It is a noticeable fact that college has been getting more expensive. A vast portion of the “room and board” fees are going toward buying meals at the dining hall, or just eating junk food, causing US college students to spend too much money.
If you are looking to shrink your on-campus eating budget, meal kits could be a great solution!
With meal kits service, you pick your favorite recipes from a variety of weekly choices, and they shop, plan, and deliver once a week everything you need to cook those delicious meals.
You might think meal kit services are too expensive for college students on a budget to afford, but that’s not the case! There are many affordable meal kits for college students that will also save you time going to the grocery store and doing the meal prep all by yourself.
Here are Our Most Recommended Meal Delivery Services for College Students:
In depth: Our top rankings Meal Kits for College Students
1. EveryPlate: Budget-Friendly Meals for Students
EveryPlate is one of the cheapest meal kit service options available, making it one of our top picks for college students on a tight budget. Their meals are not only super affordable, but simple, easy to cook, and taste great!
EveryPlate offers two subscription options – a two-person plan and a four-person plan, both with three different recipes every week.
The EveryPlate dishes take about 30-40 minutes to prepare, and you select your meals from the eleven available weekly recipes.
When it comes to pricing, EveryPlate’s meals start at $4.99 per serving. This is far less than what you would spend on eating at the food hall or eating out, so it is undoubtedly a great deal!
Recommended EveryPlate meals for college students:
- Hoisin pork meatloaves
- Moo shu beef bowl
- Gooey stuffed pork burgers with BBQ onion
2. Hello Fresh Students Meal Kits
HelloFresh is a great meal kit alternative for college students who are seeking great healthy classic dinners. Hello Fresh is ranked the #1 meal kit in the states for a long time, and for a good reason – their meals are always super tasty and with some delicate and interesting edge and freshness to it.
The Hello Fresh recipes are straightforward to follow and usually take no more than 15-40 minutes to cook, perfect for the hectic student life you must have. For us, their meals have been a winner every time we tried – whether it is for fast-casual dinner, a date night, or even for hosting friends.
Some fantastic recipes you can expect to get from Hello fresh:
- Ancho BBQ sloppy joes with pickle slices & oven gold potatoes
- Pork & caramelized pineapple tacos with pickled veggies & lime crema
- Beef bulgogi meatballs with roasted carrots, ginger rice & sriracha crema
3. Martha and Marley Spoon - Classic Meals For College Students
After a long day of studying, sometimes all that you need is a tasty, comforting meal. There is no easier way of achieving this than by using Martha & Marley Spoon meal delivery. The delicious and diverse meal kit company created by the queen of home cooking, Martha Stewart.
The Martha & Marley Spoon meal kit service delivers delicious, well-balanced, and comforting all-American meals to cook at home, all with high-quality ingredients.
In their menu, you will find an excellent variety of 22 meals every week. You will be sure to find something interesting to cook, regardless of your lifestyle and dietary needs.
Their menu includes meat and seafood meals, vegetarian meals, low-calorie meals, low-carb meals, and fast cooking options – and it is all designed for about 30 minutes of cooking time.
Here are Some Martha & Marley Spoon meals for college students:
- Saucy Chicken Goulash with Homemade Spaetzle & Spinach
- 20-Minute Mac & Cheese Carbonara with Prosciutto & Arugula Salad
- Miso-Honey Glazed Salmon with Sticky Crispy Brussels & Carrots
- Chicken Milanese with Cucumber-Arugula Salad
- Sweet & Sticky Salmon with Roasted Veggies & Rice
- Filipino-Style Chicken Tacos with Red Cabbage Slaw
4. Home Chef: an Affordable Meal delivery for students
Another quite affordable meal delivery service that makes delicious dishes a reality for college students is Home Chef. Along with delicious dishes that take on inspiration from various international cuisine, Home Chef also offers many easy to make options per week. Some examples are oven-ready meals, Express 15-minute meals, salads, and more.
What makes Home Chef an excellent meal plan option for college students is that the recipes are innovative and exciting. Home Chef uses spices and sauces to enhance classic dishes from Asia, Italy, Mexico, and more. The ingredients are also high-quality, often coming from local farms and sustainable sources.
Home Chef’s subscription comes in a simple form, with a minimum of two dishes per week for two, four, or six people. You can add on whatever items you want as long as you do so before the shipment date each week. And of course, you can pause your subscription whenever you don’t feel like cooking or if funds are low.
