We Tested EveryPlate, the Meal Kit Service That's Cheaper Than Buying Groceries

12 hours ago 5

Pricing Starts at $2/serving w/CNET

Type Meal kits

Recipes per week 25+

Good for Healthy, family-friendly, comfort food, picky eaters, quick and easy

Score Breakdown

Taste/results 8/10Value 10/10Ease of recipes 9/10Recipe variety 8/10Healthiness 7/10

Pros

Simple, tasty meals at the lowest price per serving in the category
You can swap proteins and sides if you want
Uses less plastic than other meal kit services
Everything I made tasted great and was easy to execute

Cons

Not many low-carb or plant-based options
Some boxes of ingredients arrive a little disorganized
$9 extra for shipping

We Tested EveryPlate, the Meal Kit Service That's Cheaper Than Buying Groceries
How EveryPlate works
Shipping and delivery
What EveryPlate meals are like
How easy are EveryPlate meal kits?
Who is EveryPlate good for?
Who EveryPlate meal kits are not so good for
EveryPlate pricing
What we cooked and how it went
Is EveryPlate worth it?

Signing up for a meal kit delivery service is not only convenient, but choosing the right service could end up costing less than buying the groceries yourself; that's particularly true in the age of tariffs and food inflation. Starting at $6 per serving, EveryPlate meal kits are some of the cheapest options -- but are they good? Of the dozens we've tested, EveryPlate stands out as one of the best values in the meal delivery category. To ensure that my glowing take on EveryPlate in the several rounds of testing I've done wasn't a fluke, I tapped two other CNET editors -- a wellness expert and another who is new to cooking -- to confirm my findings. Here are three unique perspectives on EveryPlate meal kits.

EveryPlate has topped our hand-tested list of the best cheap meal delivery services for four years running. In the spirit of quality control -- something we take seriously here -- we decided to take EveryPlate for another spin in 2025 by using hands-on testing experiences from wellness editor Caroline Igo and flex editor Corin Cesaric. The service's affordable offerings hold steady as the best cheap meal kits to buy, doling out simple and satisfying recipes for good, homemade meals that often cost you less time and money to make than doing it from scratch.

Below is a full breakdown of our most recent round of testing EveryPlate meal kits and what you can expect if you sign up.

How EveryPlate works

EveryPlate is a meal kit service that sends you all the necessary ingredients and directions but they're not pre-made meals so keep in mind that you'll still have to cook. (If you prefer not to, I suggest trying a service like MealPro, Mosaic Foods or CookUnity for fully pre-made food delivered each week.) This budget-friendly service is an offshoot of Green Chef, which was acquired by HelloFresh in 2018. While Green Chef offers a more gourmet approach to meal kits, EveryPlate strives to be the most affordable meal kit service.

Signing up for EveryPlate couldn't be simpler. First, you'll plunk in an address and contact information and then select a plan (number of meals) and payment option. For plans, you can choose either two, three, four or five meal kits per week with either two, four or six servings per meal. The more meals you pick, the cheaper the per-serving price gets. The plans start at about $6 per serving.

Then comes the fun part: You pick meal kits from a menu of more than 30 recipes. The meals change weekly with favorites popping back into the rotation often. There is loads of information available about each one, including calories, nutrition and the time it takes to make. You can also substitute proteins and side dishes on most EveryPlate meal kits just in case you despise green beans or have had way too much chicken lately. You can even view the next two weekly menus in advance.

Shipping and delivery

EveryPlate delivers to most of the continental US with boxes arriving on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays or Fridays (your choice). Meal kit deliveries come sealed with large ice packs and are meant to stay cold for up to 48 hours, just in case you're not home to receive them on a particular day.

What EveryPlate meals are like

EveryPlate is big on comfort food. On any given weekly menu you'll find options for meatloaf, pork chops, chicken pot pie, tacos and pasta recipes. Sides are equally hearty, including lots of mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, white rice and noodles. The recipes are mostly familiar, but the culinary team will mix things up with a hoisin (Japanese barbecue sauce) glaze on an otherwise traditional meatloaf or a sweet apricot and Dijon sauce to liven up a chicken dish.

