Vegan or not, there are always days when you just want to make dinner time as simple as possible. With the rise in meal kit delivery services for vegans, you are spoilt for choice when it comes to cooking up a feast.
In our splendid spoon vs daily harvest review, we’re going to take a look at two of the better options. Their popularity means they are doing something right but read on to find the one that best matches your plant-based needs.
Splendid Spoon
Splendid Spoon offers a subscription-based meal delivery service with various meals to choose from. All their meals are vegan and gluten-free and there are 5 plans on offer.
These include breakfast, lunch, breakfast and lunch, breakfast lunch and reset, and everything combined in breakfast, lunch, dinner, and reset plan.
They boast over 50 meals that are cooked, then delivered chilled to your door. With soups, smoothies, grain bowls, and noodles available, there is plenty for any hungry vegan to get their teeth into.
Their 5 plans include the following:
- Breakfast – 5 x smoothies
- Lunch – 5 x soups or grain bowls
- Breakfast & Lunch: 5 x smoothies & 5 x soups or grain bowls
- Breakfast, Lunch & Reset: 5 x smoothies, 5 x soups or grain bowls, & 5 x light soups
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Reset: 5 x smoothies, 5 x soups or grain bowls, 5 x noodle bowls, & 5 x light soups
With weekly deliveries, subscriptions are popular options, but is it any good for you?
Who is it for
Splendid Spoon is tailored towards vegans, but there is enough nutrition to help entire families plan their weekly meals.
If you are the busy type and want to eat quality food without having to think about how good it is for you, then their meals are full of goodness and are filling. This isn’t to say that they are not good for you, they are.
With healthy ingredients and recipes aplenty, this is a great health kick meal delivery service that anyone can take advantage of.
There isn’t enough to keep fussy kids happy, but it is tailored towards adults more than little ones anyway.
Types of diets served
Not having to prep your meals is convenient no matter how you are, but being able to put the chopping board away and enjoy a healthy dinner is something anyone can appreciate.
Their meals are plant-based, so they are fine for vegans and vegetarians who want to join the ever-growing subscription meal plan revolution.
Splendid Spoon is also gluten-free, which takes away a lot of the label reading for those who live by this diet.
They also allow customers to filter by dietary requirements including low carb, keto, and high protein. The options aren’t always plentiful for all of these, but it is easy to find the meals that are in each category.
A lot of their meals include the Weight Watchers points (labeled WW).
However, it is best to check with the company directly if you have any severe allergies. Their meals are made in facilities where cross-contamination is a risk.
Pros/cons
Pros
- Over 50 meals to choose from
- Can be enjoyed cold/minimal reheating
- Non-GMO ingredients only
- They also take one-off orders
Cons
- Other brands have more menu options
Daily Harvest
Daily Harvest says they believe in a world well-fed, and we’re all for it!
They make all types of meals so you can satisfy your vegan hunger pangs between breakfast and dinner with their subscription service. There is no one-off order option to be found, but the subscription is one of the most popular with vegans.
Their website has a stylish vibe and with chef-crafted meals, they have the flavor to back up the glitz.
There is more substance behind the design, as part of what makes them unique is they work with farmers to grow the best produce. Not only that, they harvest it at the right time and freeze fast to lock in the flavor and nutrition.
Returning to the meals themselves, customers can order 9, 12, or 24 items from their changing menu every week, or stick to 24 per month. All their meals are vegan and gluten-free.
Who is it for
This is for the health-conscious, as their meals are mostly organic. You don’t have to be vegan to appreciate the quality of the food, these are meals for anyone who wants to get more fresh fruit and vegetables into their system.
There is a little prep involved with some of their meals, but not a lot, and not for many. So, Daily Harvest is still a good option for anyone who wants to save time but enjoy some good-tasting nutrition that isn’t full of stodgy carbs.
It is also good for the eco-conscious. Their regenerative approach lessens the impact of where their food comes from so you can eat without the guilt.
Types of diets served
These are meals tailored towards the plant-based diets of the world, but vegetarians and gluten-free diets are also catered for.
Much like Splendid Spoon, Daily Harvest allows you to filter the meals by diet. Again, expect to find low carb, keto, and high protein meals.
Again, Daily Harvest prepares their meals in facilities where cross-contamination is a possibility, so it is best to contact them directly if you have any strict allergies or dietary requirements.
With a wider range of food (that includes Ice Cream!), Daily Harvest caters to plant-based tastes better than most.
Pros/cons
Pros
- Over 80 meal options
- Lots of snacks to choose from
- Frozen for freshness
- 95% organic ingredients
Cons
- Certain meals require prep time
Price comparison
No matter what lifestyle you lead, no one wants to pay over the odds for a weekly food shop or your meal delivery subscription.
With free shipping, Splendid Spoon keeps costs down. Their plans come in various price plans and vary depending on the amount of food you order. Meals start at $9 and rise to approximately $13.
To give you a sense of what you will pay, here is a breakdown of the cost of their weekly plans:
- Breakfast: $65/week
- Lunch: $65/ week
- Breakfast & Lunch: $95/week
- Breakfast, Lunch & Reset: $135/week
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Reset: $185/week
Compare this to Daily Harvest and there is a significant reduction in the price.
