An Unpaid Review of Blue Apron
Raise your hand if you’ve read about 50 blog posts about Blue Apron. Yep, me too.
How Does Blue Apron Work?
If you’ve somehow avoided the onslaught of paid reviews, the gist is that Blue Apron is a meal planning and delivery service. Every week you get a box with all the ingredients and instructions to make 2-3 dinners.
I liked the concept, but I was hung up on two main things – the cost (which runs about $9-10 per person, per meal) and whether or not my children would actually eat the meals. And, frankly, after seeing some of the things people got in their boxes, I wondered if I would actually eat them.
Fortunately, my neighbor is a Blue Apron subscriber (she loves it!) and when I asked her about it, she offered to give me a free week trial, which is apparently something you can do after you’ve been a subscriber for a while.
It took me all of five seconds to accept. I set up my account, put in our preferences, and voila – my box was scheduled to arrive later that week.
Blue Apron Cost
I got the plan where you get 3 meals, each of which serves 2 people. The regular cost for this would have been $59.99.
I generally spend about $75 a week on groceries, so $60 for three dinners is an enormous chunk out of my grocery bill.
My first box came on Saturday and when Ella, Star and I were making a library run that afternoon (Bart stayed home with a late-napping Ani), I saw the box on the doorstep and felt an enormous sense of relief that I wouldn’t have to figure out dinner. I could just pick one of the three meals out of the box and make it. Score.
We got home from the library, and Bart entertained the girls while I started pulling things out of the box.
Since I love food and cooking, it was kind of like Christmas to open it all up and see all the beautifully packaged ingredients (although I would have liked it if things were divided up by meal, instead of all being mixed together).
Blue Apron Recipes
The meals for our week were:
- Rice Flake-Crusted Hake with Sautéed Daikon Radish & Yuzu-Soy Sauce
- Flat Iron Steaks with Ramps, Fingerling Potatoes & Shaved Asparagus Salad
- Turkey Kibbeh with Cucumber Salad & Mint-Yogurt Sauce
I decided to go with the fish since I didn’t want it sitting in the fridge for several days, and I got to work.
Each recipe has a beautiful full-page, full-color card with the final dish on the front with which ingredients you need, and then on the back there are step-by-step instructions with photos of how to make the meal.
Immediately I felt annoyed that I still had to wash all the produce – it’s one of my least favorite tasks, and I would WAY rather meal plan than wash food.
I also could not get the rice flakes to stick to the fish – they mostly just fell off the fish and burned on the bottom of the pan (the recipe warned that some would fall off, but the vast majority of mine did. I think they were just too big – if I were to make this recipe again, I’d definitely run the flakes through the food processor to make them a little smaller).
And it definitely wasn’t a time-saver. It took me about 35 minutes to make dinner and then there were plenty of dishes afterward to cook.
Ella quite liked the fish, but had zero interest in the vegetables, and Ani wouldn’t eat it at all. For the first time in my parenting life, I let her have cereal for dinner instead of eating what I’d made. Bart gave it a 6 out of 10. I thought it was fine – nothing I’d want to make again, but I was happy to eat it.
The next two meals were better.
The steak was the best steak I’ve ever made at home (this is probably because I almost never make steak because I feel like it never turns out that well, which is probably because I buy really cheap steak) and the girls ate it without complaint. My only trouble was peeling the asparagus stalks. I don’t know if I have a totally weird peeler or what, but after five minutes of peeling that resulted in only about 2 Tablespoons of asparagus peels, I just skipped the rest of it and threw it all in to sauté.
I was dubious about the turkey, but they turned out to be surprisingly delicious – the bits of dried apricot gave it a nice little sweet taste that I loved. The cucumber salad was only medium for me, mainly because I don’t particularly like cucumber, but it was better the next day when I had the leftovers.
Is Blue Apron Worth It?
So what did I think about Blue Apron overall?
