Blue Apron Meal Delivery Reviews & Pricing
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Vegetarian
Blue Apron Dietary Options
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Review
Blue Apron is more than just food on the table - it's an experience! Normally, we prep all of our food on Sunday, making a huge batch of one recipe that we portion out for the entire week. This saves us lots of prep and cleaning time during the week, but it also means that meal time turns into a “grab something as fast as you can and pop it in the microwave” kind of experience. Back when we were dating, we loved cooking together – mincing, chopping, dicing, and flirting our way through a bottle of wine. Prepping dinner together at home was not only romantic, but a much better value than going out to eat. When considering whether Blue Apron is worth the price for you, there are a few things to consider:- How much do you normally budget for groceries? Given your budget, does it make sense to spend $60 a week on 3 dinners?
- What’s your typical budget for dining out? A recent study from Business Insider gave the average price of dining out at various chain restaurants throughout the U.S. On the low end, the average check per person at hamburger chain Red Robin rang up at $12.17, while seafood giant Eddie V’s meal ticket averaged $88 per person. While most week night dining experiences are probably more on the Red Robin end of the spectrum in terms of price, even then, cooking at home with Blue Apron is more affordable.
- Consider it Quality Time If your date or family night out is geared towards talking and spending quality time together, what could be better than spending an hour cooking together within the intimacy of your own home?
- Compare it to Other Meal Delivery Subscriptions I found that Blue Apron was the most affordable subscription of all the major ones we looked into. Green Chef, Plated, and Hello Fresh are all far more expensive. For more on this see the “Versus the Other Guys” section below.
Convenience
One of the biggest perks of Blue Apron that I’ve heard get tossed around is the convenience of having the meals pre-portioned and delivered right to your front porch. I’d view this convenience two different ways:- It Allows for Culinary Adventure without the Effort or Waste One of the things that kept us subscribing to Blue Apron was the experience of trying new foods. Most of my meal inspiration typically comes from Paleo food blogs or cliché recipe posts on Pinterest. I’m usually looking for recipes that are fast and healthy, which means dinnertime can be somewhat bland. We love that Blue Apron allows us to try new recipes that are outside of our normal realm without having to create a menu and buy an excess amount of unusual spices and ingredients. For instance, one of my favorite meals we’ve tried was the Za’atar Chicken & Pearl Couscous with Pink Lemon Compote. This Middle Eastern flavored dish calls for pink lemon, Za’atar spice and Aleppo pepper. I likely would never have stumbled upon this recipe and wouldn’t even be able to find these exotic ingredients in our small town grocery store that can barely keep regular lemons in stock.
- You Still Have to Go to the Store Considering that you still have several other meals to plan and consider for the rest of the week, having three dinners delivered to your doorstep doesn’t mean your weekly grocery run goes away. While you might purchase less, you still have to deal with the inconveniences of stocking your pantry and fridge with food for the rest of the week.
Read the full review of the delicious Meatball Ragout with Swiss ChardQuality of Food
Overall, almost all of the produce and meat we’ve received from Blue Apron has been crisp, fresh, and delicious, often going unspoiled for several days after we receive our box. The freshness of the ingredients gives us flexibility with cooking the meals, and often, if we receive a box on Wednesday, we won’t finish cooking the last of the meals until the next Monday or Tuesday. The only notable issue I’ve had with any of the ingredients is the salmon, which comes with instructions to either freeze or cook immediately upon receipt. When we’ve frozen it and re-thaw it for cooking, it’s ended up tasting pretty fishy and unappetizing. I will caveat that by saying I’m not a big seafood eater, and I’m very particular about the kind of seafood I’ll eat so it could just be me.If you only eat organic food, I would not recommend Blue Apron, because while the ingredients are fresh, they are not certified organic. If you’re looking for an entirely organic experience, give Green Chef a try.
