UPDATED: October 13, 2022

So you want to try meal kits and you wonder, can you get free food boxes delivered to your home without even paying the meal kit subscription fees yet? That’s possible!

Meal kit industry pioneers like Blue Apron and Hello Fresh entered the market in 2012. They initially catered to seniors living independently. 

However, as this niche industry grew, more consumers found the idea of freshly made, ready-to-eat meal kits appealing.

Consumers love the convenience of meal kits. We live in a fast-paced, tech-dependent society where nobody has time to cook or do groceries every day.

If you need help with your daily meal planning, keep reading. We reviewed different meal kit service providers and gathered the best ones with free meal kit trials. 

Read until the end and see which one suits your lifestyle. We’ll tell you how to sign up for programs so that you don’t waste your money testing meal kit subscriptions. Make the most out of free trials before paying for your food.

Let’s dive in!

Blue Apron

Blue Apron ranks among the most widely known food kit subscription brands in the country. They first started their operations in New York back in 2012.

Their initial business model revolved around delivering fresh, quality ingredients. They sourced and prepared the raw food items that their clients needed to cook their chosen meals. Also, the recipes varied according to each client’s customized menu.

Although recipe deliveries launched their company to the top, the market eventually needed something more convenient. Many expressed that they didn’t have time to cook even simple recipes.

Blue Apron responded to their audience’s changing needs by adding heat-and-eat, ready-made meal kits to their menu. 

As the name suggests, you only need to reheat these meals. Throw the kit in the microwave oven or heat the ingredients in a pan, then serve. Try this service to avoid cooking altogether.

Note: You can still opt for Blue Apron’s recipe delivery services if you wish to cook your meals yourself.

How to Get Free Meals

Unfortunately, Blue Apron doesn’t offer regular free trials at the moment. But you can get free meals from them by watching out for special offers on their social media accounts and third-party discount platforms.

  1. First, follow Blue Apron on social media and subscribe to their newsletter.
  2. If you catch one of their promos, you may receive a unique redemption email. 
  3. Follow the instructions, take note of the exclusive codes.
  4. Finally, choose your weekly meal plan.

Pro Tip: Blue Apron is quite generous with discounts. Although you cannot always get free meals, you’ll get 50% to 80% off your first few orders.

What It Offers

Blue Aprons offers two- and four-serving meals. They offer vegetarian and meat-based dishes from various culinary cuisines, such as Asian, African, American, and British.

Also, you get to choose between recipe deliveries and ready-made kits. The former comes with portioned, ready-to-cook recipe kits, while the latter consists of eat-and-heat meals.

Eligibility Requirements

Blue Apron typically offers free meal promos to people who follow their socials. Also, expect them to ask you for standard personal and contact information (i.e., name, age, address) if you ever redeem one of their trial meal kits.

As for the discounts and promos, you can only qualify for them after joining the program. You’ll get a substantial discount on your first few meals, and the team will frequently send discount codes one or two months later.

HelloFresh

There are dozens of food kit subscription companies on the market, but very few brands rival the cost-efficient, accessible kits at HelloFresh. You can save around $53 per month on food.

HelloFresh offers individually packed ready-to-eat meals. The team typically targets clients who want the convenience of food subscriptions without exceeding their current monthly budget.

However, you can rest at ease knowing that HelloFresh doesn’t compromise quality. Although they aim for accessible, inexpensive meal kits, they also promote quality, healthy, and nutrient-dense ingredients.

Moreover, their meals are relatively simple to prepare. Most of the items on their weekly menu only need a few minutes of reheating. All you’ll need is your microwave.

How to Get Free Meals

Although HelloFresh always offers free trials, they change the promo details routinely. For instance, they usually give new members 14 to 16 free meals, but they recently threw in three surprise gifts this 2022.

The surprise gifts vary from client to client, but they’ll add up to $23.99 worth of products. You’ll get one gift after your fourth, sixth, and eighth purchase.

To get freebies from HelloFresh:

  1. Subscribe to their newsletter.
  2. Wait for the promo codes, but don’t stress about the discounts because they always have some type of freebie for the newcomers on their site.
  3. Once you have your promo code, sign up for their services
  4. Customize your order, register your account, input your shipping address, then input the promo code on the checkout page.

What It Offers

HelloFresh carries a diverse collection of breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. You can sample culinary favorites from America, China, Mexico, Italy, Korea, Latin America, Spain, Thailand, Cuba, Japan, Africa, and the Mediterranean region.