I liked trying new recipes and using new ingredients, and it’s really fun to have dinner just show up on your doorstep.
I feel like tons of the reviews I’ve read about it talks about how generous the serving sizes are. I totally disagreed. I feel like we eat fairly modestly (I’ve had several readers tell me that they double almost every recipe I post on my blog because they eat so much more than we do, apparently) and the girls eat fairly little for dinner always (they eat a huge breakfast, medium lunch, and light dinner) and we only had a teeny bit of leftovers one night (the turkey). The fish dish, especially felt very small.
You’re legitimately getting one meal for two people – I wouldn’t count on it stretching through children or ending up with leftovers.
I also felt like they weren’t quite complete meals. Bart really likes to have at least two side dishes, and most of these had just one, so I felt like I needed to supplement (plus, as I mentioned, the meals just aren’t that big).
The main bonus, I think, is not having to meal plan, but I don’t mind meal planning, plus, even with Blue Apron, you’d still have to come up with 3-4 dinners for the rest of the week. And you can just look on Blue Apron and get the recipes for the week without paying, if it’s the meal planning you really really hate.
(Although a lot of the Blue Apron recipes have specialty ingredients that might be difficult or expensive to track down on your own. I suspect that they might do this because it makes it seem like you’re getting a better value – it’s harder to justify paying $10 a person to make your own spaghetti – and because it’s more difficult and expensive to track down those items on your own. I would have had no idea where to purchase yuku juice for the fish recipe).
Lots of people have compared it to restaurant quality meals and I’d agree with that – the food was definitely high quality – but I don’t want to eat restaurant meals three times a week. I feel like I have a good variety of meals in our dinner plan, but they’re a little simpler and less heavy/fancy feeling than some of these were.
You also can’t avoid grocery shopping by doing Blue Apron, unless you only eat dinner 2-3 times a week and never eat anything else. So . . .that doesn’t help me all that much.
Plus, there is a fair amount of waste, since everything is individually (beautifully) packaged and you have the big box and the multiple ice packs. Most of it you can recycle, but recycling still isn’t nearly as good as not having had the packaging in the first place.
And – the final nail in the Blue Apron coffin for me – the cost is just more than I could justify. I can make meals that we like more, provide leftovers for lunch, and that use less dishes for a lot less than $20 a meal.
Frankly, I’d rather spend my $60 a week and go out for dinner 2-3 times. Last weekend, we went to a Greek place in Chapel Hill and got two large plates that fed all of us for $20. It was fresh and delicious, I didn’t have to cook any of it, and there were no dishes to deal with afterward.
Or, for $60 I could buy quite a bit of high-quality semi-prepared food at a place like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s where I could get more food on the table with less hands-on time.
How to Cancel Blue Apron
It was fun to try out and I was a little sad to cancel my account at the end of the week, but I wouldn’t pay for it myself. (Bart, on the other hand, was fairly relieved it was over – he was just not that thrilled with any of the meals and was ready to go back to our regular eating).
They don’t make it super simple to cancel Blue Apron – you have to send them an email at cancellations@blueapron.com, and then they send you an email with directions for how to cancel. A cancel button would be a lot simpler.
I could see it being a fun gift for a housewarming or graduation present for someone who likes to cook, or a cool at-home-date idea. I also can imagine possibly using it if I lived somewhere that groceries cost considerably more than they do in Durham, North Carolina.
That said, if anyone has free meal trials for Hello Fresh or Plated, I’d happily try those ones out too. You know, as a service to others.
And if you’ve tried it out (or are a subscriber to Blue Apron or any of the other similar services), I’d love to hear what you think and why you are or aren’t a fan!
P.S. I wrote this post about an option that I think is way more realistic time and price-wise for families like mine, if you want to check it out here.
