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Cooking can be a challenge for older adults, but luckily there’s a wide array of meal delivery services for seniors tailor-made for their specific dietary needs. Whether they have physical limitations that make cooking difficult, need help maintaining a strict diet for medical reasons, or perhaps find cooking for one a chore, seniors can opt to let one of these services deliver healthful, ready-to-heat meals right to their door.
Although the ever-growing lineup of prepared meal and meal kit delivery services can appeal to adults of all ages, many people over 65 find that their dietary needs are quite different from when they were younger. Some might have to watch their cholesterol or salt intake, cut back on carbs and sugar, or need special meals for post-surgery recovery. That’s where companies geared explicitly toward seniors come in.
These meal delivery services for seniors make it very easy to select meals according to strict dietary needs, offer very clear-cut ingredient and nutrition information, provide meals portioned for solo diners, and ensure each meal is balanced with the macronutrients (macros) aging adults need. Some services even work with health insurance providers to cover the costs. And since cooking can be a burden for many seniors, these meals come already prepared, either refrigerated or frozen, ready to heat and eat.
Read on to find out which senior meal delivery services stood out from the rest and why.
Best Senior Meal Delivery Services
- Best Overall: Mom’s Meals
- Best for Foodies: Freshly
- Best for Customizing: Top Chef Meals
- Best for All Meals: Silver Cuisine
- Best Variety: MagicKitchen
Best Overall : Mom’s Meals
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- Price Per Serving: $6.99
- Number Of Recipes: 28
When you want to take the guesswork out of eating on a restricted diet, these ready-to-heat meals have you covered at an affordable price. They’re designed by dieticians and can accommodate perhaps the widest range of dietary needs.
Accommodates the most dietary needs
No subscription needed
Works with insurance providers
Affordable
Delivers even to rural areas
Meals aren’t customizable
Menu is unadventurous
Whatever you need, Mom’s Meals checks all the boxes. The dietician-designed meals are created to meet the nutrition requirements for seniors while also adhering to just about any dietary requirements. Besides common dietary needs like low-sodium meals for those with heart conditions or low-sugar meals for diabetics, there are meals for people battling cancer, recovering from surgery, on dialysis, or having difficulty swallowing.
Options range from breakfast to dinner, and a lot of the dinners include a little sweet treat for dessert, like an old-fashioned TV dinner. However, unlike processed frozen entrees from the grocery store, these meals are prepared with no added preservatives, delivered fresh. The company’s proprietary packaging will keep the meals fresh for up to 14 days in the refrigerator.
The menu options depend on the type of dietary requirements. But the sample menus reveal that adventurous eaters may be a bit disappointed. There’s a heavy emphasis on classic American foods—so much so that even ravioli and lasagna are considered “international flavors.”
Subscription services can be confusing for some seniors, who might not want the burden of remembering to cancel or update their order in time. Plus, subscription-based services are more complex to give as one-off gifts. Luckily, Mom’s Meal’s isn’t a subscription service, but it can be treated as one if you opt for the auto-ship. You’ll get 10 percent off your order, and you can change and cancel it anytime.
Mom’s meals deliver to any address in the U.S., even rural addresses. And the service frequently works with healthcare providers and insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which may cover all or part of the cost. The price for self-pay meals starts at $6.99 per single-serving meal with flat-rate shipping at around $15.
Best for Foodies : Freshly
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- Price Per Serving: $8.99
- Number Of Recipes: 60
Although this subscription service isn’t aimed specifically at seniors, its boldly flavored meals are as interesting as they are vegetable-heavy and nutrient-dense, and the service makes it easy to see what’s low-sodium, low-carb, and low-fat. Most meals are gluten-free, so if you’re trying to avoid bread and pasta, you’ll have a lot of options.
Emphasis on vegetables
Fresh, not frozen
Adventurous menu options
Subscription only
Small orders are a bit expensive
Only accommodates a few dietary restrictions
Meals aren’t customizable
Freshly doesn't specifically target seniors, but the subscription-based meal delivery service works well for any older adult who loves interesting flavors, doesn't want to cook, is looking to eat more healthfully, and isn't on a super-strict medical diet.
