9 Best Meal Delivery Services for New Parents 2024

Becoming a parent is a busy time of life. The hassle of shopping, cooking, and cleaning up can feel like a lot on top of looking after a new baby. The best meal delivery services for new parents can help alleviate some of this stress and free up time for more important things. These services also make a great gift if you’re buying for someone who’s just had a baby.

Fortunately, I’ve checked out the top services for this year. My team and I have tested every service on this list and compared their offerings. From <30-minute meal kits and easy heat-and-eat snacks to prepared, microwave-friendly meals, I’ve checked them all out. Plenty of services can cut down your shopping, planning, and cleaning time to less than half of what you’re doing now.

My top pick for this year goes to Factor. It offers an abundance of prepared meals that take just a few minutes to reheat. It also has a large variety of extras and add-ons, including breakfasts, smoothies, and diet-friendly desserts.

The Best Meal Delivery Services for New Parents Reviewed

1. Factor – Best Health-Conscious Prepared Meals

Factor makes eating a breeze for new parents with its prepared meals. Forget about planning and shopping for meals, cooking them, and cleaning up afterward – none of that is necessary. It offers up an impressive range of prepared meals every week that only take around 2 to 3 minutes to heat up in your microwave.

What’s on the Menu?

As a health- and fitness-focused service, Factor’s menu includes nutritious ingredients. You can expect to get lean meats like chicken and pork, as well as seafood options like salmon and shrimp. There are also a few more indulgent meats like sausage and chicken wings.

Factor’s entire menu is gluten-free, so it’s perfect for gluten-sensitive dieters. It doesn’t strictly cater to other specific allergens, so check the ingredients and other information before ordering. Keep in mind that all ingredients are processed in the same facility. 

If you’re looking to add extras to your order, there’s plenty to choose from. For example, you can get smoothies, breakfast items, and more. There’s also a selection of protein add-ons like sausage, chicken, and salmon.

What Makes It Special?

There are also plenty of meal plans for you to choose from. Our reviewer was impressed with the variety of menus, including Keto, Flexitarian, Calorie Smart, Protein Plus, and Vegan & Veggie. If you don’t follow any particular plan, go for Chef’s Choice fitting any lifestyle. You can also mix and match across these plans as you wish.

None of the meals contain much more than around 600 calories. This makes the service an excellent option for weight loss if that’s your thing.

Is It Good Value?

Since the meals are single-serving, it’s particularly useful if one parent is at home on maternity or paternity leave and needs a quick meal. It’s also great for couples who have slightly different dietary requirements.

To get started with Factor, you’ll have to order a minimum of 6 meals per week (up to 18). The meals are single-serving only, which is something to keep in mind.

Factor's prices drop with larger orders. You can get 18 meals for just $103.41 on your first order using our link. 

2. Green Chef – Best USDA-Certified Organic Meal Kits

Green Chef’s menu is filled with organic meal kits that take 30 minutes or less to make. While it’s not the speediest service on my list, it ranks highly because its meals are nutrient-dense and feature top-quality ingredients, which is important for new parents who need to need to replenish their energy levels.

What’s on the Menu?

The company emphasizes veggies, whole grains, and lean meats in its meals. You’ll mostly find chicken, fish like barramundi and salmon, shrimp, lean pork, and beef tenderloin in the meals.

Speaking of which, as a gourmet service, there are plenty of cuisines on offer here. You’ll find everything from Peruvian, Italian, Greek, Mexican, French, and tons more. Around a third of the menu is classic American. You’ll find options like Cheesy Ground Beef Melts, or Turkish-Spiced Chicken Tacos (pictured), which is a bit of an Americanized take.

You’ll find plenty of add-ons and extras, too. Expect to find breakfast and lunch items like oatmeal, pancakes, salads, and wraps. There are also desserts and protein packs. Protein packs include beef and chicken, as well as seafood.

What Makes It Special?

Green Chef offers several meal plans that can be mixed and matched. There are Protein Packed, Keto, Plant Based, Mediterranean, Quick & Easy, Calorie Smart, Gut & Brain Health, and Gluten Free.

