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Plated Subscription Box Review + Coupon – March 2016

Lindsey Morse
ByLindsey MorseJul 25, 2016 | 6 comments

Plated-March-2016-Box

Plated
3.7 overall rating
43 Ratings | 23 Reviews

Plated delivers a weekly box of pre-portioned fresh and seasonal ingredients, everything you need to cook their chef-designed recipes at home in your own kitchen. Each week, they offer a different menu, and you can select which dishes you’d like to make, how many plates of each dish you’d like to serve, and when you’d like to receive your delivery. You can skip a week at any time.

Three of the dishes offered on every menu are vegetarian. Plated also regularly rotates in vegan and dairy-free options. They’re committed to using sustainably sourced seafood, seasonal produce, and meat that’s free from antibiotics and added hormones. 

Plated also makes it easy to pick recipes that suit your lifestyle. Each recipe clearly lists calorie content and prep time.

Plated-March-2016-Inside

Check out all of our reviews of Meal Delivery Services to see every meal kit subscription box option!

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Plated-March-2016-Contents

The Subscription Box: Plated

The Cost: Recipes begin at $12 per plate. 2 recipes (4 plates)= $48 per week (+ $6 shipping). 3 recipes (6 plates)= $72 per week (with free shipping). 4 recipes (8 total plates)= $96 per week (with free shipping).

COUPON: Free dinner for two with purchase of 3-dinners plan ($24 value), just use this link!

The Products: All of the pre-portioned fresh and seasonal ingredients you need to make chef-designed recipes at home in your own kitchen.

Ships to: 95% of the US. (Currently, Plated does not ship to Hawaii and Alaska, and there are also a few cities in Texas, including San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Laredo, and Midland, where they don’t yet ship.)

Check out all of our Plated Reviews and discover more meal boxes in the Meal Subscription Box Directory!

Plated-March-2016-Recipes

Each week, Plated offers a different menu with at least 7 dishes to choose from. For this box, I selected Pan-Roasted Redfish with Baby Kale Risotto, Asian Beef Tacos with Thai Basil and Peanuts, Cheese Tortellini with Basil and Spinach Tomato Soup, and Caramelized Pear Shortcakes with Whipped Cream for dessert!

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When my box shipped, I received an email letting me know that I would need to have the following “pantry items” on hand: olive oil, black pepper, kosher salt, water, and canola oil.

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As always, the box was packed with extreme care. Ingredients were bundled by recipe, and each item was in its own container.

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The meats were sealed and packed at the bottom of the box, safely away from the produce and surrounded by cool packs.

Recipe #1- Cheese Tortellini with Basil and Spinach in Tomato Soup

Calories Per Serving: 610

Cook Time: 20-30 minutes

Plated-March-2016-SoupRecipe

I was really hungry when my Plated box arrived, so I immediately set to work making the first dish!

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First, I scanned the recipe card.

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I then prepped my ingredients.

Plated-March-2016-SoupTortellini

For this recipe, Plated included a packet of Rana Cheese Tortelloni. I love Rana’s Mushroom Tortelloni, so I was excited to give the cheese version a try!

Plated-March-2016-SoupVeg

I sautéed spices, shallot, and garlic in olive oil.

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I then added a can of crushed tomatoes, vegetable stock, and water.

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After cooking for about 5 minutes, I stirred in the tortellini and spinach and cooked the soup for another 4. To finish it, I stirred in pecorino and basil and ladled the soup into bowls.

Plated-March-2016-SoupPlated

This was the quickest tomato soup I’ve ever made, but I was pretty pleased with the result! It was warm and tasty, and the addition of the tortellini was a comforting twist.

Meal #2- Asian Beef Tacos with Thai Basil and Peanuts

Calories per Serving: 740

Cook Time: 30-40

Plated-March-2016-TacoRecipe

The following day, I made Asian Beef Tacos for lunch.

Plated-March-2016-TacoPrep

Like always, I began by cleaning and prepping my veggies.

Plated-March-2016-TacoPeppers

I sautéed ginger and garlic in canola oil and then set the mixture aside. In a separate pan, I seared the steak, removed it, and then charred bell pepper and peanuts over medium high heat in the same pan.

Plated-March-2016-TacoSteak

I sliced the steak and then heated it with soy sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, sriracha, and the ginger garlic mixture. My steak was pretty rare, so I cooked it until a bit more color developed, about 4 minutes.

When it was done, I plated the tacos!

Plated-March-2016-TacoPlated

I love tacos, and I’m always excited to try out a new recipe. The steak was great (I loved the flavor blend!), but it was a little chewy. Altogether, I thought the components worked well, and I really enjoyed the charred peanuts. If I make them again, though, I think I’ll top the tacos with a little extra hoisin sauce.

Meal #3- Pan Roasted Redfish with Baby Kale Risotto

Calories: 760

Cook Time: 35-45

Plated-March-2016-RisottoRecipe

Last up in this box was Pan Roasted Redfish Risotto.

Plated-March-2016-RisottoPrep

To begin, I stripped thyme leaves, rinsed the kale, and minced garlic and shallot.

