Best Kid-Friendly Meal Delivery Options

When it comes to pleasing everyone in a family, it can be virtually impossible. Especially if any of your children happen to be picky eaters, as a couple of mine just happen to be. This can make meal planning a real challenge. And sometimes it’s more of a headache than it’s worth. Enter kid-friendly meal delivery options to the rescue.

Not all meal delivery options are going to be the best fit for every family or child. However, there are some meal delivery services that are a bit more kid-friendly. And with these kid-friendly meal delivery services, you will still get the joy of bonding with your kids while cooking together. Parenting bonus!

Overview of the best kid-friendly meal delivery options

In-depth analysis of best kid-friendly meal delivery options

Not all meal delivery services are created the same. So, for each family, there may be a meal delivery service that simply works better for you. Whether you want to spend more time preparing the meal, you prefer organic ingredients, or have dietary restrictions, there is a company that is a great fit for you and your family.

The biggest challenge is weeding through all of the information to choose the best option for you. And you might have to try a few different meal delivery services until you find the perfect fit. Hopefully, I can make the process a little easier with some of my top picks below!

Blue Apron

• Cost: $7.49 per serving.
• Meal diversity: Minimal.
• Complexity to make: Easy to medium.
• Current promotion: Blue Apron new customers: save $80 over your first 4 boxes.

Blue Apron is the company that started the current meal delivery craze. So they have had plenty of time to get their recipes and processes correct. 

What this means for you is consistency with their product offerings and pricing. And this is a great thing for those of us who have picky eaters and don’t like a lot of change. Choosing four meals per week for a family of four will only cost you $7.49 per serving. Since you only have to choose a few meals, this can make decision making less of a chore.

However, it can also mean much less diversity. So, if your family is into trying new things, Blue Apron may not be the best choice for you.

Learn more about Blue Apron or read our full review.

EveryPlate

• Cost: $4.99 per serving.
• Meal diversity: Minimal.
• Complexity to make: Easy.
• Current promotion: Try Every Plate - Get $60 off your first three boxes! .

If you are in the market for a lower cost meal delivery service, then EveryPlate may be just what you are looking for. Out of all of the kid-friendly meal delivery options, this is by far the most cost-effective.

It’s hard to believe that a company can make full family meals for that little, but this seems to be their business model. EveryPlate strives to cut costs on packaging and makes menu adjustments to continually cut costs.

What this means for you is that you won’t get the diversity you might be able to get from some of these other services, but if cost and simplicity are your driving factors, then EveryPlate is your best option.

Learn more about EveryPlate or read our full review.

Freshly

• Cost: $8.49 per serving.
• Meal diversity: Medium.
• Complexity to make: Very easy.
• Current promotion: Try Freshly - Get $60 off your first 4 boxes! OR Try FreshlyFIT - Save $40 off your first order!.

If you need even quicker family meals with much less prep, then Freshly is the meal delivery service you’ve been looking for. In fact, they have taken the prep out of their meals altogether. 

You can pick and choose from a fairly diverse list of meals to make the whole family happy. Since each meal chosen is prepared individually, you also won’t have to worry about cooking anything separately once the delivery shows up. You can just heat and eat. And they also offer free shipping for once a week delivery.

As an added bonus for those of us with dietary restrictions, all of their meals are gluten-free and peanut-free. Plus, for those looking to stick to a healthy diet, you can order through FreshlyFit which offers a carb-conscious menu. 

Learn more about Freshly or read our full review.

Green Chef

• Cost: $11.99 per serving.
• Meal diversity: Medium.
• Complexity to make: Easy.
• Current promotion: Green Chef promotion: Get $90 Off your first 4 boxes.

If you and your family prefer to eat organic and locally sourced ingredients, then Green Chef is worth checking out. They are one of the most expensive meal delivery services out there right now, but that is due to the quality of ingredients in every dish. If you are okay with paying more for quality food, they have some pretty good options for the whole family.

You and your family can choose between plant-powered meals, carb easy meals (which are gluten-free and grain-free), or balanced living meals. Once you choose the category, then you’ll choose your few meal options for the week.

Their menu changes regularly and can be a mix of more kid-friendly options, such as burgers, pasta, and pizza. They also have some great options for the more diverse palate, so it’s a good mix.

Learn more about Green Chef or read our full review.

HelloFresh

• Cost: $8.99 per serving.
• Meal diversity: Medium.
• Complexity to make: Easy.
• Current promotion: Try HelloFresh - Get $96 off in total over your first 4 deliveries including free shipping on the first box!

HelloFresh has been around for quite a while now. This means they have had time to increase the diversity of their offerings and tweak their recipes. 

In fact, they now have three different levels of recipes you can choose from. This gives you the opportunity to choose extremely easy to make meals, with very few dishes and/or utensils. Or, if you are in the market for more of a challenge, then you can choose the more in-depth recipes. These will give you bonding time with your kids while whipping up a delicious, family-friendly meal.

Learn more about HelloFresh or read our full review.

Home Chef

• Cost: $6.99 per serving.
• Meal diversity: Vast.
• Complexity to make: Easy to medium.
• Current promotion: Try Home Chef - Get $90 off your first 3 orders!

When it comes to diversification, Home Chef is continually striving to up their game. In fact, they have some of the most diverse offerings in the meal delivery space. You can change their meal options to be gluten-free, soy-free, vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, nut-free, etc. 

But you can also choose which level of cooking you want to engage in with your family. So, if you prefer quicker meals, they will only show you options that don’t require as much culinary knowledge in the kitchen and reduced prep time. When it comes to meal customization, they have really got you covered.

Learn more about Home Chef or read our full review.