Green Chef also sets itself apart because it has an emphasis on sustainability. Its packaging is all created with the smallest possible carbon footprint in mind. And it contains USDA-certified high-quality organic ingredients.

Keep in mind that there aren’t any prepared meals here. If you want ready-to-heat prepared meals, take a look at Blue Apron or Factor. But as our review suggests, cooking is super simple with colorful recipe cards and easy-to-follow instructions.

Is It Good Value?

Green Chef stands out as a top choice for healthy meal delivery. It excels with a variety of plans that surpass many competitors, meeting diverse dietary preferences. Its offerings, though pricier, deliver exceptional value, justifying the cost.

The minimum order is 3 meals for 2 people per week, but you can get up to 4 meals for 6 people. You can also save a few bucks per serving by opting for the largest weekly order. The price per meal starts from $9.99. 

3. Blue Apron – Best Gourmet Meals for New Parents

Blue Apron promises to cut back on time spent shopping for and preparing meals, which is just what a new parent needs. You can choose from various meal kits that only take around 30 to 40 minutes to make or prepared meals that are ready in as few as 3 minutes.

What’s on the Menu?

Most of the menu consists of meat and fish recipes. The selection includes over 80+ options per week including a range of add-ons. My colleague’s tested Blue Apron review goes into greater detail on the menu.

The Chorizo & Broccoli Pasta is an Italian-inspired dish with an American twist. This sort of “Americanization” makes Blue Apron a good choice for families who need kid-friendly meals. Some meals can also be customized, like the Whole Grain Pasta & Cauliflower. You could keep it veggie, or add hot Italian pork sausage instead.

The recipes are creative and internationally inspired, but you’ll also get to enjoy simple classics like burgers. The menu is varied enough to keep things interesting, so you won’t get stuck cooking the same thing over and over again.

What Makes It Special?

Blue Apron’s meal kits are straightforward to follow, and the tray bake recipes are great for keeping prep times down. In the early days of parenthood, the Prepared & Ready range is the most convenient option, as each meal just needs to be heated in the oven or microwave.

My favorite feature of Blue Apron has to be its Add-Ons and Market sections. You can add lots of different items to your order like desserts, sides, snacks, breakfast items, and even extra proteins. Plus you can add extra prepared for up to 2 people and Meal Kit bundles.

Is It Good Value?

There are some special dietary options on the menu, but they’re fairly limited. For a bigger selection of diet-friendly meal kits – including vegan and keto options – check out Green Chef’s menu instead.

The minimum order is 2 meal kits for 2 people or 4 prepared meals per week. There doesn’t appear to be a hard limit as to how many you can order every week. Pricing for the largest orders costs $4.00, which means you save more the more you order. 

4. HelloFresh – Best Family-Friendly Meal Kits

HelloFresh is a more family-friendly, affordable alternative to Green Chef. It features tons of recipes that only take around 20 minutes to make, and there are a good number of dietary options available. 

What’s on the Menu?

You’ll get simple and fun recipes, high-quality ingredients, and an abundance of cuisines. For example, you can find anything from Latin American, classic American, Italian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and many more. 

HelloFresh offers a large selection of both meals and add-ons. Extras include yogurt and granola, desserts, lunches like grilled cheese and salad, burgers, soups, extra meats, and even a few prepared meals. But that’s not even scratching the surface. I recommend browsing the site for yourself as it’s truly impressive.

If you’re interested in HelloFresh, you can view up to 6 weeks' worth of menus in advance. What I found interesting is that the meals generally rotate each week. I find that many competitors recycle meals from previous weeks – so this is something worth noting.

What Makes It Special?

The company features 6 specific plans. These include Meat & Veggies, Veggie, Family Friendly, Fit & Wholesome, Under 20 Minutes, and Pescatarian. You can learn more about the plans and the exact offerings in our full HelloFresh review.

