Have you ever found yourself short on time when making dinner? Lacking inspiration when meal planning? Have you ever had a week where you just couldn’t make it to the grocery store? The solution might be found in a subscription meal kit. There are “heat-and-eat” meal options as well as more hands-on ingredient and recipe kits available.
There are a myriad of meal kits out there, and it can be confusing to find the best of them. We’ve narrowed down some of the best gluten-free meal kits out there to help you select the best fit for you.
The kits we’ve reviewed:
- Balanced Bites
- Daily Harvest
- Every Plate
- Green Chef
- Home Chef
- Freshly
- Marley Spoon
- Purple Carrot
- Sunbasket
- Conclusion
Why gluten-free? About 1% of the population has been diagnosed with Celiac disease and need to avoid all gluten in their diet. About 23.5 million Americans have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder and studies have started to show that a gluten-free diet can be helpful in managing autoimmune disorders. And it is estimated that 18 million Americans have gluten sensitivity, leading to gastrointestinal discomfort, joint pain, headaches, and brain fog. While a gluten-free diet isn’t necessary for everyone, many people have found they simply feel better when they avoid gluten-containing products. Talk it over with your nutrition professional to see if a gluten-free lifestyle is right for you.
Those with Celiac disease or severe gluten allergy or sensitivity should exercise caution when choosing a meal subscription service. Look for one that is produced in a certified gluten-free facility.
Having meal kits ready can help you to be sure you get an actual meal on the table, instead of staring at the contents of your refrigerator and ending up eating a bowl of cereal. They can also take away any last-minute decision-making on your part—because the ingredients and recipe are all ready for you. The heat-and-eat options are extremely helpful when you are short on time, but still want to meet your nutrition goals.
The traditional meal kits can be a fun way to start out a date night—cooking together and sharing a meal. It can also be fun to include your kiddos in cooking the meal kits. It’s a great opportunity for them to learn some cooking skills and to spend some time together. If you have a picky eater, they might be more interested in trying new foods that they’ve helped prepare.
Balanced Bites
Balanced Bites All of Balanced Bites ready-to-eat meals are gluten, grain, and soy free. As a bonus, they cook exclusively with ghee or extra virgin olive oil. The meals are well balanced with fat, carbohydrates, and protein. The meals are a good portion and you won’t be left feeling hungry.
They offer seasonal boxes, as well as keto, paleo, and pork-free boxes. If you choose to build your own box you can further customize with nightshade-free, nut-free, egg-free, and dairy-free filters.
Balanced Bites offers meals created by some of your favorite bloggers, including Stacy Toth and Aubrey Johansen. Each box contains 10 meals and is $179.90. One-time purchases are available. And subscriptions can be delivered every week, or you can choose delivery every two, three, or four weeks.
The website contains nutritional information for every meal they are currently offering and you can easily find the meals before signing up.
Our team member says “it might seem pricey up front, but it’s such a comfort to know that your dinner is taken care of, will be delicious, and you will not be ‘glutened’.”
Daily Harvest
Daily Harvest provides weekly, frozen, ready-to-blend or heat meals and snacks that are always gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan. They offer everything from smoothies, flatbreads, and harvest bowls to lattes and “scoops” which is their take on a frozen treat.
You can choose to fill your weekly box starting with six items and can have as many as 26 items in a box at a time. Smoothies start at $7.99 each and Harvest Bowls are $8.99 each. The more items in your box, the greater discount you can receive. Cancelling weeks is easily done on their website or their app. If you choose to use the app they will send you reminders to personalize your box with plenty of time before it ships. You can schedule box delivery months ahead of time.
Because of the vegan nature of their menu, most of the items will require the addition of some protein to make it a complete meal. Whether that is in the form of protein powder in a smoothie or oat bowl, or a fried egg or some leftover roasted chicken on top of their flatbreads or harvest bowls, rounding out their options is a relatively simple addition.
Some of the smoothies and other options are relatively low-calorie. If you use them as a meal you might need a bit more to sustain you through your day. The addition of protein is also useful in this case. The lower-calorie smoothies and bowls can make a great snack on their own.
