This month, I reviewed boxes from the top four meal subscription companies: one box each from Plated, Hello Fresh, and Blue Apron, and two boxes from Home Chef To get a sense of how the boxes compare, I’ve outlined all of the meals I received below. I’ve assigned each dish a score out of 5, and I’ve averaged the scores from each box together to get a total box score. Read on to see which box came out on top for me this month!
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Plated – 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).
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Check out the full Plated review here!
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Meal #1- Truffled Grilled Cheese with Creamy Tomato Soup
Calories Per Serving: 780
Cook Time: 25-35 minutes
Score: 3/5 I love that Plated offered this dish the week of Valentine’s Day— it’s the perfect dish for a romantic night in! Unfortunately, the dish didn’t wow me. I think the soup would have benefitted from a longer cooking time. (I think a longer cooking time would have resulted in the flavors melding together a bit more.) I also think the sandwiches were a little heavy on the truffle oil. I don’t mind truffle oil in small quantities, but I found the truffle flavor in this dish a bit overwhelming.
Meal #2- White Pizza with Crispy Brussels Sprouts and Balsamic Glaze
Calories per Serving: 770
Cook Time: 35-45 minutes
Score: 2.5/5 I’m usually a big fan of Plated’s pizza recipes, but this one did not work for me. The veggies were spicy (from the red pepper flakes) but also really sweet (from the maple syrup), and I didn’t think that the addition of the balsamic glaze complemented the other flavors. Overall, there was just too much going on flavor-wise for my palate.
Meal #3- Moo Shu Chicken with Pancakes
Calories: 670
Cook Time: 25-35 minutes
Score: 4/5 The photo of this dish just doesn’t do it justice— it was really tasty! I loved the combination of chicken, cabbage, and mushrooms, and the sweet and salty seasoning was delicious.
Overall Score: 3.17/5
Cost per Plate: Meals start at $12 per serving. Dessert is $4 per serving.
Number of meals available to choose from each week: 11 meals + 2 desserts
Hello Fresh – 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. Hello Fresh announced that starting in February, they will offer two plans: Unlimited Meal Choice ($11.50 a meal) or Basic Plan ($9.99 per meal). Learn more here!
COUPON: Save $40 off your first box - no coupon code necessary, just click this link!
Check out the full Hello Fresh review here!
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Meal #1- Lean Mean Chicken and Greens with Rosemary Potatoes and Gremolata
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Calories per Serving: 659
Score: 4/5 I really enjoyed this dish! The gremolata was a nice topping for the chicken, the salad was fresh and plentiful, and the potatoes were a nice, hearty accompaniment.
Meal #2- Penne with a Kick in a Pancetta-Tomato Arrabbiata Sauce
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Calories per Serving: 604
Score: 4/5 The arrabbiata-style sauce for this dish was easy to make and really tasty. I added all of the provided red pepper flakes for maximum spiciness (Hello Fresh suggested adding up to the entire packet, depending on how spicy you like your food), and the sauce had a nice kick of heat. The pancetta added some complexity and depth of flavor, and the spinach lent the dish freshness that kept it from feeling too heavy. Hello Fresh sent a huge bag of spinach with the instruction to add it all to the pasta, but I opted to only add about half and serve the rest in salad form.
Meal #3- Turkish-Spiced Salmon with Blood Orange and Couscous Pilaf
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Calories per Serving: 695
Score: 5/5 How beautiful is that blood orange salad! I absolutely love that Hello Fresh included such a lovely (and delicious!) salad to accompany this meal— it was a knockout. The salmon was great, also, and I’m always a fan of couscous.
Overall Score: 4.3/5
Cost per Plate: Hello Fresh starts at $9.90 per serving (for The Classic Box).
Number of meals available to choose from each week: 6 meals
Blue Apron – $59.94 for 3 recipes on the 2-Person Plan, $69.92 for 2 recipes on the Family Plan, $139.84 for 4 recipes on the Family Plan.
COUPON: Get 3 Meals Free in Your First Order, no coupon required, just use this link.
Check out the full Blue Apron review here!
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Meal #1- Cajun Catfish & Spiced Rice with Collard Greens & Mushrooms
Calories: 760 per serving
Cook Time: 30-40 minutes
Score: 4.5/5 I enjoyed all of the different components of this meal, but the rice was definitely the star. It was bursting with flavor! I love how the rice recipe incorporated peppers and tomato paste, and I think the spice blend added just the right amount of heat. It paired really nicely with the catfish.
