WhichMealKit| Service | Arrives | In the fridge | In the freezer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Splendid Spoon Frozen; drinks go in the fridge | In an insulated box with dry ice to keep it cold. It ships without a signature, so nobody needs to be home, though the courier decides. Do I have to be home to receive the delivery? | Soups, noodles and dishes are best within 7 days in the fridge once thawed; smoothies and shots by their Enjoy By date. How long do the meals stay fresh? | Soups, noodles and dishes arrive flash-frozen: into the freezer on arrival, and eat within 3 months. Smoothies and shots go in the fridge. How should I store my meals after delivery? |
| Daily Harvest Frozen | Frozen, on dry ice. Usually left without a signature, but it should go in the freezer as soon as possible. FAQ | Kept in the freezer, not the fridge, each item holds its best quality to the best-by date on the container. FAQ | Everything ships frozen and goes straight in the freezer, apart from protein powder and the seed and fiber blend. FAQ |
| HelloFresh Chilled | An insulated box with liners and cooling packs, delivered between 8 am and 8 pm. Nobody needs to be home and no signature is needed. Delivery FAQ | Cook the ingredients within seven days of delivery, and seafood within two. Recipes and ingredients FAQ | Its FAQ says not to refreeze ingredients and does not say whether you can freeze them. Recipes and ingredients FAQ |
| EveryPlate Chilled | Insulated and left at the door; the ingredients stay cool if nobody is home. Affordable meal delivery | Not on the pages we read | Not on the pages we read |
| Green Chef Chilled | Packed with cooling materials and left at the door, or in a common area, if nobody is home. Terms and conditions | Not on the pages we read | Not on the pages we read |
| Home Chef Chilled | Insulated liners and ice packs, left at the door with no signature, so you don’t need to be home. What happens if I am not home when my order is delivered? | Each recipe card says how many days after delivery to cook it by. Cook fish and seafood first. How long do I have to cook the meals? | Home Chef does not recommend freezing the meals, though its storage guide says meat and seafood can go in the fridge or the freezer. Can meals be frozen? and How should I properly store and handle ingredients? |
| Blue Apron Chilled | Left at the door if you’re not home, with insulated liners and gel packs that usually keep it cold for several hours. Terms of use | No single shelf life: keep fish and shellfish in the fridge no more than 2 days, and use meat and poultry by the package directions. Food safety | Meat and poultry can be frozen again until you use them, and so can seafood you won’t cook within 2 days. Food safety |
| Sunbasket Chilled; Prepared & Ready unclear | Insulated liners and ice packs keep the food fresh for several hours, and no signature is needed, so you don’t need to be home. Do I need to be home to receive my Sunbasket delivery? | Unopened kit ingredients keep 4 to 7 days in the fridge: cook fish within 3 days, and chicken, beef and pork within 3 to 5. Prepared & Ready meals keep 5 to 7 days (another of its help articles says they ship frozen). How long can I keep my Sunbasket groceries in the fridge? and What are Sunbasket Prepared and Ready meals? | Some Fresh & Ready meals can be frozen (their cooking instructions say which), and soups keep 3 to 4 months frozen. FAQ |
| Marley Spoon Chilled; Balance meals frozen | Ice packs and insulated liners keep the ingredients cold. How are the ingredients kept fresh during transit? | Cook seafood within 1 to 2 days of delivery, ground meat and chicken within 2 to 3, and other meat and vegetable dishes within 3 to 5. How long will the ingredients stay fresh after delivery? | Its Balance prepared meals arrive flash-frozen; it gives no advice on freezing kit ingredients. Balance by Marley Spoon |
| Dinnerly Chilled | Ice packs and insulated liners keep the ingredients cold. How are the ingredients kept fresh during transit? | Cook seafood within 1 to 2 days of delivery, ground meat and chicken within 2 to 3, and other meat and vegetable dishes within 3 to 5. How long will the ingredients stay fresh after delivery? | Not on the pages we read |
