7 Best Meal Delivery Services in Oakland for 2024

Many services delivering meal kits and prepared meals operate in Oakland. And shortlisting those that cater to your needs and preferences is a lengthy process. Even if it appears that you found the right company, you can't be sure of that before getting your first box. 

After thorough testing, I’ve come up with this list of the 7 best meal delivery services in Oakland. You'll note that each of them has distinct qualities that make it stand out in some way. Certain companies shine by providing great options for specific diets, while others excel in meal customization or feeding a large family.

Based on my research, I find Factor to be the best meal delivery service in Oakland. Factor’s fresh prepared meals are ready in minutes, and it offers specialized menus for keto dieters, vegetarians, and vegans. But every service on this list has something to offer, so be sure to check them all out.

The Best Meal Delivery Services in Oakland Reviewed

1. Factor – Best Prepared Meals for Oaklanders

Factor sets itself apart as the best prepared meal delivery service in Oakland, in my opinion. Dietitians design the recipes, while experienced chefs prepare the meals. For that reason, you can enjoy restaurant-quality dishes in a few minutes. And besides saving time on meal prep, you won't have to spend a lot of time on cleanup.

What’s on the Menu?

The menu is made up of around 35 weekly meals. Dishes include Filet Mignon, Pork in Creamy Sauce, and roasted vegetables. Bowls, pasta, and casseroles are regularly seen on the menu, too. The Add-Ons menu has around 50 weekly options and features various desserts, breakfasts, and beverages.

You can use the colored tags to help you find the dishes most suitable for your needs. Some common tags are Keto, Protein Plus, Calorie Smart, and Vegetarian. Additionally, take note of recipes labeled as Top-Rated and Gourmet Plus, which, as stressed in our tested Factor review, do cost a little more.

One thing to note is that customization of meal ingredients isn’t possible with Factor as it gives utmost priority to maintaining its meals' nutritional value. If there are any foods you wish to avoid, you can only skip a recipe containing an unwanted ingredient.

What Makes It Special?

This meal delivery service sources organic ingredients whenever possible. However, it may prove difficult at times due to complications in the supply chain. I suggest you consider Green Chef, which has quick-prep meal kits if you prefer to eat only organic food.

Factor provides fresh meals that you should consume relatively quickly. Typically, meals will last 7 days if stored in the fridge. Keep in mind that the service recommends against freezing meals. So make enough room in your refrigerator to accommodate them.

Is It Good Value?

Don’t forget to take advantage of a free nutrition coaching session. Factor has around a dozen dietitians, and you can choose to speak with any of them. The session lasts 20 minutes, during which you’ll get dietary tips and guidelines.

The cost of your order depends on the number of meals you buy, with larger orders providing the best savings. For example, you can get 18 meals for $103.41 on your first order with our link.

You can also select 6, 8, 10, 12, or 14 recipes per week. Note that all meals are designed to serve 1 person. For Oakland residents, the flat-rate shipping fee is $10.99.

2. Green Chef – Best Organic Meal Delivery in Oakland

Green Chef is the first meal kit service to get the CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers) certification. Also, it’s a USDA-certified (United States Department of Agriculture) company that collaborates with farmers to create both sustainable and delicious food. As a result, many family-owned farms supply this meal delivery service with organic ingredients.

What’s on the Menu?

Green Chef delivers high-quality, responsibly sourced food. When it comes to ingredients, you can expect to receive organic produce, eggs, beef, chicken, and wild-caught seafood.

Green Chef has over 45 weekly meals on its menu. Most of these are lunch and dinner options, as well as bowls, salads, sandwiches, and flatbreads. Check out Add-Ons for breakfasts, desserts, and individual proteins. You'll likely find pancakes, oatmeal, bites, muffins, fish filets, and even Breakfast and Lunch Bundles, among other alternatives.

You can find recipes inspired by many international cuisines on the service's menu. Mexican, Chinese, Italian, and Korean are some examples. And many of them suit weight-loss and low-carb dieters.

