I’m an RD Who Tried Factor Meal Delivery Service to See How It Delivers on Both Health and Taste

Factor is one of the most popular, well-known meal delivery services. It offers fully prepared single-serving meals created by chefs and dietitians and designed to be stored in your refrigerator, then reheated when you’re ready to eat. The company says it designs its meals for people who want to eat nutritious food but lack the time or ability to prepare it. To help support these claims, the Factor website has detailed information about ingredient sourcing, ingredient selection criteria, and how the meals are nutritionally balanced.

As a registered dietitian and trained chef, I tend to be cautious when a company makes big health claims, so I gave Factor a try and tested nearly 20 different items over the course of one week, including add-ons like breakfast items, smoothies, and desserts. In doing so, I evaluated the meals for both taste and nutritional balance from many of their different plans, including Keto, Calorie Smart, Protein Plus, and Vegan and Veggie. Here’s how it went.

Signing up for my first delivery with Factor was smooth and straightforward. I also liked that I could view the entire menu and nutritional information before signing up.

The first step was to select a meal plan from six options:

• Chef’s Choice
• Keto
• Calorie Smart
• Flexitarian
• Vegan and Veggie
• Protein Plus

However, no matter which plan you choose, you can mix and match from meals across the entire menu. Then I picked the number of meals I wanted per week: 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, or 18. You can add more to your box if you want more items than your usual on any given week. However, I also noticed that once my account was set up, when I went into my settings I could change my plan size to any number between 4 and 36 meals per week, so that was slightly confusing.

After selecting a plan type and box size, I added my delivery address and selected a delivery date; I could choose one option per week for the following two weeks. After that I was prompted to fill out my payment information, which was saved in my account profile for future orders.

Next came the fun part: selecting my meals.

Choosing the Meals

A selection of meals was automatically added to my box based on the meal plan I chose, However, I was able to swap meals with other menu items, upgrade to premium Gourmet Plus meals, or add more meals without changing my plan size by clicking View Full Menu.

Each week there are 35 different meal options, plus add-ons (which I could select or skip). I was also able to see three weeks of menus so that I could plan ahead.

You can’t customize the meals you order (because they’re premade), but you can order multiple portions of the same meal and choose meals from the entire menu, not just from your specific plan. There were also Gourmet Plus meals available for an extra charge.

On Factor’s menu, there were a lot of meals with animal proteins, mostly chicken and beef, with some seafood and vegetarian options. Even though it wasn’t a very seasonal menu, I liked the overall variety of vegetables. There were surprising vegetables, too, such as celery root, which isn’t typical in other prepared meal delivery services. The menu changes week to week, but if you look ahead a couple of weeks you’ll see some repeated items. If you don’t eat chicken or beef, your options will be significantly fewer since those are the two main proteins used most on all menus.

Extra portions of proteins and larger portions of a few select meals are also available, as well as protein powders, snack bars, and shakes designed for keto diets.

Factor’s website has language that says it carefully sources premium ingredients and prioritizes humanely raised animal proteins. There is a specific callout to how the company sources chickens, outlining its “Chicken Welfare Policy,” which explains current sourcing practices and the company’s future goals around sourcing chicken.

There is also a statement on the Nutrition and Ingredient Philosophy page of the Factor website that says, “out of 500+ reviewed ingredients, more than 160 have been banned for use in Factor products based on our team’s extensive five-step analysis.” But it is not clear what the exact criteria is for banned ingredients, only that the approval process “includes examining human health impacts, safety, efficacy, consumer expectations, and more.”

Add-ons are also available, but they are priced separately and include:

• Breakfast items (individually or as a bundle)
• Smoothies (individually or as a bundle)
• Desserts
• Snacks
• Cold-pressed juices
• Themed packages for group meals like the BBQ Bundle, which includes chicken wings, mac and cheese, and party dips.

For my box, I ordered 20 different meals with a variety of different proteins (two were vegetarian).

In addition to my meals, I ordered the Ready-to-Blend Smoothie Bundle, which included five different smoothies:

• Acai Berry Boost Smoothie
• Berry Berry Banana Smoothie
• Coconutty Cacao Smoothie
• Mangojiberry Pineapple Smoothie
• Green Dream Smoothie

I also ordered the Breakfast Favorite Bundle, which included four different breakfast options:

• Potato, Bacon and Egg Breakfast Skillet
• Feta and Roasted Red Pepper Frittata
• Blueberry Pancakes
• Coconut Pancakes

It’s noted that any frozen items on the menu are shipped separately, so my order arrived in two separate boxes on two consecutive days.

