Blue Apron Subscription Box Review + Coupon – August 2016

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 three 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!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

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- Chicken & Fresh Basil Fettuccine with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Calories: 730 per serving

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20-30 minutes

I love fresh pasta, so this dish was my top choice this week!

I prepped my ingredients and cooked the ground chicken in a large pan. When it was cooked through, I added garlic, onion, and tomato paste followed by tomatoes, water, and red pepper flakes. I let the sauce simmer while I cooked the fresh pasta. When the pasta was al dente, I added it to the pan of sauce along with some parsley and creme fraîche. I mixed everything together, divided the pasta between two plates, and topped each serving with parmesan and a pinch of chopped parsley.

This dish was comforting and delicious. I served the pasta with salad on the side, and it was a wonderfully comforting (and filling!) dinner.

Recipe #2- Porchetta-Style Sandwiches with Baby Kale Pesto & Marinated Cucumber Salad

Calories: 740 per serving

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35-45 minutes

My second meal choice this week was Porchetta-Style Sandwiches.

First, I rubbed pork roast with olive oil, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and a blend of herbs and spices. I seared it in a pan and then transferred onto a tray and into the oven to bake until it was cooked through.

Next, I sautéed some kale and then chopped it up and mixed it with parmesan, capers, lemon zest, and a puree of garlic and lemon juice.

To make the salad, I combined chopped cucumber with more of the garlic lemon puree and a little parsley.

When the pork reached an internal temperature of 145 degrees (this took a bit longer than the suggested cooking time of 18-20 minutes), I removed it from the oven and allowed it to rest while I toasted the buns. I then sliced the pork and constructed the sandwiches.

This dish was okay. The pork itself was delicious, but I’m not sure it paired well with the caper, lemon, and kale “pesto.” (Personally, I wouldn’t call it pesto.) Also, the raw garlic flavor in the cucumber salad was a little strong for my liking. I think I would have preferred the salad dressed more simply with something like lemon juice, olive oil, and parsley.

Recipe #3- Summer Vegetable & Queso Tostadas with Fairy Tale Eggplants & Spicy Crema

Calories: 795 per serving

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20-30 minutes

My last meal pick for this week was Summer Vegetable & Queso Tostadas.

I began by sautéing sliced fairytale eggplant in a little olive oil. (I love when Blue Apron includes unusual ingredients!) When they softened, I added bell pepper, corn, shallot, and garlic to the pan and cooked everything for an additional few minutes. I transferred the veggies to a bowl and then cooked the cubes of queso until they got nice and crispy. Finally, I crisped the tortillas.

I plated the dish by topping each crispy tortilla with sautéed veggies, crispy queso, Cotija cheese, cilantro, and a little spicy crema (made by combining creme, lime zest, and chopped jalapeño).

This dish was alright. The flavors were good and I liked the spicy crema, but there was a lot of moisture in the veggies which caused the tortillas to get soggy almost right away.

Verdict: This was a pretty good box from Blue Apron. (The fettuccine was definitely the stand out meal for me this week.) 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.

Do you subscribe to Blue Apron?