Factor’s selling point over other ready-to-heat meal kits has always been twofold. One is that its meals are friendly to keto and other versions of high-protein and carb-conscious diets. The other is that its microwaveable meals have never been frozen, leaving open the possibility for actual texture in one’s meal—a light crispness to the green beans, say. Or the grill char and soft give of a medium-rare filet mignon.
But in past years, those two selling points seemed to interfere with each other. Factor, noted my colleague Louryn Strampe in her 2024 assessment (6/10, WIRED Review), fell prey far too often to the porridgy and cauliflower-heavy “mush-on-mush” school of carb-avoidant fare. The food failed on texture, she wrote, in somewhat more colorful terms.
But ever since HelloFresh bought Factor, the menu has been slowly evolving to heartier fare with more chew and snap. Starches now veer to potato wedges, coconut lime rice, or al dente forbidden rice. The green beans, too often overdone even at restaurants, had a surprising and welcome tautness. (One can see this evolution by looking at old menus through the magic lens of Wayback Machine.)
Over time, Factor has evolved into the best ready-to-heat meal delivery service I’ve so far tasted.
Mitigating Factors
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
But this isn’t to say Factor has solved the issues inherent to ready-made delivery meals. There’s the cost, of course, more than most could afford as a full substitute for cooking: A full week of lunch and dinner for one would run about $170, with shipping.
And pre-cooked meals will never quite be as good as fresh-prepared meals: It will always be a balancing act to avoid the twin terrors of sogginess and rubberiness in reheated food. And for every crisp green bean or air-fryer charred broccoli, there’s a limp zoodle.
