Daily Harvest is a meal delivery service that specializes in gluten- and dairy-free, plant-based, premade frozen meals. Ranging from smoothie blends for quick, nutritious breakfasts packed full of veggies and fruits to dinners of soups, harvest bowls, grains, and pastas, all of the meals use inventive, plant-forward ingredients for generally low-calorie meals that are great for the solo vegan eater like me.
I will preface this review by saying I’m a cook at heart. I love chopping, simmering, and sprinkling spices on my foods. I rarely follow directions to a T. Part of the enjoyment of eating for me is the ritual of preparation, and for that reason, I don’t love ready-to-eat frozen meals. However, Daily Harvest isn’t the typical Hungry-Man chewy steak and gluey potatoes of yesteryear.
Photograph: Molly Higgins
These health-conscious meals rely on the natural taste of the featured vegetable(s), pairing them with flavor profiles like curry and lemongrass for more complexity. There are also sides, like Mexican- and Indian-inspired rice, which serve as good bases or jumping-off points for a homemade meal when adding your own crispy tofu or roasted veggies. If you didn’t want to do any additional work, the meals on their own require very little prep besides reheating in a microwave or on a stovetop. The many choices of smoothies and soups are the exception, which require a blender or food processor along with water, a plant-based milk, or broth for a fuller flavor.
With a Daily Harvest subscription, you’re getting a solid vegan meal in less than five minutes with minimal work. The flavors were sometimes dull for me, and I grew tired of the mushy consistency, but if you’re a solo vegan who doesn’t want to have to think too hard about your next meal, Daily Harvest may be the service for you.
Down to Nuts and Beans
Unlike the majority of other meal delivery services I’ve tested, which use an AI-assisted shopper or tout their expertly curated meal plans, Daily Harvest gives consumers the power. It offers à la carte selection of frozen pastas, soups, bowls, and smoothies that spread from breakfast to dinner, with snacks like chocolate energy bites. You can see the whole selection online, including prices. Things like allergies are just denoted with an asterisk online, so you’ll need to read closely about the dishes before ordering to be sure they meet any dietary restrictions.
Without rotating weekly menus that the brand preselects for you, Daily Harvest offers single servings that start at $7 for something like a breakfast bowl, and go up to $11 for most everything else, like harvest bowls and pasta. You need a $50 minimum to order, and shipping is $10. Buying à la carte is kind of nice sometimes, because you’re not beholden to a premade selection. Although the menu changes periodically, switching out a seasonal or unpopular dish, I could see the limited selection getting a little boring if you were to commit to this service for a long time.
Daily Harvest also has dietitian-curated bundles, which group items focused on a specific need. There’s a Mediterranean Diet–inspired collection, a protein smoothie bundle, meals that support GLP-1 diet guidelines, and meals that align with the Whole30 diet.
