The Best Eco Friendly Meal Delivery

It doesn’t get better in terms of the best eco-friendly meal delivery than Green Chef. Green Chef is a meal kit delivery service that can help you be eco-friendly in more than one way. First, their weekly meal kits can be customized to match the number of servings you need  (up to 6 servings) with the ability to mix and match different plans to create your perfect box.

Other meal delivery services don’t offer the same flexible ordering options, which can lead to more food waste. With Green Chef, there’s zero food waste. Each of the meal kits includes everything that you need to create simple recipes with nothing left over.

Green Chef was the first meal delivery service to be certified organic, with 100% USDA-certified organic produce at the forefront of every meal. 

Their sustainable sourcing methods for protein and the use of organic produce help reduce emissions created by large, unsustainable farming operations.

The final and arguably most important way this meal kit delivery service stays eco-friendly is with its packaging. 

Other meal delivery services have packaging that needs to be thrown away or shipped back to the manufacturer for recycling. When you order with this company, 99% of what’s in the box is recyclable, reusable, or compostable. 

There is the occasional instance when a type of food is packaged in non-recyclable plastic, but it’s very rare. More importantly, it’s a major improvement from other meal delivery services.

Even the ice pack used in the shipments contain a non-toxic, soluble filling and durable plastic exterior, so they can be drained and recycled or refrozen and reused.

They have at least 30 delicious recipes to choose from each week. Recipes are quick and easy to make with detailed recipe cards and the ability to choose your level of cooking difficulty before ordering. Their meal plans include gluten-free, keto, Mediterranean, vegan, vegetarian, and more.

Key Features

• USDA Certified organic ingredients 
• 30+ weekly recipes
• Recyclable, reusable, and compostable packaging
• Mix and match from multiple meal plans for one delivery
• Flexible, no-commitment subscription

Daily Harvest is a plant-based meal delivery company with prepared meals delivered to your door. You don’t have to be vegan to love Daily Harvest! If you’ve wanted an easy way to eat more plant-based meals, they make it easy. You choose how many meals you want per week with a menu including everything from smoothies and snacks to dinners and lunches.

They are constantly working to improve their eco-friendly status. So far, they’ve managed to source ingredients sustainably and create packaging that’s almost all eco-friendly.

Each part of the packaging can be recycled or composted, with the exception of a few things, like the seals on top of smoothies.

The goal for Daily Harvest is to be 100% recyclable or compostable in the near future. Their recipes don’t contain artificial sweeteners and other harmful ingredients found on most packaging labels at the grocery store.

This is a subscription-based service, but you can cancel or change your subscription anytime online.

Key Features

• Mostly organic or sustainably sourced ingredients
• All meals are gluten and dairy free
• 100% vegan menu
• Mostly recyclable or compostable packaging
• Flexible weekly subscription

Marley Spoon is a meal kit service by Martha Stewart. All ingredients and recipes are curated by Marta Stewart to ensure the best quality possible. While not every recipe is made with organic food, they are all carefully and sustainably sourced.

There are more than 100 meal kits to choose from each week with your Marley Spoon subscription. Each pre-made meal kit includes portioned ingredients and simple, 6-step recipes that anyone can follow. 

The variety of meals to choose from every week makes it easy to accommodate dietary preferences like dairy-free or vegetarian meals.

Enjoying a meal delivery kit made with farm-fresh ingredients is just the beginning of why we love Marley Spoon! This company’s commitment to being eco-friendly is one of a kind. In addition to having 100% recyclable packing, the brand has committed to carbon neutrality.

This means they research what carbon emissions are put off from their production and product packaging and then take active steps to offset those emissions.

Their carbon neutrality efforts have led to the creation of 18,567 hectares of forest land and the construction of 52 wind turbines! 

The prices at Marley Spoon are comparable to other meal delivery companies that don’t put near as much effort into being eco-friendly. There’s no need to wonder what’s important to Marley Spoon – the environment is number one, and it’s impossible not to admire that business model!

Key Features

• Committed to carbon neutrality 
• 100+ weekly meal kits
• Meal kits with 6-step recipes with pre-portioned ingredients 
• Curated, sustainably sourced ingredients 
• No commitment subscription with flexible weekly deliveries

ModifyHealth is one of the few meal delivery services designed with specific health concerns in mind. Their low FODMAP and Mediterranean diet plans can help with several health conditions or just help you eat healthier! The tasty recipes arrive fresh in vacuum-sealed packaging, separated per serving.

Not only does ModifyHealth have healthy food, but they also have some of the best-premade meals in terms of flavor and overall quality too.

