It's not about the most food you can get. It's about the best meal you can construct. It's a little bit about the most food you can get.

It's a meal, right? Also, we're not paying attention to limited-time offers that won't be around in a few weeks. Sorry, Nacho Fries and unicorn thingamajigs. Build your own combo. What to order: It's a little tricky to get the price down while filling up at your favorite mall-based restaurant.

Nonetheless, you can get pretty close, especially if you opt to skip a soda and get some water. You probably need to hydrate anyhow, right? It's pretty damn solid all things considered.

While this meal is put together with menu prices, you can pretty reliably find a deep discount in the Wendy's app and occasionally even land a free burger. Nonetheless, to get your meal, skip the Jr.

Bacon Cheeseburger and grab two Jr. You haven't really eaten at Wendy's until you've dipped your fries in a Frosty. The money goes to charity and you wind up getting free Frostys for an entire year.

What to order: If you're looking to maximize your caloric intake for the buck, the Sausage Egg and Cheese on a croissant has a whopping calories.

The bagels at Dunkin' tend to survive life before your mouth a little more intact than the croissant. No, you aren't getting a coffee, but Dunkin' isn't fooling anyone with the name change.

You still came there for the donut. What to order: Chipotle is not the go-to spot for a budget-conscious eater. You really can't get anything there's a kid's menu. The same thing less the juice box from the adult menu costs slightly more. However, it's entirely possible if you think outside the Mountain.

Yeah, the Jamocha Shake is only available here, but these are the best damn fries in the game. It's also worth checking if they're offering anything for signing up for the Arby's email list.

Sometimes handing over your email lands you a free sandwich or gyro. What to order: If you've ever been to a White Castle or have seen a film with the words "Harold and Kumar" in the title, you know the drill.

What to order: No, the Colonel still isn't bringing back the long-dead Double Down. Though, the nuggets would substitute well and keep you in the same price range. Plus, you'd be getting those sweet, sweet sauces. Sometimes the classics are classics for a reason. What to order: Jimmy John's hasn't always been the best place for a super-cheap lunch.

However, in late , JJ added the Little John. Plus, there are seven varieties of the Little John, which gives you options, but the 6 is a solid choice if you're looking to get the most out of the smaller sandwich. The vegetarian sandwich comes with avocado, provolone, cucumber, lettuce, tomato, and mayo.

You're getting a lot more flavor there than with the spare Slim 5 and a few more calories than with the other Little John options. If you're ordering anything but the salt and vinegar chips, you're doing it wrong.

What to order: You're going to have a tough time pulling this one off. That's the highest calorie soup they offer. For the same price, you can come close with the Summer Corn Chowder or the Bistro French Onion.

The food is healthy, thoughtfully prepared, tastes fantastic, looks appetizing and is fairly affordable, depending on the plan you select.

Fresh N Lean has five meal plans to help keep folks on track with their specific nutrition goals, including low-carb, vegan, paleo and protein-plus options.

The food I tried was all made exceptionally well, made from simple, whole ingredients. This is the perfect service for families with picky eaters trying to eat well on a budget. Much like EveryPlate, Dinnerly has a lot of comfort foods such as ravioli with spinach and parmesan sauce, carne asada tacos and chicken pad thai.

Dinnerly has an enormous menu of recipes -- typically more than 60 to choose from in a given week. The bottom line: This plant-based meal delivery service had some of the best, healthy prepared meals of any service we tried.

I sampled about nine of Mosaic Food's plant-based prepared meal offerings and the vegetarian prepared meal delivery service had an astoundingly high hit rate. Mosaic uses bold and interesting global flavors and employs creative use of meat substitutes such as tofu, jackfruit, cauliflower and vegan sausages to create tasty and satisfying vegetarian meals -- even for this omnivore.

There are some vegan meals, but many of them use dairy products, so vegans must choose their Mosaic meals more carefully. The bottom line: Blue Apron is a classic example of a quality meal delivery service.

One of the original providers of this service, it also stands out for eco-friendliness. Blue Apron is one of the original meal kit services and it's also one of the best. In fact, Blue Apron topped our list of best meal delivery services for with a wide range of excellent recipes, all for an affordable price.

It's true, you can order bistro steaks and roasted trout dinners with Blue Apron's standard plan, where many services charge extra for those premium proteins. In addition to solid meal kits, Blue Apron is the most eco-friendly service of the major players, according to a recent study.

The heartier meals are great too, like the cauliflower rice and pesto harvest bowl with cashews and spinach. You won't need more than a saucepan, toaster or blender to prepare most of the meals, and most can be made in as little as 5 minutes.

When I tried Daily Harvest , I loved the interesting smoothie combos such as a chocolate blueberry smoothie with greens, banana and almond butter.

