The 5 Best Keto Meal Delivery Services of 2026: Tested and Reviewed

Most Convenient: Trifecta

Score: 8.7 out of 10

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Pros and cons

Pros

• Choose your own meals or opt for chef’s choice
• High-protein meals
• Top-notch packaging

Cons

• Some items were difficult to open
• Passable taste for one of our testers

Features

• Type: Prepared meals
• Plan options: Seven, 14, 19 or 21 meals per week (one serving each)
• Keto friendly: Yes
• Diets available: Paleo, plant-based, GLP-1, Flex choice, get lean and everyday health

Key takeaways from our testing

Chef’s choice offers convenience and meals are protein-packed. Trifecta allows you to plan meals in two ways: Select your own meals or opt for the chef’s choice. If you select the chef’s choice, Trifecta will select your weekly meals and rotate through recipes for you. When signing up, you'll be able to exclude certain ingredients, such as pork, shellfish or spicy foods. If you're not particular about what you eat or want to relieve the mental burden of selecting meals each week, you may appreciate the chef’s choice option. Of course, you can choose to select your own meals each week if you want full control. This service also offers a keto-specific meal plan that focuses on high-protein meals, with its average keto meal including 38 grams of protein and 12 grams of carbs. The exact nutritional value will vary by meal. In general, protein is essential for preserving lean muscle mass as we age. Experts recommend women over age 50 get 25 grams of protein per meal and men over 50 get 30 grams per meal.

Standout delivery packaging. When it comes to meal delivery services, the quality of the packaging is crucial for keeping food fresh and safe to eat. Our testers gave Trifecta a perfect score for packaging. "The packaging was great," said 64-year-old tester Doreen, adding that the company fit seven meals and a set of egg bites into a single box, all of which stayed fresh and cold while sitting on her porch. Delivery with this service was also smooth, and all the food ordered arrived without delays or issues. That said, this company typically delivers its meals on Fridays or Saturdays, which may not suit older adults who are often away on weekends.

Plastic-sealed trays hinder easy opening and one tester gave only fair taste scores. This service’s prepared meals come in pre-packaged trays sealed with plastic, and users remove the plastic after heating. There is a tab to grab onto and peel the plastic away, but Doreen said some meals were difficult to open. "The film was a lot harder to open than anticipated," she said. "I had to use a knife to get it open." This may be a consideration for older adults with dexterity limitations or arthritis in their hands or wrists. Another knock? One tester said Trifecta's taste scores were fair. Doreen said some of the ravioli in one of her meals dried out around the edges, and she said the tomato sauce tasted more like tomato paste than a flavorful sauce. She described the pork chop meal as "average tasting," adding that the pork texture was slightly rubbery. While one of our testers had this taste experience, you may have a different palate and not mind the taste of these meals. This company earned respectable scores for ease of cancellation process, which could be a consideration if the taste of these meals doesn’t suit you.

Best Organic: Green Chef

Score: 9.7 out of 10

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Pros and cons

Pros

• Organic ingredients
• Meal customization available 
• Standout taste

Cons

• Some instructions could have been clearer
• Slight variation from the estimated cook time

Features

• Type: Meal kit
• Plan options: Two to four recipes per week (two, four or six servings each)
• Keto-friendly: Yes
• Vegetarian/vegan friendly: Yes
• Other diets available: Plant-based, Mediterranean, gluten-free, calorie-smart and high protein

Key takeaways from our testing

Meals made with fresh, organic ingredients. If you want an organic keto meal delivery service, you may like Green Chef. This company prioritizes organic, non-GMO ingredients that were grown without pesticides. And the company says it bans more than 100 ingredients from its meal kits, including all artificial colors and sweeteners, as well as select preservatives and additives. A full list of excluded ingredients and clean-eating standards is available on the company's website.

Customizable menu. This service offers a dedicated keto diet plan and keto meals you can integrate into your existing diet. These keto meals include good fats, lean proteins and low-carb meals. You can also customize your meals when making your weekly selections. "I could swap out proteins, add an extra protein or double vegetables," one tester said. However, not every part of these meals are customizable, and the changes you can make may vary by meal. Tester Donna gave this service top-tier marks for taste. "I thought it was perfectly seasoned and delicious," she said about her chana masala over basmati rice. Tester Will gave equally high marks for taste, noting that his pork chop and rich truffle sauce meal was well-balanced and that he “loved” the mushroom sauce.

