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Plated Subscription Box Review + Coupon – August 2016

Lindsey Morse
ByLindsey MorseSep 2, 2016 | 5 comments

Plated-August-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.

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

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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!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

Plated-August-2016-Recipes

Each week, Plated offers a different menu with at least 7 dishes to choose from.

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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, and kosher salt.

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

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

Meal #1-  Fresh Spaghetti with Heirloom Tomatoes and Burrata

Calories Per Serving: 890

Cook Time: 25-35 minutes

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Burrata and heirloom tomatoes are two of my favorite things in the whole world, so I couldn’t resist this meal!

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The instructions were very simple and prep was quick. Before cooking, I only had to mince some garlic, clean and halve the tomatoes, and rinse the basil.

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I sautéed the tomatoes in a little olive oil with crushed red pepper and garlic. After cooking for about 5 minutes, they started to soften and I broke them up with the back of a wooden spoon. I added some tomato puree, white wine, and basil to the pan and brought the sauce to a boil.

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While the sauce simmered, I brought some salted water to a boil and cooked the fresh pasta.

When the pasta was al dente, I stirred it into the sauce with some pecorino cheese and then divided it between two plates. I topped each plate with burrata and chopped basil.

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This dish was heavenly. The burrata was creamy and fresh, and the basil and fresh pasta really elevated this dish into something special.

Meal #2- Grilled Chicken with Romesco Sauce and Tomato-Green Bean Salad

Calories per Serving: 670

Cook Time: 35-45

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I selected this dish because I’ve never made romesco sauce at home before. I’ve eaten it in restaurants, though, and I’ve always wondered what went into it!

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First, I prepped my veggies and toasted some walnuts.

I put the chicken on the grill to cook and I made the romesco sauce by combining sherry vinegar, tomato puree, smoked paprika, roasted red peppers, garlic, and walnuts in my food processor. So easy!

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Next, I sautéed green beans and then stirred mixed them with tomatoes, red wine vinegar, shallots, and honey.

When the chicken was done, I sliced it, topped it with romesco sauce and plated it alongside the green bean salad.

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This meal was fresh and tasty. Grilled chicken can get a little boring, I think, and I like how the romesco sauce helped jazz it up. I plan to make this dish again soon!

Meal #3- Cheesy Eggplant Parmesan Melts

Calories: 720

Cook Time: 25-35

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My last pick this week was Cheesy Eggplant Parmesan Melts.

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To get started, I prepped my veggies and surveyed my ingredients.

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I sliced two eggplants, tossed them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh oregano and roasted them until soft.

While they roasted, I made a simple tomato sauce by simmering chopped tomatoes with garlic, olive oil, and an Italian spice mix.

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When both the eggplant and sauce was ready, I constructed the sandwiches by layering each piece of bread with sauce, eggplant, more sauce, pecorino cheese, and mozzarella. I then roasted them until the cheese started to bubble.

(Note: Plated provided two 4 oz. balls of mozzarella for this recipe, but I cut that in half because I’m trying to watch what I eat. I thought it was still plenty of cheese, but I don’t doubt that the full amount would have been even better.)

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I plated the sandwiches alongside a simple salad of mesclun greens dressed with sherry vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Altogether, this meal was delicious. (Though, the sandwich was so big I had to eat it with a knife and fork!) I would eat this again any day!

Verdict: This box from Plated was really great. I loved all three of the dishes I received, and I enjoyed learning how to make romesco sauce. The perceived value of a box like Plated is subjective, but, for me, it’s definitely worth the cost. I don’t always have time during the week to plan, shop for, and cook meals, and I love the convenience of having everything I need to make scratch meals delivered directly to my door. I think I’d spend as much (or more) shopping for the same ingredients at my local Whole Foods, and I’d certainly spend more if I ordered dinner out three times per week.

Do you subscribe to Plated?

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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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5 comments

Diane

Can you order a certain number of portions? I just ate dessert, but I feel hungry just reading this review. For some reason, I am intimidated by the food processor and I have never used it. But, you mentioned it was easy so I may have to give it a whirl.

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Kristin

I just signed up but was disappointed in the limited selection. I can’t do seafood and boyfriend won’t do vegetarian, so I already had to skip two of the three weeks! Still excited to try it though.

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Chelsea Robbins

Lol! I was thinking about switching to this one as we’ve burnt out a bit on Hello Fresh but I also won’t do seafood and my boyfriend also does not do vegetarian… We forgot to pause Blue Apron two weeks in a row and ended up with salmon and vegetarian one week and shrimp and vegetarian the next. During one of the vegetarian meals my boyfriend said “this is good, but it isn’t a meal. It’s a side. Because it doesn’t have meat.” It was gnocchi. Anyway thanks for the heads up about the limited non veggie/seafood options with Plated!

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nursermk

It is just 10am right now but I don’t care, I could murder that whole portion of the spaghetti with Burrata all by myself! Wow that looks good–well it all looks good; this week seems extra dee-lish!

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Debbie

I have had that pasta and will order it every time I have a chance. I really like plated. Only a couple of dishes that have been misses and we have been subscribing for a few months now. Hope the eggplant dish comes up in my queue someday.

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