Facebook PixelPastaCrate Subscription Box Review + Coupon - May 2016 | MSA
My Subscription Addiction
My Subscription Addiction
Our reviewers research, test, and recommend the best subscriptions and products independently; click to learn more about our editorial guidelines. We may receive commissions on purchases made through links on our site.

PastaCrate Subscription Box Review + Coupon – May 2016

Nancy Su
ByNancy SuMay 20, 2016 | 9 comments

PastaCrate-April-2016-Box

PastaCrate
0 overall rating
0 Ratings | 0 Reviews

PastaCrate is a monthly pasta subscription box that ships handmade, small-batch pasta from the best pasta makers in the USA. All pastas are made using traditional Italian techniques, and every month you receive different organic and seasonal selections. Each box contains 24-48 servings of pasta.

This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

PastaCrate-April-2016-First-Look

The Subscription Box: PastaCrate

The Cost: $34.99 per month + free US shipping

ACTIVE DEAL: Save 50% off your first box!
CODE: MSA50

The Products: 24-48 servings of handmade, small-batch pasta

Ships to: USA only

Check out the Food Subscription Box Directory and make sure to add PastaCrate to your subscription list or wishlist!

PastaCrate-April-2016-Contents

This month's featured pasta maker is Sfoglini. They are a NYC-based pasta shop. I received 24 servings from the three pastas. 

PastaCrate-April-2016-Info1

PastaCrate-April-2016-Info2

The box came with a detailed pamphlet with a note from PastaCrate's founder and featured recipes for each of the pastas! I thought that was neat.

PastaCrate-April-2016-Zucca

Sfoglini Zucca 16oz - $6.99

Zucca pasta looks like jellyfish! This is made with organic durum semolina. The featured recipe-- zucca with bacon, squash, and sage-- looked simple enough and didn't require many ingredients, so I went ahead and tried it with my subpar post-college cooking skills. Zucca has a nice chunky size and texture and it's super chewy! It's great with the bacon and squash combo. The overall dish has a light creamy flavor, but you can add as much parmesan, pepper, and salt as you want to taste. My boyfriend and I enjoyed it so much we made it for his mom on Mother's Day (it was a hit).

PastaCrate-April-2016-Zucca1

PastaCrate-April-2016-Zucca2

PastaCrate-April-2016-Zucca3

Zucca with bacon, squash, and sage.

PastaCrate-April-2016-Spaccatelli

Sfoglini Whole Grain Spaccatelli 16oz - $7.49

This spaccatelli is made with organic NY State grain. I treated it like a fancier macaroni. I made mine with marinara meat sauce (like the Sfoglini website had suggested) and it was delicious! The pasta was very filling as well, which I'd attribute to the whole grain.

PastaCrate-April-2016-Spaccatelli1

Spaccatelli with meat sauce.

PastaCrate-April-2016-Fusilli

Sfoglini Beet Fusilli 16oz - $8.49

Last but not least is the beet fusilli. It's made with organic durum semolina. It's a beautiful purple color although it loses much of the vibrancy when cooked. I made meat sauce with this one again because I love hearty sauces. It tasted amazing! The beet fusilli didn't taste much different from regular fusilli, but I enjoyed the flavor nonetheless.

PastaCrate-April-2016-Fusilli1

Beet fusilli with meat sauce.

Verdict: I thoroughly enjoyed the pastas from PastaCrate. I think my favorite pasta was the zucca; it's just such a funky shape and fun to eat. I would definitely pull out the zucca recipe in the future to wow some friends. The curation is awesome and I loved trying out pastas that I've never even heard of before. Going off of Sfoglini's website, the total value is $22.97. There's a $12 discrepancy that one may be able to attribute to shipping costs and curation. For example, if you were to buy this on Sfoglini's website you'd need to account for shipping. Alternatively, I did see the Sfoglini brand being sold at my local gourmet/fancy food store for $9.99 a bag, so if I were to buy these pastas locally it'd cost me $30 plus tax. This ends up being the same as the cost of PastaCrate. So, overall, the value breaks even for me, at least for this month. While I loved the pastas, I do hope future PastaCrate boxes can increase the value a little more.

What do you think of PastaCrate?

Starting at $34.99
Active Deal
Save 50% off your first box!
Use Coupon Code MSA50
Subscribe Now
"Handmade pasta, delivered right to your door. All pastas are handcrafted using traditional Italian techniques. Enjoy high-quality organic semolina and grain pastas, along with specialty and seasonal pastas made from fresh, local ingredients. Made in the USA."
Nancy Su
Nancy Su
Nancy began her subscription box adventure in 2014 and never looked back. She loves Asian beauty and is constantly in search of skincare holy grails. She hoards lipsticks. Her favorites are beauty, lifestyle, and jewelry subscriptions.

Join the Conversation

Please do not enter your email address in the Name field or in the comment content. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. Remember to post with kindness and respect. Comments with offensive language, cruelness to others, etc will not be approved. See our full comment policy here.

9 comments

Katie

That Zucca pasta does look like jellyfish?,and that dish looks delicious! But I am cheap and would not spend this much on pasta.

Reply ButtonReply

Jann

I was excited to see this, because I love pasta so much. But the price is crazy for three bags of pasta. Would be much smarter to go to a specialty store and pick out what you wanted.

Reply ButtonReply

Rachel

There is no tax on food. If your store sells three packs for $30, then you pay $30. If is ok to say the box RV is less than the box cost. You don’t have to manufacturer a positive review- being low value is common in food boxes, and good information for the consumer to know ahead of time.

Reply ButtonReply

Ashley

You pay tax on food in MANY states. :/

Reply ButtonReply

Victoria

We pay taxes on our food here as well. I think Nancy’s review was excellent and didn’t sound manufactured at all. She pointed out that shipping, tax, and curation get it closer to the cost of the box, but that she would like to see it increase in value.

Good review Nancy!

Reply ButtonReply

nelliebelle1197

I am not seeing a manufactured positive review.

Reply ButtonReply

Nancy Su

There’s food tax in my state 🙂 and it’s high enough where it’s close to the cost of the subscription. Although I think the RV isn’t as high as I’d like the review is true to my thoughts!

Reply ButtonReply

Amber P

One way they could easily up the value is to include a bonus item such as a sauce, oil, bread mix, dip mix….to just get a box of pasta, idk, doesn’t thrill me (and I love pasta!).

Reply ButtonReply

nelliebelle1197

Agree- this box would work better if it included all the ingredients for a great pasta MEAL! I can’t see wanting $360 worth of pasta a year. May just be me!

Reply ButtonReply