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Blue Apron Subscription Box Review + Coupon – April 2018

Marne Orenich
ByMarne OrenichApr 25, 2018 | 1 comment

Blue Apron box

Blue Apron
4.5 overall rating
27 Ratings | 18 Reviews

Blue Apron is a subscription meal delivery service. Every week, they send seasonal recipes created by their culinary team and 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!

This is a review of the 2-person, 3-meal subscription plan ($10.99 per serving, or $65.94 per week). I normally cook for myself, but having meal kits delivered to my home has given me a way to lure friends over to help and enjoy the recipes with me. It's so much more fun with a buddy if you can spare one. No buddies? You'll have some leftovers then, so this doubles your value! In addition to their standard 2-Person subscription plan, Blue Apron also offers a Family Plan that features kid-friendly recipes and family-style meals for four.

My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

ingredients for three meals included in april 2018 blue apron box

About Blue Apron

The Subscription Box: Blue Apron

The Cost: You can choose from a 2 person plan or a family plan:

For the 2 person plan, it's $51.95  ($10.99 per serving + $7.99 shipping) for 2 meals per week or $65.94  ($10.99 per serving + FREE shipping) for the 3 meals per week. 

Family plans start at $79.92  ($9.99 per serving + FREE shipping) for the 2 meals per week, $107.88  ($8.99 per serving + FREE shipping) for 3 meals per week, or $143.84  ($8.99 per serving + FREE shipping) for 4 meals per week. 

The Products: Fresh ingredients and recipes to make healthy meals at home.

Ships to: U.S. only

Blue Apron April 2018 Review

open Blue Apron

recycle info on flap handling & storage info on flap

Blue Apron really cares about sustainability, high-quality produce, responsibly raised meats, the success of smaller farmers, and reducing food waste—which is all important to consider when choosing a meal kit subscription to go with.

recipe cards on top of cooler bag in box

You'll see the recipe cards right on top when you first open your box.

cooler bag opened

Blue Apron ingredients come packaged in a big silver cooler bag that's a lot like bubble wrap. Along with the plastic-wrapped ice packs in the box, the bubble wrap bag keeps the ingredients cool while they travel. A lot of the ingredients from Blue Apron come in bags, labeled, but you have to check out the recipe cards to know which meal they go to. Smaller items like butter or sauces come in a *newly updated plastic* "knick knack" bag so they don't get lost in the shuffle, and those are labeled with the meal name as well. I'm actually pretty stoked that they switched to plastic from brown paper because there was often leakage that got all over everything. The plastic bags are the same as the larger ingredients come in and recyclable as well.

cardboard divider at bottom of box

ice pack + meat under cardboard divider

If you choose recipes with meat, you'll find them all the way at the bottom, under this cardboard divider against the ice packs to stay cold.

blue apron passport pages 1 and 2 of blue apron passport pages 3 and 4 of blue apron passport pages 5 and 6 of blue apron passport pages 7 and 8 of blue apron passport pages 9 and 10 of blue apron passport pages 11 and 12 of blue apron passport pages 13 and 14 of blue apron passport pages 15 and 16 of blue apron passport pages 17 and 18 of blue apron passport back of blue apron passport

Sometimes Blue Apron has special literature for any promotions they are running. For 6 weeks, they've teamed up with Airbnb to bring you "home cooking from around the world" and have included a passport with stickers as a fun way to try various dishes they offer each week. My first recipe happens to be the Paris, France stop. Cool- I love collecting little stamps like this!

Ok- let's get to the FOOOOOD!

ingredients for Parisian steak frites

Parisian Steak Frites with Roasted Broccoli & Lemon Aioli

Calories per Serving (as prepared): 750 calories

Total Time According to Blue Apron: 30-40 minutes

Actual Time: 45 minutes

recipe card for ingredients for Parisian steak frites

I love everything in this meal, so it was a no-brainer to pick.

cooking instructions for ingredients for Parisian steak frites

My favorite part of cooking from recipes like this is seeing how easy dressings and sauces are to make.

potatoes and broccoli in bowl

I cut up the potatoes into 1/4" sticks, chopped the broccoli into bite-size florets and tossed them together in a bowl with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

potatoes and broccoli on sheets going into oven

I had to read this part of the recipe a few times because I don't know why I had to divide the veggies into two separate baking sheets. I could have fit all of it onto one layer into one sheet, but I try not to stray from the recipe for fear of messing something up. Here they are, going into the 450-degree oven.

seasoned steaks

Next, I seasoned the steaks on both sides with salt + pepper.

steaks cooking in pan

Here they are in a pan with some olive oil. I cooked them for 8 minutes total (turning a couple times).

lemon aioli

While those were cooking, I made the aioli which is just mayonnaise, lemon juice, and garlic. SO GOOD.

resting cooked steaks

The steaks were done cooking and needed to rest for 5 minutes.

herb butter

This is when I made the herbed butter which also includes lemon, then thyme, and of course, salt + pepper.

roasted veggies

The broccoli and frites were done roasting (total of 22 minutes with alternating the two trays halfway in between).

finished Parisian steak frites with roasted broccoli and lemon aioli

close up of finished Parisian steak frites with roasted broccoli and lemon aioli

I was instructed to slice the steaks against the grain of the meat, and top with the herb butter. Here's how it looked when finished! This meal was really really tasty. Everything was cooked to perfection!

