Sprinly

Sprinly delivers fully prepared vegan meals that arrive fresh and chilled, never frozen, and heat in a few minutes. It isn't a kit. The homepage sums it up as "Plant-based meals prepared by chefs and delivered fresh weekly. No cooking required." Every dish is vegan and made with gluten-free ingredients, and the company says it sources "USDA-certified organic ingredients" every week, making exceptions only in extreme cases such as a failed crop. If you're vegan, or simply want more plants without cooking, and prefer fresh food to freezer stock, Sprinly is one of the more distinctive options here.

How ordering works

You pick a weekly plan and a start week. The plans page offers 6, 12 or 18 meals per week, and the FAQ says "We have plans to accommodate everyone, whether the meals are for an individual, a couple or an entire family!" After checkout, you choose meals in a client portal, which always shows the next 4 weeks of menus.

The menu is deliberately small. The FAQ says Sprinly has "over 50 recipes that we rotate throughout the year" and makes "six honestly delicious meals available to you each week." You mix and match quantities with plus and minus buttons, dropping dishes you don't want and doubling up on ones you do; the company even suggests ordering 6, 12 or 18 of the same meal for an event. It keeps the weekly menu short on purpose, to cut food waste. The same reasoning explains why it's a weekly service rather than on-demand: the FAQ says it sources exactly what it needs each week, with produce harvested as close as possible to cooking, "sometimes even the same day."

The deadline is fixed: "Tuesdays at 11:59pm ET" for choosing meals, skipping a week or changing shipping details, with a reminder email every week. Miss it and "we'll send you an equal distribution of the week's meals." You can skip single weeks with a toggle or put the subscription on indefinite hold, and the FAQ says "there are no commitments or penalties."

What it costs

For new customers there's a limited-time "Meal Trial" at "$39 first week," which "Then continues as a 6 meal plan or cancel anytime." That trial is the only first-order offer on the site. There's also a "Happiness Guarantee": if something isn't right, the company says it will try to fix it and may issue Sprinly credit toward a future order, rather than a cash refund.

Pricing for the regular 6, 12 and 18-meal plans is shown per plan on Sprinly's site, as a weekly charge. You can also prepay several weeks at once, with "5% off!" on 4 or 5 weeks and "10% off!" on 6 weeks or more. On shipping, the gift card page says "Shipping calculated at checkout." Gift cards are available too, pitched at new parents, friends who are ill and busy professionals.

The food itself

The dishes are hearty and globally minded. The homepage's "most loved" list includes Pasta Primavera with gluten-free pasta and cashew "parm," Mediterranean Veggie Kofta Crumble with vegan tzatziki, Mac and "Cheese" with steamed broccoli and plant-based "bacon bits," Zucchini Noodle Pesto Pasta with Italian garbanzo bean patties, a Mediterranean Oasis Bowl with baked falafel, a Fajita Bowl with lentil walnut crumble, Indian Roasted Vegetable Curry with cashew quinoa and Japanese Soba Noodles with pineapple glaze and tofu. The upcoming menu shows full ingredient lists and calories; the Mac and "Cheese" lists 710 calories and 22 g of protein, and other dishes range from about 400 to 760 calories.

Each meal is a single serving, 14 to 20 oz on average, and the FAQ says many customers find a meal stretches to 1 to 1.5 meals. Dishes carry labels such as "No refined sugar," "Soy free," "Nut free" and "Oil Free." The company's stated rules are "no refined sugar, no artificial preservatives, and 100% gluten-free," and it keeps oil and sodium "at a minimum." One caution the company gives itself: the meals use gluten-free ingredients but "are not prepared in a certified gluten-free kitchen," so it advises people allergic to gluten to be careful. Meals aren't certified kosher, and individual meals can't be customized.

Heating is simple, with stovetop and microwave instructions on every package so "meals can be ready in 3 minutes or less." Meals are meant to last "through the following Monday," except dishes marked "Eat Me Earlier." The company doesn't recommend freezing them, though it says some customers freeze pastas, soups and curries.

The site makes some health claims of its own, for instance that "Plant-based meals are shown to promote heart health, reduce blood pressure and improve your mood." That's Sprinly's statement, not ours. For people tracking what they eat, the company says it partners with MyFitnessPal and shows nutrition for every dish on its menu page and in the client portal.

Who it reaches

The FAQ says "We're now shipping throughout the US, including Hawaii and Alaska!" All orders ship on Monday with tracking emailed the same day, and "Nationwide couriers will deliver your meals on Tuesday or Wednesday." Boxes are insulated with "2-3 heavy duty ice packs," and no signature is required. The liner is compostable, and the containers are microwave, oven and freezer safe and made of up to 40% recycled material.

What the site leaves open, and who it suits

Check the weekly price of the plan size you want on the plans page before the trial rolls over, since the $39 trial is the only figure quoted here. The small weekly menu is a trade-off: 6 dishes a week means less choice than services with dozens of options, though you can load up on favourites.

Sprinly suits vegans, couples and families who want fresh, organic, plant-based meals for the week and don't mind choosing by Tuesday night. It's one of few services here that ships to Hawaii and Alaska. It suits less well anyone with celiac disease who needs a certified gluten-free kitchen, anyone who wants a large menu to pick from, and anyone who likes to stock the freezer.