December 19, 2024
The Best Ready-Made Delivery Meals Australia in 2024 – Optimal Meal Prep Nutrition For Recovery
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Best healthy ready-made delivery meals Australia
Healthy, ready-made delivery meals can save time on meal prep and help with goals of sticking to a nutrition protocol for performance, recovery or weight loss. Delivery meals in Australia have become popularised by brands like Youfoodz, Marley Spoon, Macros, Hello Fresh and other healthy ready made meals like My Muscle Chef, that have become a staple for the time poor to grab and go or deliver to home.
Initially, ready made meals were marketed for weight loss goals, but now prepared meals have become a smart option for everyone from athletes to office workers to buy for the fridge or freezer to have an easy option for breakfast, lunch or dinner without sacrificing well balanced macros and quality ingredients.
Admittedly, many of the ready made meals we have tried fall short a little on size and don’t really get you full. In this article, we present a few healthy ready made meals that are available to buy online and delivered straight to your door and that hit the mark for quality ingredients and filling.
Best Ready-Made Meals Australia 2024 – Our Top Picks
Best Overall: My Muscle Chef
Use code WELCOME20 for $20 off first order
My Muscle Chef is the top pick for overall best ready-made meal for optimal nutrition for recovery. My Muscle Chef meals actually introduced us to the potential of a well made, well priced pre made meal that was tasty, filling and includes healthy ingredients. There is a good reason this meal service has achieved #1 best food delivery service for over 5 years in a row, has over 100+ meals, snacks, drinks and sides and sells 2 million+ meals per month. RG top pick is the Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl.
Read our full My Muscle Chef Review here
Best For Macros: Macros
Use code MAC200 for $200 off first 10 orders
MACROS offer the best selection of ready-made meals that allow you to pick a plan that suits your macros and dietary requirements with a choice of balanced, family, weight loss or plant based meals. Macros gives you the option to select your number of meals per week from 7, 10, 15,18, 21 or 24 meals depending on how many people you are feeding and how many meals are required per day.
Best Delivery: Youfoodz
Use code YFA140 for $140 discount on 4 boxes
With next day delivery available for some locations, Youfoodz is the best ready-made meal for delivery time. Youfoodz has a range of regular meals, FUEL’D large meals, soups, bundles, breakfast, snacks and drinks. Some of the larger meals have up to 50g of protein or select from the lower calorie, lighter meals if weight loss is your goal. Youfoodz allows you to drag and drop single meals into your cart for a wide array of selection and taste through your week.
Best For Weight Loss: Be Fit Food
Use code NEW25 for $25 discount off your first order
Be Fit Food are the best ready made meal for weight loss goals. They offer a free 15 minute consultation with a qualified dietician for anyone which is the perfect way to start with a deliberate approach to weight loss giving you a personalised meal plan to go off. Be Fit Food starts by asking you a few personal questions like your goals, weight, height, age and gender to give you the best meal plan for your intentions. Or you can go straight to the healthy meal bundles like the 28 Meal bundle for $319.95 which is designed to provide you with healthy prepared meals to keep in the freezer, perfect for when you simply want to replace one meal a day with a low calorie, high protein meal.
Best Plant-Based: Soulara
Use code BEGIN80 for $80 discount
Soulara is one of very few vegan, plant-based meal delivery services in Australia and for meal plans as low as $9.10 per meal they are a no-brainer for plant based convenience. They make ready-made meals utilising a combination of protein-rich wholefoods like legumes, tempeh, nuts, and seeds to ensure your body is getting everything it needs to thrive. What we love more about Solara is, to make their meals as nutrient-dense as possible, they source fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables from Australian farmers – all for supporting local and shortening the supply chain. They offer main meals, breakfasts and extras like snacks and juices too. RG team favourite – Coconut Jackfruit Curry with Rice.
Read our full Soulara Review here
Best Taste: Chef Good
Use code CBEST50F for $50 discount over two boxes
Chef Good offer the best tasting meal delivery in 2022. Chef Good pre-made meals allow you to select from a number of everyday or weight loss type meal plans and then further customise your meal plan based on dietary requirements like gluten free, no dairy, vegan, vegetarian, low carb, high protein to match you to the best meal plan. You can swap meals and add snacks and drinks to the set meal plans which come in 5, 7 or 10 meal packs per week costing only $11.50 per meal (for the 10 meal pack). Chef Good also hand craft a new menu each week from fresh local produce to keep things tasty! RG team favourite – Chicken and Shitake Meatballs Red Curry.
