Your guide to a better future
Looking for better-quality chicken, beef, produce and pantry staples? We found some inexpensive options for buying organic online.
David Watsky
Senior Editor / Home and Kitchen
I live in Brooklyn where I write about food subscriptions, cooking, kitchen gadgets and commerce. Anything with sesame is my all-time favorite food this week.
This story is part of Home Tips, CNET’s collection of practical advice for getting the most out of your home, inside and out.
Eating an organic diet is one way to ensure you’re getting higher-quality food with fewer chemicals, antibiotics and preservatives. We previously debunked a few common misconceptions about organic food, but, in general, organic meats and produce that are raised organically are more natural and less likely to contain potentially harmful additives. Organic food is also better for the planet since it originates from systems mostly free of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.
If your local market is lacking in organic products or the prices are too steep to stomach, we’ve scouted out the best places to buy organic food online that won’t break the bank. There have never been more online grocery services which means you can find organic chicken, beef, produce, snacks and pantry staples and have them all delivered to your door. And if you’re wondering if it’s generally cheaper to buy groceries online, we did the math and the results might surprise you.
Read more: How Much Cheaper Are Store-Brand Groceries Than Name Brands?
This produce delivery service has options for both organic and non-organic produce deliveries. A medium box of organic produce will cost you $66 and includes either all vegetables, all fruit or a combination of both. While the selections are a bit dependent on what the farmers are harvesting, you’ll get to customize your box with five substitutions depending on what’s available. If you don’t make subs, Farmbox will send a mixed box of organic produce for you.
There’s a $6 shipping charge for each box. You can easily skip a week’s shipment if you don’t think you’ll need it and cancel or pause your subscription at any time.
If you don’t have access to good local produce, Amazon Fresh has one of the largest selections of organic produce available for delivery. You’ll find staples like organic greens, kale, cucumbers, carrots and onions. But you can also stock your cart with harder-to-find produce such as organic herbs and fruit like mangos and pluots. In typical fashion, Amazon is able to keep prices low, so you’ll often get organic produce at an equal or lower cost than a grocery store.
Thrive Market is an online grocery membership service that specializes in healthy, organic foods. If you don’t have a good market with organic goods, you’ll be able to find a lot of them at Thrive. That includes organic beans, canned foods, spices, tea, coffee, nut milk and snacks. Not everything stocked by Thrive is organic but the service has a higher rate of organic options than most, often at cheaper prices than the supermarket.
Membership to Thrive costs $60 a year or $5 a month, and gets you exclusive member deals and free gifts. You can set up recurring deliveries on staples and save a bit or just order as you go.
FreshDirect is currently only available in the Northeast but the grocery delivery service stocks a range of organic meats including chicken, beef, ground turkey and sausages. FreshDirect stocks Farmer’s Focus, an organic poultry brand. You’ll also see a selection of Applegate Farms’ frozen products including breaded chicken tenders and patties, all of which are humanely raised and some of which are organic.
Of the online butchers we’ve tried, Crowd Cow has just about the largest selections of meats and that includes lots of organic chicken options.
The service allows you to build a box with organic chicken, beef, pork, sausages, seafood and specialty meats too. If it’s organic meat you’re looking for, you can simply plug organic into the search bar and see options that include Farmer Focus whole chickens, chicken thighs, wings and breasts. There’s also organic ground beef, precooked meatballs and several variety packs to choose from.
With Crowd Cow, you can order a one-time delivery or make it a recurring order and save 5% on each shipment.
Read more: Best Places to Buy Chicken Online
Buying organic beef is an option, but many would argue that truly grass-fed beef (beef that is raised on a diet of only grass) is better for you than grain-fed beef, even if it’s fed organic grain.
While it’s not certified organic, ButcherBox sells only grass-fed beef along with organic chicken and other quality meats. This butcher is a subscription service so you can’t make a one-time order. You can customize your box as you go and skip deliveries or pause your subscription, as needed.
Read more: Best Meat Delivery Services for 2022: Porter Road, Rastelli’s, ButcherBox and More
Amazon Fresh doesn’t have a massive supply of organic meats but they do stock Verde Farms 100% grass-fed, organic beef and some cuts can be had at Amazon’s signature discounted prices. A two-pack of sirloin steaks goes for just $16 or nab a pound of ground beef for just $8.
If you want truly organic, grass-fed beef you have options but you’ll pay a little extra for it. Greensbury Farms stocks a large inventory of USDA organic ground beef, steaks and roasts. A two-pack of 10-ounce ribeyes or strip steaks will run you $36. A 2-pound package of ground beef goes for $25.
Greensbury also stocks organic chicken, turkey, wild seafood and more.
If you’re looking for organic meal kits, Green Chef is the best service to try. The mostly organic meal kit service sources high-quality ingredients for complete meals and sends them to your door to whip up easy, healthy meals. While not every product can be certified organic, Green Chef aims to include as much organic meat and produce as possible. This means the price per serving is a little higher than other meal kit companies — about $12 for the cheapest plan — but it’s your best option if eating organic is important to you.
Read CNET’s full review of Green Chef here.