The bottom line : It doesn't get much easier than HelloFresh. This service has tons of cheap meal kit options, more than 50 per week, and allows you to add proteins or extra servings to keep the whole crew fed and happy.

HelloFresh has as many as 25 dinner meal kits per week, so it is nearly impossible not to find something you'll like. HelloFresh also has five or six plant-based recipes a week, making it the best cheap meal kit service for vegetarians.

Over the past few years, we've tested nearly every meal kit delivery and prepared meal delivery service we could get our oven mitts on, and that includes the best budget meal delivery services.

Many of the menu options for the meal delivery services we've listed include nutritious plant-based food or high-protein recipes with lots of veggies and lean meats. To test each cheap meal delivery service, I tried at least four and sometimes as many as 10 meals from any given service. I always choose a range of meals from the various menu and meal plan offerings.

For instance, if a meal subscription service offers vegan or vegetarian meals I was sure to try at least one. I also mixed up the cuisine types to include pasta, meat dishes, bowls and other various styles offered by the brand. To test the best cheap meal kits, there was another set of standards and protocols to adhere to.

Here's more on how we test meal kits at CNET. The first big decision you'll make is whether you want meal kits, which require some prep and cooking, or a prepared meal service that sends fully cooked meals ready to heat and eat. Prepared meals require almost no time and energy, other than what it takes to actually eat the food, but typically run a few dollars more per serving.

If you're keen on eating low-calorie, low-carb, plant-based or pescatarian food, certain meal kits and meal delivery services are better than others. Our list of the healthiest meal delivery services for is a good place to find the most nutritious options.

With almost every service, the more meals or servings are in your order per delivery, the cheaper it becomes per meal. Ideally, you'll want to determine exactly how much food makes sense for your household.

That means it's less of an issue if you order too many meals on your first go-around. Services like Daily Harvest and Splendid Spoon have meals for similar prices but are focused more on grain bowls and smoothies and might be better for breakfast or lunch versus dinner.

When it comes to meal kits, your options are many, and most services provide weekly recipes that are low on calories but still filling. HelloFresh has the most recipes per week of any meal kit service, so that might be your best bet for finding consistent meals that keep your diet goals on track.

But all services list the calorie content for each recipe, along with carbs, protein, sugar and sodium. Depending on your weight loss goals, a healthy prepared meal delivery or meal kit service can help.

Fresh N Lean, Pete's Real Food and Daily Harvest all have low-calorie meals to choose from. Some of the services listed here are healthy prepared meal delivery services , sending fully cooked meals -- often frozen or partially frozen -- and ready to eat when you receive them.

Others include health-focused meal kits with premeasured ingredients all boxed up and ready for easy weeknight cooking. There's a stark difference between meal kits and meal delivery, but both make dinnertime easier and can translate into healthier eating choices for you in Plus, we sussed out the best healthy meal services for those on special diets like keto or paleo or for those who wish to eat organic prepared meals and meal kits.

Wellness Nutrition. Written by David Watsky. Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement. David lives in Brooklyn where he's spent more than a decade covering all things edible, including meal kit services, food subscriptions, kitchen tools and cooking tips.

Since earning a BA in English from Northeastern in Boston, he's toiled in nearly every aspect of the food business, including as a line cook in Rhode Island where he once made a steak sandwich for Lamar Odom.

Right now, he's likely somewhere stress-testing a blender or researching the best way to make bacon. Anything with sesame is his all-time favorite food this week. Expertise Kitchen tools, appliances, food science, subscriptions and meal kits. See full bio. Why You Can Trust CNET.

Table of Contents Top. Cheapest Meal Delivery Services of What's the best cheap meal delivery service? Cheapest meal delivery services for Cheapest prepared meal services compared.

How we test meal kits and meal delivery services. Factors to consider when choosing a meal delivery service. Why you should trust us. Cheap meal delivery FAQs. Back to selection. See at EveryPlate. Best cheap meal kits overall. See at Fresh N' Lean. Best cheap prepared meal delivery overall.

See at Dinnerly. Best cheap meal kits for picky eaters. See at Mosaic Foods. Best cheap vegan meals. See at Blue Apron.

Best cheap meal kits that include steak and seafood. See at Daily Harvest. Best cheap meal delivery for breakfast and lunch.

See at HelloFresh. Best cheap meal kits for diet and weight loss. FILTER BY all Meal Kit Prepared Meal.

