meal kit
/miːl kɪt/
CommonA subscription box that delivers pre-portioned ingredients with step-by-step recipes so you can cook specific meals at home.
Often associated with trying to cook more without having to plan or shop. Also has a reputation for people signing up, getting a few boxes, then canceling when the novelty wears off.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | tried meal kits for a month and genuinely cooked more than i ever have. then i canceled | Meal kits improved cooking habits but did not lead to a long-term subscription. | x, 2023 |
| 02 | meal kit cooking feels like a video game. here are your ingredients, now complete the quest | The recipe card format makes cooking feel like following structured game instructions. | tiktok, 2022 |
| 03 | the meal kit plastic waste alone should disqualify it from being called sustainable | Criticizing the environmental impact of individual ingredient packaging. | reddit, 2022 |
| 04 | gave my mom a meal kit subscription and she calls me every week to describe what she made | Meal kits became a source of joy and engagement for someone new to the format. | instagram, 2023 |
Use it when
- Talking about services like HelloFresh or Blue Apron.
- Describing the experience of cooking from pre-portioned ingredients.
- Comparing meal kits to grocery delivery or eating out.
Do not use it when
- You mean a prepared meal that is already cooked and just needs reheating.
- You mean regular grocery delivery.Use “grocery delivery” instead.
Meal kit vs grocery delivery
meal kit
Meal kit delivers specific recipes with pre-measured ingredients, you still cook.
VS
grocery-delivery
Grocery delivery sends whatever you ordered, replacing the shopping trip.
Origin and context
Meal kit companies like Blue Apron and HelloFresh launched in the early 2010s. The category peaked around 2017 to 2019 and saw renewed interest during pandemic-era lockdowns.
- First seen
- early-2010s
- Confidence
- high
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/meal-kitUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0