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16 Best Meal Delivery Deals Ahead of Black Friday

There's no cheaper time to try a meal kit or prepared meal service than the weeks leading up Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

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david-watsky-headshot
David Watsky Senior Editor / Home and Kitchen
David lives in Brooklyn where he's logged more than a decade writing about all things edible, including meal kits and meal delivery subscriptions, cooking, kitchen gear and commerce. Since earning a BA in English from Northeastern in Boston, he's toiled in nearly every aspect of the eats business from slicing and dicing as a sous-chef in Rhode Island to leading complex marketing campaigns for major food brands in Manhattan. These days, he's likely somewhere trying the latest this or tasting the latest that - and reporting back, of course. Anything with sesame is his all-time favorite food this week.
Expertise Kitchen tech, cookware, small appliances, food innovation, meal delivery and meal kits.
David Watsky
10 min read
See at EveryPlate
every plate box and two meals
EveryPlate
Get your first box for $1.49 a serving
See at Dinnerly
dinnerly meal kit
Dinnerly
Up to $140 off across your first five boxes
See at HelloFresh
hello fresh box surrounded by ingredients
HelloFresh
Get 16 free meals
See at Purple Carrot
purple-carrot
Purple Carrot
Save $100 on your four orders
See at Gobble
seared tuna over soba noodles on plate
Gobble
Get six meal kits for $36
See at Homechef
home chef meal kits
Home Chef
Get 50% off your first 4 boxes
See at Factor75
factor-400x225usjc
Factor (prepared meals)
Save 50% off your first box
See at Blue Apron
blue apron steak meal
Blue Apron
Get $200 off your first six orders
See at Butcherbox
A collection of packaged meats in front of a cardboard box with the ButcherBox logo.
ButcherBox (meat delivery)
Free bacon for life
See at CookUnity
cookunity
CookUnity (prepared meals)
Save 30% with code CNET30
See at Daily Harvest
several daily harvest meals in glamour shot
Daily Harvest
Save $35 on your first box
See at Fresh N Lean
fresh-n-lean
Fresh N Lean (prepared meals)
Save $20 on your first order
See at Good Chop
good chop meats
Good Chop (meat delivery)
Save $120 across four deliveries
See at ModifyHealth
A man eats a meal from ModifyHealth while chatting on a computer.
ModifyHealth (prepared meals)
15% off your first order
See at Splendid Spoon
green smoothie in bottle
Splendid Spoon (prepared meals)
Save $105 across 3 boxes
See at Thrive Market
Open Thrive Market box with various foods
Thrive Market (grocery delivery)
Save 30% on your first order
See at Green Chef
3 Green Chef Meals in paper bags
Green Chef
Save $250 across your first nine boxes

Black Friday and Cyber Monday used to just mean cheap big-screen TVs and discounted computers. While you can still get plenty of those, there are tons of meal delivery deals to keep up nourished through the new year and beyond. While there's no such thing as a free lunch, we've rooted out all the best early Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals to get cheap meal kits and premade meals delivered.

Most meal subscriptions have new customer offers but those deals get even better in the leadup to Black Friday. And if you seek a bit of help with hosting, many offer Thanksgiving and holiday meal kits with easy recipes and all the ingredients for a full feast.

Are early Black Friday sales a good time to buy?

Many retailers start "Black Friday" sales as early as Halloween, or even earlier. The quality of deals can vary early on, but as November progresses, many of the deals are as good as the deep discounts you’ll see during Thanksgiving weekend. See the best Black Friday deals we’ve found, and keep up with all the latest deals with our full Black Friday live blog coverage.


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If you're new to meal delivery, I've put together a list of the best services for 2023 along with seven tips and tricks to get the most out of your meal kit service. To help you score some healthy eats for cheap, we've rounded up the absolute best meal subscription deals happening now. Current offers include some of our favorite premade meal and meal kit services such as Fresh N Lean, HelloFresh, Blue Apron and EveryPlate, available at massive discounts. 

Read more: Here's How to Get Months of Meal Kits for Next to Nothing

screenshot of discounted meal plan on hello fresh

Don't even think about paying full price to try a new meal kit service.

Hello Fresh/Screenshot by CNET

Read more: Are Meal Kits More Expensive Than Buying the Groceries? We Did the Math

Best meal delivery deals for November 2023

EveryPlate

EveryPlate is already our pick as the best meal kit service for families on a budget, but it's bordering on ridiculously cheap when you sign up now. Depending on the meal plan you choose, you'll score up to 72% off of EveryPlate's already cheap meal kits when you try them in September. That's between $1.49 and $2 per serving depending on the plan you choose.

