Nutrition editorGoing vegetarian doesn’t mean giving up the convenience of a meal-kit box. Several of the biggest meal-delivery brands now run a dedicated vegetarian plan, not just an occasional meat-free recipe tucked into a mixed menu. The difference matters: a dedicated plan means every box defaults to meat-free, while a filter just narrows down a bigger menu you’d otherwise have to sort through yourself.
We compared six services that actually deliver on vegetarian cooking, from fully plant-based kits to budget-friendly boxes with a solid veggie rotation. If you want the short answer first: HelloFresh has the broadest weekly vegetarian selection, Purple Carrot is the only 100% plant-based option, Green Chef is the one to pick for certified organic produce, and EveryPlate is the cheapest way to try a vegetarian meal kit.
Best Vegetarian Meal Delivery Services at a Glance
| Service | Price/Serving | Vegetarian Format | Shipping | Plan Sizes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HelloFresh | $9.49–$11.49 | Dedicated Veggie Plan | $10.99 flat | 2–6 servings, 2–5 meals/week |
| Green Chef | $11.99–$15.99 | Vegetarian filter + USDA organic | $9.99–$10.99 | 2–4 servings, 2–4 meals/week |
| Purple Carrot | $11.00–$13.25 | 100% plant-based menu | $12 flat, free over $100 | 2–4 servings, 2–4 meals/week |
| Blue Apron | $9.99 | Dedicated Vegetarian Plan | $9.99 flat | 2 servings, 2–3 meals/week |
| Home Chef | $7.99–$9.99 | Vegetarian filter + protein swap | $10.99 flat | 2–6 servings, 2–6 meals/week |
| EveryPlate | $5.99–$7.49 | Veggie category filter | $10.99 flat | 2–4 servings, 2–5 meals/week |
HelloFresh: Best Overall for Vegetarians
HelloFresh Veggie Plan
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Price per serving | $9.49–$11.49 (about $0.50 above the Classic Plan) |
| Weekly vegetarian recipes | Multiple dedicated Veggie Plan recipes, rotating weekly |
| Shipping | $10.99 flat |
| Plan sizes | 2–6 servings, 2–5 meals/week |
| Diet options | Vegetarian (dedicated plan), also Calorie Smart, Pescatarian, Quick & Easy |
HelloFresh runs a separate Veggie Plan alongside its Classic and other diet plans, which means every recipe in the box defaults to meat-free instead of relying on you to filter a mixed menu each week. It costs a little more per serving than the Classic Plan, but the trade-off is a menu built specifically around vegetables, grains, and plant proteins rather than meat dishes with the protein swapped out. The recipe library is also the largest of any service on this list, so the weekly rotation rarely repeats.
Where it falls short: HelloFresh isn’t vegan by default, so dairy and eggs show up often, and a handful of Veggie Plan recipes lean carb-heavy on pasta or rice. If you want zero animal products without manually screening every recipe, Purple Carrot is the better fit.
Green Chef: Best for Certified Organic Produce
Green Chef Vegetarian & Plant-Based
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Price per serving | $11.99–$15.99 (varies by plan size) |
| Weekly vegetarian recipes | 9 vegetarian recipes/week, plus a Plant-Based option |
| Shipping | $9.99–$10.99 |
| Plan sizes | 2–4 servings, 2–4 meals/week |
| Diet options | Vegetarian, Plant-Based, Keto, Paleo, Gluten-Free (filter-based) |
Green Chef is the only USDA-certified organic meal-kit service in the US, and that certification carries through to its vegetarian recipes. Nine vegetarian options rotate through the weekly menu, and you can mix in fully plant-based (vegan) meals from the same filter if you want some boxes stricter than others. It’s the pick if pesticide-free, non-GMO produce matters more to you than shaving dollars off the per-serving price.
Cost is the catch: Green Chef prices at or above the top of this list, and the flat shipping fee applies no matter how large your order is. If organic certification isn’t a priority, HelloFresh or EveryPlate deliver more vegetarian variety per dollar.
Purple Carrot: Best Fully Plant-Based Option
Purple Carrot Meal Kits
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Price per serving | $11.00–$13.25 (lower per-serving cost on the 4-serving plan) |
| Weekly vegetarian recipes | Entire menu (100% plant-based, no filtering needed) |
| Shipping | $12 flat, free on orders over $100 |
| Plan sizes | 2–4 servings, 2–4 meals/week; also single-serve Ready-to-Eat meals |
| Diet options | Chef’s Choice, High Protein, Quick & Easy, Gluten-Free (all vegan) |
There’s no meat-based menu to filter here. Every single recipe is vegan, so there’s no risk of dairy or eggs sneaking into a box by accident. That makes it the simplest choice if you’re vegetarian by way of eating vegan, or if you’d rather not audit ingredient lists every week. Beyond meal kits, it also sells Ready-to-Eat single-serve meals and grocery add-ons, which is useful if you want some no-prep nights mixed into a cooking-focused week.
Since everything is vegan, Purple Carrot isn’t the right fit if you’re vegetarian but still eat dairy and eggs regularly and want recipes built around them (a cheese-forward pasta, for example), HelloFresh’s Veggie Plan or Blue Apron’s Vegetarian Plan will feel less restrictive for that kind of cooking.
