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Home Chef Subscription Box Review + Coupon – November 2017

Marne Orenich
ByMarne OrenichMar 12, 2018 | 12 comments

Home Chef Box

Home Chef
4 overall rating
26 Ratings | 14 Reviews

Home Chef is a subscription meal delivery service that delivers you a weekly box of the pre-portioned ingredients you need to make two to six meals that feed two, four, or six people. Home Chef advertises easy recipes that can be made in about 30 minutes. They say their ingredients are fresh (though they don't provide a lot of information about their sourcing practices), and they offer vegetarian, gluten-free, and calorie/carb-conscious recipes.

Open Home Chef box

This is a review of the plan I customized that includes a mix of beef, fish, poultry, and vegetarian options (starting at $9.95 per serving) for two people, two meals a week ($39.80) + $10 shipping ($49.80 total per week). Delivery is free for orders over $45. Shipping is $10 for orders less than $45.

look inside home chef box

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

recycling instructions for home chef packing materials

I think this is a new feature of the Home Chef packaging, and I love it. They give you simple instructions on how to properly dispose of the stuffing, right on the plastic.

text on box flap text on other box flap

My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

ingredients of two home chef meals with box

The Subscription Box: Home Chef

The Cost: Meals start at $9.95 per serving, and delivery is free for orders over $40.

The Products: Fresh ingredients and chef-designed recipes— everything you need to make restaurant-quality meals at home.

Ships to: 90% of the U.S. (You can check to see if Home Chef delivers to your zip code here.)

Check out all of our Home Chef reviews and find other meal kit boxes in the Food Subscription Box Directory!

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

When you first sign up for Home Chef, you take a short quiz about your meal preferences and dietary restrictions. I like that they ask what you like to eat, as well a what you like to avoid. Based on your answers, Home Chef will choose recipes for you to get each week. As is the case with most meal kit services, you can log in and hand-select the recipes you'd like to receive. Note though, that the more particular you are with your diet, the fewer options you'll have. I'm pretty open to most proteins, so I currently have 10 different options for next week. There are also some "Add On" items like fruit or smoothie picks that you can choose to include in your box.

Info card about home chef packing materials

As if Home Chef read my mind, they included an info card this month on what their packaging is made of and the best ways to recycle and dispose of each part. The ice packs always confuse me the most since each meal kit uses a slightly different one. I once tried to let the contents of one just dissolve in my sink and that DID NOT work. You have to cut these open and drain the gelly innards into your trash. Otherwise, these packs takeover all of my freezer real estate.

bag of ingredients and meat for chicken with basil-pecorino sauce

Each Home Chef meal comes in a plastic bag, except for the meat, and some ingredients that are too large (such as ears of corn).

label on bag of ingredients for chicken with basil-pecorino sauce

The bags are labeled as well to cut down on any confusion when you have multiples in your fridge.

laid out ingredients for chicken with basil-pecorino sauce

Chicken with Basil-Pecorino Cream Sauce and Roasted Red Potatoes and Red Peppers

Calories: 687

Time to Table, According to Home Chef: 40-50 minutes

Actual Time to Table: 45 minutes

Cook within: 5 days

Difficulty: Easy

Spice Level: Not Spicy

recipe card for chicken with basil-pecorino sauce

The front of the recipe card has nutrition, prep and cook time, spice level, difficulty level, and a unique stat: how many days you have to prepare this meal for optimum quality and freshness.

step by step instructions for chicken with basil-pecorino sauce

Looking over the recipe, this one looked pretty simple and it has very few ingredients which I especially love when I'm as busy as I have been.

raw potatoes, onions, and red peppers on baking sheet

The prep for the vegetables was easy- just cut the potatoes into wedges, peel and slice shallots, and chop red peppers into bite-sized pieces. They were then tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper and put into the oven to roast for 18 minutes.

chicken cooking in pan

While the veggies roasted, I salt and peppered the chicken breasts and seared them in a pan for 3 minutes on each side.