There are a small selection of plant-based options per week and you won't find many trendy ingredients or superfoods in EveryPlate meal kits. However, our wellness editor was impressed with the amount of fresh, whole foods that came included in the meal kit (and weren’t covered in plastic).

EveryPlate has only a few seafood or steak options (one or two per week) and most of the ones available are considered "premium" and cost an extra $3 per serving. There are really only lunch and dinner meal kits and no breakfast or snack options, although you can select a protein pack of chicken breasts and ground beef for meal planning.

How easy are EveryPlate meal kits?

Of the meal kit services I've tried, EveryPlate meals are some of the easiest to prepare. The most complicated recipe I made during my testing was meatloaf and even that took just 30 minutes. Our flex editor and novice cook didn't find any of her meals too challenging to prepare. There are very few, if any, overly complicated recipes that require advanced skills or fancy kitchen equipment, making EveryPlate a good option for new or amateur cooks.

Each meal kit comes with a comprehensive recipe card fit with glossy images and directions to help you through. Each card also lists what you'll need that isn't provided -- cooking oil, butter, ketchup -- so you're not caught flat-footed.

If you've chosen to swap a side or protein, there are little addendums up in the corner to address any slight changes to the recipe. For example, "Did you choose chicken instead of pork? Follow the recipe as written but in step 4, simply cook the chicken for 5-6 minutes per side."

Who is EveryPlate good for?

EveryPlate is perfect for anyone looking for a boost to their cooking routine, learn to cook or inject some new recipes into their rotation without breaking the bank. Busy people would love the service, too, because it's also a time-saver, eliminating trips to the store as well as time spent ruminating over what to make. If you like comfort foods and don't mind a few carbs, EveryPlate has them in spades but there are some healthier options, too.

Is EveryPlate healthy?

A screenshot of the charred corn tacos recipe card

Our wellness editor tested EveryPlate with nutrition, taste, variety, protein and diet preferences in mind. There aren’t any vegan options but she was able to test a few vegetarian dishes. Out of about 35 meal choices each week, there are about 10 veggie meals available. While this isn’t a lot, she did appreciate how flavorful and filling the vegetarian meals were. All of the dishes she tried came with fresh vegetables and produce. She found that it is very easy to adjust the recipes to include less dairy for those watching their sodium and fat levels. Some of the meal options could also be made without meat and could still be very tasty.

She thought that the portions were good and a lot of dishes had a variety of produce, protein, fiber and carbohydrates. It was very helpful when choosing her meals because the website marks the healthier dishes with “veggie,” “calorie-smart,” “carb-smart” or “protein-smart.” However, always check the nutrition label to determine how much sugar, fats, sodium and protein a recipe contains. While this might not be the healthiest meal kit out there, for such a great price, it can be a good start.

Who EveryPlate meal kits are not so good for

EveryPlate recipes are on the simple side so we wouldn't recommend it for very experienced chefs looking to further hone their skills. There also aren’t as many options for vegetarians as there are for meat eaters so those who want a variety might not like EveryPlate. Also, there aren’t any completely plant-based meals on EveryPlate so I also wouldn't recommend this meal kit service for vegans. As a way to keep prices low, EveryPlate also doesn't cater to diet plans such as keto, paleo or low-sugar.

EveryPlate pricing

screenshot comparing prices of four meal kit plans.

EveryPlate is about $6 a serving, so by my count, it's the cheapest meal kit company available and it's even cheaper when you bag a special promotion offer. Keep in mind that "Premium" meals like salmon and steak do incur an upcharge of $3 per serving and each box costs $9 to ship.

Are EveryPlate meal kits cheaper than buying the groceries yourself?

Last time I tested EveryPlate, I also did a cost breakdown to see how much it would cost to make the same meals if you bought the groceries yourself. In some cases and especially when you figure in gas to get to and from the market, EveryPlate was about the same as cooking from scratch but with the bonus of a whole lot more convenience and time saved. See the full breakdown here.

What we cooked and how it went

Barramundi with chimichurri sauce, mashed cauliflower and roasted asparagus: This was the one premium recipe I made (extra charge alert), which means it'll cost you extra. It was simple, healthy and really good. The fish smelled and tasted very fresh, and didn't really even need the punch of chimichurri. I doused the filet in it anyhow.