My first box included premade meals, while the second box contained frozen items (smoothies). The refrigerated items came with three large ice packs, and even though I received my shipment in the middle of summer, all items were still cold upon arrival. The smoothies were packed with dry ice that had completely evaporated by the time I opened it, but the fruit was still frozen.

There didn’t appear to be any excess packaging, and all items were recyclable. Instructions for recycling the ice packs were printed on each pack because they don’t go in standard recycling bins. The only minor issue I had was that one of the plastic lids to one smoothie cup was off and broken and unusable, but there was a tight plastic film over the cup, sealing in the fruit, so there wasn’t a food safety concern.

Preparing the Meals

Factor meals arrive fully prepared and ready to reheat. The meals can be reheated in the microwave for two minutes or less or in a conventional oven for about seven minutes. I microwaved all of them except for the filet mignon, which I prepared in the oven. The recommended cooking time was extremely accurate and did not require any additional heating. All core menu items are single serving, but there’s a small selection of a la carte proteins and family-style portions of some items.

The smoothies all arrived as frozen ingredients in cups. I simply added milk until the cup was full, then poured everything into a blender and returned the prepared smoothie to the cup for easy drinking. The cups come with lids designed to use with straws.

Tasting the Meals

Each meal had its own distinct flavors, and even if there were some repeated ingredients, they were usually prepared differently, which is good for someone who likes to eat different types of meals throughout the week or sample flavors from a variety of different cuisines. The meals seem to be designed with adults in mind, but there were certainly some dishes that my school-age children enjoyed, such as the Shredded Chicken Taco Bowl, Cavatappi and Italian-Style Pork Ragu, and Herbed Greek Chicken and Tomato Penne.

Gourmet Plus meals (which cost an additional $11.99 per serving) featured a prime cut of meat like the Truffle Butter Filet Mignon With Potato-Leek Mash and Roasted Carrots or the Grilled Steakhouse Filet Mignon With Parmesan Creamed Spinach, Broccolini, and Asiago Butter.

Other meals I tried included Chicken Piccata With Cauliflower Mash and Broccoli, Stuffed Pepper Beef Casserole, Smoky Shrimp and Tomato Penne, Roasted Red Pepper Tortellini and Italian Sausage With Parmesan Haricot Verts, Smoky Gouda Chicken with Roasted Red Potatoes and Parmesan Green Beans.

I also ordered two vegetarian dishes: Smoked Tofu Almond Stir-Fry With Edamame Succotash and Soy Vinaigrette and Smoky Onion Butter Green Beans and Portobellos With Celery Root Mash. Both tasted good, but the Green Beans and Portobellos was low in protein and felt more like a side dish than a main meal.

While nearly all meals tasted good and were satisfying, many were laden with butter, cream, or cheese. The only dish that I felt was truly healthy to eat and one I would want to make on repeat at home was the Tofu Almond Stir-Fry because it was most similar to food I already prepare. Other dishes felt more like occasional meals similar to food I get when I order takeout.

As for the add-ons I tried, the smoothies were outstanding, but I was disappointed with the breakfast options, especially in comparison to the meals from the regular menu.

Of the meals I tried, carbohydrate content was on the low side overall, with some dishes providing around 30 g of carbohydrates (approximately 10 percent of the daily value) and others providing more than 50 g of carbohydrates (nearly 20 percent of the daily value). Even pasta dishes that I would expect to be higher in carbohydrates contain small portions of pasta, so are more focused on protein than carbohydrates. For example, the Herbed Greek Chicken and Tomato Penne contained 42 g of carbohydrates (15 percent of the daily value) and 32 g of protein.

I liked that all of the smoothies contained whole foods with no added sugar. They were very satisfying and as good or better than a smoothie purchased from a smoothie bar or juice shop.

I also liked the mix of lower-calorie smoothies that were more of a snack along with higher calorie, more nutrient-dense smoothies that could act as mini meals.

Be Mindful About Some of the Health Claims

There are discrepancies between Factor’s claims around being healthy and the actual healthfulness of the meals in general.

