Making a full Thanksgiving feast for guests can feel overwhelming, and for some, downright scary. We’ve all seen the holiday disasters in movies—burnt turkeys, failed desserts, steamed hams. But my first Thanksgiving dinner for my extended family—held a bit early this year—turned out to be a total success. My aunt raved about the black pepper in the biscuits and the sage on the carrots, while my uncle dove into the turkey and apple-sausage stuffing. As for my father, he was so busy eating that he hardly said a word. That was the ultimate compliment.
But I’ll admit, I had a little help. I ordered my Thanksgiving dinner online from a meal kit service. The food was genuinely home-cooked, mostly prepared from scratch. However, the entire feast, consisting of seven different dishes, arrived two days prior in a box large enough to hold a sizable cut of beef. It was like Thanksgiving in a box—a $200 “Chef’s Table Thanksgiving” meal kit from the meal delivery companies Sunbasket and Gobble.
The spread from Sunbasket was extensive and generous. The table was laden with nearly a 3-pound turkey, heaps of mashed potatoes, tangy cranberry compote, roasted carrots with miso-sage butter, brussels sprouts sprinkled with pecorino romano and pancetta, an endless platter of fennel, apple, and sausage stuffing, tall Gruyère black-pepper biscuits, rich turkey gravy, and a ginger apple crisp waiting for dessert.
Sunbasket is part of a growing industry of meal kit companies designed to lessen the stress of holiday cooking by handling the planning and shopping for you—perfect for those who want to whip up a home-cooked meal but find the thought of organizing a complicated feast daunting. In fact, two weeks later, I prepared another Thanksgiving dinner using Blue Apron, this time for my sister’s family.
Here’s what I experienced with Sunbasket and Blue Apron, along with other Thanksgiving meal delivery options to consider for your at-home feast.
Update Nov. 18, 2025: Added a review of the Blue Apron Thanksgiving and holiday meal kit dishes after preparing an eight-dish meal. Prices, ordering deadlines, and offerings have been updated.
Want meal kits for everyday occasions? Check out WIRED’s guides to the best meal delivery services and the best plant-based meal delivery kits.
The Blue Apron à la Carte Thanksgiving (and Holiday) Meal Kit
Available until December 29. Order by November 19 for Thanksgiving delivery.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Blue Apron, one of the original meal kit services in the U.S., has redesigned its offerings this year. One of the major changes is that you no longer need a subscription—à la carte meal ordering is now available. This has become my favorite option for stress-free meal prep.
For Thanksgiving, you can order individual recipe kits to prepare fresh at home, saving you a trip to a crowded grocery store. Options include roasted grape and goat cheese salad ($12), a large turkey breast with gravy and cranberry sauce ($50), rosemary herb stuffing ($15), delicious truffle-oiled Southern mac and cheese ($20), almond apple crumb pie ($15), brown butter mashed potatoes ($8), challah rolls with maple ($8), and roasted brussels sprouts with pistachios ($10). I made all these dishes for my sister’s family and our parents a little early this year, and it turned out to be an unexpectedly delicious meal, easily enough for eight people—probably even ten with an extra order of mashed potatoes.