You won’t need to do any meal planning to start making better choices for your health! Their recipes can be altered to meet your dietary restrictions before delivery.

When it comes to being eco-friendly, it’s safe to say ModifyHealth is succeeding. Their 100% recyclable packaging keeps the brand’s carbon footprint low and will make you feel good too!

The cardboard box can be recycled as usual. The food packaging is all recyclable, but it should be rinsed before recycling.

The ice packs used during shipping have a water-soluble, non-toxic filling that can be emptied so the ice pack can be replaced. Alternatively, you can keep them to use again later. 

This meal delivery service uses mostly organic ingredients, and when organic ingredients aren’t available, sustainable sourcing is a top priority. 

Key Features

• Low FODMAP and Mediterranean diet plans
• 100% recyclable packaging
• Mostly organic meals
• Meal plans for specific dietary needs
• Fresh, never frozen meals are ready in less than 5 minutes

Splendid Spoon is one of the best meal delivery companies with vegan meals and recyclable packaging. Their menu includes smoothies, grain bowls, noodle bowls, salads, soups, juices, and more. Ready-to-eat meals are made with mostly organic produce as the primary ingredient.

If you struggle to make good vegan meals with traditional grocery shopping, Splendid Spoon is the solution. Their flavors blow grocery store meals out of the water, and their packaging is 100% recyclable!

The other box can be broken down and recycled with ease. Inside the box, dry ice can be left in an area with good airflow to dissipate. The packing used to separate menu items per serving are all recyclable too! You can wash them out and reuse them at home or put them in with your weekly recycling. Some local food banks will even accept ice packs as a donation.

Choose from 7, 14, or 21 menu items each week with the flexible, no-commitment Splendid Spoon subscription service.

Key Features

• 100% recyclable packaging
• 100% vegan meal delivery service
• No commitment subscription allows you to choose 7, 14, or 21 menu items per week.
• High-quality ingredients with unique recipes
• Individually packaged portions create less food waste
• Mostly organic ingredients

Purple Carrot is a 100% vegan meal delivery service. One of the things that makes them different from other meal delivery services is that they don’t just have meal kits or premade meals. They have both! 

Choose the type of meals that fit into your lifestyle each week and change plans anytime for added variety. They also offer “less-prep” meals with premade sauces and presliced ingredients to speed up prep times. 

All meals are veggie-centric with lots of plant-powered protein and gluten-free ingredients. Purple Carrot offers consistently healthy meals made without harmful ingredients like high fructose corn syrup and artificial preservatives.

Despite the healthy recipes, Purple Carrot is not an organic meal delivery service. Some ingredients are organic, but not all of them. The brand addresses this in its FAQ section, saying that local ingredient sourcing is a priority when organic ingredients aren’t used. 

Locally sourced ingredients are the next best thing to organic ingredients, so don’t turn away from them just because they’re not certified organic.

The outer packaging with your meal delivery is always recyclable, but the contents inside vary. Purple Carrot uses different types of plastic to package their ready meals and meal kits.

Some of those plastics can be recycled, while others can’t. The ice packs inside the box contain a filling that has to go in the trash if you’re not keeping the pack to reuse it.

The ingredients and types of meals offered are more eco-friendly than some other meal delivery services, but there is plenty of room for improvement too.

Key Features

• Meal kits and premade meals
• 100% vegan
• Partially recyclable packaging
• Meal kits are available in 2 or 4 serving sizes
• Plant-powered protein

Usually, Hello Fresh is ranked higher on our lists, but when it comes to their eco-friendly efforts, there’s undoubtedly room for improvement. Hello Fresh is another meal kit delivery service with flavorful meals similar to what you see from Green Chef.

Hello Fresh meal kits are not made using organic ingredients, and it’s unclear how much the brand values sustainable sourcing. Because of this, meal kits are automatically not as eco-friendly as they could be. The portion sizes do help eliminate food waste, though, which we appreciate.

As far as packaging goes, it depends on the meals you get and how much of your meal kits can be recycled. The exterior packing your food comes in can always be recycled.

Inside the box, food is separated by meal into brown paper bags. These bags are meant to be “reused” as trash bags while you cook before being discarded. While the convenience of reusing the bag is nice, it’s not actually helping the environment much.

The ice pack can be emptied into the trash and shipped back for recycling or refrozen to reuse them. Hello Fresh is one of the most popular meal kit delivery services because they offer an excellent variety of food and overall value for your money, but they certainly aren’t the best eco-friendly meal delivery option. 

Key Features

• Partially recyclable packing
• Flexible, no-commitment subscription
• New recipes each week
• Pre-measured ingredients minimize food waste
• Most recipes are easy to follow