Daily Harvest meal kit review: Organic has never been easier

Meal kits are a great way to add a bit of convenience to your life -- and a lot of healthy eating to your diet. One meal delivery service that stands out when it comes to transforming your diet with plant-based meals, nutritionally packed fruit smoothies, and more is Daily Harvest.

Daily Harvest is a meal delivery service that prioritizes nutritious, sustainably sourced, and organic produce. According to the USDA, organic farming for products including fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products, and protein is held to strict standards: no artificial fertilizers, antibiotics, pesticides or genetic modifications allowed.

After looking into the best delivery services for certain diets and preferences such as dairy-free meal kits, I decided to give the plant-based meal kit a try. After setting up a delivery of Daily Harvest's greatest hits box -- including a dozen of Daily Harvest's best offerings -- I enjoyed a week's worth of organic meals and fruit smoothies.

Check out my in-depth review below.

In this Daily Harvest review

• How Daily Harvest works
• Is Daily Harvest worth it? Meal kit pros and cons
• Exploring Daily Harvest's menu options
• How much Daily Harvest costs
• What are customers saying about Daily Harvest?
• Who should sign up for Daily Harvest?
• What sets Daily Harvest apart from other meal kits? Our final verdict

Learn more about Daily Harvest below: what it offers to subscribers, how it works, and whether or not you should consider signing up.

How Daily Harvest works

Daily Harvest works directly with farmers to source organic fruits and veggies for its meals. These ingredients are whipped up into appealing menu items such as smoothies and pasta dishes. Similar to other meal kits I've reviewed, such as HelloFresh or Home Chef, Daily Harvest makes it easy to save cooking time with fully prepared, frozen meals and other nourishing treats that are ready within minutes.

Building your order is a straightforward affair, but it's a slight remix on the typical process for meal kit orders. If you've ever subscribed to another meal kit before (or considered it), you may be expecting to choose the number of meals, as well as the number of servings per meal, for delivery to your door. But Daily Harvest sells items individually, which means your price can fluctuate more widely than usual, week by week, depending on what you order. When signing up, you simply choose the number of items you want to pack into your freezer each week, with larger orders offering added discounts.

I found the signup process to be a breeze. Everything you need to know about that first order is front and center, so if you're easily put off by confusing subscription processes or wonky websites, you can breath a sigh of relief.

Daily Harvest makes it easy to personalize your meal plan with a brief quiz to determine food preferences, nutritional goals, dietary restrictions, and more. You can also skip the quiz altogether and simply browse Daily Harvest's menu on your own. You can easily browse by category or filter by your own likes, dislikes, or dietary needs. 

Once your order is placed, everything arrives in a recyclable paper container. During my trial run for this review, my order arrived undamaged with everything frozen and secure atop a bag of dry ice. Most smoothies, meals, and other Daily Harvest items come in cardboard or paper packaging, which thankfully means minimal plastic waste.

Daily Harvest review: Meal kit pros and cons

Daily Harvest is a great meal delivery service if you want to amend your diet with a healthy dose of fruits and vegetables. Prices are affordable, with most menu items costing under $10 -- although some price points may be higher than you'd expect (namely, the $8.49 tag for a smoothie).

Here's everything that I loved (and didn't) about my experience with Daily Harvest:

Pros:

• Daily Harvest is a very diet-friendly meal kit service, with a menu that's entirely dairy-free and more than 90% certified organic. 
• Menu items are chock full of fruits and veggies, making Daily Harvest a top choice for anyone looking to introduce more organic produce into their diet.
• Prep times are lower than ever here. Most meals are ready in under five minutes, while other items like smoothies take almost no time at all to prepare.
• This is a great choice for breakfast and lunch options.
• Quick delivery times. I received my Daily Harvest box within three days of placing my order for this review, making this my fastest meal kit delivery experience yet.

Cons: 

• Depending on your preferences, the meal variety here may seem lacking. While Daily Harvest excels at lighter fare like smoothies, flatbreads, and the like, dinner options are less varied -- although newer menu items like gluten-free pasta dishes have improved upon this.
• Pricing. Most items cost between $7 and $10 a piece, which is on par with other meal kits but is arguably steep for menu items like smoothies or soups (both categories are $8.49 per item).
• Some menu items are notably high in sugar or sodium. 

Exploring Daily Harvest's menu options

When browsing Daily Harvest's menu, you'll notice a common theme in most of the categories: an abundance of sustainable fruits and veggies packed into nearly every recipe. Smoothies, soups, and harvest bowls are some of the most popular categories, but that's just the tip of the organic iceberg. 

