Hello Fresh vs. Blue Apron
I’ve tried two of the more popular meal-prep subscription services, and thought I’d share my experiences, pros and cons. I started with Blue Apron in 2016, and used it for approximately a year, well into 2017. I recently tried Hello Fresh, and they’re both very comparable and work almost identically. (Disclaimer – this is not a sponsored post, and I was not paid by either of these companies. This was all purchased with my own moolah, and the opinions are entirely my own).
For both services, I signed up for the three-meals for two people option, which provides 6 meals in a box. With Blue Apron, this costs $59.94 (the price has not changed), or $9.99 per meal. Hello Fresh is slightly higher at $61.93, or $10.32/meal.
I can’t find dishes of this complexity and quality in my area restaurants for a price this low, but I’m also doing all the work and the cleanup. I can produce a quality meal for far lower than $10 per serving, with the economy of scale of buying ingredients in larger quantities, or that I already have on hand. But then again, I’m that woman who freezes all the bones from rotisserie chicken to simmer down for stock, and turns stale bread into bread crumbs….
Does anyone remember the Book-of-the-Month clubs from publishers in days gone by? I was a member of one back in the 80s, and every month you got a mailing detailing your choices. If you did NOT send the postcard back in time saying you did NOT want that month’s selection, it was automatically sent and you were billed. And this is just like that.
If you haven’t kept on top of it, a box you weren’t counting on arrives, and maybe you’ve already got plans for dinner, meetings, etc., in the coming days. And there the food is, that must be cooked, or you’ve just paid for stuff going to waste. I’d think you’d want to cook everything within 4 days of receipt. So it requires diligence on your part to keep up with it. You can cancel and re-start anytime you want, though.
Both services allow you to choose the day you want your food delivered, and whether you want it to be vegetarian or not. On the detailed menus for the week, you can choose exactly the meals you want, and it’s there you’d have to choose whether something was gluten-free, dairy-free, etc. They both have descriptors like “carb conscious” or “calorie smart” to make it easier if you’re following a particular way of eating but you can’t just sign up to have everything be automatically be gluten-free or vegan, for example.
Both services seem aimed at people without well-stocked kitchens or pantries. Blue Apron meals required one or more of: a skillet, saucepan, bowls, sheet pan, and basic utensils like knives, peelers and spoons. They assumed you had nothing else but salt, pepper and olive oil. Hello Fresh is similar, but also assumes you have butter. There is a lot of cooking one thing in a skillet, wiping it out and when cooking something else in, that takes longer than if you just did two at once. I have medium and large cast-iron skillets I use every day, so I’ve broken both out more often.
Every other ingredient you need comes in the box, individually packaged. If the recipe requires two tablespoons of mayonnaise, there is a plastic packet with two tablespoons of mayonnaise. If you need one egg, there is one egg, in a tiny carton that looks like it could survive a drop of 10 feet . One of the big downsides is the amount of packaging and single-use plastics, although Hello Fresh seemed to me to have less in volume.
Sensitive to this, they each have pages on their website with recycling instructions. Blue Apron’s gel-packs can be emptied down the sink (although I wouldn’t do that to my plumbing), Hello Fresh’s must be emptied into the trash. While I can recycle glass, metal cans and cardboard boxes where I live, I can recycle very little of the plastic containers and pouches.
Blue Apron seemed to have slightly more ingredients in each recipe, and required more chopping. I found their recipes also took a bit longer than advertised, even in the hands of experienced cooks.
Both services provide large recipe cards with photos and lists of all the ingredients as well as the finished dish, illustrated step-by-step instructions. They break down prep and cook times, as well as calories. Blue Apron also provided detailed nutritional info for each dish.
Both of them write these recipes in a way that has you prep – wash, chop, etc. – all your ingredients and lay out your equipment before you start cooking anything – the French technique of “mis en place” (loose translation = having your sh*t together). This makes the process take a little longer, but yields much higher quality results in that your total attention is on whatever is on the heat at the time. And it’s a habit both my husband and I have maintained.