ingredients for seared cod & olive tapenade

Seared Cod & Olive Tapenade with Kale & Brown Rice

Calories per Serving (as prepared): 680 calories

Total Time According to Blue Apron: 35-45 minutes

Actual Time: 40 minutes

recipe card for seared cod & olive tapenade

I usually try to get a seafood meal in each box, so I went with his Cod dish. Mainly because I love tapenade.

cooking instructions for seared cod & olive tapenade

Everything in this recipe was easy. I'd say the prepping of all the ingredients took the longest.

marinating chopped shallot

First, I chopped the shallot and put it half of it in a bowl with half of the included verjus and salt + pepper to marinate while I did everything else.

garlic and shallot cooking in pan

I put the other half of the shallot in a hot pan with olive oil and all of the chopped garlic. This smelled very nice.

kale and beans cooking in pan with demi-glace verjus and red pepper flakes

After it was fragrant, I added the roughly chopped kale, drained + rinsed cannelli beans, with the demi-glace, remaining verjus, 1/4 cup of water, and a bunch of the red pepper flakes. I cooked until the kale wilted and most of the water had cooked off.

cooked rice, drained

I had some secret rice cooking and drained it once finished.

kale and bean mixture added to rice

Then I added the kale mixture to the pot of rice with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

tapenade

The tapenade called for mustard which shocked me, but I trust the recipe and added it the marinated shallot along with the chopped olives, oregano, olive oil, and salt + pepper.

Seared Cod in pan

The Cod was easy peasy. I just cut the filet in half, salt + peppered both sides, and added it to a pan with oil to cook. After 6 minutes on each side, it was done.

finished Seared Cod and Olive Tapenade with kale and brown rice

close up of finished Seared Cod and Olive Tapenade with kale and brown rice

Spreading the tapenade on the fish made for an elegant presentation, alongside the rice, kale, and beans. I loved the flavors together, and this tapenade was so freaking delicious! Look at the browning on that fish! Mwua!

ingredients for BBQ chicken tacos

BBQ Chicken Tacos with Cabbage Slaw & Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Calories per Serving (as prepared): 760 calories

Total Time According to Blue Apron: 30-40 minutes

Actual Time: 45 minutes

recipe card for BBQ chicken tacos

All day I dream about tacos, but I don't think I've done a BBQ chicken version.

cooking instructions for BBQ chicken tacos

I was surprised to see a side dish with the tacos because I feel like most times there isn't one. Sweet potatoes aren't my favorite, but I really wanted these tacos.

marinated cabbage

After prepping everything and popping the sweet potato wedges into a 450-degree oven, I put the sliced cabbage into a bowl with vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper to marinate while I cooked the chicken.

chicken, jalapenos, and shallot in pan

I added the seasoned chicken to a hot pan with oil. After it was browned, I included the white part of the scallions and the chopped jalapeno pepper.

BBQ sauce added to chicken mixture

After they all cooked, I introduced the BBQ sauce and some salt and pepper to fully coat.

cheesy tortillas

While the sweet potato wedges were still cooking, I topped half the tortillas (I was only eating one portion) to a baking sheet and topped them with the cheddar cheese I had grated by hand. Those went into the oven for about 3 minutes.

roasted sweet potatoes

About this time, the wedges were finally done and I pulled them out of the oven with the tortillas.

finished BBQ chicken tacos with cabbage slaw and roasted sweet potatoes close up of finished BBQ chicken tacos with cabbage slaw and roasted sweet potatoes

Boom! Spring weather finally showed up which means I can start eating on my front porch again and get some better lighting for these photos. Yay! I will say that I wish there was a bit more chicken. I used it sparingly to be able to be able to get six full tacos out of it. There was PLENTY of slaw though. I actually added more after taking the photos since you wouldn't have been able to see the chicken otherwise. I fixed myself a tequila and lemonade drink to have with these spicy numbers. SO DELISH. My roommate said the fries were AMAZING. I had some but as I mentioned, don't generally love sweet potatoes, so I trust his opinion more.

Verdict: I received three Blue Apron meals again this month, and like last month, I loved them all! Strangely to me, I probably like the steak the least. The tacos were so good that I ate the leftovers (which is rare for me) and the tapenade on the fish with the rice and kale was exquisite! My only wish for Blue Apron is that they would introduce quick add-ons (lunches, smoothies, etc) like some of the other meal kits do.

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Since Blue Apron menus change weekly and you must choose them ahead of time, you won't be able to order these dishes unless they are offered again in the future.

Coupon – New customers, get 5 meals free with your first two orders! No code needed, just use this link No code needed, just use this link

Value Breakdown: At $65.94 for this box (with free shipping), you're paying $10.99 per serving.

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!

Did you get some of the same Blue Apron recipes this month? What was your favorite?

Starting at $60.95
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Blue Apron (starting at $47.95 per week) is one of the most well-known meal kit delivery service subscription boxes. Blue Apron creates bistro-inspired recipes (for 2 or 4 people) and sends members the pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions they need to complete up to 4 of them... read more.

Marne Orenich
Marne Orenich
Marne is a lipstick connoisseur, record collector, and twice over cat mom. She loves discovering new clean beauty brands and has quite the collection of beautifully packaged serums and moisturizers.

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1 comment

debbie

I got the fish meal last week as well and it was yummy! Also the steak meal, but found It nothing special.

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