Best Sunbasket Alternatives Guide

I have become a meal subscription fiend since moving into a new house. I spent over a decade working in restaurants, and while I usually love meal planning, cooking, and even grocery shopping, I just have so much on my plate right now (pun intended). Meal kits have made cooking real food in a new kitchen (that still hasn’t been unpacked, by the way) so much simpler than I ever would have thought—I’ve been operating for three months now with about two pans, one knife, and a cutting board and I’m doing just fine. 

I try to choose healthy meal kits, favoring those that emphasize fresh foods and quality ingredients. However, one of the biggest problems I’ve encountered is that if I stick with one meal kit for long enough, I start to get bored. Sure, most of these services do a good job of including both recurring favorites and new, seasonal meals on their menu, but when you’re eating off their menu several times a week, there’s still a chance that it will get stale. 

If you’ve been using a healthy meal subscription like Sunbasket and you find yourself getting bored (or you’re unsatisfied with the service for another reason), check out one of the other subscriptions listed in this best Sunbasket alternatives guide. It’s okay to mix things up every once in a while—especially when it comes to your food! 

Bottom Line Up Front

If you’re looking for a close alternative to Sunbasket, with similar quality meals but a different menu, I would turn to Green Chef. Their meals aren’t as worldly as some of Sunbaskets, but I actually prefer the quality of their ingredients a bit more.
If you like Sunbasket for its convenient, healthy meals, check out Thistle. They’re one of my all-time favorite meal subscriptions, and you can’t beat them on freshness and flavor. 

Finally, if you’re looking for a less expensive alternative to Sunbasket, I would choose HelloFresh. While it’s not an organic meal kit, I think HelloFresh uses some of the best quality ingredients for its price point. 

What I Like About Sunbasket

Sunbasket is one of my favorite healthy meal delivery services. They use high-quality ingredients in their meals and meal kits and are committed to sustainable and ethical farming practices. They use at least 98% organic produce and cater to many different diets and lifestyles, like vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, paleo, soy-free, gluten-free, high-protein, diabetes-friendly, and the Mediterranean diet. 

I especially love that Sunbasket allows you to order not just a variety of cuisines but also a variety of preparation methods each week. You can add regular meal kits, “speedy” meal kits (which have more prep work done in advance and thus take less time to cook), and “fresh and ready” prepared meals all to the same subscription. 

I also love Sunbasket’s commitment to sustainability and charity. Not only do they focus on sustainable farming practices and organic ingredients, but they also donate food to several nonprofits providing healthy, fresh food to underserved communities. 

Sunbasket Key Features

• 98% organic meal kits and prepared meals. 
• Meal kits, single-serve prepared meals, grocery items, and add-ons. 
• Meal kits serve two to four people.
• Choose to receive two to five meals per week. 
• Meal kits cost around $11.50 to $14 per serving; Fresh and Ready meals start at $9.99. 
• Some meals are customizable with different protein options. 

What I Wish Sunbasket Did Better

When you sign up for a Sunbasket subscription, they’ll ask you if you follow any specific diets or if there are any foods or ingredients you prefer to avoid. This is great, but unfortunately, all of Sunbasket’s meals and meal kits are processed in facilities that also process many common allergens. That means that cross-contamination is still possible. If you have a severe allergy to one of these foods, Sunbasket might not be suitable for you. 

I also wish they had more prepared meals to choose from each week. While I love the flexibility of having both meal kits and prepared meals in one subscription, your options will be limited if you only want one or the other. 

One other thing that bothers me about Sunbasket is that they make canceling a little more complicated than the other subscriptions on this list. Rather than clicking a button on your account page, you actually have to fill out and submit a form on their website. It’s not exactly time-consuming, but it seems unnecessary. 

Read our complete Sunbasket review and guide here!

How I Chose These Alternatives

All of the meal delivery services on this list share some of the qualities I like about Sunbasket, but they also each offer something that Sunbasket doesn’t. To be considered for this list, meal services had to meet specific criteria:

• They had to be recurring subscriptions or at least have a subscription option. 
• They had to have plenty of options for healthy, ingredient-forward meals. 
• They had to be delivered fresh, not frozen. 

The Best Sunbasket Alternatives Guide

Below are my picks for the best Sunbasket alternatives. 

Green Chef

Green Chef is a USDA-certified organic meal kit delivery service and was the first to receive official organic certification. They offer a curated selection of nearly 50 restaurant-quality meals each week, emphasizing fresh, organic ingredients. Green Chef’s subscriptions cater to various dietary preferences, ranging from Mediterranean to keto to calorie smart. 