Speaking of plans, there are a few dietary preferences you can choose from as well. These include low-carb, low-calorie, and pescatarian. If you have any food allergies or sensitivities, HelloFresh recommends that you carefully review the ingredient listing for each meal prior to ordering.

Is It Good Value?

HelloFresh boasts a vast menu and affordable prices, making it a great choice for budget-oriented parents and picky eaters. What’s more, it has an online cookbook brimming with dishes of different types from global cuisines. 

5. Home Chef – Best for Meal Customization

Home Chef stands out for 2 reasons: meal customizability and speediness of meal prep. You can find meals every week that take as few as 10 to 15 minutes to make. If you’re a busy new parent, this can be a lifesaver.

What’s on the Menu?

The main Home Chef menu has many quick-prep meal kits. Here, you’ll find a variety of meals that take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes to make. And if you’re in a bit of a rush, the Express meal kits only take about 10 to 15 minutes.

The Creamy Blackened Chicken Alfredo is an Express meal ready in 15 minutes. Every week, you can choose from roughly 6 to 10 Express meals. This is in addition to the rest of the extensive menu.

Every week, there are several oven-ready meals on offer. All you have to do is heat them in the oven, serve them, and eat them. As a new parent, I can’t think of a more convenient way to eat. Besides, this is definitely a healthier alternative to microwaving your dinners, too.

What Makes It Special?

Home Chef’s customization feature lets you replace certain ingredients. Let’s go back to that Creamy Blackened Chicken Thigh Alfredo, for instance. You could have it shipped to you with whole chicken breast, diced chicken breast, pork medallions, or shrimp. You can learn more about customization in our full Home Chef review.

Look for the View Customize It Options button to see how each meal can be customized. This feature is available for most meals. The options are different every week and allow you to try many different proteins including vegan Impossible Burger.

There are tons of extras and add-ons, too. You can get lots of extra meats, desserts, sides, snacks, lunch items, and breakfast items. There’s everything from salads, smoothies, canned coffee products, garlic bread, pesto sauce, pretzel bites, and a ton of other items.

Is It Good Value?

The minimum Home Chef order is 2 recipes for 2 people, up to 6 recipes for 6 people per week. The price per serving starts from $9.99 regardless of the number of meals you order.

6. BistroMD – Best Weight Loss Meals for New Moms

If you’re a new parent who wants to eat calorie-controlled meals that are still balanced and nutritious, BistroMD is your best bet. You’re getting meals that are specifically designed by doctors for weight loss. If you’re worried about the meals tasting bland, when our reviewer tried BistroMD they found that the meals didn't sacrifice flavor for function.

What’s on the Menu?

I appreciate BistroMD’s extensive menu, 1 of the largest among meal delivery services. You can browse offerings by main meal (Breakfast or Lunch/Dinner) or snack options (Snacks). Options include chicken, seafood, turkey, pork, plant-based, soups & stews, and even pasta. 

Some options from the mostly fixed menu are Meatloaf with Honey Bourbon Glaze, Chicken, Rice, and Cheddar Casserole, and Hickory Smoked BBQ Pork with Broccoli. Snacks to help keep your energy up throughout the day (or night!) include Sweet Red Raspberry Cheesecake, White Cheddar Crunch, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake. 

The menu is somewhat limited with few internationally inspired dishes. BistroMD focuses on nutritionally complete and weight loss-friendly food more than flavor. You can expect to find mostly American-style dishes, though there is still a decent range of meal types.

What Makes It Special?

You can choose from a number of different dieting programs for women – Heart Healthy, Gluten Free, Keto Flex, Diabetic, and Vegan. You’re free to choose the plan that most aligns with your goals. Just keep in mind that the plans can’t be mixed and matched, like the ones from Factor. Once you make your choice, you only get meals from that plan.

BistroMD excels in convenience, delivering portion-controlled meals directly to your home. This saves new parents significant time and effort in meal planning and preparation. What’s more, you can be confident in receiving nutritious meals crafted by dietary experts. 

Is It Good Value?