Restaurant & Food Delivery Deals Near You: Save today with our great takeout & restaurant deals. Check Groupon first & book online for fast delivery 15 of the Best Family Meal Deals to Order on Busy Nights that Won't Bust Your Budget · 1. Panda Express Family Meal · 3. Pizza Hut Big Dinner Panera: Panera offers Breakfast feasts, sandwich feasts, pizza meals and soup deals for your whole family! Prices start around $ P.F. Chang's

Video

Affordable meal specials - Looking for food deals near you? Look no further. We've rounded up all the current restaurant specials, including free food, weekday food Restaurant & Food Delivery Deals Near You: Save today with our great takeout & restaurant deals. Check Groupon first & book online for fast delivery 15 of the Best Family Meal Deals to Order on Busy Nights that Won't Bust Your Budget · 1. Panda Express Family Meal · 3. Pizza Hut Big Dinner Panera: Panera offers Breakfast feasts, sandwich feasts, pizza meals and soup deals for your whole family! Prices start around $ P.F. Chang's

Pay for a fun birthday meal and finish it off with a free birthday dessert. Kids can get a free sub at Firehouse Subs on their birthday!

Adults can get a free sub on their birthday too! Not necessarily a meal, but Krispy Kreme donuts offers a free donut for every A on a report card. Click 'Next' to start an account and get tips, tricks and trending stories.

The email address you entered is already registered. Would you like to log in? Create a free account to access our nation wide network of background checked caregivers. We're sorry, your request could not be processed at this time.

Please click here to try again. By clicking "Join now," you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

ArrowLeftRed SearchRed SearchClose. Restaurants where kids eat free every day Bob Evans Location: Midwest and East Coast Everyone will find something they like at Bob Evans, which serves nearly everything, including breakfast foods, burgers, seafood and a variety of desserts.

IHOP Location: Nationwide IHOP kids eat free! Restaurants where kids eat free on Mondays I Heart Mac and Cheese Location: Nationwide What do kids love more than mac and cheese?

Ruby Tuesday Location: East Coast At Ruby Tuesday, kids eat free Tuesdays after 5 p. Village Inn Location: Nationwide On Tuesdays at Village Inn, every adult purchase comes with a free kids meal. Restaurants where kids eat free on Wednesdays IKEA Location: Nationwide IKEA can already be such a fun adventure for little ones, so make a day of your IKEA trip by grabbing a meal for the family.

Smashburger Location: Nationwide Craving a really delicious cheeseburger? Freebirds World Burrito Location: Texas For those in the Texas area, Freebirds World Burrito is a great option for a burrito or bowl.

Firehouse Subs Location: Nationwide Kids can get a free sub at Firehouse Subs on their birthday! Krispy Kreme Location: Nationwide Not necessarily a meal, but Krispy Kreme donuts offers a free donut for every A on a report card. Related Child Care Articles. This is how much child care costs in What is positive punishment?

Experts share insight and real-life examples. What is negative punishment and how to use it effectively. Baby drooling a lot? Like what you're reading?

Join Care for FREE Email Email is required. Already Registered The email address you entered is already registered. Log in. Almost done! Join Care for FREE Create a free account to access our nation wide network of background checked caregivers.

First name First name is required. Last name Last name is required. Zip code is required. Welcome to Care! Kansas City on the Cheap.

Vegas Living on the Cheap. Madison on the Cheap. Myrtle Beach on the Cheap. Orlando on the Cheap. Phoenix on the Cheap. Portland Living on the Cheap. RVA on the Cheap.

Greater Seattle on the Cheap. Triangle on the Cheap. South Florida on the Cheap. Southern Maine on the Cheap. All Our Cities. Skip to primary navigation Skip to secondary navigation Skip to main content Skip to primary sidebar Skip to footer. Search this site Photo: Deposit Photos.

Photo: MOD Pizza. Tuesday Drops at Taco Bell Every Week am to pm Discounted Taco Bell. Einstein Bros. Bagels Offers FREE Coffee Every Day am to pm FREE Einstein Bros. Reusable Cup Earns Bonus at Starbucks am to pm Discounted Starbucks. Enjoy FREE Buttermilk Pancakes at IHOP am to pm FREE IHOP.

Panera Bread's Unlimited Sip Club Offers Discounted Beverages am to pm Discounted Panera Bread. Red Robin Offers Gift Card Discount Online am to pm Discounted Red Robin. Taco Bell's Cravings Value Menu am to pm Discounted Taco Bell.

Red Lobster Offers Family Meal Deals am to pm Discounted Red Lobster. Kids Eat FREE at Red Lobster am to pm FREE Red Lobster. Get Buy-One-Get-One FREE Shake at Shake Shack pm to pm Discounted Shake Shack.

IHOP Happy Hour Specials at IHOP pm to pm Discounted IHOP. Half-Price Cheeseburgers at Sonic pm to pm Discounted Sonic Drive-In. Photo: On the Border. FREE Pie Wednesday at Village Inn am to pm FREE Village Inn. QDOBA Mexican Eats: Buy-One-Get-One-FREE Entree on Valentine's Day am to pm Discounted QDOBA Mexican Eats.

Find Your Local Cheap Site Local on the Cheap sites. Get Our Free Newsletter!