What Is A Ready-Made Meal?
Macros Perform Meal Delivery
It’s likely you’ve heard of or seen a ready-made or pre-made meal at a grocery store or even service station now, but that doesn’t mean you’ve tried one. It’s highly likely if you’re a single bloke or have experienced a lockdown during Covid you have considered buying one for delivery to your door for a quick, easy fix to hunger without the cooking involved. If you have no idea yet, consider each meal a little box of meal prep filled with your favourite ingredients delivered to your home without the need to cook.
Yes, there are a bunch of meal delivery kits available that require you to cook the recipes you have selected, but we will just focus on ready-made meals that you can put in the microwave and into the mouth within a few minutes, perfect for the time poor.
Most of these meal services are designed around some type of meal plan subscription which allows you to pick from a certain number of meals per week and even customise your meal selection to cater for your dietary requirements like vegan, plant-based, keto, macros, high protein, low-carb, no dairy, gluten free etc etc. You are definitely in no shortage of options for ready-made meals in Australia and most of the delivery services we list deliver across all states and territories. When choosing a healthy ready-made meal delivery, consider the following:
Budget – Some meal plans start from as low as $9 per meal which is pretty hard to beat. Other meals are upwards of $15 when you buy a single pre-made meal which can add up if you are a regular. Consider the amount of calories in the cheaper meals too, as lower price can often entail smaller portions. Ready-made meals costs are in between eating out and grocery shopping and will save you time while still eating for recovery.
Calorie Requirements – Some people train heavy 6-7 times per week and constantly move for work or play, others only train once per week, move little and are a small body type. These types of people and everyone in between will require different calorie intakes to sustain their recovery, choose the meal portion size that fits your energy output. Some people like routine while others thrive on constant change. Find the meal kit service that suits your particular lifestyle habits.
Dietary Factors – Each meal prep service is different, and most will allow you to select a meal plan that suits your individual dietary requirements. Some, like Soulara, offer purely plant based, vegan meals and snacks or those who are following a plant based diet.
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How We Choose the Best Ready-Made Meals
My Muscle Chef meals, snacks and drinks
Choosing the best ready-made meal should be based on the reason you are buying a pre-made meal. It can often be the case that buying a ready made meal that is well priced can save you money if you are not the best shopper for making your own meals at home. We have struggled to replicate some of these pre-made meals at home for the same cost after factoring in buying all of the ingredients, cooking time and clean up.
After trying almost every ready made meal available in Australia at the time of writing this, we make our recommendations for ready made meals for optimal nutrition for recovery mainly off three main factors: price, ingredients, portion size. Other factors like how tasty the meal is, how many different style or variations you can choose from and how fast the delivery is, are also considerations we make.
Ingredients
Soulara vegan and plant-based meal delivery
The best ingredients in a ready made meal are organic, locally sourced ingredients. Although organic ingredients are not essential for a quality and nutritious meal, the more organic ingredients the meal contains, the happier we are to eat it. Organic ingredients limit the amount of herbicides and pesticides used on the growing and harvesting process of your food and therefore less nasties ingested by you that can have negative impacts on your overall health.
Portion Size
The average portion size of a ready-made meal is between 250-450gms. Obviously, it all depends how hungry you are and what your calorie requirements are. An adult male athlete training heavy 5-6 times per week will most definitely require a larger portion size and far higher caloric intake than a small female who trains yoga or pilates 1-2 times per week.
For good portion size, we look for both the ratio of high value ingredients usually in the for of the protein portion of the meal like the meat, chicken and other costly ingredients as well as the overall calories or grams that the meal provides. Something like the My Muscle Chef Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl gives you 450gms for about $10.40 online or slightly more depending on where you are buying your meal. For a little over $10 you can get a well portioned meal with 700 calories of nutrition for recovery with 65g of protein, 62g of carbs, 21g of fat and a whole lot of taste.
Price
Closely related to portion size, with the price we look for value for money in our ready-made meals. The average price of a ready-made meal is between $9-$20 with delivery factored in. Over the years we have seen some highly overpriced pre made meals hit the market (and slowly die off).
