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CookUnity has many subscription plans. For example, you can order four meals per week to supplement your existing lifestyle or order 16 meals per week to let the company completely replace your diet. The more meals you order, the less they cost. You can expect to pay between $11.09 and $14.23 per meal, which are reasonable prices for this category. Specialty meals may cost more money. CookUnity also sells gift cards in round amounts from $5 to $500.
CookUnity lets you pick whatever food you want from the weekly menu, unlike other services that use your selected guidelines to make automated food delivery choices. For a few extra bucks, you can add extras, such as drinks, treats, and breakfast items. Hungryroot sells groceries alongside its meal kit plans, while Factor has a la carte add-ons to accompany your meal selections.
You must subscribe to CookUnity; you can’t purchase an individual box as you can with Balanced Bites or Veestro. On the upside, you can pause or adjust your plan whenever you want. Delivery is free, and CookUnity ships to most states in the US (except Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming). Type in your zip code to see if your area is covered when signing up. Your region also determines which menu items are available.
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Before you start selecting meals, CookUnity asks you about general preferences. Do you want poultry or pork? Seafood or vegetarian? You can skip this step, but it helps you narrow recommended options. You’ll want those options narrowed because CookUnity has an incredibly vast and impressive menu with hundreds of choices.
From BBQ Chicken to Israeli Couscous to Lasagna Bolognese to Cajun Swai to Pancit Bihon With Chinese Sausage, CookUnity has many cuisine types. Like HelloFresh, CookUnity's menu is so large that you won't repeat a meal anytime soon. Some dishes may share common elements, but that’s how food works.
After setting your preferences, you can continue filtering your search to look for Keto or Paleo meals or low-carb options with less than 600 calories. Each meal includes ingredient descriptions and allergy notices. You can also read reviews from the CookUnity community and follow chefs for more meals. After all, CookUnty describes itself as a "chef collective."
Traditional meal kits you cook need big bags of raw ingredients, but fully prepared meal kits like CookUnity fit more food in less space. Instead of a box, CookUnity meals arrive in a hand-delivered, reusable tote bag. A block of water-based cooling gel chills the fresh meals. You should freeze the meals if you don't plan on eating them within a week.
The tote bag is compact and stylish, but it's annoying to get rid of. You’re supposed to leave the empty bag outside so your delivery person can pick it up when they drop off your new meals. However, this hand-off happens so quickly that you may end up with multiple empty bags if you don't keep the exchange at the front of your mind. I would prefer cardboard boxes, which are easy to recycle. The meals' oven-safe cardboard packaging is thankfully easy to trash.
CookUnity offers the extremely easy and straightforward cooking experience you want from a prepared meal service. For months, my wife and I enjoyed kicking back for these meals, since we simply preheated the oven and slid in the tray (and maybe opened up a condiment packet). It’s that easy. Typing out this description requires more effort than the actual cooking process.
The tasty dinners we tried included Mexican Seafood Paella With Bay Scallops and Shrimp, plus a really good Brazilian Fish Stew. The flavors were all on point, something you can’t always count on with fully prepared food.
However, the portion sizes were a little inconsistent. The Grilled Naan Pizza Margherita was filling and provided leftovers, but we could have used one or two more Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes since they weren't full-size offerings. The stew could've been bigger and better balanced stew and rice. CookUnity describes its meals as "small batch," but I don’t think this is what that phrase means.
CookUnity has a few flaws, from finicky packages to portions that don't always satisfy. However, its huge, high-quality menu makes it an appealing option if you want delicious heat-and-eat meals delivered to your door. Ultimately, CookUnity surpasses more niche services to earn our Editors' Choice award for prepared meal services.
Best for a Huge Selection of Prepared Meals
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Many tasty options
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Easy preparation
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Accommodates a wide range of dietary needs
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Flexible scheduling and meal selection
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Inconsistent portions
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Some gaps in delivery coverage
CookUnity's large, varied menu and simple heat-and-eat preparation make it an incredibly flexible meal kit delivery service that should satisfy nearly every palette.
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About Our Expert
My PCMag career began in 2013 as an intern. Now, I'm a senior writer, using the skills I acquired at Northwestern University to write about dating apps, meal kits, programming software, website builders, video streaming services, and video games. I was previously a senior editor at Geek.com and have written for The A.V. Club, Kotaku, and Paste Magazine. I'm the author of the gaming history book Video Game of the Year: A Year-by-Year Guide to the Best, Boldest, and Most Bizarre Games from Every Year Since 1977, and the reason everything you know about Street Sharks is a lie.
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