We Tested the Meal Delivery Services With the Best Anti-Inflammatory Meals

The Epicured menu doesn’t change much, but there’s plenty of variety. “There are over 150 total items you can order, and many add-on items like side dishes, snacks, and desserts,” explains Tori Martinet, RD, founder of Tori’s Table in Carlsbad, California. You can purchase individual meals, sides, and other add-on items. Food bundles, such as the Plant-Based Bundle and Freezer-Filler Bundle, are also available. These range in size, but they generally contain 10-plus meals and sides and are over $100 without a subscription — which is less than ordering them individually. All products are fresh, but you can freeze many of them if you want to eat them at a later date. (The Freezer-Filler Bundle contains only items that freeze well.)

Epicured is the most expensive meal service in our list if you pay for an Elimination Program up front, but Martinet believes it’s worth it. “This elimination diet is incredibly tough to follow and learn to navigate, and the effort behind the Epicured meals really ensures you’re avoiding everything you’re supposed to be. I’d definitely recommend them,” she says. Epicured notes that the help of a registered dietitian or doctor is important during a low-FODMAP program elimination phase, but the company doesn’t provide this service.

Territory tops the list for low-carbohydrate meals thanks to its variety of creative low-carb meal options and the fact that the entire menu is rooted in anti-inflammatory cooking, with no gluten, dairy, or refined sugars in any meals. Ingredient filtering also means you can avoid common allergens and a few other things, including refined oils.

All of Territory’s low-carb meals have less than 30 grams (g) of total carbs, but if you want to see other types of meals that have more or less carbs per serving, you can adjust the website’s easy-to-use filter. In fact, you can specify a carb range between 0 and 90 g for any category of meal you choose — not just the low-carb options.

Territory’s rotating menu offers a good selection of freshly prepared meals, and you won’t see the same thing every time you order. “A lot of the menu seemed like things I’d want to eat but wouldn’t necessarily want to cook for myself,” says Martinet. Aside from prepared meals, you can order add-on items like breakfast fare, prepared protein items, extra veggies, and desserts, which are available mainly in four-serving portions. There are also some bone broths and soups available as low-carb add-on items.

Another thing we like about Territory is its focus on sustainability, both in ingredients and packaging. It uses humanely-raised and wild-caught protein sources. And since the meals are produced by chefs and restaurants across the country, there’s an emphasis on using regional ingredients. The downside of this, however, is that the regionality of this business framework also means that meal availability may be limited in your area. What you see on the website is what’s available in your location.

We chose BistroMD as our top choice for heart health because it specializes in meals that are helpful to people who need medically tailored meals for cardiovascular health. The Heart-Healthy Program is aimed at people who have a history of heart disease or related conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. This would also be a good meal delivery service if you have a short-term need for heat-and-eat meals, or even as a backup option for when you don’t want to cook.

Specifically, the Heart-Healthy Program’s meals and snacks are designed to support weight loss. All the meals have 600 milligrams (mg) of sodium or less and 3.5 g of saturated fat or less. All of the snacks have 250 mg of sodium or less and 2.5 g of saturated fat or less. The calorie level of the heat-and-eat meals and the snacks is low: on average, 1,200 calories per day for women (three meals and two protein snacks), and 1,400 per day for men (three meals and three protein snacks), and there’s no customization for people with larger bodies.

If you’d rather prepare your own meals and just want help with ideas and gluten-free ingredient prep, Green Chef makes it easy. The company is designated as a “Gluten-Free Safe Spot,” which means the quality and safety of its gluten-free items has been independently verified by the Gluten-Free Food Service program. If you’re just starting out on a gluten-free diet, this provides an extra measure of confidence and convenience. You can also consult with a registered dietitian for free if you’re a gluten-free newbie or have concerns about your diet.