I consider them the meal delivery service that’s the most similar to Sunbasket. Both companies stock their kits with high-quality, organic ingredients. While I think Sunbasket’s menu is a bit more diverse and exciting, I prefer the taste of Green Chef’s meals. Green Chef also doesn’t offer prepared meals, which might be a deal-breaker for some people. 

Key Features

• USDA-certified organic meal kits. 
• Options for two, four, or six servings per meal.
• Delivery across 48 contiguous U.S. states.
• Meals average around a 30-minute prep time.
• Meals cost around $12 to $13.50 per serving.

Pros

• All of their ingredients are super high quality. 
• They have plans that serve two, four, or six people, which makes them great for families. 
• Their recipes are very easy to follow.
• Their sauces and spice blends are the best I’ve tried in a meal kit. 
• Gluten-free meals are officially certified and processed in a separate facility. 
• Meal kits are customizable.
• Some of the produce will arrive prepped and chopped, which cuts down on your cooking time. 

Cons

• They don’t offer prepared meals. 
• I used a frustrating number of dishes when preparing some meals. 
• They charge extra for their premium “Chef Select” meals.

HelloFresh

HelloFresh is another extremely popular meal delivery service. They’re very similar to Sunbasket in a lot of ways but don’t place the same emphasis on organic, sustainable ingredients. I know what you’re thinking—that’s a huge part of what Sunbasket does and one of their best features! It’s true, but I think that for a non-organic (and, let’s be honest, less expensive) meal kit company, HelloFresh has some of the best quality ingredients in the business. 

HelloFresh’s recipes are easy to prepare, and their meals are simple crowd-pleasers. Each week, you’ll have a diverse selection of more than 50 meals to choose from. They don’t offer prepared meals, but they do have one of the most flexible meal kit plans. You can choose to receive anywhere from two to six meals per week. Plus, they let you browse their menu six weeks in advance. That may seem like a small thing, but it’s anywhere from two weeks to a month more than most other services show you. It makes it super easy to plan ahead (or, if you’re me, dream about all the delicious food in your future). 

Key Features

• Meal kits feed two or four people. 
• Plans that deliver two to six meals per week. 
• Meals average $9 to $12.50 per serving. 
• They deliver to all of the continental U.S. and select zip codes in Hawaii and Alaska. 

Pros

• HelloFresh is the most affordable subscription on this list. 
• Their recipes are family-friendly and very easy to follow. 
• They have an extensive and varied selection of meals available each week. 

Cons

• They don’t focus on organic ingredients. 
• They have a ton of variety but aren’t a great option if you have allergies or dietary restrictions. Other services make it easier to sort by diet and eliminate allergens. 

Read our complete HelloFresh review and guide here!

Hungryroot

Hungryroot is a somewhat unique meal delivery service—they operate as a sort of hybrid between grocery delivery and meal kit subscriptions. They primarily specialize in delivering personalized, convenient, and health-focused groceries, but they also emphasize prepared foods and meal kits that make planning dinner easier and faster. 

When you sign up for a Hungryroot account, you’ll start by taking an extensive quiz asking about your and your household’s eating habits. You’ll select what cooking appliances you use, types of cuisine you prefer, allergens you have, and even flavors you like. Seriously—they even ask if you dislike cilantro! 

After you finish the quiz, Hungryroot will curate a selection of meals based on your preferences. Some of the meals might be prepared for you, while others will require some preparation and cooking (you’ll set preferences for prep difficulty during the quiz). Any “meal kits” that need to be prepped will be made up of fresh and prepared grocery items that you might find in your local grocery store rather than a meal kit prepared specifically by the company. So, for example, their Creamy Southwest Shrimp Chopped Salad kit comes with a package of wild-caught gulf shrimp, a container of montchevre crumbled goat cheese, and a bagged organic southwest chopped salad kit—all of these are things you could grab off a grocery store shelf yourself, Hungryroot just gives you ideas for how to put them together in a meal (and delivers them to your door).

Key Features

• Grocery delivery and meal kits created from available grocery items. 
• Personalized grocery lists based on dietary preferences. 
• Widest selection of fresh produce, proteins, and pantry staples. 
• Three to eight recipes per week. 
• Recipes serve two or four people. 

Pros

• I like that they use their extensive quiz to tailor your grocery suggestions based on your preferences and dietary needs. 
• Their meal kits are most aligned with how many of us shop at home—they start with grocery items and create menus around them. 
• This is an excellent option for someone who wants ideas for a few easy dinners a week, along with snacks, staples, and other grocery items. You could absolutely use them as your exclusive grocery shopping method. 

Cons

• I think Hungryroot is more useful as a grocery service than a traditional meal kit service. 
• They don’t have as many (or as varied) recipes as other meal kits services, and those that they offer aren’t as imaginative. 
• You need to do just as much prep as if you had done a regular grocery shop, unlike many other meal kits. 
• Not everything they offer is organic (though some is). 

