Are Sunbasket’s Healthy Meal Kits Worth the Cost in 2026? CNET Editors Put Them to the Test

Should you’re on the lookout for a healthy meal kit service, Sunbasket is more likely to be one of many first choices to seem in your search. The corporate markets itself as providing health-conscious meal kits made with clear elements and USDA-certified natural produce, responsibly raised meats and sustainably sourced seafood. Between its kits and premade meals, it helps varied diets, together with vegan (incomes it a spot on our record of the best vegan meal delivery services), gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, diabetes-friendly, paleo and plans centered on meals with fewer than 600 energy.

Sunbasket has additionally added one other ingredient to its enterprise mannequin since launching 10 years in the past, now providing particular person grocery gadgets reminiscent of recent meat, seafood, plant-based proteins, cheese, breakfast gadgets, snacks, and bread — all of which might be added to your field every week.

Sunbasket does slide in at a better worth than different meal package supply companies, reminiscent of Home Chef, Blue Apron and EveryPlate, with its meal kits beginning at $11 per serving and $11 transport (except you’ve gotten a first-time buyer or vacation low cost). This raises the query: Are these wholesome meal kits price the additional value? To seek out out, I attempted per week’s price of Sunbasket meal kits, then requested my fellow CNET editor Anna Gragert — a vegetarian wellness editor who usually eats plant-based meals — to provide the service a try to see whether or not it may truly provide help to follow your 2026 New Yr’s decision to eat more healthy.

How Sunbasket works

Step one is deciding on your dietary preferences (reminiscent of gluten-free, vegetarian or Mediterranean), together with what number of meals you need every week and what number of servings you’d like per meal. You may select between three, 4 or 5 meals per week, every with recipes serving both two or 4 individuals.

Subsequent, you may place your order and choose your meals and market gadgets. Every week, you choose meals for the next week’s supply. Your field arrives at your step in insulated packaging on the day of your selecting, and also you’re able to go. Sunbasket ships to just about each US ZIP code, excluding Alaska, Hawaii and Montana.

Sunbasket pricing

Meal kits begin at $11 per serving, whereas premade meals begin at $10 per serving. Transport is $11 per field. This makes Sunbasket one of many costlier meal package companies, however that is not stunning, contemplating you are getting meal kits with natural produce and higher-quality meat and fish.

What are Sunbasket meals like?

Wholesome, to make certain. Sunbasket provides round 14 to 18 meal package recipes every week, and almost all are wholesome, except one or two. You will not discover a lot greasy consolation meals, as you’ll with another meal package corporations, reminiscent of EveryPlate or Home Chef. Sunbasket additionally claims to make use of a minimum of 98% USDA-certified natural produce in its kits, all of which I personally discovered to be crisp and recent upon arrival. Plus, all of the dietary info you might presumably need is available each on the time of choice and when your meals arrive. 

When it comes to type, Sunbasket meals are artistic and distinctive. Whereas some meal package companies play it secure with acquainted meals and flavors, Sunbasket takes probabilities and delivers attention-grabbing and sometimes wholesome spins on international delicacies. The standard of the elements was very excessive, and Sunbasket’s meats and produce had been among the many freshest of any meal package service I’ve examined. Parts had been additionally excellent, in my view. I usually had a little bit of meals left over, however by no means a lot that I would fear about it going to waste. 

Absolutely ready meals for ‘these nights’

Along with conventional meal kits, Sunbasket provides quite a lot of oven-ready — aka Contemporary & Prepared — meals that come totally ready and solely must be heated, with no prep, meeting or cooking concerned. For instance, the week I selected meals, there have been 5 Contemporary & Prepared meals: three pasta dishes, hen tikka masala with rice and a Mexican-style quinoa bowl.

How straightforward are Sunbasket meal kits to arrange?

Sunbasket meal kits differ, however most are easy to arrange. Like many different meal package companies, it provides some extra concerned recipes alongside faster choices — some taking as little as 20 minutes — which it categorizes as “Ready & Prepared” or “Contemporary & Prepared.” You will not discover as many difficult recipes as you would possibly with a service like Marley Spoon or Blue Apron, although, and in depth cooking expertise is not required. 

Is Sunbasket good for vegans and vegetarians?

Our wellness editor Anna Gragert, who has been a vegetarian for 20 years, tried three plant-based meals from Sunbasket. Nevertheless, she unintentionally ordered one ready meal, as there have been solely two vegan meal kits accessible the week she positioned her order. Total, the recipes had been tasty, with quite a lot of greens and grains. Nevertheless, when you’re seeking to get multiple or two vegan or vegetarian meal kits per week, one other service with extra choices — like Purple Carrot or EveryPlate — could also be a greater match.

Is Sunbasket wholesome?

Our wellness editor discovered that Sunbasket delivered on its promise of offering wholesome meals. Anna additionally beloved that the recipes’ vitamin details had been printed on the again of every recipe card. When reviewing the vitamin details for the 2 meal kits and one ready meal she tried — all of which had been vegan — she discovered that none exceeded 50% of the day by day worth for sodium, saturated fats or sugar, and all had been comparatively low in energy. In addition they offered a great quantity of protein and fiber. That mentioned, it’s essential to think about vitamin details within the context of your particular dietary wants. Should you’re curious, Anna recommends reviewing them fastidiously when selecting your recipes.

The recipes I cooked and the way they went

Balinese hen with cucumber-cabbage salad: Easy because it was, this was among the finest meals I’ve made since I began testing meal kits and it is an ideal encapsulation of Sunbasket’s meals. It solely took 20 minutes however the nuanced warmth of the turmeric-spiced hen and funky crunchy salad with recent mint felt like one thing I’d order at a flowery al fresco lunch spot.

