Pricing
Beginning at $8/serving
Kind
Meal package
Recipes per week
16
Good for
Vegetarian, pescatarian, diabetes-friendly, low-calorie, choosy eaters, fast meals
Rating Breakdown
Style/outcomes 8/10Worth 9/10Ease of recipes 9/10Recipe selection 8/10Healthiness 8/10
Execs
- Good steadiness of consolation meals and wholesome recipes
- Commonplace plan consists of steak and seafood recipes
- Inexpensive, particularly when you order meals for 4
- Essentially the most eco-friendly meal package service
Cons
- Does not enable for a lot customization
- Costly when you solely order two meals per week
- Additional $10 for delivery
Meal package supply companies prevent time on meal prep, meal planning and grocery procuring — however is the meals any good? I got down to take a look at some of the widespread meal supply companies available on the market, and that is my Blue Apron overview.
Blue Apron has the formulation good, providing glorious steak and seafood recipes alongside different tempting meal kits every week for a similar worth or decrease than different midrange meal package choices. I’ve examined dozens of companies and the unique meal package firm impressed sufficient to earn this editor’s decide and the highest slot in our checklist of finest meal supply companies for 2024.
In my newest take a look at of the unique meal package firm, Blue Apron impressed with simply executed recipes that rendered wholesome, flavorful meals, all for an affordable $8 to $11 per serving relying on the plan you select. Meal package choices in Blue Apron’s weekly menu embody bistro steaks and contemporary salmon, shrimp and trout dinners with out having to pay a premium worth as with different companies. There are additionally quick oven-ready meals that take not more than 5 minutes of prep work and rival your favourite restaurant takeout.
To sweeten the deal even additional, Blue Apron makes a tempting provide to new clients within the type of 50% off your first 4 weeks of meals. For extra reductions, see the finest meal supply offers taking place now. For extra on Blue Apron, learn on to see why this class trailblazer stays the very best meal package service in 2024.
Steak and seafood recipes at no extra value are Blue Apron’s ace within the gap.
How Blue Apron works
In the event you’ve used any meal package service, Blue Apron operates fairly equally to most others within the class — a class it kicked off, I would add. You may begin by plugging in your e mail and choosing a plan. Blue Apron meal plans are easy and easy: You’ll be able to select meals for 2 or 4 folks and both two, three or 4 recipes per week. Meals get cheaper the extra you order.
Blue Apron plans vary from $8 to $12 a serving.
Meal kits embody every little thing that you must make dinner (apart from salt, pepper and cooking oil) and are then delivered on a day of your selecting, apart from Sunday. Keep in mind, this can be a subscription, so when you do not pause or cancel, meals will come each week and you will be charged for them. In the event you do not choose the recipes manually by way of the web site or app, Blue Apron will select meals for you based mostly in your preliminary plan.
Ordering and altering orders by way of the app is simple
You are able to do absolutely anything you want by way of the Blue Apron app, together with altering and canceling orders, monitoring your shipments and logging factors when you’re utilizing the built-in Weight Watchers program. Between the web site interface and cell app, Blue Apron makes it straightforward to skip weeks, change out recipes or pause your subscription. Any modifications should be made six days earlier than the subsequent supply date.
Selecting meals with Blue Apron
There are roughly 16 meal kits to select from per week if you choose the Signature Meal Plan, which encompasses all recipes. Of these 16, one or two are premium meals and have a higher-end minimize of steak, premium seafood or duck breast, and can incur an added value. Roughly three of the 15 meals are plant-based, so when you select the Vegetarian Plan, these will likely be your solely choices. 4 or 5 of the 16 meals fall underneath the Wellness class.
How a lot does Blue Apron value?
In the event you’re a pair searching for two, three or 4 recipes per week, Blue Apron meals break all the way down to $10 or $12 a serving. Select recipes for 4 folks — good for households and people searching for leftovers to eat all through the week — and the value per serving begins at $8 a serving for 4 meal kits. Order three or two meal package recipes for 4 folks and it will be extra like $9 a serving. Delivery is one other $10 per field, regardless of which plan you select.
Blue Apron pricing
undefined
| Recipes per week | Meals for two* | Meals for 4* |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | $12 | $10 |
| 3 | $11 | $9.49 |
| 4 | $10 | $9 |
| 5 | $9.49 | $8 |
| *worth per serving |
Past providing high-end recipes for a great worth, Blue Apron is the most environmentally pleasant meal package service in 2023 with a decrease total carbon footprint than grocery procuring. Talking of groceries, we did the mathematics, and utilizing Blue Apron can be about as low-cost — typically cheaper — than shopping for all these groceries your self.