Lemon-Butter Salmon with Creamy Barley & Zucchini Salad - Full Meal Review HereEco-Consciousness
It’s A Lot of Packaging
Blue Apron and other meal-kit-in-a-box companies have gotten lots of backlash about the footprint they’re leaving behind with the excessive amount of trash that remains after each delivery. Since everything is pre-portioned for each meal, most of the ingredients come in a plastic bag, a tiny container, or a plastic clamshell container. Additionally, everything comes enveloped in a brown cardboard box with an insulating bag and two giant gel-filled ice packs to keep everything cool during the hours it sits on your front porch.…But It’s All Recyclable
While I repurposed most of the boxes for packing purposes, the rest of the items were a bit of a pain to deal with due to sheer volume. Our town does DIY recycling, which meant tromping to the recycling center and sorting out the plastics and paper every week into the appropriate bins. When we were getting a box every week, it was a major chore to deal with the recycling, but at least it wasn’t all ending up in a landfill.…And Blue Apron Will Pay for It
Blue Apron’s response to their controversial packaging was to ensure that every last piece is recyclable and offer free return shipping to customers who are unable or unwilling to recycle the waste themselves. Save two weeks’ worth of packaging, go here on the Blue Apron site, print your free return label, and the USPS can either pick it up on their route or you can drop it at the post office.Time
For the busy professional or parent who is completely exhausted and doesn’t have the time or energy after work to dream up a menu, go to the store, and execute a recipe, Blue Apron’s pre-packaged meals and easy-to-follow recipes can be a lifesaver. They offer a healthier and cheaper alternative to most take-out and take the planning and stress out of conjuring up a home cooked meal.
Preparing a Blue Apron RecipeThe time it takes to cook most of the recipes is anywhere from 30-45 minutes, which for most people is faster than any of the alternatives: going to the store, picking up take-out, or dining out. For us, we actually ended up spending far more time on meal prep with Blue Apron because we don’t normally go to the store every day to figure out dinner, never consider take-out a viable dinner option, and only dine out with friends on special occasions. As I mentioned before, we usually prep all of our meals at the beginning of the week – one menu, one mess in the kitchen, and then we have all of our cooking done for the week. For us, cooking with Blue Apron meant having to set aside two hours three evenings a week to cook, eat, and clean up the tornado of a mess that was left behind. It's also worth noting that it took us a bit longer since we were reviewing the Blue Apron service every step of the way with pictures and videos.Nutrition and Dietary Restrictions
This is a point that Blue Apron could majorly improve upon. While Blue Apron allows you to choose your proteins (chicken, pork, fish, etc.) or pick vegetarian-only dishes (not available with the family plan), it does not otherwise cater to any dietary restrictions like gluten allergies, nut allergies, vegan or paleo diets, or any other dietary restrictions. This was a huge drawback for us. For the last year, my husband and I have been trying really hard to eat clean. The semi-paleo diet we concocted consists of cutting out processed sugars, flour, and additives/preservatives. Blue Apron made it almost impossible to keep up our clean eating streak because a lot of the recipes contain gluten, flour, or sauces with sugar. If you’re not a health freak or on a restricted diet, Blue Apron is the way to go. However, if you have dietary restrictions, you may want to go with a different meal delivery service, like Green Chef, which allows you to select vegetarian, paleo, and gluten-free menus. But, be warned that the extra choice does come with a larger price tag!Skipping Meals and Canceling
We had several weeks during which we had guests in town and didn’t have the time or need for Blue Apron deliveries. Blue Apron makes skipping deliveries extremely easy, with the simple click of a button. Just make sure you do it before the cut-off date, which is generally 7 days before your next delivery!Since we are about to move, I decided to cancel my subscription because I know it will be a couple of months before we are resettled and I didn’t want to forget to skip meals. Canceling was a really simple and pain-free process, so if you’re thinking about ordering but are worried about getting stuck with a subscription you don’t want, don’t be! You could order one box, try it, and cancel with no questions asked if you decide it’s not for you.Versus the Other Guys
We are still working on reviewing some of the other subscription meal delivery services out there. If there’s one you’re curious about but don’t see listed here, just let us know!
Review of Blue Apron and Green Chef comparison
What is the point of a meal delivery service if you still are required to go out and buy ingredients?!?!
