An honest, non-sponsored review of Hello Fresh, a service that delivers fresh ingredients right to your door with directions to make the easy meals.
I've read quite a few things about meal service kits over the last couple years and have been curious about how they'd actually work for our meals. Being the cheapskate smart shopper I am, I immediately thought they'd be too expensive. And, well, they can be.
But there are coupon codes and introductory deals that can make them less expensive, and it's this that led me to order a box of three meals from Hello Fresh. I thought I'd share my experience with it in case you're interested in meal service kits.
While all the reviews I do here are "honest" - meaning I only share truth with you, I included the word in the title as a way to indicate this isn't a sponsored review, just my experience I wanted to share. I purchased the Hello Fresh classic box as a first time purchaser with a standard $20 off coupon.
The coupon code I used was a part of a meal planning bundle, but you can use my referral link to get $40 off your first box, which is double the coupon I used! (Note: when you click the link it will take you to the main page and it wasn't clear to me if the coupon had been applied until I noticed the small green bar towards the top that popped up after a few seconds, so look there.)
Okay, let's get to the Hello Fresh review!
Review of Hello Fresh
The Box
I ordered a classic box for 2 people and chose from the 8 or so dinner options that week. The recipes were Shrimp Lo Mein, Sugar and Spice Pork Chops, and Fajitas.
Right after signing up and ordering, I got an email with all the details of delivery as well as information about using the service including an app they have to track delivery and manage your account. If I were going to use this regularly, I'd definitely download the app - that would make it even more convenient.
I received the box in the afternoon when I was home. The company states that it is fine left out, however, if you aren't home until later. You can choose the day it's delivered, though, to coordinate with your schedule.
I made a short unboxing video that I uploaded to Facebook for those curious to see what it looks like delivered to my semi-rural location (I'm about 25 minutes outside of town).
I have to admit that this is what I was most interested in - how were they going to get it all to me and still be fresh? Click here or the image above to watch the short (1.28 minute) video on Facebook (there is a pretty good discussion in the comments of the pros and cons of meal delivery service, too!).
The Ingredients
If you watched the video, you will see that I was pretty impressed with the ingredients and the fact that all the ingredients where separated into bags that were so easy to pull out when it was time to cook.
What I thought about after, though, was the fact that many of the fresh vegetables were set in the paper bags and therefore wouldn't last that long in the fridge without starting to shrivel or go limp. So I planned to make the meals for the next three days even though the site makes it sound like you can make the meals any time during a week.
And I'm glad I did, since by the third day the carrots for the pork meal were definitely starting to go limp which made them harder to peel. So you'll want to think about that.
The Meals
I made the Shrimp Lo Mein first and took a few pictures with my iPhone (so not amazing…) to give you an idea. Here are some notes I made while making it:
While there were plenty of green beans (which was the only thing in all the bags that didn't look too fresh - good thing I started with this recipe!), there was only one carrot and no regular onions, which I love. So I added two more carrots and half a large onion, sliced.
The ginger was a lot bigger than needed - I froze the rest of the knob which is a great way to preserve ginger. I also added 1/4 tsp. of red pepper flakes since we like things a bit more spicy.
So even though everything is prepared for you, there is room to make it your own.
I was pretty impressed with the shrimp - both the amount and freshness, AND the fact that I didn't have to clean them. We really liked the flavor of the dish and I loved the one-pan ease, but the fresh noodles were a bit chewy and had quite a bit of cornstarch on them.
Notes on the other two meals:
Fun Day Fajita Bar
- We loved the fresh salsa I made for this, though I did add fresh garlic because salsa without garlic…what?
- I actually wanted to make this easier (i.e., hands off) so I ditched the directions and made this a sheet pan dinner by tossing the sliced vegetables and chicken with garlic olive oil and the included seasoning. I spread it all on a large baking pan and roasted it at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Um, yum. I appreciated the small-sized flour tortillas for portion control and one was perfect for me, though I did serve this with chips and some of my canned salsa.
Sugar & Spice Pork Chops
- I added two more carrots to this, upping the total to 4 since cooked carrots are one of my favorites, and I cut the sugar from a tablespoon to just a teaspoon. The glaze was only made with 1/2 cup of water and 1 TB of sugar just seemed too much - I prefer just a hint in savory dishes.
- I also cut the two pork chops in half and cooked four smaller portions.
- You were supposed to spoon the glaze over the meat after slicing, but I wanted the spicy sauce on the veggies, too, so I scraped the roasted vegetables into the skillet and tossed them all together, nestling the cooked chops in and serving it from the cast iron skillet.
- Brian really liked this dish and thought it would've been a good company dish. He thought using the service to gain confidence to host others with tried-and-true recipes might be a plus for the service.
Concluding Thoughts on Hello Fresh Review
- There's no denying it is FUN to get this box and make great tasting meals that are put together for you. It's like the cooking shows where all the ingredients are prepped for you. This is why I think a box of meals would make a great gift for those just starting out on their own, weddings, young families, or older people who need some inspiration to cook for one or two. Or just anyone you can think of who would appreciate it!