The deal: You won't see a ton of haute cuisine in EveryPlate's weekly menu, but there are plenty of satisfying dinners for the cold weather ahead. I tried its pork sloppy joes and the chicken and linguine in a tomato cream sauce. All the meals I made were great, easy to prepare and light on the wallet. Read our EveryPlate review.

Dinnerly

Dinnerly is one of the cheapest meal delivery services even without a discount code. The quick and easy Meal kit company sends all the fixings for hearty and healthy meals, and the price comes to about $6 a serving for the cheapest plan. Read our full Dinnerly review.

The deal: If you take advantage of Dinnerly's most popular discount voucher, it'll slash the cost of your first five boxes. The bigger the meal plan you choose, the more you'll save. Opt for the largest plan -- 24 servings a week (definitely good for families) -- and you'll see savings of $140 over the course of the first five deliveries, plus free shipping on the first.

HelloFresh

HelloFresh has more total meal kit selections than any other service and most of them are pretty easy to prepare. You can check out my deep-dive review of HelloFresh to learn more about the easy meal delivery service. 

The deal: HelloFresh is offering a signup deal worth up to 50% off. That nets out to between $3 and $6 per serving, depending on the number of meals you choose.

Purple Carrot

For those eating plant-based or looking to add more vegetarian recipes to the weekly menu, Purple Carrot is the service to try. I tried Purple Carrot's meat-free meal kits, and all the recipes I made were a huge hit, earning this service an editor's choice award.

The deal: Purple Carrot doesn't usually have a signup deal, but if you try this plant-based meal kit service now you'll get $100 off across your first four orders. This is a rare deal for the popular plant-based service. After that, the price goes up to between $11 and $13 a serving.

Brandy Yowell

Gobble is quite similar to the other services, except that many items come already chopped, peeled, marinated and so on -- which can definitely save you some prep time. The two meals I received, Yankee pot roast and cacio e pepe, were terrific. Dinner prices are normally a flat $12 per serving, however, so you do pay a bit extra for that convenience.

The deal: Gobble will send your first six meal kits for $36 total. That's about as cheap as you'll find high-end meal kits anywhere. For more, read our Gobble review.

Home Chef

I tested Home Chef last year and loved its highly customizable meal kits and comfort-food recipes with a healthy bent, all of which were easy to prepare. Home Chef is also one of the more affordable meal kit companies, starting at $8 or $9 per serving, and is even more so if you sign up using this offer. 

The deal: New subscribers will get a big discount that amounts to 50% off or 18 free servings spread across your first four boxes. If you've been wanting to try a meal kit subscription, Home Chef makes it easy (and cheap). You can pause or cancel at any time, so the risk is low. Read our Home Chef review.

Factor

Factor prepared meals don't get any easier -- just heat and eat -- and most of Factor's weekly menu options are healthy and low-carb or low-calorie so you can start your summer off on the right foot. 

The deal: Factor is offering a trio of deals, one of which you'll select from a digital mystery box. Those include as much as 50% off your first shipment and 20% off your second order of meals. Read our full Factor review here.

Blue Apron

Blue Apron is still the best meal kit service after more than 10 years in the business. The meal kits on each weekly menu include tender steaks and fresh seafood recipes and can be had for under $10 per serving, which is often cheaper than if you bought the groceries yourself. Read our full Blue Apron review here.

The deal: Blue Apron has a massive deal for new customers that amounts to $200 off spread out across your first six orders, plus free shipping on the very first. 

ButcherBox

ButcherBox isn't exactly a meal delivery service, but you can certainly make some excellent meals with what this online butcher service sends in its monthly boxes. ButcherBox is an online meat subscription service specializing in Australian grass-fed beef. But you can also have heritage pork and organic chicken in your monthly box, depending on the subscription you pick.

The deal: Subscribe to ButcherBox during November and receive a pound of bacon free in every box for the life of their membership, plus $20 off the first order. Read our full ButcherBox review here.

CookUnity

Of all the prepared meal services I've tried, CookUnity was right up there in the top two or three with a massive selection and a high overall hit rate. Many of the menu offerings have been created by restaurant chefs and cooking personalities such as Einat Admony (Taïm, Balaboosta), John DeLucie (Waverly Inn, Lumaca) and Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

The deal: The service is a little pricey, but if you sign up to try CookUnity and use promo code CNET30 it'll knock 30% off the first order. That means meals as cheap as $7, depending on the total number you order. Read our CookUnity review.

Daily Harvest

Daily Harvest sells easy-prep vegan meals, including smoothies, grain bowls, flatbreads and soups. It's one of the healthier meal delivery services and it's also rather affordable with most meals clocking in under $10. There's also no subscription necessary if you want to give it a quick tryout. 

The deal: Try the service for the first time and Daily Harvest will knock as much as $35 off an order of 24 meals.