| Gobble Chilled; proteins packed frozen | Left at the door with insulated liners and ice packs that keep it cold for several hours. Proteins are frozen when packed, so they may arrive frozen or thawed. What if I am not home at the time of delivery? | Dinner kits and meat keep up to 7 days in the fridge, though another help article says to cook everything within 5 days, seafood first. Prepared & Ready meals keep 7 days. How do I store my Gobble kits? and What if my food arrives thawed? | Proteins, pastas, soups and sauces can be frozen in the first few days and keep 2 to 3 months; delicate produce may not thaw well. How long do Gobble dinner kits stay fresh? |
| Purple Carrot Chilled | Insulated with ice packs and safe at the door without a signature, except in extreme weather. What if I’m not home when my order arrives? | Cook meal kits within 3 to 5 days of delivery; Ready to Eat meals keep up to 7 days. What is the shelf life of your products? | Keep Ready to Eat meals in the fridge, not the freezer; it says nothing about freezing kit ingredients. How long do they stay fresh in my fridge and can they be stored in the freezer? |
| Factor Chilled | Fresh, never frozen, between 8 am and 8 pm, with ice packs and insulation; the box is left at the door. How it works | Into the fridge on arrival, and eat within 7 days. Prepared low-calorie meal delivery and Factor for Business FAQ | Factor does not recommend freezing the meals. Factor for Business FAQ |
| CookUnity Chilled | Chilled, in an insulated tote or box with gel packs. Nobody has to be home, but CookUnity says a box should not sit outside more than an hour. Do I need to be home to receive my order? | About 4 to 7 days in the fridge (its home page says 3 to 7), with a use-by date on each label. How long will these meals stay fresh? and Home page | Its own pages disagree on the meals and the trays. Its help center says the trays are freezer-safe and the meals can be frozen, though the texture may suffer; its home page says the chefs advise against freezing and the trays are not fit for it. Can I freeze my CookUnity meals? and Home page |
Frozen: Splendid Spoon and Daily Harvest
Both pack with dry ice. Splendid Spoon says its soups, noodles and dishes go straight into the freezer, where they keep up to three months, and last about a week in the fridge once thawed; its smoothies and shots go in the fridge. Daily Harvest says everything it sells goes straight into the freezer apart from its protein powder and seed and fiber blend, and its items keep there to the best-by date on each container. A frozen box suits a week that does not go to plan, as long as the freezer has room for it. Daily Harvest’s items are smoothies, bowls and similar, not a full dinner each: what a Daily Harvest box holds.
Chilled: the other twelve
Kits and prepared meals from the other services arrive cold, in an insulated box with ice or gel packs, and go in the fridge. A few lines are exceptions. Marley Spoon’s Balance prepared meals arrive flash-frozen. Gobble packs its proteins frozen, so they may arrive frozen or thawed. Sunbasket’s help articles disagree on its Prepared & Ready meals: one says they ship frozen, another to refrigerate them and eat them within 5 to 7 days. The clock runs fastest on fish: HelloFresh says to cook seafood within two days, Marley Spoon and Dinnerly within one or two, and Blue Apron to keep fish in the fridge no more than two. Prepared meals last longer: Factor says to eat its meals within seven days, CookUnity gives about four to seven, and Purple Carrot up to seven for its Ready to Eat meals. Plan the week so the fish nights come first.
Can you freeze a chilled box?
Sometimes, and the services disagree. Gobble says its proteins, pastas, soups and sauces can be frozen in the first few days and keep two to three months. Blue Apron says meat, poultry and seafood you won’t cook in time can be frozen again. Home Chef does not recommend freezing its meals, though its storage guide allows meat and seafood in the freezer. Factor advises against freezing, Purple Carrot says to keep its Ready to Eat meals in the fridge, and CookUnity’s own pages give both answers, about the meals and about whether its trays can go in the freezer. The table above has each service’s words, with a link to the page that says them.
Which suits your week
If you eat at home on set nights, a chilled box sized to those nights wastes least: find the box that fits your household. If your plans change often, a frozen service, or a chilled one whose food can go in the freezer, gives you slack. If you would rather not cook at all, prepared meal delivery compares the heat-and-eat services on price and box size.