We love the variety of fruits and vegetables used in their menu. There are a lot of tasty and nutrient-dense options available.
Our team member says “The pear and arugula flatbread is my favorite lunchtime option. I add some shredded chicken along with it and I feel like I’m at a fancy bistro.“
Every Plate
Every Plate This is the most inexpensive option on our list. Servings start at $4.99 each. EveryPlate has 14 options for meal kits every week. However, they do not filter by any allergen or preference. You can see the meal options before you give them any information and each meal's nutrition information is easily accessible with allergens prominently displayed. You will have to be diligent about reading the nutrition label before adding meals to your cart.
None of their meals are made in a gluten-free dedicated facility. We would not recommend them for those with severe gluten allergies.
EveryPlate also offers protein add-ons for your order, chicken breast and steak are often listed as meal options. Many of their meals are high in protein and fiber and will keep you full and satisfied.
They are a weekly subscription box with easy access to skipping weeks, months ahead of time.
Our team thinks this is a good choice for the budget conscious consumer, but the lack of variety in gluten-free options and the extra work on checking each meal is doable, but can become tedious.
Green Chef
Green Chef takes the top spot on many lists of the best gluten-free meal kit companies. It’s not an exclusively gluten-free meal kit company, but it has lots of gluten-free options every week. They recommend those with severe gluten allergies to exercise caution. The nutrition information for each meal is easily accessible on their website before giving them any of your personal information. And Green Chef is a Certified Organic Company.
Their menu is packed with lots of vegetables and high-protein meals. They offer dinner only at this time, there are no add-ons available. Meals start at $7.99 per serving. You can choose your box size for two, four, or six people for three or four meals a week. The weekly subscription can easily be paused for weeks at a time.
Our team member says “The website is user-friendly and it is easy to make changes to your plan. The food is scrumptious and satisfying.”
Home Chef
Home Chef Home Chef is another company that doesn’t have a specific gluten-free filter, but allergens are prominently displayed on their menu. They also have meal options that are no-prep and quick-cooking, in addition to extra protein, breakfast, and treat menu items. Meals start at $6.99.
What sets Home Chef apart is that you can customize quite a few of their over 30+ meals by swapping the protein or doubling up on the protein. Their extra protein options are by far the most varied—scallops, steak, and pork chops all make appearances.
Home Chef makes it easy to skip a week or cancel your subscription. Some weeks there are not very many gluten-free options to choose from. This might be the right meal kit for you if you only need the occasional box instead of looking for weekly help. Otherwise the lack of choices could be disappointing.
Our team member says “I love the option to double-up on protein. Though sometimes, the gluten-free options are minimal.”
Freshly
Freshly delivers heat-and-eat meals right to your door, they are kept in your refrigerator, and then take about three minutes to heat up in your microwave. They have plenty of certified gluten-free meals that are made in kitchens certified by the Gluten Intolerance Group. Once you have signed up for Freshly it is easy to filter by gluten-free. Almost all of their options are indeed gluten-free certified which makes this a perfect choice for those who cannot tolerate any gluten cross-contamination. At last look, every option available was certified gluten-free.
Plans range from 4 meals a week to up to twelve meals a week, with costs decreasing from $11.49 a meal to $8.49 a meal respectively. Their meals have a good balance of macronutrients and you are not likely to go looking for a snack soon after you finish a meal.
They offer a wide variety of globally inspired cuisine as well as homestyle favorites that have been made gluten-free using brown rice pastas or almond meal ‘breading.’
The Freshly app makes it incredibly easy to filter and choose your meals as well as skip weeks or cancel your subscription.
Our team member recommends the Tangy Buffalo Chicken and the Chicken Tikka Masala. She does say “after a while some of the meals all taste the same, unless you are choosing the global-inspired meals.”
Marley Spoon
Marley Spoon This is yet another service that offers some gluten-free meal kits. Over 29 different meals are offered each week and it is easy to view allergen information. Meals are tagged as “no added gluten.” The kits are packaged in a facility that packages gluten containing items, so use your discretion in trying these meal kits.
