The Food Brands We Order From on Repeat for Easy (and Delicious!) Dinners

Morgan Pryor

23 October 2024 at 0:00 am·5-min read

overhead shot of beef and broccoli noodles in a silver pan — Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe; Food Styling: Kelli Foster Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe; Food Styling: Kelli Foster

While there are few things more satisfying than getting a recipe just right or trying out a new dish, most of us don’t have time to spend hours in the kitchen every day of the week (unfortunately). We also aren’t always able to run to the grocery store, farmers market, or butcher shop as frequently as we would like to. But just because your meal needs to be fast and simple doesn’t mean that it can’t also be absolutely delicious.

That’s where direct-to-consumer (or DTC) food brands come into play. They deliver restaurant-quality food right to your door, whether it’s pork soup dumplings or tinned fish. Over the past few years, DTC food brands have grown in number and popularity, and there’s truly something for everyone. To help you save time, I’ve put together a list of the food-delivery brands that The Kitchn editors order from on repeat, as well as our favorite picks from each. Without further ado:

KT DTC Food Brands We Love

Bestseller Pack
Bestseller Pack
Momofuku
$72 (was $101)
Momofuku’s ramen noodles are a go-to for many members of The Kitchn’s staff. After chef David Chang opened numerous acclaimed restaurants across the U.S., the brand extended its offerings to an online store, which includes top-notch noodles, sauces, toppings, and more. The bestseller pack includes 25 meals in top-rated flavors: Sweet and Spicy, Spicy Chili, Tingly Chili, Soy and Scallion, and Spicy Soy. Each noodle pack cooks in five minutes, and once you add the included soy sauce, chili crunch, and seasoned salt, you’ll have an unbelievably delicious meal. (Trust me: I stock up on this one.)
Buy Now
Good Chop Monthly Subscription, Medium
Good Chop Monthly Subscription, Medium
Good Chop
$149
Want high-quality meat delivered right to your door? Try Good Chop. Every month, you can choose exactly which top-shelf cuts you want, so you don’t have to trek to the butcher to check off your shopping list. “Every cut I cooked was fresh and delicious, with great color and delicious flavor,” says our reviewer, Ian, “And the variety of options meant I was cooking and eating different meats nearly every night, so I never got bored.”
Buy Now
The Saucy Noodle Sampler
The Saucy Noodle Sampler
Omsom
$49
Another noodle brand that we can’t get enough of is Omsom, an AAPI women-owned company that brings “loud and proud Asian flavors” right into your kitchen. The Saucy Noodle Sampler pack is a particular favorite of our staff; it includes 10 boxes of noodles and sauces inspired by Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese dishes. Flavors include Coconut Lemongrass Curry Saucy Noodles, Soy Garlic Saucy Noodles, Chili Sesame Saucy Noodles, and Garlic Black Pepper Saucy Noodles. Each takes just 4 minutes to prepare. “If I tasted them blind, I easily could have been tricked into thinking they were made from scratch,” says our reviewer, Justine. “They were thick, bouncy, chewy, cooked beautifully every time, and so satisfying to slurp across all four flavor tastings.”
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The Fly by Jing Smoked Salmon Trio, 3 Pack
The Fly by Jing Smoked Salmon Trio, 3 Pack
Fishwife
$39
This find gives you the best of two editor-loved brands: Fishwife, which produces top-notch, sustainable-sourced tinned fish, and Fly by Jing, which makes tasty Sichuan sauces and spices. It has an impressively long shelf life, so you don’t have to rush to eat it right after delivery, though you’ll surely want to. Fishwife’s “caramelized, tender, and campfire-y smoked salmon” and Fly by Jing’s sweet, tangy, spicy sauce are a match made in heaven, Ian says.
Buy Now
Pork Soup Dumplings
Pork Soup Dumplings
MìLà
$39.99
MìLà is a food brand that I personally purchase on repeat. After launching as a shop called Xiao Chi Jie in 2018, the brand changed gears during the pandemic and rebranded as MìLà, offering frozen Chinese food that can be delivered nationwide. Its dumplings, with their perfect soup-to-pork ratio and explosion of flavor, are a particular standout. (They’ve been a hit on social media, so you might have seen them before.) Its noodles are just as impressive, FYI!
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Kansas City Steak Co. (16) 3.2-oz All Beef Hot Dogs
Kansas City Steak Co. (16) 3.2-oz All Beef Hot Dogs
QVC.com
$52.98 (was $66)
I discovered Kansas City Steak Co. after attending QVC’s Foodie Fest with Commerce SEO Editor Sarah, and we were immediately wowed by its premium hot dogs, which are a summer staple everyone should snag. “Instead of your traditional hot dog, which usually has lots of scraps and inexpensive cuts of meat, we go with all our great cuts of meat and put it in a hot dog,” chef Ralph Pallarino told us. The company also can deliver steaks, burgers, and sides of potatoes to round out your meal.
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Porter Road Classics
Porter Road Classics
Porter Road
$155
Porter Road, an iconic Nashville butcher shop, works with local farmers to ensure that its meat quality is always top-notch, and it shows as soon as you take it out of the package. The 10th Anniversary Box includes all of Porter Road’s greatest hits: two NY strips (or your choice of rib-eye), two Denver steaks, two pork chops, 1 pound of dry-aged ground beef, 1 pound of country breakfast sausage, four hot dogs, and its All Things Roast Seasoning. “Once again, I am reminded that the meat I find in the grocery store is nowhere near the quality of the meat I can purchase from Porter Road,” says our reviewer, Amelia.
Buy Now