You can further customize these meals based on your lifestyle. Apart from the standard meat and veggie dishes, HelloFresh also offers low-calorie, family-friendly, and vegetarian options.

However, you can rest assured that all their meals are 100% natural and healthy. They have an in-house dietitian reviewing all their meal items, plus they strive for an average of 650 calories per serving.

Eligibility Requirements

HelloFresh only offers promos, discounts, and free trials to new members. You’ll have to create a new account using a legitimate name, shipping address, and identification cards.

This rule also applies to those applying for exclusive promos, such as student discounts. You would have to provide supporting documents proving your membership (i.e., student ID, government-issued ID, HelloFresh account).

Also, keep in mind that HelloFresh free trials only apply to newly registered members. You can’t sign up for free trials if you have already claimed your free meal kits in the past—regardless of how far back that was.

Important: HelloFresh tracks the shipping address of newly registered accounts. You might not qualify for the free food box trial if you reuse addresses, even if you’re not related to the previous user (i.e., roommate, apartment tenant).

Green Chef

Most working professionals and new parents find themselves stuck in hectic schedules wherein they don’t have time to do groceries, much less cook natural, organic menus. Unfortunately, preparing healthy meals takes hours.

Options that deliver healthy scheduled meal plans daily, such as the Green Chef meal kit service, would be the best to gift to busy new parents.

Although several food subscription brands offer veggie dishes, Green Chef stands among the top options for healthy, all-natural dishes.

It’s the first USDA-certified organic meal kit company in the US. It started in 2014 and operated independently for four years until HelloFresh acquired it in 2018.

The brand prides itself on green eating and healthy living. Its team goes above and beyond to deliver organically certified ingredients sourced from cruelty-free, chemical-free farms and ranges.

Moreover, it has in-house professionals assessing its dishes. Its client base typically consists of older adults with specific needs, so it can’t afford to deliver various food items haphazardly.

All its dishes come with a dietary label. You can go beyond taste and curate your weekly menu based on your respective dietary preferences. You can even reference your medical records for safe, fact-based decisions.

How to Get Free Meals

Green Chef only offers discounts and free trials to registered members—just like its parent company HelloFresh.

Here’s what you need to do: 

  1. First, you’ll need to sign up on its app or platform
  2. Next, wait for your code. It modifies its promos from time to time, but you’ll likely need a unique code to get a discounted or free healthy food box.
  3. Once you receive the promo email, proceed to the website.
  4. Log in to your account, choose your meal type, and add your shipping address.
  5. Lastly, input your unique promo code on the checkout page.

What It Offers

Vegan, all-natural food items have been around for decades now, but they often come with a steep price tag. Most consumers don’t know where to get them cheaper.

Fortunately, Green Chef continuously strives to address this issue. As part of its advocacy for clean living, its mission centers around delivering healthy, organic meal options to a broader audience. 

It has an organic counterpart for any ingredient you might need. You can source organic, chemical-free meat, poultry, fruits, veggies, grains, and even seasonings from its inventory.

Also, don’t worry if you have no experience cooking all-natural meals. It has super-simple, easy-to-follow recipes. You can prepare most of its meal kits in just 10 to 15 minutes.

Eligibility Requirements

Most Green Chef free trial promos are available to newly registered members. As long as you have never made an account or ordered from them before, you’ll likely qualify for a free trial.

However, make sure you use updated free trial codes. Green Chef routinely changes its offers, so the codes you found several months ago might not work anymore.

For updated codes, follow their socials and subscribe to their newsletters.

Sunbasket

Sunbasket is a food kit subscription brand based in California. The company started in 2014 by sourcing and delivering hard-to-find ingredients needed in various recipes.

Sunbasket’s initial goal was to make ingredients more accessible. This business model primarily appealed to foodies who wanted to follow recipes from foreign countries but lacked the necessary food items.

How to Get Free Meals

Sunbasket doesn’t offer free trials right from the get-go. If you want to get a free food box from them, you’ll have to turn to third-party platforms. You can also follow its socials for exclusive promos.

  1. Once you have your code, log in to your Sunbasket account.
  2. Select your desired weekly meal plan, and input your shipping address.
  3. Input the promo code on the checkout page. Note that most codes only work on users who have used its service before.  

However, don’t limit yourself to free meals. It has dozens of discount codes, which will save you hundreds of dollars per month. You wouldn’t want to miss out on them.

Moreover, Sunbasket allows newly registered users to combine specific promo codes. If you add another 40% to 50% coupon to their $100 welcome gift, your total cost per serving will drop from $10 down to $6.