We tried Blue Apron and kept it for several months. Nearly every box had at least one bad or sub-par ingredient. Our first box was delivered with a leaky chicken bag that soaked everything in the box and we were advised to toss the whole thing. Regularly the top of the box was hot, causing those ingredients to wilt or spoil. One time I got Kale that had a golf ball sized growth of mold on it. Sure, they will happily refund you for spoiled or missing ingredients (yes I had those too), but what value is it if I must make an emergency trip to the store to buy the missing ingredient for the meal? The few times we got a perfect box, it was great, but the majority of the time it was a flop. I had to contest the charge on the last box because when I cancelled my service when I hit my last straw with sub-par ingredients, the customer service rep refused to refund it. Up until the last encounter with customer service, they were at least polite and responsive. Once a manager had to deal with the charge-back and cancellation, they were very apologetic and offered many freebies to keep me a customer. The biggest hurdle they must overcome is a box sitting on a delivery truck and porch for hours in 90 degree heat. If the ingredients are not 100% fresh when that happens, there is no hope for what you find when you open the box.
Tasty options
I have been a subscriber for almost a year. Never had a problem with freshness or incomplete boxes. Always delicious and would make again on at least 90{2646a176311491570739a13dd319592155ac9cdba4632368aea58c38c45c78aa} of the recipes. I don’t salt and pepper every step as sometimes suggested. I would like to see organically grown produce and would pay the adjusted price. I wish there was a better way to reuse or deal with the ice packs etc.
BEWARE of this company. I had a Terrible experience with them. came home to make my meal and found an eggplant that was inedible and a partially opened Greek yogurt. Ok looks like I can’t make meal #1 tonight, look to meal #2. Ooooh the European cheese is spilled all over the contents of bag number 2. Looks like we will have spaghetti for dinner instead. I took pictures and sent them in with their imaginary “freshness guarantee”. Today I got an email back with a $13 credit to my account?! Really?! I’d prefer to send back your box of food. Called and spoke to multiple people in their customer service department who state they are unable to credit back my card and can only give me credit on future deliveries. I opted to take my losses and cancel the subscription to this poorly run company. No wonder they have such terrible reviews floating around. This is no way to do business and think that you will flourish in a market where we have lots of choices. I will be going with a different company, thanks.
Great recipes, missing ingredients more often than not
I finally just cancelled my Blue Apron service after 3 weeks in a row of missing, wrong, or rotten ingredients. We’ve been using it for a year or longer, and this problem is getting worse. They are usually willing to refund you part of the meal when you let them know that you weren’t able to make the recipe they sent because of the ingredients they sent (or rather didn’t send), but I use this service so that I can make a meal without having to go shopping. When key ingredients are missing or rotten, it defeats the purpose. I don’t want an account credit, I want the meal that was sold to me and the convenience that is the reason people use these services.
Their customer service response are vague and friendly and they have ignored my requests to speak or communicate with someone about the cause of the problem (how do you leave out an ingredient EVERY TIME for a month? They do not have their act together in their distributions centers) – no one could ever reassure me that they were working on it, or had a plan.
I wish they could get their act together, but apparently they can’t. Off to find a new service, and apologize to everyone I recommended this one to.
Better options out there than Blue Apron
Blue Apron’s quality and presentation in the box doesn’t compare to some of the other food delivery options out there. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten a leaky bottle of vinegar in the bag of “knick knacks” and it’s been soaked through. Just got a rotten clove of garlic this past week. Steak was also a very poor cut with tons of gristle. Will be switching back to Hello Fresh this week.
Blue Apron is great
I just cooked the most amazing dishes this past weekend.
Long-time subscriber
Overall we have been very pleased with Blue Apron for the last year that we have subscribed. Boxes fairly reliably contain all the ingredients we need, in good condition, and the meals are tasty. In recent months we have noticed a bit of a fall-off in variety of meals and perhaps also in the freshness of the recipes. I feel like we are getting lots of meals that include vegetable melanges of some sort or other, rather than the fresh salads and greens that were frequently included in earlier meals.
I hope this is just a blip and not a permanent consequence of recent management changes and the company’s IPO.