What Blue Apron meals are like
Most Blue Apron meals are pretty wholesome, with lean proteins, contemporary greens and wholesome grains. If you wish to splurge somewhat, there’s all the time a pasta dish or two, together with consolation meals comparable to meatloaf with mashed potatoes or French bread pizza.
Blue Apron’s normal weekly menu consists of recipes that different meal package companies would classify as premium. There may be usually a steak recipe or some fish like trout, salmon or tilapia. Of all of the companies I’ve examined, Blue Apron additionally had essentially the most fascinating steak and seafood recipes obtainable in the usual plan. I cooked a superb bavette steak and a memorable garlic shrimp dish, each of which value much less by way of Blue Apron than they’d have if I purchased the substances myself.
Blue Apron’s steak and seafood recipes are the very best I’ve had from a normal meal package plan.
Blue Apron incorporates fascinating spice mixes, sauces and facet dishes that you just may not discover with different meal package companies. Photogenic Romanesco broccoli is paired with tofu Banh Mi sandwiches, as an example, or a pan-seared steak dish is served with crispy gnocchi as an alternative of been-there-done-that mashed potatoes.
How straightforward are Blue Apron meals to organize?
Blue Apron meals are principally straightforward to organize and do not require any fancy cooking coaching or extended kitchen expertise. Some extra concerned recipes just like the mushroom risotto take as much as 45 minutes, however most are between 25 and 35 minutes from begin to end.
Oven-ready meals require lower than 10 minutes of labor
The oven-ready meals are the quickest to organize and often require solely combining substances right into a baking tray and sticking the entire thing within the oven to cook dinner. My Thai coconut curry hen meal with rice and inexperienced beans took not more than 5 minutes of precise labor, after which one other 45 to cook dinner.
Blue Apron’s oven-ready meals take nearly no time to organize. Simply mix the substances and pop them into the oven.
In a earlier spherical of testing, I attempted Blue Apron’s Tremendous Bowl meal package recipes, which have been meant for a bunch, so a few of these took a bit longer, such because the hen bacon ranch flatbread pizza. Others from the Tremendous Bowl unfold, together with the spinach and artichoke dip and steak lettuce wraps, took lower than 25 minutes to whip up.
What I cooked and the way it went
All of the makings for cauliflower shawarma, one in all Blue Apron’s hearty plant-based recipes.
I attempted 9 Blue Apron recipes in whole. Three have been from the present Signature Meal and three are from a earlier take a look at of normal recipes in 2022. I additionally examined three of Blue Apron’s particular Tremendous Bowl menus from January 2022.
In all three deliveries, my Blue Apron field arrived undamaged with every little thing neatly packaged. Produce, fish, meat and different substances all appeared contemporary, apart from one purple pepper that had some indicators that it was previous its prime — however was nonetheless very a lot usable. Nothing was lacking, though Blue Apron had made one alternative swapping flank steaks for bistro steaks to make sure a well timed supply. The customer support crew even notified me of the change beforehand by way of e mail. Spoiler alert: The flank steaks have been excellent.
The Tremendous Bowl recipes included some added data from the beer cosponsor Stella Artois. Apart from that, every little thing appeared appropriately and I used to be able to get the cooking underway.
Signature recipes
Bavette steak with caper aioli, potatoes and kale: This dish turned out splendidly and felt like such a cut price for the per-serving worth. The steak, which I need to modestly admit I cooked completely, was restaurant high quality: tender, flavorful and never in the slightest degree robust or stringy.
Bavette steak with potatoes and kale.
Hen thighs in Thai peanut curry with rice and greens beans (oven-ready meal): This meal required about 5 minutes of prep — principally placing all of the substances within the aluminum tray — after which baking for 45 minutes. I feared the inexperienced beans could be mushy, however they weren’t. The rice, nevertheless, was a tad softer than I prefer it so I might in all probability pull again the cooking time on this one to about 40 minutes.
This oven-ready recipe of hen in Thai coconut curry over rice with inexperienced beans couldn’t have been simpler to organize. The proper factor for a busy weeknight.
Garlic shrimp over Spanish-style potatoes: This was the quickest meal to make, and in addition one in all my favorites. It wasn’t overly heavy however loads filling. It was stuffed with contemporary garlic and toasty spice.
Garlic shrimp over Spanish-style potatoes.
Gochujang steak lettuce cups: This one was additionally tasty and simple as heck. The steak was tender and the Gochujang (a candy and spicy Korean barbecue sauce) was a complete smash. It took lower than 20 minutes from begin to end.