Marley Spoon does offer some pre-made meals each week, for when you know you will be short on cooking time. They also offer breakfast meal kit options, special treats, as well as extra protein options for your weekly box.
What sets Marley Spoon apart is all of the recipes are from Martha Stewart so expect to add a little flair of fancy to your weeknight meals with gluten-free options like Seared Steak & Herb Caper Sauce with Sauteed Radishes, Snap Peas and Carrots or Honey Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Apricots & Broccolini. The website claims the recipes are only six steps each, however each step has quite a few sub-steps. Meals range in price from $6.99 to $10.99 per portion depending on how many meals you purchase in each box.
The meals are well balanced and there is no need to supplement most meals with more protein or extra veggies. Their app makes it easy to select your meals and skip a week if you need to do so.
Our team member says “MarleySpoon is a great option for those with a more sophisticated palate that aren’t concerned with gluten cross contamination.”
Purple Carrot
Purple Carrot is a vegan meal kit service that offers gluten-free meal kits as well. They offer breakfast and lunch kits, as well as pantry staples. The price range for meals is $9.99 to $11.99. They offer about eight dinner meal kit options a week.
What we love about Purple Carrot is their focus on whole foods. You will not find any ‘frankenfoods’ here. Their meals are naturally high in fiber from the variety of beans and vegetables used. However some of their meals are lower in protein than the other brands and you might find yourself needing to add in some supplemental protein.
Like the other companies, Purple Carrot makes it easy to skip a week or cancel.
Purple Carrot might be the right choice for you if you are interested in a gluten-free, plant-based meal kit service to simplify your cooking.
Sunbasket
Sunbasket With both ready-to-eat meals and cook-at-home kits available, Sunbasket has you covered. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks are also available as add-ons to your box. You can also add on some extra proteins and salads into your order.
The website lets you easily sort through their menu to find the gluten-free meal kits. They also filter with “paleo” which is also gluten-free. They do note on their website that the gluten-free foods are processed in a facility that does process wheat, so Sunbasket may not be suitable for those with severe gluten allergies or celiac disease.
Sunbasket’s Fresh & Ready meals start at $8.99 a serving. The meal kits start at $10.99, but it seems like the gluten free options are around $12.99 a serving. There is a four serving order minimum per box to start. It is a weekly subscription that can be easily managed through the website. And weeks can simply be skipped if not desired.
They offer a good mix of standard American cuisine and globally inspired dishes, such as BBQ Pork Chops with Broccoli Slaw with Raisins & Walnuts and Lemongrass Turkey & Rice Noodle Cups with Coconut Curry.
We love the amount of gluten-free meal kit options that Sunbasket has available. And the add-on shop is extremely convenient. Most of their meals have a good amount of protein and are satisfying—you won’t be looking for a snack 20 minutes after eating.
In researching this article, Sunbasket is the one meal kit that I haven’t tried that is now on the top of my list to try.
Conclusion
In conclusion, gluten-free meal kits and ready-to-eat meals can be a great tool to help simplify a stressful life. At first glance, they can seem a bit pricey—but knowing you have an easy and readily available meal kit ready to go in your refrigerator, that will move you along toward reaching your health goals can prove invaluable.
Whether you choose the convenience of a weekly subscription or you choose to order a box when you know your schedule demands a little extra help in getting healthy food on your table, we are sure you will find one that suits your needs.
About the Author
Karen became a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner after her own medical crisis and autoimmune diagnosis led her on a journey of discovering how vital proper nutrition is to feeling happy and healthy. She became passionate about helping others regain their energy and sense of well-being through food and lifestyle choices. Karen lives in Southern California with her family and can be found outdoors most of the time. She loves helping clients find the joy of creating delicious foods that nourish their mind, body and spirit. Read more about Karen
The information presented on this website is intended for educational purposes only. Statements within this site have not been evaluated or approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This content is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any specific condition or disease, nor is it medical advice and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise. Readers of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding specific health conditions or concerns. One should always consult a qualified medical professional before engaging in any dietary and/or lifestyle change or new health program. Curated Wellness does not take responsibility for any health consequences of any person or persons following the information in this educational content.