Here is Daily Harvest's full list of collections: 

• Smoothies: Daily Harvest's pride and joy is their selection of smoothies that each offer an interesting remix on classic flavors, such as the strawberry and peach smoothie (a personal favorite), which also contains raspberries, goji berries, peaches, oats, and flax seeds to keep you full. $8.49 per item.
• Harvest and grain bowls: The nutritionally packed and fulfilling harvest bowls typically come with a rice or quinoa base topped with a mix of vegetables, spices, or sauces. Grain bowls are similarly packed with superfoods like legumes, nuts, and seeds. $9.79 per item.
• Pasta dishes: A relatively new addition to Daily Harvest's menu, these dishes contain gluten-free noodles. Recipes like the tomato basil and portobello bolognese menu item feel like instant classics, and after sampling the aforementioned pasta, I recommend adding one or more to your order. According to Daily Harvest, each bag comes with two servings. $9.79 per item.
• Forager bowls: Step up your healthy eating with these superfood-packed recipes. Rolled oats, chia seeds, and flax seeds are common here. Recipes like the pineapple and passion fruit forager bowl stand out thanks to unique and memorable flavors. $6.79 per item.
• Soups: Daily Harvest offers a surprising variety of soups, including memorable combinations like lentil and cremini, butternut squash and rosemary, and mushroom and miso. $8.49 per item. 
• Flatbreads: Another standout category, Daily Harvest's flatbreads come in simple yet delicious varieties. I highly recommend the tomato and basil flatbread, which I sampled during my review. $9.79 per item.
• Milk substitute: With Daily Harvest's smoothies, it's up to you to add the liquid of your choice. If you want to purchase one from the meal delivery service, there's Daily Harvest's "mylk" products. Choices include oat, almond, or almond and vanilla and are made from natural ingredients. $7.99 per carton. 
• Bites: Bites are, well, bite-sized treats that offer a mix of healthy superfoods and sweet ingredients. $7.99 per item.

If you're like me, you may have previously overlooked Daily Harvest for other meal kits with larger menus that feel like a better fit for dinners throughout the week. After scouring this organic meal kit service's menu from top to bottom and sampling a dozen recipes myself, I can happily say there's much more here than meets the eye.

Partially due to recent additions like pasta dishes (a big win in my meal kit book), Daily Harvest has built a nutritionally packed menu that's great for breakfast, lunch, and dinner alike.

Is Daily Harvest expensive?

As far as meal delivery prices go, Daily Harvest may not be the cheapest meal kit service out there -- but it's far from overpriced. The value in Daily Harvest's organic and high-quality ingredients more than makes up for any steep prices -- the smoothies and pasta dishes I personally sampled were well worth the price to sign up.

Daily Harvest prices range from $7 to $12, so it's possible to lower your costs week by week depending on what you add to each order. There are also discounts of up to $25 for larger meal plans, which means Daily Harvest has earned a spot on our list of great meal kits for busy families. 

If you're scanning this review for eye-popping discounts, Daily Harvest won't disappoint. Like many other meal kits, this organic meal delivery service offers added discounts for first-time subscribers: save up to $65, plus enjoy free shipping on that first order, by using promo code DH65 when you sign up.

What are customers saying about Daily Harvest?

By and large, Daily Harvest boasts customer reviews and ratings ranging from neutral to positive. Most happy subscribers cite Daily Harvest's bevy of organic foods, near-nonexistent cook times, and unique recipes as big wins for the meal delivery service. 

While it is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau, Daily Harvest does currently hold an A+ rating with the BBB. 

In 2022, Daily Harvest issued a recall on French lentil and leek crumbles due to more than 400 consumer reports of illness or adverse reactions to Daily Harvest meals. Although this was promptly addressed by Daily Harvest, this did tarnish the meal delivery service's reputation with a slew of negative reviews around that time.

Other customer complaints point to issues such as difficulties getting in touch with customer support or canceling a subscription online.

Who should sign up for Daily Harvest?

After my time with Daily Harvest, I would recommend it for anyone interested in an organic diet packed with whole fruits and veggies. Even with delicious dinner options like pasta, Daily Harvest may be best paired with people interested in breakfast and lunch items -- the smoothies and flatbreads are the true standouts here.

Daily Harvest is also a great meal kit contender for people with the following dietary restrictions or preferences: 

• Gluten-free diet: Daily Harvest's menu is entirely plant-baser, gluten-free, and dairy-free. Recipes have all their organic ingredients listed online. And yes, even the pastas are gluten-free (thankfully).
• Dairy-free diet: Another thing you won't find on Daily Harvest's menu is dairy. This service's smoothies come with every ingredient minus milk, with the instructions leaving it up to you to choose between milk, water, or the liquid of your choice when getting the blender ready. Daily Harvest's "mylk" is also made using natural milk alternatives like oats and almonds.

What sets Daily Harvest apart from other meal kits? Our final verdict

Daily Harvest stands out as a supplier of sweet treats and delicious recipes that work great as breakfast or lunch essentials. During my own test run, the fruit smoothies were rewarding all on their own. 

With Daily Harvest expanding their menu to include even more dinner-friendly meals, this organic meal delivery service is quickly climbing the ranks to rival other popular meal kits. 

If you're in the mood for meals made from sustainably sourced fruits and vegetables, we recommend rushing over to Daily Harvest's menu today to fill your freezer tomorrow with all sorts of nutritionally goodies for use throughout the week.