While Green Chef doesn’t have a specific anti-inflammatory meal plan, there are Mediterranean and plant-based plans, so there’s a variety of meals that will fit the bill. The recipes feature plenty of vegetables, which are a cornerstone of an anti-inflammatory diet. “I like that the meals overall really lean into vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins like poultry and fish,” says Martinet. The meal kits are also customizable: You can swap proteins, increase the protein portions, add more vegetables, or upgrade to wild-caught seafood or free-range proteins. If you’re feeding a gluten-free family or meal-prepping, you can get meal kits portioned to feed two, four, or six people. Finally, you can check all of the meal kit ingredients and see full nutrition information, so you can make informed choices before ordering.

Green Chef also has a “Hero Discount Program” that offers 65 percent off your first box, free shipping, and 15 percent off the rest of your boxes for the year if you’re a first responder, teacher, medical provider or nurse, hospital employee, military member, or veteran.

If you’re looking for an easy Mediterranean diet meal experience with plenty of options, Sunbasket is a good choice. You can choose between fresh or frozen meals, as well as meal kits — all providing Mediterranean-style meals that feature fresh, mostly organic produce, fresh herbs, whole grains, and a variety of protein options. Meal kits serve two or four people, prepared meals are single portions, and you can choose from Classic Kits (ingredients are not pre-prepped) or Pre-Prepped Kits, which will save you some chopping time.

Among the prepared meals, each has at least 10 g protein and 5 g fiber per serving, as well as healthy fats from olives, nuts, seeds, or avocados. Sunbasket has a robust food preference questionnaire process for all of its food plans, so you can easily specify which ingredients to avoid or filter for meals that are lower in sodium or sugar, free of certain allergens, and more. All recipes and meals are approved by Sunbasket’s in-house registered dietitians.

Sunbasket features extensive add-on items, like beverages, spreads, nuts, and seeds, as well as prepared side items (salad kits), and veggie dishes like Greek potatoes with a spicy feta sauce. As for the cost of the add-ons, Sunbasket isn’t budget-oriented, but it’s not super expensive either. “If you were to buy these items at Whole Foods or similar grocery stores, you’d find pretty comparable pricing,” says Martinet.

The meal kits that might help against inflammation, such as what you’d get with the Mediterranean plan options, aren’t any pricier than regular meal kits, says EA Stewart, RDN, founder of Spicy RD Nutrition in San Diego. “They may even be less expensive if you’re consuming less animal protein on your anti-inflammatory diet plan,” she explains. “The exception to this would be meals with salmon, which tend to cost more, but in my opinion are worth it to get the anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids.”

We love Sunbasket’s “100 percent mouthwatering” guarantee. If you’re not satisfied with your food for any reason, Sunbasket says it will refund or credit you the cost of that meal, as long as you contact customer service within seven days of delivery, according to the company’s FAQ page.

If you’re looking for convenient, prepared meals that adhere to the elimination diet constraints of the autoimmune protocol (AIP) — even if you aren’t following a paleo diet specifically — Paleo on the Go is for you.

Paleo and AIP diets are similar in that they aim to remove inflammatory triggers. “The AIP is basically an elimination diet designed to help people with autoimmune conditions identify food triggers that may worsen symptoms,” explains Hultin. “It begins with a strict removal phase, cutting out grains, legumes, dairy, nuts, seeds, nightshades, eggs, and processed foods. After several weeks, foods are gradually reintroduced one at a time to identify any that cause symptoms.” Hultin says she’s seen people have success with the AIP, but she suggests that you don’t go it alone. The AIP is not a general anti-inflammatory diet, she cautions. “It’s extremely restrictive and should really only be done under the guidance of a registered dietitian who can help guide you in a strategic way.” Bottom line: Because it’s a complicated diet, you might find that having meals delivered is the best way to work through the AIP protocol.

Ingredient transparency is important at Paleo on the Go, and all of the ingredients in the meals can be found on the website, as well as on the meals themselves. In general, the meals feature sustainable, wild-caught seafood, high quality, grass-fed or grass-finished meats, lots of organic, non-nightshade vegetables (no potatoes, eggplants, tomatoes, or peppers), gluten-free starches, some fruits, coconut oil, and animal fats. These kinds of ingredients come at a higher cost than other meal delivery services, and the shipping cost is high too ($40 per shipment).

