Finding the time to plan, prepare, and cook your meals can be quite a stressful task in 2021. The introduction of meal delivery services like Sun Basket, Blue Apron, or Home Chef has made this process much more convenient. However, is this meal kit service subscription worth it? Does it benefit you?
Our team at the meal kit comparison loves meal kits and had the pleasure of testing and tasting most services out there.
This review examined the Sunbasket service to determine whether it delivers what it promises. Keep reading if you want to find out whether Sun Basket meal kit and specifically their prepared oven-ready meal options is something you should consider for you and your family.
What is the Sun Basket Fresh and Ready Meals?
Sun Basket meal delivery service offers two types of meal options: fresh-ready meals and various meal kits. Today we are focusing on Fresh and Ready prepared meals.
This is a quick meal plan that helps you prepare food at home in no time, as all the cooking and prepping are done for you. Specifically speaking, the meals are claimed to be ready in ten minutes or under. These meals are prepared with various flavors and do not require any ingredients chopping or cleaning up. You simply have to heat and eat the meal. The different options can be heated in either an oven or microwave.
Who Does Sun Basket Prepared Meals Cater to?
Sun Basket is a versatile meal delivery service that caters to people who need a quick solution to make sure that they eat healthy meals throughout the week. The Sunbasket meal-kit box will arrive once a week in a proper box with an ice-pack to keep the foods cool and safe through delivery. You just need to put the paper bags in the fridge.
Sunbasket prepared meal kits can be perfect for families, people who live on their own, and students. However, on a very tight budget, students may not find this service practical due to the cost factor.
Sunbasket meals are also suitable for people who follow specific diets, like gluten-free diet, soy-free diet, dairy-free diet, and vegetarian diet.
If you feel that there just are not enough hours in a day, you should look into this easy-to-make meal delivery option. With no prep time and cooking required, what could be a more convenient way to get all your nutrients in for the day?
Offered Sun Basket Meal Plans
You can choose between quite a few meal plans. If you are looking for prepared meal kits, then the Fresh and Ready option is the only plan available currently.
The meal kits are designed for two people per meal. The most popular plan is three meals per week – a total of six servings per week. But you do have the flexibility to take more meals per week, or more servings per meal, as you wish.
If you are looking for regular meal kits (with many speedy and pre-prepared options), then you are spoilt for choice. Sunbasket offers the following meal kits that cater to people with different dietary needs:
- Chef’s Choice – Leave the decisions to the team of trusted chefs. This kit contains a few of the healthy favorites. You can expect to find fresh organic ingredients, top quality, and great flavors in this kit.
- Gluten-Free – Gluten-free does not mean you have to eat bland food. There is a fantastic range of food alternatives in this plan.
- Lean and Clean – Just as the name suggests, you can find healthy food options in this plan. Each serving contains approximately 550 calories per serving. These meals, which are high in protein and fiber, still offer a great deal of flavor while watching your weight. This is a dairy-free and gluten-free plan.
- Paleo – Do you feel like it is time to cut down on the carbs? If you want to incorporate more vegetables and meat into your diet, this is ideal. This is all about high-quality protein and fresh organic produce; therefore, there is no corn, gluten, dairy, soy, or grains in this kit.
- Pescatarian – Sustainably sourced seafood is so in! There are a wide variety of delicious meals that can be prepared with fresh produce and rich seafood. The benefits provided by this plan are similar to those of a vegetarian diet.
- Vegetarian – If you need to get more creative with your vegetable intake, this is the perfect plan! This plan is all about vibrance, freshness, and organically produced goodness. It is also possible to get a vegan meal.
- Carb-Conscious – There is no need to be tracking your carb intake when it comes to this plan. Enjoy your food without trying to do all sorts of calculations in your head. It is stated that these meals have 35g net or fewer carbs per serving.
- Mediterranean – If you crave the rich and delicious flavors and tastes associated with the Mediterranean diet, then this is the plan for you. The kits incorporate fresh herbs, healthy fats, seasonal veggies, wholesome grains, and delicious lean clean meats with a relatively low-calorie count per serving.
- Diabetes-Friendly – If you need to manage your diet due to diabetes, you no longer have to worry. Precise measurements and quantities have been used in the preparation of these meals.
As you can see, Sun Basket does provide healthy options for people who follow different lifestyles. A similarity between all these plans is that you get wholesome, nutritious meals.
Benefits of Sun Basket Fresh and Ready Meals
The advantages of these Sunbasket meals include:
Healthy eating made easy
Fresh organic ingredients are used in any serving.
Time-saving
You don’t need meal planning, grocery store visits, preparation time, or cooking, as the meals are pre-prepped and pre-cooked. Each Sunbasket meal arrives in an oven-safe tray for extra convenience.