You'll notice various tags as you explore the recipes. You can use these to determine which meals suit your needs without checking each individual recipe. Some tags you’ll see are 10-Min Lunches, Daytime Bundle, and Ready to Heat. If you're in the mood for more rewarding dining, go for Chef Select dishes. But note that these meals come at an extra cost that's typically between $6.99 and $9.99.

What Makes It Special?

This organic meal kit delivery service has 8 dietary plans. And you can select as many of them as you wish, allowing you to mix and match the full menu. The available categories include Gluten Free, Calorie Smart, Plant Based, and Keto. Find out more about each plan in our tested Green Chef review.

The company may not secure organic food at times for various reasons. If it comes to that, you'll be informed with a note in the ingredient box and clear labeling. Rest assured that you'll receive ingredients of the highest quality nonetheless.

In general, requesting ingredient swaps isn’t available with Green Chef. But you can easily omit or replace an unwanted ingredient during meal prep, so you don't have to skip the dish.

Is It Good Value?

Green Chef's meals usually last 5 days. Seafood, which you should eat within 3 days of delivery, is the only exception. Freeze food you wish to save for later use before its expiration date.

You get a lower cost per dish by ordering more meals. The price starts at $9.99 per serving if you buy 4 meals for 6 people. The highest price per recipe is for orders of 3 meals for 2 people. Note that Green Chef charges $10.99 to ship items to Oakland.

3. Blue Apron – Best Gourmet Meal Delivery Service in Oakland

You'll find over 80 Meal Kits and Prepared & Ready dishes on Blue Apron's menu. Meal kits cater to couples and families of 4, while prepared meals are single-serving portions. I was pleasantly surprised to find that some ingredients in the service's meals come straight from the farms. It strictly maintains eco-friendly techniques, operating as a carbon-neutral company.

What’s on the Menu?

You can follow any of the recipes, regardless of your cooking skills. And the company sends you pre-portioned ingredients, so you don't have to brainstorm quantities and deal with food waste. In that regard, you can prepare most meals in as little as a few minutes up to 40 minutes.

You’ll always find upcoming options published 4 weeks in advance. Available Meal Kit plans include Wellness, Veggies, and Family Friendly. Prepared & Ready plans include Keto Friendly and Carb Conscious.

Our dedicated Blue Apron review explores each plan in greater depth. Note that some recipes overlap between different categories. Soy-Glazed Shrimp and Brown Rice is available in Signature and Wellness programs, for example. Tacos, risotto, salads, meatloaves, and cheeseburgers are some of the meals present on the menu most often.

You’ll find the fresh heat-and-eat options in the Add-Ons section. There are generally 4 of these weekly options serving up to 2 dieters.I recommend trying out Factor for a larger selection of ready-made dishes. As for other extras, you can opt for various desserts, proteins, and soups, among other options.

What Makes It Special?

You can switch ingredients in various Blue Apron dishes. Choose your type of steak in the Calabrian Chile Butter Steaks. Make Crispy Prosciutto Lettuce Cups vegetarian-friendly by replacing prosciutto with pasture-raised eggs and avocado. You can even add Hot Italian Pork Sausage or Pancetta to Whole Grain Romesco Pasta to turn this veggie meal into a meat-containing meal.

Pescatarians, vegetarians, and carb-conscious dieters will find many suitable recipes. There are keto-friendly and high-protein dishes on offer too. 

Blue Apron covers its customers with the 7-Day Freshness Guarantee. Contact its customer service for a replacement or reimbursement if you find any ingredient unsatisfactory within a week after delivery.

Is It Good Value?

Consider buying big to pay less per meal and save on shipping costs. The cost per meal starts from $4.00. The number of meal kits set by the plan ranges from 2 meals with 2 servings to 5 meals with 4 servings. If you opt for Prepared & Ready dishes, you can buy 4, 6, 8, or 10 single servings per plan. But note that you can add more recipes with ease. The fixed-rate shipping fee for Oaklanders is $10.99.

