Territory, Factor, Mosaic Foods, and Cook Unity deliver ready-to-eat meals that save time without sacrificing quality, taste, or dietary flexibility
The average American spends 37 minutes daily preparing, serving, and cleaning up meals a reality that’s even less appealing when you’re stuck in a cooking rut. For anyone feeling that pull toward spending less time meal planning and grocery shopping, prepared meal delivery services offer a legitimate solution. Unlike meal kits requiring assembly, these services deliver fully prepared, ready-to-eat meals that arrive on your doorstep. Heat, eat, and move on with your life.
The market is flooded with options, making selection overwhelming. That’s where real testing comes in. After evaluating dozens of services based on cost, flavor, dietary flexibility, packaging sustainability, and ease of preparation, four standouts emerged as genuinely worth your money and time.
Territory: The Best Overall Option
Territory combines nutritionist input with creative recipes from local chefs, producing meals in localized commercial kitchens across the country. The result feels personal, fresh, and thoughtfully constructed. All meals arrive without refined sugar, dairy, or gluten a fact so well-executed that testers didn’t notice or miss these ingredients. Nobody complained about flavor or texture.
Territory offers 40-plus menu options weekly, with extensive filtering for Paleo, Whole30, keto, Mediterranean, low-carb, low-calorie, and plant-based preferences. Some meals are ready to eat cold; most microwave in minutes according to package instructions. Meals start at $11 each, with weekly deliveries of eight meals costing $130 before shipping (flat $11 charge in most regions, though national shipping can range $12-$18).
The real win? Testers found themselves reaching for Territory meals instead of ordering takeout on busy nights. Taste scored an 8/10. Most packaging is recyclable. For anyone wanting fresh, healthy meals without exotic flavors or extreme price tags, Territory hits the sweet spot.
Factor: Best for Keto and Protein Goals
If you’re maintaining a keto diet or obsessed with protein intake but bored with plain chicken at every meal, Factor delivers. The service specializes in flavorful dishes spanning Tex-Mex, Indian, Thai, and beyond all engineered for keto, carb-conscious, vegan/vegetarian, calorie-smart, and protein-plus categories.
Factor offers 35-plus weekly options, with meals starting at $11 each. A box of 12 meals costs approximately $143.88 with shipping included. Most meals microwave in under three minutes. À la carte options include breakfasts, snacks, smoothies, and fully cooked protein portions useful if you want to customize your week.
The value proposition is clear: fresh meals (never frozen), extensive dietary filtering, breakfast through dessert options, and cold-pressed juices available. The tradeoff? No family-size meals, and prices vary depending on selection. For someone serious about protein and tired of monotonous flavors, Factor works exceptionally well.
Mosaic Foods: Best for Plant-Based Eaters
Mosaic Foods targets vegan, vegetarian, and plant-based dieters with 40-plus menu choices weekly. Options include smoothies, family-size oven-ready meals, and veggie bowls, all filterable by wheat-free, nut-free, and no-sugar-added preferences.
Meals start at $6 each, with a box of 12 running approximately $129.88 including shipping. Most microwave in under five minutes; family meals are oven-ready but require about an hour heating time. The company offers a “100% Guarantee” if you don’t love the meals, you get a full refund, no questions asked.
Taste scored a 6/10 respectable rather than revelatory. Testers noted better results heating meals in a skillet on the stovetop rather than microwaving. The standout feature? 100% of packaging is either curbside recyclable or made from post-consumer recycled fiber. For plant-based dieters prioritizing sustainability and affordability, Mosaic delivers.
Cook Unity: Best for Gourmet Aspirations
Cook Unity operates differently chef-crafted from 60+ chefs offering ever-changing global flavors. Think American, Indian, Vietnamese, Italian, West African, and everything between. Testers were genuinely blown away.
With over 100 weekly menu options and filtering for Paleo, keto, Mediterranean, gluten-free, pescatarian, omnivore, vegetarian, and vegan, selection is essentially unlimited. Meals start at $11.19 each, with a box of 12 costing roughly $135 including variable shipping. Most meals microwave in under four minutes.
Taste scored a perfect 10/10. The fresh, high-quality ingredients and flavor diversity were remarkable. Even notoriously difficult-to-reheat seafood arrived intact and delicious. The tradeoff? Cook Unity is pricey. But if you want meals that genuinely impress your palate, this is where you invest.
Choosing Your Service
All four services deliver on their promises differently. Territory wins on balance and sustainability. Factor excels at protein and keto. Mosaic serves plant-based dieters affordably. Cook Unity delivers gourmet experiences. Your choice depends on priorities: budget, dietary needs, taste preferences, and sustainability concerns. Test one for a few weeks. The risk is minimal; the reward is reclaiming 37 minutes daily.
