In 2019 and beyond, meal prep and food delivery are growing in popularity. People don’t want to have to deal with shopping, cooking, meal prep and cleaning.
Besides, if you’re cooking for a large family, doing this every day can get tiring.
Luckily, food delivery services are trying to attract new customers as the marketplace is very competitive. To grab the attention of new clients, companies are using offers like free account credit, $50 or other perks for becoming a member.
In other words, all of these companies have different incentives or discounts so you can get some free food!
With that said, let’s get started. Here are ten services that will deliver food to your door. As a result, you don’t have to worry about the stress and hassle of meal prep.
Table of Contents
10+ Food Delivery Services That Deliver Free Food
First, I’ll begin with the food delivery/meal prep services. Then restaurant delivery and even a few apps you may have never heard of before. All of them have a first-time user incentive, so make sure to find the best one for you.
1. PlateJoy
It seems like we live in a world where people have more dietary restrictions than ever before. Between keto, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and other fad diets, people’s needs are always changing.
Luckily, PlateJoy is here to help you with dietary restrictions or people who want more choices with meals. They make specific meal plans for those who are vegans, meat eaters and those maintaining a ketogenic diet. Or you can make a meal plan of your own as well.
As someone who isn’t a huge fan of veggies and prefers protein, I love that I can customize the plan. Not a lot of food delivery services have this feature which makes it stand out among others.
If you’re not sure what to choose, PlateJoy offers a lifestyle meal quiz. They have over 50 different data points to tailor each meal to your needs, goals and lifestyle. These choices include things like batch cooking, low carb, peanut free, food allergies and more.
Like other food delivery services, they offer you something to help you want to give them a chance. Use the promo code GET10 to receive $10 off on your first order.
Plus, if you’re already using Instacart, you can get even greater savings. Pull up your Instacart app and sign up through them to receive a $20 bonus instead of $10.
Like other food delivery services, you can choose not to keep going if it’s not working for your diet or budget.
2. Gobble
Gobble’s mission is simple, “Make dinner in 15 minutes.” Their chefs do all the prep work like peeling, chopping and marinating so you don’t have to worry about it. Not to mention, it was recently voted #1 meal kit by Parents magazine.
Here’s how it works:
- Pick your meals. Choose from their diverse weekly menu of gluten free, dairy free, low carb or vegetarian options.
- Let them prep it. Gobble’s team of chefs does the tedious things that most of us hate (i.e., chopping onions or garlic) and measure the food before shipping.
- Receive your Gobble box. It will come in a refrigerated box to your door. Plus, there’s no commitment so you can adjust it with your schedule.
One of the biggest perks with Gobble is that you can skip weeks, change menu options or cancel anytime. Plus, no prep work means you can serve dinner fast!
When trying out Gobble, you receive $30 off your first order along with free shipping – this is one of the highest discounts that you’ll find on this list.
With the great sign-up discount, I love this option as it seems to have a combination of the best of all services. Great intro offer, food prep, different menus, no commitment and delivered straight to your door!
3. HelloFresh
HelloFresh is another popular food delivery service that I’ve seen on some Instagram “foodie” accounts I follow.
Their goal is to make cooking fun and healthy. It’s about creating an experience. So if convenience is your #1 priority, this one might not be the best fit.
They have easy to follow recipes with high-quality ingredients that are sourced straight from the farm. The meal kits are small and will fit in the fridge easily (unlike some of the competition on this list).
Plus, they make it easy to cancel, change meals or skip a week without much of an issue.
To get started, all you do is pick a plan on their website. Whether you’re cooking for yourself or a family, they have different plans to get you started.
The food is then delivered (for free) to your door and ready to cook. Everything comes pre-measured, and you can always choose to skip a week if needed. If this happens, make sure you cancel by 11:59 pm PST 5 days before your delivery to stop the next shipment.
When you sign up, you can receive a registration bonus of $30 using the coupon code HFNOW30. Make sure to remember that when you enter your credit card details, you understand that you’re signing up for a subscription.
But as I said, you can always skip a week or choose to cancel entirely after your first order.
More Hellofresh Discounts
Another perk I saw on their website is the ability to share this food delivery with friends and family.
As a member, you have the option to send four free meal boxes to friends and family members. The more you order, the more free meals you can send!
And if your friends or family get hooked, make sure you get them to sign up with your referral link to get a $20 bonus. Plus, they will get the $30 off their first order as well so it’s a win-win situation!
