Feeding picky eaters can feel like an endless struggle, especially when you’re juggling the demands of school lunches on top of your regular meal prep routine. But fear not because, in this ever-busy 2024, there’s a solution that’ll save you time, money, and your sanity: kid-friendly meal kits delivered right to your doorstep.
Imagine saying goodbye to the hassle of planning, shopping, and cooking separate meals for your little ones. With these specially curated meal kits, you can kiss mealtime battles goodbye and say hello to stress-free lunches and dinners.
Designed with kids in mind, the following meal delivery services (including 3 more services we added this year) offer a variety of picky-eater-approved recipes that are both nutritious and delicious. From familiar favorites to exciting new flavors, there’s something for every palate.
So why waste time fretting over meal planning when you could be spending quality time with your family? With this updated review for the best meal kits for picky eaters, including two more brands at your fingertips, you can finally enjoy mealtime without a headache.
To ensure reliability, we’ve tapped into the knowledge and experience of our chief editor, a mother to two picky eaters. Continue to read to learn more about it.
Short On Time? Quick Review On The Top Picky Eaters Meal Delivery Kits:
- Best For Classic Meals With Protein Customization: Martha and Marley Spoon
- Best For: Family-Friendly Meal Kits and Desserts: Hello Fresh
- Best For: Low-Cost Quality Picky Eaters Meals: Dinnerly
- Best For Most Affordable Meal Kits For Pickey Eaters: Everyplate
- Best For Easy To Cook Picky Eaters Meal Kits: Home Chef
Here Is The Full Review For Top Meal Kits For Picky Eaters For 2024:
1. Martha and Marley Spoon - Best For Classic Meals With Protein Customization
This meal kit service, created by Martha Stewart, features plenty of “home cooking” classics inspired by the domestic diva herself. You can select your recipes each week, and there are plenty of choices—meaning you can choose something your picky eater will like.
Among the recipe collection, which spans 100+ selections each week, there are under-30-minute offerings, kid-friendly recipes, and dairy-free plates.
We’d recommend dishes like tortellini casserole—the peas hide inside—and buffalo glazed chicken breast for picky eaters.
Another new feature on the menu is the customization options. Each week, various meals are marked with customizable options, giving you the flexibility to choose your preferred protein or side. For instance, you can opt for pork loin, chicken breast, or salmon when selecting an Italian dish. This is a great feature for picky eaters!
Is It Good Value?
Martha and Marley Spoon offers excellent value, particularly for tough eaters. Emphasizing top-notch ingredients, the service ensures that each meal is a culinary delight for everyone. Freshness and quality are paramount, sourced from trusted suppliers to guarantee premium meats, fresh produce, and flavorful spices.
To begin, you can opt for a minimum order of 2 servings of 2 Meal Kits per week. Subscription plans offer even better value, with prices decreasing per serving for families. Families can enjoy up to 4 servings of 6 meals per week, ensuring everyone’s needs are met.
Additionally, Martha and Marley Spoon provide various add-ons, including delightful desserts and breakfast options, to enhance your culinary experience further.
Popular Martha & Marley Spoon Kid-Friendly Meals:
- BBQ chicken thighs with creamy cauliflower salad
- Pulled Pork Tacos with Warm Tortillas
- Lemony Chicken Scampi
- Crispy coconut chicken with peanut sauce & rice
2. Hello Fresh - Best For: Family-Friendly Meal Kits and Desserts
Hello Fresh offers many family-friendly meals that are ideal for fussy young eaters. The meal kits arrive with fresh ingredients that are individually packaged. The recipes are simple and easy to follow, and even the most basic cook will have fun getting dinner on the table. All Hello Fresh meals take 20-40 minutes to cook.
All of the above makes Hello Fresh a perfect fit for those who have a busy family life and little time to spare in the kitchen.
With Hello Fresh, there is an excellent range of choices for kid-friendly meals, and the menu includes tempting options with flavors that will please mature audiences.
The Hello Fresh recipes are generally quite classic but often incorporate a delicious modern twist (great for kids and adults alike). The service pay extra attention to ensuring that their meals include lots of healthy vegetables.
The Hello Fresh menu offers a large variety of over 40 meal choices every week. Some other highlights on their menu are – vegetarian meals, gourmet-style meals, low-calorie dishes, and more.
