Sunbasket is a premade meal and meal kit delivery service that uses fresh, organic, and sustainable ingredients and recyclable and compostable packaging. Find out what our tester thought of Sunbasket.
This article explores what Sunbasket is, who may find the service helpful, its menu options, and potential health benefits. We also share our tester’s experience with Sunbasket and offer some alternatives.
Please note that the writer of this article has not tried these products. All information presented is purely research-based and was correct at the time of publication.
Medical News Today follows a strict product selection and vetting process. Learn more here.
To get started, a person selects two or more dinners from the weekly menu on the company’s website. They can also download its free app from Google Play or the App Store.
Meals are available in 2 or 4 servings. Beyond dinners, customers can add breakfasts, lunches, and snacks to their order before scheduling a delivery.
The order arrives cold-packed and includes cooking or heating instructions.
People can skip weeks or cancel their subscriptions at any time. To ensure this takes effect, they need to do so before 3 p.m. Eastern Time before the weekly cut-off date.
According to the company, meals can start at $9.99 per serving, and delivery is free for the first order.
What our tester thought about the sign-up process
Ren Dias tried Sunbasket’s keto menu. She shared that the sign-up process was easy, but the options were limited and may not suit larger families.
“Signing up with Sunbasket was easy and straightforward. They provide personalized options based on a questionnaire you take during the onboarding process.
“You can also choose how many dinners per week you need and how many people you feed per meal. The downside is that you can only choose 2 or 4 people, so it might not be suitable for larger families […] I like to order double servings so that I have leftovers for lunch the next day. I wish I could choose 5 or 6 servings.
“Additionally, they didn’t use the servings or dinners per week from the questionnaire to automatically apply how many servings are added to your cart. Instead, I had to manually add more meal kits to my cart to get as many servings as I needed.
“Sunbasket also includes “premade meals.” Keep in mind that the premade meals only serve one person each.
“For me, the biggest downside was the low visibility into which meal options fit my dietary preferences. I assumed all meals that were available to choose from were applicable. However, only the “Picked For You” meals were applicable to my needs. This could potentially lead to people getting meals that aren’t safe or appropriate for them.”
People with little time to shop and cook might wish to try a meal delivery service.
Sunbasket has various plans that cater to different diets:
- Paleo: These meals are high in protein and contain no dairy, gluten, grains, soy, or corn.
- Carb-Conscious: This plan’s meals contain a maximum of 35 grams (g) of carbohydrates per serving and are rich in protein.
- Gluten-Free: These meals contain wheat alternatives.
- Lean & Clean: These contain whole foods, and each serving has fewer than 600 calories.
- Diabetes-Friendly: This meal plan relies on recipes with approval from the American Diabetes Association.
- Chef’s Choice: These are a selection of seasonal meals.
- Vegetarian: Meals in this plan contain no meat, poultry, or seafood.
- Pescatarian: These have neither meat nor poultry but contain wild-caught seafood.
- Mediterranean: These contain whole grains, healthy fats, wild-caught seafood, and responsibly sourced meats.
- Quick & Easy: Meals in this plan take under 20 minutes to prepare.
Alongside its meal plans, Sunbasket has an à la carte menu.
If a person prefers a premade meal to a meal kit, they can opt for the company’s Fresh & Ready plan.
Our tester’s thoughts about the dietary options
Despite trying the keto menu, Dias mentioned that some of her meals were not keto-friendly as the choices were limited. In her experience, there were not many meal choices for each diet requirement.
“The “Picked for Me” only included one meal kit that met my needs (keto, low sodium, low added sugar). With no dietary preferences selected, you can find a good variety of ingredients, flavor combinations, and cuisines. They included Asian, Pakistani, Moroccan, and Costa Rican cuisines, among others. However, if you follow a keto diet, I don’t believe Sunbasket is a sustainable option for more than 1 to 2 meals per week.
“Because Sunbasket touts itself as organic, responsibly sourced, quality ingredients, I didn’t expect the low sodium or low added sugar preferences to interfere with the number of meals available.
“Sunbasket listed whether the meal was keto-friendly, its added sugar content, and its sodium content. However, it was in a small, light gray font and easily missed. It would list allergens in red — and I wish they noted in red if the meal wasn’t keto-friendly so it would easily stand out.”
The company says that its chef designs all its meals to be nutritious and taste great.
Sunbasket advertises that all its ingredients are in season, which ensures freshness, and all its sauces and seasonings are made in-house.
The company says that its insulated packaging and airtight bags for meats help everything stay fresh.
What our tester said about meal quality and taste
Our tester noted that while most of “the ingredients were in good shape,” some were not up to standard.