This also requires a LOT of little bowls, plates or plastic containers to hold everything until it goes in the pan. Fortunately, I have these, and even use the ubiquitous yogurt containers/orphan Tupperware, etc. I am trying to eliminate all plastic from my kitchen, and am slowly acquiring enough glass Rubbermaid containers for all leftovers, and I’ve been very tempted to get a nesting set of metal or glass prep bowls……
The best thing to me about these services is the recipes themselves, which you’ve been coached through doing the first time. I was shocked to count up 46 Blue Apron recipe cards in my collection! We have several that are real favorites of ours that we NEVER would have tried otherwise – like Cod Kedgeree, with rice, cabbage and cod, Spicy Peanut Noodles, and Vegetable Bibimbap and Kimchi. I take notes on the card after making and eating the dish, and while I’ve never had anything I DIDN’T like, some have not been made again.
I’ve been similarly impressed with almost every Hello Fresh meal, and just repeated one of the dishes last night – Firecracker Meatballs. The Firecracker Sauce for meatballs (beef, lamb or chicken) could be used on lots of other things too, and was so simple, I was embarassed I’d never thought of it:
2T mayonnaise, 2T sour cream, 2T soy sauce, 2t honey, 1 t sriracha Mix together and toss the cooked meatballs in it. It would also be a great dipping sauce for cooked potatoes.
There was also a cherry sauce on pork tenderloin from Hello Fresh that was similarly simple but worth making again:
4T cherry jam, 1t ea cinnamon, paprika & cumin, 1t vinegar. Mix well and serve on roasted pork or chicken.
Blue Apron recipes were a little more complex, while Hello Fresh has included a couple of basic spaghetti-and-meat dishes a child could have invented, which was disappointing. Blue Apron portions were also a bit more generous.
A friend of mine could buy Hello Fresh in her Giant supermarket in Maryland, and could pick these up on her way from work to cook for her elderly mother in her apartment, and they’re IDEAL for that – no worrying about having all the ingredients. They’d also be good for anyone just starting out, who has not accumulated things like tahini or fish sauce lurking on their refrigerator door.
My husband and I joke that Blue Apron taught him to cook. When we first married, his repetoire was limited to a dinner party dish called Chicken Marbella that is a show-stopper, but takes two days and dirties every pan in the house. We started with Blue Apron as my husband retired, and he would do all the prep while waiting for me to get home at 5:30 every night, often starting the meal itself. He followed the directions to the letter, and eventually learned all the basic skills from following illustrated instructions. Is there anything better than coming home on a dark winter’s night after a hard day at work to see your husband working away over the stove, oven preheated and a fire roaring in the fireplace? I digress, but let’s just say he’s a wonderful sous chef now. Or, give him one of the recipe cards and lay out all the ingredients, and dinner will be ready in 40 minutes!
Both Blue Apron and Hello Fresh would be great for folks who are foodies, but don’t necessarily want to spend a lot of time sourcing ingredients or meal planning, and to try out new cuisines and ingredients without having to invest in larger quantities of unfamiliar foods. I think it’s been a God-send to many during quarantine! Going forward, it’s still something we would enjoy maybe one week per month.
Hello Fresh will give you a $40 discount off your first box if you use this code: here. I will also receive a small credit on my account with them.
Please let me know in the comments if you tried these or other services, and what you thought about them. Happy cooking, y’all!
18 Comments
Mireille
I haven’t tried either one but my neighbor has. I like the concept of them but feel like with 4 kids it would not be cost effective.
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
mkmiller
I think you’re right about that, Mireille!
Nancy
My sister always uses hello fresh. I never do as I want free range meat.
mkmiller
I guess you could choose the vegetarian options and still use your own free-range meat? I’m actually not using either of them this time of year as there is SO much wonderful, organic and local produce available from my family’s gardens and our farmer’s market – why would I want a zuccini shipped from New Jersey?!?
Gail
Very interesting, thanks for the review. We definitely have Hello Fresh in the UK. I thought the portions might be stingy but they look a good size. I keep thinking about giving it a try. I’d love it if you could share this in my link up today.
mkmiller
Thanks, Gail! And you’ll find me on your link-up already – it’s one of the first things I do after I publish;) I really appreciate the opportunity.
jodie filogomo
I am intrigued now. Truthfully I never thought I’d been interested in these because I’m 1-frugal and 2-have a repertoire of dishes we already cook. But this lockdown taught me that I’m sick of my usual, and can certainly do with some variety!! Besides the fact that I threw out (can you believe????) a ton of recipes when we moved (what was I thinking?).