Overall, we found the meals satisfying in terms of taste and the amount of food, and the directions for reheating in a toaster oven or on the stovetop helped make some of the meals taste better than simply microwaving them.

Although some other meal delivery companies offer vegan meals, Purple Carrot takes top honors because vegan meals are all it does, and the company’s expertise is evident in their Jumpstart Program and mix-and-match meal approach. The fact that you can choose from meal kits as well as premade meals in one order makes Purple Carrot unique (although you are required to choose either the premade meal plan or meal kit plan when you sign up). If you’re already a vegan or simply want to have some plant-based backup meals in your freezer for busy nights, Purple Carrot can make your diet easier to stick to and more convenient.

“Purple Carrot focuses its meals around plant-based proteins like lentils, beans, and tofu and features various vegetables, such as roasted root vegetables and cooked greens,” says Caitlin Beale, RDN, owner of Caitlin Beale Wellness in San Francisco, who tested Purple Carrot for Everyday Health. “Overall, Purple Carrot’s offerings align with a healthy, high-fiber, plant-based diet,” Beale says. And if plant-based eating or veganism is new to you, the company’s Jumpstart Program is a great option. It’s a four-week plan that provides three meals per day for four days each week and costs $130 per week ($10.83/meal).

Unfortunately, ingredient swaps aren’t allowed with Purple Carrot, but ingredient information is available for all meals on the website. “I’d caution those watching their carbohydrate or sodium intake to check the nutrition labels to make sure they align with your specific health goals,” says Beale.

Hungryroot is our top choice for families who want to eat an anti-inflammatory diet but not be tied to prepared meals. Hungryroot bills itself as a “personalized grocery service.” Its collection of anti-inflammatory recipes and accompanying grocery ingredients, along with prepared microwavable meals and pantry items, means plenty of options for everyone.

“Hungryroot is a little different from other meal delivery services I’ve tried before,” says Ashley Brafman, RD, owner of Food Peace Nutrition, who tested Hungryroot for Everyday Health. “Instead of choosing premade meal kits, you select a recipe, which will automatically add the required food items to your order, including a suggested protein, base (pasta, grains), veggies, and sauces. If you don’t like something in the recipe, you can swap it out. For example, you could replace the chicken in the recipe with tofu or another plant-based protein if you wanted.”

There is a sign-up quiz that helps Hungryroot suggest grocery items and recipes based on your preferences, how many people you’re feeding, how much you want to spend, etc., but you have ultimate control over what goes into your box. Any auto-populated items can be deleted or edited. There are lots of recipes to choose from (over 1,000 of them), and the website has a robust filtering mechanism that helps you make your selections. You can filter for foods and recipes that fit an anti-inflammatory eating plan, and additional filters for things like protein type, meal type, and required cooking equipment further customize your experience. Full nutrition information for the recipes is only found online and in the Hungryroot app.

Hungryroot requires that you select at least three recipes per order (maximum of eight). Recipes are designed to feed two to four people. However, if you have more than three adults to feed or more than four people total, even the largest recipe size may not be enough.

The biggest downside is Hungryroot’s lack of pricing transparency. Hungryroot uses a “credit system,” so each item/kit you select has a certain number of credits assigned to it. You’re alerted when you’ve hit your max credits for the size of meal plan you selected at sign-up. You can only order up to eight recipe kits a week, but you can go over your credits total with additional grocery and add-on prepared items. It’s only when you complete your order that you see the dollar cost of what you’ve selected. “You don’t see the true dollar cost of each add-on item or meal, which I didn’t like. It made it difficult for me to gauge if my grocery items were more or less expensive than similar items I could get at my local grocery store,” explained Brafman.

