No Subscription
- Extra Protein & Customization
- Simplest Ingredients
- No Subscription Required
Winner
- World’s Strongest Man Approved
- Grass Fed, Wild-Caught
- 25 Entrees & 8 Breakfast
Most Variety
- 35 Entrees & 10 Breakfast
- Protein Plus Options
- Lots of Addons & Snacks
You’re putting in serious hours at the gym and working hard on building muscle. The goal is to see some nice definition when you flex in front of the mirror, but every hardcore bodybuilder knows success isn’t based on what happens at the gym alone.
Diet is an equally crucial element to bodybuilding success. Bodybuilding meal delivery services make healthy eating easier with high protein, low carb meals that build muscle and are nutritionally designed to help control body weight in the process.
Trifecta Nutrition, Meal Pro, and Icon Meals top our list of the best meal delivery services for their healthy variety of lean protein meals, nutritional balance, convenience, and price. Other meal delivery services made our list too. Check them out!
Trifecta Nutrition
BEST BODYBUILDING MEAL DELIVERY SERVICE
- Meal Options: 25 Entrees and 8 Breakfasts
- Minimum Order: 7 Entrees
- Avg Price: $15.80
- Shipping: $9.99
Trifecta is one of our favorite meal delivery services because their high protein meals are delicious and so full of flavor it’s like having your team of gourmet chefs on hand to prepare meals for you daily.
If it’s good enough for Brian Shaw, the world’s strongest man, and Derek Pratt, a Master trainer, then it’s good enough for us.
Mealpro
BEST TASTING
- Meal Options: 24 Entrees & 9 Extra Proteins
- Minimum Order: 18 Entrees
- Price Per Serving: $10.50 – $20
- Shipping: Free to Pacific states or $10 avg
MealPro offers a great deal of versatility. You can choose between low-carb, extra-carb, extra protein, and additional customization options.
Icon Meals
BEST VALUE
Icon Meals is one of the simplest, most affordable, and most customizable bodybuilding meal prep delivery services available today. For meals that hover around $10 each (breakfast options are usually less, while main meals can cost slightly more), Icon Meals offers an impressive range of choices and customization options.
There are three different meal boxes to choose from, along with customized breakfast, make-your-own meals, and a la carte trays of single proteins, carbs, and veggies to create your own meals.
One feature of Icon Meals that some people love but others not so much is that the meal components are sometimes separate in their serving dish.
For example, Chipotle Beefy Mac & Cheese has the ground beef crumbles separated from the mac & cheese. Another example is the chicken stir-fry which has the chicken cubes, rice, and veggies portioned separately rather than mixed together.
Some ingredients do shift a little during shipping, so that’s also something to be aware of. It really doesn’t affect anything other than the presentation, but for some people, that’s really important.
Key Benefits
- An impressive selection of meal box menus and a la carte options
- Snacks, seasonings, and protein coffee as add-ons
- Economical for what you get, although the single trays of a la carte veggies seem priced a little high
- Icon Meals offers heat and eat options only
- Gluten-free and allergen-free options are limited
Muscle Meals 2 Go
Muscle Meals 2 Go is one of the easiest bodybuilding meal delivery services that we’ve tried. Those wanting to boost their muscle-building power and eat nutritiously can enjoy choosing between one of their subscription meal plan options or simply choose the ready-made meals that are calling your name and have them delivered whenever you want – with no subscription and no commitment.
They offer a great selection of premade meals and weekly meal plans that are designed to transform your life by making it easy and convenient to eat in a way that’s aligned with your fitness and muscle-building goals.
Each meal is macro-balanced and nutritionally designed to help you gain muscle mass. Muscle Meals 2 Go offers four separate meal plans that are all designed for people at different points of their muscle-building journey.
The four meal plans they offer include the Maintain Custom Plan, Gain Plans, Lean Weight Loss Plan, and their recently added Keto Plan.
If one of these plans doesn’t fit what you’re looking for, you can always order meals a la carte. Their individual meals are organized by category, like their Signature meals, which feature a lot of protein-rich, comfort food style dishes and Extra Protein meals for when you really want to up your daily protein intake.
