Many people are burnt out on their regular dinner routine and find meal kit delivery an appealing alternative to a typical taco night. Sunbasket and Home Chef happen to be two meal kit services that keep hungry eaters coming back for more. Between the two, choosing the right meal kit might come down to the fine details. In this showdown of Home Chef vs. Sunbasket, we can help you decide which is best for you and your family.
About Home Chef and Sunbasket
Home Chef values simplicity in the form of simple, delicious meals made easy from home. Home Chef meal kits are made to be fool-proof with easy instructions and manageable recipes so you can focus on the most important things; enjoying the moment with friends or family. While simplicity makes meal kit delivery a go-to option for many, Sunbasket is another delivery service with some appealing perks.
Sunbasket kits include USDA-certified organic produce and responsibly sourced meats and seafood. This meal-delivery service puts environmental sustainability into practice and gives back to communities facing food insecurity. Born in California, Sunbasket is a company gaining attention for its environmental concern and responsibly sourced ingredients.
Here’s a glance at what really sets Sunbasket and Home Chef apart.
Home Chef
Pros
- Easy meals with pre-portioned ingredients
- Recipes made in under 30 or 15 minutes
- Flexible meal plans that don’t break the bank
- Oven-ready and grill-ready options
- Home Chef mobile app for meal planning on the go
Cons
Fewer options for specific dietary restrictions- Some reviews of unreliable shipping and delivery
- More plastic packaging than other meal delivery services
Sun Basket
Pros
- Commitment to quality, ethically sourced ingredients.
- Heat & eat entrees ready in less than 6 minutes.
- Good variety of meal plans for different dietary options
- Breakfast, lunch, and snack options
- Option to upgrade protein to a different meat selection
Cons
- Commitment to quality, ethically sourced ingredients.
- Heat & eat entrees ready in less than 6 minutes.
- Good variety of meal plans for different dietary options
- Breakfast, lunch, and snack options
- Option to upgrade protein to a different meat selection
Dietary Options
Home Chef
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Sun Basket
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Meal kit services are a simple way to switch up your dinner plans without the added stress and hassle. When it comes to different dietary options, you want to make sure the one you choose is compatible with your diet and lifestyle. While some meal kit delivery services offer options such as gluten-free or low-carb meals, others might be limited in the foods that work for you.
Home Chef menu options consist of calorie and carb-conscious meals and a few vegetarian recipes, but the meals are scarce for these dietary options. Although they provide recipes listing further nutrition and allergen facts, you might find yourself searching tediously for this important dietary information. They encourage you to reference the recipe cards and use your best judgment when making selections compatible with dietary restrictions.
Several of Home Chef’s meal options, such as the entree salads and oven-ready choices, give you the ability to customize your recipe. Customizing gives you more control in meeting dietary needs, so make sure to double-check your meal’s ingredients before heading to checkout.
On the other hand, Sunbasket offers many choices for diets such as paleo, pescatarian, and vegetarian. There are also weekly diabetes-friendly, gluten-free, and carb-conscious options. While Sunbasket has over ten meal plans to choose from, they require you to sign up to view each plan’s weekly options.
Each Sunbasket meal lists other options such as dairy-free and soy-free under the recipe title. There are also family-friendly meals that would work well for a family menu meal plan.
Dietary Options Winner
Overall, Sunbasket takes the win for having a variety of meal plans that support common dietary needs and restrictions, where each option is clearly labeled.
Meal Prep & Variety
Home Chef
- 40+
- 2 meals for 2 people
Sun Basket
- 20+
- 2 meals for 2 people
Meal prep tends to be a driving force in deciding between two amazing meal kits. Some prefer a meal service that cuts back on prep time, while others don’t mind the extra cutting, chopping, and dicing. Variety is also important to many eaters who want mealtime to be exciting and refreshing, with many new recipes to choose from each week.
Home Chef prides itself on providing 30+ recipes per week with extra options for meal customization. Although they bring new meals to the table weekly, you’ll find yourself choosing from a smaller weekly meal selection based on your plan choice. Expect to choose from around 13 recipes per week generated from the plan you choose.
While Home Chef is known for a more extensive meal selection than other comparable meal kits, some might find them lacking in unique flavors. Home Chef wants your eating experience to be comfortable and stress-free, and their meals are best for someone craving simple, classic recipes.
Sunbasket also offers 30 weekly meal options to choose from, but this number might narrow as you select your preferred meal plan and dietary preferences. Regardless of your meal plan, Sun Basket has a hefty selection of weekly meals, and you won’t find yourself choosing from recycled recipes.
Sun Basket and Home Chef offer heat and eat meal options, but Sun Basket has the most variety with breakfast, lunch, and dinner delivery options. You can even choose options for a la carte meats, pasta, and pasta sauces.
Meal Prep & Variety Winner
Both Sun Basket and Home Chef have more weekly meal options than other meal delivery companies, and they both offer heat and eat meal delivery options. However, Sun Basket takes the lead for a more expansive, exciting menu.
Ingredients
Home Chef
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- Non-GMO
grass Organic- Grass Fed
- Wild-Caught
Sun Basket
At the end of the day, ingredients matter when it comes to choosing a meal kit. Many consumers wonder where their ingredients are sourced from and if the quality is up to par for the price they’re paying.
