Best Thanksgiving Meal Delivery Services

Best Overall: Williams Sonoma

Key Specs
Affordable Price: Yes; including some expensive options
Flexible Meal Options: Yes
Good Delivery Options: Yes; 2-week advance required

Why We Chose It
Williams Sonoma offers a number of different Thanksgiving dinners, including full meals and dozens of different å la carte sides and desserts.

Pros
Full meals and à la carte options
Multiple styles of turkeys
Dozens of appetizers, sides, and desserts
Range of prices

Cons
Some options are expensive

Overview
For the best range of options and the most flexibility (plus food that reviewers love), head to the Williams Sonoma website to order your Thanksgiving meal. The company has a number of different meals available and lots of different turkey options.

You can opt for a full meal for eight that includes a pre-brined turkey ready for the oven, or a Southern-style feast with a turkey that is already deep-fried and just needs to be reheated.

If you’d rather mix and match the elements of your meal, you can choose from a variety of smoked, brined, or fried turkeys (including cooked and uncooked options) and build the rest of your menu from the dozens of classic sides (such as green bean casserole, mac and cheese, rolls, and mashed potatoes) and beautiful pies.

If you’re looking for something other than turkey, you could opt to order a stuffed turducken, a ham, a beef tenderloin, or even some tamales. Full meals for eight people range from roughly $300 to $600, depending on whether you want a basic meal or one that adds lots of additional sides and appetizers.
Many of Williams Sonoma’s Thanksgiving-style meals are actually available year-round, but there are some seasonal options that become available in the fall. Either way, you’ll want to order your meal a couple weeks or more in advance of the holiday.

The prepared dishes are shipped frozen and need to be thawed for 24 to 72 hours and then baked. Sides generally take 30 to 60 minutes in the oven, while smoked and fried turkeys will take between 1 and 2.5 hours to reheat; an uncooked turkey will take around 3.5 to 4 hours to fully roast, depending on its size.

Best Ready-to-Eat Option: Burgers’ Smokehouse

Key Specs
Affordable Price: Yes
Flexible Meal Options: Yes; but few appetizers
Good Delivery Options: No; users can’t choose delivery date

Why We Chose It
This venerable meat specialist has a number of ready-to-eat Thanksgiving meal options and allows you to order full meals or mix and match.

Pros
Lots of options for turkey or other meats
Affordable
Good selection of classic sides and desserts
Straightforward instructions
Available in all 50 states

Cons
Can’t choose delivery date
Only a few appetizer options

Overview
Based in Missouri, Burgers' Smokehouse is perhaps most famous for its hams, which it has been selling since 1952. However, it also offers two different kinds of smoked whole turkeys (hickory-smoked or pepper-coated), two roasted turkeys (honey or herb), and lots of smaller cuts like cooked turkey breasts and legs.

Its prepared meals include a smoked turkey, ham, prime rib, or barbecued ribs; two sides; and a pie. You can also build your own meal by picking exactly the style of turkey or other protein you want and then choosing from seven sides and 15 desserts.

Everything except for a few foods that can’t be pre-cooked—such as steaks, bacon, and beef roasts—will arrive ready to reheat. The company also sells a few items that can be served as appetizers, like a sausage and cheese box or bacon-wrapped jalapeños. Full meals, which feed six to eight people, cost approximately $160–$165, depending on the type of meat.

All of Burgers' Smokehouse’s meals are available at any time of year. For Thanksgiving, make sure to order a couple of weeks ahead; Burgers' ships holiday meals five to 10 days before the actual holiday so that customers have time to thaw everything. (The website notes that some products may ship separately.)

Once your meal arrives, you’ll need to thaw your dishes completely (some meats can take up to three days) and then heat them in the oven for around 90 minutes.

Best Meal Kit Option: Blue Apron

Key Specs
Affordable Price: Yes; subscription required
Flexible Meal Options: Yes
Good Delivery Options: Yes

Why We Chose It
Blue Apron’s chef-designed Thanksgiving meal kits offer an excellent selection of classic and inventive dishes, and you can choose from a full-meal option or pick from a variety of offerings

Pros
Excellent customer reviews
Good variety of sides
Combination of classic and inventive dishes
Offers seasonal wine bundle 

Cons
Have to subscribe to the service to order

Overview
If you want to cook your own Thanksgiving dinner but don’t want the hassle of choosing the dishes, figuring out what recipes to use, and shopping for ingredients, try ordering a meal kit from Blue Apron. Its Thanksgiving meals are designed by chefs and come with everything you’ll need to make the meal—without waste or hassle.

The company offers both a full meal option (with turkey, a number of sides, and a dessert) and the option to choose which dishes you want to make and build your own menu.

All of the dishes are easy to prepare, and most offer interesting, delicious twists on classic Thanksgiving staples. What’s more, Blue Apron also offers a wine bundle as an add-on, so everything you need for dinner (other than your tableware!) will be delivered right to your door.

