Whether you prefer vegan meals, a gluten-free diet, or a mix of everything, meal delivery companies have done a great job of catering to different lifestyles. Though today we will compare Splendid Spoon and Purple Carrot, which both specialize in plant-based ready-to-eat meals.
Meal delivery services typically fall into two main categories– meal kits and prepared meals. Ready to eat meals are already cooked and just require you to reheat them, whereas, with meal kits, you’ll have fresh ingredients for meals delivered to your door for you to make using their directions. Both are a great way to get healthy meals on the table with less time and effort.
About Splendid Spoon Vs Purple Carrot
Both Splendid Spoon and Purple Carrot focus on plant-based meals; however, there are some main differences so let’s take a look at a little bit about both companies.
Splendid Spoon has made it its mission to be convenient, which is why you only need a microwave to warm up Splendid Spoon meals. They also offer smoothies which are great for on the go.
The company was created by Nicole, who was looking to increase nutrition in convenience foods without sacrificing taste when she was pregnant and didn’t have the time to put into cooking elaborate recipes.
Since then, Splendid Spoon has grown in popularity among those who are looking for vegan food without all of the prep, but Nicole is still in the test kitchen, tasting recipes to ensure that every Splendid Spoon meal tastes delicious.
Purple Carrot, at its core, believes in utilizing the over 20,000 edible plants on Earth to create cravable meals where you won’t miss the meat.
They have both a meal kit service and meals that are ready to heat and eat so that no matter your lifestyle, there are plant-based meal options that will work for you.
Purple Carrot plant-based recipes promote healthy eating that is good for not just your body but the Earth as well.
Splendid Spoon
Pros
On-the-go convenient options- Meals ready in minutes
- Several dietary filters, such as dairy-free and soy-free
- All ingredients are non-GMO and gluten-free
- Splendid Spoon adds new meals to the menu frequently
- Created by chefs and nutritionists
Cons
- No meal kits to prepare yourself
- Menu not updated weekly
- No way to customize your selections
- Everything is single-serving, requiring you to order double for households of two or more
Purple Carrot
Pros
- Both meal kit and prepared meal options
- Starting at $9.99 per serving with free shipping
- Freedom to control the outcome of the meal kits
- Weekly changing menu
- Meals inspired from around the world
- “Plantry” with plant-based pantry staples
Cons
- No quick, on the go items like smoothies
- Ingredients are not always non-GMO or organic
- Most of the kit recipes take 30 minutes or more to make
- Not as many breakfasts and lunch recipes, making it better for dinner
Dietary Options
Splendid Spoon
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Purple Carrot
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Dietary Options Winner
When it comes to dietary options, these two meal delivery services are almost identical. It’s hard to pick a winner between the two, but we decided to give the high award in this category to Splendid Spoon. They simply have more options, offering more choice across a range of dietary needs.
Menu & Ingredient Quality
Splendid Spoon
- Non-GMO
grass Organic- Grass Fed
- Wild-Caught
Purple Carrot
The menu and ingredients at both Splendid Spoon and Purple Carrot are of the highest quality.
Splendid Spoon Menu & Quality
The Splendid Spoon menu is divided into smoothies, soup and grain bowls, noodle bowls, light soups, and extras. You can also filter menu options by avoidances such as dairy-free and soy-free, benefits such as high protein or low carb, and dietary needs. It is also important to note that all of their products are GMO and gluten-free.
Though the menu changes as they introduce new items, some favorites are the Mint Chip Smoothie with Cacao Nibs and Almond Butter, Kimchi Fried Quinoa Grain Bowl with Tumeric, and Edamame, Carrot Lentil Curry Soup, and Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Noodles.
They also have several new items like Wellness Shots such as the Immunity Shot with Elderberry and Camu Camu, Super Greens Juice with Celery and Spinach, and Dan Dan Noodles with Bok Choy and Tofu.
Many of Splendid Spoon’s meals can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack, making it easy to get three meals a day while still following a vegan diet. Additionally, all of their meals are created by nutritionists and chefs using whole ingredients that are organic where possible and without artificial sugars.
Purple Carrot Menu & Quality
Purple Carrot’s menu is extensive as they offer both meal kits and prepared meals. They try to focus on non-GMO and organic ingredients where possible. With both types of Purple Carrot meals, you can filter by dietary needs such as soy-free, nut-free, and gluten-free.
The Purple Carrot meal kits come with pre-portioned ingredients as well as instructions to make their delicious recipes. Though the menu changes weekly, you can expect kits such as Takeout Style Noodles with Snow Peas and Sesame Ginger Sauce, Romesco Grain Bowls with Pan Roasted Mushrooms, and Butter Beans, and Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Spicy Cashew Sauce and Kraut.
Purple Carrot also has breakfast kits such as Loaded Avocado Toasts and lunches like Mango Poke Bowls with Macadamia Nuts and Nori.
