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.)
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
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.
You'll see the recipe cards right on top when you first open your box.
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.
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.
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!
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
I love everything in this meal, so it was a no-brainer to pick.
My favorite part of cooking from recipes like this is seeing how easy dressings and sauces are to make.
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.
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.
Next, I seasoned the steaks on both sides with salt + pepper.
Here they are in a pan with some olive oil. I cooked them for 8 minutes total (turning a couple times).
While those were cooking, I made the aioli which is just mayonnaise, lemon juice, and garlic. SO GOOD.
The steaks were done cooking and needed to rest for 5 minutes.
This is when I made the herbed butter which also includes lemon, then thyme, and of course, salt + pepper.
The broccoli and frites were done roasting (total of 22 minutes with alternating the two trays halfway in between).
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!
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
I usually try to get a seafood meal in each box, so I went with his Cod dish. Mainly because I love tapenade.
Everything in this recipe was easy. I'd say the prepping of all the ingredients took the longest.
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.
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.
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.
I had some secret rice cooking and drained it once finished.
Then I added the kale mixture to the pot of rice with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
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.
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.
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!
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
All day I dream about tacos, but I don't think I've done a BBQ chicken version.
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.
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.
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.
After they all cooked, I introduced the BBQ sauce and some salt and pepper to fully coat.
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.
About this time, the wedges were finally done and I pulled them out of the oven with the tortillas.
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.
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Did you get some of the same Blue Apron recipes this month? What was your favorite?
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