Been awhile since I posted here, but I have been hard at work crafting meals! It all started a few months ago when I was offered a free trial box of meals from Hello Fresh. Up until that point, I had never even considered trying a subscription service, but after one box came, I was on a mission to find the best box of meals that I could! I have tried at least one box of all 10 of the following companies. I included notes on our experience with each brand, and ranked them according to our preferences. So without further adieu…..
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| Every Plate |
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| Hello Fresh and Gobble |
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| Green Chef |
Every company reviewed below includes a link to learn more, and most have a discount attached when you use the link.
PRICING below is based on my orders of 3 nights x 2 servings each (All brands offer plans based on the number of people you want to feed, and the number of nights you want meals. If you order less weekly servings, there is higher per meal price.)
- Green Chef - Best healthy meal options and my personal favorite. There are recipes catering to a variety of diets like Keto, Paleo, etc. Wider selection of grains and greens than most companies. Our first box had fresh produce, and the recipes were super flavorful. Competitively priced with other brands, but cost more than I would spend on a weekly basis. They do have a once per month option. I contacted customer service to clarify something, and had a good experience. Only negative I encountered, is that they are the only company that requires you to call them to cancel. (Hello Fresh owns Every Plate and it recently bought Green Chef too!) $9.99 per serving and $7.99 shipping Learn more about Green Chef
- Every Plate - Best value on a budget. Fresh ingredients, simple recipes. We liked and kept all 3 recipes in our first box. One of the cheapest plans, but less meals to choose from than some others. A few weeks after trying this, we received a “come back now” email with free boxes for friends, and a $2.99 per serving price for us, so I gave it another try. When they shipped an unexpected box on Thanksgiving, a quick chat with customer service, gave us a refund of that box, and the next box free. (Side note- they asked me to fill out a survey at the end of my chat, which is how I found out that Hello Fresh is the parent company. All 3 brands owned by Hello Fresh had the best customer service.) I will likely keep this company available for days we need to supplement easy meals. $4.99 per serving and $8.99 shipping Learn more about Every Plate
- Hello Fresh – Best Incentives. Great customer service experience. Any freshness issues were replaced AND refunded. I would say the recipes were mostly okay, but hit or miss on freshness. One of the best prices, and TONS of opportunities to earn and share free/discounted meals. We ordered several times from Hello Fresh because of all the offers that made it cheaper than grocery shopping. (As already noted, Hello Fresh purchased Every Plate offering a cheaper meal alternative, and Green Chef, a meal kit company focused on organic, vegan, gluten-free, paleo, and keto-friendly meals. Since Hello Fresh is the parent company, all of these “brands” have very good customer service if you have any issues.) $8.99 per serving and $6.99 shipping Learn more about Hello Fresh
- Sun Basket - Fresh Ingredients -also recommended. All very fresh ingredients in the box. One of the better experiences with food freshness and variety. Wide options like paleo recipes, and a wider variety of veggies than some of the cheaper places. (They used things like kale, brussels sprouts, and carrots and not just the white potatoes and zucchini that virtually all the other places include in just about every recipe. However, the first 3 recipes we tried weren't fantastic, so I would not make those again. One of the most expensive companies, so we won’t be using them without some great discount codes. This was the only place that included a high quality booklet with ALL the week’s recipe choices in it, almost like a high-gloss catalog. First, I am guessing that raises the price for everyone. Also, it makes it more difficult to find the recipe you are making, just by flipping through all the pages and looking for it. Lastly, it is a thick, stapled catalog, so it doesn’t really lay flat while you cook. Flat recipe cards are preferred IMHO. $11.99 per serving and $6.99 shipping Learn more about Sun Basket
- Gobble - Best option if you need dinner quick. Recipes are easy, because prep work is done for you (things are washed, chopped, etc). Meals are ready in just 15 minutes. Not many options as far as recipe choices, but they were good. More promo emails than anyone else, to the point of being annoying. Our box came with two free chocolate chip cookies to bake with our first box, which was a nice surprise. Unfortunately, one bag with pre-cooked meatballs was sliced open, and the meatballs were just rolling around in the box. I was immediately refunded the price of the whole box, but left with ingredients for a meal, and no meatballs (I improvised and made my own). If you live in California, they will get replacements to you, but cannot do that further way. Fast, polite customer service. I don’t mind food prep, so this is not a plan I will stick with, because it is one of the more expensive. If you are short on time or don’t know how to cook “fancy” meals, this company is for you, if you don’t mind the price tag. (Found out they started partnering with Walmart in 2018.) $11.99 per serving and $6.99 shipping Learn more about Gobble
- HomeChef - Overall it was okay, not great for the expense. Average quality/freshness. Recipes were just sort of mediocre and forgettable. Quality was decent. We did not have quality issues, so I did not talk to customer service. Only tried one box, and might give it another try if I were offered a good deal. (Owned by Kroger) $9.99 per serving with free shipping on orders over $40 ($10 shipping for smaller orders) Learn more about Home Chef
