Pros:
- Everything you need for a delicious home-cooked meal delivered to your door
- All ingredients are fresh
- Proteins and seafood are responsibly sourced
- Perfectly portioned
- Signature 2 and Signature 4 options are customizable
Cons:
- You need to have all the cooking utensils required by the recipe
- May be a little too simple for experienced cooks
Many people find it difficult to balance work and life with shopping for and then preparing dinner. Nevermind the time it takes to look for a recipe and decide whether it’s something the whole family will enjoy. This is where Blue Apron comes in.
You can order a box that comes with a recipe and all the ingredients you need to create it perfectly. You choose the number of meals and servings you want (you can currently choose between two and four portions). According to many Blue Apron reviews, this is a super simple option, and the meals are tasty. You can even add a little luxury by making a wine order.
How It Works
Getting started with Blue Apron is pretty easy. There are a few simple steps to follow when you first visit the website.
- Go to Blue Apron’s homepage and click “Get Started.”
- Enter your email or sign in with Apple or Facebook.
- Enter a password and sign up.
- Then choose your plan (you’ll find out more about these later in our Blue Apron review). Start by choosing between the Signature option for two people, Signature for four people, or Vegetarian for two people.
- Then choose the number of recipes you’d like per week. For Signature recipes, you can choose between two, three, or four. For Vegetarian recipes, you can choose between two and three.
- Once you’ve chosen your options, hit the “Select” button.
- Now, you have to fill in your address and billing information.
- Once you’ve successfully signed up for the service, you can choose your meals.
How to Switch Plans
If you change your mind about how many portions you’d like from Blue Apron or want to change from Signature 2 to Signature 4, or the other way around, you can do this easily. We’ll make it even simpler in our Blue Apron meals review by giving you a step-by-step guide:
- Go to “Plan Settings” on the Blue Apron website.
- Select the “Edit” option.
- Choose which plan you would like to change to. Just make sure that you choose a date that is after the “Changeable Before” date listed.
According to reviews of Blue Apron, if you’d like to change your plan for just one meal because you’re having guests over or someone in your family won’t be around for dinner, you can do that as well.
- Go to your “Upcoming” page on the Blue Apron website.
- Find the date you’d like to change and select “Change Recipes.”
- Choose the plan you’d like.
- Click “Save.”
How to Change Upcoming Recipes
Perhaps you decided a certain recipe isn’t for you because you don’t have a premium hand mixer or another specific utensil, or maybe you’ve read some Blue Apron recipe reviews and want to try something new. Either way, changing your upcoming recipes is perfectly doable and super simple.
- Go to your “Upcoming” page on the Blue Apron website.
- You’ll see that what you’ve already ordered is indicated by a checkmark. You can select different plans here, or you can stick to your plan.
- Click “Change Recipes.”
- Use the “Remove” and “Add to My Box” buttons to decide which recipes you still want and which you want to get rid of.
How to Skip a Delivery
Sometimes, you simply won’t have time to cook, and perhaps you’d rather receive a ready-made food delivery. Blue Apron makes it easy to skip recipes, so we’ll outline how to do this right here in our review of Blue Apron.
- Go to the “Upcoming” page on the website.
- Find the delivery you’d like to skip and select “Manage Delivery.”
- A pop-up will appear with different options, click on “Skip This Delivery.”
- Confirm by clicking “Skip” again.
Menu Options
Ultimately, you can choose between the Signature menu and the Vegetarian menu.
Every week, you’ll have a selection of recipes to choose from. These options include dishes like Chicken and Vegetable Stir-fry, Spanish-Spiced Deviled Chicken, and Steak and Black Bean Butter Sauce. Blue Apron usually offers around seven options for the Signature dishes and four options for the Vegetarian.
Blue Apron reviews also tell us that the service offers meals that are heart-healthy, have been Weight Watchers approved, and consider the needs of people with diabetes.
One big plus: there are more seafood and Mediterranean options than other companies with similar selections. What’s nice about many of the options on the menu is that they aren’t necessarily the basic meat and two veg kinds of dishes.
Skill Level
You can read any Blue Apron reviews from 2021 or earlier, and they will tell you that these recipes are easy to follow. You’ll understand what to do step-by-step, and it would be difficult to follow the instructions and fail. In fact, if you’re an expert chef, you may find these recipes too simplistic for your tastes.
Each recipe is precise, and Blue Apron gives you each ingredient you need in the exact amount required. This is a great way to ensure that you have no food waste in your kitchen.
Flavor
You’ll receive fresh, responsibly sourced, seasonal ingredients in the boxes containing your Blue Apron meals, reviews confirm. All these dishes are delicious and flavorful, using simple ingredients. What’s more, they include every spice and herb that you need in order to make these meals taste like they’re bursting with flavor.