Some instructions left testers guessing and cook times ran over estimations. While our testers thought Green Chef's instructions were generally clear, a few steps left room for ambiguity. Donna said the instructions stated to "save half" of the small packages of spices. "I kind of had to guess," she said. Tester Will, who regularly cooks at home, said the instructions were clear. The downside for him? He said it took him 45 minutes to prepare his meal, but the recipe estimated 30 minutes. You may want to take these elements into account, as cook time variation could lead to undesired excess time in the kitchen and confusing instructions may make the overall cooking process difficult.

Best Prepared: CookUnity

Score: 9.9 out of 10

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Pros and cons

Pros

• Near-perfect taste 
• Generous portions
• Recycling pick-ups available for packaging

Cons

• Some reheating instructions were confusing
• Small text for instructions may be difficult to read

Features

• Type: Prepared
• Plan options: Four to 16 meals per week (one serving each)
• Keto-friendly:Yes
• Vegetarian/vegan friendly: Yes
• Diets available: Keto, GLP-1, pescatarian, Mediterranean, paleo, low calorie and low carb

Key takeaways from our testing

Appetizing flavor and generous portions. CookUnity is a meal delivery service that offers prepared, chef-curated meals. Annie, a 62-year-old tester, evaluated three meals from this service — keto salmon pad thai, curried grilled chicken and quinoa and pomegranate salad — and rated each meal highly for taste. The company averaged an almost-perfect taste score overall. "I was shocked it tasted so good," Annie said, adding that she thought the vegetables were fresh, the texture was nice and the chicken was tender. "Most prepared meals can be watery or mushy, but this one had a great flavor profile and texture," she said. Annie also gave the portion size a standout score. She said her curried grilled chicken with spiced vegetables meal had a lot of chicken, noting it was a filling dinner.

Eco-friendly packaging program. CookUnity can recycle its refrigerated bags with handles as part of its returnable packaging program. These bags are not recyclable through standard recycling programs because of the layered materials that insulate food. However, the company will pick up old bags if you leave them on your doorstep when your next delivery arrives. The bags are then professionally cleaned and sanitized through a third party called Dispatch Goods. This feature may be appealing for older adults who want to be more eco-friendly or those who don't want to deal with disposing of packaging materials every week. One downside: If you cancel your subscription, the company will not retrieve your final bag.

Instructions weren’t always clear and may be hard to read. Annie said some instructions were confusing, as there is an option for “chef's instructions” that refers to reheating in the oven and an option for fast prep that refers to reheating in the microwave. She said she had to reread the instructions to fully understand her options. She also pointed out that some of the text on the instructions was small and potentially difficult to read. This sizing may be a problem for some older adults who find it difficult to read or focus on smaller text, so you may seek assistance from a loved one or try another service that prioritizes large pictures and text, like HelloFresh. 

How we tested the best keto meal delivery services

We started our process of finding the best keto meal delivery service for adults ages 50 and older by researching the market. Which services with dedicated keto options are popular and why? Which companies have the best customer reviews — and are the reviews legitimate? After talking with nutrition experts and completing testing, we narrowed our list to the options featured on this page.

To identify each service's strengths and weaknesses, we recruited a group of nine testers ages 50 and older, including members from AARP’s The Ethel community, to test their meal kits and give us their unbiased feedback. Testers then cooked their meals in their homes or our AARP Smart Picks test kitchen and shared their unbiased thoughts on important factors like food quality, portion size, taste, customization options and ease of preparation.

We also paid close attention to the delivery process, including whether the service gives you the option to schedule your delivery, the number of updates the service provides during delivery and the quality of the packaging. We also reviewed the cancellation process for each service to determine how long it takes and whether any challenges arise before pausing or ending your subscription.

For more details, see our meal delivery service testing methodology page. 

Who should follow a keto diet?