“Most of the tomatoes had freezer-burn spots, likely from sitting atop the ice pack for shipping. Only one tomato was still in good shape. My husband and toddler were willing to eat the freezer-burnt ones, but I’m picky with my tomatoes and didn’t eat them.
“Some of the green beans were a little browned, so I opted not to cook them. However, a significant amount remained in good shape.”
Dias shared her thoughts about some of the individual dishes:
- Chicken and Gnocchi “Dumplings” with Seasoned Vegetables: Dias shared that this was the prepared meal and it was more filling than it seemed. Despite adding extra seasoning, she said: “The taste was still a little bland, but better than other prepared meals I’ve had before. The texture was a little off putting. It was like it had been cooked in a pressure cooker or overcooked, where everything was mushy.”
- Spiced Pakistani Beef Keema with Potatoes, Green Beans, and Tomatoes: “I did not add any additional seasonings or ingredients and was happy with the result. The only downside for me was that it took way too long to prep the ingredients, so the overall cooking time took over an hour.”
- Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili With Avocado: “I didn’t add any additional seasonings or ingredients and was happy with the result, but my husband said it could’ve used more spice and some cheese. This one took much less time to prep, and it was all cooked in one pot.”
While menu options may change weekly, some examples from the company’s menus are below.
Breakfast
Sunbasket offers a variety of breakfast options to suit many diets. Some choices include:
Previously, Sunbasket offered Egg Bites, Spinach and Feta, Cornmeal Crust Hand Pie, and Dark Chocolate Overnight Oats.
Lunch
Some options for lunch include:
Fresh & Ready meals
These are premade meals that a person can heat up in as little as 4 minutes. They include:
- meat and rice
- various types of pasta
- tacos
- vegetables and noodles
Below are two options the company may offer in the Fresh & Ready line:
Meal kits
If a person prefers to prepare a meal from a kit, some options may include:
- Korean Beef Bulgogi
- Blazin’ Balinese Chicken Salad
- Blueberry-Apricot Pork Chops
- Chicken and Spanish Rice
- Seven-Spice Turkey Burgers
- Salmon Farro Bowls
- Tempeh Falafel Lettuce Cups
- Black Bean and Quinoa Bowls
Snacks
Sunbasket offers a variety of snacks, such as:
- Marcona Almonds
- Roasted Indonesian Cashews, Chili-Lime Leaf
- Paleo Sea Salt Crackers
- Cauliflower Crisps
- cheeses
- chocolate and nut bars and bites
- sweet treats, including cheesecake and truffles
- jerky
- vegetables and dips
Add-ons such as these are priced individually.
A note about Sunbasket meal choices
The above meal and snack options are examples only. Sunbasket meal choices may change weekly. The company reportedly uses seasonal farm-fresh ingredients to craft its meals, so the options may also vary depending on the season.
To find out what this week’s menu choices are, visit the Sunbasket website.
Many Sunbasket meals have entirely portioned ingredients, and most take 30 minutes or less to prepare.
A person can also find premade meals that they reheat in as little as 4 minutes.
Other research suggests that most adults in the United States do not consume enough fruits or vegetables per day and that teenagers
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If a person’s goal is to maintain a moderate weight, they may benefit from having a balanced diet and getting regular exercise.
A meal subscription service may save time, but it can be expensive. A less costly but still convenient solution involves batch cooking — making big meals once per week and having servings throughout the week.
Another option is developing a weekly meal plan. This can save time by considerably limiting trips to the store.
A doctor or nutritionist can suggest ways to make a meal plan healthier. People can also try recommended recipes from health organizations such as the
If a person is interested in a meal delivery service, they might also consider:
- HelloFresh: This is suitable for people with vegetarian or omnivorous diets, including people counting calories. The company’s kits have easy-to-follow recipes and portioned ingredients that a person can store in the refrigerator. Individuals can swap recipes or cancel the service at any time.
- Daily Harvest: This meal kit delivery service says its recipes rely heavily on fruits and vegetables and contain no fillers, gums, gluten, or dairy. Most ingredients are organic and suitable for people with vegan diets.
- Splendid Spoon: This company provides ready-to-eat, plant-based smoothies, soups, and grain bowls for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A person can choose from various plans.
- Blue Apron: This meal kit delivery service has chef-designed recipes and portioned ingredients to help reduce food waste. Its ice packs and packaging are recyclable.
- Purple Carrot: This plant-based service offers meal kits and premade meals.
Sunbasket is a meal delivery service that prioritizes organic and sustainable options. It provides meal kits and premade meals for a range of diets.
Meal delivery services can be expensive. Cooking in batches or having a healthy, varied weekly meal plan may be a less expensive way to make grocery shopping and meal preparation quick and convenient.