HelloFresh isn’t just in the United States either. You can also get food delivered to the UK and Australia as well.
4. Blue Apron
Blue Apron is an excellent food delivery service that delivers fresh and healthy meals right to your door. And their incentive to snag you as a new member is very enticing. The registration is $50 off your first two Blue Apron boxes.
In the food delivery world, Blue Apron is one of the oldest and most trusted ones on the market. I’ve used Blue Apron before and enjoyed the quality of the meals, but I wasn’t a fan of having to cook it all myself.
With Blue Apron, the food is in a refrigerated box so even if you’re at work when it’s delivered, no need to worry. Once you unpack it, there’s a recipe inside for the meal you have to cook.
The ingredients are of high quality, and they have fantastic reviews from fellow “foodies” online. They have different meal plans, but the two main ones are 2-person and family meal plans.
These options make it easy to have food planned for the week. That way, you don’t need to spend time worrying about having the right amount of food.
With Blue Apron, you need to enroll in a month to month subscription agreement, but as I mentioned, you get $50 off your first order. If it’s not for you, just cancel and try out one of the others on the list.
5. SkipTheDishes
One of the worst parts of cooking and meal prep is doing the actual clean up. Cleaning dishes, loading the dishwasher, taking them out, etc. Luckily, Skip the Dishes is here to help.
SkipTheDishes is a food delivery service that partners with local restaurants based out of Canada. But there are are some cities with access in the United States including, Ohio, New York, Missouri and Nebraska.
To get a discount, you can receive a $7 bonus for signing-up using a referral link, and an additional $7 in credit for each friend you refer.
Plus, shipping is free. They also have a refund option. So if you’re not satisfied, let them know, and you get your money back.
6. PostMates
When it comes to food delivery services, Postmates is one of my all-time favorites. They are one of the original service companies to help you get food straight to your door. Similar to some of the others below, they don’t meal prep but instead, do restaurant delivery.
So the next time you want restaurant food without having to leave your house, think about downloading the Postmates app. As a first time customer, use code OMGFOOD for $100 in delivery fee credit.
Now you can skip the lines and traffic to let a Postmate bring you anything you want while you relax. Plus, they also have alcohol delivery!
They have a ton of partnerships with restaurants so you will have plenty of choices for whatever you’re craving. Currently, they are in a large number of metro areas. They include Los Angeles, San Diego, Palm Springs, Orange County, Phoenix, New York, Austin, Chicago and others.
If you become a Postmates addict, make sure you check out their $7.99 one-time, monthly delivery fee.
With this option, you pay a flat fee each month (billed annually), so you’re not charged the $5 each time. It’s is a great way to save money and get your favorite food delivered straight to your door.
Lastly, if you need another side hustle for a few extra bucks, make sure to join the fleet of drivers so you can get started as well.
7. Grubhub
Grubhub is one of my favorite go-to spots for delivery. They help you find and order food from wherever you are. You type in your address, and they tell you the restaurants that deliver to you as well as showing pickup restaurants near you.
When you find what you’re looking for, you can place your order online or by phone, free of charge. Plus, you can also pick up and save on the delivery fee if you want.
Sign up with a referral link and get $7 off your first order of $15 or more. And each time you refer a friend you also get $7 for your next purchase. Once you refer 20 friends, this offer is invalid.
Grubhub recently acquired Eat24 (which is run by Yelp.com), so there is an even bigger network of cities and restaurants. Finding food, wherever you are, has never been easier.
8. DoorDash
DoorDash is different than some of the other food delivery services on this list. Instead of having to cook the food yourself, they partner with local restaurants to make it easy for you.
Similar to GrubHub, all the food is delivered usually within an hour.
Unlike the competition though, they guarantee delivery within 45-minutes, or it’s free. This promise is a huge perk and should help avoid hanger!
Their offer isn’t the most enticing, but if you don’t want to move off the couch to get food, it’s worth it. DoorDash gives you $7 off your first order over $10.
And if you want a new side hustle idea, DoorDash Delivery program is another great option as well. You pick up and deliver food to people in your area. Even working a few nights week can help you pay a few bills or save some extra money!
9. Caviar
Caviar is similar to Doordash and connects with local restaurants in your area to provide food delivery. No recipes, ingredients or clean up needed with this service! Typically, you should expect food within 40-60 minutes depending on your city.
You get $5 upon registration as long as you spend at least $15 on your first order. And if you can get your friends on it, they can get a $15 referral bonus for signing up through you.