The delivery meal market is highly competitive now and we are seeing some good value money saving potential when you buy delivery style, ready made meals online or in service stations, Woolworths and other supermarkets. When you buy in bulk, you can score some pretty good savings on your meal plan like the 28 meals for $319 offered by Be Fit Food.
Our overall favourite, My Muscle Chef also has one of the most competitive price points of delivered meals at $9 per meal when you order in bulk. Good luck trying to replicate this cost by buying all of the ingredients individually – and that’s before you cook, clean and reset.
Taste
Taste is individual, however some ready-made meals just nail the taste buds in all the right places. Some of our team actually enjoy meals on the plainer side of the taste buds when opting for purely macro goal eating when trying to maintain a certain body composition for losing weight. At the other end of the spectrum though, there are some surprisingly tasty pre-made meals out there like the My Muscle Chef Smokey BBQ Beef Brisket with Sweet Potato, the Chef Good Chicken and Shitake Meatballs Red Curry or the Be Fit Food Chilli and Ginger Baked Fish.
We look for meals that are packed with fresh herbs and spices, complimentary flavours, healthy sauces and succulent meat or fish pieces.
Variation
When ordering home delivery meals consistently, we love variation. Although some of the RG team are creatures of habit and stick to the same 3-4 meals every time, it is great to have some choice, options and variation in your weekly meal plan. My Muscle Chef has over 50 meals to choose from while other meal plan style ready-made meals like Chef Good and Be Fit Food update their menu each week and are constantly offering new tastes to their menu.
The Best Ready-Made Meals in Australia 2024
When choosing the best ready-made meal to buy online, ultimately a big factor will always be price so you may end up trialling a few different choices to get to your favourite type. Taste is always an individual preference, but all things considered, we find the My Muscle Chef Meals the best ready-made meal in Australia 2024.
The high availability and popularity of these pre made meals now means you can work your way through the whole list pretty easily to find the one you like best, we find buying ready made meals online a much more hassle-free process than buying them at Woolworths or Service Stations as the meal options may not always be as plentiful as when buying online. Simply take your pick from our list of best pre made meals Australia, fill in your basket, checkout and your meals will generally be delivered in a matter of days in a cooler pack at your front door. Most pre-made meals can be be stored in the fridge or freezer and heated in a microwave for about 2 minutes to be ready to eat.
Best Overall: My Muscle Chef
Overall Rating: 10/10
Value: 9/10
Price: $10.45/meal
RG Favourite Meal: Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl
Use code: WELCOME20 for $20 off first order
My Muscle Chef meals and snacks are the best ready-made meal delivery in Australia that we have come across. My Muscle Chef has really dominated the healthy delivery meal industry and for good reason.
There is a Muscle Chef option for everyone and every meal time so naturally we found ourselves testing out My Muscle Chef meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. To be honest, you can only do this for a certain amount of time before you start feeling extremely lazy and getting a little sick of the meals, nonetheless it is a great option for time poor people wanting healthy, prepared meals.
My Muscle Chef is reasonably priced for the portion sizes and now you can buy Muscle Chef meals in most service stations, Woolworths, Coles and other independent supermarkets throughout Australia. The average price of My Muscle Chef meals is about $10 which gives you about 350g-450g serving size and generous meat portions which we think is great value.
My personal favourite is the Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl which is a taco seasoned chicken breast, basmati rice, black beans, capsicum and cabbage topped with a delicious chipotle mayo, seriously amazing for a ready-made meal. This particular meal is 450g serving size for about $10.45 depending on where you buy it and I have tried to eat two portions when I was extra hungry (I am a big eater) and it was more than enough for an adult male that is training weights or cardio to sustain a decent caloric intake.
The thing you will notice about My Muscle Chef is that they not only have a mouth watering range of 70+ prepped meals, they also have a full suite of snack, soups, drinks, salads and breakfasts so there is something for every part of the day you need a convenience boost for. We go mad for the Hazelnut Crips Protein Bites and the Banana and Walnut flavour protein muffin for snacks on the side.
Best For Macros: Macros
Overall Rating: 7/10
Value: 7/10
Price: $9.65/meal
RG Favourite Meal: Persian Lamb with Babaganoush
Use code: MAC200 for $200 off first 10 orders
We ordered a weeks worth of MACROS meals which were delivered to our door in 3 days and arrived in a large box with cooling blocks and insulated wrapping to keep it cold for up to 8 hours if you are not at home to put it straight in the fridge.