Home Chef Best Meal Options for College Students:
- Crispy fried Mahi-Mahi and lemon dill crema
- BBQ beef enchiladas with corn salsa
- Creamy chicken and cheddar cornbread Pie – oven-ready meal kit
- Chicken gyros with grape tomatoes – express 15 minutes meal kit
- Chicken and truffle honey butter with parmesan pecan green beans – oven-ready meal kit
5. Dinnerly - $5 Meal Kit for college students
Dinnerly is the cheapest meal kit available – starting at only $4.69 per serving! Making it our top pick for students discount meal kit delivery service. With Dinnerly, your weekly spent on eating out or even at the grocery store will likely be reduced.
Beyond the low price per serving, the Dinnerly meal plan, offered for two or four people, is also great because it focuses on creating a great variety. You will find over 16 simple style meals with many veggies to give it a healthy twist. Their meals are absolutely tasteful and filling.
Using digital recipe cards instead of printed ones and simple packaging instead of elaborate fancy designs, the company cut its costs and pass the saving to its consumers. This strategy also allows Dinnerly to invest more in high-quality ingredients instead of their advertising.
You can customize your delivery and choose your meal options, including vegetarian options, low-calorie options, low carb options, and dishes that take about 20-40 minutes to cook. You can pause your subscription when needed, which is super convenient if you want to take a break.
Recommended Dinnerly Meals for College Students:
- Glazed Teriyaki Chicken with Asian Slaw and Steamed Rice
- Greek Stuffed Pizza with Spinach, Feta & Olives
- Low-Cal Malaysian Chicken Curry with Quinoa
- Skinny Grilled Chicken Fajitas with Cheddar
- Portuguese Chicken Burgers with Caramelised Onion
- Vegetarian Stuffed Pepper Casserole with cannellini beans
6. Blue Apron For College Students
Blue Apron is a great meal kit option for college students who are seeking to upgrade their dining experience at home. The Blue Apron chef-designed meals have a real sense of restaurant quality to them, and still, it’s easy to cook every time. Each week you will find 11 new delicious meals on the menu to try.
Blue Apron makes sure to use only high-quality ingredients in their meal kits while keeping their prices relatively affordable per serving.
The dishes span everything from vegetarian to “quick and easy” meals or wellness low-calorie meals. The company offers meal plans to accommodate a few dietary and lifestyle needs.
Some Blue Apron Winner meal options for college-students:
- Shawarma-spiced turkey kofta with farro-arugula salad & tahini dressing
- One-Pan spicy pork udon with carrots, spinach & sesame seeds
- Indian-style burger with creamy mango chutney & spicy cucumber – can also come with beyond burger.
- Baked polenta & eggs with mushrooms & crispy sage
- Cavatelli pasta & pork ragù with parmesan cheese
- Sheet Pan panko-baked cod with tomatoes, green beans & butternut squash
7. Sunbasket - Organic Ingredients Meal Kits For Healthy Lifestyle
Sun Basket is one of our top favorite meal kit delivery service – because it makes eating healthy food very easy!
All the sun basket ingredients come from suppliers that follow organic and sustainable standards. So you know every organic meal you eat is both delicious and super healthy!
The company is also well known for supplying many options per week to fit different dietary needs like a vegan or vegetarian diet, Mediterranean diet, gluten-free diet, Paleo diet, and many more.
The Sun Basket meals are designed to be easy to make and taste amazing, with a real sense of new-age restaurant-quality food. Many meals out of the vast collection of over 20 meals per week are designed especially for busy people with almost no time to cook. That includes pre-cooked and ready to eat meals, speedy 15 minutes meal kits, and oven-ready meals.
On the menu, you can also find food add-ons like fast healthy breakfasts, fresh pasta packs, fresh and pre-cooked proteins, healthy juices, and more.
Sun Basket costs are just a bit higher than other meal kits, but when you know you are getting only organic produce, it is most definitely worth your money! Moreover, this service makes sure to be sustainable all the way, by using the most environmentally responsible packaging and box available.
Sun Basket Best Meal Options for College Students:
- Mojo pork tacos with pickled onions and salsa verde
- Spicy barbacoa pulled-pork sliders with mango slaw
- Black Angus rib-eyes with artichoke butter and green beans
- Salmon farro bowls with spinach and green goddess dressing – pre-prepared easy to make meal kit
- Creamy mushroom penne with baby spinach and almonds – vegetarian ready to eat meal option
- Spicy Southwestern turkey and sweet potato skillet – ready to eat meal option
Conclusion:
If you’re short on spare time but still want delicious and affordable meals, the above meal delivery services are excellent for providing great meals with less stress. Whatever diet you might follow, there’s a plan that will match both your budget and your taste buds.
If you get burnt out on cooking or simply don’t have time, you can pause your week’s delivery without consequences. Also remember that if you wish to cancel your subscription, That’s very easy too!
Whatever meal kit service you wind up choosing, we are sure it will make your culinary life at college much better!