The keto diet restricts certain food groups, such as grains, starchy vegetables, high-carb fruits and some dairy products. And this diet isn't for everyone, says Bragagnini, the dietitian in Michigan. However, some people may find it helpful to meet certain goals. For instance, she says some older adults who want to shed a few unwanted pounds may benefit from a keto meal plan because the diet can act as a jump start for weight loss. But there is a caveat. (Keep reading for those details.)

A keto diet may also help reduce the amount of sugary snack foods and sugar-filled beverages you consume, which can be beneficial because these items don't provide essential nutrients. "The ketogenic diet may also be good for someone with a difficult time managing blood sugar levels," Bragagnini says.

However, Bragagnini cautions that this diet could be potentially harmful in other cases. In addition to being difficult to follow long-term for some people, the keto diet could result in an older adult missing out on important nutrients. Plus, if you're following the keto diet simply to lose weight, Bragagnini says research suggests you could regain around half of the weight back when you stop following the diet. Weight gain could increase the risk of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.

In addition, Sydney Lappe, a registered dietitian in St. Louis says a keto diet may not be appropriate for older adults with kidney disease, liver disease, pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, frailty or unintentional weight loss.

And, as noted earlier, older adults are more likely to have age-related muscle loss, nutrient deficiencies, chronic health conditions, and take medications that can be affected by major dietary changes. It’s “especially important” to consult a medical provider before starting a ketogenic diet, says Lappe. 

The bottom line: If you’re considering the keto diet, a health care provider can help you determine whether this diet could meet your nutritional needs — and if not, to what degree you could implement some of its beneficial principles, like reducing sugary drinks.

How to choose the best keto meal delivery service 

Using a meal delivery service can help you save time and make it easier to try new foods. Plus, in our focus group of four people ages 67 to 77 who are part of AARP’s The Ethel community, participants noted that meal delivery services can make it easier to stick with a diet. “I’m trying to lose weight, so I use a meal delivery service so I don’t have to think about what to cook and I know it’s healthy,” said tester Vielka, who also was a focus group participant.

But not all keto meal delivery services are the same. If you’ve consulted with a registered dietitian or your health care provider to confirm the best next steps, the right service for you can depend on your dietary needs, budget and preferences because these services range in price, offerings and meal variety. 

So how can you choose the best keto meal delivery service for you? Lappe, the dietitian in St. Louis, actually suggests looking beyond the "low carb" or "keto" label. "I think a better question to consider is, 'Does this meal support healthy aging?' Ideally, meals should include adequate protein, non-starchy vegetables, fiber-rich foods and more heart-healthy fat sources," she says.

So, in this section, we’ve included additional features you may want to consider. 

Keto-specific recipes and meal plan

While all the companies on this list offer keto-friendly meals, the number of options you have varies. Some companies, such as Factor or Trifecta, have dedicated keto meal plans that may make it easier to stick to a keto diet. Others, like CookUnity, offer keto-friendly recipes you can filter by week, but with fewer options. CookUnity offers other filters, such as "low carbs," which may be suitable for some people. You may want to choose the service that best fits your search preferences when prioritizing keto-friendly meals.

Dietary restrictions

If you have other dietary restrictions, that matters for your final choice. In addition to keto-specific meals, most meal delivery services on this list let you choose your dietary limitations or preferences. Some services also provide clear descriptions of the type of diet their recipes fit into. For example, Home Chef has badges on recipes like "fiber-rich," "gluten-smart" and "calorie-conscious." This feature may be helpful if you're looking for a meal delivery service that accommodates other dietary requirements, like low-sodium diets.

Bragagnini, the dietitian in Michigan, also suggests that older adults who want to follow a keto meal delivery service monitor the sodium content of their meals. "Frozen meals are sometimes notorious for supplying far more sodium than we need," she says. Unfortunately, many prepared meals have higher sodium content. If you’re looking for low-sodium options, you may want to consider meal delivery services that allow for customizations like swapping out a side for something with less salt. Meal kits like Green Chef could be a good option from this list, as you have a bit more control over some of the sodium-forward elements in cooking meal kits than reheating prepared meals.