Other categories of meals include Low Carb Meals, Vegan Meals, Gluten-Free Meals, and Breakfasts. Snacks and add-ons are also available.
The plans are priced differently but start at $149 for twelve meals.
Key Benefits
- Allow customization to exclude unwanted ingredients.
- Choose a weekly subscription or no commitment and individual meals
- Vegan and gluten-free meals are available
- Reasonably priced, with most meals costing $12 – $15 for generous portions
- Meals are prepared fresh each week
- Large weekly menu to choose from
FlexPro Meals
FlexPro Meals is a meal delivery service that offers fully prepared meals that make meal planning a breeze for your bodybuilding lifestyle.
FlexProMeals specializes in high-protein meals that are macro-balanced and contain the right amount of healthy complex carbs to help you build muscle mass or lose weight.
They offer two meal plan options. They’re called Fat Trimmer for weight loss and Lean Muscle for building muscle.
The only real difference between the two plans is the size of the portions. The Fat Trimmer plan includes smaller portions and fewer calories, Otherwise, the meals are the same.
Once you choose which weekly meal plan you’re interested in, the next step is to choose how many fully prepared meals you want to be delivered each week.
Customers can choose to have 7, 10, 15, 18, or 21 meals per week. After that comes the really fun part, where you get to choose the bodybuilding meals you’re going to enjoy with the delivery.
FlexPro Meals offers about 35 meals each week on their rotating menu. Our impression of the menu was that they offer a really good variety and diversity of flavors. It would be hard to find something you didn’t like with this meal delivery service.
Our main critique of the service is that they don’t offer much for people with food allergies (there are three to five dairy-free options on the menu), and they don’t make mention whether they use organic produce and clean ingredients in their prepared meals.
Key Benefits
- Great variety of tasty dishes on the menu each week
- Two meal plans – one for muscle building and another for those who want to consume fewer calories
- Handcrafted meals prepared for you
- Meals are delivered fresh, not frozen
- A small selection of breakfast meals is available
Factor Meals
Word of mouth means a lot when you’re considering a new bodybuilding meal prep delivery service. Factor receives solid reviews for taste and quality with little exception. While some users claim that Factor lacks a little in the variety department, other perks make this company worthy of a closer look.
Factor features a weekly rotating menu of at least 27 meals each week. These meals are chef created, designed by dieticians, and always taste good.
Not all of their meals are heavy on lean protein, so Factor is a good option if you’re carb cycling and would like a little help meal planning during the week.
For example, on a lower carb day, you might choose a meal like their Shrimp Alfredo with Zucchini Noodles, but then choose the Shredded Chicken Parmesan with Fusilli Noodles on a high carb day.
Key Benefits
- Organic, grass-fed ingredients, along with dairy and gluten-free meals
- A discount incentive for ordering more meals
- Paleo, Keto, and Gluten-Free plans
- Free 20-minute nutritional coaching session, plus the option to sign up for monthly nutritional coaching and support
- Add extra protein, snacks, and drinks with Factor+.
Fresh N Lean
Fresh N Lean offers heat-and-eat meals that are designed for bodybuilders, endurance athletes, and fitness-minded people. Their meals are nutrient-dense, macro-balanced, and prepared with fresh, organic ingredients.
Fresh N Lean offers seven different meal plans, so you can pick the one that’s most aligned with your bodybuilding goals.
They have a Protein+ plan, which is popular with bodybuilders, along with Keto, Paleo, Whole30, Meditteranean, Standard Vegan, and Low-Carb Vegan.
We absolutely love that Fresh N Lean makes it easier to eat low-carb for vegan dieters. This just isn’t something you see every day.
Most of the reviews you’ll read about Fresh N Lean are solid. There are a few out there that knock the company for their customer service, freshness, and overall quality of their meals.
Fresh N Lean also has a bulk section of protein and sides, so you can create your meals without all the extra prepping and cooking.
Key Benefits
- Economical compared to other bodybuilding meal prep delivery services
- Organic, heat-and-eat options for breakfast and dinner
- Protein+ meals contain 1500 macro-balanced calories
- Grass-fed, chemical-free ingredients
- Shipping is always fre
Buying Guide
Athlete Approved? What About Extra Protein?
