Sunbasket Meal Delivery Review

Overall Ranking

4/5

Overview

Cost

3.5/5

Recipe Variety

5/5

Ease of Use

4/5

Specialized Options

4.5/5

Sunbasket offers meals with organic and clean ingredients, chef-inspired recipes, and a wide variety of meal plans. We tried out a week of meals to see if it’s worth the money.

Editor's Note

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Note on COVID-19: Due to high demand, Sunbasket may experience delivery delays.

Sunbasket wants everyone to be so happy and healthy because of their meal choices that they shine like the sun. The little (or big) cynic inside me scoffs at such sentiment, but the realist in me saw the menu options, and after salivating for a moment or two, decided it was worth taking a closer look. Sunbasket offers meals with organic and clean ingredients, chef-inspired recipes from the award-winning culinary expert Justine Kelly, and a wide variety of meal plans to choose from. At first glance, Sunbasket seems like a great option. But what’s the catch? I signed up for a week of meal recipes to find out everything I could. Here’s the scoop.

How Sunbasket Works

Sunbasket is an easy to use meal kit delivery service. Signup is simple, picking your meals is simple, and deliveries are simple. You just go to the website and sign up. Add in your email address and choose a password (you can also sign in using Facebook, points for convenience). Now, pick a plan, including how many people you want to cook for, how many recipes you want for the week, which dietary preference you want (quick and easy, paleo, etc.), and which week you’re ordering for. Finally, add in your delivery and payment info to complete the process.

Nice and simple. Recipes, on the other hand, could use a little work. By that, I mean, I had to work a little too hard to get these meals ready. I know meal kits are a lot about the experience of cooking your own meal from scratch, and I’m all for that (mostly). But I don’t want to have to grate, chop, or press garlic. Most recipes require you to wash, peel, slice, and fry vegetables. And then the sauces are a whole other story. Maybe for someone else, this would be ok, but that’s a little too much hands-on for me.

When my box arrived, I was really happy to see how well-organized everything was. Unlike some services like EveryPlate, Sunbasket puts each recipe into its own bag, so there’s no confusion about which ingredients go with which recipe. The box also comes with a nice booklet with the recipes, colorful pictures, and full nutrition information.

As I already mentioned, putting together the meals was really complicated. I don’t want to slice apricots to make a sauce. That’s more work than I bargained for, and that took away from my experience a lot. But I should emphasize that many people enjoy and are actually looking forward to the cooking process. So, if that’s you, this won’t be a drawback.

At long last, I was ready to sit down to my meal. Of all the meals I tested, I think I liked the fettuccine alfredo with Italian salad the best. But everything I made came out really good, with lots of flavor, and a fun mix of tastes.

Sunbasket Options

Sunbasket earned full points for variety on all fronts. It’s got a huge selection of special dietary needs plans, so if you have a particular diet you’re following, health condition you need to cater to, or are just finicky about what you eat, you can probably get your fill from Sunbasket. Meal plan options include:

Carb-conscious
Gluten-free
Paleo
Mediterranean
Vegetarian
Vegan
Lean & clean
Diabetes-friendly
Pescatarian
Quick & Easy
Chefs Choice

That’s a really good variety of plans to choose from. You also get more than 24 different meals to choose from every single week. That is leagues above the rest of the competitors like Green Chef or BistroMD which only offers four to six meal options. Of course, a lot of the dishes overlap into different plans. For example, the chicken breast with salsa verde and succotash is on both the Lean & Clean and the Diabetes-Friendly menus. But that makes sense, and I don’t think it detracts from the wide variety of choices you get.

The menu options themselves are pretty exotic too, so you’re getting a real education in cultural cuisine. Menus change every week, but at the time that I was writing this review, here are a few of the impressive-sounding meals on offer (how it tastes I’ll get to shortly):

Seared steaks with bagna cauda, cauliflower, and radishes
Chilaquiles verde with fried eggs and queso fresco
Okonomiyaki savory pancakes with smoky flaked sole
Korean rice bowls with sticky sweet rice and barbeque chicken skewers

Just from reading the menu options (and looking at the pictures), you can tell that Sunbasket is trying to give you a taste from as many places around the world as possible. I like this idea. It opens your palette and gives you a chance to taste authentic, cultural cuisine from every corner of the globe without having to fork over the airfare. Nice.

Sunbasket also has a decent variety of add-on items like soups, snacks, salads, and dips. There’s an excellent spinach-artichoke dip that I love to eat with Doritos (is that against the rules?). Sunbasket also offers organic veggie packs and gluten-free crackers to dip into these spreads.

Sunbasket Costs

Here’s a breakdown of Sunbasket’s general pricing structure:

Price per serving for 2 people	$8.99 - $11.99
Price per serving for 4 people	$8.99
Number of recipes per week	2 - 4
Number of recipes you can choose from each week	18

Read More: Meal Delivery Comparison

Try Sunbasket - Get $90 Off + 4 Free Gifts across your first 4 deliveries. Free shipping on your first box!

Here’s where Sunbasket shines and where I thought I’d shed a little light on the shortcomings:

Sunbasket Pros and Cons

Recipes from award-winning chef — In terms of flavor, variety, and new and interesting tastes, Sunbasket really hits the spot. The meals are delicious and eclectic.
Organic produce and clean ingredients — If you’re looking for clean eating, this is the place. Sunbasket uses 100% organic, antibiotic and hormone free meats and eggs, and wild-caught seafood recommended by Best Choice or Good Alternative.
Lots of plans to meet special dietary needs — This is a good option for you if you're trying to stick to a specific type of diet plan. With all the options, your diet is bound to be covered.
Ingredients are pre-measured — Convenience, check. With all the chopping you have to do, you’re going to appreciate this slice of convenience.
Choose your own recipes or get the Chef Selections — Sometimes you feel like a nut, and sometimes you don't. When you're in the mood to be choosy, pick your own menu. When you don’t have the patience, let Sunbasket do it for you.

Doesn’t ship everywhere — Sunbasket ships to a lot of places, but not everywhere across the United States. You won’t be able to use this service if you live in Arkansas, Hawaii, Montana, and select areas in New Mexico.
More expensive than some competitors — Sunbasket uses all organic, recyclable, and fresh ingredients. So naturally, the cost of these meals is going to be higher than in other places. A service like EveryPlate offers meals for $4.99 a pop though, so you’d better really be committed to clean eating if you want to stomach this bill.

Who is Sunbasket Best For?

Sunbasket is an excellent choice if you are:

People who care about the environment and/or eating clean: Sunbasket is one of the most reliable, healthiest, and cleanest meal kit delivery services in the industry. All of the ingredients are responsibly sourced and as clean as you get. So, if this is a priority to you, Sunbasket is the way to go.
People with specific dietary needs: Sticking to a strict diet can be rough, but having a meal plan that caters to your dietary needs makes it a lot easier. Sunbaskets got the specialty menus you need to succeed.

Who it’s Not For

On the other hand, Sunbasket isn’t for you if:

You’re on a budget: These meals aren’t cheap.
You don’t like exotic: These meals are fun and zesty. If you like regular, run-of-the-mill, look elsewhere.

Bottom Line

Sunbasket has a good reputation in the industry, and after trying out the service, I can see why. The food is delicious, the variety is incomparable, and the ordering process is easy. It’s not the cheapest plan out there (it’s not the most expensive either, btw), so be ready to pay for top-quality ingredients, chef-inspired recipes, and hearty, healthy meals.

Try Sunbasket - Get $90 Off + 4 Free Gifts across your first 4 deliveries. Free shipping on your first box!

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