Loved the taste and actually preparing all the food. However, I kept skipping weeks due to lack of time and repeat menu items I didn’t like, then canceling was a pain and left a sour taste in my mouth so I will not sign up again. You have to email to get a special cancel link you can only access on a computer not a phone browser, then I had to talk to a representative.
Wonderful if you like variety, have the time to cook.
Love Blue Apron. It’s perfect for my boyfriend and I, but I have a lot of time to cook and don’t mind all the prep. We hate shopping and love trying new things so it’s pretty great. Almost every meal is absolutely delicious, and the rest aren’t bad, they can’t all be perfect, or for everyone. We’ve been on it 7 weeks and have no plans of looking back.
Very Dissatisfied!
First order was supposed to be delivered on Tuesday. We received the order at 4:00 on Wednesday. The contents of the box were hot, and there was no evidence of cold. There was no notice of “Perishable” on the outside of the box. Due to concerns of bacterial contamination,the contents are now in the trash. Very poor service, and I am glad that I cancelled my account. They are still shipping a final week next week. I think that something is lacking with this company.
Too much for too little
If you like highly salted, small portions, and use of lots of cookware, Blue Apron delivers. I am very, very disappointed with this moderately expensive product.
Medium for the Main Meal Deliverer
I think they charge a premium price for medium quality. I think Blue Apron is a viable option, but not my first pick.
Food has been great for 3-4 weeks. Just had steak Fajitas that tasted like beef jerky. If I pay top dollar for a meal, I hope the supplier has my best interest in mind. Maybe growing too fast???! I hate to be this pissed off after
a meal!
Scamming Company Beware!!
I postponed a meal and still got charged for it. The first time it happened I let it go, thought it was my mistake. I made sure and postponed my meals so I wasn’t charged the next week. Low and behold, I was charged. This time the charge overdrafted my account. I use my side account to pay for our boxes. After calling the refunded the charge for this box I didn’t get, but not the fees they caused this account. The customer service Rep Joseph is an a-hole very condescending and not helpful at all. I hate the too bad so sad attitude. This company will try to take as much money with out you noticing. I highly recommend you skip these poorly planned and bland boxes, and take a look at Home Chef or other boxes!
not much flavor
We received 4 weeks of meals as a baby shower gift. So far we’ve had 6 meals and so far we haven’t been impressed with the flavors. There hasn’t been one meal that if I were in a restaurant that I would order a second time.
Simple recipes, but health and ethical concerns
Top quality food, and simple recipes. However, would like to see Blue Apron go to the next level by providing only Humanely Certified meats (certifying that farmers treat animals with ethical death practices), organic produce, and BPA-free cans. Our family eats conventional produce only rarely, so a long-term subscription would not work for us. We are also concerned about the health risks of BPA cans (even if suppliers are within the FDA limits), and want to spend our money on products that promote kind animal practices from birth through death. So, doing our own shopping works best for our family until services such as Blue Apron can accommodate our health and ethical preferences.
Great for learning new things in the kitchen for a short time.
My wife and I tried Blue Apron and thought it was great. The meals were simple and delicious. We loved getting to explore new recipes with ease and transfer some of the ideas to our own cooking. We learned and practiced some new techniques and how to time different aspects of the meal so it all came together at the end. It was fun for a while then became too expensive to do week in and week out.
Affordable & Fun to Prepare, But Not The Healthiest Options
Blue Apron was the first of several delivery services that we tried. It was the most popular and the one we had heard of, so we tried it first. Not having any frame of reference, I thought it was great. The meals were really fun to prepare and included ethnic spices I would have never attempted on my own (like the chicken tarkari). It is also one of the most affordable options out there. After trying a few other services, we realized that the Blue Apron meals weren’t quite as healthy as some of the alternatives.
Budget-friendly meal delivery with impressive variety
Blue Apron has made cooking fun again! My husband and I have enjoyed several weeks of Blue Apron deliveries, and we are always impressed by the variety of the menu and unique ingredients. I’m giving it a 4/5 because overall we love it, and it’s affordable, but it doesn’t offer any paleo options and can take a long time to prepare.