Wide variety
You are spoilt with a variety of flavors and recipe options every week.
Different portion sizes
Sunbasket offers meal plans to feed two people or four people, as you choose!
Flexible meal delivery service
Order one-time, skip a week of delivery when needed, or cancel at any time without commitment.
Diet-Friendly meals every week
Many meals support different diet needs like gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, carb-conscious, vegetarian, low-calorie count per serving options, and more.
100% money-back guarantee
If you’re not happy with your meals, you can get your money back, simply by contacting customer support within a week after delivery.
Are Sun Basket Oven-Ready Meal Options Actually Healthy?
Health is a priority at Sun Basket. The company strives to produce high-quality, sustainable proteins, nutritious organic produce, healthy fats, and whole grains.
Moreover, dietitians approve all the chef-designed meals and ingredients used by the company.
The health factor is emphasized by the quality ingredients and level of sustainability adopted by the company. Hence, we can confirm that the Sunbasket oven-ready meals are healthy as can be.
What Kind of Meals is Offered on the Sun Basket Fresh and Ready Menu?
The Fresh and Ready menu does offer a diverse range of meals that are organic and fresh. The food is chef-prepared and rich in flavors. The in-house dietitians also approve all the meals. You can expect a restaurant or take-out quality meals with this specific plan.
The culinary style of the fresh ready meals range; you can find Asian-style meals, pasta meals, Tex-Mex options, and so much more.
Our Personal Sun Basket Fresh Ready Meals Review
As part of our in-depth review process, we make sure to go through the order process and taste meals from each meal kit delivery service menu we review.
With Sunbasket, we found the menu to be quite versatile. It offers various ready to heat and eat meals that are suitable for people with different dietary needs.
We tested out a few of the meals to provide an accurate review of what you can expect. The meals that we tasted are:
Beef Chili with Cheddar and Greek yogurt
We LOVED this delicious Mexican-inspired meal that provides so many mouthwatering flavors; beef, fire-roasted tomatoes, and, surprise- a bit of ground Mexican chocolate for that special chef’s touch!
This meal is suitable for people who follow soy-free, gluten-free, and carb-conscious diets, and it is also relatively low on calorie-count, with only 600 calories per serving.
The meal is delivered fresh and never frozen, but It can be frozen for longer shelf life and heated either in the microwave or oven. It took us about 20 minutes to heat in a regular oven, and you can reduce this time to less than 10 minutes by using a microwave oven.
Creamy Mushroom Penne with Baby Spinach and Almonds
We 100% recommend this delicious vegetarian fresh-ready meal that requires no preparation or cooking at all. We just throw it into the oven for 8 minutes – and set to eat it.
The mushrooms’ hearty meat-like taste and rich cream sauce were excellent, and what took this meal to the next level is the fresh baby spinach tossed to the penne mixture fresh just before serving. It truly does taste good and comforting – great for a cold evening when you need comfort food.
Japanese Udon and Roasted Vegetables in Tamari-Curry Broth
These fresh ready bowls of noodles are another fantastic and filling meal. Great for vegans and vegetarians, but also light regular-diet dinner when you want the night off. Plus, it’s only 390 calories per serving!
The tamari-curry sauce was delicate and delicious, and the roasted vegetables – carrots, zucchini, hearts of palm, onion, and mushrooms – complement each other very well. If you’re in the mood for comfort food, then there’s nothing like a bowl full of noodles. This is a meal that we would want to taste again!
Other Highly Rated Sun Basket Oven-Ready Dishes
There are plenty of highly recommended Sunbasket fresh-ready meal options that are easy to make. If you want to give it a go, here are eight recommended meal options you should try:
- Butter chicken with basmati rice pilaf – gluten-free and soy-free-meal.
- Thai chicken curry and jasmine rice with peas
- Turkey Bolognese with spaghetti – soy-free and family-friendly meal.
- Spicy southwestern turkey and sweet potato skillet – paleo, soy-free, and dairy-free meal.
- Rainbow quinoa – black bean tacos with guacamole and cabbage slaw.
- Shrimp paella with fire-roasted tomatoes and bell pepper – gluten-free and dairy-free meal.
- Cauliflower macaroni and cheese – vegetarian, soy-free, kid-friendly meal.
- French cassoulet with an arugula salad and your choice of protein to add.
Bottom Line – Are Sun Basket Prepared Meals Worth the Money?
Simply put – YES, Sun Basket prepared meal kits are most definitely worth the money!
Sunbasket essentially offers everything that one would look for in a meal kit delivery service. The Fresh Ready dishes are a unique type of meal kit subscription, as not many other meal kit companies offer meals that are ready to make in the oven or microwave, with no cooking requirements.
