Overall rating: 8/10

This light and refreshing pasta screams Spring! Filling, satisfying and simple without being heavy.

Deliciousness

Rating: 8/10

It’s been almost a full year since we cooked white pasta; we swore it off along with most carbs after our last trip to the beach where we ate, drank, and sat around in the sand like beached whales. So to say the least, this meal was an indulgence and deviation from our normal diet. With a carb heavy base, the simple sauce made from reduced butter, lemon zest and lemon juice was a delicate touch that kept the dish from getting too weighed down. The prolific use of lemon and the crispy sugar snaps really brought the green flavors of spring to the dish, and it was nicely finished with a sprinkling of Pecorino cheese. We both agreed we would likely make this meal again, but only if we swapped out the white pasta for wheat.

Nutrition

Rating: 4/10

• Gemelli pasta: This recipe came with half a pound, or 8 oz. of pasta to split between the two bowls. According to Barilla, the typical serving of pasta is 2 oz. Assuming the pasta used by Blue Apron is similar to the kind Barilla produces, that means at 2 servings each, we consumed 400 calories and 84 gram of carbs from the pasta alone. While this is fantastic energy if you’re about to go run a marathon, I really prefer to keep processed carbs out of my diet as a loosely followed rule. Pasta’s most redeeming qualities are high protein, 14 grams per bowl, and great iron 20{2646a176311491570739a13dd319592155ac9cdba4632368aea58c38c45c78aa} DV per bowl.
• Butter: This dish just uses 2 tablespoons, so assuming a tablespoon of that ends up in each bowl, that’s 100 calories from butter plus 12 grams of fat (18{2646a176311491570739a13dd319592155ac9cdba4632368aea58c38c45c78aa} DV) per person. Butter has high levels of saturated fat, which is the “bad” fat.
• Sugar snap peas: I wish I had a bowl of these in front of me to munch on right now. The 2 oz. of sugar snaps in each serving have just 24 calories, but contain 6{2646a176311491570739a13dd319592155ac9cdba4632368aea58c38c45c78aa} DV of dietary fiber as well as some protein, calcium, and potassium.
• Lemon: Not only does lemon pack a flavor punch, but a single lemon has over 50{2646a176311491570739a13dd319592155ac9cdba4632368aea58c38c45c78aa} DV of Vitamin C. Additionally, lemons have both antioxidant and antibiotic effects, protecting the body from a number of conditions including kidney stones, arthritis, and carcinogens.
• Egg: The soft boiled egg atop this dish yielded a delightful bit of creaminess and made it more filling. Each egg has 6 grams of protein and great levels of Vitamins D and B-12.

Ingredients

Rating: 10/10

This was our first meal out of the box so everything was supah-fresh.

• Farm Eggs: Packing feat. The little 2-egg carton got our eggs all the way here safely. And they were delish.
• Sugar Snap Peas: So crispy and fresh, like they had just been plucked from the garden and brought inside.
• Garlic: No problems.
• Lemon: Perfect, succulent, sour, and juicy lemon. Just like I like ’em.

Ease of Prep

Rating: 10/10

This one was SO easy, aside from the whole soft boiled egg thing, which I had never done before. It’s quite a trick trying to remove the shell without ripping the whole egg apart. My pic only shows one of the bowls because the other had a mutilated egg spilling its guts out that didn’t photograph well. It took me about 45 minutes from start to finish which I thought was pretty reasonable.

For more, see our complete Blue Apron review to get our overall assessment of the quality of service you can expect with Blue Apron compared to other meal delivery services.