Chicken sausage flatbread + tomato pasta: This unique meal kit is designed to be made as a pizza one night, then a portion of extra cooked pizza sauce and toppings are turned into a pasta dish the next day, for lunch or another dinner. The meal kit has all the ingredients for both recipes. I liked both meals and found this to be a rather clever idea.

Sweet umami beef bowls: This is one of my favorite types of meal kits. It takes very little time or mental energy to prepare and is highly satisfying. It wasn't heavy but plenty hearty, with lots of complimentary flavors and textures.

Hoisin pork meatloaves with wasabi mashed potatoes: This was another favorite of the EveryPlate recipes I cooked. It was simple to make but interesting and satisfying. Putting wasabi in mashed potatoes is definitely my new default.

Hoisin pork meatloaf with wasabi mashed potatoes on a white plate

Sweet potato and pepper quesadilla with fresh salsa and chipotle sour cream: This was a nice changeup for lunch, especially if you're looking for some plant-based options to sprinkle into your routine.

Spicy umami pork chops with ginger rice and roasted carrots: Another simple yet flavorful dinner. The hoisin and ponzu made good on the promise of umami and the fresh ginger made the rice really pop.

Tex-Mex rodeo risotto: Our wellness editor, Caroline, tried this vegetarian meal and loved how the recipe simplified risotto (which is normally an intensive dish involving a lot of stirring). This involved a lot of fresh ingredients and flavors from lime, tomato, onion and jalapeno.

Charred corn tacos: This was easily Caroline’s favorite meal from EveryPlate. It incorporated black beans, cheese, corn and fresh pico de gallo. The beans offered a great source of protein for this veggie-based meal. The onion, tomato, jalapeno and lime were fresh and zesty. Caroline made the meal a few times, even buying all the ingredients from the store the week after testing.

Pork egg roll in a bowl: While this dish did incorporate meat, our wellness editor could see this meal still being tasty without it. The pork or any meat could easily be made on the side for a meat-eating family member or loved one. The dish had a great gingery taste and, according to Caroline, was restaurant quality.

Sesame mushroom and zucchini lo mein: This was my favorite meal of the week. It was so flavorful and simple to make, and I feel like it can easily be re-created at home. This is an ideal meal for new cooks and one that didn't disappoint (even when my leftovers were heated up the next day!)

Sesame Mushroom & Zucchini Lo Mein in a green bowl on a wooden counter

Carne asada-style steak pitas: This was another tasty dish that took less than an hour to whip up. The diced steak was tender and each ingredient complimented the other to create a tasty and satisfying dinner.

Carne Asada-Style Steak Pitas in a green bowl

Creamy peppercorn chicken: While there was nothing hard about cooking this meal, it did take me nearly double the time to cook it than what the recipe card said. However, I still feel that the meal turned out great. I wasn't a huge fan of the sauce but besides that, this was a classic and simple meal that is a great way for a new cook to get dinner ideas.

chicken, potatoes and carrots on a green plate

Is EveryPlate worth it?

As someone who reviews meal kits for a living, I often feel like I'm splitting hairs trying to find the nuance but with EveryPlate the distinction is very clear. EveryPlate is the most affordable meal kit service but still delivers enjoyable recipes that are interesting and satisfying. In multiple rounds of testing with three editors -- that's 13 total meal kits -- EveryPlate recipes have not produced a single meal we didn't like.

As for a healthy perspective, EveryPlate offers a few vegetarian-based meals each week. Dishes are also labeled “carb-smart,” “protein-smart” or “calorie-smart” to further give nutrition insight before choosing which meals you want each week. Nutrition values are also visible on the website, but only the calorie count can be seen on each meal recipe card. The vegetarian meals are very tasty and have a great serving of protein.

While EveryPlate turns down the gourmet dial just slightly compared with Blue Apron or Green Chef, the meals I made were all solid and didn't look or taste "budget." At just $5 or $6 a serving, I also felt like I was getting a genuinely good deal. Plus, most boxes of ingredients from EveryPlate use less shipping materials than many of its competitors.

If you've never tried a meal kit before and want to see if it's a good fit, I would absolutely recommend EveryPlate. In fact, I've been recommending EveryPlate to just about anyone looking to try meal kits, especially at those wildly cheap new-customer prices of just $1.99 per serving.

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