Blue Apron is a subscription meal delivery service. Every week, they send seasonal recipes created by their culinary team and the pre-measured ingredients you need to make them at home.
Check out all of our reviews of Meal Delivery Services to see every meal kit subscription box option!
This is a review of the 2-person, 2-meal subscription plan ($9.99 per serving, or $47.95 per week). I normally cook for myself, but having meal kits delivered to my home has given me a way to lure friends over to help and enjoy the recipes with me. It's so much more fun with a buddy if you can spare one. No buddies? You'll have some leftovers then, so this doubles your value! In addition to their standard 2-Person subscription plan, Blue Apron also offers a Family Plan that features kid-friendly recipes and family-style meals for four.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Blue Apron
The Subscription Box: Blue Apron
The Cost: You can choose from a 2 person plan or a family plan.
For the 2 person plan, it's $47.95 ($9.99 per serving + $7.99 shipping) for 2 meals per week or $59.94 ($9.99 per serving + FREE shipping) for the 3 meals per week.
Family plans start at $69.92 ($8.74 per serving + FREE shipping) for the 2 meals per week, $104.88 ($8.74 per serving + FREE shipping) for 3 meals per week, or $139.84 ($8.74 per serving + FREE shipping) for 4 meals per week.
The Products: Fresh ingredients and recipes to make healthy meals at home.
Ships to: U.S. only
Blue Apron January 2018 Review
Before I start, I'd like to mention that I did have a few shipping issues with this delivery. It was supposed to come on a Tuesday, but I received an email that day saying that there was a delay. The email assured me that even though it was being delivered a day late, that the food would still be refrigerated and safe to eat. I appreciate that since I've had shipping issues with other meal kits where they don't give me a heads up or let me know that the contents were still edible. Unfortunately, the next day, it was MIA even though the tracking number told me it had been delivered. I contacted customer service and they apologized and said they credited my account. Finally, on Thursday (two days after the original delivery date) it did show up and since it had been hella cold outside, I felt confident continuing with that box. Blue Apron must have known though because I noticed that I only got credited $7.99 instead of the full amount of the box. I'll take it for the annoyance.
Ok! On to this month's delivery!
Blue Apron really cares about sustainability, high-quality produce, responsibly raised meats, the success of smaller farmers, and reducing food waste—which is all important to consider when choosing a meal kit subscription to go with.
You'll see the recipe cards right on top when you first open your box.
Blue Apron ingredients come packaged in a big silver bag that's a lot like bubble wrap. Along with the plastic-wrapped ice packs in the box, the bubble wrap bag keeps the ingredients cool while they travel. Almost all of the ingredients from Blue Apron come in bags, labeled, so you know which recipe they belong to. Smaller items like butter or sauces come in a brown paper "knick knack" bag so they don't get lost in the shuffle.
If you choose recipes with meat, you'll find them all the way at the bottom, under this cardboard divider against the ice packs to stay cold.
Tuscan-Spiced Chicken & Fregola Sarda with Warm Citrus Vinaigrette
Calories per Serving (as prepared): 580 calories
Total Time According to Blue Apron: 30-40 minutes
Actual Time: 40 minutes
To be honest, I normally kind of space out and forget to sign in a choose my recipes, but Blue Apron knows me pretty well so when I do remember, I normally end up going with their suggestions anyhow. This was one of them.
I was excited to try Fregola Sarda pasta because I've never made it before. Looks like a pasta you'd find in a soup!
I kicked this recipe off by wilting the chopped up kale in a pan with oil and garlic, then adding my desired amount of red pepper flakes. A little water was added as well, along with salt and pepper.
Once that was done, I patted the already cut up chicken dry and coated it with the included Tuscan seasoning in a bowl. It was at this time I said to my roommate "Tones, I don't think I'm gonna like this one. The seasoning has fennel seeds in it".
About this time, the secret pasta I had boiling was done, so I strained it and set it aside.
The seasoned chicken then went into the same pan I used to cook the kale with oil for 6-8 minutes total. They were then set aside on a plate.
Same pan here (with any leftover fond)- I added the juice from an entire orange, plus some water until slightly reduced.
I then finished it by removing from the heat and adding 2 teaspoons of olive oil.
Lastly, I mixed the pasta, kale, vinegar, chopped olives, and raisins all together in the pasta pot.
Here we are- plated (er... bowled?) with the chicken and citrus vinaigrette on top.
Those fennel seeds in the Tuscan seasoning proved me wrong and I ended up loving this dish! I'm a sucker for anything I can eat out of a bowl because it's kinda lazy, and all of the flavors colliding here which I normally wouldn't have chosen really brought me to a higher taste plane. That's part of the beauty of meal kits for me: discovery.
Mushroom & Swiss Cheeseburgers with Roasted Potato Wedges
Calories per Serving (as prepared): 850 calories
Total Time According to Blue Apron: 30-40 minutes
Actual Time: 35 minutes
I really like eating burgers, but rarely ever make them at home. This recipe spoke to me because I especially love mushrooms on burgers.
Even though this recipe had cooked shallots (onions are my sworn enemy) in it, I vowed to march forward.
Here is a photo of my first potato mistake. The recipe called for me to "cut the potato lengthwise into 1-inch wedges" but I some reason ignored that and cut them into slices. Ugh. More on that later, but after they were cut, I coated them in half of the included spice blend with salt, pepper, and olive oil before placing them on a baking sheet to go into the oven for 28 minutes.
Next, the shroomies I sliced went into a pan with oil to cook.
Then I added the sliced shallots.
...and then the soy glaze with some water to finish.
Now- meat time. I put the ground beef in a bowl and added the remaining seasoning, plus salt and pepper. I mixed it all together with my hands and proceeded to make two patties, pictured here.
Those bad boys went into a pan with olive oil to cook for three minutes on the first side (I like my red meat rare).
Gripe time: Blue Apron decided to send two Swiss cheese sticks (a la string cheese) instead of swiss in sliced form. I know it doesn't really matter, but this irks me since it forces me to cut each stick up so that it fits properly on the patties. Moving on...
The instructions called for me to cover the cheese-topped burgs loosely with foil so that the cheese melts for the remaining three minutes. Here is the "after" shot.
Potato mistake #2: I was somehow so engrossed in cooking the burgers that I shut the timer off for the potatoes without removing them from the oven for a few more minutes. The result was (coupled with the fact that they were sliced thinly, instead of in thicker wedges) crisper-than-I'd-like potato "wedges". Blerg!
Alright, shake it off, Marns. On to the bun-toasting, via pan.
Here is the finished product. It looks a little plain, I admit. I do wish Blue Apron had sent some sauce for dipping, but I was able to find a lesser sample of ketchup in my cupboard after a panicked search upon realizing I was out of my beloved Heinz.
As mentioned, the potatoes were a little overdone to the point where they were too dry and burnt-tasting, but that was my fault. The cheeseburger was pretty darn amazing though, and I actually ate the shallots since I was too lazy to pick them off.
Verdict: Blue Apron sent me two meals for two people that taught me a few lessons: I need to pay closer attention to how to cut potatoes, and I was pleasantly surprised by a seasoning I didn't think I would like. It's all about growth for me this year, I tell ya! Seriously though, I was into both of these meals and was glad to have a bit of variety from my usual "meat + starch + vegetable" meals.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Since Blue Apron 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 three free meals on your first order! No code needed, just use this link
Value Breakdown: At $47.95 ($9.99 per serving + $7.99 shipping) for this box, you're paying $11.99 per meal.
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What do you think of my Blue Apron meals this month?
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