Blue Apron Review: By a Penny Pincher

Blue Apron Review: By a Penny Pincher – Blue Apron is a Meal Kit Service that makes home cooking assessable and convenient. They send weekly deliveries of Chef designed meals that are prepped and ready to be made.

If you’re curious about the Meal Kit Services available and have been thinking about trying one out, this review with ratings will give you great insight into one of the top Meal Kit Services out there!

If you don’t want to read my full review, here is $60 off your first 3 boxes!

Meal-Kit Reviews

I have been using Blue Apron for the past eight months, and I wanted to share my experiences with others, to help them choose the best Meal Kit service for them. Meal-Kits are a convenient resource for those trying to cook at home more or need to save time. They can even cut down on your grocery bill because you don’t spend money on unnecessary items, and the food doesn’t go to waste. I will be sharing more Meal-Kit reviews in the future to give a better comparison to the other services out there.

Price

Price is a factor for me when choosing a Meal Kit Service. So, this is a breakdown of regular Blue Apron pricing, for those of you who are similar to me.

• 2-Person Plan $9.99 Per Person – 2 Recipes per week $39.96 + $7.99 for shipping = $47.95
• 2-Person Plan $9.99 Per Person – 3 Recipes per week $59.94 & Free shipping
• 4-Person Plan $8.99 Per Person – 2 Recipes per week $71.94 & Free shipping
• 4-Person Plan $7.99 Per Person – 3 Recipes per week $95.88 & Free shipping
• Recently added 4-Person Plan $7.49 Per Person – 4 Recipes per week $119.84 & Free shipping

The prices may seem high, but for what you’re getting, it is very reasonable. Blue Apron offers the convenience of not personally planning your meals, high-quality ingredients, and not having to grocery shop.

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Packaging

My Blue Apron box comes in excellent condition every single time when usually with other Meal Kits that can be a problem. Often, other companies do not use enough ice packs, or they smash the fragile ingredients! Blue Apron always has a total of three to four ice-packs arranged evenly within the box. Two of them are placed directly on top of the meat, which is another plus! Also, their packaging is recyclable and is encouraged too.

Ingredients & Freshness

Blue Apron offers a variety of unique ingredients that make at-home cooking more adventurous. There are many foods that I probably wouldn’t have tried if it weren’t for Blue Apron. Their ingredients are always fresh, from the chicken, pork, turkey, and even steak! I rarely enjoy Meal-Kits steak, but I have never been disappointed with theirs.

Recipe Choices

Blue Apron has many options for those with different tastes. They offer eleven recipes to choose from per week, and one is a premium dish with an up-charge. That is one downside to the service because their choices are less than other companies. However, they do offer health-conscious meal choices, and I appreciate that option. They have Whole30 recipes on their menu, which I am planning to try. They also provide weightwatcher recipes for those who are interested. As far as the protein variation, they usually offer chicken, pork, beef, and seafood. Vegetarian recipes are on the menu as well, at least two per week.

Ease of Prep

The ease of preparation for most meals is reasonable. The most time I have spent preparing a dish was one hour, and that was an advanced recipe. I would say the usual amount of time for a recipe is between 30-45 minutes. They send recipe cards in the box to ensure you have everything you need for a quick meal. They also offer a Meal-Prep option where they have everything prepped and ready to go. I have never tried it, but I have heard it’s convenient.

Meal Prep with Blue Apron! One prep. Eight Servings. Options for days.

Cancellation & Customer Service

Customer service offers online chat, email, and phone for reaching out. I haven’t had to contact them other than testing out their cancellation process. They do require you to send them an email to tell them you want to cancel, and they send you a link back. It’s not too time-consuming but is not as simple as other companies. They do give you the option to skip as many weeks as you want, which is convenient.

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Taste

Okay, the taste is probably the most important category, and that is why I saved it for last. The recipes I chose for this review were Thai-Style Shrimp Salad and also Turkey Piccata Meatballs. The Thai-Style Shrimp Salad was a light, healthy meal, but the flavors were amazing! The dressing was a mixture of lime, peanut butter, and sambal oelek for a spicey kick, and oh, was it good! The recipe only took 20 minutes to put together, which is less than the recipe card said. I’d order that for myself in a heartbeat. My husband didn’t love it, but he isn’t a big salad person. The Turkey Piccata Meatballs were also delicious! The flavors were bright from the lemon, capers, and tomatoes. The only modification I made was adding more garlic because there is never enough garlic. This meal was reasonably healthy as well, even with being served over orzo. This meal took me 40 minutes to makes, which is what Blue Apron projected. Plus, it was husband approved. Overall, these Blue Apron meals did not disappoint, as they rarely do!

Across-the-board Rating

Blue Apron Review: By a Penny Pincher – In closing, here are my final ratings!

• Price – 4 out of 5 STARS
• Packaging – 4 out of 5 STARS
• Ingredients & Freshness – 5 out of 5 STARS!
• Recipe Choices – 3.5 out of 5 STARS
• Ease of Preparation – 4.5 out of 5 STARS
• Cancellation & Customer Service – 3.5 out of 5 STARS
• Taste – 5 out of 5 STARS!

Honestly, I don’t always use the recipe cards that Blue Apron sends me. I use the ingredients they send as groceries for the week and put them in random meals. It works out great for me, so I just wanted to let you know.

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If you enjoyed this detailed review of Blue Apron, keep an eye out for more reviews to come on my review page!

*I am a Blue Apron Affiliate and will receive a small commission if you purchase through a link. However, all opinions are my own! I write honest reviews with all products I promote.*