Our MACROS ready-made meal delivery including Blueberry Kombucha
Our initial thoughts of the Macros Meals were that the portion sizes are a little on the small side, however it is important to remember that these meals have been portioned out with purpose. We did, however, find that the Macros were a great prepped meal to have in the freezer for taking to work for an easy lunch if you forget to do your own meal prep.
MACROS have a selection of ready-made delivered meals that are all 350g – 450g portions for singles and 700g portions in the family meal plans that serve two, with options for plant-based dietary requirements.
Macros offer a great range of pre-arranged meal plans that suit different calorie requirements based on your specific lifestyle. If you are looking for weight loss, they have a selection of low calorie meals to support healthy weight management; if you are training a lot and need more calories for growth and repair they are a suitable ‘perform’, ‘sculpt’ or ‘gain’ selection of meal plans; if you are buying for the family they have 700g meals that feed two people; and if you are looking for vegan or plant-based meals they have a selection for you.
MACROS meal examples and Kombucha
Macros ready-made meals can be delivered in your desired meals per week. You can choose from 7, 10, 15, 18, 21, or 24 meals per week which are differing prices depending on the meal plan you choose. The more meals per week you order, the cheaper the price per meal becomes which can get you some pretty cheap meals to have on-the-go when you are not prepared or feeling a little lazy on lunch or dinner through the week. On the balanced plan, you can get 18 meals per week for $189 which is the most popular meal plan.
Macros delivery meals were moderate on taste and a little bit underwhelming in our experience with the delivered meals we got.
Macros also offer two types of Kombucha which we had with each meal to improve digestion and gut health. The Organic Blueberry and Hibiscus Kombucha was our favourite and came in a well portioned bottle which wasn’t too much to stomach.
As far as a bottom line goes for a Macros meals review, Macros meals would be suitable for someone looking to really control portions and lose weight or shred for their wedding day for example, but we found My Muscle Chef meals to be tastier, more filling, and better ratios of meat.
Best Delivery: Youfoodz
Overall Rating: 8/10
Value: 8/10
Price: Varies
RG Favourite Meal: Thai Fish Curry
Best For Weight Loss: Be Fit Food
Overall Rating: 8/10
Value: 7/10
Price: $11.30/meal
RG Favourite Meal: Italian Beef Meatballs
Best Taste: Chef Good
Overall Rating: 7/10
Value: 6/10
Price: $11.55/meal
RG Favourite Meal: Chicken & Shiitake Meatballs Red Curry
Best Plant-Based: Soulara
Overall Rating: 8/10
Value: 9/10
Price: $9.10/meal
RG Favourite Meal: Coconut Jackfruit Curry
Soulara meals are the best vegan, plant based and vegetarian option for healthy ready made meals. We got stuck into Soulara meals this year and have given these vegan delivery meals a full review. What we love most about Soulara is the weekly updated meal options in their meal plans. At any one time, Soulara offers about 40 different pre made meal options that are 100% vegan and plant-based ingredients.
Many of the other ready-made meal delivery brands like My Muscle Chef, Macros and Youfoodz offer their own vegan or plant-based options but they just do not have the same amount of variety or taste as the Soulara meals. Soulara specialise in vegan meal prep, that is the difference.
We tried the Soulara meal plan using the 24 meals/week service at $9.10 per meal and even for someone who isn’t generally plant-based or vegan, the ready made meals were on point and perfect for an easy and healthy meal option that can be microwaved.
Our favourite meal from the Soulara menu is definitely the Mindful Moussaka which has chickpeas, borlotti beans, eggplant, TVP, zucchini and sweet potato. The Mindful Moussaka has about 300 calories, 11 grams of protein and 33 grams of carbs. Be aware, this meal contains some gluten but there are a heap of other Soulara meals without gluten and options to suit different dietary requirements.
What Soulara meals have going for them is that many of them are packed full of quality superfood ingredients that are generally good for things like gut health, skin and weight loss goals. They also make their meals with a lot of Australian grown ingredients and offer a pretty decent range of globally inspired dishes to suit a broad range of tastes. Soulara also do a really delicious range of vegan snacks like protein balls and “Plant-Powered Bars” and drinks like Zingy Ginger Kombucha, juices like Cold Pressed Vitamin C Booster and Coconut waters.
