Home Chef is a meal kit subscription that delivers a weekly box of the pre-portioned ingredients needed to make 2-6 meals that feed two, four, six, or eight people. Home Chef advertises easy recipes that can be made in about 30 minutes. They offer vegetarian, gluten-free, and calorie/carb-conscious recipes.
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This is a review of my customized delivery that includes three 2-serving dinner options (3 x $9.95/serving) with $7.99 shipping, bringing the cost of this box to $67.69.
Please note that Home Chef shipping costs may vary. Some readers are charged for delivery while others report free shipping. Check your account to confirm what your shipping costs will look like, as yours may be different than mine.
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.)
About Home Chef
The Subscription Box: Home Chef
The Cost: Meals for 2 start at $6.99 per serving. Shipping costs $13.99 for orders under $49.99 and $7.99 for orders over $49.99. (Note that some subscribers have reported that they are not charged shipping fees. Check your account to confirm what your shipping costs will look like.)
The Products: Fresh ingredients and chef-designed recipes — everything you need to make restaurant-quality meals at home.
Ships to: 98% of the U.S. You can check to see if Home Chef delivers to your zip code while signing up.
Home Chef July 2021 Review
When you first sign up for Home Chef, you take a short quiz about your meal preferences and dietary restrictions. They ask what you like to eat, as well as what you tend to avoid. Based on your answers, Home Chef will choose recipes for you to receive 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.
Now, on to the food!
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Meal #1: BBQ Pineapple and Chicken Quesadillas with Cilantro Crema and Green Onions, 801 calories per serving
Prep & Cook Time: 30-40 minutes | Difficulty Level: Easy
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I'm not typically one to go for quesadillas for dinner. If I'm craving Mexican, I'm far more likely to whip up some tacos or fajitas, but this recipe was too enticing to pass up. The combination of pineapple and chicken and cilantro and cheese had me immediately hooked!
And the recipe did not disappoint. Do you see all of that gooey cheese? Paired with the sweet pineapple, chicken, and BBQ sauce, this was an absolute winner of a meal. Each bite was rich, tangy, sweet, and savory. The crunchy tortilla was magic with the soft and cheesy center, and there was enough cheese provided that it oozed out slightly and crisped up along the edges. (The crispy cheese is probably my favorite thing about quesadillas, so I tend to get a little bit salty when there's not enough filling to encourage that delicious overflow.) This recipe didn't introduce me to any groundbreaking new cooking techniques, but it was a solid meal. I could (and will) replicate this again easily with my own ingredients.
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Meal #2: Beef Kefta Lettuce Wraps with Red Pepper and Tzatziki, 473 calories per serving
Prep & Cook Time: 30-40 minutes | Difficulty Level: Easy
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Up next, I picked out these Beef Kefta Lettuce Wraps. It's very hot right now where I live, so I've been reaching for salads, lighter meals, and things that won't put me into a food coma. This recipe seemed like a great summery meal, and I was excited to try it! I make lettuce wraps fairly frequently, but I always incorporate chicken, pork, or tofu, never beef. I was pumped to try something new.
These. Were. Delicious. First of all, I have to come clean and share that I did not follow the provided recipe to a tee. I've been on a bit of a grilling kick lately, so I decided to cook the meatballs on the grill instead of in a pan on the stovetop. I tend to think that beef always tastes better on the grill, and in this case, I think it added a little bit of a smoky flavor that worked really well. But cooking technique aside, there's no denying that this recipe is a knockout. The combination of flavors is fantastic. You've got fresh lettuce, soft red peppers, cool tzatziki sauce, crunchy cabbage, and rich spiced meatballs. All in, this dish was like a healthy version of a gyro, and I was 100% into it. I love a healthy meal that doesn't feel too healthy, and these wraps were perfect.
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Meal #3: Peach BBQ Chicken Breast and Crispy Broccoli, 470 calories per serving
Prep & Cook Time: 25-35 minutes | Difficulty Level: Intermediate
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My final meal pick for this shipment was Peach BBQ Chicken Breasts with Crispy Broccoli, another recipe that seemed both light and summery-- and another recipe I decided to cook on the grill.
Chicken with veggies is a pretty straightforward approach to dinnertime, and I like that Home Chef put an exciting twist on a classic combination with this dish. The peach BBQ sauce, a mix of peach preserves, ketchup, dijon, and vinegar, was unlike anything I've made before, but it was easy and really tasty. The addition of the peach preserves added a sweetness and a summery quality to the dish, and I'm a sucker for seasonality. Chicken can get a little boring if you're making it regularly, and this was a quick and easy way to jazz it up. For the veggies, the broccoli was roasted in the oven before being topped with a crunchy mix of panko, red pepper flakes, and parmesan. While a relatively simple addition, this took the flavor and the texture up a notch. My one complaint about this dish is that it felt a little bit light. I think I would have appreciated some roasted potatoes or a small side salad to round out the meal.
Verdict: This month's Home Chef box was awesome. All of the meals I received were perfect for eating on a warm summer evening, and the recipes delivered on flavor. I gravitated towards recipes that were fairly simple to pull together this month, but I did walk away with a new recipe for peach BBQ sauce that I'll use again, and those beef lettuce wraps are entering my regular summer meal rotation effective immediately.
In terms of value, this box cost $59.70 with $7.99 shipping, bringing the cost of this box to $67.69. This might not be the cheapest way to get dinner on the table (for example, I'm certain I could probably make quesadillas for a lot less), but I absolutely love the convenience Home Chef delivers. It's great being able to skip the grocery store, and I enjoy discovering new recipes and flavor combinations.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, this week's meals have passed. But, you can sign up for Home Chef today and receive meals next week!
Value Breakdown: This box costs $59.70, or $9.95 per serving. Shipping is $13.99 for orders under $49.99 and $7.99 for orders over $49.99.
Check out all of our Home Chef reviews and our list of the best meal kit subscriptions! And check out our weekly meal kit menu round-up to see what's coming up on the Home Chef menu.
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