Home Chef

Home Chef started in Chicago in 2013 and was acquired by Kroger in 2018, which is unusual in this category since most competitors are standalone startups. That grocery backing shows up in the menu breadth: alongside the standard chop-and-cook kits there are oven-ready trays that need no prep beyond unwrapping, and Express meals built around one pan and 15 minutes. Customization runs deeper than most kits too, with the option to swap proteins or double up on a cut for a few dollars more.

Because Home Chef kits also sit on shelves in physical Kroger stores in some regions, you can grab one without a subscription if you just want to try it once. The subscription version follows the usual weekly menu-and-skip cycle, with a Friday-ish cutoff for the next week’s order. Reviewers consistently rate the recipe instructions as some of the clearest in the category, which matters if you’re newer to cooking from a kit.