Love this honest review. I'm up in Canada so it's not something I could partake in even if I wanted to, but I agree with you – I just don't see how this would be a financially feasible option for most families. And the waste – I don't think I could live with that. Anyway…I second (tenth?) all the previous comments asking for insight (i.e. a blog post) on how you grocery shop and how you keep your grocery budget so low! Pretty please…! 🙂
I think Blue Apron is quite expensive, but for NYC standards it's pretty comparable in cost. I don't like their meals because as you said they're a bit too fancy for my taste and not necessarily kid friendly. I usually spend $150/week for a fam 4 in NYC planning 5 meals/week. And I think the comment above about Trader Joe's being so expensive is so funny bc in NYC they're the cheapest since their prices are the same country wide.
Love honest reviews! This would not be a good fit for my family! The money is the main reason. And I would feel guilty about the packaging. Thankful for Sam's Club
Hi! We received our first box yesterday, and I have to say it will also be our last! We thought it would be a time saving way to eat healthy foods, but it definitely was not. It was an hour of ACTIVE prepping and cooking, which just doesn't cut it if you work and have young kids. Plus I also had to make a separate meal for the little guys. And when taste was just ok and you have a whole lot of pots and pans and dishes to clean afterwards, not worth it. Good for those who have time and like trying their hand at fancier dishes with different spices, but just not the saving grace for busy people. I like making my family simpler foods with less ingredients and will save the fancier stuff for the restaurants!
So it did serve all your kids? What do you have 3? Plus you and your husband?
We have three very young children, and it. . .kind of fed them. They don't eat much and they didn't really LIKE any of the meals and the serving sizes were pretty small, I thought. If you have kids that regularly eat a full dinner, you'd definitely not want to count on the box for 2 feeding extra kids.
How about this. Instead of being a scared pushover of a parent, make one dinner and make them eat it, or go to bed hungry. Like our parents did to us. Quit being scared your child won't like you if you aren't their maid/slave/friend/cook. You are the PARENT. Actually act like one!
Katy, here is an idea, how about instead of being rude to the OP, you keep your mouth shut and put more into reading comprehension. the meals are for TWO so even if she made the kids eat dinner, there wouldn't have been enough, AND she already said in the blog that typically she makes them eat what is for dinner but didn't at this point due to the small servings, and the uniqueness of the ingredients.
AMEN TO THAT KATY LEANER!!I, personally didnt read everything above and dont care about whether she was saying it at the right time I just seriously wish parents would stop letting their children run their lives and being afraid of them so felt compelled to giving you an Amen Amy. Not since this really is clearly out of context I ask that you all feel free to continue your bickering amongst yourselves. Have a Great Day!
I've been getting Blue Apron for about a couple months, with a couple weeks off, so I set my own schedule depending on holidays, vacations, etc. I'm a single mom of a teen with special needs, I work full-time, he's involved with Special Olympics and other extra-curricular things, and my time is really limited. I adore cooking and it killed me to be in such a rush after work to have to just throw together mac n' cheese or pick up a pizza or stuff like that. I know I would have time to cook a decent meal, but it's the planning, shopping, and then cooking that was getting very tough. So with Blue Apron, while it is a bit more than I would normally spend, it saves me the stress of the planning and shopping (I can't really take my son into a store very easily for major shopping and the only time I have to shop would be on my lunch hour which, because of work, I most often can't even do!). And, like you wrote, it's kind of like Christmas opening up the box when it arrives. And, fortunately, my son is loving all the meals that have come (we did give away a meal with coconut broth for a Thai soup – I hate coconut!) and eats everything (although the jerk chicken meal was a bit too spicy for him, delicious for me though!). I love the quality of the food, the variety and uniqueness of the meals, they do take a tad more than the 30 minutes to prep that they advertise but not much more, and most of the time I can get by with one or two pots or pans so not much clean-up. As for the packaging – it's all recyclable so I feel OK about it (not great, but OK). I'll continue to use them, maybe not every single week, but will continue. I gave a couple of the "free" meals to friends – didn't know you had to give a credit card and a commitment. That kind of stinks, in my opinion.