chicken topped with basil pesto on baking sheet

When the potatoes n friends came out of the oven, the chicken breasts joined them on the baking sheet where I added the basil pesto sauce on top and they went straight back into the oven for 8 more minutes.

cream sauce in pan

While they were all in the oven, I made the final part of the meal: the sauce. Using the pan I cooked the chicken in, I boiled the cream, then removed from heat. I then added the remaining pesto and the pecorino with some salt and pepper.

cooked chicken breasts with basil pesto on plate

Everyone came back out of the oven and I set the chicken aside on a plate. Shhhh- they are RESTING.

finished chicken with basil-pecorino cream sauce with roasted red potatoes and red peppers

After a quick cat-nap, the chicken was ready to be plated with the rest of the dinner!

close up of finished chicken with basil-pecorino cream sauce with roasted red potatoes and red peppers

The chicken breasts were uber-juicy and that cream sauce was TO DIE FOR. Roasted potatoes are one of my favorite sides and they were nicely browned with the red peppers and shallots. A+ meal!

bag of ingredients and meat for steak with horseradish-herb cream close up of label on bag bag of ingredients for steak with horseradish-herb cream laid out ingredients for steak with horseradish-herb cream

Steak with Horseradish-Herb Cream and Potatoes Pressé

Calories: 654

Time to Table, According to Home Chef: 50-60 minutes

Actual Time to Table: 60 minutes

Cook within: 6 days

Difficulty: Intermediate

Spice Level: Not Spicy

recipe card for steak with horseradish-herb cream step by step instructions for steak with horseradish-herb cream

As soon as I checked out the steps, a slight panic set in as I realized I may not have a muffin pan. I'm sure there was another way I could have done it, but I am VERY by the book when it comes to recipes and probably would have gone to buy one because I am so paranoid. Luckily, I had one that I forgot about. Phew!

sliced potatoes in muffin tin with cheese

Ok- soooooo the directions say to peel the potatoes, halve them lengthwise, and cut into very thin slices. First of all, it's hard for me to cut anything paper thin because of my stiletto nails, and it made me wish I had a mandoline hand slicer. I legit thought I'd cut a finger off. On top of that, the next directions were to "shingle potato slices flat at 90-degree angles, overlapping to make a circle until cups are halfway full." Uhhh what? I hadn't eaten lunch that day, so I was especially frazzled and hangry, and simply could not muster up the bother of trying to find a video online. I basically winged it, thinking it probably didn't REALLY matter since they were contained within these muffin pans. I just stacked the sliced potatoes about halfway up, and then tossed cheese on top.

second layer of sliced potatoes covering cheese in muffin pan

I then topped the cheese with a few more slices of potato, as sort of directed.

pats of butter on top of potatoes presse

The last part of this confusing journey was to divide up the butter to add on top of each potato cup. Off to the oven, they went for 20 minutes. Godspeed, potatoes pressé! I wish you the best!

horseradish-herb sauce in bowl

While those were baking, I made the cream sauce. It was just one packet of sour cream, one (of two provided) packet of horseradish, and minced chives.

steaks cooking in pan

I then salted and peppered the steaks, and cooked them in a pan with olive oil for 5 minutes on each side.

cooked potatoes presse in muffin pan

By this time, the potatoes pressé came out and didn't look too terrible. I was pleased with the browning, even though once I popped them out and flipped them over, they were a bit too browned on the bottom. Still, they stayed together!

garlic and water cooking in pan

While the steaks were staying warm on a plate, I put sliced the garlic and put it in a pan with 1/4 cup of water until it came to a boil.

spinach and garlic cooking in pan

Then, I added the spinach to wilt and comingle with the garlic.

finished steak with horseradish-herb cream and potatoes presse with spinach

Boom! There you have it. I put the sauce on top of the steaks and garnished with remaining chives.

close up of finished steak with horseradish-herb cream and potatoes presse with spinach

You can see how browned the bottom of the potatoes presseé are, but they were DARN GOOD. I feel like I overcooked the steak, but that is on me. Everything was still pretty tasty and I felt accomplished for making those potatoes come out edible.