To have both Meal Kits and Prepared & Ready options delivered in the same week, you’ll need to place 2 orders, each for one meal type. And you can switch between plans between weeks.

4. HelloFresh – Best Meal Kit Service for Families

HelloFresh boasts a diverse selection of over 100 dishes that rotate weekly. The company publishes its menu 5 or 6 weeks in advance, letting you plan your meals ahead of time.

What’s on the Menu?

At first glance, it appears that HelloFresh prioritizes main dishes. While browsing the menu as a guest, you'll see burgers, tacos, bowls, spaghetti, and other typical lunch and dinner options. However, you can access add-ons once you subscribe – these include desserts and snacks.

HelloFresh offers food inspired by American and international cuisines. You'll find examples of Chinese, Thai, Caribbean, and Mediterranean meals on the menu. There's even a free on-site cookbook with over 2,500 recipes from different renowned cuisines.

Don't miss the tags accompanying recipes to help you choose suitable meals. These include Protein Smart, Veggie, Spicy, and Easy Prep. There are also labels such as Best Recipe 2024 and Hall of Fame. These popular recipes are the only ones you'll find reappearing. I also like the Premium Picks and Better Than Takeout tags.

What Makes It Special?

The company categorizes recipes as Easy, Medium, and Hard. That way, it lets you choose dishes that align with your culinary skills. Click on a specific dish to check out its difficulty level.

HelloFresh's Plans section features 6 categories:

• Veggie

• Pescatarian

• Under 20 Minutes
  

• Family Friendly

• Meat & Veggies

• Fit & Wholesome

You can buy meals from any category, not just the ones you initially select. Meal plans are there merely for recommendation purposes. Check our tested HelloFresh review to better understand how this works.

What you won't see from these meal plans is that the company has spicy meals, too. If you’re passionate about hot and flavorful food, you should find at least 15 spicy dishes every week.

HelloCustom lets you substitute over 12 proteins and sides in your meal selection. Some available swap options are chicken for shrimp, crispy potatoes for broccoli, and steak for chicken. Of course, you can do it the other way around, too.

Is It Good Value?

The company advises against freezing its recipes. The shelf life of most of its meals is 5 days. Remember that seafood is unlikely to remain fresh for more than 2 days. So if you buy pescatarian meals, eat those first.

HelloFresh provides affordable meal kits with the best per-serving price on larger orders. For example, using our link, new customers can enjoy 6 meals for 4 people for just $107.75. There's a flat shipping fee for any box size.

5. Home Chef – Best Meal Delivery Service for Picky Eaters

Home Chef has a remarkable menu-filtering system. It lets you exclude up to 9 common allergens from your meals while personalizing the meal plan. Click on Pick Your Meals, and the selected allergens will await you in Step 3. Ingredients you can leave out of your dishes are pork, beef, poultry, fish, shellfish, sesame, tree nuts, peanuts, and mushrooms.

What’s on the Menu?

There are several self-explanatory labels on the main menu. These vary per meal category, and include Oven-Ready, Fast & Fresh, and Express labels. I recommend you check our full Home Chef review to learn more about Culinary Collection-labeled dishes, which provide a particularly rewarding dining experience.

There are 5 main categories on the menu: Meal Kits, Easy Prep Meal Kits, Lunch, Bundle and Save, and Extras, including protein packs, drinks, and more.

Check out Meal Kits and Easy Prep Meal Kits no matter what your skill level in the kitchen. Typically, you can prepare and serve recipes from these 2 categories within 10 to 45 minutes. Quesadillas, sandwiches, bowls, burgers, and penne are some meal kit options.

