I’m an omnivore. I’ve spent the last two years testing nearly every meal delivery service on the market. I’m also a food critic. So when I say Purple Carrot meal kit review results are some of the best I’ve had, I’m not grading on a curve. I’m holding them to the same standard I use for meat-heavy services.
The results? Often, the vegan option wins.
Take the butternut squash dumplings with pecan topping I made in July. Five-spice flavor. Crispy. Extravagant. I made some of the best meals of my month out of that single box. Yes, prep was intense. I usually don’t touch a food processor on a Tuesday. But the flavor rivaling excellent bistro fare made it worth the elbow grease.
Most vegan kits fail because they rely too heavily on soy or cashew clones. They try too hard to be meat. Purple Carrot doesn’t do that. It loves vegetables. It loves fruit. It loves herbs. The menu isn’t huge each week, but what’s there is appetizing. Even my colleague Molly Higgins, who tested a dozen plant-based kits last year, picked Purple Carrot as the favorite. After trying five meals and various add-ons myself this year, I agree.
Here is the breakdown of whether it’s worth your money.
The Cost and Logistics
Let’s get the numbers straight. You are looking at $13 to $15 per serving for the classic meal kit plans. Add $12 shipping unless your box tops $120. That’s the baseline.
- Plans: 2 or 4 people. 3 or 4 meals a week for meal kits.
- Ready-to-eat: 1 to 10 meals a week if you prefer just heating things up.
- Minimum: $65 per week. That’s five or six servings. You can cancel any week, but you still need to hit that $65 threshold.
- Gluten-free? Over a third of meals are GF, but the facility shares equipment with wheat products. Not certified for celiacs.
- Dietary tags: High-protein, high-fiber, low-sodium, or under 600 calories. All vegan. Always.
It’s one of the older US services, founded in Massachusetts in 2014 and later bought by Japanese firm Oisix. Sustainability is part of their brand story. Cardboard insulation. Recyclable paper for microwave trays. Plant-based food is inherently lower-carbon, sure, but you still get the plastic baggies for ingredients. Standard industry fare wrapped in eco-friendly packaging.
The packaging itself is nice. Individual ingredient bags. Foldout recipe cards that are actually easy to read and save. You usually just need salt, pepper, and oil at home. One catch: that dumpling recipe required a food processor. Rare for meal kits, which often assume you’ll do everything by hand or with basic tools.
Ingredients That Actually Taste Good
Freshness is Purple Carrot’s strong suit. Some produce is local. In my box? Crisp poblanos. Fragrant herbs. Seasonal corn, still on the cob, in July. Unbruised avocados.
This isn’t just about health. It’s about confidence. When you trust the ingredients, you cook better.
The butternut squash dumpling recipe claimed to take under an hour. It took exactly that. I pureed squash and soy cream cheese with herbs. I folded a dozen wrappers. I fried them. I toasted a sesame-pecan crust. Meanwhile, I made a citrus apple salad. It’s complex cooking. But the result? Crisp outside, soft inside. Comforting yet acidic.
Most recipes are closer to 30 minutes though. Take the rajah avocado tacos with fresh corn. Slice the veg. Broil veggies and tortillas. That’s it. I didn’t want to heat up my kitchen in July, so I used a stainless steel pan. Faster. Less mess. Delicious.
The tortillas were the star. Thick. Masa-forward. I usually buy local ones made within days, and these matched them. You don’t see high-quality tortillas in many kits.
The peanut-studded chili tofu was another highlight. It didn’t try to mimic meat. It just was. Savory. Lightly spicy. Slightly sweet. Textural contrast between crunchy peanuts, fried-hard tofu outside, and soft centers inside. Easy to adapt later if you want to tweak it.
Who Should Avoid Purple Carrot
It’s not for everyone. The recipes demand a little kitchen skill. Directions are clear, but the handholds are thin.
The biggest complaint? Concise instructions that hide prep steps in the ingredient list. If it says “parsley, leaves and stems minced (divided),” you need to figure out that means chop them separately before you start. Beginner cooks might scramble mid-recipe, wondering why they don’t have the minced herbs ready yet.
I found the cook times honest because I planned ahead. I multitask. I chopped while something broiled. If you don’t do that, expect times to drag longer than advertised. (I did beat the clock twice, but I’m not your average home cook.)
Then there are the ready-to-eat meals. I tried a Korean-style “chicken” with rice and spaghetti with soy meatballs. They were mediocre. B-minus at best. I’m skeptical of soy substitutes anyway, and the microwave didn’t help the texture. The selling point is protein—over 40 grams per meal. If you need that, they deliver. But for pure flavor and enjoyment? Stick to the fresh kits.
The Verdict
Purple Carrot offers sophisticated flavors. Wide-ranging worldwide ingredients. No compromises that usually come with broad vegan menus.
I love steak. I need to watch my cholesterol. I’d happily order Purple Carrot over a standard meat kit any day. The fresh meal prep options are where the magic happens. The microwave meals are forgettable. The fresh kits are memorable.
If you want food that tastes like it was made by a human who cares about the vegetables, this is the kit. It’s more work. It’s worth it.
For now.