- The ingredients are fresh and great quality - wild shrimp, natural pork, fresh herbs and more.
- The recipes were easy to follow, easy to make, and took about 30 minutes to make.
- There is little to no food waste - this is a big deal in today's world of increasing food waste. I'm assuming that you eat your leftovers, if you have them, as lunch the next day, a-hem.
- Speaking of that, Brian and I always had leftovers and quite a bit of the fajitas. So we got one lunch from two of the meals and two from the fajitas for four more meals total.
- The packaging is the thing I hear most concerns about (with cost being #2) and I have to agree it's a lot of packaging over all. Not as much on the food as I initially thought and most of it was paper that can be composted. But the packaging needed to keep things cold and fresh is huge, really, especially if meals come regularly. How many large ice packs can you use for picnics, after all?
- Cost: Hello Fresh advertises the classic box at just under $10 a serving - the entire meal is $20. As an example, I felt the fajitas were very similar to the tacos Brian and I get at Baja Fresh with chips and a salsa bar. Three tacos costs us around $10, so about half the price of the Hello Fresh - and I didn't have to cook it. With the coupon the meals were about $13, making them much closer to the taco example. I don't think I'd do this at the regular price just for us, though I can see instances where it might be an answer for some (like those who can't get to stores easily for some reason).
So would I do it again? If I found another coupon, yes! I think it's a fun way to get out of a rut and get inspired to cook again. All of the meals I made would be easy to make again, and I will be making versions of the pork and root vegetables and the fajitas for sure.
Want to do your own review? Click here for $40 off your first box!
Update: I deactivated my account shortly after this Hello Fresh review and continued to get offers for coupons to reactivate the account in my email, so you could actually do this a few times a year and use coupons for each!
Now it's your turn - have you tried a meal delivery service? What did you think?
Michelle Green says
A Cautionary Tale - Not so Fresh: Hello Fresh
When we first subscribed to Hello Fresh everything was great. We signed up because they offered a discount on the first 6 boxes. At around $97, 3 dinners/meals was roughly $33 a meal for 4 people. Not a bad price if the testimonials and reviews were correct.
As experienced cooks, we cast a critical eye over the recipes and quality of ingredients as the packages arrive. There were some insignificant errors with ingredients. For example, they do not include oils, butters and basic seasoning in the packages. These were easily corrected from our own pantry with no complaint.
However, within a few weeks, things took a downward turn. Veggies started arriving that were past their best, but still edible. Things were bruised and broken. Carrots that wobbled, peppers with huge cracks in them. Again we accepted that, because we are strong practitioners of no-waste cooking.
However, shortly after that we began noticing that the quantities of the actual meal ingredients began to decline. For example 1/2 cup of rice, couscous, or farro is not sufficient for 4 people, rather is correct for 2.
By the 5th box we started receiving rotting veg. These included fully decomposed asparagus packaged in plastic, rotting peppers and herbs, things that were clearly unusable. We complained and Hello Fresh offered credits for future FULL priced orders. I quickly learned, this did nothing to change either the quantities or quality of the food I was paying for. Over the next 3 consecutive weeks rotting food and reduced quantities continued to arrive, we would call and explain the issue to the folks at Hello Fresh. Every time they were full of apologies, assurances that it would not happen again, and offers of credit on future discounted boxes, but nothing changed. After 3 further weeks for molding, decomposing food we cancelled.
Ultimately, we were paying $97 a week for a brown paper bag filled with inedible veggies, inadequate serving portions for the number of meals we were paying for, and empty promises to correct the issues that were arising.
They did kindly refund my credit card $23.00 two weeks after I cancelled.
Jami says
Oh, dear - well, thank you for saying "a cautionary tale" instead of something more. That would be pretty disappointing, that's for sure!
While I've had a couple of herbs past their prime, and a few veggies with spots to cut out, I haven't had your experience at all. Especially with the amounts for 4 - we always get plenty of food.
But these services are definitely a trie-it-out kind of thing and aren't for everyone. I've also found that location can make a difference in the quality of home-delivered foods, which is odd, but seems to be a thing.
Al Ferreira says
As of this writing I still have not received their product - my wife gave me a gift card for my birthday - when i tried to apply the credit it required a credit card to verify (which is reasonable) I was charge d$31.96 and $67.87 and no credit for the gift card - when i contcated their customer service - the agent kept claiming that they had given me the credit - nothing showed up - I asked for clarification on how things worked and they refused to answer my numerous inquiries or let me speak to a supervisor - (promised a call back in 48 hours - waiting for that call) - It was only after I cancelled the service that the credit appeared and was told I could use it with them should I decided to return or one of their sister companies (called EveryPlate and Green Chef) - I still have not received credit for the gift card that my wife paid for. This may have good meals (I do not know) and their service is awful.
Jami says
Oh, sorry to hear this Al - that would be frustrating. Sure hope it's resolved eventually!