Most of the 30-plus dishes are gluten-free, which means it's easy for seniors who are watching to find meals that meet their intake of simple carbs, whether they are watching their weight or their daily sugars. The dishes average just 8 grams of sugar per meal, with no corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, or preservatives. Veggies are incorporated every which way, from being blended into sauces or spun into noodles. Even the mashed potatoes get a carb reduction and nutritional boost from the addition of cauliflower.
Customers can filter the menu to find low-sodium, low-carb, low-calorie, low-fat, and high-protein options. The single-serving FreshlyFit meals have 300 to 550 calories and 20 grams of carbs or less each, making portion control easy to track; they're delivered fresh, and they take just minutes to reheat in the microwave.
Freshly's minimum subscription of four meals per week is great for those who live alone or maybe like to cook or eat out occasionally. The cost per meal starts at $11.49 and gets cheaper the more meals ordered per week ($8.99 for orders of 12). Shipping is moderately priced at $9.99 to $11.99, depending on the number of meals.
Best for Customizing : Top Chef Meals
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Top Chef Meals adds an all-important element of freedom to meal plans for dietary restrictions. Customers can mix and match from dozens of side dishes to make meal combinations they actually want to eat, all while keeping within their health requirements.
Customizable meals
Accommodates many dietary needs
Large menu
No subscription necessary
Discounts for seniors
Frozen meals don’t always heat evenly
High shipping charges outside of the East Coast
Top Chef Meals is all about flexibility. Once you pick from dozens of customizable entrées, you can choose from dozens of starch and vegetable side dish options. You can even opt to swap out the starch for the extra help of veggies or add extra protein or more sauce. The nutritional breakdown of each item is listed, so you can track the amounts as you customize your meal.
The frozen meals reheat quickly in the microwave, though the company recommends thawing the meals first and removing items that cook quicker, then adding them back toward the end of the cooking time, so they don’t get overdone.
There are hundreds of items on the menu, including side dishes, breakfast, and desserts, with accommodations for a range of special diets—renal health, dairy-free, low-sodium, and more. Seniors can even order kid-friendly meals for when the grandkids come over.
There’s no subscription required, and senior citizens get 10 percent off their orders. Depending on the delivery zone, shipping is free with a minimum order, ranging from 10 meals in the northeast to 18 meals in the mountain states. Shipping is free in many states on the eastern third of the U.S., but costs $19.95 to other states. Meals range between $8 and $12 each.
Best for All Meals : Silver Cuisine
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Silver Cuisine
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When just having dinner delivered isn’t enough, Silver Cuisine offers healthful breakfast, lunch, and snack options too. Prices are reasonable, and free discounts for AARP members make it an affordable way to stock your pantry with good-for-you foods.
Breakfast and snack options
Free shipping with minimum order
Discounts for AARP members
Can call to place orders
Few plant-based options
Frozen meals take longer to heat
As the name implies, Silver Cuisine is specifically designed for seniors. Silver Cuisine's division of bistroMD specializes in doctor-designed weight-loss meal plans ensures each frozen meal has the appropriate macros for seniors, with 20–25 percent of calories from healthy fats, 30–35 percent from complex carbohydrates, and 40–45 percent from lean proteins.
There are over 50 entrees and over two dozen breakfast options, including frittatas and bagel sandwiches. Silver Cuisine also offers a range of snacks, including protein shakes, jerky, and cracker mixes. Symbols denote which items are gluten-free, diabetic-friendly, heart-healthy, and low in sodium. Although plant-based options are scarce, meat-eaters will love the wide selection that includes dishes like Pork and Hatch Green Chile Stew, Thai Coconut Chicken, and Sea Bass with Mango Coconut Salsa.
Entree prices range from $8 to $16, with free shipping on orders over $99 and discounts for AARP members. Those who don’t like ordering online are encouraged to place orders over the phone.
Best Variety : MagicKitchen
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Not only does Magic Kitchen accommodate a wide range of challenging dietary requirements, but it offers a wide array of menu items, which can make even the pickiest eaters happy.