Blue Apron: Best Dedicated Vegetarian Plan for Couples
Blue Apron Vegetarian Plan
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Price per serving | $9.99 |
| Weekly vegetarian recipes | 2–3 recipes/week on the Vegetarian Plan (13+ veg-tagged recipes across the full weekly menu) |
| Shipping | $9.99 flat (free with Blue Apron+ membership) |
| Plan sizes | 2 servings per recipe, 2 or 3 recipes/week |
| Diet options | Vegetarian (dedicated plan), Signature, Wellness |
Like HelloFresh and Green Chef, Blue Apron offers a standalone Vegetarian Plan rather than just a filter on its Signature menu, so switching to it changes what shows up in your box without any extra filtering. It’s priced identically to its Signature plan per serving, so there’s no vegetarian premium here, and the recipes lean toward produce-forward dishes like mushroom grilled cheese or lentil-stuffed peppers rather than meat-dish substitutions. For a closer look at how it stacks up outside the vegetarian angle, see our full Blue Apron vs. HelloFresh comparison.
Households of four won’t find a matching plan size yet, since the Vegetarian Plan is built for couples (2 servings per recipe), and its weekly recipe count trails HelloFresh’s Veggie Plan. If you’re cooking for four or want more weekly variety, HelloFresh scales better.
Home Chef: Most Flexible Customization
Home Chef Vegetarian Recipes
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Price per serving | $7.99–$9.99 base (Family Plan vs. 2-person plan); protein-swap upcharges from $2.99 to $17.99 |
| Weekly vegetarian recipes | About 3–5 tagged recipes/week, plus an Impossible or no-protein swap on select dishes |
| Shipping | $10.99 flat |
| Plan sizes | 2–6 servings, 2–6 meals/week |
| Diet options | No dedicated vegetarian plan; filter + per-recipe protein swap |
Home Chef doesn’t run a separate vegetarian plan, but it makes up for that with customization: vegetarian recipes are marked with a leaf icon each week, and several meat-based dishes can be swapped to a no-protein or Impossible Burger version instead. That flexibility is useful if only some people in your household are vegetarian, since you can mix meat and meat-free recipes in the same order rather than committing the whole box to one diet. Our Home Chef vs. HelloFresh review covers the customization system in more depth.
Three to five tagged recipes a week is workable, but it’s a smaller dedicated selection than HelloFresh, Green Chef, or Blue Apron offer. Home Chef’s ingredient packaging also isn’t allergen-certified, so anyone with a serious food allergy on top of a vegetarian diet should check individual ingredient labels rather than relying on the leaf icon alone.
EveryPlate: Cheapest Vegetarian Meal Kit
EveryPlate Veggie Recipes
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Price per serving | $5.99–$7.49 |
| Weekly vegetarian recipes | Veggie category within roughly 36 weekly recipes |
| Shipping | $10.99 flat |
| Plan sizes | 2–4 servings, 2–5 meals/week |
| Diet options | Veggie, Smart & Fit, Quick & Easy, Family Faves (filter-based) |
EveryPlate is the budget option on this list by a wide margin, often landing close to grocery-store prices once shipping is factored in. Its Veggie filter pulls from a weekly rotation of around 36 total recipes, so the meat-free selection is smaller in absolute terms than HelloFresh’s, but the price gap is large enough that it’s still the best value if cost is the deciding factor. The trade-off is that EveryPlate skips extras like recipe customization tiers and organic sourcing to keep costs down, and its vegetarian recipes run more carb-heavy on average than the other services here.
Dedicated Plan vs. Filter vs. Fully Plant-Based: What Actually Matters
The six services here split into three real structural categories, and picking the right one matters more than comparing prices alone:
- Dedicated vegetarian plan (HelloFresh Veggie Plan, Green Chef Vegetarian, Blue Apron Vegetarian Plan): every box defaults to meat-free. Best if you’re consistently vegetarian and don’t want to double-check each week’s menu.
- 100% plant-based, no filter needed (Purple Carrot): every recipe is vegan, which also satisfies vegetarian by default. Best if you eat vegan or close to it.
- Opt-in filter on a mixed menu (Home Chef, EveryPlate): vegetarian recipes exist within a larger meat-inclusive menu. Best if only part of your household is vegetarian, or you want to switch between meat and meat-free weeks.
How to Choose the Right Vegetarian Meal Kit
Pick HelloFresh if: you want the widest vegetarian recipe variety and don’t mind paying a small premium over the Classic Plan.
Pick Green Chef if: certified organic ingredients are worth paying the most per serving on this list.
Pick Purple Carrot if: you eat vegan (or close to it) and want a menu with zero risk of dairy or eggs.
Pick Blue Apron if: you’re cooking for two and want a dedicated vegetarian plan priced the same as its regular menu.
Pick Home Chef if: your household mixes vegetarian and meat eaters and you want protein-swap flexibility.
Pick EveryPlate if: price is the deciding factor and you’re comfortable with a smaller weekly vegetarian selection.
Cooking for a mix of vegetarians and meat-eaters at a family gathering? Our Factor vs. HelloFresh comparison and the UK-focused Mindful Chef review cover two more meal-delivery formats worth knowing about.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is HelloFresh good for vegetarians?
Yes. HelloFresh runs a dedicated Veggie Plan with a rotating weekly menu of meat-free recipes, priced about $0.50 per serving above its Classic Plan. It’s not vegan by default, so dairy and eggs appear regularly.
Is Purple Carrot vegan or vegetarian?
Purple Carrot’s entire menu is 100% plant-based (vegan), which automatically satisfies a vegetarian diet as well. There’s no separate vegetarian tier since every recipe qualifies.
What is the cheapest vegetarian meal kit?
EveryPlate is the least expensive option on this list, with per-serving prices between $5.99 and $7.49 plus a flat $10.99 shipping fee, filtered through its Veggie recipe category.
Can you order a vegetarian-only meal kit box?
Yes, with HelloFresh, Green Chef, or Blue Apron, since all three run a standalone vegetarian plan that defaults every recipe to meat-free. Purple Carrot goes further by defaulting every recipe to vegan. Home Chef and EveryPlate instead offer a vegetarian filter within a broader, meat-inclusive menu.