There’s no greater testament to the quality of a bodybuilding meal prep delivery service than the one that comes directly from other athletes. There are a lot of people out there using these meal delivery services to help them reach fitness, and health goals but not all of them are as hardcore as bodybuilders and endurance athletes.
You might want to look at services such as MealPro, which offers meals designed by both bodybuilders and chefs. High-protein meals are key for successful bodybuilding, making it a good idea to look for meal delivery services that at least offer extra protein if it’s not already automatically included in their meals.
Trifecta Nutrition’s make-your-own-meal option and Factor’s Factor+ selections offer easy ways to add more protein to your meals. These are also great options if you’re equally focused on weight loss because you have a bit more control over how much protein is included in your delicious healthy food.
Fresh Vs. Frozen
Consider your preference for fresh vs. frozen ingredients when looking for a meal delivery service. Fresh might seem like it’s hands down the better option, but this isn’t always the case.
For instance, Ice Age Meals chooses to freeze all their meals to preserve freshness without adding unnecessary preservatives. Plus, freezing enables them to produce less waste.
Protein & Carbs
You should always look for a meal delivery service that’s macro-balanced in a way that meets your dietary needs. Most people who are eating to build muscle mass lean heavily toward higher protein and lower carbs, while others prefer low-calorie meals to help them lose weight and build muscle at the same time.
Look for a meal delivery service that will offer meals with the macro balance you’re looking for. As an example, you might not be one to shun all carbs, but maybe you’d rather they came from nutritious vegetable sources, like roasted sweet potato, rather than grains.
If you want low-calorie meal options, meal delivery services that offer options for smaller portions, like FlexPro Meals, are a great option for you.
Grass-Fed Protein and Organic Ingredients
Most of the bodybuilding meal prep delivery services on this list offer high-quality ingredients that include grass-fed proteins and organic and sustainable ingredients.
These services cater to the health and the fitness-minded crowd, so they’re likely to go the extra mile in providing the healthiest ingredients.
That said, if quality and purity are important, you shouldn’t make assumptions because not all meal delivery services use organic produce, grass-fed meat, and free-range chicken. This information is easily accessible on most meal delivery sites so you can make the best-informed decisions for your health.
Meal Kits Vs. Prepared Meals
In this review, we focused on fully prepared meals, but this isn’t the only option that’s out there. There are meal delivery services that also offer meal kits. These are meals that come to you with pre-portioned ingredients that you then prepare in your own kitchen, often with minimal cooking involved.
Meal kits are a good option for people who do like to cook but want the entire process to be easier. FlexPro Meals is one delivery service that offers meals with both a prepared option and a meal prep box.
For people with special dietary concerns, a meal kit is the next best thing to custom meals because you have more control over which ingredients go into your meals.
Prepared meals are those that are already fully cooked and assembled when they reach you. These types of meals usually require nothing more than a few minutes in the microwave, but some really do taste better if you take a few extra minutes and heat them on the stovetop instead.
Meal Variety and Taste
Finally, the last thing you want is to get bored with your bodybuilding meal prep delivery service because that’s one of the surest ways to cheat a little here and there. There are people out there who genuinely prefer eating the same meals every day, and if you’re one of them, then just about any meal delivery service on this list will work for you.
Trifecta Nutrition offers lots of ways to customize your meals, which is just one of the reasons they earn the top spot. Ice Age Meals also offers great variety, with more than 30 meals to choose from. Muscle Meals 2 Go also offers a really great selection of high-protein meals to help you reach your fitness goals.
Bottom Line
How you choose to nourish your body while building muscle is so important. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice taste, quality, or clean ingredients simply because you don’t have the time (or desire) to cook.
The best meal delivery services are going to help with this by making it easier to meal plan with meals that are packed with lean protein, healthy fats, and complex whole grains like brown rice.
Trifecta Nutrition, Icon Meals, and Ice Age Meals earned top marks, but there really aren’t any losers on this list. Take a look, decide what’s most important to you, and make the leap to trying one of these great bodybuilding meal prep delivery services to fuel success and support your goals.