The minimum order is lunches and dinners for 5 days per week, but there are a few more configurations. You could also get lunches and dinners for 7 days or the Full Program (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) for 5 or 7 days. The Full Program features a “My Night”, where you’ll be responsible for making your own dinner 1 night per week.

7. Purple Carrot – Best Vegan Meals

Purple Carrot could be great for new parents who prefer the vegan lifestyle. It offers both plant-based meal kits and prepared meals. Most meal kits can be prepared in about 30 minutes, with the longest meal kit usually taking at most 40 minutes. 

What’s on the Menu?

Purple Carrot celebrates global cuisines through its meal kits and prepared meals. For example, you’ll find Indian dishes like Crispy Broccoli Pakoras, Italian Portabello Tortelloni (pictured), and even Greek Souvlaki Grain Bowls. Other cuisines include Thai, Korean, French-inspired, and many more. 

The Less Prep menu features recipes that are ready in 25 minutes. These meals feature fewer cooking steps, premade sauces, and precut ingredients for extra convenience. Plus, compared to prepared meals, these are a good option if you ever need to omit certain ingredients that you prefer not to consume.

The company also has extras that can help new parents maintain a healthy diet. You can get a variety of breakfast and lunch options, along with sides, snacks, and some desserts. The breakfast choices range from overnight oats to tofu scrambles, while lunch options might include grain bowls or wraps.

What Makes It Special?

Each meal kit comes with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, taking the guesswork out of cooking. Our tried-and-tested Purple Carrot review explores these easy-to-follow recipes in greater detail.

Purple Carrot contributes to The Farmlink Project, linking farms with excess produce to needy communities. Moreover, its emphasis on plant-based meals aids in promoting environmental sustainability by lessening the carbon footprint often linked to animal farming.

Is It Good Value?

I love that Purple Carrot is dedicated to the diversity and versatility of vegetables. Where some plant-based meals will rely on imitation meats, Purple Carrot celebrates veggies by making them the star of each dish. You won’t find things like beyond meat or TVP (textured veggie proteins) here, which I really love seeing.

The minimum order is 3 meal kits of 2 servings or 6 prepared meals per week. Going with the largest order will net you some nice savings, too, at only $11.00 per serving.

8. Marley Spoon – Best Menu Variety

Marley Spoon takes the guesswork out of meal planning and grocery shopping with convenient meal kits. It delivers pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes, making it a perfect fit for busy households. Learn more about the easy-to-follow recipes in our tested Marley Spoon review.

What’s on the Menu?

There’s a great variety of cuisines like Turkish, French, Italian, American, and more. Some specific meal kits include the Japanese-inspired Teriyaki-Glazed Salmon & Sushi Rice (pictured) and the Italian-influenced Creamy Baked Tortelloni & Peas.

You can also get some prepared meals, though it’s not the largest selection out there. If you’re on the go a lot, prepared meals can come in handy on those super busy nights. Some examples include the Ready Made! Loaded Mac & Cheese or the Cheesy Guajillo Chicken.

Marley Spoon also provides a variety of add-ons, snacks, sides, and desserts. There’s everything from salads, cakes, skillet meatballs, omelet muffin cups, scones, cream puffs, pies, galettes, baked oatmeal, and lots more.

What Makes It Special?

Marley Spoon offers a wide range of dietary options to cater to different preferences and needs. Available options include carb-conscious, low-calorie, vegan, and veggie meals for those following plant-based diets.

Additionally, Marley Spoon offers meals that are free from gluten and dairy. If you have certain dietary restrictions or allergies, this can be useful for you. You can still enjoy delicious and convenient meals without compromising your health goals.

Is It Good Value?

Much of the menu is kid-friendly and suitable for picky eaters. You won’t find many overly spicy or exotic ingredients that could alienate your children from the dinner table. This also means that the meals aren’t too difficult to make.

9. Dinnerly – Most Affordable Meals for New Parents

Dinnerly is the most affordable meal delivery service out there, as you’ll find out about in our official review. Its prices are considerably lower than the next most affordable alternative, HelloFresh.

What’s on the Menu?

