Best Vegetarian Subscription Boxes

Best Overall: Purple Carrot

Why We Chose It: Purple Carrot uses organic, non-GMO ingredients whenever possible and places an emphasis on recyclable packaging.

What We Like

• - Delicious, plant-based meals from a changing menu with lots of options

What We Don’t Like

• - One of the more expensive subscription services

Purple Carrot serves up some delicious, plant-based recipes from a rotating weekly menu, with options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Start off by choosing a two- or four-serving plan and then pick how many meals you’d like each week. 

After that, simply choose what meals you’d like included in your box. For dinner, you can expect recipes like pan-roasted Brussels sprouts with Miso caramel and almond pilaf, or international dishes like roasted red pepper shakshuka or chickpea massaman curry. Breakfast or lunch items include mouthwatering recipes such as amaranth chocolate porridge (with mango and hazelnuts), or brown rice banh mi bowls. Add-on snacks like mushroom jerky, oat chocolate bars, and peanut butter truffles are also available.

Each meal’s calorie total, preparation time, and allergen information are clearly labeled. You can also set meal type preferences like gluten-free, high protein, or quick and easy. Breakfast meals are around $5, lunch items are about $9 and dinner meals are approximately $10 per serving. 

Best Budget: Imperfect Foods

Why We Chose It: The mission of Imperfect Foods is to “eliminate food waste and build a better food system for everyone.”

What We Like

• - Affordable pricing for fresh produce
• - Not a meal-based service

What We Don’t Like

• - Doesn't deliver nationwide

The concept behind Imperfect Foods is a noble one: Just because produce might not be photo-worthy, doesn’t mean it needs to go to waste.

Supermarkets reject produce (plus eggs, nuts, or other products) that are different sizes, colors, or shapes (and therefore less desirable). Despite physical imperfections, the products maintain taste and quality and can be delivered to your door for a fraction of the price. 

Imperfect Foods leaves the cooking to you: There’s no pre-measured ingredients or meals that you pop in the microwave—only fresh produce and other food items. Select the number of people in your household and the type of cuisine you are interested in (vegan, vegetarian, low-carb, or everything) and choose preferences such as organic, regular, or both. Then, customize the boxes by adding “meal packs” of snacks, grains, dairy, or fruits and vegetables. 

Pricing varies depending on what options you select. A strictly organic produce box is around $24 per week with 11 to 13 pounds of produce, while a regular produce box is roughly $16. Add-on “meal packs” range from about $7 to $10. 

Best Quick Prep: Veestro

Why We Chose It: Veestro's meals are packed in compostable cartons trays or recyclable BPA-free plastic pouches. Insulation is made with recycled paper.

What We Like

• - Easy, flexible plans prepared in just five minutes

What We Don’t Like

• - Fixed menu (without changing weekly options)

Veestro’s large menu and flexible plans make healthy cooking a breeze, plus there’s very little preparation, so it’s an ideal choice for those with busy schedules. All recipes are plant-based, with two meal plan options: a la carte or weight loss. Within each plan, you can also filter options based on dietary needs (nut-free, kosher, soy-free, etc.). 

With the a la carte plan, you simply select how many meals you want (10, 20, or 30) and delivery frequency (every week, two weeks, month, or a one-time delivery at a higher cost). Then, fill the box with the meals of your choice, with dinner selections like veggie lasagna, south Indian coconut stew, tortilla chili, and country-fried “chicken.”

There's also a range of breakfast options like breakfast burritos and a three-layer scramble. Each item has customer reviews, photos, and ingredients clearly marked, and all meals are delivered frozen and ready to go—so there’s no chopping or mixing ingredients.  

With a subscription, a la carte meals range from roughly $10 to 12 per meal. 

Best Organic: Green Chef

Why We Chose It: Green Chef is a USDA certified organic company that offsets 100% of its direct carbon emissions. In addition, the majority of the Green Chef packaging can be easily recycled.

What We Like

• - Reasonably priced, healthy, and organic meals
• - Some preparation required

What We Don’t Like

• - Menu consists entirely of dinners (no breakfast or snacks)

Although not entirely a vegetarian service, Green Chef aims to provide sustainable, organic meals from local artisan suppliers.

It has three distinct plans for meat-eaters, vegetarians, or Keto and Paleo diets, so it’s very easy to shop for vegetarian-only dishes (just choose the plant-powered plan). It’s also simple to add or change menu items weekly (but you can’t pick items from other plans). 

Begin by shopping for two, four, or six people, choose recipes you’d like, then select meals from the rotating weekly options (there are usually around nine to pick from). Expect classic favorites to have a vegetarian twist like the white bean salad sandwich (instead of chicken salad), black bean and mushroom enchiladas, or creamy corn and potato chowder. All of the required ingredients and cooking instructions are included in each item, with some basic dicing and chopping required. 

Pricing ranges from around $5 to $13 per serving (depending on serving size).