Pappardelle with wilted spinach, candy peas and ricotta: This is able to have been tough to mess up — and fortunately, I did not. A lightweight, wholesome pasta dish you might eat throughout any season and one I might completely have once more. 

Low-country shrimp and grits: The shrimp was recent, the tacky grits had been easy to make and this hearty recipe was filled with taste. This was one among Sunbasket’s heavier meals, but it surely did not ship me right into a full meals coma.

Common Tso’s tofu with broccoli and brown rice: This was a tasty meal with a recipe that made the tofu, which might be tough to arrange, straightforward to prepare dinner and make crispy, due to the addition of rice flour. Spice was additionally straightforward to regulate to style, which our wellness editor Anna appreciated. It provided 30 grams of protein and 39% of the day by day worth of fiber, which was nice to see.

Ready yuba japchae bowl with glass noodles, mushrooms and pickled carrots: This was a scrumptious ready meal that provided quite a lot of veggies. Our wellness editor would not usually eat yuba noodles, so this was a enjoyable dish to attempt for that cause. All it took was 4 to five minutes within the microwave. She additionally appreciated that it wasn’t overly salted, with solely 30% of the day by day worth of sodium.

Southwestern quinoa-black bean tostadas with cabbage slaw and guacamole: Our wellness editor Anna beloved the variability on this dish however discovered it tough to eat as a result of the elements saved falling off the tostadas. As a substitute, she needs the recipe was for tacos or wraps to make it simpler to eat. This dish provided a formidable 23 grams of fiber (82% of the day by day worth) and 22 grams of protein.

Nana Joes gluten-free breakfast brownies: Alongside along with her two meal kits and one ready meal, Anna obtained these vegan, gluten-free and paleo brownies to attempt. She discovered them to be a tasty, wholesome snack made with natural elements and a wealthy chocolate taste.

Sunbasket help supplies 

There’s nothing terribly good or unhealthy about Sunbasket’s recipe playing cards. I discovered them clear and concise with some useful footnotes for newbies, together with a quick clarification of what a roux is, for instance. The Sunbasket app is beneficial, clear and principally intuitive. You may place or change your weekly recipe alternatives by means of it, lookup dietary info for sure dishes and find all previous and current recipes.

Our wellness editor additionally favored that Sunbasket included a produce origin label on its field and a word when it needed to substitute with non-organic elements.

Who Sunbasket meal kits are good for

Should you’re on the lookout for wholesome meal kits which might be something however boring, but nonetheless straightforward to arrange, Sunbasket is without doubt one of the finest choices. The culinary workforce provides artistic takes on basic dishes, utilizinglean meats and recent, natural produce. Plus, Sunbasket’s weekly menus additionally embrace many meals that cater to in style diets, together with low-carb, paleo, gluten-free and Mediterranean.

The menu additionally features a stable variety of high-quality seafood dishes every week, making it among the finest meal kit services for seafood lovers.

Who Sunbasket meal kits should not so good for

I might say Sunbasket might be not one of the best meal package service for choosy eaters, younger or previous. It is also not one of the best meal package service when you’re on the lookout for rib-sticking consolation meals like meatloaf, pork chops and mashed potatoes. For that, I’d recommend EveryPlate. (Learn our EveryPlate review here.)

Whereas she discovered her vegan meals tasty, our wellness editor did discover that Sunbasket solely provides a number of vegetarian or vegan meals every week. Should you’re on the lookout for greater than that, Sunbasket will not be the suitable meal package service for you. Nevertheless, when you solely need one or two meal kits per week, it is a good choice.

Sunbasket packaging and environmental friendliness

Sunbasket will not be considerably higher or worse than different meal package companies by way of eco-friendly packaging. The meals had been every separated in paper luggage and never plastic. All of the elements had been thoughtfully packed with out a lot egregious waste, and coolers and ice packs had been recyclable. 

Our wellness editor appreciated that Sunbasket’s meal kits had been in paper luggage as an alternative of plastic, however nonetheless needs there was much less plastic general and a method to ship again the ice packs for reuse. Her specific order didn’t include any fiber trays and sleeves or ice packs crammed with a compostable gel.

Altering, skipping or canceling a Sunbasket order

You may simply add, change or cancel meals by means of the app or web site. You can even skip per week’s supply or cancel anytime previous to the weekly cutoff, which is the Wednesday earlier than your subsequent week’s supply at 12 p.m. PT. Responsive customer support is on the market throughout enterprise hours by cellphone, electronic mail or chatbot in case you have questions or considerations about your order.

The ultimate verdict on Sunbasket

Should you’re keen on making an attempt a meal package service to make weeknight meal planning simpler, and cash is not an enormous concern, however maintaining a healthy diet is, I might select Sunbasket. I am the kind who will get uninterested in consuming the identical factor, and I beloved the variability Sunbasket provides. Sunbasket’s elements had been additionally a number of the freshest I’ve tried, which makes all of the distinction in a easy pasta dish or stir-fry. 

Sunbasket feels sensible with out feeling low-cost in any means. Although some recipes are extra concerned than others, many of the Sunbasket meals are easy and unpretentious however nonetheless really feel particular. Beginning at $11 per serving, Sunbasket is not low-cost, however when you care about natural produce and high quality, wholesome elements, it is undoubtedly price the additional bucks. 

Our wellness editor agrees, however stipulates that Sunbasket could be finest fitted to vegans or vegetarians who solely want one or two meal kits per week, slightly than a bigger selection.