CookUnity Meal Delivery Service

Meal-kit delivery services with specialized menus are convenient and sometimes necessary, but the best ones serve as many people as possible. That’s especially true for prepared meal services like CookUnity that let you heat and eat with as little friction as possible. CookUnity ships a wide variety of delicious food to your door and doesn't require you to do much more than turn on your oven or stove. Only a few slight issues keep this excellent meal-kit delivery service from dethroning Fresh N Lean as our Editors’ Choice winner.

(Credit: CookUnity)

How Much Does CookUnity Cost?

CookUnity has many subscription plans. For example, you can order four meals per week to supplement your existing lifestyle, or order 16 meals per week to let the company completely replace your diet. The more meals you order, the less they cost. You can expect to pay between $11.09 and $13.59 per meal, which are reasonable prices for this category. Specialty meals may cost more. CookUnity also sells gift cards in round amounts from $5 to $500.

CookUnity lets you pick whatever food you want from the weekly menu, unlike Fresh N Lean which uses your selected guidelines to make its food delivery choices. CookUnity also lets you add extras, such as drinks, treats, and breakfast items for a few extra bucks. However, Fresh N Lean offers more customization options in the form of a la carte food and groceries. Editors’ Choice winner Hungryroot also sells groceries, while Factor has a la carte add-ons to go along with your meal selections. 

You must subscribe to CookUnity; you can’t purchase an individual box as you can with Balanced Bites or Veestro. On the upside, you can pause or adjust your plan whenever you want. Delivery is free, and CookUnity ships to most states in the US (except Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming). Type in your zip code when signing up to see if your area is covered. Your region also determines which menu items are available.

(Credit: CookUnity)

CookUnity’s Menu

Before you start choosing meals, CookUnity asks you about general preferences. Do you want poultry or pork? Seafood or vegetarian? You can skip this step, but it helps you narrow recommended options. And you’ll want those options narrowed because CookUnity has an incredibly vast and impressive menu. There are hundreds of choices.

From BBQ Chicken to Israeli Couscous to Lasagna Bolognese to Cajun Swai to Pancit Bihon With Chinese Sausage, CookUnity has many cuisine types. Like Editors’ Choice winner HelloFresh, CookUnity's menu is so large that you won't repeat a meal anytime soon. Some dishes may share common elements, but that’s just how food works.

You can continue filtering your search after setting your preferences to look for Keto or Paleo meals, or low-carb options that have less than 600 calories. Each meal includes ingredient descriptions and allergy notices. You can also read reviews left by the CookUnity community, and follow chefs for more meals. After all, CookUnty describes itself as a “chef collective.”

(Credit: PCMag)

CookUnity's Packaging

Traditional meal kits you cook yourself need big bags of raw ingredients, but fully prepared meal kits like CookUnity fit more food in less space. Instead of a box, CookUnity meals arrive in a hand-delivered, reusable tote bag. The fresh meals are chilled by a block of water-based cooling gel. You should freeze the meals if you don’t plan on eating them within a week.

The tote bag is compact and stylish, but it's annoying to get rid of. You’re supposed to leave the empty bag outside so your delivery person can pick it up when they drop off your new meals. However, this hand-off happens so quickly that you may end up with multiple empty bags lying around if you don't keep the exchange at the front of your mind. I would prefer cardboard boxes, which are easy to recycle. The meals' oven-safe cardboard packaging is thankfully easy to trash.

(Credit: PCMag)

Cooking and Eating With CookUnity

CookUnity offers the extremely easy and straightforward cooking experience you want from a prepared meal service. For months, my wife and I enjoyed kicking back for these meals, since we simply preheated the oven and slid in the tray (and maybe opened up a condiment packet). It’s that easy. Typing out this description requires more effort than the actual cooking process.

The tasty dinners we tried included Mexican Seafood Paella With Bay Scallops and Shrimp, as well as a really good Brazilian Fish Stew. The flavors were all on point, something you can’t always count on with fully prepared food. 

However, the portion sizes were a little inconsistent. The Grilled Naan Pizza Margherita was filling and provided leftovers, but we could have used one or two more Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes since they weren’t full-size offerings. The aforementioned stew could’ve been bigger, too, or had a better balance between stew and rice. CookUnity describes its meals as “small batch,” but I don’t think this is what that phrase means.

CookUnity Is an Excellent Meal-Kit Delivery Service

CookUnity has some flaws that slightly diminish its overall appeal, from finicky packages to portions that don’t always satisfy. However, its huge, high-quality menu makes it an excellent starting point for anyone interested in receiving prepared meals. It surpasses more niche services and gives Fresh N Lean some serious competition. We highly recommend it to people looking for delicious heat-and-eat meals.

Our other Editors’ Choice winners for meal-kit delivery include the educational Blue Apron and the vegetable-forward Green Chef. For more, read our picks on the best meal-planning apps.