The plant-based cauliflower shwarma was one in all my favorites of the bunch.
Shawarma cauliflower grain bowls: I appreciated this recipe. Any time a recipe could make me neglect I am consuming one thing wholesome, I name it a giant success and that is what occurred right here. It did take a strong 35 minutes to organize, however properly value it and the parts have been plentiful.
Particular expertise embody searing scallops.
Pan-seared scallops with capers, pickled peppers and orange salsa (premium meal): If this recipe appears like a chaotic mess of competing flavors all jousting for dominance, that is as a result of it was. It is a clear-cut instance of one in all Blue Apron’s massive swings nevertheless it was a swing and a miss for me. On the brilliant facet, the scallops have been contemporary. On the flip facet, I ruined contemporary scallops.
This premium scallop recipe had an excessive amount of happening
Particular menu recipes
Hen, bacon and ranch pizza: This recipe took somewhat longer to organize because you needed to cook dinner the hen and bacon first, assemble the pizza and cook dinner it once more, nevertheless it was value it. The end result was like one thing you’d get at a gastropub or upscale sports activities bar. Excellent game-day meals.
A really tasty hen bacon and ranch flatbread pizza.
Spinach and artichoke dip with pita bread: I am a sucker for “spin dip” and this model delivered, plus it was easy to make, creamy and tangy with a pleasant steadiness of substances. I appreciated that I may add salt to style as a result of typically premade or restaurant dips are too salty for me.
Chorizo quesadillas: One other crowd favourite, however definitely not WW-approved. I appreciated this game-day dish, though it was a tad greasy and heavy in the long run.
Chorizo quesadilla with cilantro bitter cream.
Who ought to attempt Blue Apron?
Blue Apron meal kits are nice for households because the worth per serving drops to $8 a portion when you select 4 recipes for 4. With a Weight Watchers integration constructed into the menus and app, it is a sensible choice for somebody following that plan (however not for many different diets). It is also typically a great meal package service for anybody seeking to minimize corners at dinner or enhance their cooking expertise. The recipes are elevated, but straightforward to organize and provide good worth.
There are in all probability higher meal kits obtainable for somebody who eats vegetarian. Purple Carrot is one apparent possibility because it affords 100% plant-based (and scrumptious) meal kits. However even non-vegan package companies comparable to Sunbasket and Inexperienced Chef have extra and higher choices for meat-free dishes of their weekly menus.
Blue Apron Market
Blue Apron additionally has a connoisseur market the place you should purchase cooking provides together with spice mixes, cookware, devices, wine bundles and equipment. Costs from the market are pretty affordable. And sure, you possibly can undoubtedly purchase a blue Blue Apron apron.
Learn extra: Finest Wine Membership for 2023
Blue Apron wine program (discontinued)
For an additional $66 a month (consists of delivery), you possibly can rating six bottles of wine which might be chosen to pair along with your Blue Apron recipes. You’ll be able to choose purple, white or a mixture of each relying in your current preferences. I’ve but to attempt Blue Apron’s wine picks.
We have now but to attempt Blue Apron’s wine pairings. Keep tuned.
Packaging and environmental friendliness
In my preliminary overview of Blue Apron, I believed there was room for enchancment when it got here to single-use plastic and total waste. On this newest take a look at, I discovered a marked enchancment with not practically as a lot superfluous plastic wrapping.
A latest unbiased evaluation discovered that Blue Apron meal kits have essentially the most environmentally pleasant packaging.
The ultimate verdict
The 2023 model of Blue Apron is the very best up to now. Not solely is the weekly menu stuffed with straightforward and fascinating recipes, nevertheless it has essentially the most choices for steak and contemporary seafood with out having to pay a premium. I appreciated practically all the 9 recipes I made, although some have been higher than others, and just one felt like a dud.
Blue Apron affords a few of the most subtle recipes you will get at a budget-friendly worth. Outdoors of premium meals, essentially the most you will pay is $10 or $12 a serving and when you order sufficient servings for a household of 4, it is extra like $8 per serving. There are cheaper meal package companies on the market, like Dinnerly and EveryPlate, however neither have recipes as fascinating or refined as Blue Apron.
The ordering course of was easy and the substances arrived on time and in good situation. In the event you’re a Blue Apron subscriber, it is also comforting to know that you just’re utilizing essentially the most environmentally pleasant of the foremost meal package companies. In the event you’re seeking to attempt meal kits to change out of your present service, Blue Apron makes it straightforward and low-cost, with a deal good for $110 whole off your first few deliveries.