Blue Apron is a subscription service, so you’ll have to sign up for a recurring meal plan to order its Thanksgiving dinner, but there are no fees, other than the cost of the food, and you can cancel after just one order (including the one for Thanksgiving).

The Thanksgiving kit is designed to feed eight people and costs around $17 per person. Once you sign up, you’ll be able to choose from a few delivery dates (based on your ZIP code). When your kit arrives, you’ll need to refrigerate the ingredients immediately.

Best for Dinner for One: DoorDash

Key Specs
Affordable Price: Yes; varies during busy hours
Flexible Meal Options: Yes
Good Delivery Options: No; not all drivers work holidays

Why We Chose It
Ordering a Thanksgiving meal from a local restaurant using DoorDash offers lots of flexibility and options.

Pros
Mix of traditional and non-traditional meals
Don’t have to order a meal meant for a large group
No need to order weeks in advance
Range of prices

Cons
Service can be slow on holidays
Restaurant choice can be limited on holidays
Higher delivery fees during busy times

Overview
If you’re planning a quiet Thanksgiving on your own or simply have different dietary restrictions than others at your table, you can use DoorDash to find a wide variety of meal options from local restaurants. In most cities you’ll find a number of different foods to choose from: If you want a classic meal of turkey and sides, you can have it delivered from Boston Market; or, if you’re in the mood for something a little more unusual, opt for some roast duck and stir-fried greens from a nearby Chinese spot.

You may also be able to find holiday specials from local restaurants. In the past, for example, Balboa Café in San Francisco offered options like crab cakes, rum-brined turkey breast, and butternut squash soup for Thanksgiving delivery.

Because the DoorDash app relies on independent delivery drivers, and many people opt not to work on holidays, delivery times are often slow on Thanksgiving. (Prices may also be higher, as fees go up during busy times.) For an on-time meal, it’s best to order early.

To plan ahead, look at the restaurants on DoorDash’s app or website and check those locations’ holiday hours and specials.

Best for Desserts: Goldbelly

Key Specs
Affordable Price: Yes; including some expensive options
Flexible Meal Options: Yes
Good Delivery Options: Yes; but orders may ship separately

Why We Chose It
Goldbelly offers hundreds of different dessert options in addition to its holiday meals and dishes from restaurants across the country. Desserts range from small handheld sweets to ice cream, candy, doughnuts, and large cakes or pies that can serve up to 10 guests.

Pros
Wide variety of options
Can order non-traditional holiday dishes 
Hundreds of dessert options
High-quality meals

Cons
Highest quality meals can be expensive
Items may come in separate deliveries

Overview
Goldbelly’s vast range of meals from high-quality restaurants offers a unique opportunity to build a Thanksgiving menu with a mix of classic, creative, and unique dishes.

You can order your meal one dish at a time by choosing from a range of cooked and uncooked turkeys (or turduckens, “turporkens,” hams, or other proteins) and selecting individual sides and desserts from other restaurants across the country. Or, you could start with an entire meal, like a Thanksgiving Dinner for Four from Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, and then add additional dishes and desserts from other chefs and restaurants.

While you’ll be able to place orders from a variety of restaurants and bakeries all at once on Goldbelly’s website (with one checkout process and one big payment), establishments ship their items separately, so you may receive the elements of your meal on different days.

Similarly, items from different locations may have different storage and cooking instructions (you can generally find these in the items’ descriptions on the website before ordering).

Prices also vary significantly from restaurant to restaurant; the Turkey Dinner for 4 from The Original Turkey in Philadelphia, for instance, costs $109, while a Cajun Spicy Deep-Fried Turkey from Uncle Ray’s Fried Turkeys in Dallas costs $99 without any sides.

Best for Large Gatherings: Instacart

Key Specs
Affordable Price: Yes
Flexible Meal Options: Yes; options vary depending on location
Good Delivery Options: Yes; can be slower during holidays

Why We Chose It
Ordering a holiday meal from local grocery chains is a low-cost option for feeding a crowd, and Instacart’s fast service allows you to add additional foods as needed.

Pros
Affordable options
Quick delivery
Easy to scale up orders to feed a crowd

Cons
Options vary depending on location
Service can be slow around holidays

Overview
If you’re feeding a crowd for the holiday, the key is to find an affordable meal with lots of options to suit every dietary preference. Grocery chains like Wegmans and Stop & Shop offer pre-cooked Thanksgiving meals with all the classics—turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and vegetables—for as little as $50 for 10 servings.

Many also offer all of the same elements à la carte, as well as a variety of other cooked foods, so you can mix and match your sides and make sure that you have enough variety on your table to please everyone. Because the meal is coming from a grocery store, you can also choose additional options from the frozen meal and bakery cases to round out the meal—and get all of the fixings for post-holiday turkey sandwiches.

The grocery delivery service Instacart allows you to order from a variety of different grocers in your area for same-day or pre-scheduled delivery.

You’ll have to browse the different markets in your area separately (the company’s website separates the items available at each market, and you can only order from one location at a time), but delivery fees are low enough that you can always opt to put in two orders if you want to get your turkey and dessert from two separate stores.