What It Offers

Sunbasket prioritizes customization. It accommodates various requests and dietary preferences, so feel free to customize your weekly meal kits according to your dietary preferences.

The menu items rotate every week or two. However, they typically consist of the following options: 

  • Carb-conscious
  • Diabetes-friendly
  • Gluten-free
  • Mediterranean
  • Paleo
  • Pescatarian
  • Vegetarian

Also, you wouldn’t have to worry much about meal preparation. Although Sunbasket carries diverse culinary options, all its meals come with super-simple cooking instructions.

Eligibility Requirements

As mentioned, Sunbasket doesn’t allow trial periods, so the quickest way to get free meals is by scouring third-party discount and deal sites. Keep an eye out for coupons. 

However, note that you’ll likely need an existing account. Regardless of whether you have a coupon or not, the site doesn’t allow unregistered users to order meals.

Also, subscribe to Sunbasket’s newsletter. Although it doesn’t have free trials, you’ll receive $100+ worth of welcome gifts and discounts.

Naturebox

When it comes to snack boxes and free trial offers, Naturebox ranks among your best options. 

Naturebox is a snack delivery service founded in 2011. It started delivering healthy snacks to local offices, then expanded to residential clients after just a few years.

What makes Naturebox unique is its commitment to quality. It guarantees to deliver healthy, delicious, and affordable snack boxes.

It has a one-year money-back guarantee policy. You can file a complaint and ask for an exchange if you find yourself unhappy with a snack they sent.

How to Get Free Meals

Naturebox gives newly registered members 15 days to try out its services for free. 

  1. Create an account on their website.
  2. Input your preferred payment options, then type in your shipping address. 
  3. Confirm the shipping details and account information, then wait for your freebies. You’ll get around six snack boxes free trial over the next two weeks.

However, don’t ignore its discounts. You can save around 40% to 50% on all your orders every day just by watching out for its promo codes.

What It Offers

Naturebox carries a wide range of healthy snacks. Some of its best-selling items include popcorn, pretzels, cookies, crackers, chips, nuts, beef jerky, and breakfast bars.

It also delivers snacks in bulk. This offer best suits clients who plan on ordering healthy snacks for their coworkers or roommates.

Eligibility Requirements

You don’t need much to qualify for their 15-day free trial. As long as you have a Facebook or Gmail account, a newly registered account, and a unique shipping address, you’ll get your free snack boxes.

Are There Any Other Options for Affordable Meal Kits?

Blue Apron, HelloFresh, Green Chef, Sunbasket, and Munchery offer excellent value for their meal kits. Even after you finish your free trial, you’ll continue receiving discounts.

However, despite these promos, some consumers still find subscription fees too steep. After all, paying $10 to $20 per meal isn’t always sustainable.

If you want to try ready-made meal kits without spending more than you already on food, try the following options:

Why Should You Start Using Meal Kits

Despite the popularity of food kit subscriptions, many still have reservations because of the weekly fees. Yes, food kits do come with a relatively steep price. However, paying an extra $5 to $10 for everyday meals is a small price for the following benefits:

  • Better Time Management: Meal planning takes up time. Apart from doing groceries and cooking the actual meals, you’ll also have to come up with a regular menu for you and your household. All these tasks require several hours daily.
  • Reduced Food Waste: Let’s say you have a pound of packed cabbages, but the recipe you’re following needs a quarter pound. What will you do with the rest? Sadly, most people would have to throw away their leftovers that go bad. Meanwhile, professionally cooked meal kit dinners waste zero ingredients. You’ll never end up with wasted food as long as you finish all your meals.
  • Long-Term Cost-Efficiency: Food kit subscriptions will not dent your monthly budget. On the contrary, you might even end up saving a few hundred bucks since you don’t have to waste your resources going to the groceries anymore.

Take Advantage of Free Trials Before Paying Subscription Fees

If you want to try meal kits or simply want some free stuff, take advantage of snack boxes from free trial offers.

Food subscriptions don't come cheap. There’s nothing wrong with exploring your options and exhausting free meal kits before committing to a specific brand. 

However, we urge customers to go beyond the prices. Although affordable meal kits seem appealing, you and your family wouldn’t benefit from them if they lacked the essential nutrients, always arrived late, and, of course, tasted terrible.

Your meal kit subscription should match your unique lifestyle. Opting for a cheap, low-quality option after trying out the best food boxes for free will put all your research and planning to waste.