Thistle

Thistle is one of my absolute favorite meal subscriptions. In some ways, they feel like the most dissimilar service to Sunbasket on this list, but I think their ethos and commitment to quality, sustainability, and charity make them eligible. They’re a plant-forward fresh meal delivery service that emphasizes healthy, sustainable meals made from organic and locally sourced ingredients. All of their meals are dairy-free and gluten-free and emphasize incorporating a variety of vegetables into each meal.

Each week, they offer a rotating menu of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks, along with add-ons like salads, soups, juices, and wellness shots. They offer plant-based options for all of their meals, but they also have variations of most of their lunches and dinners that contain meat. 

While Thistle’s meals are pricey and they have a smaller selection than other services, I have yet to find a meal delivery company that can hold a candle to them in terms of freshness. Their lunches, in particular, had me hooked—they combine super fresh greens with plant-based proteins, hearty grains, and satisfying dressings to create some of the best salads I’ve ever had.

Key Features

• Meals are fresh and ready to eat (some dinners have the option to reheat). 
• Weekly rotating selection of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks.
• Emphasis on plant-forward meals, with options for plant-based or meat-added versions.
• Meals contain at least five or six unique vegetables. Meals cost around $11.50 to $14. 
• Delivery once or twice a week, depending on how many weekly meals you order. 

Pros

• Fresh and delicious meals that require little to no prep.
• Options for both omnivores and plant-based diets.
• They donate two pounds of food for every box sold. 
• They use as many ingredients as they can in their meals, depending on availability. Everything I tried seemed to be made from more than 50% organic ingredients. 

Cons

• They don’t have a meal kit option. 
• The menu is limited to six options for each meal per week. 
• Because most of their lunches are salads, they have a limited shelf life. 
• Some of the meals are pricey, especially the ones containing meat. 

Read our complete Thistle review, guide, and unboxing experience here!

Purple Carrot

Purple Carrot is a plant-based meal subscription service. They sell meal kits (including “less prep” kits) and prepared meals, and you can choose to include either or both in your weekly order. They don’t have as large a selection as many other meal subscriptions, but if you follow a strictly plant-based diet, you’ll most likely find more options here than you will with other services. Their meals are simple and colorful, and though they’re not a fully organic company, they do source organic ingredients whenever possible. 

Signing up for a Purple Carrot subscription is very similar to joining any of these services. You’ll be asked whether you prefer prepared meals or meal kits (though you’ll be able to choose both for your weekly meals), how many people you’re feeding, and how many meals you’d like to receive each week. It’s a great alternative to Sunbasket for those looking to incorporate more plant-based meals into their lifestyle. 

Key Features

• 100% plant-based meals. 
• Choose from meal kits, prepared meals, or both. 
• Meals cost about $11 to $13.25 per serving. 
• Delivers to continental United States. 
• Meal kits serve two or four people, and you can choose to receive two, three, or four meals per week. 
• Prepared meals are single-serve, and you can choose to receive six, eight, or ten a week. 

Pros

• I like that you can choose either meal kits, prepared meals, or both. 
• This is a great option for vegans or anyone wanting to add more plant-based meals into their diet, especially since most subscriptions only offer a handful of weekly vegan options. 
• They have a large selection of gluten-free meals. 
• Rather than recipe cards, they include a booklet with the full week’s worth of recipes (even the ones you didn’t choose). I like that this provides an opportunity to go back and try any recipes you might have missed. 

Cons

• They don’t have as large a weekly selection of meals as Sunbasket (or many of the other subscriptions on this list). 
• Non-vegans might find their options limited. 
• Some meals are only available to two-serving plans. 
• They don’t include chopping and prepping your vegetables as steps in their recipes—vegetables are just listed as “sliced” or “diced” under the ingredients list, meaning you’ll have to determine how each ingredient needs to be prepared before you start the recipe. This might not be a huge deal for some, but it could be confusing for inexperienced cooks. 

FAQs

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re dissatisfied with Sunbasket or just looking to shake things up, these Sunbasket alternatives are all excellent options to check out. They each retain some of my favorite Sunbasket qualities, like fresh, high-quality ingredients and a weekly subscription model, but they all bring something new to the table as well. 

Of all the subscriptions on this list, Green Chef is the one that’s most similar to Sunbasket, whereas Thistle is my favorite for its freshness and quality. However, all of these services can be somewhat pricey, so if you’re looking for a more affordable option that still uses quality ingredients, I recommend checking out HelloFresh. 

Continue reading:

Green Chef vs Purple Carrot Compared

Hungryroot vs Purple Carrot Compared

The 5 Best Family Meal Delivery Services for All Parenting Stages