass turkey with cauliflower and quinoa rice and Mexican superfood bowls.
You can choose from a muscle gain, performance, or calorie control plan. Then, simply input how often you work out each week to determine the amount of protein you’ll need in each meal, and select how many meals you’d like (20 to 28, to suit five to seven days). When it comes to dietary requirements, you can choose vegan options, and all meals are halal.
BEST PREMADE MEAL DELIVERY SERVICES
Youfoodz
Prices: Starting from $9.95 per serving, plus $7.50 delivery (free if you spend over $89)
Providing healthy, ready-made meals, Youfoodz offer more than 100 menu items to satisfy any and every craving. Tasty meals include classic spaghetti and meatballs, sun-dried tomato and mushroom tortellini, and creamy chicken and pumpkin risotto; and snack options include banana bread, protein balls, and healthy chips. They use locally sourced produce that is prepared fresh by chefs, and their no lock-in plans allow you to simply order however many meals you need, whenever you want – or, you can set up a weekly, fortnightly or monthly recurring order.
BEST SNACK DELIVERY SERVICES
GoodnessMe Box
Price: $29.95 per month
Sticking to healthy snacks is a whole challenge of its own – especially when it comes to finding ones that don’t taste like dirt. If you’re someone who loves to nibble on goodies to keep you going through the day (and who doesn’t?) then a snack delivery subscription from GoodnessMe Box will be your best friend. You can choose from a three month, six month or twelve month subscription, and each month you’ll find a GoodnessMe Box on your doorstep, full to the brim of healthy and actually tasty treats.
All products are natural, GMO-free, and free from artificial sweeteners, preservatives, colours, additives, and other nasties. Dietary requirements are catered to, with specific boxes for those who are gluten free, dairy free, or vegan.
BEST GROCERY DELIVERY SERVICES
Want to make life a little easier but not so keen on a full meal delivery service? Shopping for your groceries online is a small change that can make a huge difference. Don’t stress about battling the crowds and queues at the shops – just add your usual order to cart via your phone on your daily commute or from the couch in the evening, and get everything delivered to your front door.
Truly the store for everything, Amazon’s wide range of products includes all your must-have pantry food and drinks. From your morning cereals or spreads to pantry essentials like pasta, rice, and canned goods, all the way to your favourite alcoholic beverages, they’ve got you covered. You can also save an extra 10 per cent on certain items with their Amazon “subscribe and save” offer that allows you to save money on those items you buy again and again.
If you want to get the best possible deals, you can sign up to Amazon Prime for $6.99 per month (with the first 30 days free, of course) to get free delivery in as little as two days, as well as access to exclusive discounts.
If you’re after locally grown, fresh, organic produce, Doorstep Organics is for you. They source their produce from local markets and direct from farmers to support local businesses and ensure everything is of the highest, freshest quality. You can buy anything from organic fruit and veg to organic eggs and baked goods and even fresh meat and fish. Free standard delivery is available on orders more than $150.
We all know you can shop for your Woolies groceries online – but if you haven’t yet heard of Woolworths Delivery Unlimited, then listen up. Delivery Unlimited is a subscription paid monthly or annually that covers the cost of delivery fees, reusable bags and crate to bench costs for any orders over $100. In other words, from as little as $9.92 per month, you can avoid paying delivery fees or packing costs for your online grocery shops.
You could end up saving over 33 per cent off with an annual plan – plus you can try the service out for yourself with a free 30 day trial.
BEST WINE DELIVERY SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES
Vinomofo Wine Club
For lovers of wine, Vinomofo is a saving grace – and their Mofo and Black Market Wine Clubs are especially exciting. Choose the option that works for your budget ($179 or $139 for a 12-pack respectively), personalise it to suit your wine tastes, and decide how often you want a box delivered. You’ll enjoy high quality wines for as little as under $12 a bottle, with free shipping and a whole lot of convenience.
Another exciting way to top up your wine rack and try something new, is delicious. Drinks Delivered. They select a new club case every 12 weeks and again at Christmas so you can enjoy quality wines from small estates and family-owned wineries, with comprehensive tasting notes to help expand your vino expertise. Choose from mixed, white or red cases for $189.99 each and enjoy the flexibility of no membership fees, and the ability to defer or cancel at any time.
Naked Wines promises to get you better Australian and New Zealand-made wines for less money – and if you sign up to be one of their “Angels”, you’ll be able to support local winemakers while enjoying the best deals on site, as well as access to exclusive wines and a free bottle each month when you buy 12. Here’s how it works: Pay monthly deposit of $40 into the Angel “piggy bank”, and then spend it on wines whenever you like. There’s no sign-up or membership fee, just the deposit that you can spend on your future orders. What’s not to love?
ARE MEAL KITS WORTH IT?
If you feel like you waste a lot of time planning and shopping for your dinners, a meal kit will absolutely be worthwhile. They take the think work out of creating healthy, versatile and delicious meals by sending you the exact amounts of ingredients with easy-to-follow instructions.
WHAT IS THE BEST PREMADE FOOD DELIVERY SERVICE?
There’s a few available on the market, and it comes down to what you’re looking for. Households looking for healthy and tasty meals will love Youfoodz and ChefGood, while health and fitness buffs will benefit most from My Muscle Chef and MACROS.
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Originally published as Best meal delivery services to subscribe to in 2023
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