When it comes to Purple Carrot’s prepared meals, they rotate weekly similarly to the kits. You can expect recipes such as Elote Style Corn with Cuban Black Beans and Brown Rice, Tamarind Curry Noodles with Grilled Tofu and Ginger Vegetable Stir Fry, and Mac N’ Cheese with Cauliflower Cream Sauce and Truffled Mushrooms.
In addition to the complete prepared meals, Purple Carrot has their “Plantry,” which has plant-based pantry staples like Vegan Pesto, Chocolate Tahini, and Italian Garlic and Fennel Plant-Based Sausage. These are great to add to your own recipes.
Menu & Ingredient Quality Winner
Though we have named Purple Carrot our winner for menu and quality, it won out over Splendid Spoon mostly because of the diversity in menu selections rather than ingredient choice.
Splendid Spoon uses ingredients that are always non-GMO and gluten-free as well as are organic for the “dirty dozen,” while Purple Carrot only promises that they are non-GMO and organic when possible.
However, Purple Carrot still wins because they make a solid effort with their ingredients and have far more selections to choose from on both their prepared meals and kits.
Pricing
Splendid Spoon
MEALS PER WEEK | PRICE PER MEAL |
Smoothies | $9.99 |
Soups | $12.49 |
Noodles & Dishes | $13.49 |
Purple Carrot
MEALS PER WEEK | PRICE PER SERVING |
Six | $13.00 |
Eight | $13.00 |
Ten | 13.00 |
Splendid Spoon Pricing and Plans
The Splendid Spoon plans are organized in the form of boxes that each come with a different amount and combination of meals. For each of the boxes, you get to choose your favorite recipes.
The most flexible plan is the On-Demand Box which offers almost every combination you could want.
If you are looking to have easy healthy food for all of your meals, go with the Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Reset box. It comes with five smoothies, five soups, and grain bowls, five noodles, and five-light soups.
Each box is a different price depending on how much it includes, but shipping for all boxes is free.
Purple Carrot Pricing and Plans
Purple Carrot has similar plans for both their meal kits and their prepared meals. For the kits, you choose your number of servings and how many dinners you want to have per week. The price per serving is discounted the more you order but starts at around $9.99.
The prepared meal plans are one serving each, so you simply have to choose how many meals per week you want. The price per serving, which is around $12.99, doesn’t change based on your selections.
Similar to Splendid Spoon, shipping is free.
Plans and Pricing Winner
Both Splendid Spoon and Purple Carrot are similar in price per serving when it comes to prepared meals as they are both near $13 per serving. However, Purple Carrot wins out because of their meal kits coming in at only $9.99 per serving, which gives more flexibility for those on a budget.
Packaging & Recycling
Splendid Spoon
Purple Carrot
With both Splendid Spoon and Purple Carrot showing true dedication to health and wellness, it only makes sense that they are not equally committed to packaging your meal deliveries for optimal freshnes while also taking steps to reduce their carbon footprints and provide packaging that’s easy to recycle or reuse.
Splendid Spoon ships their meal deliveries in materials that are 100& recyclable. They’re also committed to work on improving their packaging and innovating their process until they become 100% sustainable. Since 2005, Splendid Spoon has reduced their carbon emissions by 80%.
Purple Carrot is also great about using packaging ingredients that are easy to recycle or reuse. The offer a handy guide on their website that helps you figure out how to best recycle each part of the packaging. Some items, like the ice packs, can also be reused.
Packaging Winner
Both meal deivery services do a great job of retaining freshness during delivery and packaging matrials that are recyclable. Still, we have to give the props to Splendid Spoon for for their continual forward movement toward becoming sustainable.
Winner
Purple Carrot
Clean eating, healthy eating with plant-based meals, or vegan eating, in general, doesn’t have to be difficult. Meal kit companies and plant-based meal delivery make it easy, and you can skip weeks when you want to create and try your own recipes. While Purple Carrot and Splendid Spoon are nearly identical on many levels, we give the overall trophy to Purple Carrot for menu quality and pricing.
Both of these meal delivery services are fantastic, but in order to choose which one is best for you, you mainly need to decide whether you are looking for more on-the-go things, which is what Splendid Spoon specializes in, or more traditional meals like with Purple Carrot. No matter which you choose, you are going to love it.
Choose Splendid Spoon if you:
- You like having options for grab and go meals
- Appreciate the selection of smoothies, wellness shots, and fresh pressed juices
- Admire companies that makes strides toward becoming sustainable
- Are looking to detox or kickstart weightloss with a healhty, plant-based eating plan
Choose Purple Carrot if you:
- You like to have a choice between prepared meals and meal kits
- Appreciate a marginally lower price point
- Like a variety of flavors from around the world
- Enjoy extras that are included in the Purple Carrot’s “Plantry”