We chose CookUnity as our favorite meal delivery service for foodies because of its unique “chef collective” model. It aims to provide fresh, individual, restaurant-quality meals at a reasonable price — and from what our reviewer tasted, it delivers. There’s no specific anti-inflammatory meal plan, but there’s a setting to adjust your meal options for vegetarian, Mediterranean, vegan, gluten-free, low-carb, and lower-calorie meals, among others. Using that basic filter, combined with setting dietary restrictions for allergens or ingredients you want to avoid, you can find a good selection of meals to fit an anti-inflammatory eating plan.

The CookUnity website clearly labels meals by dietary preference, so it’s easy to pick the right one for you, explains Mary Sauer, a freelance health writer in Kansas City, Missouri who tested CookUnity for Everyday Health. You always have the option to choose something outside of your previously indicated preference, so if you picked Mediterranean, you could still change filters and see meals of different types, such as vegetarian or low-carb. There’s also a very hands-off option: The “automatic order” system follows your indicated preferences and restrictions but chooses the meals for you. CookUnity doesn’t offer add-ons, but there are some meals that are labeled for multiple servings, and certain items are marked with a “Flexible Portions” tag, such as prepared proteins that don’t come with anything else (good for meal prepping or feeding extra folks at the table).

Plan sizes range from 4 to 16 meals per order, and the chef instructions recommend how to heat up your meal (oven, stovetop, or microwave). It’s important to note that since all of the meals are fresh, the shelf life is only three to seven days. You can freeze meals, but that may affect the texture and taste of ingredients like eggs, dairy, or leafy greens. You can change your plan size, and the menus come out two weeks in advance, so you can look at your schedule and decide how many meals you’ll actually be able to eat prior to ordering.

“My favorite meals included the Sesame Salmon that had steamed bok choy on the side, and the Beef Birria Quesadillas, which had a great cinnamon flavor and delicious, melty cheese,” says Sauer. “I also liked the Mission-Style Chicken Burrito, which my kids and I split — we even had a friendly argument over who would get the last bite.” Of note are the new “Lines” offered by CookUnity: a Clean Eating Line, a Green Eating Line, and a Kids Line, which also appear on the filtering mechanism. The Clean Eating Line, billed as offering “whole, minimally processed, and nutrient-rich ingredients,” may be helpful for narrowing down choices for anti-inflammatory eating.

MagicKitchen.com is our top choice for budget-friendly meal delivery service because it has a pay-as-you-go model, lower average meal cost (depending on what you order and the number of servings selected), and cost assistance for insurance-covered meals. The menu features prepared, heat-and-eat meals approved by dietitians, which are available in around 12 different categories. There is no specific anti-inflammatory meal category, but the meals in the general wellness, diabetes-friendly, and vegetarian categories are good options to start with. Within each category, you can filter for additional dietary preferences and restrictions, such as gluten-free or low-sodium, to further curate your available options.

Brittany Scanniello, RDN, owner of Eat Simply Nutrition in Lafayette, Colorado, tested MagicKitchen.com for Everyday Health, and found that it gave her complete control over the meal selections. “I was able to select between a variety of meal plans, such as a senior special diet, portion-controlled, low-sodium, diabetic-friendly, gluten-free, and more. I could also filter by meal course, diet preferences, or keywords to ensure I got precisely what I wanted.”

The meals and add-on items are fully prepared and frozen. MagicKitchen.com also offers “Trial Meal Packs” at a pretty significant discount ($7.50 off and free delivery with code TRIAL). Each pack consists of 15 preselected meals (two soups, three breakfasts, and 10 dinners). This is a great way to test out the meals and the service to see if it will work for you. There are also a variety of meal “bundles” that provide multiple meals for one to eight people. Scanniello found the meals to be well balanced, and they all included at least one portion of vegetables (often two). You’ll get a mix of fish, beef, chicken, and pork entrées, and if you’re looking at just vegetarian options, you’ll find soups, pastas and vegetable-and-grain dishes.

Bottom line: MagicKitchen.com provides a no-frills, easy-to-navigate site that allows you to choose meals and add-ons that will fit your budget and can accommodate a wide variety of diets and health conditions.