- Plated - Recipes were ok, nothing special, not much seasoning, and mostly bland. (ex. Enchiladas with no sour cream or toppings, except shredded radish) Quality issues: (ex. First meal, had a bell pepper that was mushy/half bad. Second meal had one green onion, and it was wilted with no greens.) Fast and good customer service. Our second box was damaged by the shipper, which was super inconvenient! (It was supposed to arrive the day we got home from Mayo Clinic, and I had no groceries. The shipper had returned the damaged box to sender, leaving us to scramble for a meal.) Plated made up for it with a refund and a free box. They do not make extra boxes each week, so could not reship the meals. Third box had a moldy sweet potato, which was the main side dish for one recipe, and they gave me a partial refund on the box for that. One of the most complicated recipes/more steps and equipment than most (only time I needed a blender). **NOTE- Plated just closed its subscription business effective the week of Thanksgiving, but prepared meals are available in stores. Was $9.99 per serving and free shipping on orders over $60 ($7.95 for smaller orders) Learn more about Plated
- Blue Apron - Bad recipes, mediocre quality/freshness. Since the meals were so unhealthy (like a greasy burger dripping with fake cheese sauce, on a white bun), I didn’t complain, because I didn't want a free box! The veggies weren’t very fresh, and in hindsight I would have called to get a refund like other companies offer, but this was the second company I tried, and didn’t realize how responsive most of the companies were at trying to make it right. $9.99 per serving and free shipping Learn more about Blue Apron
- Martha & Marley Spoon - Our first box had wilted veggies, and tasteless tacos. Second box also had bland recipes, wilted veggies, and mushy/moldy inside bell pepper, so I called customer service. Worst customer service experience of all the companies. I contacted them about the bad produce, and they just cancelled my account because I was unhappy, saying “Sorry Marley Spoon isn’t for you.” Recipes were ok, but they have bad quality control. That combined with the horrible customer service experience, price, and the misleading ads (see below), I would not recommend them. They have some false advertising. I received a postcard with an offer for 3 free meals, but when we went to use the code, it discounted the price by 3 portion sizes. The website does say 2 portions, for 3 nights is called “3 meals”, but I did not get 3 free meals. Customer service was less than helpful trying to clear that up too. I cannot recommend this company based on our experience. $8.99 per serving and $8.99 shipping Learn more about Martha & Marley Spoon
- Dinnerly- Cheapest plan of all. Simple meal prep due to limited number of ingredients in their recipes. Their recipes were not the healthiest of choices. It seems that the cheaper plans tend to have recipes with lots of carbs, starches, gravies, etc. Our box had wilted green onions, a soft/bendy carrot, and mushy tomatoes. I didn’t contact customer service, because I didn’t want another box. One recipe had 3 chicken drumsticks as 2 servings!?? They are the only company that doesn’t include any paperwork or recipes in the box. To keep prices low, recipes are online or in the app only. They pack their meat well though (in a cozy, sealed, bag with lots of ice packs) and it was the only company that got the meat to me still frozen. (There were a couple boxes of other brands where the meat was close to refrigerator temp (or warmer?) that made me a little concerned!) Note- I discovered this is a more affordable brand owned by Marley Spoon. $4.49 per serving and $8.99 shipping Learn more about Dinnerly
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| Dinnerly |
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| Plated and Sun Basket |
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| Home Chef, Martha and Marley Spoon, and Blue Apron (the ones I forgot to take pictures of!) |
Other NOTES
*ALL have upgraded/premium meals and available add-ons (like bread, dessert, etc.) If you are using a promo code/credit, be careful ordering these items because they will be charged to you. They are exempt from promos.
*Most are easy (or fairly easy) to skip a week, change the number of meals, and some let you just pause your account without cancelling. Some websites are a little more complicated (at least for me) to figure out where to click to change your delivery dates, recipes, number of meals, or even cancel or pause your subscription, but all have pretty good search results and help centers to make it easier.
*Several offer great deals to come back after you cancel. Hello Fresh (and their other brands) offers lots of enticements, and even freebies for friends.
*All offer some sort of reward system so that the more you order, the more discounts or free boxes you can offer to friends. Most offer discount codes to try them, and I have linked to those discounts above.
*Most offer discounted pricing if you order more servings per week, or use a family plan. *NOTE* “family plan” is usually considered 4 people.
*All offer menu options that include things like: quick & easy recipes, vegetarian or vegan options, variety in protein options, and several even offer low-carb, keto, paleo and other diet plan recipes. You are able to choose your recipes, and view the menu online before you order, but if you miss the cut off date to make changes, then you will receive the standard selected meals for that week.
*Almost all let you view recipes before signing up, and ALL do let you see the recipes before ordering so you know what you need to do. Most recipes assume you have oil, butter, salt, pepper and sometimes flour, with all other ingredients being included in the box.
*One company had a tip that I found VERY helpful! When the box arrives, check to be sure all the ingredients are included (one box was missing an apple, which was a main ingredient for a side dish, and I didn’t catch the problem until I was making dinner). Also, remove items like tomatoes, potatoes, avocados, or even canned goods that are fine at room temps, and may even ripen a bit on the window sill and not in the fridge.
* All have tried to use as much recyclable packaging as possible, but there are still a lot of little plastic bags that end up in the trash.
*Serving sizes are pretty adequate, but some were small enough to add a side salad and dessert (like the night with 3 chicken legs to split. No leftovers, which is one of the biggest downsides for me.
*There are more meal subscription plans, like Freshly ($9.99/serving with free delivery), that send prepped meals, that you just heat up and eat, but I did not try any of that kind. (like TV dinners, but usually fresh, not frozen.)Well, that’s a wrap! I would love to hear from you if you had a different experience, or if you try the pre-cooked meal plans. Bon Appetit!
It is time for me to stop cooking, finish making Christmas cards, and get them sent!
~Until Next Time
Shari