Bundle and Save recipes are ideal for people with little time to cook. Some examples are a soup and salad bundle or a breakfast frittata and latte bundle. Go for these options if you need a lighter meal served in 5 to 10 minutes. If you prefer even quicker meals, I think that subscribing to Factor would be a good idea as all meals arrive fully prepared.

Extras can also be prepared very quickly. Here you’ll find items like pizza, soup, salad, and desserts. You can serve most of them in 5 or 10 minutes. The most demanding add-ons require 15 minutes of your time.

What Makes It Special?

Don’t forget to click on the View Customize It tool accompanying selected recipes. It lets you choose a preferred ingredient from a selection of options. For example, in the Cheddar & Apple Beef Burger, you can choose between Ground Turkey, Ground Beef, and Impossible Burger. In Chickpea Gyros, choose between Chicken Thighs, Steak Strips, and a few other options.

Some customizable dishes have organic ingredients. But if you're a hard-core fan of organic food, you'd be better off giving Green Chef a try.

Home Chef suits people following various diets. Omnivores, high-protein, gluten-conscious, and keto dieters are sure to find suitable options. 

Is It Good Value?

Eat poultry, ground meat, and seafood first. These ingredients are fresh 2 days after delivery. Other refrigerated foods may last up to 5 days. You can freeze ingredients before their Best by date to prolong their shelf life.

Home Chef prices its meals individually. It means that you won’t get a discount for larger purchases. The service's most affordable recipes cost $9.99. When ordering, you can buy no less than 2 dishes for 2 people and no more than 6 portions for 6 people. To get your food in Oakland, you have to pay a delivery fee of $10.99.

6. BistroMD – Best Oakland Weight-Loss Meal Delivery Service

BistroMD is among the leading weight-loss meal delivery services in the USA. It has gender-specific plans catering to people with different calorie requirements, which is one of the things that sets it apart from its direct competitors. From what I learned, many individuals achieved great weight loss success with BistroMD.

What’s on the Menu?

BistroMD has an effective strategy for those who might have previously considered skipping meals to lose weight. It lets you have 3 main meals a day, supplemented with snacks in between. This approach is effective because expert nutritionists design the meals, ensuring a healthy balance of nutrients. The targeted daily calorie intake for females is 1,200 calories and 1,400 calories for males.

You may see results in as little as a few days with this weight-loss service. Some customers managed to start losing weight within 10 days of starting a diet. And flavorful dishes make BistroMD stand out among many meal deliveries specializing in shedding pounds.

BistroMD has 7 meal plans catering to people with different dietary needs. These may feature a different number of available dishes depending on your choice. Available plans are:

• Signature, boasting over 150 dishes

• Gluten Free, having 100+ meals

• Heart Healthy, including more than 100 recipes

• Diabetic, containing no less than 100 options

• Menopause, encompassing over 100 options

• Keto Flex, featuring around 85 meals

• Vegan, consisting of 25+ dishes

What Makes It Special?

You have 2 ways to explore meal plan options. The first is by selecting the Programs button in the header and choosing your desired plan. The other way is to navigate to the Menu section and select a program. I recommend checking out our tested BistroMD review, where you can read a first hand experience of the service.

All plans except Vegan have Breakfast, Lunch/Dinner, and Snacks options. This plant-based plan currently focuses on lunches and dinners. Consider subscribing to Factor to find recipes for all 3 main meals if you follow a vegan diet.

Is It Good Value?

You can have 3 meals a day for 5 or 7 days a week, plus snacks. Opt for Lunches & Dinners when personalizing your mealtime if you’re not a breakfast person. The Full Week plan provides you with 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, and 6 dinners. For the remaining dinner, called My Night, you can enjoy a meal of your choice guilt-free.

You can save money by purchasing a larger box. The price per serving starts from $6.59 for the Full Week plan, which includes 20 meals. The shipping fee for Oaklanders is $19.95.