It is an excellent way of eating healthy meals that require no meal planning, grocery shopping, or cooking. You can rest assure you are getting good value for your money with quality organic and sustainable ingredients.
Like many people, if you are looking for convenience and healthy food options, there is no reason not to subscribe to the Sunbasket meal delivery service right away. It receives a thumbs up from us!
FAQ
Starting your subscription with Sun Basket is convenient as there is no commitment. The registration process is relatively simple (via the website or app), as you only have to provide necessary information.
Choosing a meal plan is also flexible. You do not have to get the same plan continually. You can switch between different plans as long as it is done before the weekly deadline.
You can also choose your meals for a few weeks ahead, and you can even see detailed information on each meal if you wish (like the ingredient list, calorie-count, carbs, fats, etc.).
Skipping a week of delivery is also possible if you schedule everything appropriately. It is essential to mention that you are free to cancel your subscription at any time.
Sun Basket delivers to various regions in the United States, such as San Francisco. Zipcodes excluded from the service include AK, MT, ND, HI, and specific NM areas.
Delivery is done according to your schedule between Sunday to Thursday. This may differ depending on the area you are based in. The process is extremely convenient as the meal kits are delivered directly to your door.
Freshness could be a concern with regards to delivery; however, the company does utilize packaging that sustains the freshness of the meal kits throughout the journey.
There are a few options you can choose between when it comes to meal kit services. If you are looking for various meal delivery service companies that offer pre-prepped oven-ready meal options, there are a few different options. Sun Basket’s main competitors include Freshly, Freshly Fit, Home Chef, and Factor 75.
There are different types of meals available when you choose Sun Basket meal kit delivery service. Cooking times range anywhere from 6 to 30 minutes.
The menu offers healthy meals to support many dietary restrictions – gluten-free, dairy-free and plant-based, diabetics-friendly, vegan and vegetarian, carb-conscious, low-calorie, and more.
The kinds of meal types include in the Sunbasket meal delivery menu:
- Fresh-Ready meals – These simply require heating and eating.
- Classic Meal Kits – If you are looking for restaurant-quality food in the comfort of your home, then Sun Basket has you covered. Most of these recipes only take 30-40 minutes.
- Chef’s Choice Meal Kits – Do you have a date night or dinner party coming up? If you are looking to go above and beyond, these are the kind of meal kit recipes to try.
- Pre-Prepped Meal Kits – The preparation process is not for everyone. This type of meal is ideal for the person who wants to avoid all the measuring, chopping, and flavoring. Adding the finishing touches is the only task left to you.
- Other add ons – prepared proteins like chicken breast, pork chops, seafood, organic fresh pasta and Sunbasket sauces, breakfast, lunch bowls, fresh organic juices, healthy gluten-free snacks, and more – all organic and clean.
You can rest easy knowing that Sun Basket is organic and certified. The company does have a minimum of 99% USDA-certified organic produce. Fresh vegetables and fruits, milk, yogurt, and eggs are all organic. If the chefs were to use a non-organic or non-GMO ingredient, which is highly unlikely, you will be informed about this.
Sunbasket also promises to use only responsibly-raised Meats and poultry, which are also antibiotic- and hormone-free, and only wild-caught or sustainably-raised seafood.
Moreover, Sunbasket also always searches for packaging solutions to reduce carbon footprint to the maximum. Their box, insulation material, paper bags, recipes card, ice-packs plastic bags – are all fully recyclable.
Hello Fresh is a top-rated and popular meal kit provider as well. You are probably wondering why it was not mentioned as one of the Sunbasket competitors above. The main reason is that currently, Hello Fresh does not provide oven-ready dishes regularly, but only as an occasional option once every few weeks.
If you are looking for a quick and oven-ready meal kit service where you do not have to make meals, Sun Basket is the ideal option.
Sunbasket offers many added benefits to consider with regards to using the Fresh and Ready meal delivery service. These pros include:
- You can save a great deal of time as you do not have to worry about grocery store visits, food prep, cooking, and cleaning time.
- Food is delivered straight to your door every week.
- High-quality organic ingredients in every meal kit.
- There are delicious and diverse recipes for your family to enjoy.
- There are meal kit options to cater to different diets – dairy-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and more.
- Good price per serving.
Many people might find that Sun Basket is a slightly more expensive meal kit subscription. The prices are justified because the company promises to use 100% organic ingredients in every meal kit sent. This is a vital factor to consider. Remember that you are paying for the quality of the food you get. The components you put into your body are crucial!
With this being said, if you have your eye on the Sun Basket oven-ready meals (named ‘fresh and ready’ on the company’s menu), you are going to end up paying a reduced price. This new specific meal kit option ranges around the same cost of dishes offered at other competing brands such as Hello Fresh or Home Chef.
