Bag One of These Thanksgiving Meal Kits and Save Yourself a Gravy Boatload of Stress
The deadline for ordering Thanksgiving meal delivery is fast approaching. These are the best options for turkey day 2023.
Our Experts
Our Picks
Last year, I bravely hosted both Friendsgiving and my family for Thanksgiving, all from the confines of my small Brooklyn apartment. I could never have pulled off the feat (and also enjoyed myself) without some outside help. Mom did what she could, but she was busy traveling, so most of it took the form of holiday meal kits to knock out the sides and a fully loaded Thanksgiving turducken for the main course.
There are a number of services offering Thanksgiving meal kits this year and any of them will slice out a ton of prep, shopping and gruntwork out of the big day, with simple recipes and kits that include all the ingredients for a full Thanksgiving dinner.
If you've agreed to shoulder Thanksgiving hosting duties this year, buying your turkey online is one way to ensure you get the perfect bird. As for the sides and dessert, ordering a Thanksgiving meal kit can keep your spirits high and blood pressure low. If you're hoping to score a Thanksgiving meal kit from HelloFresh, Purple Carrot or another service, know that most of them will sell out, since they only stock limited amounts for the season.
Note about delivery: Many of these specialty meal kit boxes and prepared meals must be ordered before this week. Please check with the individual vendor to ensure timely delivery before placing an order.
Best Thanksgiving meal kits for 2023
For a Thanksgiving meal kit, this is the whole kit and kaboodle, as they say. HelloFresh has two Thanksgiving feast offerings and they're two of the most comprehensive holiday meal kits you can buy, giving you all you need to execute the entire meal from scratch in one box.
One offering features a traditional turkey feast for eight to 10 people, while the other spotlights a juicy beef tenderloin dinner for a smaller group of four to six. In each, you'll get everything you need to dish up your main course, several sides and a dessert, all while making exactly zero trips to the store. Speaking of the store: After doing some scratch math on what this would all cost at a local Whole Foods or Kroger, we've determined this is also a very good deal.
The turkey feast works out to $20 per person while the beef tenderloin meal kit will be $26 per person. This order must be placed by Thursday, Nov. 16, to ensure it reaches you in time.
Best vegan Thanksgiving meal kit
Purple Carrot
Purple Carrot's plant-based Thanksgiving meal kit is always a hit and always sells out. So if you're looking to score all the ingredients for a truly tasty vegan Thanksgiving, you'll want to pounce on this one.
See the full menu below:
- Thanksgiving sandwiches with roasted Brussels and gravy
- Roasted chickpea bowls with roasted pears and whipped tahini dressing
- Crispy Brussels sprouts with "honey" butter and miso basil polenta
- Mac n’ cheese with thyme roasted mushrooms and tomato cream
- Wild rice stuffed sweet potatoes with hazelnuts and cranberry chipotle mayo
- Gnocchi with dilly-fried cabbage and apple arugula salad
In past years, the box has been made available to non-subscribers but it appears it will only be for Purple Carrot meal kit subscription members for 2023. Here's our full review of Purple Carrot in case you're considering signing up.
Another complete Thanksgiving meal kit
Gobble
Gobble is a meal kit service known for cutting out the legwork when it comes to making dinner. This year the service is offering up two Thanksgiving meal kit options.
The Big Feast is Gobble’s spin on the timeless holiday essentials and will feed four people plus leftovers for $160. The Bigger Feast comes with three additional dishes (including two more sides and dessert) and is meant to feed four to six hungry people plus leftovers for $180.
The boxes are ready for preorder up until Nov. 16 and are available for subscribers and nonsubscribers alike.
Best precooked Thanksgiving meal
Harry & David
If cooking is not in the cards this year, order this premade turkey dinner including sides and desserts from Harry & David. Everything arrives frozen, including the turkey, so it will need to be thawed and then heated according to instructions. But, even so, you'll have loads of extra time on your hands to avoid conversations with kooky cousin Ron.
The bundle serves eight to 10 guests for $270 and includes the following:
- Ready-to-heat oven-roasted turkey
- Apple sausage stuffing
- Black truffle and almond green beans
- Brown sugar sweet potatoes
- Pumpkin cheesecake
- Classic turkey gravy
- Spiced cranberry chutney
Best gourmet Thanksgiving meal kit
Blue Apron
The original meal kit delivery company is getting in on the Thanksgiving fun this year too. The Blue Apron Thanksgiving meal kit feast is available for preorder up until Friday, Nov. 10, and boxes will arrive the week of Nov. 21. In the meantime, you can sign up and try Blue Apron below.
- Main course: Savory butter roasted turkey breast
- Sides: Brussels sprouts with rosemary and pumpkin seeds, brown butter mashed potatoes, ginger-cranberry sauce
- Dessert: Apple pie with warming spices and almonds
- Price: $140
Best place to buy a turducken
Goldbelly
If you really want to get your Thanksgiving gathering some social media attention, go for the turducken. That's a chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey. Many of them have stuffing too, so we're talking a lot of food all ready to roast. Goldbelly has large turduckens to feed as many as 15 people starting at $170.
Best place to get Thanksgiving catered
Whole Foods Market
Not into the cooking scene? No problem. Whole Foods Market has lots of options for holiday meal kits that are ready to eat -- no cooking required. You can have them delivered or pick them up in-store. The selections will vary based on your location and the brick-and-mortar stores that are near you but expect things like an entire Thanksgiving feast for 12 including turkey ($300), a rib roast meal for eight ($230), and plenty of appetizers and dessert options, too.
Best for Thanksgiving pies
Goldbelly
This online food marketplace is the middleman between you and some of the best pies and desserts from around the country. It has everything from the all-important apple pie to viral sensations such as Zac Young's decadent PieCaken monster. Yes, that's an apple cake, pumpkin pie and pecan pie all in one.
Thanksgiving pies from Goldbelly:
Best for an upscale Thanksgiving menu
Martha & Marley Spoon
If you want to host like Martha you gotta think like Martha and the queen of the kitchen has developed a meal kit via her meal kit subscription service Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon. This is more of an a la carte approach with brunch, appetizers and four Thanksgiving sides that will go live with the normal, rotating menu. Think parmesan-thyme biscuits, glazed vegetables and stuffing with sausage and leeks. There are also easy dessert recipes, including a pecan pie with maple, caramel and homemade pastry
You must be a subscriber to take advantage of Martha's Thanksgiving meal kits, but you can pause or cancel at any point with no penalty. Read our full review of Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon meal kits here.