Just because it’s affordable doesn’t mean it’s hard to cook, with there being lots of <20-minute meal kits. Just keep in mind that you won’t find many prepared meals here. Dinnerly only offers around 3 to 4 choices per week, which isn’t much. If you’d like more prepared meals, go with a service like Factor instead. 

Dinnerly has a great selection of family- and kid-friendly meal kits that aren’t too fancy. You can also find a good selection of internationally inspired cuisines like Italian, French, Japanese, Middle Eastern, and more. However, they tend to be pretty Americanized to cater to a broader flavor palette.

The pictured Spring Tortelloni & Squash Salad is a super easy and fast meal. It only takes about 20 minutes, at most. You could also look at the Easy Clean Up! Sheetpan Shrimp Fajitas, which take 30 minutes, at most. There are plenty of these super-fast meal kits.

What Makes It Special?

Each meal also has a difficulty level printed directly on the menu on the main website. The 2 meals I’ve mentioned above have the Easy label. Actually, the vast majority of meals are labeled as Easy – but ratings range from Easy, Medium, and Hard.

In addition, more than half of the offerings are customizable. You can swap ingredients in recipes marked with the eponymous label. Note that some substitutions may come at an extra cost, though. 

Dinnerly reduces costs while being eco-friendly by minimizing paper and plastic usage. Unlike some other meal delivery services that use excessive plastic for individual ingredients, Dinnerly packages its ingredients together. This may be a little inconvenient when sorting ingredients, but it's worth it if you're environmentally conscious.

Is It Good Value?

Dinnerly offers a big bang for your buck. It caters to budget eaters the most, keeping the price of its meals low by using less packaging materials without compromising on quality. The biggest downside, in my opinion, is the lack of meal categorization on the menu. Thus, you’ll have to check every meal, with the help of accompanying tags, to see which ones suit you.

The service has add-ons and extras, but the selection isn’t huge. As a budget-oriented service, this makes sense. So if you were wanting lots of add-ons and those types of things, consider Home Chef instead.

The minimum Dinnerly order is 2 meals for 2 people per week, up to 6 meals for 4 people. Dinnerly’s prices are already astoundingly low, but if you want to save even more, go for the largest order. That way, you’ll only be paying $2.12 per serving.

Quick Comparison Table

Tips for Choosing the Best Meal Delivery Services for New Parents

This is what I considered when choosing the best meal delivery services for new parents. I recommend keeping these points in mind when making your decision:

• Meal variety: Look for services that offer a broad range of meals catering to different tastes and dietary needs. As new parents, it's vital to have well-balanced, nutritious meals to keep energy levels high and promote overall health. Nutrient-dense foods like lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains should be featured. Green Chef’s meals are varied and packed with healthy ingredients.

• Customizability: The service should be flexible to accommodate unpredictable new-parent schedules. Features like meal pausing, scheduling, or customization are essential. Customizable options for dietary restrictions, allergies, or personal preferences can also be beneficial. Home Chef offers the most customization options on my list.

• Convenience: Postnatal care and adjusting to the new baby's schedule can be exhausting. Therefore, meal delivery services providing pre-prepared or easy-to-prepare meals can be a lifesaver. Look for services like Factor that deliver ready-to-eat meals or that take minimal prep time.

• Affordability: Assess your budget and compare meal delivery services accordingly. While some services may seem more expensive, they may offer larger portion sizes or higher-quality ingredients. Understand the cost structure, whether it's per meal, per week, etc., and decide what works best for your financial situation. I think HelloFresh offers an incredible value.

FAQ

What’s the best postpartum meal delivery service?

If you’re a new parent, you may enjoy the convenience of Factor’s prepared meals. The meals are ready to eat in about 3 minutes and are holistically healthy while also being suitable for many diets.

Are pre-packaged meals worth it?

However, you can avoid many of the pitfalls of prepared meals if you choose from my recommended prepared meal delivery services like Factor.

What are some pros and cons of meal kits?

Best Meal Delivery Services for New Parents in 2024 — Final Score