Sun Basket is very open and honest about where their products are derived from. You won’t have to scan their website to find everything you need to know about their USDA-certified organic produce and dairy and ethically sourced seafood or responsibly raised meats. Sun Basket offers thorough information on their suppliers and farms, and you’ll leave feeling confident about where your fresh ingredients came from.
Finding the ingredients and their origins gets more complicated with Home Chef. Home Chef’s website is vague and offers little-to-no information. While they claim some of their food is organic, they also cannot guarantee organic products weekly.
Ingredients Winner
Sun Basket is an obvious winner in this category for its transparency about organic ingredients and their meats’ sources.
Taste & Sample Meals
Home Chef
- Rosemary Crusted Steak and Red Wine Demi
- Scallops and Parmesan-Garlic Risotto
- Honey-Ginger Chicken Katsu
Sun Basket
- Chicken and hummus flatbread “tacos”
- Mediterranean turkey meatballs with red pepper–cashew crema
- Korean chicken japchae with glass noodles and vegetables
Taste is what keeps customers coming back, so which delivers the best mouth-watering flavors to the table?
Sun Basket is known for its wide selection of meals. With so many recipe options to choose from, you can expect an array of flavors. Sun Basket is a good option for those who want diverse meals with bright, bold, refreshing flavors. If you’re feeling adventurous and want to try a new flavor combo, this meal kit is sure to deliver a new meal experience to your door.
Home Chef meals have excellent reviews in this department, but they typically stick to classic recipes that will please anyone. Their flavor performs consistently from meal to meal due to their traditional comfort recipes. While most eaters enjoy these heart-warming meals, Home Chef generates flavors and meals based on your eating preferences in hopes to deliver meals they know you’ll love.
Taste Winner
Sun Basket and Home Chef are neck in neck in this category, but Sun Basket takes the lead for using bold new spices and flavors.
Pricing
Home Chef
RECIPES | 2 PEOPLE (Price Per Serving) | 4 PEOPLE (Price Per Serving) | 6 PEOPLE (Price Per Serving) |
2 | $11.99 | $9.99 | $9.99 |
3 | $9.99 | $9.99 | $9.99 |
4 | $9.99 | $9.99 | $9.99 |
5 | $9.99 | $9.99 | $9.99 |
6 | $9.99 | $9.99 | $9.99 |
Sun Basket
MEAL | SERVING | COST/SERVING |
Meal Kits | 2 | $11.49 - $24.49 |
Fresh & Ready | 1 | $9.99 - $14.59 |
Pricing can make or break a customer’s loyalty to their meal delivery service. When quality and quantity aren’t worth the price, hungry eaters might rethink their meal kit subscription. How do Sun Basket and Home Chef compare?
Home Chef meals start at $6.99 per serving, but you’ll notice the price increase as you choose different plans or upgrades. Unfortunately, shipping costs aren’t mentioned until the end of your order, making it difficult to determine your exact cost.
Sunbasket plan pricing is a more expensive option starting at $9.99 per serving. Sunbasket adds a flat rate shipping of $7.99 that is waived on your first meal delivery order. Be mindful that Sunbasket has limited delivery to some parts of Montana, New Mexico, and North Dakota.
Pricing Winner
Pricing between Home Chef and Sunbasket is neck and neck, but Home Chef plan pricing takes the win for having the most economical meals priced at $4 on average cheaper than Sunbasket.
Packaging & Recycling
Home Chef
Sun Basket
When your meal kits arrive at your door, they have been carefully packed and padded to ensure maximum freshness and safe transportation. While packaging is necessary, the environmental impact matters too.
Sun Basket sets the example for recycling and reducing waste. Their values are rooted in environmental conscientiousness. Nearly all your packaging materials can be recycled or reused all the way from watering your garden with the gel ice packs or the use of recycled denim as an excellent insulator.
Home Chef tends to be heavier on plastic usage, and most of their ingredients come in standard plastic packaging. On the bright side, almost every piece of packaging can be recycled except the box liners. The main difference with Home Chef is the large number of materials you will have to dispose of.
Packaging Winner
While both offer recyclable materials, Sun Basket wins by a landslide with a mission to reduce packaging, reuse packaging, and sustain our environment.
Customer Service
Home Chef
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Sun Basket
- Up to 4 weeks
- Online or Phone
Both Home Chef and Sun Basket have received some poor reviews for the delivery time, incorrect ingredients, or expired ingredients. Customer service is a key part of the ordering experience when trying out a new meal delivery service.
You can easily skip a week or cancel your subscription to Sun Basket, but Home Chef offers the ability to pause, skip, or cancel. However, to find more information on customer service, meals, and more, you’ll have to sign up to Home Chef first.
Customer Service Winner
Overall, Home Chef wins for customer service because they have more account flexibility and slightly better customer reviews than Sun Basket.
Winner
Sun Basket
Sun Basket takes the crown in the battle of Sun Basket Vs Home Chef. Both meal delivery companies have amazing perks, but Sun Basket does a better job bringing something new and exciting to the table. Sun Basket won for its flavors, ingredients, and variety of meal options that keep you wanting more.
Making a decision on which meal kit is best for you can be challenging. Here are a few things to consider.
Choose Home Chef if you:
- Love classic, comfort food recipes
- Want simple, easy meal prep
- Need an economical meal plan
- Want flexible and reliable customer service
Choose Sun Basket if you:
- Enjoy bold, exciting flavors and spices
- Need an array of dietary options
- Value the environment and sustainability
- Want breakfast and lunch options