Dietician-designed meals
Accommodates many dietary needs
Wide array of dishes
No subscription needed
Works with insurance providers
Discounts for seniors
Relatively expensive
Frozen meals take longer to heat
After a lifetime of sharing meals, it might be a bit jarring for older couples to order separate meals, and the individual packaging is a bit wasteful. Magic Kitchen’s flash-frozen two- and four-serving a la carte options are ideal for those who enjoy eating the same dish together, with dozens of entrées, soup, side dishes, and desserts to choose from. On the flip side, people who don’t want to make compromises will love Magic Kitchen’s complete meal lineup, with single-portions of an entrée and side dishes all in one tray.
There are meal plans for a wide range of dietary needs, from dairy-free to kidney disease, and they’re all designed by dieticians. Each menu item includes a full ingredients list and nutrition information, plus symbols denoting which diets it accommodates.
There’s no required subscription to manage, making it easy to give meals as gifts, and Magic Kitchen works with healthcare providers and insurance companies to coordinate orders. Meals average around $10 to $14 per serving, with shipping starting at an additional $18.95. Seniors get $10 off orders of $80 or more.
Final Verdict
There’s no one-size-fits-all meal plan for senior adults. Some older adults have little to no health conditions that require dietary restrictions, while others might have to adhere to severely restricted diets. Some love exploring new foods and adventurous flavors, while others might be at a stage of life when unfamiliar foods and strong flavors are unwelcome. Whatever their dietary requirements and challenges, there’s a meal delivery service out there that can be a great fit, ensuring you get a steady supply of healthful, nutritious foods with minimal effort.
Compare Providers
Company | Average Price per Meal | Shipping Costs | Dietary plans | Fresh or Frozen | Subscription required? | Minimum order |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mom’s Meals Best Overall | $6.99 | $14.95 | 9+ | Fresh | No; autoship available | 10 meals |
Freshly Best for Foodies | $9.60 | $9.99+ | 5 | Fresh | Yes | 4 meals |
Top Chef Meals Best for Customizing | $10 | Free to some states; $19.95 to others | 7 | Frozen | No | No |
Silver Cuisine Best for All Meals | $10 | $19.95 or free with $99 purchase | 9 | Frozen | No; autoship available | No |
Magic Kitchen Best Variety | $11 | $18.95+ | 11 | Frozen | No; autoship available | No |
FAQs
Is It Easy to Get Live Help While Ordering From a Senior Meal Delivery Service?
Seniors who don’t like placing orders online can call any of these companies for live help with a customer service representative.
How Do I Prepare the Food From a Senior Meal Delivery Service?
All of the fresh and frozen meals will come with heating instructions. Most can be heated in the microwave in their trays, but some will need to be heated in the oven. If a microwave is unavailable, all meals can be heated in the oven but often need to be transferred to an oven-safe dish first. Frozen meals often reheat better when allowed to thaw in the refrigerator. Fresh meals can be frozen for longer storage.
Can I Give a Meal as a Gift?
Many meal delivery services offer gift certificates. Plus, many of those aimed at seniors also make it easy for caregivers to manage the meal plan accounts. Services that are subscription-based will require the recipient to set up an account to redeem their gift certificate, and the recipient will have to cancel the subscription if they no longer want to receive meals.
Methodology
There are many meal delivery services out there, but not all are ideal for older adults. Health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and renal disease afflict many seniors who have to adhere to specific dietary requirements in order to maintain their health. We looked for companies offering meals that accommodated these types of conditions and designed with guidance from a dietician or physician.
We also focused on companies that delivered fully prepared meals, not cook-it-yourself kits, since many seniors find cooking challenging as they get older. Bonus points went to companies with a wide range of menu choices, affordable prices, and discounts, and those that made ordering easy and worked with caregivers, health insurance, and healthcare providers.
Since subscription services can be overwhelming to track for some seniors, we prioritized services that didn’t require a subscription, but offered automatic shipments if desired. We included one subscription service, however, since it offered a more adventurous lineup of meals that still emphasized nutrition appropriate for seniors.