As a mom, I’m always looking for fresh new dinner ideas. I typically enjoy cooking and if it is quick and easy that is always a bonus. If it’s something the kids will also eat, I’ve pretty much found the Holy Grail.
I decided to try out several different meal kit delivery services.
There are a TON of options to choose from these days. They can be a little pricey compared to what you would spend at the grocery store, but they sometimes offer a discount for your first order and additional discounts if you get a friend to try it out as well. Also, Ebates sometimes has a cash back program with some of them.
I chose three of the most popular and gave them a try. I have done at least three weeks of each to give them all a fair shot. After reviewing the options I decided these were not recipes my children would enjoy and opted for the two-person meals. Here are my thoughts on each:
Hello Fresh
Overall favorite. Best consistently delicious recipes.
I went with the classic plan for two that delivered three meals a week. They have on average about eight meals to choose from each week with a nice variety.
Cost per serving: $9.90
Average cooking time: 45 minutes
I have really enjoyed Hello Fresh. The meals have all been very tasty and are ones that I would not choose to cook on my own. The recipes were all fairly easy to make and in a reasonable amount of time. Each meal was also usually enough to split into three maybe four servings, so we had leftovers for lunch the next day — bonus!
Blue Apron
Most unique recipes.
For Blue Apron I also chose the two-person plan that delivered three meals a week. There are also about eight different meals to choose from each week with a variety of choices.
Cost per serving: $9.99
Average cooking time: 48 minutes
The recipes from Blue Apron were definitely different. Some of the flavors didn’t seem to mesh well. This company is the OG of meal kit delivery services and I thought they were trying too hard to make original and different food flavors. Also, two times they left out key ingredients of the meal. One of the recipes was tacos and they didn’t include the tortillas. Luckily you can eat tacos without the tortillas but it was disappointing.
Home Chef
Best Variety and options.
Home chef has the option to order two-person meals that can be delivered twice a week. This was the last option I tried and I was finding that it was sometimes hard to get around to cooking three meals within five days so this was a great option.
Cost per serving: $9.95
Average cooking times: 35 minutes
Home chef has the best variety and great add-on additions for breakfast or lunch. I really liked that you can do two meals a week. I found that was the perfect number for us each week. The recipes were fairly simple and the food was good, but not spectacular. I liked all of the recipes we ate, but I didn’t love them.
Overall, the winner is Hello Fresh. I enjoyed trying all three of the meal kit options and the recipes. I will probably continue with the delivery but cut it down to once a month. I have some great new recipes that I can put in my repertoire and maybe one day my kids will appreciate finer cuisine. I don’t like having to cook separate meals for the family, but sometimes I enjoy fancier foods than spaghetti.