Meal #2- Baked Ricotta Cannelloni with Romain Salad & Meyer Lemon Dressing
Calories: 710 per serving
Cook Time: 25-35 minutes
Score: 4.5/5 This dish was a winner! The pasta was nicely al dente, the filling was rich and gooey, and the sauce was bright and a little spicy. I also really enjoyed the side salad. I’ve never made dressing like this one before (a mix of meyer lemon juice, olive oil, mascarpone, and parmesan), and I really enjoyed it! The creamy, lemony flavor was delicious!
Meal #3- Spiced Chicken Chili with Chickpeas & Currants
Calories: 700 per serving
Cook Time: 25-35 minutes
Score: 4/5 This dish was delicious, but it’s not quite what I expected. The combination of spices and currants in this dish reminded me of a Middle Eastern chicken tagine— I’m not sure I’d call it a chili. Still, there’s no denying that it was tasty! It was a nice hearty meal, and I like that Blue Apron sent pita to serve on the side.
Overall Score: 4.3/5
Cost per Plate: Blue Apron costs $9.99 per serving.
Number of meals available to choose from each week: 6 meals (Note: meal choice is limited by the fact that not all combinations of meals are available.)
Home Chef – Meals start at $9.95 per serving, and delivery is free for orders over $40.
COUPON: Save $30 off your first box! with coupon code DM30
I reviewed two boxes from Home Chef this month. You can check out the first review here, and the second one here!
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Here’s what I received in my first box from Home Chef:
Meal #1- Roasted Salmon with Ginger-Scallion Sauce
Calories: 518 per serving
Prep Time: 30-40 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Score: 4/5 This dish was really tasty! It was definitely on the lighter side, but the salmon was delicious and I really enjoyed the flavor of the sauce. It also came together really quickly (definitely less than the suggested 30-40 minutes).
Meal #2- Bone-In Pork Chop with Pecorino-Garlic Butter with Hot Honey-Glazed Peas and Carrots
Calories: 600 per serving
Prep Time: 30-40 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Score: 4/5 These pork chops were yummy. I liked the spicy and sweet veggie mix, and the compound butter made this dish feel special.
Meal #3- Classic Chicken Marbella with Red Potatoes and White Balsamic Pan Sauce
Calories: 464 per serving
Prep Time: 35-45 minutes
Difficulty: Intermediate
Score: 5/5 Plums and olives seem like such an odd combination, but I love how they add sweetness and saltiness to Chicken Marbella. This was my favorite dish from this box, and I’ll definitely order it again if I see it on the menu!
Overall Score: 4.3/5
And here are the dishes I received in my second Home Chef box:
Meal #1- Mardi Gras Shrimp Po’Boy with Homemade Remoulade and Romaine Salad
Calories: 516 per serving
Prep Time: 25-35 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Score: 4.5/5 Wow- these sandwiches were great! (And I love that they were included on the menu the week of Mardi Gras!) The bread was toasty and soft, the shrimp seasoning was perfect, and the sauce was delicious. The salad felt a little bit like an afterthought (since it was really similar to what was on the sandwiches), but overall this was a fantastic, easy meal.
Meal #2- Skinny Chicken Mozzarella with Marinara and Garlicky Greens
Calories: 564 per serving
Prep Time: 25-35 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Score: 4.5/5 This chicken was delicious, and I really enjoyed the greens on the side. The chicken was cheesy and very rich, and the buttery parmesan coating was absolutely delicious. It did leave me a little hungry afterward, but I enjoyed it.
Meal #3- Cider Beurre Blanc Pork Tenderloin with Parmesan Roasted Carrots and Brussels Sprouts
Calories: 586 per serving
Prep Time: 35-45 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Score: 4.5/5 I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the cheesy parmesan veggies (I’ve never cooked vegetables that way before), but I ended up really liking this dish. The veggies were tasty, and the pork was nice with the beurre blanc sauce.
Overall Score: 4.5/5
Cost per Plate: Meals start at $12 per serving.
Number of meals available to choose from each week: 10 meals + 1 breakfast + 1 dessert + 1 smoothie
The Verdict: It’s so much fun looking back at the meals I received this month from Plated, Home Chef, Blue Apron, and Hello Fresh, and it’s very interesting to stack them up against each other to see how they compare! There were a lot of really great meals this month, but I think my favorite has to be Hello Fresh’s Turkish Spiced Salmon— I just can’t get over that amazing blood orange side salad! My favorite overall box, though, has to be the second one I received from Home Chef. The Cider Beurre Blanc Pork, Po’Boys, and Chicken Mozzarella were all very different dishes, but they were all excellent.
Favorite box: Home Chef
Yummiest dish: Hello Fresh's Turkish-Spiced Salmon with Blood Orange and Couscous Pilaf
Do you subscribe to Plated, Home Chef, Hello Fresh, or Blue Apron? What were your favorite February dishes?
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