Blue Apron is a subscription meal delivery service. Every week, they send seasonal recipes created by their culinary team and all of the pre-measured ingredients you need to make them at home.
Check out all of our reviews of Meal Delivery Services to see every meal kit subscription box option!
In addition to their 2-Person Subscription Plan, which features seasonally-inspired meals for two, Blue Apron also offers a Family Plan that features kid-friendly recipes and family-style meals for four. (Note that this is a review of the 2-Person Subscription Plan.)
Blue Apron also offers a monthly add-on wine subscription. You can find a review of that subscription here.
It’s easy to skip deliveries and cancel your subscription through the Blue Apron website.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
The Subscription Box: Blue Apron
The Cost: $59.94 for 3 recipes on the 2-Person Plan, $69.92 for 2 recipes on the Family Plan, $139.84 for 4 recipes on the Family Plan.
COUPON: Get two free meals on your first order! No code needed, just use this link
The Products: Fresh ingredients and recipes to make healthy meals at home.
Ships to: US
Check out all of our Blue Apron Reviews and find other meal boxes in the Meal Subscription Box Directory!
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When I placed my order with Blue Apron, I was automatically assigned 3 recipes; however, it was easy to go back into my account to pick new ones. Certain combinations of dishes are not allowed, though, so depending on which recipes I selected first, certain other recipes became unavailable.
(Check out the weekly Blue Apron Menu to see what's coming up!)
Inside each box, Blue Apron includes their newsletter, “From the Farm.”
Unlike many meal boxes, Blue Apron doesn’t group their ingredients by recipe. I like that this limits packaging, but it does slow down the meal preparation process slightly. (I also try to quarantine the Blue Apron ingredients in my fridge, so I don’t use a recipe ingredient for something else by mistake.) The “knick knacks” for each recipe are bagged together, though, which helps.
Recipe #1- Crispy Cod Tacos with Chipotle-Cabbage Slaw
Calories: 770 per serving
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30-40 minutes
My box arrived at lunchtime, so I decided to dig into it right away.
I was in the mood for tacos (I’m always in the mood for tacos, really), so I decided to make the Crispy Cod Tacos.
To prep for the dish, I washed my produce and prepared my veggies.
First, I made the slaw by combining sliced cabbage, sugar, mayo, lime juice, and a chopped chipotle pepper in adobo sauce.
While the slaw marinated, I dipped strips of cod into a thin, tempura-like batter and fried it in a pan with a thin layer of oil. When the cod was crispy and cooked through, I wiped out the pan and toasted the tortillas. When they were warm, I plated the tacos!
These tacos were a big hit! Frankly, my cod could have been a little crispier. (Frying isn’t my greatest talent.) Despite that, though, they were still really yummy.
Recipe #2- Greek Pizza with Kalamata Olives, Feta & Pea Tips
Calories: 740 per serving
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35-45 minutes
Pizza has been my favorite food since before I can remember, and I can never resist trying out a new pizza recipe!
Blue Apron’s Greek pizza is topped with pea tips, red onion, fresh oregano, feta cheese, and olives.
I began by cleaning and slicing my veggies and making pizza sauce from garlic, red pepper flakes, and tomato sauce.
I then stretched out the pizza dough, spread it with tomato sauce, and topped the pizza with mozzarella, olives, feta, and red onion. The pizza baked at 475 until the crust started to brown and the cheese got bubbly.
After the pizza came out of the oven, I topped it with pea tips and fresh oregano.
I cut the pizza into slices and plated it.
This was a really tasty dish, and I very much enjoyed the addition of the pea tips. The only problem I had with the pizza was that it was very wet. About halfway through cooking, I had to sop up some of the liquid with a paper towel. I’m not sure where the liquid came from (I cooked down the sauce as recommended), but it made the crust a little softer than I typically like. Also, according to the recipe card, this dish yielded 3 servings. Sure, the pizza was large, but I can’t help but feel this is a way to keep the calorie count down.
Recipe #3- Fresh Udon Noodle Stir-Fry with Asparagus, Shiitake Mushrooms & Togarashi
Calories: 700 per serving
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15-25 minutes
My final meal pick for this box was Udon Noodle Stir-Fry.
I began by cleaning and prepping my veggies.
I then made a sauce from cornstarch, soy glaze, vinegar, and water and whisked it until smooth.
Next, I browned the mushrooms in a pan with olive oil.
When the mushrooms softened, I added garlic, ginger, scallion whites, and asparagus to the pan.
After the veggies were cooked, I added in fresh udon noodles and the sauce, stirring and mixing until the noodles softened and the sauce thickened. I transferred the noodles to a serving bowl and topped them with scallions and togarashi spice.
This dish was pretty good, but I found the sauce to be a little too thick. My personal preference is always to thicken sauces with flour instead of cornstarch though (it’s a texture thing, for me), so the consistency probably wouldn’t have been an issue for most.
Verdict: This was a pretty good box from Blue Apron. I enjoyed all of the meals, and I especially liked the tacos. All of the ingredients in this box arrived in great condition, and I like that the recipe cards are well designed and easy to follow. Value wise, Blue Apron is competitively priced (about the same cost per meal as Hello Fresh and cheaper than Plated), and I do feel that the ingredients they send are high quality. The biggest issue for me is with their meal variety. While they technically have 6 meals to choose from each week, not all meal combinations are available. I would love to see them offer a more diverse selection.
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