The 6 Best Meal Kits for New Parents

Gobble’s everything-is-done meal kits help you make a super speedy homemade meal. Ingredients come chopped, peeled and measured out so there’s zero prep work for you and way fewer dishes to clear after the meal.

When asked about her meal kit experience, Babylist’s senior creative strategist (slash resident meal kit expert) Maddie Eisenhart said that, after transitioning to Gobble six months postpartum, she loved that the meals were actually as fast as promised to prepare. “The meals are genuinely done in about 20 minutes or so. It was exactly what I needed for the transition from maternity leave to going back to work and figuring out a new routine.” Our brand and visual design director, Tonya Baker, also backed the super-fast recipe claim, saying she “stuck with gobble the longest as the recipes were by far the quickest.”

You can choose from 24 dinner options each week—chicken, beef, pork, fish and vegetarian—all designed to be cooked in one pan in 15 to 20 minutes. While Gobble runs on the pricier side, it’s the only meal kit on our list with all the ingredients measured and prepped for you.

Additional Specs

• Dietary Options: Gluten-free, dairy-free, low carb and vegetarian

• Plans: Two to five dinners per week for either two or four people

• Delivery: Weekly unless you pause or cancel subscription

• Packaging: Most parts of it are recyclable or reusable

As one of the first brands to offer meal kits, Blue Apron definitely knows how to put together delicious dinners. You can choose from eight chef-designed, seasonal recipes each week and your box of clean ingredients (think: non-GMO, no hormones or antibiotics) from family-run farms arrives with everything premeasured. The recipes are designed to be restaurant-quality, whether you have chef-like skills or not.

“They had the best food of any meal kit I tried, and I credit Blue Apron with teaching me how to cook,” Eisenhart shared. The downside is that it’s time-consuming; unlike Gobble, you’ll still need to do the chopping and peeling.

They also offer Mediterranean diet recipes and run Whole30 options at various times. Since these recipes are on the more mature side, they are better suited for adults (rather than feeding children who sneer at anything green). During those final days of pregnancy or when your baby has just arrived, these tasty meals can be a nice treat at the end of a long day—as long as you’re up to putting these recipes together, as they are more involved than other options.

Additional Specs

• Dietary Options: Includes a variety of meat, fish and vegetarian meals

• Plans: Two to five dinners per week for either two or four people

• Delivery: Weekly unless you pause or cancel subscription

• Packaging: Most parts of it are recyclable or reusable

If you and your partner have different dietary needs (i.e., I’m a pescatarian and my husband is not), Sun Basket is a great option. They offer 10 types of plans—from paleo and Mediterranean to vegetarian and pescatarian—all made with organic ingredients. And if reading organic makes you think the flavor will be lacking, Eisenhart said, “the meals were still flavorful and interesting and had a great mix of vegetarian and meat-forward meals,” even with less prep required compared to services like Blue Apron.

You can even skip turning the stove on altogether and opt for their “Fresh and Ready” meals that can be warmed in the microwave or oven in minutes. Each week, you can build your box with meals to cook (choosing from 18 recipes that take about 30 minutes to make), Fresh and Ready meals, snacks, grab-and-go lunches and drinks. Some of the ingredients are pre-prepped, saving you some time (which as new parents, you’re definitely short on).

Additional Specs

• Dietary Options: Paleo, low-calorie, vegan, vegetarian, Mediterranean, gluten-free, soy-free, pescatarian and diabetes-friendly

• Plans: Three meals per week for two or four people (Fresh and Ready meals serve one)

• Delivery: Weekly unless you pause or cancel subscription

• Packaging: 100 percent recyclable and compostable

HelloFresh’s basic but delicious dishes use pre-portioned ingredients, making it easy to whip up dinner in 20 to 30 minutes that can serve just two people or a crowd of six. HelloFresh is also one of the meal kit brands that cater to larger family sizes with the option to add up to six people to your plan size. While some fruits and veggies will come pre-cut or chopped, others won’t (to help preserve the quality), so keep that in mind when calculating the time it’ll take to craft each recipe. Speaking of time, each recipe takes 30 minutes or less, but some of them can take as little as 15 minutes to make.

Babylist managing editor Shannon Robson says that while the meals are on the simpler side—with something like an added sauce for some pizazz—the recipes “ended up inspiring me to learn how to make more sauces to upgrade my own basic meals.”

And while the value of HelloFresh compared to just purchasing groceries on your own makes the meal kit a more expensive option, Robson says that “there is so much value in not having to plan and shop for dinners,” which makes it worth it.

Additional Specs

• Dietary Options: Vegetarian, plant-based, fit and wholesome, pescatarian, family friendly

• Plans: Two to six meals per week for two or six people

• Delivery: Weekly unless you pause or cancel subscription

• Packaging: Most parts of it are recyclable or reusable

Similar to HelloFresh, EveryPlate offers pre-portioned ingredients and super-easy recipes to help you get dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. I used EveryPlate during the last few weeks of pregnancy when the thought of answering “What’s for dinner?” made me want to scream. The recipes are simple, easy to make and taste good. They offer about 25 different recipes to choose from and you can also add extras to each meal (think extra proteins, veggies, starches and sauces).

And if you’re really feeling fancy, you can choose one of their premium meals (they offer four options each week to choose from) and you’ll get upgraded proteins, like seafood and steak, and ingredients. Premium meals will cost an additional $1.99 to $6.99. Although the produce doesn’t come prepped, it took so little time to get everything ready to use that it didn’t bother me or add excessive time to the process. My only gripe is that the recipes got pretty repetitive over time (like the same base meal but different sauces), which didn’t bother my husband, who could eat the same thing every day, but it bugged me as I appreciate variety.

Additional Specs

• Dietary Options: Vegetarian and calorie-smart

• Plans: Two to five meals delivered per week

• Delivery: Weekly unless you pause or cancel subscription

• Packaging: All packaging is recyclable and biodegradable

Similar to HelloFresh, EveryPlate offers pre-portioned ingredients and super-easy recipes to help you get dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. I used EveryPlate during the last few weeks of pregnancy when the thought of answering “What’s for dinner?” made me want to scream. The recipes are simple, easy to make and taste good. They offer about 25 different recipes to choose from and you can also add extras to each meal (think extra proteins, veggies, starches and sauces).

And if you’re really feeling fancy, you can choose one of their premium meals (they offer four options each week to choose from) and you’ll get upgraded proteins, like seafood and steak, and ingredients. Premium meals will cost an additional $1.99 to $6.99. Although the produce doesn’t come prepped, it took so little time to get everything ready to use that it didn’t bother me or add excessive time to the process. My only gripe is that the recipes got pretty repetitive over time (like the same base meal but different sauces), which didn’t bother my husband, who could eat the same thing every day, but it bugged me as I appreciate variety.

Additional Specs

• Dietary Options: Vegetarian and calorie-smart

• Plans: Two to five meals delivered per week

• Delivery: Weekly unless you pause or cancel subscription

• Packaging: All packaging is recyclable and biodegradable