Martha says
One thing you omitted from your review was their requirement that a credit card be provided even when redeeming a gift. I find this to be unprofessional and a pretty obvious attempt to capture subscribers.
Jami says
That is too bad, Martha - I agree that shouldn't be something required for a gift. I didn't include it because I didn't have any experience with redeeming a gift. 🙂
Zoe Stauss says
Thanks for your honest review and sharing your thoughts, I've been wanting to try a meal delivery service as they seem so convenient and a great way to mix up meal planning and I love the idea of minimizing food waste!
The Son Of Thom says
Iv been using HelloFresh in the UK for about 8 months now absolutely love it! Less packaging would be great but they have promised to get better at this and seem to be slowly creating different solutions. The cook book is also pretty cool, have you tried it?
Jami says
No I haven't - I'll have to look for that.
Martha says
I have been using Blue Apron for about a month now and love it. Great meals, fresh ingredients, and we (hubby and I) always have some leftover for lunch the next day. It has gotten us to try new things like farro (tasty!) It has made cooking dinner much more fun, and the meals are healthier than what I had been cooking. As far as cost, we are about even because we don't eat out as much. After years of cooking daily for a family, Blue Apron is a real treat for me. The only downside is all the packaging. We recycle most of it, and I am saving the quilted foil bags to use as Christmas wrapping .....
Jami says
Your thoughts echo what I thought the meal services would be good for, Martha - it sounds perfect for you. And I love that idea of using the bags for gifts - genius!
Michele says
Hi Jami, in 2015-16 we tried 5 different food box delivery services. We tried Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, Plated, Marley Spoon and Purple Carrot. We were given Blue Apron as a gift; the others we signed up with a discount code. We kept Blue Apron and Hello Fresh for almost a year. They were the absolute best when it came to customer service, great recipes and fresh food. Purple Carrot is vegan- 100% plant based. We absolutely loved it but it was the most expensive and the recipes had about 800 steps. It was delicious, but too foo-foo for us! We loved the idea of a vegan meal twice a week, though. We did not care for the recipes from Marley Spoon...the food was fresh, but not very interesting. I can make pasta at home from my pantry! It was also up there in cost. We loved Plated, but consistently had to call because something leaked out, or the veg was bleah. I also live in a semi rural area but we got our deliveries the next day- except last winter. Snowmageddon in Northern Nevada did impact our delivery schedule a few times- they couldn't make it from the Bay Area since highway 50 and highway 88 were closed due to too much snow! This article made me think about re-upping with a box service again. I loved the portions with no waste and the price per meal was really not bad.
Jami says
Wow, Michelle, I should've gotten you to do a guest post, since you've had so much experience with all of them! Thank you for taking the time to write here to let anyone else who reads see your take on the different services.
I can see how they would be fun to get regularly - it was like a treat when the box came and I couldn't wait to make dinner. When was the last time I felt like that about dinner? 🙂 I'm such a cheapskate, I'd need a coupon, but I'd do it in a heartbeat if I got one!
Melissa Parcel says
I just purchased this as a gift for my mom for Christmas--she's older and lives alone and gets really burned out trying to think of meals to make just for herself. She got the same pork chops as you did, also meatloaf and panko pesto chicken. Overall she found the meals delicious and easy to make. She adjusted to make them to her taste. Two things she didn't like--one was that, due to the holiday, she got her first shipment on Wednesday the 3rd, and then she had another scheduled to arrive on Monday the 8th! She cancelled the second week's shipment right away, but because it wasn't within a 7 day window, she couldn't cancel. After she called to complain, they did refund her money (and she got to keep the second box) but it left her with a bit of a bad taste in her mouth so to speak because she's wary about ordering any in the future. The second problem is that she thinks some of the meals are a bit high in calories. If they are going to serve a potato or sweet potatoes as a side dish, it should be with a lower calorie entree so the meal isn't nearly 1000 calories, which is just too much for one meal. Overall though, she loved it and thought it was the perfect thing for a single person who is uninspired to cook on their own. (Sorry to write a book!)
Jami says
Oh, this is good to know because I did think it would be a great gift for someone like your mom. I know I'd enjoy it if I were in that situation. What a sweet daughter. 🙂 Too bad about the delivery mix-up, though that was nice that they credited her! The calories on the meals I had were all in the 500-600 range per serving, since the meals served 2 - I wonder if that's where the discrepancy came from?
Kristy says
I love boxed meal deliveries but feel similarly about cost and the amount of packaging. I know I'm paying more for shipping and, in some cases, better quality ingredients but it's still painful to part with the money. I enjoy trying new dishes and they send ingredients that aren't available at my local store (I'm very rural too and need to start a garden!).
I've tried Plated, Blue Apron and Green Chef and they're all good all similar. Most of my food has been fresh with the exception of basil, that's always brown by the time I get it and that's frustrating.
Jami says
I figured they'd all be similar, Kristy. Though a reader on Facebook said that Chef'd is different and allows more choices. I sure had fun with it. 🙂