No incentive for Blue Apron?? I only ask because you said the portions were a tad more generous and complex?
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
jodie filogomo
PS…I ALWAYS save the carcass and make soup and we just finished croutons that I made from stale bread. You and I are SO alike.
XOOX
mkmiller
TOO funny! Was Charlotte raised during the Depression like my mom? I always put it down to that🙄
Mike Stanley
Great job, enjoyed reading your blog. We have tried one of these can’t remember which, Connie liked the meals but too much sodium and the amount of packaging turned me off. It just bugged me with amount of packaging I was throwing away.Thanks for the info. Take care
mkmiller
Thanks, Mike! It’s also more appealing in winter when we aren’t surrounded by wonderful local produce as we are now…
Shelbee on the Edge
I have never tried one of these meal prep services, but they really do look like they are easy and fun to have for weekly meal prep. Thanks for sharing your review and linking up with me!
Shelbee
http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com
mkmiller
Dee-lighted, Shelbee! I’d love to hear what you think if you try either of them.
Connie Wright Stanley
M.K.
A very fun, interesting and detailed posts. A friend gave us a Hello Fresh they couldn’t use since they got a box they were not ready for and couldn’t use it. You nailed all the things that I experienced. I think my issue was I never know what might come up. Some weeks we will (prior to Covid-19 have friends invite us to go out two or three times in one week. Then I felt pressured to “use” up the meals when I really didn’t want to be cooking after 2 or 3 hours at Bocce or after being in the pool all afternoon. I think they would be great for anyone who doesn’t have any experience in cooking. A single person also who does have 40 different spices in the pantry might find it ideal. We also tried Freshly which has ready to heat and eat dinners. They were ok. Some better than others. The packaging was excellent never saw such a thick cardboard box. Tons of gel packs. We are not able to recycle as much as we would like here in Florida. At the end of the day I decided the sodium was too high in most dinners offered and the packaging made me feel guilty and it filled up a good portion of our thrash can. These would be good for someone who likes convenience and isn’t really a foodie. Freshly has an amazing website, friendly emails and all interactions with them were Excellent. They offered to call me to talk about other lower sodium options but were not pushy just helpful. I would commend them on customer service and marketing materials.
mkmiller
Connie – thanks for the comments! Yes, I can see it really putting a damper on spontaneity. I do know one woman who uses these EXCLUSIVELY since her children left the house. She just tried going without and felt she wasted MORE food that way. Isn’t it great to have all these options?
Connie Wright Stanley
M.K.
A very fun, interesting and detailed post. A friend gave us a Hello Fresh they couldn’t use since they got a box they were not ready for and couldn’t use it. You nailed all the things that I experienced. I think my issue is I never know what might come up. Some weeks we will (prior to Covid-19) have friends invite us to go out two or three times in one week. Then I felt pressured to “use” up the meals when I really didn’t want to be cooking after 2 or 3 hours at Bocce or after being in the pool all afternoon. I think they would be great for anyone who doesn’t have any experience in cooking. A single person also who does not have 40 different spices like I do in the pantry might find it ideal. We also tried Freshly which has ready to heat and eat dinners. They were good to ok. Some better than others. The packaging was excellent never saw such a thick cardboard box. Tons of gel packs. We are not able to recycle as much as we would like here in Florida. At the end of the day I decided the sodium was too high in most dinners offered for me and the packaging made me feel guilty. It filled up a good portion of our thrash can. These would be good for someone who likes convenience and isn’t really a foodie. Freshly has an amazing website, friendly emails and all interactions with them were Excellent. They offered to call me to talk about other lower sodium options but were not pushy just helpful. I would commend them on customer service, and marketing. Good for someone needing convenience and ready to eat.
Mica
I like the idea of these things but the extra packaging puts me off a bit – as well as not knowing if the kids would eat these kinds of meals, haha! I like the family box idea though and when the kids are a bit bigger I want to give these a go – even just for a little bit, like you said you might find some new favourite recipes but it wouldn’t be something I’d continue for any long amount of time.
Hope that you had a great weekend 🙂
mkmiller
Hi Mica! Yes, with little ones, it might not be the right season of your life for these just now, but they are fun now and then. BTW, I really like your suggestion about wearing something you just bought at least twice the first month – great idea!