Is It Good Value?
HelloFresh offers excellent value for both individuals and families alike. With a focus on high-quality ingredients, HelloFresh ensures that every meal is fresh, flavorful, and satisfying. The service provides a variety of meal plans to suit different preferences and dietary needs, making it convenient for customers to find options that work for them.
Additionally, HelloFresh offers competitive pricing – especially if you are option for the Family and kids-friendly meal plan.
Overall, I would say that HelloFresh provides a convenient, affordable, and high-quality meal delivery service that offers great value for customers looking to simplify their meal planning and enjoy delicious, home-cooked meals without the hassle of grocery shopping or heavy meal prep.
Popular Hello Fresh That Are Ideal For Picky Eaters:
- Chicken carnitas tacos
- Classic spaghetti and meatballs
- One-pan pork stir-fry tacos
- Pork schnitzel with roasted veggies
3. Dinnerly - Best For Budget-Friendly Quality Picky Eaters Meals
Dinnerly meals are both affordable and simple, making it perfect for a family with picky eaters! You won’t find that much culinary expertise is needed for the Dinnerly dishes, and that’s on purpose! The simpler, the better when it comes to feeding picky eaters.
Dinnerly offers two subscriptions, a two-person plan and a four-person family plan. Dinnerly is the cheapest meal kit service you could find – with meals that start at $5 per serving!
Picky eater favorites include kid-friendly dishes like turkey burgers with a side of green beans, sausage pasta, and even more innovative meals with familiar ingredients such as chicken, carrots, and potatoes in Dinnerly’s parmesan chicken pan roast.
Is It Good Value?
Dinnerly offers a budget-friendly option for families, with pricing starting at about $5 per serving, one of the most affordable rates in the market. Among dinner subscription boxes like Home Chef or Blue Apron – Dinnerly stands out as the most cost-effective choice.
Dinnerly not only offers affordability but also simplicity in their recipes, making them an ideal solution for family dinners, especially with picky-eating kids. Their meals are designed to be straightforward yet delicious, with a focus on familiar flavors and easy-to-follow instructions. This simplicity is perfect for households with children who may have limited palates or preferences.
Lastly, Dinnerly’s Family Box is designed to feed four hungry individuals, and we often found there was more than enough food. In fact, many meals provided generous portions, with leftovers to spare for next day’s lunch.
As parent with picky-eating kids, Dinnerly’s affordability and ample meal choices make it a practical and economical choice for family meals.
Popular Dinnerly Meals That Are Sure To Please Even The Fussiest Picky Eaters:
- Seared chicken & broccoli with mashed potatoes & gravy
- Tonkatsu Pork Noodles with Snow Peas and Sesame
- Herbed Beef Meatballs with Garlic Bread and Roasted Broccoli
- Pork & Broccoli Stir-Fry
4. Everyplate - Best For Budget-Friendly Quality Picky Eaters Meals
EveryPlate is a meal delivery service designed to simplify home cooking while offering affordability and convenience – with a price point of $5 per serving (plus a great beginners coupon).
EveryPlate also stands out for its focus on simple, family-friendly meals that are perfect for picky eaters. The service offers a variety of classic dishes and comfort foods that appeal to a wide range of tastes, making it easy for families to find meals that everyone will enjoy. From hearty pasta dishes to flavorful meat and vegetable combinations, EveryPlate’s menu is designed to please even the most discerning palates.
In addition to its main meal offerings, EveryPlate provides a selection of add-on options to enhance the dining experience. These add-ons include items like salads, desserts, and snacks, allowing customers to create a more complete dining experience at home.
Is It Good Value?
Overall, EveryPlate offers great value for money, providing affordable meal options that are convenient, simple, and delicious. With its low price point, good variety of meals, and easy-to-follow simple recipes, EveryPlate is an excellent choice for individuals or families with picky eaters who are looking to enjoy home-cooked meals without breaking the bank.
Popular Everyplate Meals That Are Sure To Please Picky Eaters:
- Fresh Beef Bolognese Over Linguine
- Lemon Butter Salmon with Green Beans & Garlic Bread
- Cowboy Fried Chicken Wraps with Potato Wedges
- Crispy Chicken with Sweet Brussels Sprouts
5. Home Chef - Best For Easy Cooking Picky Eaters Meal Kits
Home Chef has a handful of family-friendly gems that will appeal to picky eaters in their intense menu of 25 meals per week. The ingredients are high-quality and are often local and sustainably sourced.