Soulara vegan snacks and drinks
What Soulara don’t do well is offer a great deal of information on the Soy products used in their meals which we don’t like. GMO or genetically modified soy products can present some big issues for people and we are not a big fan of soy products for health in general. Soulara are also currently limited to delivery to most major cities and only deliver on Fridays which may limit your ability to even buy the meals. If soy isn’t a big issue for you and you fall into the delivery zone for Soulara then Soulara is highly recommended for vegans looking for a good ready made meal service or even for those trying out a meat free week!
Frequently Asked Questions
Youfoodz ready-made meals
What is the best ready-made meal for weight loss?
The truth is, most ready-made meals we have tried have the potential to help with weight loss and body composition goals as they are all portioned and limit over consumption of calories. The best ready-made meal for weight loss is the Be Fit Food meal plans which gives you a personalised meal plan and offers a 15 minute consultation with a qualified dietician.
What is the best filling pre-made meal?
The best filling and well portioned ready-made meal is My Muscle Chef. They offer a couple of meals that are 450 calories which is enough to be filling and well portioned for macros. Our favourite filling meal is the Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl.
What is the best vegan ready-made meal service?
Soulara meals have the best vegan and plant-based meals we have tried. Most meal delivery services like My Muscle Chef and Youfoodz offer vegan options in their menus but Soulara are dedicated to providing purely vegan, plant-based and vegetarian style prepared meals as well as some seriously tasty snacks, Kombuchas and juices.
Soulara has about 40 different vegan style meals with quality ingredients some of which have some really good meat alternatives that tick the box for macronutrients and micronutrients. Despite being purely plant-based, Soulara has a range of filling ready made meals that range from 250-550 grams per serving. Soulara delivers to most major cities but excludes delivery to a lot of places considered rural which may be an issue depending on where you live.
Do ready-made meals save money?
Yes, when compared to eating out every night or even getting takeaway, ready-made meals can save you up to $100 per week just from swapping your work day lunch and dinner meals from a $20 average spend to a $10 pre-made meal. $100/week saved puts $5,200 in your pocket after a year.
Are pre-made meals good for you?
With a large portion of the population overweight and carrying a little extra on the sides, the calorie control and portion control provided by ready-made meals could be considered very healthy for a lot of people. Generally, pre-made meals have the ability to be healthy with the right selection. The only issue with some ready-made meals is that to keep them tasty and preserved, some manufacturers will add generous amounts of salt. This is an issue for those with already elevated blood pressure considering cardiovascular disease is the #1 killer in Australia. But, not all providers of meal delivery add too much salt – look for brands with salt <120mg/100g.
How long can you keep a ready-made meal in the freezer?
Most ready-made meals can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 weeks, while most can be kept in the fridge for about 1 week.
Is it bad to eat ready-made meals for every meal?
We would not recommend eating a ready-made meal every meal, instead keeping pre-made meals to a matter of convenience and to be able to have meal prep done for periods when you are time poor and still want to maintain a healthy diet for optimal performance and recovery.
Some pre-made meals can be quite high is sodium (salt) content to aid in preserving the meals which means consuming a few of these meals per day can throw your recommended daily sodium intake over the limit.
Final Word on Best Ready-Made Delivery Meal Australia
We have to admit, the process of finding the best ready-made meal was an enjoyable one, eating our way throught the large list of pre-made meals out there now. The general consensus among the RG team was that the My Muscle Chef meals are the best quality, well priced and most filling meals you can buy online.
There are some standout choices in the My Muscle Chef menu including the Chipotle Chicken and the Beef Brisket with Sweet Potato. My Muscle Chef also has a pretty epic selection of healthy snacks that we are currently working through.
When choosing the right meal for your goals it is important to consider the calories in each meal, your taste preference, budget, your macro needs and dietary requirements. It’s time to get your 2024 new years resolutions sorted in the nutrition department!
Smarter recovery for humans…
Jayce Love
Jayce has spent the last decade in the military as an elite Royal Australian Navy Clearance Diver and has an ever growing passion for biohacking and recovery for peak performance. Jayce has accreditations in fitness and nutrition, cold water immersion, and regularly adopts human Guinea pig status to test out the latest tools, techniques, practices, gear and gadgets in the name of optimal fitness, recovery and wellness.