CookUnity 2024 Review: Prepared Meals with Restaurant-Worthy Flavors

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Healthline meal delivery service score: 4 out of 5

From its extensive rotating menu of ready-made meals to its impressive lineup of award-winning chefs, CookUnity is a meal delivery service aimed at helping you eat healthy, explore different cuisines, and spend less time cooking.

But with so many meal delivery services on the market, you may wonder what sets CookUnity apart and whether it’s really worth the price.

We tried Cook Unity for 1 week to see whether it’s worth ordering.

Disclaimer: Healthline’s tester was provided a week of CookUnity meals for free. However, our review is ours alone and has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by CookUnity.

What is CookUnity?

CookUnity is a meal delivery service that stands out for its fresh, fully prepared meals that are crafted by a team of more than 50 chefs from around the country, including Food Network stars and James Beard Award winners.

The service caters to a wide range of dietary preferences and eating patterns, including vegan, vegetarian, keto, and paleo.

Each meal features seasonal, sustainably sourced ingredients and is ready to reheat and enjoy within a matter of minutes.

CookUnity provides details about each dish on the menu, including its ingredients, nutritional information, and information about the chef who prepared it. You can also view ratings and reviews from customers to help you find options tailored to your taste buds.

Currently, CookUnity is available only in select areas throughout the contiguous United States. The company’s website allows you to input your zip code to find out whether delivery is available for your location.

How much does it cost?

The cost for CookUnity can depend on the number of meals you order each week.

The company offers several plans:

• 4 meals per week: $13.59 per serving
• 6 meals per week: $12.29 per serving
• 8 meals per week: $11.69 per serving
• 12 meals per week: $11.19 per serving
• 16 meals per week: $11.09 per serving

Note that weekly menus also typically feature a handful of “Chef Specials,” which are meals made using premium ingredients. There is an additional charge for these meals, which ranges from $2.99 to $9.99 per serving.

A delivery fee of $9.99 is applied to each order. In addition to that, CookUnity also charges service fees. The company says these are based on the logistics of delivering your meals. They vary based off of:

• your location
• the plan size you’ve selected
• your delivery date and carrier

Pros and cons at a glance

Who tried it

• Name: Kelli McGrane, MS, RD
• Role: Healthline Nutrition Editor
• Dietary needs and preferences: flexitarian
• Mealtime preferences: make-ahead, one-pan, and 30-minute weeknight meals and recipes that are toddler-friendly

In addition to being a registered dietitian, I’m a cookbook author and previously worked as a recipe developer. As a nutrition editor, I’ve reviewed countless meal and grocery delivery services. I’ve also tried more than 25 of the most popular meal delivery services on the market.

Because I’m a working mom of two, I’m constantly on the lookout for quick and easy meals that are nutritionally balanced.

My experience

Sign-up, meal selection, and cancellation processes

Tester score: 4.5 out of 5

Getting started with CookUnity was straightforward. First, you enter your zip code to see whether the service is available in your area. I live in a large metropolitan area, so I was eligible.

The next step is filling out a questionnaire with any dietary preferences or restrictions you might have. For example, I was asked which types of proteins I like and whether I wanted to avoid certain ingredients, including spicy flavors.

Using this information, the service provides personalized meal recommendations. You can also select your meals from a large menu that rotates weekly.

The menu includes filters to help narrow down your search by dietary need or chef.

However, with more than 200 meals to choose from and only one main menu, I found the meal selection process to be less intuitive and more overwhelming than those of other services I’ve tried.

In contrast, the cancellation process was a breeze, requiring just the click of a button.

Meal variety 

Tester score: 4.5 out of 5

While the weekly options can vary depending on your area, the service offers more than 200 meals across its entire menu.

Overall, I found that there was a good variety of meals to choose from, with options for omnivores and vegetarians alike.

There are also options for a variety of dietary needs, including:

• vegetarian
• vegan
• low calorie
• gluten-free
• dairy-free
• low sodium
• keto
• paleo
• high protein
• low fat

Delivery

I had zero issues with my delivery. The box arrived on time, none of the meals were damaged, and everything was still cold.

Sustainability

Tester score: 4 out of 5

CookUnity uses mostly recyclable, reusable, or compostable packaging materials. In fact, the boxes, insulated box liners, meal sleeves, and food containers are all recyclable, while the meal trays are industrially compostable.

Additionally, the service offers a Returnable Packaging Program in select areas to help cut down on waste. This program allows you to leave insulated bags and gel ice packs by your front door to be collected by your delivery person, sanitized, and reused.

CookUnity also recently launched a Climate-Friendly Collection in Los Angeles, which provides eco-friendly meals that are CarbonNeutral Certified.

