The 5 Best Prepared Meal Delivery Services, Tested and Reviewed (2025)

Factor meals often follow a formula of main protein plus carb and vegetable sides, which meant that each meal felt balanced and multifaceted, with a good mix of protein, carbs, and fats that helped keep me satiated.

It’s not a unique attribute on this list, but Factor meals couldn’t be easier to prepare: just two to three minutes in the microwave and you’re golden. This made them especially convenient to pack as office lunches, as opposed to prepared meal delivery services that require heating in a pan or oven.

What we’d leave: Some meals were definitely less successful than others. The Honey-Mustard Pork Chop, for instance, was incredibly tough and by far the worst dish I tried. I also didn’t love how repetitive the side dishes were, and how some of the vegetables became a bit waterlogged after heating.

While portion sizes were perfect for me, they may feel a touch small depending on what kind of eater you are.

I’d deem Factor meals above average for microwave fare, and totally satisfying to eat for a quick dinner—but they simply can’t compare to anything you’d make yourself, and after two weeks of eating them I was about ready for a break. That said, this is a good option for occasional use on particularly busy weeks, or for people who are looking to meet specific wellness goals.

Who is Factor is best for: People looking to meet specific wellness goals, or busy people who want relatively healthy and balanced meals—no meal prep required.

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Tested and reviewed by: Wilder Davies, commerce writer

About Gardencup: Gardencup is a food delivery service specializing in salads and bowls served in, you guessed it, a cup. Their meals are designed to be easily taken on the go—just add your dressing and shake in the provided jar, no heating or additional dishware required.

Ordering process: The ordering process is extremely easy. All you have to do is click through their menu and decide which Gardencups you want in your shipment. You can get either six or nine cups per shipment, and they have a generous selection of salads packed with toppings and protein. The menu skews toward meat, but there are vegetarian options as well. Beyond salads, they also offer a few noodle and grain bowls, soups, fresh fruit, and snack cups.

What we love: Gardencup’s menu is based on a modest selection of crowd pleasers. The salads are the kind you’d recognize from [YOUR PARTICULAR SHOPPING MALL]’s casual American restaurant chain—there’s a Caesar, a cobb, a southwest chicken, a wedge—you can probably anticipate the others. This meant that every Gardencup I had tasted familiar. For a prepared meal service geared towards weekday convenience, I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. They are generous with the meat, with the salads averaging around 30 grams of protein, which left me feeling full by the time I finished eating.

The salads arrived quite fresh, but I was apprehensive at first as to how they’d hold up in the fridge over the course of a week. However, come day six I found the last salad to be as crispy as the first, and there was nothing funky going on with the meat or other toppings.

What we’d leave: I tried one week with meat and one week without, and the vegetarian and vegan cups felt significantly less substantial. If you don’t eat meat, I don’t think I’d recommend Gardencup to you. The options will be a lot more limited and you’ll probably find yourself wanting to doctor things up.

This is a smaller gripe, and not wholly negative, but almost all of the Gardencups came so full of ingredients that they didn’t mix very well from shaking alone. Unless you really need to eat it on the go, I’d suggest pouring it out into a bowl.

Who is Gardencup best for? Office lunches and people who really love salad.

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The best prepared meal delivery service for wellness heads: Sakara

Tester: Emma Laperruque, associate director of cooking

Sakara is a prepared meal delivery service with a focus on nutrient- and plant-rich meals made with whole foods, all of which are gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan. They have two programs to choose between: a five-day “detox” and their Signature Nutrition Program, which is what Emma tested.

The ordering process: When you go to sign up for Sakara’s Signature Nutrition Program, you’ll choose between a plan that includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or one that includes just lunch and dinner. Sakara rolls out a new set menu every week, and there are no substitutions allowed, so the ordering process is mandatorily simple. You can choose between ordering a weekly subscription, or prepaying for 1, 4, 8, or 12 weeks at a time.

What we love: “All of the meals I received were straightforward and quick to prepare. A lot of them required no heating at all (for example, a parfait for breakfast or a salad for lunch),” says Emma. While some meals were designed to be briefly heated in an oven, Emma found that a quick zap in the microwave could also do the trick.

While breakfasts veered towards the sweet, Emma notes “these were not sweet sweets—they were super balanced, which I appreciated.” Some favorites were a pumpkin pie parfait with a maple-cinnamon granola and the coconut praline granola with cacao mylk.

“Sakara’s salads are excellent—a reliable delight to dig into in the middle of a busy workday,” says Emma. “They’re generously portioned, so you have enough fuel to power you through the afternoon. And they’re thoughtfully designed with a range of textures and colors.” Emma particularly liked the dressings, many of which she’d buy by the bottle if she could. Dinners were tasty, too, if perhaps a bit small depending what your appetite is.