Plated delivers a weekly box of pre-portioned fresh and seasonal ingredients, everything you need to cook their chef-designed recipes at home in your own kitchen. Each week, they offer a different menu, and you can select which dishes you’d like to make, how many plates of each dish you’d like to serve, and when you’d like to receive your delivery. You can skip a week at any time.
Three of the dishes offered on every menu are vegetarian. Plated also regularly rotates in vegan and dairy-free options. They’re committed to using sustainably sourced seafood, seasonal produce, and meat that’s free from antibiotics and added hormones.
Plated also makes it easy to pick recipes that suit your lifestyle. Each recipe clearly lists calorie content and prep time.
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The Subscription Box: Plated
The Cost: Recipes begin at $12 per plate. 2 recipes (4 plates)= $48 per week (+ $6 shipping). 3 recipes (6 plates)= $72 per week (with free shipping). 4 recipes (8 total plates)= $96 per week (with free shipping).
COUPON: Free dinner for two with purchase of 3-dinners plan ($24 value), just use this link!
The Products: All of the pre-portioned fresh and seasonal ingredients you need to make chef-designed recipes at home in your own kitchen.
Ships to: 95% of the US. (Currently, Plated does not ship to Hawaii and Alaska, and there are also a few cities in Texas, including San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Laredo, and Midland, where they don’t yet ship.)
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Each week, Plated offers a different menu with at least 7 dishes to choose from. For this box, I selected Pan-Roasted Redfish with Baby Kale Risotto, Asian Beef Tacos with Thai Basil and Peanuts, Cheese Tortellini with Basil and Spinach Tomato Soup, and Caramelized Pear Shortcakes with Whipped Cream for dessert!
When my box shipped, I received an email letting me know that I would need to have the following “pantry items” on hand: olive oil, black pepper, kosher salt, water, and canola oil.
As always, the box was packed with extreme care. Ingredients were bundled by recipe, and each item was in its own container.
The meats were sealed and packed at the bottom of the box, safely away from the produce and surrounded by cool packs.
Recipe #1- Cheese Tortellini with Basil and Spinach in Tomato Soup
Calories Per Serving: 610
Cook Time: 20-30 minutes
I was really hungry when my Plated box arrived, so I immediately set to work making the first dish!
First, I scanned the recipe card.
I then prepped my ingredients.
For this recipe, Plated included a packet of Rana Cheese Tortelloni. I love Rana’s Mushroom Tortelloni, so I was excited to give the cheese version a try!
I sautéed spices, shallot, and garlic in olive oil.
I then added a can of crushed tomatoes, vegetable stock, and water.
After cooking for about 5 minutes, I stirred in the tortellini and spinach and cooked the soup for another 4. To finish it, I stirred in pecorino and basil and ladled the soup into bowls.
This was the quickest tomato soup I’ve ever made, but I was pretty pleased with the result! It was warm and tasty, and the addition of the tortellini was a comforting twist.
Meal #2- Asian Beef Tacos with Thai Basil and Peanuts
Calories per Serving: 740
Cook Time: 30-40
The following day, I made Asian Beef Tacos for lunch.
Like always, I began by cleaning and prepping my veggies.
I sautéed ginger and garlic in canola oil and then set the mixture aside. In a separate pan, I seared the steak, removed it, and then charred bell pepper and peanuts over medium high heat in the same pan.
I sliced the steak and then heated it with soy sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, sriracha, and the ginger garlic mixture. My steak was pretty rare, so I cooked it until a bit more color developed, about 4 minutes.
When it was done, I plated the tacos!
I love tacos, and I’m always excited to try out a new recipe. The steak was great (I loved the flavor blend!), but it was a little chewy. Altogether, I thought the components worked well, and I really enjoyed the charred peanuts. If I make them again, though, I think I’ll top the tacos with a little extra hoisin sauce.
Meal #3- Pan Roasted Redfish with Baby Kale Risotto
Calories: 760
Cook Time: 35-45
Last up in this box was Pan Roasted Redfish Risotto.
To begin, I stripped thyme leaves, rinsed the kale, and minced garlic and shallot.
I warmed up 3 cups of stock in a large pot, and, while I waited for it to heat, I sautéed thyme and shallot in a mixture of butter and olive oil.
(Please excuse my penguin spatula. My non-holiday spatulas were all in the dishwasher when I was cooking this dish!)
When the shallot softened, I added in the risotto rice and let it toast for about 3 minutes. I then added white wine, followed by all of the vegetable stock.
While the risotto cooked, I toasted some kale on a roasting pan to crisp it up, and I seared the redfish with thyme and garlic.
When everything was ready, I plated the fish atop the rice and topped it with some crispy kale.
This was my least favorite meal this week. I’m not a big fan of Plated’s technique for cooking risotto, and I think this dish lacked coherence. For me, the components didn’t really seem well suited. I think I would have preferred the fish with a different accompaniment and the risotto on its own.
Dessert- Caramelized Pear Shortcakes with Whipped Cream
Calories per Serving: 550
Cook Time: 20-30
I also opted to add a dessert to this box. There are two desserts to choose from each week, and desserts can be added for $4 per serving.
I prepped for this dessert by coring and slicing a d’anjou pear.
Since Plated already made the biscuits for this dish, the cooking was pretty straightforward.
I began by cooking the pear slices in a mixture of butter and brown sugar and warming the biscuits in the oven.
When the pears caramelized, I removed them from the pan and set them aside. I then halved the biscuits and toasted them in the pear pan.
While they toasted, I whipped a small container of heavy cream.
After everything was finished cooking, I assembled the shortcakes.
Goodness gracious were these pretty! Since the biscuits came pre-made, this felt a bit more like assembling than cooking, but I liked the dessert so much I didn’t really mind. The pears were juicy and sweet, and they contrasted beautifully with the savory (almost salty) biscuits. I could have eaten both portions!
Verdict: This box from Plated was pretty solid. I enjoyed the tacos and soup, and I loved the dessert. The perceived value of a box like Plated is subjective, but, for me, it’s definitely worth the cost. I’m usually very pleased with Plated’s recipes, and I appreciate the time I’m able to save on planning and shopping for meals.
Do you subscribe to Plated? If so, which meals did you pick last week?
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