Purple Carrot

• Cost: $9.99 per serving.
• Meal diversity: Vast.
• Complexity to make: Easy to medium.
• Current promotion: With Purple Carrot - Get $30 off your first subscription with code carrot30 .

If you are vegetarian, vegan, or just trying to eat more plant-based meals per week, then Purple Carrot might be worth taking a look at. All of their meal options are plant-based, nutrient-dense, and full of flavor. 

They also offer quite a few gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, and higher protein options. More of their recipes will take a bit more prep time than some of the other meal delivery services though. So, if you are wanting to spend more time with your kids in the kitchen and get them to eat more plants, this might be a fantastic way to do both.

Learn more about Purple Carrot or read our full review.

Sunbasket

• Cost: $9.99 per serving.
• Meal diversity: Medium.
• Complexity to make: Easy to medium.
• Current promotion: Try Sunbasket - Get $90 off + a free gift and free shipping on your first box!.

When it comes to getting kids involved, Sunbasket has added a few extras to their meal delivery service in this regard. Their recipes come with some kid-friendly activities your kids can do to help you prepare the meal and/or keep them interested in the process. Which, as a parent, can be extremely helpful when cooking.

Sunbasket uses organic ingredients, which is why their meals can be a bit pricey. They have a mixed level of diversity for different palates and dietary restrictions also, which makes customizing your family meals much easier to do. And they have quite a few kid-friendly options such as tacos, burgers, and pasta.

Learn more about Sunbasket or read our full review.

Summary of the best kid-friendly meal delivery options

How I came up with this list

With so many meal delivery services on the market these days, it can be really difficult to choose. But, not all of these services cater to kids’ palates. So, the biggest determining factor was choosing meal delivery options that might be a good fit for children, and then narrowing it down from there.

Overall cost

Since most of us are money conscious, the overall cost is usually one of the first things I look at. And when looking at the overall cost of a meal delivery service, you should think about what kinds of food options are being offered, as well as how many meals you are buying.

The cost will be more than buying the individual groceries yourself and cooking everything from scratch, but the time you save can really be worth it in a lot of cases.

Diversification of meal choices

When thinking about kids and what they choose to eat, there is usually not as much diversity as in adult palates. So, I wanted to find companies that had a bit more diversity offered with their meal options.

The hope is that there will be plenty of options that kids will enjoy that are a little easier to digest and have fewer spices. 

How easy are they to make

Not all of us are chefs or have the time to make a labor-intensive meal. So, finding kid-friendly meal delivery options that allow for little to no prep time was a must. However, I also wanted to include some choices that would end up requiring more prep time for those of us who like to cook or just want to spend more quality time with our kids in the kitchen. 

Why should you use a kid-friendly meal delivery service?

Using a meal delivery service is just one way to make your parenting life a bit easier. After all, as parents, we spend an inordinate amount of time cooking and cleaning for our children when they are younger. And most times, with little to no thanks. But such is life as a parent!

They make cooking faster and easier

Having little to no time to cook is fairly common these days. Since most of us are working parents, cooking is just one more thing we have to add to our plate, and it can be extraordinarily time-consuming. So, if you are just trying to find a way to create more balance and family time, then investing in a kid-friendly meal delivery service might be the solution you’ve been looking for.

They help with picky eaters

A few of my kids fall into this category. It doesn’t matter what I make and how much I try to cater the dishes to their particular taste buds, I simply can’t please everybody all the time. Therefore, meal delivery services might be a good option in cases like this because everyone can create their own meal. That way everyone is happy, at least some of the time.

You don’t have to grocery shop and meal plan

And speaking of time management, spending a big chunk of my free time at the grocery store and meal planning is not my idea of good family time. But, both of these activities can take up a lot of time.

By using a meal delivery service, you don’t have to do either. So, while the average cost per serving might be higher than you are used to, you are saving a large amount of time. So, what is your time worth to you and your family?

Most important features of a kid-friendly meal delivery service

All meal delivery services are going to be a bit different. But when searching for a kid-friendly meal delivery service, there are a few features that are extremely important to keep in mind.

Flavor profile

Kid palates are simply a lot blander than adult palates. Getting them to try new things can be a bit of a challenge in some cases. Therefore, finding a kid-friendly meal delivery service means finding one that has a variety of offerings that might suit their underdeveloped palates. 

But they should also have more robust and flavorful offerings for the adults in your household. This way, there is a higher opportunity to please everyone.

So keep an eye out for companies that have a variety of options that fit your family’s palate, but also your dietary restrictions.

Ease of use

Since a lot of us don’t have the time or energy to cook, finding a meal delivery service that has less prep time might be high on your list. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, you might have the desire to spend some bonding time in the kitchen with your little ones. If this is the case, then there are plenty of great meal delivery service options that can cater to those preferences. 

No matter which meal delivery service you choose, make sure that they have the meal prep options you are looking for. Whether it is only a three-minute heat and eat option or something that takes closer to an hour to prepare with a multitude of kitchen tools.

Cost

With every different meal delivery service providers, the cost can range from affordable to very expensive. It would be a good idea to take stock of how much you think you spend per serving for meals ahead of time. 

Then figure in what the extra time you’ll have with your family is worth to you in dollars. That way you’ll have a more realistic idea of what you’re willing to spend on a meal delivery service for a few meals a week.

Summary

When looking for kid-friendly meal delivery options, there are some really great ones out there to choose from. Once you determine how much your time means to you, the next step is to explore the myriad of new meal options for you and your family.

Read more:

• How Do You Know When You’re (Financially) Ready To Have Kids?
• How To Teach Your Children About Money