One of the best things about Blue Apron’s offering is that the ingredients are chosen with a lot of thought. Quite simply, you won’t encounter vegetables or herbs that are out of season or hard to find. We want to make it clear in our Blue Apron review that these meals are anything but bland.
Packaging
The packaging that you receive depends on what ingredients are included. However, the box that you receive and the ice packs that keep your ingredients fresh are all recyclable. Other packaging that you may receive include the following:
- Plastic bottles
- Plastic trays
- Plastic cups
- Plastic clamshells
- Cans
- Glass jars
- Wine bottles
- Cardboard inserts
- Molded fiber containers
- Paper cartons
- Recipe cards
Blue Apron reviews tell us that all of these materials are fully recyclable. This is in an effort to be more eco-friendly at a time when businesses need to start stepping up. This is important from a company that you’re going to be getting regular deliveries from. Given that the ingredients often need separate compartments and containers, it’s a good thing that you can recycle them.
Pricing
The pricing of these meals depends on how many recipe boxes you order per week.
Signature for two: $47.95–$79.92
Signature for four: $71.92–$119.84
Vegetarian for two: $47.95–$59.94
Wellness for two: $47.95–$59.94
Blue Apron Alternatives
There are many different options when it comes to choosing a food delivery service. Blue Apron isn’t the only option on the market. Some of Blue Apron’s main competitors include the following:
- Home Chef
- Purple Carrot
- Green Chef
- Nurture Life
- Sun Basket
- HelloFresh
Hello Fresh vs. Blue Apron: Reviews and Distinctions
While Blue Apron focuses on a more luxurious experience, HelloFresh is all about saving its users money.
As such, you’ll likely find HelloFresh to be more economically priced. You’ll also receive more options from HelloFresh, which offers gourmet meals, burgers, meals that you can cook in 20 minutes, and “one-pot-wonders.”
Meanwhile, with Blue Apron, you have the opportunity to add wine to your order, and you can even purchase gifts through the service.
Blue Apron vs. Home Chef: Reviews and Distinctions
The main thing that sets Home Chef and Blue Apron apart is the number of weekly options the services offer. Blue Apron offers around seven options for its Signature plan, while Home Chef offers 14–26 options. Blue Apron, however, offers more seafood and vegetarian-based choices.
These two options are similarly priced, but with Blue Apron, you can add a delicious bottle of wine to any of your orders. Other than that, the offerings are pretty similar. Have a look at Blue Apron’s and Home Chef’s menus to decide which is better suited to you. You can also take a look at our detailed Home Chef review.
Conclusion
We hope you’ve enjoyed our Blue Apron food delivery reviews.
Blue Apron lets you cook delicious meals for yourself and your family with simple, precise recipes and the freshest ingredients.
At the end of the day, Blue Apron takes the stress out of cooking. You don’t have to spend ages choosing a recipe and then making sure you have all the ingredients. Plus, you can avoid lines at the grocery store and the potential struggle of not finding exactly what you need at one shop.
FAQ
Is Blue Apron healthy?
Yes, Blue Apron creates its recipes with heart health in mind as well as many other factors. This isn’t a quick and easy junk food solution. These are hearty and delicious meals made with fresh vegetables and herbs. You’ll find that these meals fit easily into most health-conscious people’s lives.
Is Blue Apron any good?
Yes, Blue Apron is a reliable service that offers delicious meals. You’ll find that your orders are usually 100% correct and that all the ingredients needed for your recipe are included in your box in the exact amounts needed. The recipes are also super easy to follow and will make you feel like you’re an experienced chef, even if you’ve hardly ever spent much time in the kitchen.
Is Blue Apron good for weight loss?
While Blue Apron isn’t a service that advertises weight loss, it does point out that its portions are often in accordance with Weight Watchers. These recipes are also portioned out so that they are just right for the average person.
Is Blue Apron cheaper than grocery shopping?
It’s unlikely that using Blue Apron will be cheaper than grocery shopping. With a company like Blue Apron, you aren’t just paying for the ingredients. You’re paying for the convenience of having these ingredients delivered to your doorstep with precise instructions on what to make.
Is it hard to cancel Blue Apron?
No, it isn’t difficult at all to cancel Blue Apron. It even markets itself as a commitment-free service. You can cancel your account by going to your account settings on the website. You can also skip meals if you know that you’re going to be too busy to cook or won’t be around that night.
How many meals do you get with Blue Apron?
You can choose whether you want two or four portions with each meal when you choose the Signature plan. For the Vegetarian plan, you only get two portions. With both of the Signature plans, you can choose whether you want two, three, or four meals per week. With the vegetarian plan, you can choose whether you want two or three meals per week.
We suggest you look through a few Blue Apron reviews written by customers and test out a few recipes before ordering the maximum number of meals per week.