7. Nutrisystem – Best Hunger Control Service

Nutrisystem is an excellent choice if you're seeking effective hunger control. Its team creates hearty meals formulated to keep you satiated for up to 5 hours. The service's dishes are low-calorie and protein-rich. Translated into numbers, most recipes count between 150 and 400 calories and up to 30 grams of protein.

What’s on the Menu?

The company offers various Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner alternatives. Each meal features a drop-down list that indicates the dietary plans the recipe caters to. You'll find many satisfying dishes, including burritos, soups, pizzas, and spaghetti, on the menu.

Besides the main meals, the menu contains healthy snacks, too. You can choose between items like mini sandwiches, bars, cookies, cupcakes, and popcorn.

Use a series of menu filters to narrow down your choices. These let you shortlist options based on your dietary needs, specific allergens to avoid, and desired storage conditions, among other things.

Nutrisystem has gender-specific plans. The company introduced these programs because males and females have different dietary needs. Check our in-depth Nutrisystem review to learn more about all of the various plans on offer and how much they cost.

What Makes It Special?

All of the plans grant you access to a dedicated weight-loss app. It helps you personalize your meal plan and enjoy restaurant-inspired dishes. Use the NuMi app to fine-tune your selected dietary plan while monitoring your weight-loss progress.

This Oakland meal delivery service suits people following different diets. You should find plenty of options if you're a calorie-conscious or carb-conscious dieter. However, if you're after prepared vegetarian food, you'd do better with Factor.

Is It Good Value?

Nutrisystem has fresh and frozen meals on offer. It labels all frozen dishes, so you can tell them apart with ease. And the company's food has a long shelf life, typically from 6 to 18 months.

Quick Comparison Table

Tips for Choosing the Best Meal Delivery Service In Oakland

If you still aren’t sure which is the best meal delivery service in Oakland for you, follow these tips to figure it out:

• Dietary objectives: Your health needs are pivotal in choosing a meal delivery service in Oakland. If you're focusing on weight loss, look for services that offer low-calorie options. For heart-related conditions, zero in on companies with low-fat and low-sodium dishes. Green Chef is a balanced choice for overall health. Regardless of your dietary goals, it's advisable to consult with a dietitian for personalized advice.

• Enthusiasm for cooking: Your level of interest in cooking plays a significant role in your choice. If you enjoy cooking, meal kits can enrich your culinary experience. For those who are time-strapped or disinterested in cooking, pre-made meals are ideal. Factor specializes in healthy, prepared meals. Services that provide both meal kits and ready-made options, like Home Chef, give you the flexibility to choose based on your mood or schedule.

• Budget constraints: Your budget will also dictate your options. If high-quality ingredients are a priority, Green Chef is an excellent pick. On the other hand, there are more budget-friendly services available, like HelloFresh. Buying meals in bulk can also lower the overall cost per serving. Be mindful of delivery fees, as they can add up over time.

• Delivery flexibility: Consider your schedule to find a service that matches. Many services stick to a predetermined delivery schedule. However, some offer the convenience of selecting your preferred delivery day. All the services on my list have responsive customer support, and you can check with them for any special delivery requirements you may have. It's also a good idea to see if the service offers tracking features so you can plan your day accordingly.
  

FAQ

What is the best meal delivery service in Oakland?

Factor is the best meal delivery service in Oakland. Its freshly prepared meals are designed by dietitians and cooked by chefs to be both healthy and nutritious. And if you’re pressed for time, you can have a hot Factor supper on your table in minutes.

What is the most affordable meal delivery service in Oakland?

HelloFresh stands out as the most affordable meal delivery service in Oakland. You'll find that its meals are suitable for families and couples. With a menu of 100+ options per week, you won’t get bored eating the same things week after week.

What is the best healthy meal delivery service in Oakland?

Green Chef is my favorite healthy meal kit delivery service in Oakland. It sources organic ingredients from farmers undergoing regular quality checks. You can mix and match several dietary plans, including niche diets such as vegan and keto.

Best Meal Delivery Service in Oakland in 2024 – Final Score