Nutrient content

Also consider the nutrition content of a service’s offerings. Lappe says some keto meal delivery services balance convenience, variety and protein-rich meals. But keto meal plans also tend to be higher in saturated fat, and they aren't dense with nutrients like fiber, calcium and potassium. "Those gaps can matter even more with aging, since older adults are already more vulnerable to issues like bone loss, constipation, dehydration and chronic health conditions," she says.

When choosing a meal plan, you may also want to consider its vitamin D and vitamin B12 content. These nutrients play a role in bone health and central nervous system functioning. As we age, our ability to absorb enough vitamin B12 decreases, so it's even more important to read the nutritional labels to ensure the meals are serving your nutritional needs. Good sources of B12 include fish and shellfish, meat and poultry, and dairy and eggs. Good sources of vitamin D include oily fish like salmon, red meat and egg yolks.

If you're not sure how to choose a service that meets your nutritional needs — or if you’re already using a service but have nutrition questions — consider consulting with your health care provider. You can ask them generally about the service, or bring in your recipe cards or meal packaging for them to assess.

Prep time

These services vary in prep time depending on whether they offer meal kits that require you to prepare the food or whether they offer prepared meals that only require reheating (when necessary). So consider how much time you want to spend on food prep. For instance, around 54 percent of respondents in our 2026 survey said they used meal delivery services because they are convenient and save time. 

So which kind of service may be best for you? If you're looking for prepared meals, you may like options like Factor or CookUnity because of their short reheating times.

If you don’t mind doing some prep, meal kits may be a fit. These kits typically list estimated prep times on their recipe cards. The actual time it takes you to prepare each meal can depend, in part, on your comfort level in the kitchen and any limitations that may make it difficult to chop or stand for extended periods. For instance, tester Peggy said it took her nearly twice the estimated time to prep her Home Chef meal. Still, you can use the estimated cook time as a general guideline to help you choose meal kits or prepared meals that suit your lifestyle and goals. And if you’re looking for a service that makes prep a little easier, you may like Home Chef, which includes helpful pictures as part of its clear instructions. 

How much do the best keto meal delivery services cost?

The starting prices for the best keto meal delivery services on this list range from $9.99 to $11.99 per serving. Home Chef is the most wallet-friendly option, especially if you opt for the family plan, which drops the starting price per serving to $6.99.

You can see the chart below for a breakdown of the typical starting price per serving and starting shipping costs. Note: These prices do not account for any upgrades or modifications that could change the cost per serving. Additionally, the total cost of a weekly meal subscription can vary depending on factors such as the number of meals you select, the meals you choose (some specialized meals may be more expensive), any customizations you make and how long you subscribe.

How to save money on meal delivery services

In our 2026 survey of 300 adults ages 50 and older who currently use or have used a meal delivery service in the last 12 months, 38 percent of respondents said they spend between $50 and $75 per week on their meal delivery service. And 64 percent of respondents said they had canceled their service due to cost.

If you’re interested in a meal delivery service but want to reduce costs, you should know that many meal delivery companies offer sales and discounts. In general, you’ll see some of the most generous discounts at sign-up. For example, when our testers ordered Home Chef meals, first-time customers could receive up to 50 percent off their first box and discounts on subsequent orders. 

We’ve also seen some meal delivery services offer discounts to teachers, first responders and active-duty military personnel. 

You can check each company's website for current offers, as discounts can change frequently. 

FAQs

Does HelloFresh offer keto meal plans?

HelloFresh does not offer keto meal plans. The company offers "Carb Smart" meals that are designed to be lower in carbohydrates; however, these meals are not strictly keto.

What meal delivery service has the cheapest keto meals?

Home Chef is our pick for the best value keto meal delivery service. Its starting price is $9.99 per serving, though the price you pay can vary based on the meals you choose and any customizations you make. The price per meal also drops if you use its family plan, which brings the starting price to $6.99 per serving. 

What are the best keto meals from Factor?

The best keto meals from Factor depend on your dietary preferences. Based on our testing, popular options include a garlic-cream pork chop, chicken Florentine or the pesto and tomato chicken bake. This service’s keto meals average 15 grams of net carbs — the carbs your body actually absorbs — and contain at least 60 percent of calories from fat, with around 20 percent of calories from protein.

Questions or feedback? Email us at AARPSmartPicks@aarp.org.