With its impressive array of weekly meals that are suitable for many diets, there’s a reason why HelloFresh is not just an Editors’ Choice pick for meal-kit delivery services, but the service that my household uses. Factor is a HelloFresh subsidiary, acquired by the company in late 2020, so our expectations were high for this prepared meal delivery service. Fortunately, Factor lets you receive, heat, and eat near-restaurant quality food with its affordable, subscription-based plans.
How Much Does Factor Cost?
Factor requires a subscription; you can’t individually order its meals. This makes sense for HelloFresh or fellow Editors’ Choice pick Blue Apron, services that regularly send you fresh and even raw ingredients. Still, we’d like to see more flexibility from prepared meal delivery services, since you freeze and store the meals for weeks or months. Balanced Bites and Veestro have a la carte box options.
The good news is that Factor’s prices are reasonable, given its menu quality. Costs fluctuate depending on which plan you pick. If you only want four meals per week, each serving costs $15. Go up to 18 meals per week and prices drop to $11 per serving. Fresh N Lean, our Editors’ Choice pick for prepared meals, slightly edges out these prices, but it’s still a good deal. Factor also lets you purchase add-ons, such as smoothie packs and chicken wings, alongside your regular box. Add-on pricing depends on the item, but it’s generally in line with the normal serving prices.
Factor delivers everywhere in the United States except for Alaska and Hawaii, which is par for the course. Shipping is free. You have until Wednesday to cancel or modify deliveries before the weekly cut-off. Subscriptions also include a 20-minute consultation with a dietitian, if you want Factor to be your gateway to healthier eating.
Factor’s Menu
Factor’s menu rotates on a weekly basis, giving you roughly 30 new meals to peruse. You can pick the meals you want unlike Trifecta, a service that only lets you influence what you might receive. The listings include nutrition and allergen info, and the meals tend to be approximately 500 calories. You can further curate your meals by opting for one of Factor’s specialty plans. Keto, Calorie Smart, and Vegan and Veggie serve those specific dietary needs, while Chef’s Choice includes everything.
My sample meals alone showcase just how much Factor’s appealing menu has to offer. I received three different chicken dishes (Greek Lemon Chicken, Chive and Garlic Chicken, Green Chile Chicken), Smoky Maple BBQ Ground Beef, a Jalapeño Popper Burger, and a Vegan Mushroom Marsala. My partner opted for two seafood dishes: Mango Salsa Salmon and a Peruvian Shrimp Bowl. Those don’t just sound good for a meal kit; they sound good, period.
You could put together satisfying meals just by taking advantage of the add-ons. I ordered some smoothies and chicken wings, but Factor also sells everything from snacks to individual ingredients. Don’t expect groceries similar to Editors’ Choice pick Hungryroot, but you can pick up roasted vegetables, individual pork chops, Keto snickerdoodle cookies, and more.
The Packaging
Factor’s packaging reminded me of HelloFresh, except that you can pack more prepared meals into a box than you can with fresh meal-kit bags. Gel packs keep everything cool before you transfer meals to your fridge or freezer (the meals don’t ship frozen). You can recycle the box and food containers, but Factor recommends putting the insulation and drained gel packs in the trash. At least those pieces are made of recycled materials.
Cooking and Eating With Factor
Enjoying Factor’s prepared meals is as simple as heating them and eating them using whatever appliance you want. The packaging displays recommended heating instructions, such as the proper oven temperature or how long to leave the food in the microwave. I cooked most of my meals in the oven, where the packaging won’t burn if you place it on top of another tray. So, I ate straight from the container.
The Factor meals were delicious. Chicken breasts were juicy and flavorful. The Vegan Mushroom Marsala reminded me how mushrooms can be a dish’s star. The Smoky Maple BBQ Ground Beef was a bit too sweet, but otherwise worked as a kind of chili. When I asked my partner what she thought of her Peruvian Shrimp, she called it “straight-up good,” not just good for a meal kit. We just wished portions were a little bigger, a complaint that speaks to how much we liked the food.
The add-ons weren’t quite as impressive, but they were pretty tasty. I cooked a generous amount of roasted BBQ chicken wings in my air fryer, where they got a nice crispy exterior. They needed more seasoning, though. I also really enjoyed the tropical smoothies. They weren’t as complex as, say, a Frozen Garden smoothie, but smoothies are that service’s whole business. With Factor, they’re a bonus.
The Deciding Factor
Factor brings the excellent, omnivore entrées you expect from HelloFresh into the prepared meal space. Editors’ Choice pick Fresh N Lean takes a slight lead when it comes to price and a la carte flexibility, but you won’t go wrong with a Factor subscription.
Beyond HelloFresh, Fresh N Lean, and other mentioned services, we’ve named several other Editors’ Choice picks for meal kit delivery services. Green Chef is a top choice for vegetarians, while MisenBox delivers high-quality food from local restaurants nationwide.