Fresh N Lean

This signup offer is for one the best meal healthy delivery services we've tried. Fresh N Lean has nutritious meals that are tasty and a subscription won't totally break the bank, with some meal plans clocking in at around $9 a serving. Want to see how much I liked it? Read our Fresh N Lean review.

The deal: Sign up now for any Fresh N Lean plan (offerings include keto, protein plus, vegan, Mediterranean and Whole30) and new customers will get $20 knocked off their first box of Fresh N Lean meals. 

Good Chop

Good Chop definitely has the chops -- pork, specifically -- along with excellent cuts of beef, organic chicken and a range of seafood options. Good Chop is a subscription meat delivery service with shipments starting at $149 per month for 36 portions of quality meat. But you can try it for much cheaper than that. 

The deal: If you're new to Good Chop and want to give the service a trial run, we've got an exclusive offer for CNET readers worth a whopping $120 off across your first four deliveries. You can pause or cancel your Good Chop subscription at any time.

ModifyHealth

Another of our favorite healthy delivery services is ModifyHealth. The company is a great option for those with digestive issues and it has a number of healthy meals that include options that are gluten-free, low-carb, heart-friendly and more. And the meals are ready to go so you can just heat them up and eat them right away, prep-free. Options start at just $10 per serving. Read the full review here.

The deal: CNET readers who sign up now can get 15% off their first order when they use promo code CNET15 at checkout.

Splendid Spoon

Splendid Spoon specializes in deliveries of quick smoothies, soups, rice bowls and other noshes that are great for breakfast and lunch. Some work well for dinner too, but I like this service better for those first two meals of the day. The meal delivery service is a little pricey for what you get but has some inventive recipes along with classics, so there's a little something for everyone. 

The deal: Get $105 off spread across your first three deliveries. Read our Splendid Spoon review.

Thrive Market

Thrive Market is less of a meal kit or prepared meal service and more of a specialty online market with excellent snacks, pantry staples, beauty supplies, pet food and much more. Thrive has a $5 monthly membership fee but if you have a taste for high-end groceries or seek organic foods, you won't likely find them cheaper than on Thrive. Plus, Thrive Market will price match anything you do find cheaper at another retailer.

The deal: Sign up for a Thrive Market membership in March and you'll get 30% off and a grocery gift worth $60.

Green Chef has some of the best healthy meal kits we've tried, using largely organic produce and ethically raised meats. Green Chef is a little more per serving than other meal kits, but you'll taste it in the final dish. Full review of Green Chef here.

The deal: Save $250 off spread across your first nine orders. Yes, you'll have to commit to more than two months of meal kits, so this one is better for someone in it for the longer test. After that, you can pause or cancel at any time.

What are the best online meal delivery deals right now?

If it's the lowest possible cost, EveryPlate, HelloFresh, Purple Carrot and Gobble will send meal kits that are ready to cook, with some clocking in at under $2 a serving. Other popular prepared meal services such as Splendid Spoon, CookUnity and Fresh N Lean are ready to send premade, ready-to-eat dinners to your doorstep, at per-serving prices that are far cheaper than takeout. 

So which meal delivery service is the best? 

green chef ingredients

Dinners come together faster with help from meal kits.

David Watsky/CNET

I've tried most of them and they're all pretty solid, with differences to consider depending on your budget, diet, taste and kitchen skill level. You can check out CNET's roundups of the best meal kit delivery services and best healthy food delivery services for a more detailed, er, taste. And remember, nearly all of these meal kit companies let you pause or cancel anytime, so the risk and commitment when signing up for a meal kit service is minimal.

Whether you're looking for ways to eat healthily, learn to cook new recipes or just make fewer trips to the grocery store this summer, a healthyversatile and budget-friendly meal delivery deal can help you do it on the cheap.

These offers were valid at the time of publication, but they can end at any time and may be restricted by geography and other cookie-based conditions in your browser. If you don't see a deal populate, try in a new window or private browser. In the meantime, if you've already tried one or more of these, tell me which ones and what you liked or didn't like.

My advice: Take advantage of each and every one of these offers (making sure to pause or cancel after, unless you want to continue). You can see which service you like best and get super cheap takeout-style meals for weeks at a time.

Do meal kit signup deals have commitments?

Nope. Virtually all of them allow you to pause or cancel any time just in case you don't love it, so there's almost no risk after the deal is up. Although you may have to unsubscribe from their email blasts. The point is, most brands just want you to try out the meals and see if you dig them and those brands are willing to make it very easy (and cheap) to do that. To make things easier, we already tried the top meal kits and meal delivery services so you'll know exactly what to expect and you can pick the best food delivery deal for you and your tastes.


The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

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