Hello Fresh Subscription Box Review + Coupon – January 2017

Hello Fresh is a weekly meal delivery subscription that sends healthy recipes and the pre-measured ingredients you need to make them at home. 

It’s easy to skip deliveries using the Hello Fresh website, and you can skip as many weeks as you like.

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

The Subscription Box: Hello Fresh

The Cost: The Classic Food Box (for omnivores) starts at $9.99 per person per meal. The Veggie Box (for herbivores) starts at $9.99 per person per meal. The Family Box (for families) costs $8.74 per person per meal. Starting in February, Hello Fresh will offer two plans: Unlimited Meal Choice ($11.50 a meal) or Basic Plan ($9.99 per meal). Learn more here!

ACTIVE DEAL: 16 Free Meals (Offer is for new subscriptions only across 9 boxes and varies by plan) + First Box Ships Free + 3 Surprise Gifts
CODE: MSA16HF

The Products: Healthy recipes and pre-portioned fresh ingredients.

Ships to: The contiguous US.

Check out all our Hello Fresh reviews and the Food Subscription Box Directory for more meal boxes!

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

The ingredients for each recipe come packed in a brown box.

Hello Fresh includes a booklet that spotlights seasonal ingredients and includes your recipes for the week.

I also received an envelope filled with “curated offers.”

Now, on to the food!

Mozzarella-Crusted Chicken with Blistered Tomatoes and Potato Wedges

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Calories per Serving: 545

I’m always looking for new ways to jazz up chicken breasts, so when I saw this Mozzarella-Crusted Chicken on the menu it definitely caught my attention.

There weren’t a ton of ingredients sent for this dish, and prep was really quick.

After cleaning both the potatoes and the tomatoes, I cut them both into wedges, drizzled them with oil, seasoned them with salt and pepper, and put them in the oven to roast at 425.

I then made the topping for the chicken by combining panko, mozzarella cheese, oregano, paprika, and olive oil. This recipe made a lot of topping, but I managed to load every last crumb onto the two provided chicken breasts.

I added the chicken into the oven with the potatoes and tomatoes, and I baked everything until the chicken was cooked through, the tomatoes were blistered, and the potatoes were soft.

The hands-on cooking time for this dish was pretty minimal, but I ended up cooking the potatoes longer than the instructions called for (they were still a bit tough after the timer went off), so it took me longer than the recommended 30 minutes to get dinner on the table. Taste-wise, this dish was a hit. I really liked the crispy, cheesy topping, and the chicken was really tasty with the roasted tomatoes. (It was kind of like a deconstructed chicken parmesan!) The potatoes were good, but I think if I make this dish again I’ll serve the chicken with a green salad instead.

Sweet Italian Sausage with Couscous and Spinach

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Calories per Serving: 769

My next meal pick for this week was Sweet Italian Sausage with Couscous and Spinach. Hello Fresh’s photo of this dish sold me on it immediately— just looking at it made my mouth water!

I started out by slicing the sausage and sautéing it in a little olive oil to crisp it up. After it started to brown, I added in minced onion, sliced garlic, and mushrooms. (This dish smelled so delicious while it was cooking! The combination of sausage, garlic, and onion was incredible.) When the veggies softened, I added in the couscous, chicken stock concentrate, some water, and oregano and let everything simmer until the water absorbed and the couscous was al dente.

When it was ready, I stirred in some parmesan cheese and divided the couscous between two bowls. On top of each one, I added some sautéed garlic spinach.

This dish was really tasty, and it ended up being my favorite of the week. It was rich, cheesy, and super comforting, but the addition of the spinach on top gave it a nice boost of freshness and helped keep the meal from feeling too heavy. This is exactly the kind of food I want to eat when it’s cold outside, and I think I’m going to make a version of this dish again soon. (I’m thinking it would be great with chicken sausage, kale, and butternut squash!)

Shawarma Meatballs with Bulgur and Sumac Veggies

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Calories per Serving: 569

My last meal pick for this week was Shawarma Meatballs. I’m a big fan of Middle Eastern flavors, and sumac is one of my favorite spices to cook with. When I saw that this dish incorporated Sumac Veggies, I was sold!

I began by prepping all of my veggies and boiling the bulgur wheat in a mix of water and stock concentrate.

For the veggie mix, I tossed together slices of tomato, red onion, and zucchini in olive oil and sumac and then placed them under the hot broiler to char.

While the veggies cooked, I made the meatballs (a combination of ground beef, panko, and a Middle Eastern spice blend) and cooked them on the stove top in a sauté pan.

When everything was ready, I plated the bulgur wheat and topped it with roasted veggies, meatballs, a bit of sour cream, and fresh parsley.

This dish was just okay. The veggies were delicious and the bulgur was a nice base for the dish, but the meatballs were very dry. Also, sour cream seemed like an odd choice to use as a topping. I think I would have preferred yogurt, labneh, or humus.

Verdict: Overall, this was a pretty solid week for Hello Fresh! I was a little ho-hum about the Shawarma Meatballs, but the other two dishes were wonderful. Value-wise, Hello Fresh is competitively priced in the subscription meal box market. Meals start at $9.99 per serving, which is on par with Blue Apron ($9.99 per serving) and Home Chef ($9.95 per serving) and less than Plated ($12 per serving).

Do you subscribe to Hello Fresh?