Wow, you only spend 75 dollars a week for 5 people? do you grow your own food? curious how you keep your budget. I spend 125/week for 4 the national average for a family of four for a month is around 700/per month. I thought I was doing well…around 14 bucks per day B/L/D. Would appreciate any grocery advice.
I wrote a whole post about it here! https://everyday-reading.com/2015/09/thirteen-ways-i-keep-our-grocery-bill.html
Don't you people realize that this service is not intended for housewives with a family of 6? Of course they *like* to go grocery shopping because without that daily activity they would be at home literally all day. This service is intended for young, busy, professional couples, where both go to work but still would like to cook a home cooked meal once in a while rather than get takeout night after night.
Listening to some of the folks complain about or deride this service reminds me of people with basic flip phones trying to make fun of iPhone users.
Thank you!!!!
My post wasn't meant to say that Blue Apron is a terrible service – I just wanted to share my experience and why it wasn't a great fit for my family. Especially because I've seen dozens of sponsored Blue Apron posts written by women who don't work outside the home and have three or more children.
Don't you people realize that this service is not intended for housewives with a family of 6? Of course they *like* to go grocery shopping because without that daily activity they would be at home literally all day. This service is intended for young, busy, professional couples, where both go to work but still would like to cook a home cooked meal once in a while rather than get takeout night after night.
Listening to some of the folks complain about or deride this service reminds me of people with basic flip phones trying to make fun of iPhone users.
My elderly (82/84) parents often complain about the lack of fresh and good tasting produce in their town. I live 2000 miles away and want to spoil them.
I signed up after asking Dad if he could handle the cooking, and he replied: Let it come. I'll be happy to report on this, albeit 2nd hand. Watch this space.
-Mysterygirl
Are you Rachel Maddow? She always says that.
I'll just take that as a compliment. She and I are about the same age, and I'm "reporting" to all of you, right?
So….My parents just finished their first week.
They loved the prime rib with potatoes and mushrooms, and were so-so on the catfish with grits but they live in catfish country, and go out for fried fresh catfish routinely.
They did surprisingly well with the chicken meatballs ("chicken meatballs?!"). It specified a "weird" raw Brussel sprout kimchi which I begged them to cook first. They didn't. But even though dad messed up and mixed the cooked rice in with the raw chicken, they liked it and would "do it again that way."
I love my dad getting to be a more experience cook in his eighties and these new recipes are getting them out of their life-long food ruts.
I might be enjoying it more than they are, but they don't want to cancel their 2nd shipment.
$75 per week grocery shipping for a family of 4 (ok 3 1/2) and $60 for going out to dinner 2-3 times per week? I need to move my family to your city. In Miami, I spend at least $50 on pizza take out and our weekly grocery bill is no less than $150 per week for a family of 5 with 3 small children. That's eating out a few nights a week.
$75 per week grocery shipping for a family of 4 (ok 3 1/2) and $60 for going out to dinner 2-3 times per week? I need to move my family to your city. In Miami, I spend at least $50 on pizza take out and our weekly grocery bill is no less than $150 per week for a family of 5 with 3 small children. That's eating out a few nights a week.
if you are new to Blue Apron. DON'T SIGN UP if you want any type of reliable meal delivery services. They consistently leave key ingredients out of the box and there is no way to get replacements. It defeats the whole purpose of the meal delivery service if you have to go out and shop for subsitutes. In my last box, I was missing main 2 ingredients –noodles and quinoa–which were the starches for two meals. I email them everytime an ingredient is missing and the best they can do is to refund you $10-15. I've been subscribing for a year now and their quality of service has declined drastically ever since they've been expanding. There is at least one ingredient missing in every other box.
I suffered the same experience with blue apron, including missed deliveries. We gave them 6 months and they could never get it together. About to receive our first Hello Fresh box. Fingers crossed.