Verdict: Home Chef served up a couple of classic flavors this week, but had me go a bit beyond my comfort level (which is good) in the prep department. I'm glad I didn't get any fish this week because I was super busy and it took me a while to get to these meals. They suggest using the chicken within five days, the beef within six, and I know from the past that fish should be used within three days. That's a good thing to keep in mind when you're choosing meals, just in case you get busy on some nights and might procrastinate making food at home. 

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Since Home Chef menus change weekly and you must choose them ahead of time, you won’t be able to order these dishes unless they are offered again in the future.

Coupon – Get $30 off your first box from Home Chef. No coupon required, just use this link.

Value Breakdown: At $49.80 ($9.95 per serving plus $10 shipping) for this box, you're actually paying $12.45 per serving.

Do you know how to make potatoes pressé? Has Home Chef ever threw you for a loop with their directions?

Starting at $43.96
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Home Chef is a meal kit subscription service that allows customers to pick out specific meals each week that best fit their tastes and schedules. Whether you’re cooking for yourself and your spouse or having a full house of kids, Home Chef offers recipes that everyone can enjoy. Each Home Chef bo... read more.

Marne Orenich
Marne Orenich
Marne is a lipstick connoisseur, record collector, and twice over cat mom. She loves discovering new clean beauty brands and has quite the collection of beautifully packaged serums and moisturizers.

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12 comments

Tierney

The only thing I chose same as you was the steak. By the time I cooked the steak, the spinach was bad. But those potatoes…!! I will make that again.

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Beth L

Awww love reading your reviews….shhhh they’re RESTING! Cat nap in all you make me smile… So cute and really honest…Yum I think Im gonna get it for my hubby…He loves meat.

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Marne Orenich

Thanks, Beth! There are so many trials and tribulations in cooking. Also, some naps. 😉

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Bridget

I have received two shipments so far with Home Chef and I love the variety of recipes to choose from. I’ve tried Hello Fresh and Blue Apron and while I found the ingredients to be very high quality, I felt limited by the choices and I also felt Home Chef’s recipes were more “family friendly” for my 6 year old twin boys. I’m mostly happy with Home Chef but I did notice that the quality of the ingredients (esp the chicken) is not as good as other boxes. I recently made Blackened Chicken Breasts and Caesar Salad and the chicken breasts didn’t seem like real chicken breasts. They seemed kind of rubbery like you see with overly processed chicken or chicken raised with hormones/antibiotics. Since they don’t reveal the source, I have to wonder about the quality. I really like the site, the packaging, the recipes, the choices, but I don’t know if I’m ready to give my kids non-quality meats. Anyone else notice this?

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Alex

Looks delicious!

I have a mandolin and just used it to make potatoes au gratin and let me tell you, that device is terrifying 😆
It’s just so sharp but I use the safety devices and it’s realky handy.

Your potatoes look delicious without one!

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Marne Orenich

Is it more terrifying than a knife? I’m seriously considering getting one.

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carey

I LOVE your reviews Marnie. The funny commentary makes the review go by quickly and makes it seem more fun than I am sure it is. lol

I’d love to sub to some food boxes but the serving sizes look so tiny! ( my hubby is like 6’4″ and a BIG guy )

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Marne Orenich

Thanks, Carey! I suppose you could always order the meals for 4 so your hubby can double (or triple) up?
Thanks for reading!

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Michelle

I have to try those potatoes because they look delicious!! I don’t think they are too brown. I hate when I overcook a steak!!

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Marne Orenich

Aw, thanks, Michelle! I suppose I do like a crispier potato, so a little brown never hurts.

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Steph M

Great review Marne! I also got the steak and potato presse and loved the outcome. I am not always by the book with recipes so I didn’t even notice the confusing directions. I have since tried these potatoes again with cheddar and sour cream. This is for sure going into heavy rotation in my dinners and something I had never made before. This is the reason I love Home Chef!

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Marne Orenich

Ooooh, cheddar and sour cream sounds amazing, Steph! Great alteration!

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