The company states that it has taken other measures to support sustainability as well, including donating excess food, using a more efficient production model to minimize waste, and partnering with local vendors with sustainable practices.

Nutritional quality

Tester score: 3 out of 5

While I’m sure there are meals that are nutritionally balanced, I found it difficult to tell whether entrees would contain a good amount of vegetables.

Based on the descriptions and pictures alone, I was surprised when I opened my meals to see how few vegetables they actually contained.

Most of the meals on my menu were also quite high in carbs, calories, and saturated fat, so if you’re trying to lose weight or simply eat healthier, I highly recommend using the dietary filters and taking a peek at each meal’s nutrition label to find options that fit your needs.

Ingredients and freshness

Tester score: 4.5 out of 5

I was very impressed by the ingredient quality. If I hadn’t known that the meals were premade and shipped to my house, I would have thought that I was eating takeout from a local restaurant.

The proteins were well-seasoned and well-cooked, the vegetables tasted fresh, and the grains and starches were chewy without being too soft or too dry.

Just keep in mind that the service doesn’t appear to offer organic or grass-fed ingredients, which may be a downside for some customers.

Ease of prep

Tester score: 4.5 out of 5

I prepared two meals in the microwave and two in the oven. I personally preferred the oven method for overall taste and texture, though the meals are easy to prepare regardless of which method you choose.

I did note that the meals I cooked in the oven took a few minutes longer than the estimated cook time on the packaging.

Taste

Tester score: 5 out of 5

I tried four meals and was thoroughly impressed by how flavorful they were, and I didn’t need any additional spices or seasonings.

Here’s my quick feedback on each dish:

Mexican Street Carnitas Plate: This dish was very flavorful and super filling — I actually shared this one with my 2-year-old and still had a bit left over.

The rice was delicious and not at all dry, the beans were well-seasoned, and the corn tortillas were awesome (not an easy feat). The pork itself was a bit fattier than I typically like, but it was still very juicy and enjoyable. The sauces were also delicious.

Chicken Katsu with Hot Honey: This meal was very filling. In fact, it’s one of the few prepared meals that my husband hasn’t been able to finish on his own. The chicken was moist, and I loved the hot honey sauce.

The only downside was that it was supposed to come with a Brussels sprouts slaw, which was one of the reasons I chose it. However, I received broccoli instead. The broccoli had a good texture but was lacking in flavor.

While the meal was still enjoyable, it would have been nice to have been notified about the substitution and given an option to change my selection.

Mission-Style Chipotle Chicken Burrito: The burrito was quite large and very filling. The flavors and textures were great. I especially liked the tortilla. However, I wish the dish had come with a side of vegetables to make it more balanced.

Flank Steak Rice Bowl: The steak was flavorful and not overcooked, and I loved the sauce. Still, as with most of the dishes I tried, I was disappointed at how small the vegetable serving size was.

Is CookUnity worth it?

Tester overall score: 4.0 out of 5

CookUnity is a meal delivery service that I didn’t know much about and was thoroughly impressed by.

I loved that the meal options vary by location and feature local, seasonal ingredients. I also enjoyed being able to learn more about the chefs who crafted the meals.

While the meal selection process is a bit overwhelming and not as easy to navigate as those of other services, the service likely has options for all taste buds. The meals arrived in good condition and were easy to store in the fridge.

After trying numerous prepared meal delivery services, this is the first one that I would describe as restaurant-quality. All the meals were flavorful and tasted very fresh.

However, my meals were quite heavy, so if I tried it again, I would probably use the filters to find meals that better align with my nutritional needs.

Of course, the service isn’t perfect. The biggest downsides were the lack of vegetables (or at least small vegetable servings) and the cost, which may not work for every budget. The service also isn’t available in all zip codes.

Brand reputation and customer reviews

As of the time of publication, CookUnity is not accredited or rated by the Better Business Bureau. It has a 1.19 out of 5 stars rating from 31 customer reviews. The negative ratings mostly involve issues with billing.

On online forums and other review sites, reviews are more mixed.

Positive reviews note that there are plenty of interesting options to choose from each week and that the meals are consistently fresh, flavorful, and convenient.

Meanwhile, less favorable reviews mention experiencing issues with the texture of certain ingredients after heating. Some also report dissatisfaction with the price of the service or difficulty canceling the auto-renewing subscriptions.

How CookUnity compares

There are plenty of prepared meal delivery services on the market that aim to help you save time in the kitchen.

Here’s how CookUnity compares with two of its competitors:

Frequently asked questions 

The bottom line

CookUnity is a prepared meal delivery service offering fresh, flavorful meals crafted by award-winning chefs.

While it isn’t cheap, and many meals could use more vegetables, we found CookUnity to be a great alternative to takeout and one of the more satisfying meal delivery service options on the market.