Items cost between $5.99 – $8.99 each and the larger the order, the greater the discount added. Here is a breakdown of what you can expect to pay per week:
- 9 items: $53.91–$80.91
- 14 items: $73.86–$115.86
- 24 items weekly or monthly: $123.76–$195.76
Winner: Daily Harvest
It is unusual for the organic option to be more affordable, but Daily Harvest manages to keep the price of healthy eating down. The meals can be more substantial with Splendid Spoon so there is something to say for both options.
Meal choices & variety
Before you start filling an order with either, take a look at the options. Both have a rotating menu that frequently offers new flavors and meals to try.
Splendid Spoon customers can take their pick from 50 options. This includes 15 flavors of ready-to-drink smoothies that make up their popular breakfast options. It’s easy to see why they are held in high regard when you see that flavors include a mint chip with cacao nibs and almond butter and mango guava.
There are 30 different soups and grain bowls to choose from and these include recipes such as kimchi fried quinoa grain, green tomatillo chili soup, and roasted cauliflower grain bowl. Yum.
Then there are the noodles. With 8-10 bowls to choose from, you can bulk out dinner time with options like dan dan, tofu & veggie, and green curry.
To top it all off, there is a selection of light soups and wellness shots available, so Splendid Spoon’s menu goes well over the 50 item mark.
Take a deep breath because Daily Harvest has a whopping 80 meals and snacks to choose from. We’re going to break it down into bite-size portions…
They have 25 smoothies to choose from including tart cherry raspberry as well as dragon fruit and lychee.
Want a milk alternative? Daily Harvest prep it in the form of wedges. These are to be mixed in water, making almond milk or almond milk and vanilla.
In terms of meals, there are over 15 harvest bowls (including Spinach and Shitake Grits) and 10 soups (try Sweet potato and Miso) to choose from.
Then there are a handful of gluten-free flatbreads, forager bowls that are larger than harvest bowls, oat bowls (perfect for breakfast, and chia bowls).
Finally, customers get to take their pick of snacks including dairy-free ice cream (ooey gooey midnight fudge anyone?) bite-sized snacks for eating on the go, and latte pods for heating with your plant-based milk of choice.
Phew!
Winner: Daily Harvest
With an incredible 80 choices available, Daily Harvest is hard to beat by any subscription standards. Their range of diverse foods is impressive. But if the choice seems overwhelming, then the 50 options from Splendid Spoon are just as impressive, just scaled down a little.
Creativity of dishes
Paying for pre-made meals should be more than a convenient dinner, it is a chance to try new combinations and flavors.
We like the noodle options from Splendid Spoon as they offer something a little different. The vegan meatballs option is popular and the tangy ginger noodles also have an Asian-inspired twist to them that is easy to love.
Other filling meals include their mostly creative soups. But with traditional favorites such as garden minestrone, there is something for everyone. There are also low-sugar smoothies to accompany the other breakfast options worth sipping.
Some Daily Harvest dishes are pretty unusual like the almond mylk wedges that require you to add water and make your own.
Otherwise, there is plenty to appease the adventurous eater such as the Butternut squash and kale shakshuka harvest bowl and lentil and mesquite chili soup.
There are plenty of smoothies to offer a creative way of getting your fill of nutrients and vitamins for the day. However, it is the variety of their menu that makes them such an exciting option.
Winner: Daily Harvest
With 80 options, it’s difficult to imagine this menu not offering enough for the creative palette to enjoy. But Splendid Spoon also has plenty of options that’ll have you licking your lips.
Overall quality of food
Both brands put a focus on organic ingredients where they can and try to avoid pesticides which are always good to see.
Splendid Spoon’s meals are made without GMOs. This makes them a desirable option for anyone conscious of what they consume.
In terms of Freshness, both brands have their plus points. Daily Harvest meals arrive frozen to lock in the nutrients. Splendid Spoon flash freezes their soops, grain bowls, and noodles before shipping them.
Customers can freeze their meals and snacks to make them last longer and with a focus on freshness, it is easy to see why both companies get rave reviews about the taste of their meals and snacks.
Winner: Splendid Spoon
With non-GMO ingredients and plenty of flavors, they get the edge here. Daily Harvest also makes an effort to deliver quality meals at a reasonable price, so there isn’t a lot between them.
Recipe clarity & difficulty
The whole point of using a pre-made meal delivery service is that it makes life easier. Although you can avoid the meals that require prep, some Daily Harvest options require some work on the customers’ part.
Even the wedges of almond milk need blending when mixed with water but there isn’t a lot of effort involved.
Most of their meals are easy to heat in a few minutes and make mealtime simple for anyone who wants convenient plant-based food.
Splendid Spoon meals are all pre-made so there is no chopping or prep involved when enjoying their meals. When you get home after a long day at the office or a strenuous workout session, you can take comfort in their comforting options.
Winner: Splendid Spoon
With little to no effort on your part, both are a good option for a busy lifestyle. However, Splendid Spoon meals are a little bit more convenient.
Our Verdict
Winner: Daily Harvest
With an array of options that would be the envy of many restaurants, Daily Harvest is our overall winner.
80 items is a lot, and with new options added from time to time, there is little chance of mealtime being stagnant.
Splendid Spoon is another excellent option, taking away any meal prep and offering delicious vegan meals and smoothies, so they are also worth considering.
Both brands make healthy options that can satisfy most plant-based eaters but we found Daily Harvest to be a little more affordable, with more options.