Home Chef plans require a minimum of two dishes per week, but you can specify servings for two, four, or six people. Each recipe takes an average of 30 minutes to prepare, but they also have 5-minute lunch recipes that are even quicker to prep.
Top picks for picky eaters with Home Chef include steak and brown rice spring roll bowls, chicken Dijonnaise (add as much or as little of the sauce as you’d like), and even Gemelli in a flavorful yet non-intimidating thyme and mustard cream sauce.
Is It Good Value?
The Home Chef service provide great value, particularly when considering its competitive pricing. With family plan meals averaging between $8 to $9 per serving, Home Chef offers affordability without compromising on quality. The ingredients are consistently fresh and premium, sourced from trusted suppliers, which enhances the overall value proposition.
What sets Home Chef apart is its commitment to customization, allowing customers to tailor meals to their specific dietary needs and preferences – super important when you have picky eaters in the house. This flexibility ensures that each meal is not only delicious but also perfectly suited to individual tastes.
Additionally, Home Chef excels in simplifying meal preparation, with recipes that are easy to follow, alongside pre-portioned ingredients. Plus, they have lots of oven-ready and express meals, that are even easier to make. This saves both time and effort in the kitchen, further enhancing the overall value of the Home Chef service.
Popular Home Chef Meals Just Perfect For Picky Eaters:
- One-pan crispy devilled chicken with green beans
- Farmhouse fried chicken with mashed potatoes and corn
- BBQ turkey burger with cheddar and sweet potato fries
- Cheesy Sliced Pork Quesadilla
6. Factor - Best For Pre-Made Meals With Picky Eater Options
Factor offers unparalleled convenience for picky eaters, eliminating the stress of meal planning and preparation with its doorstep delivery of fully prepared meals.
With a diverse selection of approximately 30 dishes per week, Factor ensures that there’s something to satisfy every palate, whether you have dietary restrictions or simply prefer specific flavors. From breakfast options to sides, desserts, and proteins, Factor caters to various dietary preferences, including high-protein, keto, and vegetarian diets, among others. The menu even includes smoothies, juices, shakes, and wellness shots, providing ample choices for picky eaters seeking healthy and delicious options.
While meals aren’t customizable, the extensive menu selection compensates for this limitation, offering a wide array of dishes to suit individual tastes.
With high-quality ingredients and quick preparation times of under 5 minutes, Factor delivers flavorful and satisfying meals without compromising convenience, health, or taste.
Is It Good Value?
While the minimum order requirement is 6 single-serving meals per week, ordering more ensures the best value, with prices starting at $11 per serving. This makes it a bit more pricey than other options on this list, but remember you get pre-made healthy meals that you just need to heat and eat.
Another great value that Factor provides is the option to schedule a free call with a nutritionist, offering valuable guidance on selecting meals tailored to specific needs and preferences.
Tips For Choosing Meal Delivery Service for Picky Eaters
As someone who has navigated the world of meal delivery services with picky eaters in tow, I’ve learned a thing or two about what to look for when choosing the right option. Here are some tips to help you select the best meal delivery service for your family’s needs:
- Variety of Meals: Opt for a service that offers a wide range of meal options to accommodate picky eaters. Martha and Marley Spoon and HelloFresh, for example, boast an extensive menu filled with family-friendly favorites, all with easy-to-follow recipes. With plenty of choices available, you have the flexibility to exclude any ingredients you dislike when preparing the meal at home.
- Customization Options: Look for a service that lets you personalize your meals according to your preferences. This ensures you get precisely what you like, especially if you have specific dietary needs. Martha and Marley Spoon and Home Chef are great options for customizing your protein choices.
- Variety of Dietary Options: Different meal delivery services cater to various dietary needs, so make sure to check the menu before subscribing. For keto-friendly meals, consider Factor’s prepared meal service.
- Spiciness Levels: Pay attention to the spice level of the meals offered by the service. Some services clearly indicate the level of spiciness, while others may not. If this information isn’t provided, take a close look at the ingredients list. Home Chef, for example, provides details about the spice level for each dish.