I was pretty satisfied with the service until I saw that some of the vegetables were from outside the US. I was under the impression that Blue Apron prided itself on "local" sourcing. Surely red bell peppers are always growing – SOMEWHERE in the US. I reached out to the company over six months ago and have yet to receive a response. Very disappointed.
My parents have received 12 meals so far. Nothing has arrived unusably frozen, even though they are in a cold and snowy area. They let BA know they were missing a garlic head and were credited $5 which I thought was fair.
I think the key is who is buying Blue Apron and why. I'm a single, professional woman who has to make choices about my scant "free" time. Over the years, I've given up cooking in order to spend the time doing other things I love. It's unfortunately led me to less than healthy food choices and I found my self doing things I never thought I would do, such as running through the drive-thru on a regular basis. With the 3 weekly meals for 2 I can come home, pull the fresh, tasty ingredients out of the fridge, cook things I never would do on my own otherwise and eat better. I can also minimize the amount of food I throw out, like 1/2 the bunch of cilantro I didn't use before it spoiled, or the shallots that sprouted. It's not that I wouldn't love meal planning and grocery shopping and spending less for groceries, but this service allows me to make me 3 meals a week (6 or more since each one easily makes 2-3 servings), has re-introduced me to cooking, healthy eating, and the creativity and satisfaction one can get from cooking meals rather than mindlessly grabbing takeout, eating out, fast food or other prepared food options.
I'm in the same situation and found that thefresh20 works best for me. It's more time to cook than I'm used to, but I think once I'll get faster as I cook more and start doing more prep. I double the recipes if I think I'll really like it and then have lunches as well. I chose the for one plan. And I can substitute ingredients if I don't like something. I love it!
Thank you, Alicia! I feel like you are speaking for me!
I am also a single young professional. Blue Apron seems expensive but when I think about all the take-out I used to eat and the fact that I can now take my leftovers to work instead of buying crappy food from the cafeteria I think I may even be spending a bit less on food than before I had Blue Apron. It's not for everyone but it works for me. I also like that the service helps me broaden my previously very limited food horizons. For instance, I never would have bought a food like beets because I've never tried them and just figured I wouldn't like them; but beets came as part of a recipe for Blue Apron and I discovered that beets are delicious! My professional situation as well as my single – personhood is what makes Blue Apron work for me but I agree that it doesn't make much sense for families.
I love it. Just finished up my second week and have to say that it is perfect for empty nesters. The first box arrived with the fresh endive frozen but there was more than enough romaine to make the salad. I get three meals on Thursday and love to come home and be able to make dinner without fighting through the grocery store at 5 pm. We have both loved every meal even though I did think I would. The serving sizes are large enough to satisfy us and some meals we have had leftovers for lunch. I really like not throwing away ruined food from the too large meals I cooked on my own. It is hard to learn how to cook for two after cooking for teenage boys for several years. I'm also learning that I can feed two people with much less than I was used too. It sounds simple but seeing is believing. I'm using their recipes to plan meals for the rest of the week and am saving money. I'm a big fan. I completely see that this wouldn't work for a family with young kids but it really works for us.
My husband and I are in our 70's (early) and I thought with my husband's illness and lack of appetite, this would be easy for me. The salmon was delicious, very flavorfull meal. BUT…..it was just too labor intensive….I love to cook, but this was just too much work for me. And what a mess my kitchen was! Loved the meal, just might be too much work….
It is not only about not going to the store…That saves you time and money.
It is the fact that you are learning good wholesome meal prep with the finest of the finest ingredients that I would guess you could not find any of this quality in your town.
Check out their videos and information on their suppliers.
Plus establishing an on going cook book folder ..the meal prep instructions cost $.
I save the containers for my RV for for meal prep on the road or camping.
A meal of this quality would cost ….."With their top of the line ingredients" well over $20 per serving plus tip in any top end restaurant….That is $ 120 plus tip driving to the restaurant than home for six meals.
This is not a fast food replacement!
This Grommet cooking at home and a learning experience.