Essentials

What is the best meal kit for large families?

By Tom Horton

Edited By Leslie Gornstein

December 8, 2023 / 4:14 PM EST / Essentials

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These days, keeping the gears of life running smoothly for a family of four or more can be a big challenge. Groceries are expensive (and fast food isn't much better).

Providing healthy and nutritious meals for the whole family each night should be easy -- not one more thing on the list of problems.

The best meal kits can help to bring the whole family together, thanks to nutritionally balanced recipes and super-easy meals that are delivered straight to your door. Meal prep can be a stressful responsibility when you're cooking dinners for a large family, so why not cut yourself some slack by making the switch to meal kits?

What is the best meal kit for large families?

Below, we shine the spotlight on our top meal kit pick for large families, starting with our favorite of all the services we've reviewed: Home Chef.

Home Chef: Affordable food for the whole family

After reviewing several of the best meal kits for large families, we determined Home Chef to be the winner, thanks to accessible and customizable meals, short cook times, straightforward recipes, and a dedicated family meal plan that offers plenty of engaging dishes perfect for a full dinner table.

Home Chef's stress-free recipes like the sun-dried tomato chicken with roasted cauliflower and Parmesan are super easy to make (we found several as quick as 20 minutes), plus you can find all sorts of extras for children, picky eaters, and more -- a chocolate chip cookie skillet is arguably the best way to bring a large family together, in our book.

Home Chef is also budget-friendly, especially for home chefs in charge of meals for the whole family. Most meal delivery services offer prices starting between $8 and $11 per serving, with sign-up discounts for first time subscribers knocking that down by 50% at most.

Home Chef's family plan, which exclusively offers four-serving meals for bustling households, starts at just $3.77 per serving.

Home Chef, starting at $2.77 per serving

Ways meal kits can help those cooking for large families

In many ways, meal kits are one of the best solutions for anyone struggling to come up with new and nutritional dinners each night for a full house. They can help to cut down on expenses and save you time with pre-portioned meal kits that take a fraction of the time to whip up over a traditional home cooked meal.

One standout benefit that some meal delivery services offer is the option to personalize your meal plan. EveryPlate is one meal delivery service that has a meal plan perfectly tailored for larger families. EveryPlate's kid-friendly family plan comes with dozens of weekly meal options.

Find meat and veggie dishes for protein-packed dinners, quick and easy meals that can hit the dinner table in 30 minutes or less, and unique kid-approved dinners that cater to the picky eaters in your home.

New EveryPlate subscribers can enjoy $70 in savings on their first box, bringing the price per serving down to just $1.49.

Everyplate, starting at $1.49 per meal

Serving size is another important factor in the case for meal kit delivery services. Look for meal kits that offer a good selection of four-serving meals to get the most out of your subscription. Marley Spoon is a great pick if you want recipes that don't leave much empty space on the dinner plate.

Out of Marley Spoon's 100+ weekly recipe options, there's no shortage of large, family-friendly meals to pick out. We found that, compared to other meal kits like HelloFresh or Purple Carrot, Marley Spoon gives eaters more dinner for their dollar with larger portions per meal.

First-time Marley Spoon subscribers can save up to $235 off their first five boxes when signing up.

Marley Spoon, starting at $5 per serving