Plated-March-2016-RisottoVeg

I warmed up 3 cups of stock in a large pot, and, while I waited for it to heat, I sautéed thyme and shallot in a mixture of butter and olive oil.

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(Please excuse my penguin spatula. My non-holiday spatulas were all in the dishwasher when I was cooking this dish!)

When the shallot softened, I added in the risotto rice and let it toast for about 3 minutes. I then added white wine, followed by all of the vegetable stock.

Plated-March-2016-RisottoFish

While the risotto cooked, I toasted some kale on a roasting pan to crisp it up, and I seared the redfish with thyme and garlic.

When everything was ready, I plated the fish atop the rice and topped it with some crispy kale.

Plated-March-2016-RisottoPlated

This was my least favorite meal this week. I’m not a big fan of Plated’s technique for cooking risotto, and I think this dish lacked coherence. For me, the components didn’t really seem well suited. I think I would have preferred the fish with a different accompaniment and the risotto on its own.

Dessert- Caramelized Pear Shortcakes with Whipped Cream

Calories per Serving: 550

Cook Time: 20-30

Plated-March-2016-ShortcakeRecipe

I also opted to add a dessert to this box. There are two desserts to choose from each week, and desserts can be added for $4 per serving.Plated-March-2016-ShortcakePrep

I prepped for this dessert by coring and slicing a d’anjou pear.

Plated-March-2016-ShortcakePears

Since Plated already made the biscuits for this dish, the cooking was pretty straightforward.

I began by cooking the pear slices in a mixture of butter and brown sugar and warming the biscuits in the oven.

Plated-March-2016-ShortcakeBiscuits

When the pears caramelized, I removed them from the pan and set them aside. I then halved the biscuits and toasted them in the pear pan.

While they toasted, I whipped a small container of heavy cream.

After everything was finished cooking, I assembled the shortcakes.

Plated-March-2016-ShortcakePlated

Goodness gracious were these pretty! Since the biscuits came pre-made, this felt a bit more like assembling than cooking, but I liked the dessert so much I didn’t really mind. The pears were juicy and sweet, and they contrasted beautifully with the savory (almost salty) biscuits. I could have eaten both portions!

Verdict: This box from Plated was pretty solid. I enjoyed the tacos and soup, and I loved the dessert. The perceived value of a box like Plated is subjective, but, for me, it’s definitely worth the cost. I’m usually very pleased with Plated’s recipes, and I appreciate the time I’m able to save on planning and shopping for meals.  

Do you subscribe to Plated? If so, which meals did you pick last week?

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This weekly meal kit delivery subscription lets you select from a diverse, ever-changing menu of 20 recipes per week that feature responsibly sourced meats, sustainable seafood, and seasonal ingredients. They're also the only meal kit box to offer add-on desserts! Choose to receive everything you ne... read more.
Lindsey Morse
Lindsey Morse

Lindsey is a professional baker, cold brew coffee addict, and rosé aficionado who loves writing about food and wine. When she’s not sharing her love of subscription boxes with the world, you’ll find her in the podcasting studio, perfecting her cake decorating techniques, or cursing her way through the New York Times daily crossword puzzle. 


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6 comments

Jenny Heigl

Wow, the food looks so delicious. I’m definitely thinking about trying Plated!

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Linda

I actually got three of the same meals as you this week, the risotto, the soup and the tacos. I make the tacos tomorrow night, but our favorite so far this week was one you didn’t get, the lemongrass pork in broth. We’ve tried a lot of these services, and Plated is definitely our favorite of those that ship ingredients. Consistently good, quick and easy to make. (Though the risotto meal dirtied too many pans, which is unusual! Two saucepans, a frying pan and a baking pan.)

I’m wondering if other people are finding the portions very generous? We order two servings, and we feed two adults and two adolescents, and I usually have a little leftover for lunch. Not complaining!

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nursermk

Of all the food subscriptions, Plated looks to be the best at consistency and customer service. I have been reading the reviews and like the selections and response to problems such as the Risotto mistake mentioned by Kelli. When you get a plated recipe, if you like the finished result, is there a recipe with measurements you can repeat and use later (without the prepackaged food)? I love the beautiful photos and descriptions by Lindsay, and am craving those Pear Shortcakes right now!

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Olive

They do have portions listed so you can make it again. When they send you spice blends they tell you what spices are in them.

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Shari

I love Plated! I keep many of the recipe cards and make the ones I really enjoy over and over again. Some of them have made the rotation into my weekly meals.

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Kelli

The redfish/risotto meal was actually my favorite meal last week, but I agree, Plated’s method for cooking risotto is WAY off. Here’s how I did it, after following instructions regarding the shallots and toasting the rice:

I warmed all 4 cups of stock
I added one ladle at a time to the rice and constantly stirred until the liquid was absorbed, then I added another ladle and repeated this process until all 4 cups were absorbed into the rice. This allows for a creamy risotto (which is how it should be), and also increases the cooking time (which the rice needed in order to not be crunchy). I also added LOTS of salt during the cooking process, which the recipe did not call for. Your rice will be bland if you don’t add salt from the beginning of the cooking process.

Plated sent an email admitting they messed up the cooking time for the risotto on the info card, if you reply to that email they will give your account a credit of $24. 🙂

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