One downside is the company is still relatively new and hasn’t expanded to midsize and smaller cities. There are only 20 cities right now where you can currently take advantage of these offers.
Some of the cities include Boston, Dallas, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington DC among others.
10. Uber EATS
What would the world be without Uber? Hard to think about going back to the cab days! And a nice spin-off of Uber is Uber EATS which helps you binge-watch TV and never leave your house by having your favorite food delivered.
You can get $10 in credit if you sign up through a referral link. They work with local restaurants and even fast food chains to make it easy for you to get to food delivered.
A feature I really like with Uber EATS is that you can track your order through your Uber sign-in credentials.
And if you’re looking for a side hustle, you can also sign up to become an Uber Eats driver. In contrast to driving for Uber, you’re only carrying food, not people.
Other than smelling up your car, there aren’t too many downsides. And it’s an easy way to make a quick buck.
More Than Food Delivery
All the options above are for food delivery and meal prep services. But I also found other delivery options outside of just food. Check them out below.
NatureBox
Naturebox gears toward individuals who are looking to find nutritious, healthy snacks. They have different menus like paleo, vegan, low sodium and lots of other healthy choices.
Some of the selection of items include things like homemade granola bars, keto trail mix and CBD snacks.
And they have an unbelievable registration deal. If you sign up and enter the code, NEW50 you get 50% off first purchase!
To begin, you can start a subscription plan to get healthy snacks daily, weekly or monthly. To clarify, this isn’t full meals, only snacks.
Delivery.com
If you need some help around the house with more than just your meal prep, Delivery.com is a great option.
You can hire people to help you pick up dry cleaning, buy your groceries, get restaurant pickups and more. As a new member, you get a $7 off discount as long as you have a minimum purchase of $15.
The downside is that they’re only located in 4 cities right now. Their delivery services are in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Download the app on the App Store or Google Play to get started.
Saucey
Ever had a few adult beverages and want some more but it’s a bad idea to drive? Saucey has you covered. They aren’t food prep, but they do deliver alcohol your way. Use the promo code SAS to get a $10 off bonus.
As you’re buying alcohol, you do have to be over 21 and only available in select cities. They have up to 30-minute delivery services in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Sacramento and Oakland.
Sure, the price is marked up, but you don’t have to leave your house, so it’s well worth it. And the best part? No delivery fees!
InstaCart
Are you someone that likes cooking but hates the shopping part of it? Trust me; I get it. Sometimes I want to prepare a meal but dread actually going to the store.
I don’t want to spend an hour walking the aisles and almost always forgetting something. (One way to avoid this problem is to print out our Free Weekly Meal Planning Printable With Grocery List.)
If this sounds like you, then you’re in luck because Instacart can make your life so much easier. They are a grocery delivery service that partners with local grocery stores in your area.
And depending on where you live, you might have even more options to like Whole Foods, Costco or other specialty stores.
If you want the convenience of having your groceries delivered to your door, make sure to sign up with a referral link to get $10 in credit towards your first purchase. Plus, your first delivery fee gets waived!
Like with any of these services, there’s always some pros and cons. The pros are obvious, no more trips to the grocery store! And your stuff usually gets delivered within an hour which is a huge time saver.
But you’re going to have to pay for this type of service and delivery. Generally, there is a markup of 10-15% on items. Plus a delivery charge and maybe a tip if you’re feeling generous.
So it can get pretty expensive. But if your time is valuable, and the service worth the money, go with Instacart!
Atkins Free Diet Quick-Start Kit
Remember the fad diet from the early 2000s? Well, the Atkins diet is back and has more options than ever before. You can sign up 100% FREE for their quick start kit to receive recipes, low-carb meals and more to help you start your new plan.
And if you end up purchasing through the app, you get a first-time $5 discount for being a new customer.
Summary
As you can tell, there’s no shortage of options when it comes to choosing food delivery services. I recommend giving a few of them a try. Some can help you eat healthy at home. While others provide discounted options from restaurants.
And if you’ve never tried food delivery, try a few of these offers to snag the first-time bonus.
However, if you choose to go with a meal subscription plan, make sure you understand the offer. And double check how to cancel, in case it doesn’t meet your expectations.
Also, select a service that allows you to merely turn service on and off from their app or website.
What’s your favorite food delivery service? Have you tried any that we don’t have listed? Let us know in the comments below.