But across the board, Factor meals often exceeded these guidelines. For example, on the breakfast menu, the Coconut Pancakes contained 740 calories, 42 g total fat (51 percent of the calories in the dish come from fat), 20 g saturated fat (100 percent of the daily value), 23 g of added sugar (nearly 50 percent of the daily limit), and 900 mg of sodium. And from the core menu, the Chicken Piccata With Cauliflower Mash and Broccoli, which may sound healthy at first glance, provides 620 calories, 45 g of fat (65 percent of the calories come from fat), and 21 g of saturated fat (105 percent of the daily value).

The vegetarian dishes were inconsistent, too.

For example, the Smoky Onion Butter Green Beans and Portobellos only provided 170 calories and only 3 g of protein, both too low for an entrée, but it still had 15 g of total fat (80 percent of the calories in the dish come from fat) and 7 g of saturated fat (35 percent of the daily value). Meanwhile, the Smoked Tofu Almond Stir Fry provided 580 calories, 26 g of fat (40 percent of the calories from fat), but only 4 g of saturated fat (18 percent of the daily value) and 32 g of protein. This tofu dish also contained 12 g of fiber, which is more than 40 percent of the recommended daily intake. This dish had 900 mg of sodium and 8 g of added sugar, but for an entrée it was much more balanced overall than the others.

While all meals have tags related to the nutritional content, such as Calorie Smart, Protein Plus, Fiber Support, and Carb Conscious, I couldn’t find information on the website that defined what these tags meant.

So while there were many examples of entrées that met high-protein goals or high-fiber goals or had reasonable levels of sodium, those same meals would also be excessively high in saturated fat or contain unexpected added sugar. For someone who doesn’t know how to read labels — and especially for someone at risk of heart disease — it may be a mistake to trust that whatever you order from Factor will be healthy.

Breakfast Items and Deserts

The breakfast items were also a mixed bag in terms of healthiness too. The Feta and Roasted Red Pepper Frittata seemed more nutritious than the other breakfast items, but it still had a very high amount of fat, saturated fat, and sodium. The frittata was made with liquid egg whites that became watery when reheated.

The pancakes came with a scoop of sweet butter and syrup on the side, adding concentrated sources of excess calories and sugar. Breakfast items also seemed to have a lot more preservatives and ingredients like olive pomace oil, much inferior to extra virgin or virgin olive oil. This was surprising from a company claiming to offer nutritionally balanced meals.

I also tried the Pistachio and Raspberry Cheesecake, and while this tasted good, it was very high in total fat and saturated fat; it included monk fruit sweetener in place of cane sugar, but definitely still had the decadence of a typical dessert.

Compared to other premade meal delivery services, Factor meals stand out for flavor, texture, and appearance. Unlike many other meal delivery services, Factor meals don’t turn mushy and all one texture when reheated. The vegetables maintain a good color, the food is seasoned well, and the portions are satisfying. Compared to other meal delivery companies, the meals from Factor are much tastier.

Factor can be a great service if you’re following a keto diet or a high-protein, lower-carb diet and prefer the convenience of fully prepared meals. It’s also good for people who enjoy hot meals (you won’t find salads on this menu) and flavorful comfort food dishes.

If you want to eat lighter, it’s still possible, but there are fewer options and it will involve some work to find them. I would start by choosing the Calorie Smart menu, then review the meal description, ingredient lists, and nutrition facts. However, Factor isn’t the best choice for someone who avoids eating dairy or is following a heart-healthy diet due to the high saturated fat and sodium content in some meals. Vegetarian options are also quite limited, and while there’s enough variety for a family to order enough food for themselves, the meals will still come as single servings unless you order from the add-on section, but there’s not nearly as much to choose from with those larger add-on meals.

And if you’re looking for nutritionally balanced meals to support your overall wellness, I’m not convinced that Factor necessarily fits the bill or lives up to its claims. As a dietitian, I’m aligned with how the company communicates about its health and nutrition philosophy, but the food I received did not seem to match up. For example, the website talks about the importance of healthy fats: “Not all fat is bad fat — unsaturated fatty acids, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, can improve cholesterol profile and lower the fat levels in your blood. Sources of healthy fats include: salmon, tuna, chia seeds, eggs, avocado, flaxseed, nuts, seeds, olives, and olive oil.” This is absolutely true, yet only a handful of the meals I ordered or saw on the menu had any of these ingredients.